by Chad Spencer
The difficult situation wasn’t helped by the critical food shortages. The raw materials they had gathered from asteroids before rescuing the shuttles were mostly being used to synthesize new parts for the Porsche’s Haven. What little that could be spared was made into sparse rations of synthpaste.
As soon as the Porsche’s Haven arrived at the planet Akio, it docked with the Ellsworth. Captain Vorless told Kent, “Cargo bay 18 was fully loaded with nothing but synthpaste. That stuff has a shelf life of eighty-five years, so it should still be good. There’s enough there to feed us all for a couple of years. If both the passengers and crew work together to load food and other supplies from the old ship to the new one, the Ellsworth can be completely stripped of anything useful in a few weeks.” Kent agreed and the work began.
Jeff went to the planet to check his farm. Amanda, Danae, and Denise came back with him that night for a look at the new ship.
“I guess your dream finally came true,” Danae told Jeff as they talked the next day. “You’re the Chief Engineer on a starship. How does it feel?”
“Ok, I guess,” replied Jeff. “But not like I thought. I mean … I always figured it would be really exciting. You know, like you see in 3V shows. But really it’s just regular work, just like any other job.”
“Sirsen Connors says you’re doing a really good job. I heard him talking to a guy named José. He said you really know this ship’s systems inside and out. You’re already as good an engineer as anyone around and you’re doing good at learning to be the boss.”
“He gives me lots of advice on how to handle people.”
“That’s what José said. But Sirsen Connors said you’re a natural anyway. If you were older, he wouldn’t have to give you advice. He says you’d figure it out on your own in time.”
“Maybe,” Jeff answered. “But I’m really starting to understand that I can’t stay in this job.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t earn it,” explained Jeff. “I got this job because I’m the son of the Captain. I want to earn it. Besides, it’s dangerous in space for someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing to be running things. I decided today that I’d turn the job over to someone who can keep the ship safe–at least until I go through the Virtual Academy courses and maybe get a university degree in the AR suite.”
“What will Kent say?”
Jeff just shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Suddenly somber, Danae changed the subject. “Jeff, why do you think Eden gave us our abilities?”
“I think she has something she wants us to do,” he answered matter-of-factly. “But I don’t know that I want to do it.”
“Is that why you wear your datacrown so much even though you know it blocks your connection to her?”
“Probably,” he agreed. “I know she said the human race is in danger, but it all sounds like some 3V program. And I guess I’ve just been through so much lately that I want my life to get boring for a while.”
Danae laughed and nodded her agreement.
Jeff’s gridPhone beeped, cutting off further conversation. When he answered it, his dad told him, “Everyone’s gathering for a meeting in Biodome 1. You need to be there too. Meet me up front.”
So they went together to the forward-most biodome. Every living human in the star system was in attendance. Jeff saw that a stage was set up in the front that looked like it had been built from pieces of the Ellsworth. Kent was standing near the center of the stage, motioning to him to come.
As he ascended the steps Kent told him, “We’re about ready to start. Sit here with me.” He indicated a chair near center stage for Jeff to sit in.
Captain Vorless stood at the front of the stage. A small public address robot hovered several feet above and in front of her, focusing its directional microphone on her. “Welcome, everyone,” her voice boomed through the biodome. “Please take your seats.”
Chairs were set up for everyone in front of the stage. Even with nearly nine hundred people in the dome, there was still a lot of room. The inside of the dome had a breathable atmosphere. But its circular floor had no soil, plants, or anything else. It was just a bare plasteel floor with a dome over it.
The PA bot turned on its 3D projector, and a ten-foot tall 3D image of Captain Vorless appeared behind the stage, towering over it. Even people in the very back rows could see her easily now.
When everyone was settled, Captain Vorless welcomed, “Thank you, everyone, for coming. As you know, the Ellsworth cannot be repaired. I’ve spoken to the Bowmans, the owners of this ship. They have agreed to let us stay on board until we can establish ourselves on the planet below, which, I’m told, is called Akio.”
