The Contact Episode One

by Albert Sartison

THE CONTACT

  episode one

  by

  Albert Sartison

  Copyright 2013 Albert Sartison

  1.12

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  ALSO BY ALBERT SARTISON

  Beyond the Event Horizon

  Fundamental Force

  *

  The Storm

  *

  Entangled

  Contents

  Prologue

  Error

  Something about the stars

  Night

  The Doppler Effect

  What is to be done?

  At the Space Force base

  Project: Dawn

  Contact

  "Our nature consists in movement;

  absolute rest is death."

  Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662)

  Prologue

  The spacecraft reaches Mercury at the intended time and begins sending signals to determine the precise orbit of the planet. The experiment begins that evening. A command is sent to increase the speed of Mercury from the Experiment Control Centre at the moon base. Three hours later, the International Space Station, scientists at the moon station and also many other groups of scientists on Earth, register an increase in the diameter of Mercury's orbit round the Sun by two percent. Once the experiment is over, Mercury's orbit is slowed down to its previous level.

  Soon after, a Chilean observatory observes a space object moving from outer space which could potentially collide with Earth. Precise calculations of its flight trajectory are not yet possible because it is so far away, and the orbital telescopes, even those in orbit round the gas giants, are currently being used in support of an experiment testing remote manipulation technology. In view of the low speed of the object, the time for it to reach the Earth's orbit is estimated as hundreds of years, so a low priority is given to clarifying its trajectory. Nevertheless, the instruction is entered into the central computer for a second observation of the object a week later, to confirm the low priority status.

  At the next observation session, the object is not detected. The telescope control system probes the space sectors in the region of the assumed location. The unidentified space body is eventually detected, but its actual position differs greatly from that initially assumed. Following its programmed instructions, the telescope computer corrects the calculation data and raises the priority for finally calculating the trajectory. The third observation session is appointed for 24 hours later.

  The third observation session reveals an even greater calculation error. The Chilean telescope's automatic control system has to notify the scientific personnel...

  Error

  With his dirty trainers up on the table, Steve, a final year astrophysics student working as a junior scientific assistant at the observatory in his spare time, was fast asleep. A relay suddenly clicked, switching on the display of the main monitor, shining a broad ray of bright light oppressively on the sleeping Steve. He half-opened one eye and sleepily looked at the message:

  UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT FOUND.

  MAY COLLIDE WITH INNER PLANETS.

  IMPOSSIBLE TO CALCULATE ITS TRAJECTORY.

  In a hoarse voice (due to an excess of cold beer and loud serenades last night), Steve commanded:

  "Give additional information."

  Columns of figures floated onto the screen. His head was working slowly, but his gaze automatically picked up the main information: the size of the object, the parameters of its motion, its brightness...

  "So what's the problem?" thought Steve.

  He got up and went to pour himself a coffee. Opening the kitchen cupboard door, he discovered, with astonishment, that there was an amulet on his right wrist. It took a full minute for him to recall what had happened after he left the student pub "Minus Alpha" with his friends. They had been to a party there, nothing had come of it. He scratched the back of his neck, fetched a mug, filled it from the percolator and went back to his place.

  The main screen was still filled with information about the strange object from the depths of the Universe. Steve sat down, took a gulp of coffee and grimaced, pushing the mug away, and began quickly leafing through the contents of the log file.

  First observation more than a week ago. Trajectory... Speed... Direction... Second observation. Trajectory... Speed... Direction... Error correction... Speed correction factor twenty three and five? Somewhat high. Third observation, error correction factor seventy eight?

  "Well, that's way too much," Steve thought.

  He reached out for the mug, picked it up, but remembering how vile the contents had tasted, put it back. He had finally woken up.

  Speed estimate error of seventy-eight-fold, why so great? The telescope had never made an error before at distances like that. When they measured Mercury's orbit a fortnight ago, it was accurate to within one hundredth of a permille. But here... Yes, the object was at the edge of the Solar System, but...

  Steve started the orbit simulator. The simulation program opened where it had ended last time - on "advanced collision model". Steve, sitting at the computer, rolled up his eyes and sighed. 'ADVANCED COLLISION MODEL', what sort of an idiot would call his degree thesis that? The ACM was the brainchild of Clive, one of his fellow students on the same course, and probably the most famous nerd in the whole space science faculty. Steve remembered him from his very first days at the university. The first-year students, still wet behind the ears, gathered in the lecture hall and were given instructions by the entire teaching staff, including the Dean of the faculty. The Dean's speech was interrupted by Clive raising his hand. The Dean, Mr. Shelby, well respected by the students for his informal and honest manner, broke off his speech, smiled and asked Clive what he wanted to know. Clive stood up, coughed, quoted a passage from the work of some theoretical astrophysicist and asked Shelby what he thought of it. The grey-haired old man looked round the new students and his colleagues, and then turned back to Clive, who was waiting in silence.

