by Gary Starta
Peter found that a video entry had been recorded in the medical bay and had been launched to Earth in a probe. After several failed attempts to access the file, Peter managed to obtain a distorted image of the ship’s medical doctor pronouncing a mutiny had occurred. The doctor charged that rebel association scientists were responsible for the genetic virus implanted in the ship’s helmsman. The medic, identified as Dr. Frances Bernhardt, theorized the virus was programmed to release itself when the ship was more than halfway through its journey. The doctor also explained that his petitions to the captain to abort the mission had fallen on deaf ears. Bernhardt stated that the captain’s obsession with the colonization may have been a symptom from the virus.
The doctor went on to report that half the crew was infected at the time of the transmission and a full blown epidemic was imminent. Fearing contamination of the Ceres environment, the doctor stated his only alternative was to blow up the ship by overloading its engines.
Peter finished reading the entry and let out a long sigh. He reasoned officials decided to bury the fate of the from the public since it was highly probable the probe made it back to Earth. Peter’s mind raced to interpret this new knowledge in light of the present situation. “How could association officials keep the true fate of those poor astronauts from their families?” Peter thought. “Those men and women gave their lives for the space mission and deserved better than having their deaths trivialized. I never believed their deaths were due to a simple system failure. I bet the association used that excuse to lobby for automaton replacements of people like Petrovsky. Maybe that’s why Mikola’s so ruthless. He’s a bastard, but not an incompetent engineer. Now I wonder how our condition will be handled when the association finds out we’re sick. Will that be swept under the rug as well?” It was well after midnight when Peter’s mind finally stopped racing and weariness started to overtake his body. Now it was Ciprelli’s turn to wrestle with the dilemma of divulging or concealing the knowledge from his fellow colleagues. A revelation of this kind may prove to be too much for the ill scientists. Peter already knew it was too much for him to bear.
What Are You
Made Of?
Part II
Chapter 1: Time Changes Us All
The Terran Ark was just one year and eight months away from reaching Ceres. When the couples were not in stasis they continued to spend much of their time at leisure. Linda Dougherty encouraged group activities as much as possible so the couples would be comfortable with each other when housing assignments were made on their new world. Two couples decided to take Linda’s advice and take in a movie. Mia and Steven Carlisle joined Marisa and Mario Perez in the rec room to watch a classic sci-fi thriller entitled ‘Family Tree’…
“Can someone clue me in as to what this movie’s about?” Marisa asked. Steven eagerly volunteered to explain the story’s premise which focused on first contact with an alien race. “This movie was made in the 22nd century and dealt with how humans came to trust a crew of aliens who traveled through a worm hole to reach Earth in the 23rd century. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot but the aliens turn out to be genetically similar to us based upon their DNA sequencing. Even when the humans find out they’ve met their long lost ancestors, there is still quite a bit of distrust among the two species.”
“Well, you know people hate change,” Marisa joked.
“Anyone who hates change simply doesn’t understand the concept of life. You could say our lives are in a constant state of change. Would those people like to stay confined to a children’s body for 100 years? It’s like, how do you get from age five to thirty five?” Steven responded.
“Relax Steve, I didn’t say I was one of those people,” Marisa stated in defense.
“You will have to excuse my husband, Marisa,” Mia intervened. “Steven’s love of science fiction is probably the reason we’re now on this flight. I think this improbably the 50th time he’s seen Family Tree.”
“I have seen the original version 63 times,” Steven corrected. I have used Dream Vision software to create my own ending to the movie on approximately a dozen occasions,” Peter proudly reported while Marisa suppressed a giggle.
“I think it’s sad that producers are giving us the ability to direct an ending to a film,” Mario editorialized. “Has the movie industry reached its creative end? I would never spend my time re-writing a movie’s ending when it’s the producers who are making all the profit from it.”
