Aupes

by Les Broad

CHAPTER 4

  Sarah Gifford stood alone on her hill a mile away. She hadn't moved for over ninety minutes apart from checking her watch frequently. But now she thought she could see wisps of smoke and escaping gas from KonTiki. She couldn't be sure.

  In theory, when the four takeoff engines lit up the vehicle should rise vertically, accelerating slowly. Then the thrust should begin to take it away to the East where it should eventually disappear. Why was it taking so long? There was less than an hour of the window left. Was there a problem? Should she go back and help? Still she remained rooted to the spot, not knowing what was happening inside the squat ugly machine a mile away. She realised that the uncertainty she felt now would be with her for the rest of her life.

  Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loudest noise Sarah had ever heard. Four launch engines fired simultaneously, exactly as they should. KonTiki sat motionless for two agonisingly long seconds, its outline becoming slightly hazy with the vibration, or exhaust heat, or both. Then it started to lift, so very slowly, vertically into the cold air. The ground shook as the engines blasted their thrust groundwards and the vehicle's vertical progress could be measured through the soles of Sarah's feet. She realised she was tilting her head back to watch its progress, then it turned slowly eastwards, the noise painfully, ear-splittingly loud. Still it rose, now accelerating and climbing with the colossal power. Sarah watched it drawing ever further away, shrinking faster and faster until she could no longer see or hear it.

  She still didn't move. It looked like a successful launch, but if they came down now they would be in central Asia. They'd be dead from the poison almost as soon as they opened the hatches, if the landing didn't kill them. Sarah would never know. She sighed, then turned towards her transport. Now she had to tell the rest, the overwhelming majority, of the community where these 180 people had disappeared to. She was not looking forward to the task.

  The takeoff noise on board KonTiki had been much less, perhaps mildly uncomfortable at worst. Bryn and his team had designed it to be so, but what he found to be more troubling was his pulse rate. It had jumped up when the engines fired and made another leap upwards when the vehicle eased into the air. It had slowed a little as they turned eastwards, gaining height and speed exactly as programmed although Bryn felt that it all seemed way too slow. Nikki's command chair was the only one which had a view out of the six inch thick Bridge observation port, but she had her eyes closed and didn't see the clouds beginning to rush past.

  As they climbed KonTiki began to buck, roll and lurch with the effects of wind and pressure variations. The vibrations were severe all the way up and as long minutes crept by everyone on board was being bruised by their own straps, and intensely shaken. Through blurred vision and with hands over which she seemed to have little control Alison Scrivener coded in the artificial gravity which slowly began to take over from Earth's gravity as KonTiki inexorably rose through the atmosphere. The sky visible through the observation port darkened slowly, watched by Nikki, eyes now open, as she fought to hold on to the idea that she was leaving Earth, never to return.

  Her emotions were in turmoil and she was glad that for the time being everyone aboard was strapped in place and conversation was impossible. The sensation of unreality that she felt was perhaps reduced by the artificial gravity system - at least she didn't have to cope with weightlessness as well as everything else - and the absence of the bulky spacesuits that twentieth century astronauts had been compelled to wear. Apart from the muffled roar from the launch engines and the feeling of being in a badly designed bathroom (mentally she asked Bryn to forgive the thought, but she'd had it since she first saw the Bridge months before) the only thing that suggested the enormity and finality of the mission was the view out. No-one else could see it, so maybe adjustment would come slowly and she would not be faced with large numbers of people panicking at what they had undertaken. As she considered her own reactions to being on the fringes of space the vehicle had smoothed out and the ride was becoming comfortable even if it was still noisy. The first hour was nearly over.

  Bryn Jenkins had no time to think about his emotions. From his seat close to Nikki's left foot he monitored the performance as little by little the Earth's gravitational effects were cast off. The computers were telling him, just as he'd expected, that there were just a few minutes now before the launch engines could be downpowered, leaving KonTiki in a safe high orbit, travelling at almost seven miles per second. He watched the time tick slowly away, occasionally rubbing his eyes. He had realised that he was tired as the vehicle had been climbing, and that perhaps he should have listened more closely to those who had been telling him to rest more over the last few weeks on Earth. He told himself that once he'd got the deep space propulsion units on line and they were clear of the solar system, in interstellar space, he'd have the best part of 39 months to rest. Right now he had to concentrate on the computers to ensure that the launch engines cut out at the right time. The longer they fired now, the less time he'd have to land them when they arrived on the new planet. Still the computers counted down, now in the last minute, now in the last few seconds. Suddenly all was smooth and deathly quiet as the four engines downpowered together and KonTiki sped round Earth in its predetermined high orbit. Bryn's pulse rate was down to a more or less normal level.

