by Philip Elrod
He continued, “I’ve prepared an outline of the project for you.”
With that, a huge video screen came to life at the front of the room. Tanaka pointed to the various images and explained his ideas.
“Engineers will design the enclosure, and robots will be used to erect it. Other scientists and robots will handle key components of the plan and will work in tandem with the enclosure team. Two large gravitational drives mounted on each end of the transporter craft will provide propulsion and navigation.
“I’ll handle the computer system that will control everything. As you can imagine, this computer will be the largest and most powerful ever created. I’ve also created a plan for ongoing support and maintenance during the voyage. The plan is workable. Our planet can, and will, be saved, given the approval for the project by this council.”
Tanaka ended his presentation and the video screen again darkened. “I will be glad to answer your questions and address any concerns that you might have.”
There were many questions and comments brought forth by the audience. Tanaka addressed each with the utmost patience. He was encouraged by the increasing interest and positive attitude on the part of the council.
At last, the president said, “I have one last question for you. If we approve this plan, it will consume all our material and manpower resources for many years to come. What will happen if you fail?”
Tanaka shrugged his shoulders. “The same thing that will happen if you don’t approve my plan. We shall all perish.”
With that, he left the hall for the Grand Council to make their decision. He was confident that he had done everything possible to make a clear and understandable presentation. It was now out of his hands.
Chapter 2
The Interstellar Transporter
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” - Moliere
Tanaka had expected some skepticism, and he was not surprised at the responses to his outrageous plan. Had he not been a scientist of such enormous stature, he would surely have been ejected from the chamber in shame.
But, strangely enough, as much as the scientists who initially ridiculed the idea wanted to point out its impossibilities, one by one, they found themselves agreeing. Maybe, just maybe, it was possible after all.
The Grand Council, with the unanimous support of all the Cartaleans, the real power in Mylean government, approved the plan.
The government’s first step in the plan was to inform the citizenry. An expert consultant in communications was hired to act as a liaison between the public and the government. This person was also responsible for the management of any and all information that would be released. This liaison had remarkable skills that she used to ease tensions and fears and then to achieve public trust and acceptance for the project.
The size of the project and the length of time it would take were so great that the public mindset had to be positive to ensure its success. Myleans of today would be sacrificing for Myleans of tomorrow. A campaign to “Save Mylea” was immediately launched all over the planet.
Tanaka was named project leader. He moved quickly to divide the project into logical subprojects that could be worked on in tandem.
A leading mechanical engineer would guide the building of the gigantic geodesic structure that would eventually enclose the planet. It would have to be large enough to enclose the planet and allow sufficient space for the placement of an artificial sun.
Tanaka’s calculations indicated that the artificial sun must be approximately forty thousand miles from the planet’s surface. The geodesic housing Mylea would then have to be twice that in diameter. It was the enormous size of that geodesic that made the project so large as to be virtually incomprehensible.
A top nuclear scientist was assigned to design and build the nuclear fusion reactor that would replace their sun for the duration of the trip to a new location. The artificial sun would need to be started and ramped up as the final segment of the enclosure was placed, completing the geodesic. The calculations and controls involved with such a complex operation were an extraordinary achievement in nuclear and computer engineering.
A leading astronomer was assigned the task of creating the night sky inside the geodesic enclosure so that the night sky would seem normal during the journey. That “sky” also had to absorb all of the radiation from the artificial sun not absorbed by Mylea or one of its two moons. All that excess energy would be collected and used to supply energy elsewhere on the transporter craft.
An astrophysicist was given the responsibility of designing and building the gravity drive systems required to maintain the planet at the center of the geodesic structure. The system would also allow the planet to rotate as usual.
Again, highly sophisticated computer technology was required as the planet would be isolated within the geodesic sphere long before the interstellar transporter could begin to move them out of its current orbit and begin the journey.
During this time, all processes and systems would be tested extensively to ensure a safe transition.
A gravity physicist was assigned to design and build the gravity drive systems that would eventually propel the massive interstellar transporter through space. They would be on a scale never attempted before, but Tanaka had computer-modeled them, and he had absolute confidence in their ability to build them successfully.
Mylea’s movement through space as it circled its sun would contribute to the movement of the enclosure when it was ready to leave the orbit and began its journey through deep space. The interstellar transport would slowly begin to divert from its original orbital path. Once it achieved a satisfactory heading, the transporter would begin accelerating as it headed into deep space and toward the great spiral galaxy.
The transition from the orbit to the space travel mode would be so smooth that there would be no notice on Mylea. Within the interstellar transporter, no notice of the extreme acceleration in speed would be felt. Eventually, the transporter speed would reach near the speed of light. Even at that speed it was estimated to take almost ten thousand years to reach a potentially desirable site somewhere in the outer edge of the Milky Way.
