by Linn Schwab
As the spectators watched in stunned silence, the Livingstone’s officers slowly walked to the podium and gathered in a huddle around their Captain. “What’s happening, Captain?” one of them asked. “Are they test–firing the engines or something?”
“No,” he replied, shaking his head as he watched the glow begin to streak across the sky. He took a deep breath and confirmed what everyone suspected. “It appears that the Livingstone is leaving without us.”
CHILDHOODS LOST 047
Chaos and confusion gripped the boardroom at the world headquarters of Practical Solutions. A video screen on one of the room’s walls displayed a live image of the Livingstone’s departure. Seated around an ornate conference table were the board of directors and management team, as well as the company’s CEO. They’d been watching a live video stream from Cape Canaveral, expectantly waiting to hear Captain Trujillo’s speech — something they were certain would be favorably received and make them all proud to be a part of this venture. But the camera feed had been hastily redirected when the Livingstone’s engines had flared to life. After an initial moment of shock, the executives had begun placing frantic phone calls in an effort to determine what was happening. Information was slowly trickling in now, but the reason for the ship’s loss remained a mystery.
Seated at one end of the table, Collin Bruce, the chairman and CEO, waited impatiently for updates from his colleagues. The intense duress of the current situation was clearly visible on his face. If the ship was indeed lost — as seemed to be the case — it would represent a tremendous financial setback for the company. As the current CEO, he could find himself in the hot seat, and possibly even be asked to step down from his position. The possibility of being forced out of his job right now was almost unimaginable, when literally only a few moments earlier, he’d been poised to witness the realization of his company’s most significant achievement. How could this possibly have happened? he wondered, running through different scenarios in his mind. Finally, his patience became stretched to the limit and he demanded an update on the situation.
“Alright, people, talk to me. What do we know for certain right now?”
The first to reply was Rajendra Shah, with the details of his call to Alpha platform.
“Alpha’s controllers are reporting that the airlocks were all closed from inside the Livingstone. The moorings were apparently released from there as well, and it appears that the ship is being controlled from its bridge. There are no indications of any outside transmissions being used to issue unauthorized commands.”
Clayton Marshall answered next, relaying information from Cape Canaveral.
“All of the ship’s officers’ whereabouts are accounted for. They’re all in attendance at the launch site in Florida, just as they were expected to be.”
Mitch Fontaine raised his hand and said, “The rest of the crew is still on Alpha platform. I asked security to perform a head count, and all of them are currently still present there.”
The chairman looked from one board member to the next as if waiting for further explanation. “If none of our people are on board the Livingstone, then who could possibly be flying the thing? Don’t we have security measures in place? Aren’t there supposed to be restricted access codes to prevent something like this from happening?”
“It has to be someone inside the project,” Clayton insisted. “They must have found a way to override our codes. Someone who had access to the ship during construction maybe?”
“If I may suggest,” one of the board members said, “why don’t we place a call to the Livingstone directly, and just ask them to tell us who they are? At this point, what have we got to lose? They already have our ship.”
The chairman nodded and directed Mitch to put a call through to the Livingstone. The room remained breathless and still as he keyed the numbers into his phone and asked Alpha station to connect him to the Livingstone. A single ring tone confirmed the connection, followed by the sound of a female voice, politely offering a recorded reply: “Thank you for calling Practical Solutions, where your everyday problems are our greatest concern. All of our representatives are currently busy. Please remain on the line, and your call will be answered in the order it was received.”
The board members struggled to keep themselves from laughing, but few of them managed to conceal their grins. The recording had been copied from their own customer service department. Whoever had taken control of the Livingstone was obviously expecting a call from them. “Well,” Mitch finally said with a chuckle, “at least we know they have a sense of humor.”
“Keep the line open,” the chairman instructed him. “Maybe they’ll answer when they’ve finished laughing at us.”
Another phone in the room began to ring. Rajendra grabbed a handset and held it up to his ear. “It’s security on Alpha platform,” he said, covering the microphone with his hand. “They say several members of the Scandinavian work group boarded the Livingstone just prior to its departure. Apparently there was no one else on board at the time. I guess we know who we’re dealing with now.”
“Look!” Mitch said, pointing at the video monitor. “There’s something happening on the news channel feed.” The monitor showed a man looking into the camera as if preparing to deliver a speech.
“That’s Jüergens Allers!” Clayton exclaimed. “He’s the head of the Scandinavian work group!”
“Turn the sound up,” the chairman insisted. “Let’s see what he has to say.”
“It’s a recording,” one of the board members noted, reading from a script across the bottom of the screen. “Received by a broadcast center in Atlanta, just a few minutes ago, apparently.”
A brief pulse of static blared out from the speakers, followed by the sound of Jüergens Allers’ voice. “Citizens of Earth, my name is Jüergens Allers. If you are watching this recording, you are no doubt wondering what just happened up in space. I, along with a group of trusted colleagues, have assumed control of the ESS David Livingstone for the purpose of departing this solar system in search of other habitable worlds. Our reasons for deciding to take this action can be summarized by a list of complaints against humanity. Complaints that almost certainly would have been filed if the aggrieved parties possessed the ability to do so.”
