“We know they’re well qualified,” Blackwater acknowledged. “This type of mission has never been attempted before. If you don’t mind, I would like to set up a brief appointment with each crewmember to speak with them.”
“I will tell Commander Erwin and have him set up a schedule,” replied Steve, knowing it might be beneficial to the crew. “But, Doctor Blackwater, they will have to be short sessions. We don’t have a lot of time remaining before the mission is launched.”
“I understand, Commander,” answered Blackwater, thinking about what he needed to say to the crewmembers.
“Each one of you will be expected to prepare your departments as if the station will have to survive completely on its own resources,” continued Steve, looking at each one of the people around the table. “I will be going down to Earth shortly to meet with the president and Tim McPhryson. We will be working on some contingency plans in case the neutron star turns out to be a serious threat to Earth.”
“Do you think the station can survive?” asked one of the other department heads. She had been quiet during the entire meeting. If the station was going to be put in danger, then she might ask to be allowed to return to Earth along with her family.
“We think so,” Steve replied. “With the extra coating of Luxen, the station should stand a very good chance of survival.”
“What about our families back down on Earth?” Andre asked. He knew others were thinking the same thing.
“We don’t know yet,” answered Steve. His eyes moved across the people in the room, seeing the same question on some of their faces. “We have only known about this threat for about a month, and we are still working on contingency plans. As soon as we know more, you will be informed.”
Steve answered a few more questions and finally dismissed the meeting, reminding everyone that what they had heard was strictly confidential. He also told them that a brief announcement would be made on the station’s news channel that evening with some additional information. Not everything, but enough to satisfy everyone for a few days. Another announcement would be made within the week to the station personnel in general as to what the actual situation was, probably immediately after the FarQuest launched on its neutron star mission.
-
Several hours later, Steve took one of the personnel elevators down to the Power Wheel. He wanted to talk to Dryson and Stoler and make a tour of their department. Steve felt a gentle sensation of falling as the elevator dropped the 275 feet that separated the two wheels. Within a few seconds, the door slid quietly open to reveal a brightly lit corridor leading off toward this section’s security area. No one could enter the Power Wheel without a security clearance from Steve or Christy.
Two security guards stood beside the main entrance to the hub of the wheel, which contained the main fusion reactor. Steve had less than twenty security personnel on the entire station. Their main job was to prevent people from wondering off into areas that could be hazardous to themselves or the station.
Steve signed in to the level’s logbook, and one of the guards opened the heavy Luxen coated door, allowing Steve to step through. Steve paused just inside the door, looking across the immense room. The room was nearly 200 feet across from wall to wall and 100 feet high. In the center, the giant fusion reactor dominated the room, standing nearly 50 feet tall with its large central dome rising nearly to the ceiling. It was spread out across nearly 150 feet of the floor.
Huge control panels covered the sides of the walls at which several dozen engineers and technicians stood or sat, carefully monitoring the reactor. A small control center over on the far side of the room served as Dryson and Stoler’s main work office. From there they could monitor the condition of the reactor and the production of Luxen.
Steve saw that one of the main hatches on the side of the reactor was currently open. Two men in heavy heat resistant armor were bringing out large, glowing plates of Luxen. They were using two sets of robot controlled mechanical arms that ran on an overhead trolley into the heart of the reactor. The mechanical arms could lift the large weight easily.
As Steve watched, the rapidly cooling plates were placed on a stack next to the freight elevator and lashed down securely. Once completely cooled, they would be taken to the upper wheel for storage. The two men then maneuvered the mechanical arms back into the reactor to bring out the rest of that morning’s run.
The center of the reactor could be made weightless by eliminating the energy flowing through the special plating in the floor, which was responsible for the station’s gravity. This allowed for the production of Luxen, which was in high demand due to its strength and multiple industrial uses.
Steve knew that Dryson and Stoler normally made a morning run of Luxen and an afternoon run to meet their heavy contract schedules. Steve took a set of stairs down to the main floor level and made his way through the crowded floor toward Dryson and Stoler’s office.
Huge containers containing raw materials for the production of Luxen stood in most of the empty areas strapped securely to the floor. All this material came from the Moon via the mass driver. After being refined on the Space Platform, the necessary metals were shipped over to the Power Wheel. Once there, they were used for the creation of Luxen.
Entering the small control center, Steve saw Dryson and Stoler were bent over their desk looking at some schematics of the reactor. Both looked up as Steve came in.
“We were just about to call you,” Dryson said, standing up. “We can increase our production of Luxen by 30 percent if we add a third run each day.”
“That way, with the supplies we have on hand we can still cover most of our Earth contracts,” Stoler added. “We didn’t bring it up in the meeting, but it’s something we have been discussing amongst ourselves anyway with the soaring demand for Luxen. We have the personnel to cover the extra run if we adjust the work loads.”
“A 30 percent increase,” Steve repeated, surprised.
“Yes,” Dryson replied. “It is something we have been discussing in great detail. We would just need additional raw materials from the Moon.”
“We talked briefly with Commander Williams over on the Space Platform, and he has the excess refining capability that would be needed,” Stoler added.