A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd.
“It was so named by its first resident, Chief Engineer Jefferson Bowman,” the Captain continued, gesturing toward Jeff. Everyone applauded appreciatively. Jeff didn’t know what to do, so he smiled in a way that he hoped looked somewhat intelligent and waved.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” explained Captain Vorless, “before we can make this planet a safe place to live. Our initial scans indicate many hostile and dangerous life forms. Unfortunately, many of them will have to be either severely limited in population or eradicated completely if we are to make this planet our own.”
Shocked, Jeff couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
The Captain raised her hands. “I know that’s not the normal course of action when settling a new planet,” she stated, “but until a hypergate can be built, or until we’re rescued, we have to make the planet below accommodate us. I’m sure you’ll all agree that we have no other choice.”
“NO!”
Captain Vorless stopped abruptly and looked around to see who had interrupted her. To Jeff’s surprise, he found himself standing on his feet. His heart was beating rapidly, and his fists were clenched in anger. Jeff took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Captain Vorless asked, “Do you have something to say Chief Bowman?”
Jeff panicked. He knew that he couldn’t let these people do what Captain Vorless was proposing, but he had no clue as to how to stop them. Then an idea flashed through Jeff’s mind. ‘Of course,’ he thought. ‘I’ve had the answer since I was a kid. It’s just like when I started the study group.’
Using his datacrown, he snatched control of the PA bot and focused its microphone on himself. “Yes,” Jeff’s voice echoed through the dome. “We can’t start killing the creatures below. We can’t even move this many people down there. We can’t make this planet our own,” he said calmly.
From the crowd, a man’s voice shouted out, “Sit down boy. You’re not someone who can tell people what they can and can’t do.” Several people agreed, loudly.
Jeff’s datacrown told him that Captain Vorless was trying to take control of the PA bot. He deftly locked her out.
“Yes,” Jeff told the crowd. “In fact I am. I discovered and named the planet Akio. I’m the first settler. According to Federated Alliance law, it’s mine. No one can land on it without my permission.”
“Yeah?” someone yelled from the back, “well go ahead and call the Feds on us.” Many in the crowd laughed.
Amanda and Dirk, who were sitting on the front row, eyed Jeff warily. They knew he was in no danger if the crowd got ugly. They also knew what he could do if he wanted to. Jeff smiled at them reassuringly. It didn’t seem to help.
The datacrown told Jeff that his father, Darius Connors, and several others had joined Captain Vorless in trying to use their datacrowns to wrest control of the PA bot. He easily countered all their efforts. Glancing backward, he could see the looks of surprise on their faces. ‘There are times I’m really glad that Eden gave me the gifts she did,’ he thought.
Ignoring the increasingly unruly mob, Jeff repeated, “We can’t make this planet our own. It already belongs to someone else.”
“Who?” many in the crowd demanded.
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br /> Using the PA bot’s 3D projector, Jeff accessed his personal files and displayed the images his binoculars recorded the day he landed on the planet. “These are the owners of the planet Akio,” Jeff explained as he gestured toward the huge pictures of the crab men. Everyone became considerably more subdued.
“These images were recorded by my binoculars on the first day I arrived on the planet below. As you can see, the ‘crab men’ as I call them, are carrying spears and knives. This means that they are intelligent. I’ve made contact with an intelligent alien species. Does anyone else know of any other aliens?”
No one spoke. Jeff glanced at Danae, Dirk, and Amanda. They had wary, almost guilty expressions.
“Then I think it would be a good idea not to wipe out the only known intelligent alien species. Don’t you?”
Captain Vorless, still standing near Jeff, interrupted, “But Jeff, we’re not talking about eliminating them. Just species like your fireflies and seasnakes.”
