Star One: Tycho City Survival

by Weil, Raymond L.

  “How was your flight?” President Kateland asked as she sat back down.

  “It was fine,” Mase replied as he sat down in his chair and found it to be extremely comfortable. He was also glad to get off his feet. He spent the next few minutes answering questions about Tycho City, Farside, and the mass driver. He had just finished discussing the importance of getting a fusion reactor installed in Tycho City as soon as possible when the door opened once more, and Steve Larson stepped in.

  “Hello, Steve,” Mase said, smiling warmly. “What took you so long?”

  Steve took his seat responding to Mase. “I’m surprised to see you here. I know it’s been over five years since your last trip to Earth.”

  “Actually, closer to seven,” Mase confessed. Steve and Mase were close friends. Mase had been up to Star One on numerous occasions, and Steve paid occasional visits to Tycho City.

  “We felt it was important that both of you be present for this meeting,” interjected President Kateland, looking over at the two. She stood up and continued speaking. “There are some things going on that you both need to be made aware of that have been kept top secret for nearly a month now. How much longer we can keep those secrets under wraps is becoming a critical question.”

  Mase and Steve both listened to the president, trying to read the hidden meaning behind her words. Something was obviously going on as the two exchanged knowing glances. They both suspected it had to do with the neutron star and the upcoming FarQuest mission.

  “Both of you know about the neutron star and its current trajectory,” she began. “What you don’t know is that we have used the computers at Houston to determine the exact effects this will have on the Earth.” President Kateland paused, catching her breath, and her face seemed to look much older.

  She thought about what the computers had told them. Only a few carefully selected people were aware of what the computers had projected was going to occur. It had been a closely guarded secret for the last several weeks. The ramifications of those projections had been weighing heavily on her shoulders, knowing what lay in the future for her country and the planet.

  “Mr. Timmons, will you explain in detail what your computers have predicted?” With a tired look, President Kateland turned to Timmons as she sat down to listen once more.

  Standing up, Timmons looked around the small group before his eyes focused on Mase and Steve. “Our computers are a group of Super Crays recently installed in our system upgrades last year. The only other computer that might remotely compare to these is Teela on Star One, and she is years away from becoming adept at these types of computations.”

  Timmons nodded at a security guard standing by the door. The guard pressed a switch, turning down the lights. A large viewscreen descended to cover the front wall behind the president. On it, the orbits of all the planets were shown. The orbital trajectory of the neutron star, marked in red, intersected the plane of the ecliptic just outside the orbit of Uranus.

  “We ran the orbital data we have on the neutron star and had the computers extrapolate the effects on Earth,” Timmons spoke in a calm, lecturing voice. “The results were shocking.” Pausing, Timmons looked at each individual in the room.

  “At a minimum, we can expect hurricane strength storms all across the globe as the approach of the neutron star begins to affect the sun,” he said in a more subdued voice. “Intense plasma storms on its surface, increased sunspot activity, and massive solar flares far greater than any recorded before will almost certainly occur. These by themselves will disrupt communication across the planet and adversely affect our weather patterns. But that’s not the worst of it.”

  Turning to face Mase and Steve, he continued. “As the neutron star makes its closest approach, we can expect major earth movements along most of the planet’s fault lines. Earthquakes far greater than any recorded in modern times will shake the planet, causing massive shifts and uprisings in the crust. Huge tidal waves caused by the earth movements will flood all the low-lying coastal areas around the globe. We also expect intense volcanic activity to commence all around the Pacific Rim, throwing millions of tons of smoke and ash into the upper atmosphere. There is even a possibility that the super volcano at Yellowstone will erupt.”

  Mase and Steve looked at each other, their faces ashen. These were their worst fears. They wondered if anyone would be able to survive. They had known it would be bad, but hearing it from Timmons put all of their fears into perspective.

  “If a massive solar flare or CME strikes the Earth, temperatures could drastically increase,” pausing, Timmons nodded, and another picture appeared on the viewscreen. It showed massive shifts in the orbits of the planets. “When the neutron star leaves our solar system, the Earth’s orbit will extend out close to the current orbit of Mars and inward almost to the orbit of Venus. Life on our planet will have ceased to exist, except possibly in the deepest of underground shelters.”

  The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop as everyone digested the information. Each person in the room except Mase and Steve had already been briefed on this. However, hearing it again only reinforced the reality of the dismal future they all faced.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Mase, looking at the president. “Can enough shelters be built deep enough underground to allow some people to survive?”

  “Naturally, deep shelters will be built, but the massive earthquakes we’re expecting make their survival very questionable,” President Kateland responded quietly with a haunted look in her eyes.

  “Then what are we going to do?” asked Steve, gazing at the president. “There has to be something.”

  “Ms. Kinsey feels, and I agree, that our best hope of people surviving will be in deep manmade caverns on the Moon and on Star One,” President Kateland answered, looking at Mase and Steve.

