“Maybe she thinks that her CEO prefers to stay and handle senators and politics rather than having a hands-on approach to running an important company like GEI,” the professor said.
“No, not the senators again! Maybe we should send her to interact with them next time they summon GEI for a hearing,” Richard suggested and they all laughed.
“That would be like sending a fish on an errand outside of water,” Michael said.
Katrina punched Michael on his arm. “And who do you think you are calling a fish?”
“No one is calling you a fish. Or are you a fish? Then it would be a first. A fish going to outer space,” Michael said, quickly dodging another punch that Katrina threw at him.
“All right. Can you two quit playing like kids and ready the shuttle for takeoff?” the professor asked.
The shuttle began to taxi out onto the runway. There were indicator lights beeping along the runway and around the launch area. Once the air traffic control had given authorization, the pilots, Katrina and Michael, engaged the engines and they began to move along the long stretch of reinforced runway in front of them. Soon, they started to pick up speed and accelerate. At the last moment, the shuttle’s nose lifted into the air and they were airborne.
The shuttle moved very fast, and soon they were flying through the clouds that were high above New York City. Richard looked through the window and saw the skyline of New York City rapidly receding behind them. Looking ahead, he could see the clouds gradually thinning out until the shuttle was above the clouds completely.
The Traveler shuttle raced for the outer skies at a tremendous speed. By now the figures below on the ground had become so minuscule that it was difficult to make out one structure from another. The main things that were visible from this height were the large bodies of waters in their blue color and wide expanse. The grounds could be determined by their combination of brown and gray, and sometimes green that covered huge expanses of area. Everyone knew that the brown would be the landmasses, while the gray would be huge rocks or mountains, and the green would be the vegetation, like crops, grasses, or forests.
But all this magnificent view was what was being left behind as the shuttle accelerated towards space. In front, there was an even greater view ahead of the dark, star-filled skies, with other equally huge masses of rock, sand, and matter of different shapes, sizes, and colors of other planets. This was the image and the environment that the shuttle was racing to as they escaped the gravitational field of the Earth.
The radio now crackled once again. “Greetings to everyone on board the Shuttle Traveler,” Michael now announced. “We have just exited the atmospheric and gravitational fields of our dear Planet Earth. In a short moment from now, precisely forty-seven seconds from now, we will be going into a space jump. This space jump will take us to the outer fringes of this solar system. From there we will commence our trip to Planet Dan-X34. In the meantime, I ask that you leave your seatbelts appropriately fastened and prepare for the space jump. Thank you.”
At that moment, a counter appeared on the dashboard of the shuttle, as well as on the screen that was installed behind each of the seats. These screens were positioned in such a way that an occupant behind each seat could watch what was happening outside the shuttle. All this while that they were travelling, they could see what the pilots, Katrina and Michael, were seeing from their front screen through those screens at the back of the seats. Now that the space jump was about to commence, a timer had appeared at the back of each of the seats that was now being watched by both Richard and Professor Andrews, who were directly behind Katrina and Michael.
The timer was reading as follows:
Time to space jump to destination - Emeoreoltix Belt, on the outer fringes of present solar system.
Time to space jump activity: T – minus twelve seconds and counting…
…11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, …
At that point, the shuttle’s engines appeared to rev up once more into a higher frequency. There seemed to be a feeling of slight vibration that each of the occupants of the shuttle was experiencing. On looking outside, Richard noticed that nothing was visible as clearly as before. The stars that had been very distinct had now become streaks of light. So also were all the previously recognizable planetary bodies like asteroids, moons, and planets. Everything was now a blur, and were represented by streaks of different prominent colors like brown, gray, white, yellow, and so on, representing each of the individual bodies.
…3, 2, 1, 0 …
There was a flash of bright light and everything around them turned into white. For a couple of seconds, there was nothing that anyone in the shuttle could see apart from the stark-bright whiteness all around. Even when Richard glanced at the screen in front of him, all he could see was white. And when he glanced through his window at the environment around him, it was the same whiteness that stared back at them.
It was as if the shuttle had flown into a tunnel painted in the most immaculate brightness of white color that there could ever be. And it must really have been a very long tunnel, when anyone considered how long the space jump was taking in seconds that seemed to last forever.
Just when it seemed like it was not going to end, the whiteness suddenly disappeared. They were back in the usual color of space, blackness punctuated with white, glittering stars.
On the screen panels was a message:
Space jump successfully completed.
All around them was the same environment that they had all started to grow accustomed to. Space and its blackness, with stars glowing and shining in different intensities all around them.
By now, the shuttle was flying at its normal cruising speed.
The radio crackled as Katrina’s soft voice came over the speakers. “Good day once again to every esteemed passenger on board the shuttle Traveler. We have completed a successful space jump from our solar system. We are now in the belt known scientifically as the Emeoreoltix. This is actually the boundary between our solar system and other galaxies. For the next phase of our trip, we will be proceeding to the Maxtrovelt Nebula, which is situated exactly 40 degrees northwest of our present position. Our final destination is Planet Dan-X34. It will take us exactly two hours and seventeen seconds of the equivalent of Earth’s normal time count to get there. Our cruising speed is about 100,000 miles an hour. Enjoy the trip, and thank you once again.”