  "Commander," Bryn said in his flat emotionless tone, "we are in orbit. Launch engines are off line and in forty five minutes we can, on your order, engage deep space propulsion to take us out of Earth orbit." He'd rehearsed this speech a few times and it came out, he thought, rather well.

  Louise Ryan, the navigator, confirmed that Bryn's timings coincided with her own. Nikki gazed out through the small port at the vast emptiness of space, still unsure how she felt at being here.

  "Thank you," she said, “that was a nice ride, Bryn, better than I thought. Any problems down there?"

  “None at all. Louise?"

  “No, Chief, spot on track. Hit the exit point and we can't miss."

  "So far so good, then." Nikki sounded pleased. "Anyone care to comment on how they feel to be up here?"

  "Relieved." Bryn's comment was heartfelt.

  "And excited. I never thought I see it happen but we did it."

  "We've done it so far, Louise. There's a way to go yet. I'd better tell everyone else what's happening." Nikki switched her microphone on and called for attention.

  "We are successfully in orbit around the Earth," she paused while whoops, cheers and clapping briefly broke out. "We have thirty minutes before we leave orbit, so if anyone wants to stretch limbs now is the time to do it. We will have another period strapped down, but it will be a smooth acceleration to light speed plus, so Mr Jenkins assures me. I trust you all enjoyed the ride up, and will enjoy the rest of this little trip even more. The hard part's over. I'll let you all know when it's time to strap in again." The mike was flicked off. Bryn had heaved himself out of his seat and was peering out of the port. Louise was busy checking the navigation computations for the most critical part of her job, that of taking them out of orbit, and worked quietly by Nikki's right foot. Nikki let Bryn take the command chair as she wriggled out of the confines of the Bridge and into the relative spaciousness of the settlers' quarters. She tried to speak to as many people as she could, and particularly sought out Fiona Ormond, the vet, to ensure that their livestock had survived the trip through the atmosphere.

  "They're all there, but one or two look mildly confused. There's nothing at all to worry about, except for the smell. It's going to be worse than we thought unless they calm down a lot."

  "OK, Fiona. When will you be able to tell if we're going to have a problem?"

  "Give them a day or two to recover from the next acceleration, then they should settle. I'll keep you informed."

  "Great, Fiona, thanks." Nikki left the vet to her work and sought out the more senior of the two doctors aboard.

  "Christine," she said when she found Dr Christine Murr
ay, "any problems?"

  "None at all, Commander. You picked your people well. Pete Webster and I have been through and seen everybody and the worst problem is that a lot of them are just too keen to get out into deep space!"

  "Fine, I'm not worried about enthusiasm, as long as it's still there when we land."

  "With these people it will be."

  "Thanks, Christine. Let me know if any problems develop."

  "Will do."

  Nikki clambered back onto the Bridge and stood, slightly crouched in the confined space, beside Bryn in her chair.

  "How long?" she asked.

  "Ten minutes or so, I think. Louise?"

  "Nine minutes fifty."

  "OK, let's get everybody strapped down again."” Bryn returned to his own seat as Nikki announced that everyone needed to be strapped in. Bryn linked his own engineering management computer to Louise's navigation system, transferring control of the deep space propulsion units to her. There was nothing more he could do.

  Louise sat watching the second countdown as they hurtled round the Earth. The screen showed eleven seconds to go and a faint humming started to build up, levelling out as the screen showed zero and started to count up. There was a gentle push, more sensed than felt, of bodies into seats. KonTiki, in a totally undramatic way, left its orbit exactly on time, accelerating at a pace that would have left a twentieth century astronaut speechless in amazement. Nikki watched stars outside become larger, turn into planets and rush past. She thought she recognised Saturn, but could have been mistaken. She didn't know how long the view had held her transfixed, but seemingly within only seconds a voice from somewhere near her right knee announced rather casually: "We are now free of the solar system, Commander, and are entering interstellar space. Course and speed are both exactly as predicted. We are on our way."