  “Deep caverns on the Moon at Tycho City should be nearly impervious to quakes,” Jane Kinsey added. “As everyone knows, Tycho City was built in a large meteorite crater. The impact crater itself should cushion any devastating moonquakes, and of course, since there is no atmosphere on the Moon, volcanic activity will be less severely felt. There will be no severe storms on the Moon like here on Earth.”

  “What we would like to do is begin a rapid expansion of Tycho City and move as many people as possible to the Moon,” President Kateland said in a tired voice, looking at Mase. “I believe you are already looking into this, and Isaac Anderson and Steffan Darrow have already come up with a preliminary design for a larger and safer Tycho City.”

  “Yes, Madam President,” Mase replied with a nod of his head. “Our engineers are working up a final design, which should be ready for my review in a few more days.”

  President Kateland nodded pleased that Mase and his people were thinking along the same lines as the people here in this room. “We would like for you to begin screening your people on the Moon to weed out any undesirables. Those that might not be productive or of benefit in a survival situation need to be returned to Earth.”

  Continuing to look at Mase, she added. “We will submit for your review people on Earth who we have screened and accepted as possible colonization candidates. You will have the final say so on who may or may not be admitted to the Moon.” Stopping, she looked briefly at some notes lying on the table in front of her. “These people will be the Earth’s best and brightest.”

  “Star One has a good chance of survival also,” she continued, looking over at Steve. “Being in space, there will be no threats from earthquakes or volcanoes. With the new layer of Luxen that you are installing on its surface areas, it will also be immune from all projected levels of increased solar activity from the sun.”

  “We are making arrangements to ship up to Star One any parts or equipment that we can think of that you might need,” Jane Kinsey added, studying a report in front of her. “I have a special team already formed that is looking into what might be needed for a long term stay in space.”

  “Once again, we need t
o weed out any undesirables on the station and look at what type of people the station could best use to increase its chances of survival,” President Kateland said. “We estimate, from the information you have furnished that Star One could easily accommodate another one thousand people. We believe that by intensifying our efforts, we can end up with three thousand people on Star One and nearly ten thousand on the Moon.”

  Mase and Steve stared at each other in shock. This news was far worse than anything they had discussed in their communications the last several weeks. They had expected the Earth to be affected, but nowhere near to this extent. They were talking about the possibility of only thirteen thousand survivors!

  “Is there any chance the data could be incorrect?” asked Steve, looking at the president. “There are still a lot of anomalies we can’t explain.”

  “Thirteen thousand survivors isn’t a lot of people to start over with,” Mase said, glancing at Steve with wide eyes. Surely, there was someway to save more!

  President Kateland, looking weary, responded. “That’s one reason why the FarQuest mission is so important. We have to know if there are any other potential threats out there we must prepare for. However, the data we already have is indisputable. Life on Earth will most probably come to an abrupt end very soon. The only survivors may well be those we can get up to Star One and Tycho City.”

  “What about here on Earth?” asked Steve, refusing to believe that everyone on Earth was destined to die. “Is there not anywhere underground shelters can be built to save some people?”

  “We have two locations in the United States that might have a slim chance of survival,” replied Tim McPhryson, glancing at some notes in front of him. “We have already begun construction of deep underground bunkers at both sites. If we are successful, we should be able to put between four to six thousand people in each one. We are making them totally self-sustaining. They should be able to survive for ten years without contact with the surface.”

  “We will also be building survival bunkers in some of the deep cave systems, as well as other areas across the country,” President Kateland added. “However, it is very doubtful that these will be able to survive the earth movements the Crays have projected. However, we have to try. We will put as many people as we can in deep shelters and hope for the best.”

  “The problem will be Earth’s new orbit,” Jane Kinsey added. “The Earth will almost reach the orbit of Venus and experience extremely hot temperatures, perhaps above the boiling point of water. Then, out near the orbit of Mars, intense cold will set in. It will take years, but eventually the Earth will begin to lose its protective atmosphere and become completely uninhabitable.”

  “How long before the atmosphere becomes unfit to breathe? Mase asked. It was hard to believe that the Earth may someday look like Mars.

  “It may take a few hundred years or even longer,” replied Tim, carefully. “There are a lot of unknowns in those calculations. It depends a great deal on how the Earth’s oceans react to the wide swing in temperatures. Even among our experts there is a lot of disagreement over this. However, the wide variance in temperatures will also have a diverse affect on the planet’s climate. There will be excessive droughts, unusually hot and cold temperatures, massive snowfalls in some areas, and even flooding in others.”

  “So if anyone does survive, the harsh climate the planet will be going through will ensure they can’t survive for long,” President Kateland said.

  Turning to Avery Karver, the Pentagon man, she continued. “Avery, we must ensure that the launch facilities at the cape are protected against any conceivable threat. I want you to be personally responsible for setting up whatever is needed to make the cape impregnable. We will need to secure a large area around the complex since all of our people can’t be expected to live permanently at the launch site.”