As Katrina’s soft voice was making the announcement, Richard felt his mind slipping into a trance-like flashback. Gradually, he began to recall one of those numerous days when he had been sitting in his office reviewing a couple of documents.
*** As he was studying the documents, he suddenly noticed that his table was vibrating. Frowning, he got up from his seat to look around his environment. That was when he realized that it was his entire office that was vibrating, with furniture and items shaking and falling off the tops of tables and shelves.
Alarmed, he looked around the office, trying to figure out what to do. And as he did, he saw a flash of light appear in front of him. It was a very bright light; so bright that it filled the entire office.
As Richard studied the light, he observed that it had taken the form of a huge ball of light and was actually floating.
And then something strange happened. The single ball of light split into three different smaller balls. The three balls separated from each other and hovered for a while, right there in front of Richard.
And then, in a flash, the three balls morphed into three separate beings. These beings had the structure and anatomy of humans, but were much taller, with a heavier build.
“Who are you?” Richard asked. “Do not be afraid, Mr. Daniels,” one of them replied.
“We are here to make a business proposal to you,” another one said.
“A business proposal? Then why should you barge into my office in this manner? I run a well-structured company here. There are well-laid procedures for submitting proposals to my company,” Richard replied.
> “We apologize for the manner in which we arrived, Mr. Daniels. But this was the only way we thought we could get speedy access to you,” the third being said.
“In other words, you want to simply bypass protocol? It is okay. You may sit down and let us discuss,” Richard said, pointing at the seats in the center of his office.
As they sat down, Richard watched the three beings. He couldn’t help wondering where they had come from and what kind of proposal they so urgently wanted to submit to him.
“Well then, you already seem to know much about me already. So, who are you, and what is this meeting all about?” Richard asked.
“We are actually businessmen, and we would like to trade one of your planets for one of ours,” one of the beings said.
Richard was a little bit stunned. “Businessmen, you say?”
One of the beings nodded. “Yes, Mr. Daniels. We work for the business development and the planetary trading and development field division of this galaxy.”
Richard frowned. “Planetary trading and development field division of our galaxy?”
Another of the beings nodded. “Yes. We are in the business of searching for, trading in, and developing planets in this galaxy.”
Richard looked at the three alien beings in front of him. “I see. So you go about trading and developing planets?”
One of the aliens nodded. “Yes, Mr. Daniels. And right now we would like to trade with you for one of your planets.”
“One of my planets?” Richard repeated.
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. We already know that as of today, your company possesses 33 planets. But we are only interested in one of them,” one of the aliens said.
“I see. And which one of them would that be?” Richard asked.
“The planet on which it snows every day; the one that is filled with ice and snow,” another alien said.
Richard nodded. “I see. You are referring to my Planet Dan-X28, otherwise known as the Planet of Ice.”
“Dan-X28?” one of the aliens repeated.
Richard nodded. “Yes, that is its internal reference number. But you can simply refer to it as the Planet of Ice.”
“Okay, Mr. Daniels. That is the planet we are interested in,” another alien said.
“What are you going to give me in exchange for my Planet of Ice?” Richard said.
“We have a planet of ours that we think might be suitable for you,” one of the aliens said.
“Suitable for me? What makes you think so?” Richard asked.
“Well, it has several Earth-like properties, like its atmosphere, the presence of carbon-based soil texture and cultivatable environments. It is also completely uninhabited,” another alien replied.
Richard sat up in his seat. “Completely uninhabited?”
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. In fact, it is more like a virgin Earth. Totally uninhabited and rich with resources,” one alien said.
“This sounds very interesting indeed. Do you have a brief on this planet?” Richard asked.
One of the aliens nodded and handed Richard a flat-surface device. “These are the brief, comprehensive descriptions, and title deeds to the planet in question.”
“I see that you came fully prepared,” Richard said as he collected the device from the alien.
“Like we said earlier, Mr. Daniels, we are businessmen who search for prospective planets to trade and develop. We are always prepared before we approach any prospective client,” one of the aliens said.
Richard nodded as he went through the device. It was similar to a tablet computer with a screen and a couple of buttons attached to it. Embedded inside the device was a comprehensive description of the planet, along with its resources, atmospheric composition, soil texture, and other pertinent details. There was also a deed that accorded its holder complete title, control, and ownership over the planet.
“I see that the air is rich in oxygen,” Richard said while studying the deed.
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. It is an exact replica of Earth, except that it is currently uninhabited,” one of the aliens replied.
Richard nodded. “It looks wonderful. I am going to take it.”
The three aliens glanced at each other. “This is really good news to us, Mr. Daniels,” one of them said.
