Star One: Neutron Star

by Raymond L. Weil

  “I need you to study that report,” Steve continued in a serious tone. “It’s extremely important, Ty! Stay in here and read it.”

  “What’s going on, Steve?” asked Ty, looking at Steve inquisitively and then glancing at several of the glossy stellar photographs in the folder. He also noticed a long, detailed report from the Farside astronomers.

  “I’ll be back in an hour, and we will discuss that report in detail when I get back,” replied Steve standing up, his eyes never leaving Ty.

  “Is it that important?” asked Ty, wondering what was going on. Just what was in this report he was holding in his hand?

  “I need your input on what’s in that folder,” Steve spoke, trying to keep his voice steady. “I need to go to Main Control and check on some preparations for a mission we have coming up shortly. That mission involves the information in that folder. Teela will see to it that no one interrupts you.” Looking deeply into Ty’s eyes, Steve continued. “Ty, this is very important, the information in that folder is mindboggling. Less than a dozen people know what’s in there. We will talk in more detail when I get back.”

  “Okay” replied Ty, wondering just what the hell was going on. Why was Steve being so mysterious? It was almost as if he wanted to get out of the room and not be here. Ty wondered if it had anything to do with what was in the mysterious report.

  Steve walked over to the conference room door, which slid open. He paused, then turned and looked back at Ty. “Ty, I am truly sorry to put this on you, but I need your input, and you’re not going to like what’s in that folder.” Steve stepped out into the corridor and the door slid shut behind him, leaving Ty alone with the report.

  Ty watched the door slide silently shut behind Steve. Something had the station commander uptight and possibly a little frightened. What could have that effect on Steve? He had always been like a rock as long as Ty had known him.

  Leaning forward in his chair, Ty glanced at several of the glossy photos of star fields that he was holding in his hands. Someone had drawn a red circle around one small area on each photo. Inside the red circle, a small, barely discernible dot could barely be made out. Just what is going on here, Ty wondered? He had a sinking feeling that it did not involve the Jupiter Probe mission.

  Frowning, Ty laid the photos down and began reading the information in the folder. Within minutes, he was totally engrossed. As he read, his heart sank and his breathing quickened. This is unbelievable, he thought, as he slowly turned the pages, not wanting to believe what the report was trying to say. No wonder Steve was upset! A look of deep concern began to appear on his face, and he could feel a chill begin to run up his back as if someone had just stepped on his grave. This was certainly not what he had been expecting.

  -

  Jennifer was standing awkwardly in the receiving lounge of Star One’s upper wheel, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Kathleen had deposited her there before rushing off to supervise the unloading of several boxes of botanical specimens that she had brought up from Earth.

  Jennifer knew, from what Kathleen had excitedly told her earlier, that they contained samples of several new strains of algae and plant moss that would help to replenish the station’s oxygen supply more efficiently. Julie Gray, Kathleen’s boss, had sent her down to Earth to check on the specimens and bring them back up safely to the station. They had been specifically designed for Star One at one of the advanced space research facilities down on Earth.

  The lounge had a light gravity of about one-third Earth normal according to the sign on the door. The light gravity allowed new arrivals to make the adjustment from zero gravity to Earth normal more easily. Jennifer felt with every tentative step that she could easily lose her balance and end up bouncing embarrassingly off the ceiling. Or worse yet, end up sprawled out on the carpeted floor. She had an unsettling feeling that anyone that looked at her would recognize her as a newcomer.

  The lounge was extremely comfortable with a number of plush chairs, soft carpeting, pictures of scenes from Earth on the walls, and relaxing music playing quietly in the background. It was remarkably similar to any reception area that you might find in an office building down on Earth.

  A receptionist sat at a desk behind a small computer console, busily entering information as the new arrivals stood patiently in the short, quickly moving line in front of her. On the wall behind the receptionist was a large painting of Star One with a background of stars. It was one of the most beautiful paintings that Jennifer had ever seen. Next to it, there were several smaller paintings of Tycho City and the Earth as seen from the surface of the Moon. The paintings were quite breathtaking. The artist had captured the beauty of human construction amid the harshness of space.

  Carefully taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs so she wouldn’t lose her balance, Jennifer brushed her hair back out of her eyes. At least the light gravity helped to keep it partially in place, she reflected moodily. She had removed the rubber band as soon as she had exited the shuttle. Next time, she would be sure to take care of her hair before getting anywhere near low or zero gravity.

  Looking around the crowded reception area, she hoped Kathleen would hurry up and get back. She wanted to get her quarter’s assignment so she could get settled in. She certainly needed to clean up and change clothes. Spending 22 hours on a space shuttle in zero gravity had been an experience.

  At least visiting with Kathleen had helped make the time pass by more quickly. She thought for several minutes about some of the information about Star One that Kathleen had told her. Everything she said had sounded so intriguing, and Jennifer couldn’t wait to start her new job.

  “You must be Jennifer Stone, the new AI whiz,” a young girl’s voice spoke. “I understand you’re supposed to straighten out the station’s AI.”