“I learned in history that when you wipe out the place people live, you wipe them out as well. They’ll fight back. Wars will start. They have no chance against us. Remember what happened to the Native Americans when Europeans moved to North America? What happens if they get one of our diseases? That alone could kill them all. And Bob, he’s my dogbug. Well he was. He turned into a gorillabug by absorbing some of my DNA. If we stay on that planet, we’ll change it. And maybe even destroy an intelligent species.”
Someone yelled out, “Who’s more important, them or us?”
Not letting himself get flustered, Jeff told them, “No one’s more important. They’re just as important as us. But the planet is theirs.”
A man near the front jumped to his feet. “Where do you expect us to live?” he demanded. “On this ship? My family’s not spending our lives in a one-room cabin!”
Many in the crowd shouted their agreement. Some hollered, “Get that kid off the stage!”
Jeff turned up the volume on the PA bot. His voice thundered through the dome as he said, “There’s something that you don’t know. Something that the crew of the Ellsworth doesn’t want me to tell you.”
Everyone’s faces turned toward Jeff. Many of the Ellsworth’s senior crewmembers looked fearful. Captain Vorless took a step toward him.
“You’ve all been wondering where this ship came from.”
“Jeff!” Captain Vorless hissed. “You can’t tell them that. It’s dangerous.”
Jeff cranked the volume to maximum. “I CREATED THIS SHIP WITH NANOBOTS.” The word “nanobots” continued to echo through the dome. No one moved. No one spoke.
Jeff continued, “The crew of the Ellsworth had a special project called the Living Freighter. I spent most of my time on Akio finishing it. Then I made this ship. It was created out of an asteroid from a single seed.”
Pausing, Jeff asked, “How many of you were on the way to the Colorado system to become farmers?” About half the people, mostly families, hesitantly raised their hands. “This ship has three biodomes of five acres each. The supplies we brought over from the Ellsworth contain all the seeds you could ever need. And there’s animals too. Lots of them. If we share them and let them reproduce, we can all have as many as we need. Every farmer here can have his or her own ship just like this one. It can be your farm in the sky.”
“How many of you,” Jeff queried, “were on the way to the mining colonies in the Cooper Asteroid Cloud outside the Colorado system?” The other half of the crowd, mostly young, single men, raised their hands. “I’ve learned a lot about programming nanobots. I can scan the mining equipment that was being shipped on the Ellsworth and program the nanobots to copy them. Programs like that take a while to write, but I can do it. All of you, and all of the farmers, can have all the equipment you need. After finishing this ship, stuff like that is easy for me. How many of you program computers?” Many hands were raised. “I’ll be glad to teach you how to program the nanobots to make whatever you want. All of us can have everything we need. And we’ll never run out of nanobots because you can use a few nanobots to make lots more.”
Jeff looked around himself. The senior crew of the Ellsworth was unsure what to do. It was obvious they wanted to shut Jeff up. But at this point, they feared the crowd’s reaction.
“The crew of the Ellsworth didn’t want me to tell you all of this because nanobots are so dangerous,” Jeff stated. “But if we can’t learn to use this technology carefully, and with some sense, then we really don’t deserve to survive.”
“Look,” he pleaded, “all we need from the planet below is enough dirt to get the farms on this ship going, some grass to feed our animals, and some bugs. We’ve got to have emeraldbugs. My chickens love to eat them. It makes the chickens grow bigger and lay great eggs. The shells and the yokes are kind of greenish but the scanner says the eggs are safe to eat. They’re really good with chopped onions and maybe some chili peppers …”
A smattering of laughter spread through the crowd. Jeff realized he had gotten himself sidetracked.
“Uh, anyway … after we get the biodomes on this ship going,” explained Jeff, “we can take the grasses and bugs and stuff from this ship to start farms on new ships. We don’t ever need to land on the planet again. It should be left to its real owners.”
Jeff felt he was on a roll, so he kept going. “Just so you know, I’ve loaded the nanobot development programs into this ship’s main computer. It’s far more powerful than the Ellsworth’s computer, so you have everything you need to write your own nanobot programs. I had to use a special workstation when I did my programs, but you won’t have to. I’m willing to share any nanobot programs I come up with. Everyone who wants to can make anything I program up. I hope all of you will do the same. If we all freely share our programs, we can all have anything we want. No one here will ever be poor again.”