“Oh, great,” Clayton said in exasperation, “we’re dealing with ideologues. This project is a total write–off now. It’s impossible to reason with people like this.”
“For too long, now,” Jüergens continued, “humans have pillaged and plundered Earth’s resources to the detriment of scores of other species. We’ve ravaged and laid waste to their habitats, concerned only with the thought of enriching our own lives. Well, my friends, the time has finally come for us to give back some of what we have taken. Just think of this ship as a form of restitution. A small token of repentance for past indiscretions inflicted against some of Earth’s other inhabitants.
“Our intention is to seek out a habitable world where those species can once again thrive in viable populations, free from the constraints of our zoos and aquariums, and the threats of dwindling genetic diversity. To that end, we’ve collected an abundance of samples from a wide variety of Earth’s life forms. If and when a suitable world is located, we will attempt to recreate life as it should have existed on our own planet, absent the disastrous influence of man. With that goal in mind, we take our leave of Earth, and offer our warmest wishes to all of those we leave behind. It is our hope that a majority of you will support our cause in principle, and see fit to wish us good fortune in this endeavor. Good day.”
The room remained silent for a moment as the board members contemplated what they’d just heard. “Well,” Chairman Bruce announced, “I guess we know pretty much where we stand now. Do any of you have suggestions as to how we might be able to get our ship back?”
The phone in front of Mitch began to ring now. The call he’d put through to the Livingstone was being answered.
“Put it on speaker,”
the chairman said.
“Hello,” Jüergens’ voice announced over the phone, “you’ve reached the bridge of the David Livingstone.”
“Uh ... Mr. Allers, I presume,” Chairman Bruce said to him.
“That’s correct. And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“My name is Collin Bruce, Mr. Allers. Is that name familiar to you?”
“Well, hello there, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I certainly know who you are. I have to say, I’m somewhat honored to be speaking with you. This is quite the wonderful ship you’ve built for us. My compliments to you and your company.”
“Now, Mr. Allers, be reasonable. That ship belongs to everyone on Earth, and everyone on Earth stands to benefit from it. We didn’t invest all that time and effort just so you and a cadre of your closest friends could play intergalactic Noah’s Ark. As chairman and CEO of Practical Solutions, and on behalf of all of our investors, I respectfully insist that you turn that ship around and return it to its rightful owners.”
“I appreciate the invitation to return, Mr. Chairman, and I’m sure we’d receive a warm welcome upon arrival. But I’m afraid I must respectfully decline. It seems I’ve already made travel arrangements.”
The chairman frowned and looked around at the rest of his management team. “Very well, Mr. Allers,” he said with reluctance, “I’m afraid you’ve left me with no other option than to forcefully persuade you to return our property.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” Jüergens asked. “You can’t exactly turn on the flashing lights and force us to pull over to the side of the road.”
“Are you forgetting about THOR, Mr. Allers? All I have to do is make a quick phone call, and I can have the Livingstone blown to pieces.”
“Well, Mr. Bruce, the only thing I can say to that is, good luck explaining to all the children of Earth why you felt it was necessary to destroy Noah’s Ark.” A loud click crackled out of the speaker, followed by the sound of a steady dial tone. The conversation was apparently over.
“He’s right,” Rajendra insisted, “destroying that ship would be a public relations disaster!”
“Relax, Raj,” Chairman Bruce replied, “I was just bluffing about using THOR. I have no intention of killing anyone. That’s not exactly how we do business. Mitch,” he said, “contact our tech department and see if you can get one of our experts on the line. I want to know what our options are. Maybe there’s a way we can control the ship remotely.”
* * * *
Seated at the Livingstone’s navigation controls, Jüergens kept his eyes on the indicator lights, ready to intervene if something unexpected happened. In another chair, just a few paces to his left, Gustav was watching a bank of monitors — his face and clothing still drenched with perspiration.
“You look a little nervous,” Jüergens said. “You should try to relax a little.”
“Nervous?” Gustav replied sarcastically. “Why should I be nervous? We’re only attempting to steal the most expensive single piece of hardware ever created by human kind. It’s not like they’re going to want it back, or anything. I’m sure they probably won’t even miss it.”
“Well, so far it looks like we’re having some success. I wasn’t even sure we’d make it this far.” A message light suddenly started flashing on his console. “It looks like we’re getting another call.” He reached forward to flip a switch. The familiar voice of a close acquaintance broke in over the intercom speaker:
“This is terra firma, calling Valley Forge. Come in, Valley Forge. Over.”
Jüergens chuckled before responding. “That’s very funny, Dr. Shimano. Are you calling for Huey, Dewey, or Louie?”
“You know, I can never remember which one of them survived. The next time I watch that movie, I guess I’ll have to pay closer attention. So, have you heard anything from the big man yet?”