  “I can handle that,” Karver replied with a crisp nod. “We can secure a large area of Florida around the cape with several marine divisions. We can also reinforce the marines with mechanized armor to respond rapidly to any type of situation. I can guarantee that we can protect the cape for as long as necessary.”

  “Fine,” responded President Kateland, looking around the group and weighing what she was about to say. “When I go on the air tomorrow night, I will declare a state of national emergency and impose martial law.”

  Everyone in the room looked uncomfortable with this. Martial law would be serious and extremely unpopular with the public. However, once the news about the neutron star was out, all hell would probably break loose. Many people would realize that their lives had suddenly become considerably shortened.

  “We will tell the people that the neutron star will adversely affect the Earth and that we will build new cities for the people deep in the bowels of the Earth,” President Kateland spoke with a look of sadness in her eyes. She knew it would be a false hope she would be offering.

  “Even using all the major cave systems and building as many deep bunkers as possible, we can only hope to put several hundred thousand people in those shelters,” commented Vice President Edwards, shaking his head. “At some point, the people will realize that there are no shelters being built for most of them.”

  “We will show shelters being built on the media channels; hopefully this will buy us some time,” President Kateland added. “Even so, we don’t feel that we can keep the entire secret more than six months.”

  “All U.S. military units across the globe will be recalled immediately,” General Karver said. “Reserve and National Guard units will be activated and used to secure their home regions. We can expect massive desertions as the situation gets worse. Military personnel will want to be with their families toward the end.”

  “Our ability to control the country will eventually escape our grasp,” President Kateland spoke with a growing sadness in her eyes. “We will be looking at food shortages, power problems, and possibly diseases from the adverse living conditions as the neutron star nears. We will reach a point where we can’t cope with it.”

  “Once people realize what is going to happen, we can expect massive riots and possible human wave assaults on every installation on Earth that could mean survival,” General Karver continued in a serious tone. “Initially, the people will not want to believe that there is no hope; many will probably have a hard time believing the threat to begin with. At some point in time, most people will finally realize what is happening and what the future holds. We will end up having to defend our launch installations and underground facilities from attacks from our own people!”

  “What about other countries?” Steve asked, still hoping others could survive. “Will they be building underground shelters also?”

  “Some will,” Tim McPhryson replied. “Those that have the resources and the ability to build and protect them will undoubtedly try to construct what they can. Very few shelters will have a chance of survival. The earthquakes, tidal waves, and volcanic eruptions will destroy most, if not all of them.”

  “What about Senator Farley?” asked Mase, looking at the president. “How are you going to handle him? I doubt that he is going to accept all of this.” Mase strongly suspected Senator Farley was going to be a major problem.

  “I will personally meet with the senator after the news conference; perhaps he can be persuaded not to resist us. If not, then we will just have to wait and see,” President Kateland responded with a heavy sigh of resignation. “Nothing must stand in our way of saving what we can of the human race!”

  “That’s why we wanted both of you to come to Earth now,” Vice President Edwards said, looking over at Mase and Steve. “Once the two of you return to your respective commands, you are not to return to Earth under any circumstances!”

  “You expect it to get that bad?” asked Steve, looking at President Kateland.

  “Yes,” President Kateland replied, her eyes focusing intently on the two of them. “Probably not at first, but it will later. Effective immediately, you two are now
the permanent commanders of your respective facilities. No one may remove you from command. Do you both understand that?”

  “Yes,” Steve and Mase answered in unison.

  “There undoubtedly will be attempts to do just that,” Vice President Edwards spoke, his eyes looking at Mase and then at Steve. “You are not to allow that to happen. You are to do whatever is necessary to secure and defend your respective commands.”

  “I will ensure you have what you will need to protect your commands from attack,” General Karver added. “I will be getting back with both of you later on those details.”

  The group was silent, lost in thought. Hearing the words spoken only reinforced the gravity of the situation. Tim McPhryson rose and handed Steve and Mase several small cases containing computer disks.

  “These disks contain in detail what we think is going to happen. The predicted stresses that the Earth will face and the consequences are there, as well as what the Moon and Star One can expect as the neutron star comes closer. They also contain several courses of action obtained through the Super Crays. You both need to go over this data with your people and prepare accordingly. Anything you need will be furnished, if possible. The entire shuttle fleet will be at your disposal for the duration of this emergency. Any supplies or equipment you think you may need, we will see that you get them.”

  “We also have four additional shuttles that are currently under construction,” Jane Kinsey spoke. “We are speeding up their construction schedule, and they should be available for use in two more months.”

  Mase and Steve took the computer disks, both deep in thought. They were still in shock over the president’s revelations. They had known the situation was serious, but they hadn’t realized just how bad it was going to get. Both had believed that there would be some survivors on Earth. Now they knew there might be no one. The future had suddenly taken a very dismal and foreboding turn. They would both have a lot of work to do when they returned home. The survival of the human race had just been placed squarely upon their shoulders.