by Hylton Smith
Sophie visibly paled, and the tears began to flow. Yet she nodded acceptance of Elise’s decision. They hugged and promised each other that they would try to enjoy the extra time they would be able to spend together, wherever that was.
Geraldine returned with the coffee and was relieved that there was no serious acrimony to overcome. Then she announced that she would only come to Guiana on special occasions. Eugene made his farewells as he headed off to see Julien, wondering what all the fuss was about. He couldn’t quite synchronise the plight of his family with the prospect of all their lives being truncated in 2039.
*
The asteroid was making its way smoothly through space, until the cuckoo embedded from crossing paths with the comet split into two almost equal parts. Remarkably, they both clung on to their new mother, and this critical struggle was totally unobserved from Earth.
*
The relief brought about by not having to go EVA was replaced by impatience. Mission control was being obstinate according to Captain Muller. He wanted to hear that Julien Delacroix had not only found the false propulsion data was of Earth origin, but that he had corrected the fault. Brandt asked if he should intervene. Surprisingly, Muller said, “I would appreciate that. Delacroix seems to be immune to my messages, telling him that we have to consider aborting the mission if he doesn’t have absolute confidence in the control system.”
“Very well, I shall ask him to give me an update within the hour.”
Brandt went to see Hans Back, reminding himself that any standard communication could be seen by this man, so he decided against the protected zip file approach. It wasn’t the kind of message in which he wanted the content or the tone to be disguised.
It read, ‘Julien, there is a lot of apprehension on Kepler because you haven’t been able to let us know you have eradicated the fault in your system. Muller is even contemplating abandoning the mission. I would have to defer to him if there is an ongoing safety issue. Please send me an up-to-date analysis with the utmost urgency. Apparently, if we find we have to burn a lot of fuel after we reach the maximum value in the planned velocity curve, it could consume any reserves we have. There may not then be sufficient to return to Earth. Honesty is critical in this context. If you cannot be certain that you have one hundred percent confidence in your equipment you must say so. Brandt.’
He thanked Hans Back and left to speak with Kenji. Brandt smiled as Hiro hadn’t seen him approaching and was belting out a refrain, normally sung by a ‘hero’ of his own, albeit with some changes to the lyrics.
“This is ground control to Major Arse, we’re going to die in a tin can…oh sorry, sir, I didn’t mean… it is just my…”
“Yes, I see. But who is Major Arse?”
“I shouldn’t have been so disrespectful. It meant nothing.”
“Well, the more you protest, the more you seem to be hiding something. We are all in this together, or at least that’s how I look at it. Just tell me, it won’t go any further.”
“I never seem to learn, I should apologise to the captain. It is just his unpredictability. He is always changing his mind about what he wants me to do, it gets me down because it never makes any sense.”
“Right, well we all have our little foibles, Hiro. So, what are you doing now that frustrates you?”
“It is the life support controls, he said it was oxygen rich three hours ago, now he says he feels queasy. He wants it reset to where it was. I keep telling him it should be left on auto, but he is the boss.”
“That is strange, anyway, I just wanted to ask you what you make of the delay in getting a full explanation from mission control for the recent discrepancy in propulsion efficiency.”
“To be honest, sir, I never believed our units were underperforming. I know these babies, I even dream about them. Sad isn’t it? I always felt it was a software problem, and it is a relief that I was right, you know, it just happens to be down there. Captain Muller didn’t really have the same confidence in Kepler as myself.”
“Well, let me say, I do have the same faith as you do, and forget about your indiscretion - Captain Arse.”
*
Eugene contemplated exactly how far he could push the envelope in working for his father. He secretly believed that the research could be an umbrella for working on his sister’s problem. If progress was significant, he was prepared to forego the notion that she was merely unable to summon the tenacity required to fight periods of depression. He hoped he would discover the means to treat her schizophrenic tendency. He’d be delighted to admit he had been dismissive of the condition formally being denoted as an illness. He couldn’t wait to get started; fiddling around with the human genome. He seemed to have found his first true calling. Microbiology was a science, but this was more, a science with an acutely specific aim. It also had the pressure of a timescale, yet that in itself could be so irrelevant if his father couldn’t deliver a knockout punch to the asteroid. He contacted his mother by phone while he waited to see Julien, to make her aware of his moment of epiphany.
