“I know, Christy,” Steve replied with a heavy sigh. “It’s just very hard to believe that she and the others are really gone. It’s just like Ty; for all we know the FarQuest could have been destroyed in the wormhole. We may be attempting something that can’t be done. What if we are only taking everyone to a quicker death?”
“We don’t know that, Steve,” Christy replied. “I believe that Ty and his crew are waiting for us. I believe that we will make it safely through the wormhole. We have to!”
“I hope you’re right, Christy,” Steve said.
He knew that he had been shaken by the disaster, so similar to the other one. Looking around the room, he saw that everyone had returned to their jobs, even though he could see tears in several of the women’s eyes. He could see Margaret Sullivan was openly crying. He couldn’t blame her. This was a tragedy, one that couldn’t have been foreseen. He saw General Karver walk over and begin talking to Margaret. Steve knew that the general had witnessed death before on the battlefield. He was thankful for the man’s calming presence.
We’ll make it, he thought; these people deserve to make it. Squeezing Christy’s hand he looked back at the main screen, which once again showed the neutron star-black hole binary. We’re coming, he thought; we’ll be there in less than 60 days. Then we will know if this was all in vain or not.
Chapter Fourteen
For the third time in the last hour, Steve looked anxiously at the computer monitor on his console that showed their current course and speed. They were 30 million miles from the neutron star-black hole binary, and the steady attraction of gravity from the two had already increased the station’s speed to over 1,200 miles per second. He knew that the ever-increasing pull would continue to accelerate the station faster and faster as Star One approached the black hole.
“So that’s a black hole,” General Karver said, standing in front of Steve’s console staring at the main viewscreen, which showed a highly magnified view of the swirling black hole in front of them.
It nearly filled the screen. The picture was being sent back by a remote probe that was less than two million miles from the gravity vortex of the black hole. Steve knew the probe was rapidly being pulled in and that contact with it would shortly be lost.
“It’s frightening just to look at,” added Christy, feeling a chill crawl up her back. “And we are headed straight into it.”
“The jaws of hell,” General Karver spoke quietly, still gazing at the screen. War he could handle, this was something else.
“I hope not,” responded Steve, looking up. “It’s supposed to be our salvation.”
On the screen, a swirling blackness crossed with veins of deep, dark purple circled ominously. Somewhere inside was the wormhole, which was invisible at the black hole’s massive center. The wormhole was their key to survival.
“It’s pulling us toward it at an ever increasing rate,” Lieutenant Emerson warned from her console where she and Captain Gerald were closely monitoring the station’s far ranging sensors and radar. “Our speed is increasing rapidly.”
Their search for asteroids that were also being drawn into the black hole had required extending the range of the station’s sensors. A series of long-range probes had been deployed to help give them the added coverage. Sensor range currently extended out to a range of over one million miles in every direction.
Lieutenant Emerson kept her eyes warily on the sensor screens. As Star One neared the black hole, it had become necessary to keep all ten of the railguns permanently online. In the last twelve hours, they had destroyed over 60 small asteroids and meteors that had intersected Star One’s course. The black hole was pulling them in at an ever-increasing rate. Four nuclear-tipped Black Knight missiles were being kept constantly on standby, ready to be launched if a larger target were spotted that might endanger the station.
“According to Pierre LaRann’s theories, we will nearly reach the speed of light when Star One enters the wormhole. At that velocity the railguns will be nearly useless if we encounter an asteroid,” stated Teela, scanning the station to ensure that all preparations for the passage were on schedule.
She was also computing the possibility of encountering an asteroid near the wormhole. The current percentage was at fifteen percent. That would likely change as Star One got closer to the wormhole and additional data was collected.
“But the asteroids should be traveling close to the same speed we are, shouldn’t they?” Christy asked from her place next to Steve. “After all, they will also be trapped by the intense gravity of the black hole.”
“Some will be,” Teela agreed as she ran a simulation of their current course and the projected location of the wormhole. “However, due to the number of asteroids being pulled toward the black hole, we may find a few that converge on our course. It may be necessary to sweep our flight path with the railguns on continuous fire as we near the wormhole.”
“How soon before we enter the black hole?” asked Steve, looking at Teela. As usual, her black hair was perfect, with a slight curl where it touched her shoulders. Her deep blue eyes stared back at Steve inquisitively.
“Less than four hours, Commander. Our acceleration will increase almost exponentially as we get closer,” answered Teela, doing some quick calculations. “What the conditions will be like once we pass the event horizon is only conjecture.”
“We are committed now,” General Karver said with a frown across his forehead. His eyes focused back on the screen as the general wondered just what awaited them on the other side of the wormhole. He just hoped that they got the opportunity to find out.
“We were committed from the time we left the Lagrange point,” Steve spoke with a heavy sigh. “This may be our only hope of survival.”
“Going through a wormhole in the center of a black hole,” Christy whispered. “It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, and a very bad one at that.”