  Startled, Jennifer turned and was shocked to see that no one was there. Had she imagined the voice? Maybe the trip and zero gravity had affected her more than she had thought. Great! Now I’m hearing voices, she thought. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to calm herself. Then, with dawning realization, she opened her eyes. Realizing what had just happened, she spoke back quietly, hoping no one would notice.

  “Hello, Teela. Do you always try to scare new arrivals out of their wits that way? And yes, I am Jennifer Stone,” she spoke calmly, folding her hands in her lap and looking down at them waiting for a response from the AI.

  Most AIs spoke in a monotone, sexless voice. However, Teela had sounded just like a young girl, and Jennifer was amazed at the different inflections she had heard in just those few brief words. She wanted to hear more; this was certainly not what she had been expecting.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” replied Teela with a slight hint of nervousness apparent in her voice.

  “Thank you, Teela,” responded Jennifer, wanting the AI to continue to speak.

  “I wasn’t trying to startle you. I just wanted to be the first to welcome you aboard Star One,” Teela said, trying to appease Jennifer, and then almost childishly she added quickly, “And I’m not as bad as you’ve been told!”

  Jennifer smiled, knowing that Teela could see everything that went on in the station. Teela was capable of monitoring every square inch of the station and the Space Platform. Jennifer was also surprised at the emotion displayed in Teela’s voice pattern. Someone had done an impressive job with this AI for it to sound so human. After just meeting Teela, Jennifer was already highly impressed. In just those few words, Teela had told Jennifer that she was much more sophisticated than any AI Jennifer had ever encountered before.

  Jennifer knew from the briefings she had been through that the AI had mysteriously become sentient. It had even reportedly developed a unique personality of its own. Based on her own experience with Earth AIs, she had not expected this level of sophistication.

  This AI was far in advance of any she had dealt with before, Jennifer realized. She felt a tingling sense of rising excitement at the implications. How had this happened? What type of pro
gramming had been used? A thousand questions began to run through her mind. She hoped that a long talk with Andre Matheson would answer some of them.

  A big part of her job would involve working with the AI and helping it to better understand its association with humans. Andre had been doing this, but according to Commander Larson, he was in over his head and needed some assistance with the AI.

  Commander Larson had indicated some concern in the direction in which Teela’s learning was going and some recent irrationality the AI had demonstrated in its behavior patterns. Before Jennifer could respond to Teela anymore, the door to the lounge slid open to reveal a fuming Kathleen. If looks could kill, Jennifer clearly did not want to be on the receiving end of Kathleen’s ire!

  “She’s not happy,” Teela commented, and then became silent.

  “That damn unloading crew should be spaced!” Kathleen said heatedly, walking over to Jennifer, her eyes wide and showing a trace of anger. “They almost smashed one of my samples, and if I hadn’t been there to snatch it out of the way it would have been crushed between two food crates! Wait until Julie hears about this. I can guarantee that the dock foreman will have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Catching her breath, Kathleen calmed herself down, realizing that everyone remaining in the room was staring at them, and the secretary was frowning in disapproval at the disturbance. “Come on Jennifer; let’s get you settled in.”

  Jennifer gingerly got up and felt dizzy as she swayed slightly on her feet. The room seemed to spin as she tried to maintain her balance. This is going to take some getting used to, she realized.

  “You will get use to the different gravity areas on the station quickly enough. In no time at all you will have your gravity legs like the rest of us,” Kathleen said, smiling and reaching out a steadying hand to hold Jennifer’s arm, allowing her a moment for her head to clear. “After awhile you will hardly notice the different gravity levels on Star One.”

  Kathleen could well remember her own first experiences in low gravity. Jennifer was handling it much better than she had. Moving slowly across the room, they walked together to the secretary’s desk. They took their places in the now very short line to check in.

  The receptionist was polite and efficient, asking Jennifer a few basic questions and entering the information rapidly on her touch screen. “We already have this information on file, but we like to double check to make sure that no mistakes have been made,” the receptionist explained pleasantly, handing Jennifer a small computer printout with directions on it.

  “Green Level Two; not bad. That’s close to where I live,” Kathleen said, peering over Jennifer’s shoulders at the printout.

  Guiding Jennifer out another exit, Kathleen walked them toward a bank of elevators. “My quarters are in Green Level Three. That’s one level below yours and one section over on the rim. I think you will like your living quarters. For our full time people, the living quarters are quite spacious, especially considering that we’re on a space station.”

  One of the elevator doors slid open and the two women stepped inside. The elevator quickly took them down toward the main hub of the center wheel where, Kathleen explained, they would catch another transit shaft elevator to the outer rim. As the elevator dropped, Jennifer felt the gravity gradually increase as it slowly rose toward Earth normal.

  -

  Steve entered Main Control at a brisk walk and looked around the operations center, which was the heart of the station. Main Control was located in the large central hub of the main wheel.

  Main Control was a large, rectangular room with a bank of ten large viewscreens on the forward wall and numerous control stations around its perimeter. The screens dominated the room. The largest screen was currently focused on the Space Platform so they could monitor the progress on the Jupiter Probe. The other nine screens continually switched to different views outside and inside the station every ten seconds to allow the entire station to be monitored on a regular basis.