“Hi, Mum, I know how difficult it is for you and Dad, but we all have to do our own thing, whatever it takes, so we can enjoy the next few years. I’m confident in Dad’s ability to nullify the asteroid threat, but nobody can be certain. His offer to me to work with him has really motivated me to take a leap of faith and just get started. You know how sceptical I am about blind faith in anything, however, I want to help Sophie as much as I can. It’s a long shot I know, but I need to do something other than fixate on my own career. She’s been doing well recently, and this announcement you made about ‘a friend’ back in Lyon could destabilise her again. I don’t know why, but I have this compulsion to investigate a means of correcting her vulnerability to depression, some of which is triggered by concern for other people. I have to be honest, I’ve only seen this in her since she came to Guiana. But I have the notion that it might actually have its roots in her genetic makeup. I suppose I’ve also been guilty of grossly underestimating the sacrifices you always made for us, and Dad as well. So, it’s not too difficult to understand why you might want to spend the rest of your life back in France, I just hope you can visit the rest of us often enough to maintain a real family connection, 2039 will be here before we know it.”
Elise was caught off guard, this was almost a complete U-turn in her son’s ingrained scientific tendency to reduce every situation into logical argument, sidestepping any emotional issues.
“That’s a wonderful idea, son. I’m…I really am so pleased that you have the ability to even look into helping Sophie in this way. It does sound a bit scary to me, not being able to comprehend what is involved. Listen, I haven’t said I won’t ever consider… that I wouldn’t want to be with you all here in Guiana, I just need different things right now. I can’t promise anything, but what you have just told me is buzzing around in my head with all the other personal stuff I’m trying to sort out. I think I might… I’ll probably stay here a little while longer. I’ll speak to you soon. Love you, darling.”
Elise was unable hold back the tears. Her mind was in turmoil, she was emotionally shipwrecked.
*
Julien’s meeting with Kolorov wasn’t going well. He was beginning to regret taking in the Russian.
“Ivan, just back up a minute, will you? You’re telling me I don’t have to worry about the internal leaks any more, but where are the details? I’ve got Brandt and that hothead Muller demanding an explanation.”
“Julien, you recruited me to sort out all of the Mars problems. There are some things you are better off not knowing.”
“And you think I’m going to buy that? I recall your previous statement that some disgruntled ex-employees were responsible for the cyber-manipulation of our data, but no names were mentioned. You also said they were working with someone here in VB Aerospace, but again, no names. Start telling me who they are.”
“This is awkward for you, I know, but those who left the company and betrayed u
s have already been taken care of. That will flush out the internal traitor. It is how it works in Russia. Please don’t ask for information it is unwise to have.”
“For hell’s sake stop talking like we’re running the Mafia. By ‘taken care of’ you mean you have enough proof to begin legal proceedings?”
“No, come on, get a grip on reality. That would have taken months, there is no time for pissing about with lawyers.”
“Surely you don’t mean…”
“It is the only way in our situation. Look, there are people up there in Kepler, whose lives are at stake. And don’t think for a second that these bastards care a fig about our crew. Julien, these people are fucking terrorists, you cannot negotiate with them. It is done, there is no going back, and there is only one rat to flush out of our little maze here in Guiana. He or she will make a mistake pretty soon. It is more important to think about what to tell Brandt. There is still a serious risk aboard Kepler.”
Julien sat, head in hands, unable to take in the mess he had created by dealing with people like Kolorov, and even Brandt himself.
“What do you suggest, Ivan? I’m nothing but a blind man in this world of espionage.”