Steve looked around Main Control as everyone continued to do their jobs efficiently, even in the presence of what could be their deaths in just a matter of a few short hours. He was extremely proud of his people. If he was meant to die today, he couldn’t think of a better group of people with which to die.
Over the past several months, they had worked around the clock strengthening the station, checking every system, and working on various contingency plans. If everything worked out, Star One would transit the wormhole and the crew and sleepers would build a new civilization on the other side, wherever that might be.
-
Todd was down in the control room of the Space Platform going over the final checks on the ion drives and the SRBs. Ted Dryson was also in the control room watching the reactor readings with a critical eye. No one knew what the effects of passing through the wormhole would have on the fusion reactors. Ted was watching the one on the Space Platform, and Jarl was watching the larger one on Star One.
John Gray sat at the pilot station with his two assistants waiting as the time neared to fire up the ion drives again. Teela had just made an appearance and was standing next to John, ready to assist if needed. Already, she was calculating the final course and thrust that the station would need to transit the wormhole. At the speed they would shortly be traveling, all their available thrust would only affect their course, once they were in the black hole, by a few precious degrees. Any major course correction needed to be made in the next hour or it would be too late. The black hole’s gravity would be too strong.
“The calculations show we should be able to do it,” Teela spoke carefully, measuring her words and keeping any doubt out of her voice. She didn’t want John to know just how narrow a margin of safety they had.
Todd walked over to stand next to Teela, catching her eyes and smiling. “We’ll make it,” he said confidently. “I have faith in both of you.”
Teela smiled back weakly. It was hard for her not to tell Todd that her current computer simulations were indicating that their chances of transiting the wormhole had
dropped to under fifty percent. They were already committed, and there was no point in adding to the fear that was growing in the station as Star One drew closer to the black hole.
The problem was the asteroids; there were so many of them! She knew that some would be drawn into the wormhole with them, and that was the problem. The presence of the asteroids could destabilize the revolving magnetic field that was supposed to protect Star One.
Teela continued to update her calculations continuously as new data became available. Already, two of the small probes had stopped communicating. The one nearest the black hole had gone silent as well as another. She thought an asteroid might have taken it out.
-
Half an hour later, John watched as numbers begin appearing on the screen in front of him. Teela was feeding in the course change needed to the flight computer and projecting their new flight path on another screen next to it. She had run the numbers herself to ensure that there was no chance for an error. At least in this instance, being a sentient AI had its benefits. She could see everything the sensors were recording, she knew everything that was going on everywhere on the station, and she could send her hologram wherever she wanted. Their course would take them down the center of the black hole and straight toward the waiting wormhole.
“Looks as if we need to fire the ion drives in another ten minutes,” Todd said, looking at the screen over John’s shoulder.
“I guess that means it’s beginning. There’s no turning back now,” replied John, taking a deep breath, stretching out his hands, and flexing his fingers.
He knew that his wife Julie was really worried about this. She was riding out the passage in the control room for the ecological habitats. At least she was with a group of people and not by herself.
This would be his biggest challenge as a pilot. There could be no mistakes at all. Not if he was reading these numbers right. He looked over at Teela, and her eyes turned away. John knew she was afraid to tell him just how important the course she was projecting on the screen was. John knew enough mathematics to know there was absolutely no room for error.
They had discussed allowing Teela to fly the station through the wormhole, but her lack of piloting experience was a hindrance. They also didn’t know what the radiation and other effects of the black hole might have on Teela’s systems. They couldn’t risk her losing control at a critical moment.
John took another deep breath and placed his hands on the controls. “Don’t worry, Teela,” he said softly, gazing at the AI. “I understand.”
Teela only nodded; she didn’t know what else to say.
-
Up in the Power Wheel at the main fusion reactor, Jarl Stoler and several technicians had just finished the last test on the revolving magnetic field generator. They had mounted projectors around the station that should allow them to produce a shield one mile in diameter. They had also built two backup generators in case the first one failed. They were constructed so that if one failed the next would kick in automatically, and if that one went the final backup would kick in. If they lost all three they would lose the revolving magnetic shield, which was meant to keep the wormhole open while they made their passage.
“We’re ready with the field generator,” Jarl reported over the com to Steve.
“Very well,” Steve replied. “I just hope this works.”
“It will,” replied Jarl, confidently. “We can establish the field. I just don’t know how well it will work once we enter the wormhole.”
-
Up in Main Control, Steve felt Christy’s hand grasp his as the two watched the main viewscreen.
“Do you think Ty is waiting for us on the other side?” Christy asked quietly, held in awe by the sinister spectacle on the screen.
General Karver walked over to stand in front of the two. “President Kateland would have been proud of what you are trying to do,” he said with a nod. “She always believed in Star One. She loved the space program and what it meant to mankind. If we succeed, we could be planting a new colony on a new world.”
