Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1)

by John Thornton

  “Sure Sandie, like I said, I have never understood it. Better to hear about some obscure sonnet than the details of the failed and fatal experiment called Moonbase Alpha.”

  “Thank you Jerome! The archives show that quote is from what was called a nursery rhyme. It was a style of oratory commonly told to children. I have sixteen different versions in my records. It dates from somewhere roughly five hundred years ago and probably was created with no specific meaning beyond its entertainment value. It may have just been syllabic nonsense sounds. However, the cat, the dog, and the cow, were common domestic animals. The cat may refer to the wild cats of nature, but more likely is a reference to a house cat. The house cat was from antiquity almost purely a pleasure and companion animal, but is not known to have literally played any musical instruments, like drums or fiddles. The dog was a companion and work animal whose fur was of varied types and styles and commonly was spotted. The cow was an animal raised for it lactate and as a food source, but not reportedly a good jumping animal. Cows are recorded as prancing and vaulting when in emotional states. None of those animals were likely part of Moonbase Alpha, at least according to the records which survived the Great Event.”

  “They ate animals?” Cammarry asked. “I know they did, it just sounds disgusting.”

  The view out the clear permalloy showed the moon and the ruins of the base receding away.

  “We are nearly at the position for stage three, FTL engagement. Are you both ready?” Sandie asked. “The excitement is about to expand exponentially.”

  “Yes!” Cammarry and Jerome answered in unison.

  “FTL transit initiated. Here we go!” Sandie said.

  Everything outside the scout ship suddenly changed. Inside everything felt exactly the same.

  “FTL systems operating at 100% of expected function,” Sandie reported. “Estimated time of arrival at the Conestoga, fifteen hours, four minutes.”

  “Outside is so different. I have no quotes for this,” Jerome said as he gazed out of the view port. “Gray emptiness, or maybe nothingness? Gray is better than tan, but it looks endless.”

  “It is really a change. The dust and tan I was used to. That can be seen anytime you look out of Dome 17.” Cammarry’s voice was soft and subtle. “The blackness of space was spectacular, the stars magical, the sunlight gorgeous, and the moon was hauntingly beautiful. Now this view is just strange. So gray, so shifting, so odd.”

  “What is out there, or is that even the wrong question,” Jerome asked. “I understand the basics, so is there even an out there?”

  “What you are perceiving is not a place, in the conventional use of the term. It is a transition, or translation, or is indefinable. Chief Brink has the calculations and equations stored for your inspection, if that would be helpful. I doubt mathematics can address your question, as it feels like you are expressing emotions rather than looking for measurements. Am I correct?” Sandie asked.

  “Yes, you are correct,” Jerome answered. “I trust Brink’s computations. I do have a question about where we are going. Have you analyzed the available information about the Colony Ship Conestoga? If so, what have you learned?”

  “Excellent!” Sandie replied. “Let me start with the name Conestoga. The name appears to originate with a group of indigenous people on the continent of North America. Some regions and other geographical features were also named after those people. The application of the name to the colony ship probably relates back to the Conestoga wagon which was pulled by teams of animals. The records show that the Conestoga style wagon was used extensively during the migrations of people across North America. It was designed as an all-weather vehicle which could transport roughly five tons of materials and people. For that era, the vehicle was cutting edge technology. The animals used as engines for the wagon were cows, bulls, oxen, mules, donkeys, horses, and possibly other types of large animals. I see no connection between the cows of Conestoga wagons, and the cow jumping over the moon of the nursery rhyme.”

  “So the people who launched the colony ship named it after that ancient animal-powered vehicle?” Cammarry asked. “It makes sense, since the colony ships apparently have biological habitats and I understandably those will include animals.”

  “I concur with your assessment and conjecture. Well done Cammarry,” Sandie said. “It is a joy to work with you. I was unable to locate construction plans, or any schematics specific to the Colony Ship Conestoga. I do have general, very rough, and sometimes contradictory descriptions of the colony ships in general. They were built in space and consist of a central drive section around which were attached a number of much larger cylindrical biological habitats. Records are not consistent on the number of those habitats. I have been reviewing what was learned from the robotic probes, and comparing that to the information from the historical records. Unfortunately, many records were lost since the time of the colony ship program. The most recent information gained that specifically relates to the Conestoga is that there was some unknown and undated incident. An artificial intelligence system, which is unnamed, transmitted the following auditory message.”

  A very scratchy, distorted, and fuzzy sounding voice came on.

  “Conestoga has made planet fall. The Conesto….”

  “That is quite brief and mysterious,” Cammarry said. “No other messages or information?”

  “I am sorry, there is not much more,” Sandie replied. “No visuals at all. No other audio. Nothing else directly from the Conestoga. I have run a multitude of tests on that small recording and you are correct, it is mysterious. There are parts of the recording which do not correlate to the others and I am only able to make low probability conjectures on the etiology of those anomalies.”