“I spoke with him just a few minutes ago.”
“And?”
“It went pretty much like you predicted it would.”
“He threatened you with the planetary asteroid defense, didn’t he. Well, you had to know that was coming. What else could he possibly throw at you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on it for you. If they even try to point that thing in your direction, I’ll make sure you get a heads up.”
“Thanks. I hope you’re somewhere safe right now. I’m sure they’re going to be monitoring our communications to try to find out who our co–conspirators might be.”
“Yeah, well, we all knew the risks when we got involved in this. Actually, I think I’m safe from extradition here. And the accommodations really aren’t all that bad. I’m sitting at an oceanside cafe in the Bahamas with your favorite conservationist, the lovely Dr. Akinyi.”
“Hi, Jüergens!” a female voice sang out, laced with hints of an African accent. “I miss you and Gwen already, my friend. I guess this means those codes I gave you actually worked?”
Jüergens smiled. “Thankfully, yes. If they hadn’t, we’d still be docked back at Alpha, trying to explain ourselves to security. And what about you, Dr. Akinyi? Are you going to be alright with spending the rest of your life stuck in a tropical paradise?”
“Well,” she answered, tentatively, “I’m going to miss working with my lions and elephants. But, there’s plenty of work to be done here in the islands. I think I can be happy here. It’s not such a bad place to be exiled to. Much better than being stuck on a space ship, I guess.”
Jüergens chuckled and started to say something, but a loud screeching noise interrupted him, and the signal from Earth was abruptly cut off. He glanced to his side at Gustav and frowned. “Well, I guess that’s the end of that conversation. Looks like our signal is being jammed now. We’re on our own from here on out.”
* * * *
Dr. Shimano rapped his fingers on the tabletop and looked down at the silent phone in disappointment. “I had hoped,” he said to Dr. Akinyi, “that we’d have a little longer before they cut us off.”
“You can’t really blame them,” she said, leaning against the back of her chair. “I’m sure they’re trying everything they can think of to find a way to get their ship back. Let’s just hope they don’t succeed, and that all of our friends stay safe up there.”
“They’ll be alright,” he assured her. “With every second that passes now, the Livingstone is continuing to pick up speed. Pretty soon, it’ll be out of THOR’s range, and then nothing on Earth will be able to stop it. I have to say, your plan worked like a charm, Doctor. Congratulations on a job well done.”
“My plan?” she responded, shaking her head. “No, my friend, I can’t take the credit for this idea.”
Dr. Shimano looked at her in surprise. “If it wasn’t your idea,” he said, “then exactly whose idea was it?”
She took a deep breath and gazed out over the ocean. “Someone sympathetic to our cause, apparently. It came to me in the form of an anonymous note, slipped under my door at a hotel in Cairo. The plan was laid out in great detail. Even the security codes were included.”
“You really had no idea those codes were going to work, then?”
“No. It was a huge gamble, for sure. But it was a risk that I felt was well worth taking. And luckily, it seems to have paid off for us. Not that you and I will ever benefit from it — aside from the knowledge that we helped to pull it off.”
“So, do you wish you could have gone with them? On their journey to locate a suitable world?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you?”
He nodded. “They’re making a tremendous sacrifice in doing this, though. Possibly spending the rest of their lives on a space ship. And you and I are the ones who put them up to it. It just seems that we should both be sharing in that sacrifice. Not sitting here sipping on tropical drinks, in one of the most beautiful locations on Earth.”
“I know,” she said. “I feel that way too. But we both have a problem with our faces, don’t we? It’s a price we pay for being world famous in our fields, and fam
ously connected to an activist group. If either of us were to have even set foot on Alpha station, the red flags would have gone up in an instant, and our entire plan would have been jeopardized. Both of us were destined to play supporting roles in this, it seems. But I think we can be proud of our accomplishments, Doctor.” She raised her glass up to offer a toast. “To the crew of the ESS David Livingstone. May they follow the success of their legendary ancestors who long ago sailed the frigid waters of the north.”
Shimano smiled and raised his glass. “To their success,” he said, completing the toast. He took a sip then set his drink down on the table and gazed out at the ocean in contemplation. “You know, it’s a shame they didn’t name that ship the ‘Leif Erikson.’ Under the circumstances, it would’ve seemed so much more appropriate.”
* * * *
Chairman Bruce leaned forward as an image flashed up on the video screen. One of the company’s top engineers was joining the board meeting by video conference.
“Alright, Mr. Durbin,” the chairman addressed him, “I want to thank you for joining us on such short notice. Before we begin inundating you with questions, I’d like you to update us on any details that you think might be important for us to be aware of.”
“Okay,” the engineer responded, “well, first of all, we’ve been able to verify that whoever took control of the Livingstone used our own security codes to do so. How they managed to get those codes is a mystery. They were distributed in such a manner that no one person had access to all of them. And they would have needed every one of those codes in order to successfully launch the ship.