“I have given it a lot of thought and we still benefit from the advantage of the mole on Kepler being limited in communication options. This will not remain so for long, so we have to introduce some new redirect protocols immediately, to avoid the culprits becoming suspicious that their plot is unravelling. We have to keep Kepler safe for the present, and quickly find the traitor in Guiana. That will help in neutralising any rogue action by someone aboard the vessel. We have to take over the ‘deep throat’ role with Kepler until we know the identity of their contact person in our midst. That is the order of things, Julien. As far as Brandt is concerned, I recruited an expert to advise me on how we would deal with all kinds of hypothetical cyber-attacks. He was very helpful, and produced a report with details even I could not understand. So, if I have trouble with the jargon, I do not expect Muller or Brandt to question the report – especially as the section I modified is over twenty thousand words. They wanted detail, they will have it coming out of their arse.”
Chapter 16
While Muller and Kenji were poring through the plethora of complex data sent by Kolorov, they agreed that they were both technically deficient in structural software coding, and decided to ask Hans Back for his input.
Meanwhile, Kolorov had plumbed further into the depths of his contacts in Russia. He invited Alexei Bondarenko to visit Guiana and study the archives of the flight deck video screens. Julien hadn’t put up any resistance, although morally critical of such methods, he simply wanted the mission restored to default status, leaving the Cosmos itself as the only threat.
It took an overnight session for Bondarenko to finally recognise someone on Brandt’s screens. The woman in question appeared multiple times in several locations over a period of time. Bondarenko fastened on to this, it just didn’t fit with the fact that some of the locations were in organisations which were bitter competitors. He and Kolorov ran through the footage several times, and eventually they found the explanation. All of the suspicious sightings were subjected to facial recognition tests and the answer became clear. There were two different women who looked like twins, but not necessarily identical twins. It was a step too far to believe this was merely coincidence.
“Good news,” said Kolorov, to Julien, “a stroke of luck. We have identified one of the persons we are looking for. Surprisingly, the first one Bondarenko recognised was captured on film in both NERO and Soyuz footage. But the facial recognition checks threw up a real curveball. This individual is a sibling, she has a twin who just happens to be on board Kepler. This makes our task much simpler, but still tricky, Julien. We can now neutralise the threat to the vessel pretty much immediately, and of course that is our main concern. When that happens, the traitor here in VB Aerospace has less leverage to wield. We can then confront this person, even if it reveals that we are not only aware of the threat, but on top of it. It also affords us the opportunity to beef up security on our control system as we deal with the traitor. Do you want to explain all of this to Brandt or would you like me to do it?”
“Ivan, I think you’ve earned the right to let Volker know you’re with us now. It might even make him more comfortable for the rest of the journey to Mars.”
“Ok, will do. It is always the little details which make up the full picture. And before you ask, Bondarenko will handle the other sibling, we will concentrate on the one aboard Kepler.”
*
Brandt remained calm when he received a communication from Julien. The message simply stated that all was well at last and the proof was in the details which were now being scrutinised by Hans Back. His closing remark however, produced a slight surge in Brandt’s heart rate.
‘I’ve been a bit cagey about this, but I can now reveal that the credit for finding the cause and correcting it, must go to Ivan Kolorov, and he will contact you shortly via our password protected zip file. He has a lot of technical stuff he needs to share with you. Safe onward journey,
Julien.’
*
Feeling a lot more relaxed, Julien informed Kolorov that the way was clear for him to contact Brandt.
“Now it’s all set up, tell me who this ‘terrorist’ is, and show me the proof.”
A couple of stills from the flight deck were placed on the desk. Julien found it hard to believe. He recognised Nina Knudsen. He glanced at each image several times before he spoke.
“Ivan, this can’t be…”
“Turn them over.”
