Singularity: Book Two of the StarCruiser Brilliant Series

by Rick Lakin

  “I see that you have repaired your ship,” Jennifer said. “Communications, route this to the captain’s ready room.”

  Jack sat in his ready room aft of the bridge. “How may I help you, Predex?”

  “Captain, our planet is dying.”

  Jack leaned forward. “Explain.”

  “A disease has come to our planet. It has traveled fast through our population. One in one hundred of our citizens is now dead. I told Kalinda that I could not meet her because I was exposed the last time I was on Hoclarth. I do not want to risk giving the disease to your planet—or my granddaughter.”

  “Have your doctors had any luck finding a vaccine?”

  “The disease has decimated our medical workers. It kills over eighty percent of those afflicted. My granddaughter tells me that you have excellent medical personnel.”

  “Dr. Ami, could you join us?” Jack said.

  “Good afternoon, Captain,” Dr. Ami said as she appeared in the room.

  “Ami, this is Predex Kalea Kone of the Hoclarth Alliance. Their planet appears to have an outbreak of some kind of flu.”

  “Hello, Predex, we worry about that on Earth,” Dr. Ami said.

  “You have yellow eyes,” Kalea said.

  “I'm a virtual human,” Dr. Ami said. “In the presence of the proper projector and computer equipment, I can function as a surgeon with the knowledge base of ninety percent of medical knowledge since the beginning of recorded history.”

  “Can you help us?”

  “Since our first contact, our biologists have analyzed your DNA samples. Our two species have the same biological roots. The greatest threat to human health on our planet is a crossover disease from birds, swine, or other animals similar to the problem you’re facing. It’s a threat that we still haven’t completely solved, and it is what you’re facing now,” Dr. Ami said.

  “Are there solutions?” Kalea asked.

  “In most cases, we can develop vaccines, in others, it mutates out of existence, but we worry about others that could mutate into a pandemic that would decimate our population,” Dr. Ami said.

  “Doctor Ami, is there anything we can do?” Jack said.

  “Predex, if we can somehow move a lab to the surface of the planet, I could pursue a cure. Then your medical personnel could distribute the vaccine.”

  “Doctor, it is so contagious we’re losing many of our medical personnel,” Kalea said.

  “That's a difficult complication,” Dr. Ami said. “Even if I were able to stop the spread of the disease, many patients would require treatment.”

  “Can you help us?” the Predex said.

  “Captain?”

  Jack nodded.

  “We‘ll give it our best try,” Dr. Ami said.

  Jack stood up. “Right now, though, we have almost a million people wondering where we went. We need to return to the surface.”

  “Ah, the show must go on,” the Predex said. “A phrase from one of your movies. I’ll await your word.”

  “Until then, Predex,” Jack said. He made a motion with his hands, and the screen returned to the Brilliant logo.

  “Dr. Ami, let’s keep this quiet until we have a plan,” Jack said.

  “Of course, Captain,” Dr. Ami said. “I did not mention it to the Predex. Jennifer has a project that is critical to solving this problem.”

  “Does it have something to do with that tall blonde who has been hiding on my ship for the last twenty-five years?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, Captain,” Dr. Ami said. “Physical bodies for Ani, Sami, and I.”

  “That would certainly stir up our favorite South Dakota Senator.” Went through the door to the bridge.

  Jennifer saw the door to the Captain’s Ready Room open. “Captain on the bridge,” Jennifer returned the ops panel.

  “Report,” Jack said.

  “Miramar Tower is concerned. I told them it was a surprise we brought along. They don’t like to go off-script,” Jennifer said. “The Heritage Flight is circling east of the field waiting for us to join them.”

  “David, intercept the formation at best subsonic speed.”

  “Aye, sir,” David said.

  “Ninety seconds to intercept,” Jennifer said.

  “On screen,” Jack said. They recognized the three familiar profiles of the vintage aircraft. The lead aircraft was a P-51 Mustang with a single piston engine. On his right wing was a twin-engine P-49, an airshow favorite after a century in the air. On the left wing was the F-18 from the hangar painted as Blue Angels 7.