  “Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of our desire to understand,” Jerome stated. “So when we get there I know I have a desire to understand what happened. I believe the star charts and plotting show no known solar systems at the Conestoga’s location, is that correct?”

  “Yes, Jerome, you are correct. There has not been a detected solar system at that location. The robotic probe did not have adequate sensors for stellar plotting. I have run conjectures on why no system has been observed at that location, but I am lacking sufficient data to know if there is an undetected system there, or if the message is in error. Those are the two potentials I can see. It is very interesting that the Conestoga has not progressed on any trajectory since it was located. That gives some weight to the potential there is a star system there. We have no idea how long it has been in that relatively stable location as we are unsure of the Conestoga’s flight speed, velocity, acceleration or other factors including the precise launch date. The crew may have stopped at that location, however, the ship could also have experienced a failed drive system.”

  “The Conestoga could be dead in the water,” Jerome stated. “That would mean a lot of re-engineering work for us.”

  “Dead in the water?” Cammarry asked. “What does that mean? John has spoken of planets having vast expanses of water. Would the ship have crashed into one of those water places and everyone died?”

  “Sorry, Cammarry. I believe dead in the water is an old idiom for ‘lacking movement or the ability to proceed.’ Am I correct Sandie?”

  “Yes! That is the way the phrase was used in olden times,” Sandie chirped in. “Historical records show that phrase originated with sailing vessels on oceans. When the wind was diminished, there would not be enough power for the sailing vessel to continue, therefore it was stuck, stopped, dead in the water.”

  “But can a spacecraft be stationary?” Cammarry asked.

  “Not in the absolute sense. All objects are moving as the galaxy is moving, however, relative to the Earth the Conestoga has not drifted much, so therefore it is relatively stationary. This is consistent with how we would expect it to appear were it actuality remaining in a solar system,” Sandie the AI replied.

  “Sandie, can you help me understand what we may experien
ce when we get there?” Jerome asked. “John spoke of a planet with ecosystems and living biology. I have read about that. I have watched presentations about that, even in three dimensional formats. Yet, to be honest, I have trouble grasping what that will be like.”

  “Since you and Cammarry both grew up in Dome 17 where there is a controlled human population with defined structures, and regimentation, you will be comparing a very structured system, the one you are familiar with contrasted with one that outwardly looks very chaotic, the biological system. Natural ecological communities are vastly complex with an interworking, interdependency of all things: flora, fauna, geographical, elemental, and other factors. As an artificial intelligence system, I too do not know what experiencing a natural bio-system will be like. I am eager to find out. I can conjecture that it will be an experience which captivates all of your senses.”

  “So these colony ships, what more do you know about them?” Cammarry asked.

  A display screen lit up and a few images were there. Sandie responded, “The records from that era are fragmentary. There are conflicting reports about launch dates, ship sizes, and compositions. There is a long list of which biologicals were placed into the Colony Ship Eschaton, however, there are also reports that claim there was deliberate misinformation regarding that ship and its religious extremists. Even if that list of biologicals loaded onto the Eschaton was accurate, which is dubious, there is no way to correlate that with what may or may not be on the Conestoga. My best conjecture, I should maybe call it a guess, about the colony ship program is that each ship followed the basic pattern, but had unique design features.”

  “What about crew and people?” Jerome asked. “How many people did these big colony ships carry?”

  “Another excellent question! Thank you. The records on the human personnel on the colony ships are also suspect and not consistent. One record states that there were 144,000 people in suspended animation. That number may be hyperbole due to religion. Because, that same number appears in the Bible’s book of Revelation in chapters seven and fourteen. Other sources do claim that suspended animation was utilized with numbers ranging from 100,000 to 150,000. It is safe to assume that some level of that technology was utilized to transport human cargo, however, there are also indications that each biological habitat had living humans who would be generationally locked in. Their descendants will be those people we encounter on the Colony Ship Conestoga. The records also, while incomplete and contradictory, do bear witness that there was a human crew who oversaw the Conestoga.”

  “So there are probably people in suspended animation on the Conestoga?” Jerome asked.

  “Unless they were revived, or reanimated after they made planet fall,” Cammarry added. “During the voyage there would have been three human groups? Those in suspended animation, the habitat dwellers, and the crew?”

  “Yes, finding people in suspended animation on the Conestoga is a definite possibility. The crew is very likely, and may or may not have been the same as the people you call ‘habitat dwellers.’” Sandie answered. “The issue of whether or not the Conestoga made planet fall remains to be unveiled. The records do show the colony ships were designed to establish human colonies and perform terraforming on their destination worlds. The extent and level of colonization cannot be conjectured at this point, as we are not even sure there is a solar system at the Conestoga’s location. I wish there was more information.”

