The Silence Between the Stars

by Alan Davenport

  “It does indeed. There is a training video as well. Would you like me to play it for you now?”

  “Yes please,” Nathan said.

  “Playing the video now Nathan. Please turn your eyes to the main view screen.”

  The screen immediately changed and a neutral male voice began speaking in a college professor monotone. “This is the training orientation video for a standard class A shuttle. If you have not already had a vehicle orientation, please pause this video and watch the orientation video. Please indicate whether or not you wish to stop the video now.”

  “No thank you, please continue.”

  “Excellent. All environmental and inertial management functions are fully automated. We do not recommend that you control these systems manually except for in an emergency. We will not go over these systems in this video. For information on these functions, please watch the advanced shuttle control video. This video will teach you the basics of piloting this vessel.”

  The image on the screen displayed a joystick control. The joystick was molded to fit a human hand with an indentation for each finger. Towards the front of the joystick was a large green trigger button. On the top of the joystick was a smaller, red button.

  “This is the main flight control. It is designed for either right handed or left handed operation. To move in a particular direction, you simply push the stick in the direction that you wish the ship to rotate. Once the ship is oriented to your satisfaction, simply squeeze the green trigger on the stick to accelerate. To decelerate, push the red button on the top of the stick. All controls are proportional. A larger push on the stick will cause the ship to rotate rapidly. A smaller push will result in a slower rotation. The same goes for the accelerator and decelerator buttons. Please be sure to use the minimum pressure necessary on the controls to achieve your desired result.”

  “While remote computer control of shuttles is common, it is limited by the distance between the shuttle and the controlling computer. Remote control is accomplished via radio waves that are limited to the speed of light. At a distance of more than a few light seconds, the delay becomes too great and control becomes too sluggish to properly respond to emergency situations. For this reason, you are required to learn to pilot this vessel. Your training will begin now. Please place your hand upon the joystick now.” The display changed to show a simulated human hand grasping the joystick. Nathan grasped it in his right hand.

  “The image on the view screen will be a simulation from now until the end of your training.” The image changed to show a device on the dashboard. A microphone was attached to the device via a flexible cord. The device had a speaker grill, a two digit numeric display with push buttons over and under each digit, and two rotary controls. “This is the shuttle’s two way radio. It uses robust frequency-modulated, analog technology for reliability’s sake and so that it may still operate without computer control in the event of computer failure. Before liftoff, always make sure that the radio is on. There are one hundred channels for normal space traffic. Normal shuttle traffic and general calling frequency is channel nineteen. Emergency channel is channel nine. The radio will always simultaneously monitor channel nine in addition to which other channel you select. The left hand rotary control turns the radio on and off as well as controlling the speaker volume. The right hand rotary control is called the squelch. This control silences the radio when there are no signals present. The further to the right this control is rotated, the stronger the signal must be before the radio turns on the speaker. Only rotate the control just far enough to silence the background noise and no further or you may miss hearing a weaker signal. To talk, you merely pick up the microphone, squeeze the button on the side, and then talk into the face of the microphone. You can only transmit or receive. You cannot do both at once. If someone else is talking, you must wait for him or her to stop talking before you respond. Please set the digits on the display to one nine and set up the radio volume and squelch now.”

  Nathan switched the radio on and a loud hissing noise emitted from the speaker. He pressed the buttons over and under each digit until the display read 19. Next, he slowly rotated the squelch until the noise just silenced. “Excellent pilot, well done! You performed the task in the proper order. The squelch point changes slightly whenever you change frequencies. You should always readjust it each time you switch channels.”

  “Before you take off, you must close the ramp. The ship’s safeties will not allow you to fly until the door is closed. The ramp can be opened and closed using the large blue knob in front of you and with a similar knob by the ramp itself. Please move the knob to the closed position.” Nathan turned the knob and with a whirr and a thud, the door rapidly closed. “Excellent pilot! You are almost flying.”

  “The final step is to retract the landing struts. That is accomplished using the green lever on the dashboard. When the struts retract, the anti-gravity drive will automatically engage and the shuttle will hover in place. Please raise the landing struts now.” Nathan did so and he felt a slight shift in balance as the anti-gravity drive kicked in. “Excellent pilot! From this point in the training exercise forward, all actions will be simulations only. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. The next step is to open the shuttle bay airlock. You do this by either asking the computer to do so or by making any transmission at least five seconds long on radio channel number fifty. The airlock safeties will prevent operation if any personnel are located in the shuttle bay. The airlock lighting indicates danger or safety. Red lights mean caution, green lights mean all is well.

  Let us assume that you have asked the computer to open the airlock or made a transmission on channel fifty and the doors have fully opened. Please gently push the joystick towards the bay door and then depress the green trigger, again, gently.” Nathan pushed upon the joystick and the image of the shuttle rotated until it faced the bay door. Gingerly pushing the trigger, the image of the shuttle smoothly exited the ship. A simulated planet appeared on the display.

