Starship Genesis

by Linda M. Miller

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Alright. I’ve got to go now. Love you!”

  “Love you too, Matt.” she says.

  We board the plane. Talon shows Korban and Cassie how to secure their seat belts. Unfortunately, Cassie has had to give up the Yorkie because someone from Peru has claimed it from the crash as their property. Cassie tearfully surrendered the dog.

  “I’ve been thinking of what we can do on the plane to keep from getting bored. So I came up with this book of objects to teach both of you some of the English language.”

  I sit in between them with Talon on the far end. I open the pages.

  “Korban, Cassie, your instruction begins now. Remove your translator devices and let’s practice.”

  They both remove their ear pieces. The first picture is of an airplane. I point to the picture and say, “Airplane.” They both say “Airplane.”

  I turn the page. I show the picture, and say. “Girl”.

  “Girl,” they say.

  I point to the opposite page and say, “Boy.”

  “Boy,” they both answer.

  They go through the entire book and then I quiz them. They get some right and they get some wrong.

  By the time we make it to Panama, they have successfully named every object in the book. “Not bad,” I think. “The next leg of the flight I will teach you the alphabet and numbers.”

  We get out in Panama and stretch our legs while the plane is being refueled. Korban and Cassie enjoy looking around and seeing modern conveniences, at least compared to ancient Peru. The weather is sunny and warm. Talon discovers the Officers Club and we go there to eat. It’s nice to buy sandwiches and drinks for everyone instead dining on MREs.

  By the time we make it to San Antonio, we have covered the alphabet and numbers. The next step will be teaching them how to read.

  I give them a learning break in San Antonio and let them take in the scenery. They meet in a conference room at Lackland with a customs agent from State Department.

  “Do you have secondary names?” She asks the couple.

  “Secondary names...? Oh! Yes! Our secondary name is Law’renth.” Korban answers.

  “Oh cool. That sounds Nordic! I like it! Can you spell that please?”

  “Well, we are not familiar with your language to spell it. Maybe you could help us?” Korban adds.

  She types it in and prints out some documents.

  “These are social security cards,” the agent tells them. “Cassie, this is yours. Korban, this is yours. They are for your identification. They are government issued only and you do not want to lose them or share them with anyone except a bank that holds your money or something like that.”

  She also gives Korban a wallet to keep it in. The wallet is filled with cash. Then she gives a purse and wallet to Cassie.

  “These are your birth certificates. Of course, you know they’re not real. But the government requires birth certificates for so many things, we just made them up for you. You don’t want to carry them around. Just keep them in a safe place for future reference.”

  “These are driver’s licenses, even though neither of you can drive yet, you can’t go anywhere or do anything in this world without them. Matt and Talon can teach you how to drive a car.”

  “Next, these are your passports. You want to keep them locked up in a safe. They are for crossing borders into other countries. You may need to return to Peru for the project at any given time. So be prepared and keep these handy.”

  “This is a new start for you both, so you can travel here in the country and abroad.”

  “Finally, these are your airplane tickets to D.C. tomorrow. The Airport Security will ask you for your driver’s licenses to prove you are the same person on the ticket. Remember that.”

  “And I have another surprise for both of you. Matt got your sizes for me, and I took the liberty of buying some clothing to get you started. Just a few things. I know you’ll want to shop and pick your own going forward. But you needed something. I folded them up and put them in your luggage. So when you go to the hotel tonight, you can have a fashion show.”

  Korban and Cassie thank her and give her a huge embrace. Talon and I catch up to them again. I order a cab and take them to a nice restaurant for the evening.

  “Talon, how did you manage starting over here the way you did? I mean, you had no license, no birth certificate. Nothing.” I ask.

  “Amnesia.” He says. “When I couldn’t answer anyone’s questions, everyone thought I had amnesia. I was diagnosed and Mark helped me get started all over again. The only thing I could tell them about was Deonna, my wife who got killed. So they treated me like a medical case. In time, when I learned I needed these things, I was able to create them.”

  “Brilliant.” I reply. “I guess we all have a lot to teach each other, I think.” That night we all stay at the Hilton Airport Hotel. Korban and Cassie are thrilled with the room and bed. Talon demonstrates the television.

  “You’ll find listening to the chatter very educational,” Talon tells them. Then he explains the term fiction and informs them that most of the shows or movies are only make believe for entertainment. “But nothing like the 3-D we are accustomed to. By the way, Cassie, I still have your log stashed away if you ever want it back,” he adds. “It’s getting late. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  The next morning we take a cab to San Antonio International Airport. There is the usual hustle bustle with check-in. Our luggage is all carry-on, fortunately.