  Bryn's familiar voice came from somewhere near Nikki's left knee. "Just to add to what Louise has said, hull integrity appears to have remained at 100% and fuel usage on takeoff was within acceptable limits. You will be happy to know that we can land on any planet provided that its gravitational pull does not exceed 115% of Earth."

  "Thank you. We're looking good, it seems." Nikki flicked on the mike. "We have attained interstellar space, so you now have approximately 39 months before you will need to strap yourselves in for landing." There was a huge cheer, filling the vehicle, as Nikki flicked the mike off.

  Back on Earth Sarah Gifford had reported what she had seen to Marge Dorowitz, and that it seemed to have been successful. During her drive back from the launch site she had considered how best to tell several thousand people that the mission had been conceived, developed and launched in total secrecy and that 180 people were gone, never to be seen again. She finally decided that a radio announcement would be best since most people in the community listened constantly to the stream of announcements and occasional entertainment that it offered. Newspapers were non-existent and television had long ago been condemned as a waste of resources.

  Her broadcast was arranged quickly, and took place shortly after KonTiki entered interstellar space. Sarah, of course, could not be sure that it had done so, but for this purpose must assume that it had. She entered what passed for a studio with Marge for moral support and sat at the desk in front of a microphone. The daily summary of the extent of the poisoned atmosphere was nearing its end - Sarah heard that whilst the community's efforts were containing the spread over land it was spreading a little faster now over water. It was not good news.

  A light flashed on to tell her she could begin. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she needed to deal with the subject right now.

  "This is Sarah Gifford and I have a special announcement to make. A lot of you will have noticed recently that a small group of people have been assigned to a special project. No doubt you will have wondered what it was. I am sorry that this has been conducted in such a clandestine way, but it was done on my orders and mine alone.

  "A little over two years ago a small group made up of myself and three others set out to investigate whether there may be somewhere that we could go to be safer than we are here. We all know that life will begin to be untenable in five years and that, despite all the magnificent efforts and scientific brilliance - and I use the term advisedly - brought to bear on the problem, in ten years there will be no life at all on Earth.

  "The conclusion reached was that my original suggestion to the group should be acted on. As a result a small team of engineers were assigned to the project, which was based at a site a hundred miles north of here. In recent months the full complement of people was identified and those people were reassigned and trained. The project has been successfully completed.

  "I have to tell you that in deciding to conduct this project at a distance from here and in secrecy I bore in mind the effect on those not involved of knowing that a group were being given the opportunity of permanent survival. Perhaps I misjudged the community, but I was not prepared to risk any disruption to the smooth running of the community or any disputes and resentments. Only one hundred and eighty people have been given this opportunity and we simply do not have the resources now to repeat it."

  Sarah paused and looked at Marge for reassurance. She nodded and smiled, whilst the radio engineer, who was the only other person Sarah could see, merely looked interested.

  "My purpose in speaking to you is to tell you that, earlier today, those one hundred and eighty people left this planet aboard a deep space vehicle constructed for the purpose. We have no way of contacting them, but if all has gone as planned they are now deep within the outer reaches of the solar system, about to enter interstellar space. They have embarked on a journey predicted to last well over three years, their destination being a planet similar to our own, orbiting a star on the outer edge of the Milky Way. I hope you all join with me in wishing them speed and safety on their journey and security in their new home. Perhaps one day their descendants may return to Earth and treat it with more respect than did their ancestors. Thank you."

  As a result of Sarah's broadcast there were minor disruptive incidents over the next few days, but the impact of the news was generally good. It seemed that people believed, despite Sarah's assertion to the contrary, that if it could be done once it might be done again. Some people even held as fact that a second interstellar vehicle was being constructed. Morale amongst those left behind, instead of lowering dramatically as Sarah had feared, rose quite noticeably throughout the weeks and months following the departure of KonTiki. Even the accelerating spread of the poison and the regular losses of volunteer environmental control teams didn't have the usual dampening effect.

  The only person, it seemed, not cheered by the news was Sarah herself. Apart from Marge Dorowitz, everyone who had been her close friend was aboard KonTiki on merit. Bryn Jenkins, the man she would have married had either of them ever found the time, Christine Murray and of course Nikki Weaver had all gone. They might be dead or they might be hurtling across empty space; there was no way of knowing. All Sarah felt, after two years of concentration on the project, was a huge sense of loss.