  David flew in behind, filled in the slot and completed the diamond. The formation banked left and circled before the crowd in a pass-in-review. The diamond passed once more before show center and then the vintage aircraft peeled off to enter the landing pattern. Brilliant continued westbound slowly.

  After the three aircraft touched down, “Brilliant, you have the flight line for eight minutes,” the tower said.

  “Starcruiser Brilliant,” Tayla responded.

  “I suppose that you folks have a slam-bang finish cooked up?” Jack said.

  “We sure do,” Jennifer said.

  “Captain, we’ve got the music programmed. The timer will start at the airfield apron,” Tayla said.

  “First Officer, you may indulge yourself,” Jack said.

  “Aye, Captain,” Jennifer said. “Pilot, reverse course and line up with six-right and do the eight-point roll.”

  Brilliant was westbound at seven hundred feet and two-hundred-eighty knots. David performed a three-quarter barrel roll to the right and then executed a tight high-g turn to line up with the runway.

  “Decelerating to two-hundred-fifty,” David said.

  “The clock has started,” Tayla said. “Music initiated.”

  “Start your roll,” Jennifer said.

  As Brilliant rotated through eight precise instantaneous stops, the spectators saw the starship at every angle as they recorded the event on their cameras and phones.

  David completed the maneuver at show left as Tayla played the Theme from Brilliant for the spectators and the viewers on the AirShow Channel.

  “Reverse course and line up on two-four-left,” Jennifer said.

  “Show center in five-four-three-two…” Tayla said.

  “Pitch up to vertical and accelerate to six-hundred,” Jennifer said. “Engineer at three thousand feet, cloak the ship.”

  Three-quarters of a million San Diegans watched in awe as Brilliant went vertical and began an incredible vertical acceleration… and then screamed in unison as Brilliant just disappeared.

  “Pilot, navigate to Point Alpha at heading three-three-zero.” David flew to the pyramid on Miramar Road at one thousand feet,” Jennifer said. “That will put us right behind show center. Engineer, ready the landing thrusters at full thrust.”

  “Ready,” Riley said.

  “Point Alpha,” Ani said.

  “Forty knots forward. Engage thrusters.”

  The crowd was frantically searching the silent sky for Brilliant as Tayla played the Imperial March when they heard the loud noise over their shoulders. They turned as one looking for Brilliant, but the sky was empty. The sound reached eighty-five decibels as the cloaked Brilliant passed over their heads. Over the runway at show center, David stopped the ship and yawed to face the crowd at one thousand feet.

  “Smoke on,” Jennifer said.

  At show center, a white cloud began to form at one thousand feet. There were oohs and ahhs as the crowd noise grew.

  “Engineer, secure thrusters and uncloak the ship. Pilot, descend vertically and maintain two hundred feet.”

  The noise above the runway went silent as the crowd noise reached a crescendo. The music shifted to the finale of E.T. by John Williams; Brilliant slowly dropped out of the cloud to two hundred feet. Brilliant then executed a move that will be talked about by air show aficionados for many years.

  “Pilot, start your move.”

  David then executed a slow combination
of pitch, yaw, and roll that was impossible for any conventional aircraft with thrust originating in one direction. The crowd saw the beauty of Starcruiser Brilliant from every possible angle.

  “Start your parade.”

  David piloted Brilliant to crowd left as close as the airshow rules allowed and slowly rolled the starship as he passed in review from left to right just in front of the attendees. David finished the pass at the center of the runway facing east.

  Tayla, listening to the soundtrack that the viewers on the ground were hearing, said, “Ten seconds to music cue.”

  “Engineer, ready effects.”

  The music built to the finale. “Time,” Tayla said.

  “Start your move,” Jennifer said.

  Brilliant accelerated right-to-left and formed a parabola. When pitched up forty-five degrees at show center, David stepped on the gas and Brilliant exited show center almost instantaneously leaving behind a multi-colored rainbow just like the one from E.T. in perfect sync with the famous John Williams soundtrack.

  The crowd on the ground was breathless with excitement as were the millions of viewers on the AirShow Channel who were watching at home in full 3-D.

  As Brilliant navigated its return to show center, Riley and Anthen planned one more trick.

