by James Wilson
When the two solar orbiters arrived in 4824, they were able to detect movements outside the vessel. From this new vantage point, we were able to watch the aliens slowly build new structures near the vessel, the first of which was larger in diameter than the vessel.
CHAPTER 39
SECOND FLY-BY
Just as they had the last time, Jeff and Susan took the same train to the viewing area, only this time instead of getting two tickets, they had to get four as their family had grown. Their two little boys, Alex and Cole, were eight and six. Alex was eager to see the space ship and had heard the stories about when his mom and dad came to see the first space ship. This would be the boys’ first time seeing the stars at night. Cole was very excited to see the Moon, which would only be a crescent tonight.
The second vessel was running about ten and a half years behind the first, but otherwise on the same course and with the same profile. Like the first time, but without nearly as much hysteria, observation decks were set up on the surface for people to come and see the vessel for themselves. It was largely expected that it would pass through Earth’s orbit and head directly for the Sun, just as its predecessor did ten years ago; it did just that in the first quarter of 4832. The only difference this time around was that this vessel parked at the South Pole of the Sun, rather than the North Pole.
CHAPTER 40
A MESSAGE
Twice a year for more than ten years, ever since before the flyby, the leaders of the IPDC would meet with the regional leaders to determine what, if anything, to do about the visitors. Year after year, they always decided to do nothing but improve observations, continue to develop weapons, fortify life on Earth, and send colonies out into the solar system and beyond.
With growing concern that the visitors were the cause of the stellar-dimming phenomenon observed in other systems, the call to action was at an all-time high. Many people believed that our system was going to have the next star to go dim. This year, finally, the IPDC concluded that something had to be done. Their approach would be simple: send a probe to the first vessel at the Sun’s North Pole and attempt to communicate.
The probe was completed and ready for launch in 4831 with a planned arrival near the first vessel in 4833. They would broadcast a simple message in every imaginable format. The message would read, “Greetings. We come in peace. Why are you here?” The probe was also designed to send images and all sensor readings back to Earth. It would do so by first sending data to one of the solar orbiters every two minutes. The solar orbiters would watch as the probe approached the vessel and relay information back to the satellite in orbit around Venus, which would forward the data back to Earth.
Everything started off well enough. When the probe reached about half a million miles from the vessel, it slowed down and started its cycle of broadcasting and relaying. This continued for several days, as the probe slowly got closer to the vessel. After reaching about a quarter million miles from the vessel, one of the solar observers caught a brief flash where the probe would have been and the signal went dead. No reply to the broadcast was ever received, and no one had any idea what happened.
At the next meeting of the leaders, it was decided that another probe would be sent with the same basic mission. This time, however, the new probe would be better equipped to withstand a blast. It would also have additional cameras to photograph its immediate surroundings. Its communication system would send signals back to the solar orbiters and would be highly reinforced. In the event of an explosion, the communication system would break away from the rest of the probe in an attempt to survive and continue to send signals back to the orbiters. The new probe would also communicate back to the probe continuously rather than once every two minutes.
Taking the same path as the first probe, late in 4835, the second probe reached half a million miles from the vessel and started its routine. This time the probe reached a distance of about 200 thousand miles before it was destroyed. The communication system broke away as planned and survived the initial explosion. It was able to send back photos of a high intensity beam that fired from a distance of about ten miles and destroyed the probe. The object that fired the beam was not visible in any of the photos. The communication system continued to send data back to the orbiter for about thirty five seconds after the destruction of the main body of the probe before it too fell silent.
CHAPTER 41
EXPLORING THE PLANETS
Tevek first had to replicate all the parts for both the five rockets and the five satellites. Since it required a lot more time to enter the data for any given part than it did for the replicator to produce the part, he made enough parts for all five, plus one extra. After all the parts were made, Tevek turned his attention to the assembly process. His plan was to first focus on assembling just one of the rockets and its corresponding satellite. After the first set was completely assembled, tested, and launched, he would finish the rest in two sets of two. The first rocket was ready for launch to the fourth planet, P4 (Mars), in 4835. From observations he made with the station’s on-board telescopes, he was eager to see P4 close up.
The next two assemblies went much quicker, after all the issues with the first one had been worked out. Rockets to the second and third planets, P2 (Venus) & P3 (Earth), both launched later in 4835. The final two assemblies were launched to the two large gas giants in the following year. After all the building and launching, Tevek had a little time to take a break before the first satellite reached its destination.
Only three weeks after the last of the five rockets launched, the first one was about to reach its destination. It arrived in orbit around P2 in late 4836. Each of the satellites was also equipped with two small-drop probes. The probes would slowly fall to the surface and collect images, temperature, pressure, and atmospheric composition data as they made their descent. The data would first be relayed back to the satellite and later be sent back to the receiver at the north Sol station.