“I have no problem with the increase. Just make sure the extra crew follows all of our safety procedures,” warned Steve, looking intently at the two. “We can’t afford an accident with the reactor.”
“It’s very obvious that if this neutron star comes in as close as LaRann thinks, the Earth will not survive as we now know it,” commented Stoler, looking directly at Steve. “We looked at some of their calculations, and it looks very bad.”
Steve was quiet. He knew that both Dryson and Stoler were too brilliant not to recognize the danger.
“There will definitely be some major, if not catastrophic changes,” added Dryson, looking down at some calculations on his desk. “The only real hope for long term survival may be here on the station and deep underground on the Moon. We will need all the money we can generate to bring supplies up from Earth. The station can’t produce everything we will need for long term survival in space.”
“Fortunately, our monetary reserves from our sales are quite large at the moment,” replied Steve, realizing that the two had been discussing the current situation and what they might have to do.
“There will have to be some major changes made to the station in order for it to survive,” continued Dryson, looking over at Stoler. “In its present form, we don’t feel the station can survive the stresses it may be subjected to.”
Steve remained quiet, not saying anything. It would be extremely difficult to hide anything from these two geniuses. These were some of the same concerns he had discussed with Mase Colton. The two had talked briefly on a secure com line several days earlier. Fortunately for Mase most of Tycho City, except for a few necessary surface installations, was already built deep underground in the large caverns they had blasted out yea
rs earlier. He knew that Mase was currently looking at building several new caverns that would be farther beneath the lunar surface.
“What do you propose?” asked Steve, knowing the two had probably already come up with some recommendations.
“We feel that the station needs to be considerably strengthened. We don’t know what type of gravitational stresses the station may be subjected to,” stated Stoler, pointing to a schematic of the station lying on the desk.
The schematic displayed all three wheels with small lines drawn connecting each. The lines ran from the edge of the top wheel to the center wheel, and from the bottom wheel back up to the outer edge of the center wheel again.
“Several of the station engineers we talked to have suggested producing four inch thick cables of Luxen,” explained Stoler, pointing to the lines on the schematic. “These would be stretched between the wheels, anchoring them to a thicker support beam of Luxen encircling the outer rim of the central wheel. We estimate that 30 Luxen cables linking each of the wheels together will serve to stabilize the station against any conceivable stress the station might be subjected to.”
“We also recommend that instead of adding a half inch of Luxen on the outer hull, you increase it to a full inch,” Dryson said, glancing over at the commander. “It will add more protection and help to stabilize the station if we are pulled out of our current orbit.”
“Have the station engineers draw up a completed plan and estimated amount of Luxen needed,” replied Steve, feeling the idea was a good one. He too had been wondering what could be done to strengthen the station. “Are we going to have enough Luxen to do all of this?”
“With the addition of a third run, we should be okay,” replied Stoler, glancing at some figures on his desk. “We won’t be able to fill all of our Earth contracts, but we should be able to keep most of our customers satisfied in the short term.”
“We can have the final computations finished tomorrow,” Dryson continued. “We just need to speak with several of the structural engineers.”
“Something else we may need to consider is asteroid mining,” Stoler continued, glancing down at some figures on a small note tablet. “When this is over, we may no longer be able to depend on the Earth or the Moon for raw material, it might be necessary to mine the asteroids.”
“Just how do you figure we do that?” Steve asked, intrigued by the idea. Dryson and Stoler had a unique ability to think outside the box.
“We modify four of our space shuttles,” answered Stoler looking over at Dryson. “If we equip them with small fusion reactors and ion drives it would be feasible.”
“Do we have the parts to construct four small fusion reactors?” Steve asked. If they did, he wasn’t aware of it.
“No,” Stoler admitted with a frown. “We would have to get some of the parts from Earth.”
Steve was quiet for a moment as he considered the idea. “Make a list of the parts you would need and I will run it past the president and Tim McPhryson.”
“We will have the list for you tomorrow,” Stoler replied, pleased that Steve was supporting their suggestion.
“While I’m down here, I would like to make a quick inspection of the reactor and the labs and go over with you anything else that you think we might need,” Steve said, impressed with what the two had come up with so far. “Keep in mind, the station may need to depend on the reactor for a very long time as a source of power. Be careful who you mention any of this to. We don’t want to panic the crew.”
The three spent nearly two hours walking through the many labs in the spokes and the rim of the Power Wheel. The fusion and radiation labs were areas of intense activity. Most of the scientists and technicians were studying the main fusion reactor. There were a few busily running experiments in the smaller experimental fusion reactor in the outer rim power lab. The three discussed hooking up the experimental reactor as a source of emergency power for the station. Even as small as it was, it could still produce a tremendous amount of energy.
Finally satisfied that everything was running smoothly and Dryson and Stoler fully understood what was expected of them, Steve returned to Main Control. He wanted to get Christy and a few others together later that night to discuss some final preparations he wanted done before he went down to Earth.