  I carefully tutor them on what to expect at security so that neither are offended or confused. I go ahead of them and Talon follows. As a result, check-in goes smoothly. All four of us are flying first-class. Korban is a tall man and the leg room will afford him a little rest. A first-class ticket includes breakfast. Cassie enjoys sitting by the window and looking out as Korban relaxes and closes his eyes. Talon and I do the same.

  The flight attendant gives out the usual drinks and snacks, and the movie is Captain America, Civil War. It’s hard for Korban and Cassie to follow since they haven’t seen the first few movies.

  The flight finally ends at Dulles to our relief. We head for the arrivals area on the concourse where Kim is waiting for us in her Cadillac SUV. It’s snowing outside. We head out of the airport and back up into Potomac, Maryland.

  WHAT TO DO WITH A TIME PORTAL:

  MARK’S DECISION

  Ray, the Away Team and I meet with supporting personnel to discuss the findings of our first trip through the portal.

  “Let’s get started, everyone. I want to discuss the time delay of the portal this morning. Let’s start with Cliff. Cliff, read us the log.”

  “Right. 14 personnel went through the gate and each completely disappeared as expected. The time was 17:30 hours. The goal was for the Away Team to keep track of their time on the other side of the portal and return to base in exactly one hour. However, the discovery of our alien friends probably lengthened that stay. On this side as far as our log is concerned, the Away Team was gone for four hours.”

  Everyone starts talking among themselves. The three hour delay was not expected.

  “Everyone,” I speak up. “Let’s continue with the analysis. The Away Team’s watches were synchronized, so each person should have an accounting of the length of time they spent on the other side. Let’s go down the list by names. From my watch, I was gone one hour and 20 minutes. We didn’t all come back through at the same time; so I expect everyone’s to be a little different. Ray?”

  Ray responds, “One hour 15 minutes.”

  “Peter?”

  Peter responds, “One hour, 22 minutes.”

  “Dwayne?”

  Dwayne responds, “One hour 18 minutes.”

  Mark continues. “Our Away Team each averaged an away period of approximately one-hour 25 minutes, with a delay entry on this side of approximately three hours and 30 minutes. Let’s discuss this as far as practicality for future investigation,” I continue.


  “Although three hours doesn’t seem like a time period to be concerned about on this side,” Cliff begins, “it is a conflict if our people wanted to do a long-term stay of as little as one-day. The odds are three to one that a one day exploration could turn into a three-day exploration on this side of the portal.”

  “Why is that a concern, Cliff?”

  “I have gathered from the conversations of Talon, Korban, and Cassie that we cannot guarantee the portal re-entry time is going to stabilize.”

  “Fact: They arrived shortly after Adam and Eve, and upon crashing moved ahead thousands of years.”

  “Fact: They escaped to the cave and eventually moved off the mountain for a warmer climate. But later, Talon said he moved to another continent from this side of the portal. Remember, he said they originally only saw one continent when they arrived on the planet.

  That’s another advancement of at least one thousand years. And they mentioned 300 years after the flood. So dating back to biblical times, folks, we’re talking about their next gap being another 3,500 years.”

  “The portal is unstable. And I expect that because it was created purely by accident, there’s no way it is going to work for our use unless we can stabilize it somehow. The big question really is this: Is there a way we can stabilize and control this portal for practical use?”

  Dr. Martin speaks up. “Well, Mark, the question you should be asking is what’s causing the blue spectrum or time portal?”

  “Fair enough,” I answer. “And...?”

  “We assess the engine is still good on the ship. In fact, it’s not your usual engine in that it has no moving parts. We all know the Genesis had to be propelled through space like any other rocket would to get here. The only way that thing could possibly go anywhere is to somehow fold or pass through space. And maybe they used worm holes as well. Hard to say. That’s probably why on the ground it acts like a time portal.”

  “So how would you stabilize it,” I ask.

  “We may be able to stabilize the portal using the broadband spectrum analyzer. We need to interface it with the engine or that bluish haze. We could use a broadband antenna using only sub-light frequency harmonics to test it. There’s no guarantee, but it might work, and it might give us a way to shift through time.”

  “Wonderful. Go ahead and run those tests at your leisure after this meeting. We need to establish those capabilities as soon as possible. That leads us to Phase 3 as far as the ship goes. We are guests of the Peruvian Government. We do not want to leave that ship to them or anyone else. Let’s open up discussion on relocating the ship to a suitable testing ground.”

  I continue. “Fact: You said earlier the ship is dead, but the engine is good and a few generators still function. Can we remove the ship in sections? Secondly, the engine looks pretty large to me. What is it going to take to relocate that section of it?”

  Dr. Martin again responds. “Most of the ship can be divided up into sections as long as we do not interfere with the generators. There’s a lot to salvage there still. We basically want the whole ship. I recommend we leave the engine intact and remove that part of the ship as a whole so that we don’t damage it. So ground and all gets removed with it.”