Tevek found the landscape of P2 to be varied and beautiful. Hours were spent looking at the images from the cloud-covered world. He thought this planet was an excellent candidate to get a surface Rover, despite its very high temperature and pressure.
In 4837, first the P3 and then the P4 probes reached their target planets and began relaying information back to Tevek’s dedicated receiver antenna in the ship’s forward section. While the P4 data was very interesting, the data coming back from P3 was a find that was quite rare. He discovered a planet with an atmosphere containing both CO2 and O2. Also, amid mostly ice, he came across a few patches of liquid water. But what he saw on Earth that would reverberate throughout all the Eark worlds in the galaxy were signs of botanical life! He could not be a hundred percent certain of his find until he could get a Rover on the ground.
With the exception of Timouri, life had never been detected on a planet before, and the Eark had been to thousands of different planets. Life is a gift given directly from God and does not arise spontaneously. This was not just the Eark’s religion, but a known fact among the Eark. Life can only arise on a planet if the Denigrata Centrum plants the seed. Tevek decided to keep this information to himself until he had conclusive evidence, realizing such a revelation could throw into question everything that they believed.
CHAPTER 42
ROVERS
After getting all five of the satellites out to their individual planets, Tevek started building planetary Rovers. It would be a few more years before he had any data back from the outer planets. He planned to make five Rovers that he would send to the most noteworthy places among the three inner planets.
He selected a Rover design with a good balance of sensors, power, and speed that could still withstand extreme temperatures. He wanted to give them a great deal of autonomy for their day-to-day operations, as he would not be able to program them on a daily basis and still keep up with his other duties around the station. They were equipped with two solid fuel containers that would last for years, and they even had an engine
, giving them limited flight capability, if needed.
Five Rovers were built and launched over the course of the year 4838. The same rocket that sent the satellites would be used to get his Rovers into orbit around the planets. This group of rockets would be built by a young colleague and friend, Chevekov, who was very interested in planetary science. Having Chevekov take over the assembly of the rockets allowed Tevek to concentrate on building the Rovers. He left all the flight plans and programming up to his son, Keiske.
One Rover would go to P4 and one to P2; the other three were all heading to P3. Tevek was eager to see the mysterious structures on Earth and to find out if there really was vegetation growing on the planet’s surface. He would have to wait a little over two years to learn the answer.
CHAPTER 43
RUINS
Two of the three Rovers landed on Earth in the first few months of 4841. The third disappeared before landing. The two that survived made it to within two miles of the locations that Tevek had selected for their landing. Each Rover had a pre-programmed list of navigation points selected for exploring.
The first Rover to land on Earth was sent to investigate the structures identified from the satellite photos of Region D, site of the ancient Egyptian ruins. Its secondary mission was to sample water from the many lakes and streams visible in nearby areas. The Rover landed about two miles south of the Great Pyramids, where it was clearly visible on the horizon. It would have been difficult for anyone to see, as it was cloaked in an active metal skin that mimicked the background in its appearance. The area where it had landed was mostly ice, with an occasional rock outcropping. After sampling the ice and atmosphere and scanning a few rocks, the Rover headed north. Out of caution, it kept a slow-to-moderate pace to the first destination and arrived after several hours.
The Rovers were programmed with a detailed map of the planet and received global positioning data from the satellite in orbit above, allowing them to make their way to each navigational point to collect samples and take photographs. Each evening the Rovers would select a spot to park for the night and send their data feed up to the satellite. Tevek would get reports from all the planets with satellites each day, whether he had time to look at them or not.
Tevek only shared the information coming back from P3 with the few others working on the project. He asked them all to keep the information confidential until they were ready to publish their findings. No one else knew that such planetary exploration was even being conducted.
The radar scans of the Pyramids revealed that they were in about ten feet of snow and ice. The x-ray scans showed many other structures as well, including tunnels and chambers in the rocks. Also discovered were many strange figures carved into the rocks in several places.
The Pyramids were a complete mystery to the group. Nothing like them had ever been seen before, and the Eark had been to many planets of all sizes and composition. It was impossible for Tevek and his colleagues to come up with any kind of explanation for how they could have formed.
CHAPTER 44
DISCOVERY OF LIFE
The second Rover to land on Earth touched down in Region A, about thirty miles southeast of the still visible ruins of Houston, Texas. Its primary mission was to investigate areas of green patches near the coast. Tevek suspected it could possibly be plant life. Its secondary mission was to trek northwest to the strange formations Tevek had spotted with the satellite imagery.