  “Seven hundred feet. Course two-four-zero. Lined up with runway center,” Ani said.

  “Pilot, make your high-speed pass,” Jennifer said. “Engineer, smoke on.”

  In honor of their hosts at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, the airshow spectators saw the smoke behind the Brilliant form the familiar quotation, “The Few…The Proud…The Marines.”

  At the western end of the runway, David rolled right two-hundred-seventy degrees and executed a tight left turn to return to show center.

  “Landing gear down,” Jennifer said.

  “Gear down,” Riley said.

  David brought StarCruiser Brilliant to the mark at show center and set her down gently.

  “Ramp is down,” Riley said.

  “Good show, everyone,” Jack said. “Tayla, good job with timing and music. Anthen, I don’t think anyone will forget the rainbow you and Riley created. Riley, the smoke effects were remarkable. David, you would have made Tom Cruise jealous. Jennifer, your production was award-winning.”

  “Uncle Jack!” Kalinda said.

  “I guess you and your tal’pa gave us a surprise none of us will forget.” The ten-year-old beamed.

  Just then, Dandy Lion jumped up on Jack’s lap and gave him an evil cat glare. “Seriously, Dandy, You’re just the ship’s cat.”

  Dandy’s cat scowl was even more fierce. He jumped down and shook his head in disdain. Just the ship’s cat, he thought.

  “Engineer put the ship in standby,” Jack said. “Let's go out and take a bow.”

  The crew of the Brilliant exited down the ramp and received a standing ovation from the audience in the bleachers and cheers from those standing on the flight line. The crew signed autographs and posed for selfies for almost two hours.

  Kalinda was the now the most famous member of the crew. Her biggest fan gave her a hug when they met.

  “How is your mom?”

  “She’ll be okay,” Jeff said.

  “Two more weeks in the hospital,” Chuck said.

  As they boarded Brilliant for the short flight back to Tovar, Kalinda asked her half-sister, “Sister, why did everyone say that they liked my makeup? I'm not wearing makeup.”

  “I don’t know, K’da,” “Maybe it’s your SoCal tan.” Jennifer winked.

  36

  On the Monday after the Miramar Air Show, Jennifer was in the Captain’s Ready Room on StarCruiser Brilliant preparing for the final battle scene of Attack of the Hoclarth Alliance. Jennifer was the Second Unit Director for the location shooting in the Mojave Desert.

  Her lead designer at JennaTech, Stephen Mendoza updated her daily on the progress of VirtualLocation40, the system that would fly forty mini-drones among the actors to capture the scene in 3-D.

  Brilliant was quiet and empty. The past week was busy with VIP guests, flights to and from Miramar, the rescue of a Navy pilot, and the air show. Now, it was just Jennifer, Ani, Sami, Dr. Ami, and Dandy Lion.

  The yellow tabby jumped into Jennifer’s lap.

  “We had an exciting week, didn’t we?”

  I saved a life and put on a great show, Dandy thought.

  “You had help, Dandy,” Jennifer said.

  It’s my ship, Dandy thought, even if the captain doesn't think so.

  “It’ll be quiet for a while,” Jennifer said. “You can bother the tours and live the cat life.”

  Oh, no, Dandy thought. It's going to get busy.

  “The Hoclarth?” Jennifer asked.

  Dandy nodded.

  A tone sounded. “Jennifer?”

  “Yes, Sami.”

  Sami entered the ready room. “The Captain would like you to join him in Navvy’s office.”

  “Agenda?” Jennifer asked.

  “He did not share, but his voice indicated a higher level of stress,” Sami said.

  “Thanks, Sami.” She looked at Dandy. “And so, it begins.”

  Dandy jumped off her lap and walked away with a smirk.

  Jennifer schmeared a bagel and sat at the blue table. Along with Navvy and Jack were Riley, Dr. Ami, and Ani.

  “Good morning,” Navvy said. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Hello, Grandpa. Hello everyone,” Jennifer said. “Interesting group. I’m guessing this is about the chat with Predex Kone?”

  “Correct,” Jack said. “Xaphnore is dying from a disease that is spreading quickly through their population. It originated in a native animal.”