“The industry just needed a more interactive way to present movies to people, Mario,” Steven pointed out. “It’s been three hundred years since people went to see a show at a movie theater. The entire industry had to provide a way to sell the films to a home audience.”
“I would still like to leave the house one in a while,”Mia complained to Steven.
“Well,here we are…” Steven said in mock reference to their expedition.
“I didn’t mean being trapped in a ship for five years,” Mia retorted.
“Do you think there will ever be alien contact, Peter?” Mario asked to interrupt the argument.
“We have made alien contact as far as I’m concerned. In the late 21st century we found frozen bacteria on the moon . I certainly don’t think it’s far fetched to hypothesize we were essentially seeded onto Earth from an asteroid as the movie suggests. It’s just a matter of time before we meet the walking-talking kind of alien.”
“Just what kind of movie is this, Steven?” Marisa asked tersely. “I thought we were in for a night of relaxation.”
“Don’t worry this movie will be informative as it is entertaining. I would never expose you guys to any slasher movies.”
“Do you think somewhere on a distant planet aliens are watching a movie about making contact with us?” Mario said teasingly.
“I don’t doubt it,” Peter answered. I just don’t how we would be able to explain all our concepts to the aliens. Beyond syntax and grammar, how do we explain what a pancake is? The alien who looks up the words pan and cake separately in the dictionary would most likely end up confused. Would he or she be biting into a cake that tasted like a pan? Even the slightest misinterpretation of language can throw a monkey wrench into the best diplomatic intentions. I know scores of movies that all ended in disaster when the aliens experienced a communication breakdown.”
“All this talk is not calming me down, guys,” Marisa pleaded. “I don’t want any nightmares about contacting aliens.”
“Here have some almonds. Did you know nuts calm our nervous systems?” Peter said offering a dish to Marisa.
“From one kind of nut to another,” Mia mumbled while shaking her head.
The couples then sat back and watched the movie with both amusement and anxiety. Mario found it odd that science fiction from three hundred years ago could only project flight confined to Earth’s solar system in rocket-fueled craft. Cars were still only equipped to travel by ground according to the film’s description of 22nd century Earth. By the 23rd century, flights to the Andromeda galaxy were nearly possible and air coaches were routinely used by individuals in place of automobiles. However, the movie did allude to holographic technology that had been in the planning stages during that interim.
Marisa also found most of the movie to be quite inaccurate in its projections for the next 100 years. She did find it interesting that the movie did correctly predict artificial intelligence would program all the functions in households. She was also intrigued that the story included the use of implanted computer chips much like the ones she and Mario had.
About half way through the movie, the tone of the story became more serious as it was discovered Earth was directly in the path of a huge asteroid. The aliens offered their technology to help alter the course of the frozen rock. However, public opinion polls found that humans would rather forego their assistance. Peter thought it was ironic that Earth actually experienced a similar impact with a planetoid billions of years ago. Scientists started debates as early as t
he 20th century as to whether that impact created early life on Earth. In the 25th century, those theories still had not been validated. Family Tree maintained that humans came into existence through alien bacteria traveling on the first planetoid.
Mario and Marisa shared a secret amusement of how intently Steven watched the video. The sci-fi aficionado motioned for everyone to stop talking especially when the two main stars of the story—John and Melinda Carter—became engaged in dialogue:
“Why can’t people just believe the aliens are here to help us? We always hope for intervention in a crisis,” Melinda wondered.
“Unfortunately, those people want divine intervention.” Melinda.”
“Well, what’s wrong with help from beings who are just like you and me? We are all made up the elements of the universe. Each of us walks around with the element carbon in in us. Stars are made of carbon. We are all comprised of the same substance when you come down to it.”
The aliens are eventually allowed to help alter the course of the asteroid upon the urging of the Carter’s who are joint presidents of the western hemisphere. The public then embraces the aliens as their brothers and sisters upon their success.