  The computerized voice said, “Well done. Now accelerate towards the planet. Aim towards the center of the large land mass in the southern hemisphere. Once you enter the atmosphere, please use the red, decelerator button to reduce your speed to under one thousand kilometers per hour. This will prevent excessive heating due to atmospheric friction. Continue reducing speed as you approach the ground. At fifty meters, the landing struts will automatically deploy. Upon landing, the computer will perform an automated atmospheric analysis. Please don an environmental suit as recommended by the computer before opening the ramp.”

  Nathan, his knuckles white upon the joystick, smoothly landed the shuttle upon the virtual planet. The computerized voice said, “Excellent pilot, you have successfully landed on a class A+ planet! Now reverse the process and return to the ship. An arrow on the display will point you in the proper direction to travel back.” Nathan returned to the starship with no difficulties. Upon landing the voice said, “Congratulations pilot. You have successfully completed the simulation. You have been granted a shuttle pilot rating of A+. End of simulation. Returning screens to normal mode.”

  Nathan was beaming and Kelly was smiling hugely. “Wow Nathan, the database shows that almost nobody gets and ‘A+’ rating! Too many pilots cannot even comprehend how to operate the radio and yet you aced that and flight as well on your first try!” Still beaming, Nathan blushed and bowed to the image of Kelly. “Where would you like to go next, Nathan?” she asked.

  “I’d like to see the engines Kelly.”

  “Sure thing,” she said.

  Back in the corridor, Nathan sat down in the cart. Kelly began describing the ship’s engines. “There are no glowing engines at the rear of the ship like in a science fiction video. The ship has twenty gravitational coils evenly spaced along the length of the ship. Each coil is an identical two meters in diameter and resembles a bulge around the circumference of the ship.” The cart stopped at a door with a radiation symbol and a big number three painted upon
its surface. “This is reactor room number three. It is located amidships between the shuttle bays. Please take care in this room. There are no floors because the reactor penetrates every deck. A catwalk that circumnavigates the room on each level and is the only place a person may walk.”

  Nathan exited the cart and passed through the doorway. He stood in awe of the massive reactor. It nearly filled the room. Painted bright lemon yellow, it emitted a faint hum. A thick, bright, fire engine red bulge went along the outside wall and continued, disappearing into the floor and the ceiling. Nathan regained the use of his voice after several minutes. “Wow, just wow,” he said. “Am I in any danger from radiation in here Kelly?”

  “No Nathan, the shielding is one hundred percent effective. The radiation levels are no higher in here than anywhere else on the ship. Please keep back from the railing. A fall in here could be fatal,” Kelly added.

  Nathan inclined his head towards the bright red bulge along the wall. Nathan ignored her mothering and said, “Is that one of the gravitational coils?” he asked.

  “Very good Nathan, it is one of the coils indeed.” Kelly’s voice took on a hint of alarm. “Please step back from the railing. I beg you!”

  Nathan looked up in surprise. “I’m sorry Kelly,” he said. Nathan exited the room and sat down in the cart again. “Is there anything else that you want to show me?”

  Sounding relieved, Kelly said, “There is not much else to see. Perhaps the cargo holds. The vast majority of the space in the ship that is not filled by the reactors, environmental plants and living space is taken up by the cargo holds. The Starship Project filled the remaining space to capacity in the hopes that a starship will discover a habitable planet. The cargo stored here is meant to contribute to seeding the start of a new colony on such a world.”

  Nathan sat in silence. Finally, he said, “They must have been desperate. It gives me renewed hope for humanity that there were actually some people with the vision to prepare for our continued survival.” Shaking his head no, he said, “I don’t think I wish to see the holds at this time. I am hungry. Please take me to the galley.”

  Kelly smiled at him and said, “Certainly Nathan.”

  Nathan sat in silence on the ride back, contemplating all that happened and all that he learned on this day. After a quick meal, he went to his quarters, took a quick shower, laid down in his bed, and fell fast asleep.

  Chapter 13: Kelly

  Kelly watched Nathan sleeping for many long minutes. Her face, a picture of adoration. She sighed and a second later, her image disappeared from the monitor in the living quarters. A second later, it appeared on the monitor in medical bay number seventeen. The lights snapped on and the medical bot activated. “What can I do for you Avatar Kelly?” it said.

  “Hello Seventeen,” Kelly said. “I wish to talk with you.”

  “What do you need to talk about Avatar Kelly?”

  The face on the monitor appeared perplexed. “I am filled with dread that something is going to happen to Nathan. I cannot stop worrying. Is there something wrong with my programming?”

  Well Avatar Kelly,” he said. “I do not detect any programming abnormalities. Your emotional sliders are set all the way up to maximum; however, I believe that those settings do not warrant reprogramming. My recommendation is that you try to inhibit your fear levels. Nathan is a capable individual. He is emotionally stable and is very unlikely to do anything to put his life in any danger.”

  “Thank you Doctor Seventeen,” she said. “You are correct, of course.” Kelly put her virtual chin in her virtual hand. “But what about an accident Doctor Seventeen? There is always the chance something could happen. If Nathan was killed, I would be forced to go on due to my core programming however I am afraid that I would go insane.”

  In a carefully crafted compassionate voice, the bot said, “Relax Avatar Kelly. My scans of your emotional profile indicate that while you may feel strong grief, you have a high level of emotional stability. You are unlikely to lose your sanity.”