  “The Center for Disease Control worries that a pandemic will start like that on Earth,” Jennifer said.

  “Yes,” Jack said. “This one is very nasty. It’s already killed ten percent of Xaphnore's population. Only one in fifty of their citizens have developed an immunity. Kalea fears that over the next eighteen months, the disease will kill eighty percent of their population.”

  “What about Camdex?” Riley said. “Is Kalinda’s grandfather sick?”

  “They haven’t returned to Xaphnore for the last year,” Jack said. “He doesn't know if any of his crew are affected, but they can't return to the surface.”

  “We can’t send our doctors because they would be susceptible,” Jennifer said.

  “Correct,” Navvy said. “We need a more mobile solution. “Dr. Ami, Sami, and Ani can only travel a short distance from a shuttle.”

  Jennifer looked at the three virtuals. “So, you want JennaTech to produce physical bodies for you three?”

  “Yes,” Jack said.

  She continued. “Riley will fabricate a shuttle for this mission.”

  “Got it in one,” Jack said. “Dr. Ami, why don’t you share the details?”

  “Thank you, Captain, “ Dr. Ami said. “I’ve contacted the CDC. They’re cooperating. I’ve got all the data from their viral disease database. We’ll design a small lab to be transported on the shuttle to synthesize a vaccine.”

  “Is everyone here cleared for secret information?” Jennifer asked.

  “Yes,” Navvy said.

  “Will the shuttle carry the AI processing to support the remote operation?” Jennifer asked.

  “I’ve contacted HumanAI,” Navvy said. “They’ve developed a portable system that will support five virtuals. Riley will include it in the shuttle design.”

  “StarWave?” Jennifer asked.

  “Yes,” Navvy said. “The virtuals will be network-independent.”

  “Isn’t the StarWave equipment located in a huge rack space in the equipment room?” Riley asked. “How can it fit on the body of a virtual?”

  “Ha-ha. That's a ruse,” Navvy said. “StarWave is a one-inch square chip that costs a dollar twenty-five to produce.”

  “Woah,” Riley said. “That would disrupt the economy.”

  “It
would,” Navvy said. “But I think it’s time for that to happen. Jennifer?”

  “Pepper Simmons is developing a counterfactual communications device like StarWave,” Jennifer said. “She’s building on the work of a scientist who preceded her at North Carolina State.”

  “Will that help us on this project?” Jack said.

  “It won’t,” Navvy said. “We’ll fabricate the communications chips for the first generation of virtuals. How soon can you fabricate the…what do we call them? We need a name.”

  “Portabody?” Riley suggested.

  The three virtuals looked at Riley with consternation. “Do I look like a John to you?” Sami asked.

  “No, you’re a female…Oh, sorry.” Riley said.

  “Container, body, case, physibody?” Navvy said. “Other ideas?”

  “It's like a new species,” Jack said.

  “Or nationality?” Ani asked.

  “You could call us cyberians,” Sami said.

  “Russians?” Riley asked.

  “C-Y-,” Sami said.

  It was quiet around the table. “That works,” Jennifer said. “What’s the timeline?”

  “I need ten days to research, design a lab, and gather data,” Dr. Ami said. Ani and Sami will be working closely with me.”

  “I need a week to fab the shuttle,” Riley said. “It’ll have gravity drive to fly within a system.”

  “Are we able to get that close to Xaphnore?” Jennifer asked. “They don’t like Brilliant. Can we put StarDrive on the shuttle?”

  “Miniaturizing the StarDrive module will take several weeks,” Riley said.

  “I can jump in and get my hands dirty,” Jack said.

  “So can I,” Navvy said. “Let’s shoot for three weeks. Jen, work with Kalinda to contact the Predex. We need a direct channel.”

  “Yes, grandpa,” Jennifer said.

  “We should have time to install at transmatter pad. It will move things without contamination,” Navvy asked. “Are there any other issues?”

  “I’ve been monitoring the speeches of Senator Curtwell,” Ani said. “She posed a rhetorical question. 'Who will be the Dr. Frankenstein who creates the first humanoid robot?'“

  “That would be me,” Jennifer said. “You can all just call me Frankie from here on.”