Tanaka and an elite corps of computer engineers undertook the task of designing the computer system that would be responsible for managing the interstellar transporter and all of its supporting craft during the epic voyage. The computer would be the most powerful and intelligent machine ever created. This behemoth would be the crown jewel of his long and illustrious career.
Tanaka had long believed that he could create a computer that could think much like a living being. This electronic brain would adapt itself to the situation at hand and respond accordingly.
Next, Tanaka made exhaustive studies of the Mylean brain and how it functioned. At last, he was satisfied that he could create this new type of computer that had the capabilities of a living brain. It would be the most powerful computer system ever created, and importantly, it would be able to increase its own power and knowledge over time. It would constantly be changing and evolving just like a living being.
The interstellar transporter project was so enormous that it required the full-time work of almost all scientists and engineers from every field. In fact, the project would involve the entire planet in one way or another. If a new type of tool was needed, it was developed. If a subproject was unworkable, it was replaced with a new plan. The preparations moved slowly but ever closer to the day when actual construction would begin.
As with many large projects, nothing seemed to happen for a very long time. But in engineering rooms all over the planet, the lights were often seen burning late into the night.
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At last, all was in readiness, and the project leadership gathered for one last meeting before construction work began.
Speaking to the group, Tanaka somberly outlined the scope of the project. “My fellow scientists and engineers, we gather here to begin a task that many still think is impossible. That opin
ion is understandable, for it is indeed a challenge beyond anything we have ever faced before.
“However, I have evaluated each and every subproject and the full project as a whole, and I am convinced that we can do it. Any project, no matter how complicated, no matter how large, can be broken down into manageable segments. Many of those segments can proceed in parallel. Fortunately, we have a lot of time for this project. So much time, in fact, that none of us here today will live to see the project to its completion.
“Nevertheless, it is the most important work of our lives. We are privileged to be in a position to be a part of an effort that will assure that our civilization, indeed our beloved planet, Mylea, survives the impending cosmic cataclysm.”
The usually stoic Tanaka paused while wiping a tear from his cheek, then continued, “It is my honor to have been named project director. But let me assure you that I am not the most important person involved in this undertaking. Each of you look at the person on your right, and then at the person on your left. You and they are the most important persons on this project. If any one of us fails, then we all fail. And, if we all fail, we have failed Mylea.”
Pausing to look into as many eyes directly as possible, Tanaka, in a voice filled with resolution, said, “That is why we will not fail, I will not fail, and you will not fail. Collectively, we will not fail Mylea!”
Myleans, not noted for their emotional outbursts, all rose to their feet and applauded.
The first stage of the project was to design and build worker robots. These computerized creatures were necessary for building the enclosure for the planet and performing a multitude of other construction-related functions. They would be controlled remotely by operators in a centralized laboratory.
The size of the project dictated that its fabrication take place in outer space. Some sub-components could be pre-built on Mylea, but the vast majority of everything required assembly in space.
A great deal of time was spent considering the structure that would enclose the planet. Tanaka and his staff would build many prototypes before one was deemed acceptable. The plan was elegantly simple. The geodesic structure would be interlocking panels that would be installed by the robots. Each panel would give, and gain, strength from its neighbors.
These panels, several billion of them, were precisely identical, meaning they would need only one template for the manufacturing process, which could take place in many different areas.
Each of the panels making up the geodesic structure holding Mylea would have an embedded microchip that would monitor for any loss of integrity. If a weakness were detected, the chip would send a signal to the main computer and a robot would be dispatched immediately to repair or replace that panel. The use of such chips was a common practice in Mylean technology, particularly in their spacecraft that were designed to operate remotely for long periods of time.
In addition to building an army of robots, Tanaka’s engineers improved the design of their robotic mining spacecraft to make them suitable for exploring the far reaches of space in search of a possible relocation site. These spacecraft would analyze a particular star and its light spectrum, possible orbits, and the ability of the location to support Mylean life. These complex requirements and many others would be analyzed and transmitted back to the primary computer on the transporter for evaluation.
These remote spacecraft functioned as scouts, but, they also had another important function. They would locate and analyze dangerous situations. Then, using the data from their findings, the interstellar transporter could be routed safely away from such obstacles.
Hundreds of such craft were launched into outer space long before the interstellar transporter was completed and ready to begin its journey. The data transmitted back to Mylea proved to be crucial in determining the initial course for the interstellar transporter.
The heart of the entire project was that massive computer system, the electronic brain, which Tanaka and his team designed and built. It would operate, control, and maintain the entire interstellar transporter along with the vast numbers of explorer and mining craft. This system was so complex that it took many years to design and perfect.