Richard stood up and walked to a cabinet close by. He opened it and brought out a similar device to the one the aliens had given him. “Yes, but it is also good news to me as well. For a long time, I have been looking for a planet that is a replica of Earth. You don’t know how excited I am at meeting you today. Here, these are the title deeds of my Dan-X28, the Planet of Ice,” Richard said, handing over the device.
The aliens collected the title deeds of the Planet of ice and went through it for a while. Afterwards, they stood up.
“Everything is in order then. Thank you, Mr. Daniels,” one of them said.
“You are welcome. By the way, since you appear to be very versed in knowledge about planets in this galaxy, how do I get in touch with you in the future?” Richard asked.
One of the aliens handed a small, square box to him. Richard opened it. Inside was a gray crystal ball. “What is this?” Richard asked.
“That is a communication device for contacting us at any point, Mr. Daniels. All you need to do is rub it continuously until it turns white. And then we will appear in your presence,” the alien replied.
Richard nodded thoughtfully. “I see. This is really an advanced communication device. I will keep it and use it when I need to get in touch with you.”
The three aliens exchanged pleasantries with him before they departed, vanishing into thin air.
After they left, Richard quickly went to his computer. He then began to input the details of the new transaction that had just been completed.
At the last entry, he inputted Dan-X34 as the name of the new planet.
*** The planet that we are now going to visit, Richard thought as he slowly slipped out of the trance.
He looked around and saw his fellow colleagues.
Richard smiled to himself.
From afar, the rapidly approaching planet resembled a brown ball floating in a void of black space. But with the passage of time and the speed of the shuttle, the ball appeared to gradually increase in size until it was no longer as small as it had previously been.
It was not too long before the Traveler Shuttle came into visible sighting of what looked like an exact replica of Earth.
It was Richard who first saw it as they approached it from a distance. He sat up and gazed at the familiar sight of a big ball of brown, yellow, and blue mass that was floating there in space. Not too far away from it were three smaller moons. On Richard’s monitor he could see the scale of the three smaller moons to that of the planet. It was similar to comparing a football which was placed side by side with oranges, too deep yellow in color and with rough surfaces that could be seen even from a distance.
“Those three moons appear to be some kind of guards protecting our precious planet from attack. We will need to commission a survey of these three moons of our planet,” Richard said as they sped past them towards the planet below.
Andrews nodded. “I agree, sir. We hope that sometime in the near future, perhaps within the next couple of weeks, we should be able to pay each of the three moons a visit. Can you see those streaks of green on them?”
Richard looked through the window, observing the green streaks that were on them. He then pressed some keys on his monitor and the image was enhanced on the screen of the monitor.
Richard gazed at the images of the yellow moons. There were streaks of green that appeared as if someone had painted lines of bold green across the yellow surfaces of the moons. “Are those some sort of flowing rivers or water?” Richard asked.
“We really cannot say for sure, Mr. Daniels,” Andrews replied. “Sometimes, they appear to be like cloud formations, you know. They are in constant movement. We really cannot be too sure as of this moment. But it is most likely either cl
ouds or water that is in constant movement.”
“Green water?” Richard repeated.
Andrews nodded. “That, or probably clouds; that is, green clouds.”
Richard was nodding as he studied the moons, which were receding in the distance as they sped towards the planet.
The shuttle was soon flying into the atmosphere of Dan-X34. As it did so, those on board the Traveler were able to get a very close glimpse of the clouds of the new world. On Earth, the clouds are normally made of huge columns of mostly white gases. But here, what they could see as clouds were huge columns of orange and red gases. Only once in a while was it possible to identify small wisps of white gas. The predominant colors of the clouds were red and orange. The skies of this new planet were a bright green in color.
“Have we been able to determine the makeup of these clouds?” Richard asked as the Traveler sped through the red mists.
“We are still working on it, Mr. Daniels,” Andrews said. “We have been able to determine that in spite of the somewhat strange color, the air components are similar to earth's air.”
Richard pointed to his monitor. “My readings are also confirming the same thing. I have checked for any form of toxicity, and the atmospheric readings keep on giving me a negative.”
The professor nodded. “This only further corroborates our preliminary results as well, that the atmosphere is completely harmless. We just need to determine what causes the clouds to have such a radiant color.”
The Traveler began to decelerate and descend in height and altitude. In the process, it was possible for those on board to see clearly the vegetation all around, as well as the magnificent landscapes and terrains. The vegetation was very similar to what could be found on Earth. However, the most striking thing about it was that their leaves were very broad in size, and rather than being only green, there were yellow, purple and blue leaves.
Andrews saw his boss pressing some keys on his monitor and then smiling at himself. “Did you notice anything of interest, Mr. Daniels?” he asked.
Richard nodded. “Yes. It is a good thing that we have these enhanced monitors onboard the Traveler. I was just doing an analysis of the components of these colorful leaves. Can you believe that they are also made up of chlorophyll?”
Planet DAN-X34 Page 2