  "Very interesting work," replied Shelby, still smiling. "One of our research groups is studying this question. Ask Dr. Kubinski, he will be glad to answer all your questions."

  Clive, as cool as a cucumber, wrote down the group leader's name, thanked Shelby and sat down.

  Steve, observing from the sidelines, thought Clive's behaviour was contrived. He thought at that time that he was just showing off to an audience. But over the past few years, having come to know him better, Steve realised that this was not a game. It was in Clive's nature, he really was like that: rather inept in social relations, but a truly gifted person as far as science was concerned.

  Steve's thoughts returned to the computer. He selected "Solar System". With its usual deftness, the computer simulated the Sun and the planets. He added the strange object, clarified its parameters and started the simulation. If the speed of the object was the same as for the previous measurement, the object should not be anywhere near where it actually was. Could the computer be in error again? Steve commanded:

  "Assume object acceleration."

  The computer altered the parameters of motion of the object and assumed that the object was moving at a constant acceleration.

  "Find acceleration value."

  If it was assumed that the object was accelerating, the trajectory anomaly disappeared. That was fine, but this object was not any kind of spacecraft. How could an object of natural origin accelerate so far from high-mass celestial bodies
?

  So. What could accelerate this object? Ejection of material? Highly unlikely, that could not impart so much force. Judging from its trajectory, it was flying in from outer space, from the direction of the Omega Nebula. The distance - Steve looked it up in the catalogue of celestial bodies - was about five thousand light years. He looked at his reflection in the switched-off monitor to his right and carried on thinking, "The body really is increasing its speed. It doesn't appear to be an artificial object, though that will have to be checked."

  He waved a finger, and the virtual problem icon appeared on the main monitor. Steve, now under the spell of scientific curiosity, commanded:

  "Try to identify object as human made artefact. Go."

  "Failed to identify object as human made artefact."

  Steve looked inquiringly at his reflection on the black display on the right. The reflection declined to comment. Steve absentmindedly took a gulp of coffee and immediately spat it out.

  "Ugh, that's vile!"

  He tipped the coffee into Clive's flower vase. The guy would be annoyed, but there was no time to think about that right now. Steve ordered the computer to check if any lost spacecraft could be on the course of the strange object. Taking account of fuel reserve and engine thrust, several craft were theoretically able to carry out the necessary manoeuvre and come onto such a course. Yes, but why? And how?

  Four lost craft had the required fuel reserve: two of them were transports, completely automatic interplanetary shuttles. One was used for delivering materials for construction work on Europa, a satellite of Jupiter. The other was transporting fuel. They had both been lost in the vicinity of Mars. Assuming that they had begun this strange manoeuvre at once, there would theoretically have been time for them to become this strange intruder from space. The third lost spacecraft had people on board - a group of tourists, making a tour round the gas giants. The ship entered the shadow of Saturn and was never seen again. Unfortunately, communication with this spacecraft was impossible, because all the communication satellites in orbit round Saturn were out of radio visibility at the time. The fourth spacecraft was a military one. It had been on a routine patrol in the space between the inner and outer planets. All of a sudden it extinguished its position beacons, after which it too was never seen again.

  Naturally, they were searched for. The transport shuttles were half-heartedly sought for the insurance companies, and soon written off. A long time was spent searching for the tourists, although anyone who had worked in the space industry realised that it was a hopeless case. Civilian ships have numerous position beacons. If a ship had come out from Saturn's radio shadow, it would have been recorded at once by the Interplanetary Flight Coordination Centre. But this did not happen. The last pulse had been sent from one of its beacons minutes before it entered the shadow. Its course was known. After a little over three hours, the tracking computer sounded the alarm. Immediately on receiving the signal, the communication satellites were moved into position to probe the space close to the planet in the radio shadow region. But the ship was not found. It could not have emerged without being noticed, therefore it must have fallen onto the gas giant. As for the military patrol vessel, it was virtually impossible to find it without position beacons. Anyway, the search and rescue function was the responsibility of the military, who were well known for saying as little as possible.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the wall clock, which beeped briefly, marking the beginning of a new hour. Steve lifted his eyes to the wall, then looked down at his watch, sighed and switched the computer off. It was already getting dark, the Sun was slowly sinking. It was time to go home and make up for the hours of sleep he had lost in the night-time party.

  Steve got up, screwing up his left eye a little because of his