-
Jennifer and Kathleen arrived together at Jensens. For once, Kathleen was not dressed in something outrageous or provocative. A white loose fitting blouse tucked into black slacks fit her nicely. She knew that Commander Larson and Christy were going to be present. She had dressed more reservedly out of respect for the commander.
“Does Commander Larson have these dinner meetings often?” Jennifer whispered as they went in and were ushered toward a private dining room over to one side of the restaurant.
“Not often,” Kathleen replied quietly, glad she hadn’t dressed too revealingly. She preferred not to if she knew the commander was going to be around. She knew that Christy had the hots for Steve, and she didn’t want to do anything to risk raising her ire.
The two women, upon entering the room, were surprised to find everyone else already there. Jennifer recognized Commander Larson, Christy, Tyler Erin, Julie and John Gray, Doctor Wruggi, Andre Matheson, Todd Williams, Kevin Anderson. A man and woman in space force uniforms she hadn’t met before were also present.
“Jennifer,” Steve said, rising from his chair. Gesturing toward the two new people. “This is Captain Rodrick Simpson, the pilot of the FarQuest, and Lieutenant Evelyn Strett, Medical and Environmental Control Officer of the FarQuest.” The two rose and shook Jennifer’s hand.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Lieutenant Strett said with a relaxing smile. “We can always use some more women in management around here to help keep these men in line.”
Jennifer and Kathleen took their seats, with Jennifer ending up sitting next to Commander Erin. Jennifer wondered briefly if Kathleen did that on purpose. She had seemed to rush a little making sure that the only seat left open for Jennifer was the one next to Ty.
As soon as she was seated, Ty turned to her with that lopsided smile which so easily put a person at ease. “How are you coming with Teela?” he asked curiously. “From what I understand, there has not been a single Teela incident since yesterday. That has to be a record!”
“Yes,” Julie Gray added politely from across the table. “My own people have even commented on how well Teela is behaving, and she’s not bugging them with question after question. She has suddenly become very polite and helpful.”
The room was quiet, waiting for Jennifer’s response. She was embarrassed and felt her face flush slightly by the attention that was suddenly focused upon her.
“We have made some progress with Teela,” Jennifer admitted cautiously, glancing around the table. “Doctor Blackwater has been very helpful giving Teela some background information on human behavior and interaction, and we have made some minor adjustments to her programming.” Seeing that everyone was listening, she continued, “What everyone needs to realize is that Teela is more like an inquisitive child than an adult. We need to encourage her to grow and continue to develop into a mature personality.”
“You mean those were just childish pranks she was playing on us all?” John Gray asked unbelievably, his eyes widening.
“Precisely,” replied Jennifer, knowing that John had been one of Teela’s favorite targets. “Teela is more like a young teenager than an adult.”
“Everyone needs to remember that,” added Steve, wanting to reinforce what Jennifer had just said.
Steve had studied Jennifer’s report very closely and felt that Jennifer was on the right track. He had definitely made a good decision picking her to work with Teela.
“A teenager,” John breathed out in disbelief. That explained a lot. He could remember some of the pranks he had played as a teenager.
“Teela could become a very important asset to this station rather quickly, and our survival someday may depend on her ab
ilities,” Steve said, wanting everyone to understand how important Teela was.
“She has certainly helped us in the ecological habitats,” Julie stated, pleased to once again have the AIs help in monitoring everything. “I don’t know what we would do without her.”
“You have done an excellent job so far, Jennifer,” stated Steve approvingly, looking over at the young woman.
Jennifer felt a warm glow inside at the compliment handed out in front of everyone. She was startled when Daryl Jensen and several waiters entered, wheeling in several large serving carts with covered dishes from which a savory smell arose. She felt her appetite suddenly increase. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.
Removing the lids, Jensen beamed at the group around the table. “I have prepared rib eye steaks in my special sauce and an onion potato soup that you will hopefully find very tantalizing,” he said in his stylish French accent, gesturing for the two waiters to begin serving the meal.
Jennifer watched, intrigued, as a moderately sized steak with a cheese covered baked potato and asparagus sticks were placed before her as well as a steaming bowl of the onion potato soup.
“Jensen likes to try to impress us,” Ty said quietly to Jennifer so no one else could over hear them. “How did you come to be an AI programmer? That’s an area I have always found interesting.”
Jennifer found herself drawn into conversation with Ty about her studies on Earth. He asked her questions about her background and her hobbies. She was finding that Ty was very easy to talk to.
Beside her, Kathleen smiled inwardly. For some reason, Ty was drawn to Jennifer, too bad he was leaving so shortly on that damn mission! She had finally found someone that Ty seemed to like.
Steve gave everyone a few minutes to enjoy their meal and indulge in casual conversation before beginning the meeting. “As everyone knows we will be dealing very shortly with a major crisis,” he began, catching everyone’s attention. “We don’t know for sure what type of threat this neutron star is going to be. We have run numerous computer simulations. They range anywhere from total destruction of all life on Earth to a change in the Earth’s orbital path where it swings out nearly to the orbit of Mars and just back to the inside of the orbit of Venus. Either way life on Earth will be dramatically changed.”
Star One: Neutron Star Page 22