“I hope so,” replied Steve, wishing this was over. “We lost voice communication with Mase and Tycho City nearly an hour ago. The interference from the neutron star-black hole binary plus the Sun’s increased activity has made communication impossible. We’re still trying to transmit information back on a tight beam to the Farside array, but there is no way to tell if they are receiving anything.”
“I’m sure they are watching us,” spoke General Karver, turning to look up at the big viewscreen.
-
At Tycho City on the Moon, Mase Colton was watching the large viewscreen in his deep underground control room. It showed a large picture of the black hole as projected from the Farside array. In the center of the screen a bright dot, which he knew was Star One, was drawing near the dark maw of the black hole.
All voice communication with Star One had been lost over an hour ago. They were still receiving some data on a tight beam from the station, but it was intermittent. Mase knew that the interference from the neutron star and the black hole was the cause. He felt sadness in his heart, knowing that he would never speak to his friends on Star One again. Where they were going, he couldn’t follow.
In just a matter of a few precious hours, he knew some of his closest friends would be making a journey that people had only dimly dreamed of. He hoped and prayed that they made it. Those people on that space station so far from home might represent the last best hope for humanity to survive.
-
Down on Earth, General Marcus Young also watched a viewscreen, which showed the same scene as the one at Tycho City. The transmission was being relayed from one of the orbiting military communication satellites that had been returned to their control. General Young had finally succeeded weeks before in making contact with Tycho City and convincing Mase Colton that Senator Farley and his cronies were gone and there was no longer anything to fear from Earth.
One of the first things General Young had done was to order the deadly laser at White Sands to be destroyed. Before doing that though, he had transmitted all the specs on the powerful laser to Tycho City. Tycho City had then transmitted the specs to Star One. If either ever needed a laser of that power and magnitude, they would be able to build it.
“Do you think they will make it?” asked a young female lieutenant from her communications board next to General Young.
“We can only hope,” replied Young, watching the screen. The entire base had been shocked and then excited when they had learned of what Star One was attempting to do. “Some of the brightest people this planet ever produced are on that station,” General Young went on. “If anyone could figure out a way to survive, it would be them.”
Young knew that Star One could indeed be their best hope for survival. Already the surface of the globe was nearly uninhabitable with large areas flooded, earthquakes continuing to increase in intensity, and volcanoes erupting daily. The entire Pacific rim had turned into a literal ring of fire with erupting volcanoes. Millions of tons of ash and deadly gases were spewing hourly into the planet’s atmosphere.
General Young’s own installation, which was supposed to be in a relatively earthquake free area, had already been rocked several times by powerful quakes in the last few days. There were also unconfirmed reports that the super volcano at Yellowstone was on the verge of erupting.
Mase Colton had confided to Young that there was a chance that the Sun could go nova due to the close approach of the neutron star-black hole binary. That was the main reason Star One was attempting the hazardous attempt at traveling through the wormhole. Currently, the computer models were too close to call. If there were any type of nova, Young knew that his base and the other surviving underground bases probably would not survive. They were not buried deep enough nor protected by the wonder alloy Luxen like Tycho City’s installations.
General Young let out a deep sigh. Over the last few months, they had managed to locate a few more survivors. The
re were currently over 1,500 civilians and 620 military personnel in the deep underground bunker. All the checkpoints above had been evacuated.
Only the small building above that concealed the elevators leading down to the bunker 400 feet below was still occupied. It was made out of thick concrete and the air was recirculated, taking out all of the dangerous impurities. Ten marines stood guard inside, watching just in case Senator Farley made good on his threat to return. A series of cameras gave them an unobstructed view of the surrounding countryside. It had been several weeks now since they had seen anything moving. The surface above the bunker was dead, devoid of life.
-
Farther to the west in the Rocky Mountains, two secret underground bases were also watching the drama on their viewscreens. They were both tapped into the orbiting communication satellites, monitoring the transmissions. President Kateland had built both bases clandestinely when the truth about the neutron star first came out. The bases were built deep into the Earth and were protected by thick, Luxen walls.
The two bases were in secret contact with each other continuously via underground communications lines but had stayed hidden from the rest of the world. Their orders were not to draw attention to themselves until after the catastrophe. It was firmly believed that after the neutron star passed, there would be no Earthly threat to their existence. Inside the shelters, their protected humanity awaited the coming of the neutron star-black hole binary to see what type of world it would leave in its wake. Warren Timmons, who had been Jane Kinsey’s assistant, commanded one base. General Mann, who had made it to the mountains after the surrender in Florida, commanded the other.
-
Around the globe, the scattered remnants of humanity huddled in makeshift underground shelters, some no more than hastily dug caves. A few remaining government installations were nearly as well equipped as the ones in the United States. Many knew they would not survive. Starvation, disease, rising water, earthquakes, and erupting volcanoes were steadily taking their toll on the scattered underground refuges. Each day there were fewer than the day before.
Star One: Dark Star Page 30