An appreciative murmur filled the dome. As the gathering buzzed with excitement, Jeff looked down at Danae and Amanda. They beamed their approval. Turning around, Jeff saw that Chief Connors and Kent were also smiling at him. Jeff released control of the PA bot and went to his dad’s side.
“Well done, Jeff,” Chief Connors congratulated him. “You’re quite a different young man than the one who ran away from his family so long ago.” He shook Jeff’s hand. Kent thumped him on the back affectionately.
Descending the stage, Jeff decided it was best for him to leave. He hopped a hovercart to Engineering. Stopping at his office door, Jeff noticed someone had put up lettering on it. The door was labeled, “Jeff Bowman.” Under that were the words, “Chief of Engineering.” He smiled and entered. ‘Chief Connors probably did that,’ he thought appreciatively. Jeff sat at his desk and began going though the status update reports. Before he finished the third one, a knock sounded at his door. “Come in,” he called.
Danae entered and, making herself at home, sat down.
“So what happened at the meeting?” Jeff queried.
“They liked your ideas. No one’s settling on Akio.”
Pleased, Jeff responded simply, “Good. What about you? What are you going to do now that we’re going to live in space?”
“For now, I’m staying here. My mom and I are getting along pretty well now. The Denise and I have moved into our own quarters right behind Kent and Mom’s quarters. Our place is big. We each have our own rooms now. I never would have imagined that. And I’ve decided to go back to school too. I’m going to take Academy training then do university classes in astronomy.”
Jeff agreed that that was a good plan. Then he asked, “What about Dirk?”
“He wants his own ship. Amanda has said that we can use the Amsterdam to take another trip out to the asteroid belt to make another Living Freighter right away. I think the crew of the Ellsworth wants the first new ship for themselves. They’re a pretty tight-knit bunch. Like a big family.”
‘I used to be part of that family,’ Jeff thought. He asked Danae, “Is Amanda going with them?”
“No, she wants to stay here. She’s going to school as well. She said she wants to be an engineer.”
“So I guess things turned out ok for us.”
“Have they, Jeff?”
“Sure! We all have a place to live. We can get good educations. We can make anything we need or want. What else could you ask for?”
“More people,” Danae stated. “We’re still stuck here, Jeff. Maybe forever. We may never get back to Alliance space.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You will.”
“Why?”
“Jeff, think!”
Insulted, Jeff asked, “What do you mean?”
“Girls, Jeff, girls! There aren’t enough girls. Nearly half of the passengers are young single men who were going to the mines in the Cooper Asteroid Cloud. There are hardly any women in that group. The other half is families. Those women are married. And only half of the children are female. What are you going to do when it comes time to get married, Jeff?”
“Uh … “
“Exactly. Most of the young men have already realized the problem. Amanda told me she’s had eight marriage proposals since everyone else arrived. Two of them were from men over 35! Ew! I’ve had three myself and I’m only 14!”
“Oh … well … I guess that’s a good position to be in if you’re a girl.”
“Well some of the girls are just eating all the attention right up. Like Linmei and Carmen. They love it. But some of the girls are avoiding it by getting married right away. Your friend Barbie just asked Mark to marry her. He said yes.”
“Mark and Barbie are getting married? They’re only 17!”
“That’s the way it always is in frontier worlds outside Alliance control, Jeff. People get married at a younger age.”
“How come they didn’t tell me they were getting married?”
“Jeff, you haven’t hardly left Engineering lately. Even Denise and I haven’t seen you much since you got back.”
“Ugh!” she continued, shivering. “I hate all those old men chasing after me. I think it’s creepy. They stare at me wherever I go. And they follow me around. I’m just glad the passengers can’t get into the crew module. It gives me someplace to hide.”