After Tevek looked at the first pictures sent back from the second P3 Rover, it was clear that there was abundant plant life on the planet. In the first frame alone, at least three types of plants were distinguishable. After sampling, photographing, and scanning, the Rover headed east toward the coast.
Along the few-mile ride to the coast, the Rover caught images of mysterious objects floating in front of its path. Tevek could not tell what they were. There were many varieties of plants ranging widely in size and shape, and the leaves were unique in many ways. Most of the plants were only a few inches off the surface, but some were as high as two feet tall and a few feet wide.
Finally, while photographing a close-up of some leaves, one of the floating things landed close to one of the Rover’s lenses. Tevek was astonished to see so clearly a living creature on another world. The Rover photographed the moth as it landed and slowly flapped its wings a few times before taking off into the air again.
With so much to see along the way, the Rover took about three days to reach the coast, where two more living, crawling creatures were discovered. One was only one-and-a-half inches long and had eight long legs that propelled it quickly past the Rover’s wide-angle optical lens. The other was about six inches long and slowly and cautiously crept past the Rover, looking back and forth along the beach.
Everywhere the Rover looked, it found new types of living creatures. After spending a few days sampling at different places along the coast, the microscopic lens found several distinct and remarkable tiny aquatic life forms. Next, the Rover turned away from the water and headed west toward the large structures visible from space. Only stopping to photograph the more unusual things along the way, the Rover covered ground much faster. At one of the stops, there were plants much larger than anything encountered so far. These plants were over ten feet tall and were much more colorful than anything else.
While gathering more information about the area, some unusual sounds were picked up on the microphone. Until now, the only sounds had been wind and water. These new sounds reminded Tevek of some of the recordings of animals from Timouri he heard many years ago.
CHAPTER 45
POSTING
After keeping the incredible findings of life on P3 to themselves for so long, Tevek’s little team was eager to share with the rest of the population. First, they would have to bring Admiral Nikodima and Captain Agafya up to date on all their findings. The captain was beginning to wonder when he would hear about the local planets. He knew there were several launches over the last few years. He was eager to see what was out there.
Tevek called a meeting with his team and the two leaders. First, he gave a quick summary of the data from P2 & P4. Then he showed the images from the Pyramids. There were several sonograms of the area beneath the ice and rock around the Pyramids, where there were open areas that appeared as unnatural as the Pyramids themselves. When that last sonogram finished, the video screen went black and Tevek rose from his seat.
“I’ve saved the best for last,” he said. “These are all from the second Rover to land on P3.” He showed a time lapse clip of a plant sprouting out of the ground, then trees swaying in the breeze, then a little creature crawling across the beach, and finally, an insect flying across the screen. There were countless images of plants and insects. Both the admiral and captain watched in utter amazement.
When the screen again went black, everyone was momentarily speechless. Finally, the admiral spoke up. “Who else knows about this?” he asked.
Tevek replied, “Just those who are in this room now. We would like to share it, though. I thought we would first post a few of the images from P2, followed by another set of data each week until we post all this.”
The Admiral said that sounded like a good idea.
Tevek said, “What I’d like to do next is to go to P3 and collect some samples of the plants and animals. From everything we know, it is impossible for these creatures to be here and yet here they are.”
Speaking with the admiral’s authority, Agafya said, “I think it would be fine for you to put together a mission plan on paper. When you have that ready, we’ll meet again to hear what you have in mind.”
The admiral nodded in agreement.
CHAPTER 46
MISSION TO P3
It did not take Tevek long to get started on a plan to go to P3. He and his son Keiske began by selecting a vehicle. Once selected and approved, it would take several years for it to be assembled because there were so many essential vehicles for the Harvester that would have to be built before the
irs could even get started. They wanted to take a crew of four, each with a cryochamber. Getting there and back would take over a year each way. The cryochambers took up much less room than the additional food they would need to take if they were going to stay awake for the nearly three years of travel time. Detailed plans were submitted less than a year after the meeting with the admiral and the captain.
It was another year before Tevek got the admiral’s approval for the voyage to P3. He was also granted one full-time worker and one intern to work on the project. There was never really any doubt that the mission would be approved. Rather, there were so many other things to keep them all busy that the approval process had to wait.
While the admiral liked the idea of exploring their new surroundings, his top priority was building the Stella Metentis. Everyone knew it would be several years before a vehicle could be built for the trip anyway.
After the plan was approved, Tevek assembled the now-larger team together in his office. He was in charge of the mission. His son Keiske, who really was only about ten years younger than Tevek since he had aged ten years during his turn on duty while the ship was enroute to Sol, was put in charge of all programming and flight planning.