One had the name, location, time, and personal details of Nina Knudsen, and the background was the astronaut training centre right there in Guiana. The other was in Soyuz HQ, and the name was displayed as Greta Beria, maiden name Knudsen. More images were thrown on to the desk. Beria was depicted in NERO HQ, and again in Soyuz, but this time together with Nina. Julien slumped into a chair. Kolorov spoke calmly.
“There is a reasonable possibility that Brandt missed this connection, after all he was travelling all over the planet during these times, but we can’t yet rule out that he’d seen the women together. He would have had all of the crew seriously vetted, and it should have thrown up family stuff which would normally have attracted a red warning star.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. The door flew open and the Communications Director apologised for the intrusion. He addressed Julien directly.
“Sir, we’ve lost our link with Kepler. All interfaces are flat-lining. The fault isn’t at our end and…well, they must be in serious difficulty. It wasn’t a stuttering loss of contact, everything went dead in an instant. Can you authorise shifting one of the big radio telescopes to see if we can pick them up visually or by interpretation of noise from their last position?”
Both Julien and Kolorov leapt to their feet and accompanied the Communications Director to the asteroid monitoring wing. It took a few hours for the re-focussing to deliver the indisputable verdict. There was nothing but debris where Kepler should have been. The circus of dealing with the disaster would have to kick in soon, and at least temporarily supplant the personal grief of both Julien Delacroix and Ivan Kolorov. It was simply not possible to hold back on releasing the news, and then later having to submit to the onslaught of a media witch hunt.
Kolorov watched Julien mentally disintegrate in front of him.
“Hey, pull yourself together, man, I know this has happened on your watch but none of it was your fault. We have to get our announcement ready. It has to acknowledge the attempt to corrupt VB Aerospace operating protocols. Too many people here know and have worked on trying to find answers or to pretend it didn’t happen. But, Julien, whatever destroyed Kepler could be totally unconnected. An ion storm or a hail of small rocks, a fire, anything. It happened so quickly after you sent your last message to inform Brandt that I was going to contact him. There was no time for anyone on board Kepler t
o have sussed we had nailed the suspect. Well, maybe one. This guy Back, it is possible he has been able to open your zip files, but then again, there has been no mention to the crew of a possible suspect on the vessel. For now at least we should not make accusations which cannot be substantiated. Conclusions are pending further investigation. Come with me, my friend, we can do this together.”
Julien got slowly to his feet and trailed after Kolorov, shaking his head continuously. He was in no condition to make a cogent analysis of what Kolorov had just said. He suggested that he should outline the available evidence for the tragedy, and asked the Russian to cover the attempted cyber-attack.
*
The news was perceived differently in the apartheid world into which society had drifted. The judgement of VB Aerospace by the ‘haves’ was nothing less than scathing. Volker Brandt was seen as the posthumous artisan of the disaster, blatantly cutting corners to escape a world in the throes of social collapse; one which people like him had helped to create. From saviour to villain in the blinking of an eye, even portrayed by some journalists as a self-serving extremist, and cynically compared to odious dictators of the previous century.
Julien, although seen as a mere architect of Brandt’s obsession with setting foot on Mars, was pilloried for not standing up to the German on the decision to launch Kepler prematurely, and particularly compromising on issues of safety. The same vultures who eulogised VB Aerospace for their proactive drive to rescue the species from certain extinction were now blessed with the sagacity of hindsight. The company reputation was portrayed as being in ruins, and confidence in the asteroid deflection project was predicted to suffer as a result.
By contrast, the ‘have nots’ weren’t rushing to judgement. They remembered the honesty of Julien Delacroix when he let the entire population know of the duplicitous negligence generated by the Osaka conference. They smelled a rat in the water pipe; it was, in their mind, also clogged with sewage peddled by those who had most to gain from such a disaster. A steady increase in demand ensued for Julien to be given time to be more explicit on the entire situation. The fact that Kolorov alone had handled the allegations of cyber-conspiracy, and Julien had confined his remarks to the disaster in space, added fuel to the existing suspicion of some kind of cover up, but by whom? One which would simply refuse to go away.