  Ray adds, “That means we’ll have to raise the ship one section at a time with some of the ground around it and under it. Then we’ll lower it and package the top and around it. That’s going to require two cranes to do that.”

  “That sounds excellent.” I comment. “We’ll order the cranes up here as soon as possible. Now we’re getting somewhere. Who is going to specialize in sectioning the ship? Dr. Martin?”

  “My assistants and I can handle that. We’ll need a few grinders.”

  “So we need materials to build crates, two cranes, and four grinders. We already have those down at the main camp. We’ll get those up here right away.” I continue.

  “Phase 4: We have a responsibility to the Peruvian Government to recover the crash that occurred earlier in our operation. Let’s talk about the small plane that crashed. The recovery is actually an opportunity for us in as much as we can shift the Peruvian Government’s attention to the plane crash and make it look like nothing else as far as recovery has occurred. In fact, we’ll haul it out in sections simultaneously with two V-22’s and they won’t know the difference. Team No. 1 will bring down the jet. Team 2 will bring down the starship.”

  “Finally, Phase 5 deals with the removal of any of the stones as well as killing off the ice wraiths and other damaging life forms that do not fit into this environment. The ice wraiths have to go. I’m open to suggestions on how to do that. I want my biologists to write up a plan on how we can accomplish this.” “It may be a long-term operation cleansing this area. It will require a very detailed search to make sure we get all of the stones, as well as eradicate the ice wraiths and any more Guygores. Fortunately, they seem to be limited to this area.”

  “I can tell you now, we’ve studied the stones for years. They’re completely unpredictable. I don’t know if it’s possible. But I recommend we collect all that we can find, and destroy them. They look like an alien project that has gone bad. We’ll probably need Korban and Talon’s assistance on where they were placed to do that. That is a long-term project as well and will have its own phases.

  “Any questions?”

  “How much longer are the Peruvian’s going to let us occupy the area?” Ray asks.

  “We have a six month window at the moment. If we have to extend, I need to know as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, Dwayne?”

  “Where are we going to move the ship to?”

  “Right now, it’s projected to go to New Mexico. But I’m trying to get it moved to Bowie, Maryland.” I explain. “Now that we have our alien friends, I think that’s going to justify the Bowie location.”

  “Alright, if we’ve covered everything, let’s go set up tests for the portal.”

  Everyone takes an hour break while Dr. Martin and his assistants set up the broadband spectrum analyzer inside the ship. Space is a little tight as far as people.

  “We’re ready.” Martin turns to the security guard. “I’m going to have to ask you to move away from your post for this test.” The guard has no problem with moving.

  “Ready, Mark?”

  “Approved,” I answer.

  “Let’s see if we can interface with the bluish haze.” He turns on the broadband antenna using only sub-light frequency harmonics and inserts the antenna into the portal to test it.”

  As soon as it’s inserted into the blue haze, the antenna starts to act as a tuner. He changes frequencies and the gate starts showing what is on the other side of the gate instead of the ship.

  Everyone cheers and claps. “The antenna has successfully shifted the gate through time!”

  “Congratulations, Dr. Martin! Brilliant! Look. I know we’re all excited. But we still have to keep a guard posted at this gate at all times. You never know what’s coming through. We’ll be able to see it coming now, at least.”

  “Mark,” Ray speaks up. “We have no way of turning that engine off during transport. What if something comes through the gate while the engine is in flight?”

  “Good question. Looks like we’ll have to build a bigger package around it to accommodate guards.” I answer. “Any volunteers for guard duty? I’ll add some great perks to those who want to go with the portal.”

  Four volunteer for duty.

  “Great. And let’s add a door to that. Shall we? Let’s get those cranes, grinders and packaging up here.” I add.

  “One more thing about exploring the other side of the gate,” Mark. “You’ll only be able to explore the areas around the gate’s location. You realize that, don’t you?” Dr. Martin asks.

  “Meaning?” I ask.

  “You can’t take a plane through that gate if you want to go somewhere around the world in another time. The portal is too small.”

  “Okay. Fair enough. Maybe we can s
end a small drone through it along with a camera. Will that work?”

  Martin replies. “We could probably make it look invisible as well.”

  AT HOME WITH MATT AND KIM

  Kim is driving us home from the airport. Talon left separately, since he had parked in the long-term parking lot.

  “I will never miss walking and hiking again.” Cassie remarks. “Nor I.” Korban states.

  “I imagine it has been quite difficult for you both, having been all over the galaxy. Tell us. Do we seem primitive to you?”

  “Matt, we have had to make our own dishes, pottery, clothing, houses, water canals. If we never have to do that again, we’ll be satisfied,” Korban states, “and it’s nice to have decent transportation. Especially in seasonal weather changes.”