“I do find the movie to have some realistic moments,” Mario noted as the credits ran. “Humans will remain wary of strange ideas or people until it’s almost too late. It takes a dramatic turn of events to gain our trust. And even then, we will only embrace a change or concept that is beneficial to us.”
Chapter 2: Swept under the Rug
After Sam Evans left Renee Mercer’s office, the security executive commanded the AI receptionist to contact the two security guards involved in the shooting. Mercer was anxious to see if the two men had sufficiently cleaned up the evidence trail. The guards were notified by the AI not to contact Mercer via data net as the audio-visual system was not secure from the ears of federation officials. Mercer’s job at the World Aeronautics Association was securing the reputation of the organization from the outside world. He was paid a high salary to keep the W.A.A. out of any bad spotlights. The recent stories published about the Ceres scientists had been generating the kind of positive public reaction the association had dreamt of—even when it was still known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Problems with space shuttles, probes and telescopes were literally magnified before the public in the 20th and 21st centuries. Political representatives were often pressured by the public to cut space funding in order to get re-elected.
Budget constraints eventually eased when scientists and engineers from around the world were hired to work for the W.A.A. in 2127. The wealth of technical knowledge and ingenuity gained from this diverse group of professionals was what gave birth to the design of a star ship not entirely dependent upon rocket fuel. Hybrid ships were soon created and launched from a post on the moon. In the next 100 years, space travel beyond Earth’s solar system was finally possible. In 2261, the star ship Tempest was launched for inter-galactic travel to Andromeda. The Tempest was reported to have been the first ship to travel beyond our galaxy. When federation governments found the ship had exploded due to engineering problems, the fears of the space association began to emerge again. The W.A.A. chose to make technicians the blame for the accident. In reality, they concealed a far more damaging truth; it was highly likely that association scientists infected the ship’s crew with a genetic virus. Those responsible for the virus were never interrogated by association officials who were content to bury the matter and condone the murders. The association knew the mission failure would put them under the scrutiny of government control once again. However, space officials feared worse recriminations from the public if it was discovered that genocide was to blame. In 2265, federation governments mandated that engine design be perfected before another launch would be approved. Opponents of colonization were able to take a sigh of relief as no other attempt would be made to travel to Andromeda in their life time.
In the following decades, interest in the space program waned just as it had in the late 20th century. During this interim, not a single nation was engaged in war as all nuclear weapon manufacturing had been successfully banned. Decreased spending on defense enabled researchers to wipe out many diseases and food was grown genetically to end world hunger. A century of contentment virtually stymied any productivity from the space program.
In the mid-23rd century, the scientific community started projecting figures for the sun to go super nova. Fear once again became a motivating factor for space travel and colonization. The invention of cryo-stasis and a material replication unit also made extended travel time more palatable. The W.A.A. resumed its campaign to promote space travel for civilians which had been on hold since the Tempest accident nearly 100 years ago. It then took another five decades for federation governments to lend financial and political support for the mission to Ceres. In 2396, world governments were once again confident that the association was ably equipped with superior vessels and advanced terra-forming capabilities to take on the colonization effort.
Mercer was well aware of how one event could make a break a mission when he interviewed the security guards. After a grueling two hour session, the executive was satisfied that the guards had disposed of Jackson’s body and the weapon as well as overseeing the programming corrections regarding robot 7237-A-J49. However, Mercer’s clean up efforts were still not complete…
Chuck Paterson woke from a few hours of restless sleep and reported for his work assignment at IT. The third shift went by incredibly slow but without incident to the relief of Paterson’s conscious. Chuck slept for four hours and commanded his data net unit to call Bob Schmitt when he woke at 1 P.M. Schmitt once again switched off the camera feed of his data net before answering.
“What’s going on?” Paterson asked.
“I took yesterday off, Chuck. Right now I’m on my lunch break.”
“I am not so interested in your routine as in what’s going on with Phil,” Paterson stated tersely.