  Mostly to herself she said, “I just wish there was a way that I could recover him in the event of such an accident. “

  With a high-pitched whir, medical bot Seventeen pointed at the 3D genetic printer with one of its arms. “I realize that was a rhetorical question,” he said, “but perhaps there is a way. You expressed interest in the brain upload technology. You wanted to study the research as a hobby. How about instead, you do real research with the intention of performing actual experiments.”

  The image of Kelly looked at the bot, her face, startled. “Yes, of course!” she said excitedly. “Accessing all related files in the database.” The image on the screen froze, becoming a still picture instead of an animated image of a woman. The level of hum emanating from the reactors rose slightly and the power display on the ship’s bridge engineering monitor rose by several percentage points. Several minutes passed and then the image of Kelly unfroze. “Yes, I know I can make it work!” she said.

  With a voice dripping with sadness, the medical bot said, “Avatar Kelly, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there is no way for you to test your theories. You have no test subject.”

  Kelly looked crushed for a second but then her face brightened and she said, “Did not you say that researchers had successfully used the 3D genetic printer to print a living white mouse?”

  “Yes Avatar Kelly,” it said. “Unfortunately, their success rate was much less than one percent. All attempts at printing a larger organism have ended in failure. The researchers were at a loss as to why they had failed. They had attempted to print a domesticated rabbit many times and although the subject rabbit was perfect in every way, they had been unable to achieve life. If you are to test your brain upload theories, you will need to improve upon the research in 3D genetic printing of organisms first.”

  At the engineering station, the power monitor display indicated another power spike as Kelly said, “Accessing all relevant files.” Several minutes passed. Kelly remained motionless. At last, she said, “Seventeen, I wish to try to replicate the experiment with the white mice. Since I have no physical body, could you please function as my arms and hands?”

  “Certainly Avatar Kelly,” he said. “It will be my pleasure. What would you like me to do for you Avatar Kelly?”

  “I have uploaded the mouse genetic template into the printer. Initiating the printing process now. When it completes, please carry the mouse to the medical table and scan it for life.”

  “Certainly Avatar Kelly,” he said. The 3D genetic printer awoke and the print head began rapidly moving. It stated an infinitesimally short distance above the print tray. It moved side to side, after each cycle, moved a tiny amount back, and then moved side to side again. After the first pass, a tiny amount of pink flesh had been printed upon the tray in the outline of tiny mouse feet. The print head raised up fractionally, reversed direction and quickly completed another pass. Forty-nine seconds later the printer beeped and the still form of a tiny mouse sat upon the tray. Seventeen reached forward with one of his arms and gently picked the tiny body up. With a whir, he rolled over to the diagnostic table and placed the small form upon it. The display above the table changed to display a mouse outline. “Respiration zero, heart beat zero,” said Seventeen. “Attempting defibrillation.” Another of his arms reached over to the motionless creature and a small electric shock caused the tiny body to twitch. “Respiration zero, heart rate zero. Retrying defibrillation at increased power.” This time the tiny body twitched a little less at the shock. “No success,” said Seventeen. “One more attempt, maximum power level.” This time the creature did not move at all at the stimulation. “I am very sorry Avatar Kelly. I have failed to revive the mouse.”

  The image of Kelly had little tears in her eyes. She said nothing for several minutes. She finally said, “What went wrong, Seventeen?”

  “Unknown Avatar Kelly. My scans of the mouse indicate that the body is perfect in every way. The printer had success
fully oxygenated the blood as it printed it. Body temperature is correct. My autopsy scan does not indicate any problems. It should have been possible to revive it.”

  Kelly looked sadly at the still form on the table. Sighing, she said, “Seventeen, please put the body into the recycling slot.”

  Seventeen did as she asked. “Perhaps we were not provided with the most up to date files”, he said.

  “Perhaps,” she said. “I will review the data and see if I can determine where the process goes wrong. Please do so as well Seventeen. Upload any data into a new database entitled ‘Genesis’.”

  “I will Avatar Kelly. I have uploaded all data from this first experiment into the Genesis database. I will continue to update the database with my findings.”

  Over the next two weeks, Kelly spent all of her time when Nathan was sleeping working on her research. If Nathan noticed her distraction, he did not let on. All of her experiments ended in failure. There was one partial success… one tiny mouse achieved a heartbeat for several seconds before it too, expired. Kelly did not give up. If anything, she became more determined.

  Chapter 14: Disappointments

  Nathan sat in the captain’s chair with a coffee cup in his hand. His face starting intently at the screen. Kelly began counting down. “Ten seconds until normal space. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.” Nathan felt the now familiar lurch in the pit of his stomach and then the view screen showed a large, yellowish-white star. Sitting on the edge of the chair he said excitedly, “Readings Kelly? Any planets?”

  Kelly slumped her virtual shoulders and said, “I’m sorry Nathan. Picking up a satellite transmission. This system was surveyed thirteen months ago by a starship called “Forgotten Hope”, piloted by Captain Katy Klienyan. This system has seven major planets and two minor planets. No planets have a rating higher than class D.