The computer was so sophisticated that it could carry out all its functions without intervention by a living being. The data banks would hold all Mylea’s historical and scientific data. It would be a virtual living organism, able to detect any malfunction in any component, including its own, and repair or replace the defective part without outside intervention.
The computer would also be responsible for managing the activities and functions of the vast army of robots that had been created to build and maintain the interstellar transporter and its many support craft.
And finally, Tanaka enabled the computer not only to build and enlarge the interstellar transporter but also to enlarge on its capability and intelligence. It would take thousands of years to reach the Milky Way galaxy and the interstellar transporter, and its computer, would be growing and expanding during the entire time.
Tanaka had complete faith in his project, yet he knew that even the best of plans could encounter disasters. If, for some reason, the Myleans were lost during the long journey, there must be a plan in place to ensure that their civilization would not become extinct. With this in mind, he prepared a plan to collect and store Mylean DNA samples. The DNA would be stored in special cryogenic vaults capable of maintaining it safely for many, many years.
Next, Tanaka programmed the computer system with the capability of creating new individuals from the stored DNA, but only if the unthinkable happened.
Many years ago, their scientists had succeeded in unraveling the Mylean genome. It had been an awesome task that took vast funding and many scientists to complete. The genome was made up of over three billion units, and complex automation was required to make the study practical. Now, that vast knowledge had been used to make incredible medical and scientific advances.
Along the way, these same scientists perfected the cloning process that would allow them to create plants, animals, and even Myleans. The government, ever alert for possible misuse of technology, enacted legislation that would prevent the misuse of the cloning process. It was labeled a potentially dangerous activity and was highly restricted.
Tanaka studied these laws and discovered that there could be a very serious problem for his project if, for some reason, the populace did not survive the journey to a new location. He would have to find a way to clone new individuals and repopulate the planet. After careful study, he asked that the current law be amended to make an allowance for this highly unlikely situation.
The amendment was approved, and Tanaka programmed the computer to allow the cloning process to be done. However, it was stipulated that cloning could only take place to repopulate Mylea after the planet had been successfully relocated to its new home.
At last, Tanaka felt that he had planned for all contingencies, and he was content in the knowledge that the project would be completed. He prepared voluminous plans and training programs for the scientists and engineers who would succeed him. As he became more and more frail, he knew that he must put one last thing into place. It would be his last act of genius.
He and his team of scientists devised a complex security system to protect all operations and functions of the main computer system. However, Tanaka was well aware that this computer was so powerful that it could even modify its own program code. The results could be potentially unthinkable. A super intelligent machine with the ability to create other intelligent machines had the potential to be a danger to biological beings, perhaps even attempt to replace them entirely.
Tanaka felt that he had to establish a control mechanism that would hold the main computer in check and place some reasonable constraints on the limits of its activities.
After a great deal of thought, Tanaka devised a second computer system, which he named the Master Control Module to monitor every activity of the main computer system. The new system had the power to
limit, and even prohibit, actions by the main computer. Effectively, the Master Control Module, or MCM, became the conscience of the main computer system.
Tanaka always thought of the main computer as a male, and he came up with a male name for his creation. He named the computer “Maxx” because his creation had maximum power. He added the extra “x” as a reminder that this computer was many, many times more powerful than anything ever created in the past.
Tanaka considered the Master Control Module to be a feminine being. In memory of his parents, his father was always the boss unless he made the mistake of disagreeing with his mother. On the rare occasions that it happened, the father was immediately overruled by the mother. In a very unusual moment of levity, he nicknamed the MCM, “Mom.”
And, like his mom, the MCM would always have the final say. She would hum away in the background until something was done to get her attention, an action or process that was deemed unacceptable, and then she would act immediately and decisively. The action would be overruled and forbidden, just like at home.
Tanaka carefully planned for all contingencies, and he was well aware that he would have to prevent access to the MCM program editor function. He knew that someday, for some reason, Maxx would want to overrule the MCM and do things his way. That could never happen. The two must act together as a system with checks and balances.
Tanaka recognized that after the successful completion of the relocation of Mylea, changes in the code for the MCM might be needed. But to prevent that from happening before, he would need to create an unbreakable password system. This was not an easy task considering Maxx’s amazing abilities and speed of operations.
At last, Maxx was programmed with all the intelligence and information needed for the long journey through space. The MCM functioned perfectly, and, just as planned, prevented any unacceptable actions by Maxx. Tanaka, even though old and in ill health, had one last stroke of genius. He would use the DNA of a living being as the password to the program editor. The MCM code could not be edited without that password.