“I have not heard from Phil and he has not been in today. Although a funny thing happened when I scanned the attendance log this morning. The records indicated Phil had never punched out yesterday. I checked it again ten minutes ago and now it shows he did. Either something went down or I misinterpreted the screen. I got to admit to you that I drank pretty heavily yesterday,” Bob confessed.
“My bet is that something went down. If Phil had chickened out I think he would have contacted one of us by now. His data net unit keeps saying the subscriber is out of service range. Bob, we both know you would have to be half way across the country for that to happen.”
So what do we do now?” Bob whispered as several IT employees joined his table.
“Sit tight. I have a very serious decision to make. If I follow my instincts, the odds are very good I will no longer be a W.A.A. employee.”
Bob then answered, “I love you, too,” so his colleagues would believe he was talking to a girlfriend.
After Chuck disconnected, he pondered calling the police to report Phil as a missing person. He then came up with a more effective approach to expose the association. Chuck asked his data net to contact the News Network—NNN.
Chapter 3: False Perceptions
Nadia Petrovsky’s data net conversation with Adrian McElroy could be compared with fast food in that it was quick and devoid of elegance. In five minutes, Nadia hastily summarized that that her husband would cooperate with Adrian to save the mission and leave the Starkman boy alone. However, it would probably take Adrian another five lives to digest the kind of attitude that was served up with Mrs. Petrovsky’s words. It wasn’t so much what Nadia said—it was how she said it. Nadia complemented the content of her message just like ketchup graces fillet mignon. However, one couldn’t blame Nadia too much for the callous remarks and accusatory innuendos she threw at McElroy. She had years to learn the technique from the grand master of attitude—Mikola Petrovsky. If Nadia had used a little more people skills, her brief but infor
mative conversation could have been downright diplomatic. (Adrian had later found himself musing on this irony. If the Petrovsky’s had such disregard for non-human life forms, than why didn’t they readily embrace human relations skills?)
The Petrovsky’s were essentially willing to sacrifice their ethics and look the other way regarding the creation of the android boy. Nadia made it a point to say so. She would have never forgiven herself if Adrian was allowed to misconstrue a vague reference. Nadia wanted Adrian to know how forgiving the Petrovsky’s were towards what she referred to as an “obvious violation of moral and legal codes.” And if you believe the promise of an afterlife didn’t figure into this kinder and gentler Petrovsky attitude, then now may be the time to sell you Neptune as the latest colonization hotbed.
When the conversation was completed, McElroy felt like he was being coaxed into leaving a big tip for a dinner that left him with acid re-flux. Nadia injected just the right dose of guilt into her comments to make Adrian question his own motives. However, Adrian soon rallied his composure by rationalizing the facts. The doctor realized that his efforts were for the betterment of humanity. Adrian built androids because it was passion. It was less about fame and monetary gain. Gut instincts told Adrian that Mikola’s career path choice was fueled by personal wealth and ego. Since the Petrovsky’s chose not to bear children, McElroy reasoned that prestige was the main motivation for Mikola to help shape a new world.
As Mikola brooded into a holographic vanity mirror in his bedroom, you would think that his conscious was somehow attuned to McElroy’s perceptions. Petrovsky usually fed his ego with a huge helping of his arrogance. However, outside encouragement was also welcome. It was important to him that people valued what was on the inside of him. Mikola hungered for compliments that acknowledged his superior brain power or technical prowess. He placed little or no value on the aggrandizement of his physical appearance. For example, Mikola opted not to adjust his holographic mirror to make his reflections appear years younger. Holographic technology allowed age phobic adults to adjust their mirrors to get rid of wrinkles and extra weight. This invention capitalized on the world’s obsession with youth and beauty which was said to be created in America during the 20th century. Mikola was content to leave his mirror on the reality setting and stare into it with his piercing, coal-colored eyes. What better way to nourish his inner hatred for the association then to stare upon the result of years of lost opportunity.