  Normally, twenty crewmembers manned the control stations in Main Control. Everything could be monitored and controlled from here. Steve had come to rely on Teela for many of the station’s monitoring jobs. However, until they knew what her developing personality was going to be like, the AI had been taken off line from many of her normally assigned duties as a safety precaution.

  This had added considerably to the already heavy workload of Main Control. Another half dozen people had been added to help cover the jobs until Teela could be counted on to resume her duties. Steve hoped Jennifer Stone would be able to help them with Teela. They genuinely needed Teela functioning at full capacity. Steve hadn’t realized how much the entire station had come to rely on the sentient AI until the problems with her actions began. At the moment, Teela couldn’t be trusted to perform her normally assigned duties.

  The entire operations center on first impression was a busy work area of people, computers, screens, controls, instruments, readouts, and various monitoring equipment. Personnel at computers could be heard quietly talking to different areas of the station, confirming readings and work schedules.

  “Any response from Earthside?” asked Steve, walking over to the gorgeous blonde manning the central command station.

  The command station was in the center of the room on a slightly raised platform designed for two people. It allowed instant contact with any part of the station or the Space Platform. It held a myriad of small screens, controls, and communication options, which gave the officer in charge a quick over view of Star One and the Space Platform.

  Christina Jones was the stations second in command. She was a civilian, with a military background. The people down on Earth had demanded that a civilian be chosen for this role. The officer in the other command chair was Lieutenant Commander Kevin Anderson, the day shift duty officer. He quickly stood up and offered Steve his place, moving off to inspect the other stations in Main Control.

  Christy turned her head toward Steve’s voice, removing the small com unit from her ear that she had been using to converse with the Space Platform. Christy was 36 years old and had been working on Star One for the past five years during its construction phase and now in Main Control. Because of Christy’s regular workouts and the tough physical requirements she maintained, there was not an ounce of fat on her lean body.

  “No response yet.” she responded, looking over inquiringly at Margaret Sullivan, the communications officer, who shook her head negatively answering the unasked question.

  Margaret knew that Christy was expecting an important message from Earth. She was to signal her as soon as it arrived.

  Seeing Steve’s eyes shift to the main viewscreen and the Jupiter Probe, Christy added, “We should have the ship fueled, supplied, and ready for launch in 72 hours.”

  “That’s good news, Christy. What about the SRBs?” asked Steve, watching the main screen and the activity going on around the Jupiter Probe.

  The SRBs were the last crucial part that needed to be attached to the ship. They had been working on the ship at a breathtaking pace for almost two weeks, since right after the Farside data was received. Fortunately, the ship had already been completed when Mase Colton had contacted Steve with the frightening information from Farside. Now they were just modifying the ship slightly for this new mission.

  “The new SRBs will be attached on second or third shift tomorrow night,” responded Christy, checking some information on a touch screen. “The fusion reactor is fueled and ready to go online. It can supply the ship’s internal power needs at any time.”

  “Has it been checked by Dryson and Stoler?” Steve asked. The new fusion reactor they had installed on the Jupiter Probe was the key to this entire mission. The two nuclear physicists had designed the Jupiter Probe’s fusion reactor, and Steve trusted their work. They were also the ones that had designed and built the two fusion reactors powering Star One. Both men were brilliant and at the top in their field.

  “Yes,” Christy replied with her rich
blue eyes meeting Steve’s brown ones. “They report that everything tests out fine.”

  “That’s good,” replied Steve, letting out a long breath. If the fusion reactor failed to function as projected the mission would have no chance of success.

  “Todd reports that the cryogenic argon tanks have been filled and pressure tested at maximum,” continued Christy, looking at some data being displayed on a small computer screen on her console. “The liquid oxygen tanks are topped off, and the new mission flight program has been installed on both flight computers on the ship.” She had been watching the ship’s preparations during her entire shift, knowing how important it was that everything go smoothly.

  Steve nodded his head, pleased that everything was going as planned. Lieutenant Commander Todd Williams was in charge of the Space Platform and one of the few people that knew what was going on. Steve had briefed him several weeks back on the neutron star and the daring plan that they had decided upon.

  Todd had been shocked at what Steve was planning, but had agreed that, under the circumstances, it was necessary. Todd had been working the crew of the Space Platform around the clock to get the Jupiter Probe ready for the mission that Steve and Mase had come up with.

  Everyone in Main Control knew that something was going on. For the last two weeks, work on the Jupiter Probe had gone from a one-shift operation to a frantic three-shift operation, throwing many other projects far behind schedule. Rumors were already floating about the station, but so far no one was sure what was up.

  Steve found Christy’s two-piece uniform slightly distracting as usual. It consisted of a dark blue blouse with white trim tucked into a pair of dark blue pants. This was the current on duty uniform style for the women crewmembers of the station. Christy had a nice figure, and Steve had always found her attractive. Her uniform only made her more so.

  Steve and Christy were very close friends; some rumors spoken quietly around the station even said lovers. However, Steve and Christy had lived a platonic life, sharing a few meals occasionally and being seen together often in the station’s recreational facilities where they both liked to work out. Both had felt that being responsible for the station it wouldn’t be a good idea to take their relationship any further.