  Jerome remarked, “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. Our ignorance about this quest outweighs the information we have. Much remains to be learned.”

  “And that is why this is all so exciting! I am so honored to be on this mission with you both!” Sandie’s artificial voice said.

  “Sandie, you are much more emotional than any AI I have ever known. May I ask why?”

  “You may always ask me any question. Cammarry, as I told you Brink designed me,” Sandie responded. “During that process he left the personality aspects until the final stages. When you and Jerome were given permission for this mission, Brink had his own AI, Copernicus, work with the others in Dome 17 and they put together the most compatible personality for working with you both into me. So here I am!”

  “So each of the AIs sent out were customized for the specific team which went?” Jerome asked. “So as to make the best team possible?”

  “That was the plan. I cannot say absolutely that it happened, since we were the second launch from the sling bay. I do know that the adventurers Jamie and Michael were given the new AI Roxanne as their companion when they launched. There was talk about sling launch three and which AI would be assigned to that team, however, that was still incomplete when my Atomic Level Processor was installed in the scout ship. I am confident the process did continue for the five subsequent missions, but I just do not know the specifics.”

  “Cammarry? We have some hours left before arrival. Shall we review the teleportation pad we will need to construct?” Jerome asked.

  “Yes, although the setup is straight forward, but it is good to review. Sandie can you give us a 1/32 scale, virtual and three-dimensional model to practice on?”

  “Absolutely I can do that. Here it is with all the component parts,” Sandie replied as the images were displayed over the seats.

  “So these are the controls which we are bringing along, and these sections are what we will need to construct.”

  Jerome and Cammarry discussed and assembled the model several times until they were certain they could do it in real life.

  “Well, should we get some sleep in now, so we are ready to go when we get there? We will need to quickly locate a place to dock, then assess where to set up the teleportation receiving pad, then build it and get the connection made. We will have a lot of work to get done. Sandie will watch over us while we sleep and alert us as needed.”

  “Jerome if I may interject, I am not a man in the conventional sense, nor even in my artificial intelligence, nor in my personality style, yet I do think the following quote applies: ‘People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’ Does this idiom apply? Am I correct?”

  “I have not heard that quote before,” Jerome said with admiration. “I do not think of you as a rough man, but the spirit of the quote does fit.”

  “It fits much better than some of your old sayings about animals. Those are often too strange and vague to have any overt meaning. But Sandie, I must ask you. Would do violence on our behalf?” Cammarry inquired.

  “I have free will to operate and take steps to ensure the success of our quest and the completion of our mission. Should violence be required, I am ready to act,” Sandie stated. “May I suggest before you take a sleep period that I orient you to the manual operations of our scout ship? It will not take long, as you are familiar with the technology and the overall controls.”

  “Certainly, go ahead,” Cammarry said.

  The panel in front of the pilot seats folded open. The control board extended outward and was just in front of each of the people.

  “Looks almost identical to the fusion truck’s controls,” Jerome commented as he glanced over the buttons, gauges, levers and the main command stick. “I see extra controls for thrusters and there are several display screens which are in addition to what is on the fusion truck.”

  “Yes, the main display screen will render an image of the scout in relation to other objects, like the Conestoga. You can see in it point of view, reverse point of view, or from any angle in between. You tell me what you want to see, and I will show it to you!” Sandie was excited. “Also if you press the button marked, ‘Connections’ there will be an auxiliary control board come out that has grappling hooks, magnetic lines, winches, and the manual controls for spraying a permalloy umbilicus. Those are all under my direct operation, for efficiency and accuracy, but you do have manual access to those systems as well. I am just here to make sure it all goes smoothly as we succeed in our an
chorage to the Conestoga.”

  “Sandie, if you should become shut down from whatever reason, what do we do?” Cammarry asked.

  “What a sad thought. I hope you would mourn. My becoming nonoperational is a very remote, but not inconceivable, possibility” Sandie sounded hurt. “My Atomic Level Processor has primary, secondary, auxiliary and tertiary systems. Each of those has quadruple redundancies and as a final fall back there is even an old style non-intelligent failsafe which will operate any control on your verbal command alone. That system will only become activated should I become inactive. The controls all can be manipulated by hand, of course. Now are there any more questions?”

  “Will the view outside change at all before we reach the Conestoga?” Jerome asked. The swaying gray nothingness did not reflect back light, nor really cast any light. It just was sort of sitting there, at times seeming to be right outside the clear permalloy, and at other times seeming to be very thick and deep.

  “No. The void we are in, if you chose to use that word, will remain in its constant state of flux, until FTL systems are disengaged. At that point we will be at the Conestoga’s location. How soon before arrival do you wish to be awakened?”