by Bob Blanton
“Why don’t you have robots?” Catie asked.
“Paraxeans, how do you say it, freak out when they see a mechanical version of themselves,” Dr. Pramar said. “We’ve had them in the past, but they were very expensive to build and maintain, and as I said, people don’t like them. It’s much more efficient to have a few special-purpose bots; most of those do two or three things. They’re easier to maintain and much easier to program and control.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier to program a robot to do some new task that you hadn’t thought of when you started?” Catie asked.
“Possibly, but then you would have to have a much bigger onboard computer system to control it. And you still might find that you were missing some ability. It is almost impossible to mimic the dexterity of a Paraxean hand, or a Human one,” Dr. Pramar said.
“I guess that makes sense,” Catie said. “But a robot would be cool.”
“Apparently it wears off,” Dr. Pramar said. “Some of the wealthy people used to have them, but after a few years, when they needed to go in for repairs, most opted to have them scrapped for parts and replace them with bots. A least, that was what happened when I was on Paraxea eighty years ago.”
“My records show it hasn’t changed,” ADI replied. “I have been given access to the Paraxean databases now that we’re in contact with them.”
“Thanks, ADI.”
“You’re welcome, Cer Catie. Or should I say, Second Mate?”
“Catie’s fine.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Finally, we can get some sun,” Liz said when Dr. Magor gave the all-clear on the planet’s atmosphere.
“I brought my shorts,” Catie said. “I’m going to sit on top of one of the greenhouses.”
“I’m right behind you,” Liz said. A few of the men had already tied the arms of their shipsuits around their waist while they continued to work. Even a few of the women had brought sports bras down with them so they could do the same thing.
Eye of the Tiger was blaring again over the speakers from the command building, and Gary was prancing around singing.
“Blake is going to have a fit if he hears the song again,” Liz said.
“He’s going to have to get used to it,” Catie said. “It is a really cool song. I’ve added it to my playlist.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did. Like I said, it’s a really good song!”
“You like to live dangerously,” Liz said.
“Hey, he’s my uncle, what’s he going to do,” Catie said with a laugh as she ducked into the bathroom to change.
“I bet he does something.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“How are we supposed to lie on this dome?” Liz asked.
“By planning ahead,” Catie said, showing Liz the pack she was carrying. It looked like one that a folding chair was carried in. Catie removed the device from it and stretched it out. It was like a canvas table; the four legs held the canvas top just above the top of the dome so they could lie on it without having their bodies touch the dome.
“Good planning, when did you have it made?”
“Last night,” Catie said.
They laid their pads down on the canvas table and sat down and stretched out in the sun.
“I like this planet,” Catie said. “Nice weather.”
“Dr. Bremer says they will get some wicked storms in the winter.”
“Will they get snow?”
“Lots of it.”
“Then I could learn to ski.”
“And freeze.”
◆ ◆ ◆
They’d been sunning for about twenty minutes when Catie heard a sharp bark.
“Oh, Dr. Teltar must be letting the dogs out for a run,” Catie said as she scrambled off of the roof, sliding down the dome. “Come here, boy, come here. Who’s a good boy.” Catie rubbed the dog’s head and gave him a kiss.
“Catie, do not distract my hunter,” Dr. Teltar said.
“Your hunter?”
“Yes, he’s trained to capture small animals like your squirrels and rabbits,” Dr. Teltar said.
“Capture?”
“Yes, capture. I want them alive.”
“I don’t think there are going to be any of them here inside the compound,” Catie said.
“I was just giving him a chance to do his business before I send him and his friend outside,” Dr. Teltar said. He came around the corner carrying one of the Shih Tzus. A bot followed him with the carriers for Sapphire and Topaz and the other Shih Tzu.
“Are you going to let the cats out?”
“Yes, as soon as the dogs are outside the compound, I’ll let them out.”
“The dogs won’t attack them, will they?”
“No, but they will distract them. The cats are supposed to hunt for mice, and small animals that I’m sure are running around here.”
“Will they kill them?”
“No, they’ve been trained to bring them to me alive,” Dr. Teltar said. “Cats like to keep their prey alive so they can play with them. When they capture one, I just give them a small toy to play with in exchange for it. It’s programmed to try and escape at random times. They love them.”
“And what is he trained to capture?” Catie asked, pointing to the dog in Dr. Teltar’s arm.
“Oh, this baby, he’s trained to be good company,” Dr. Teltar said. “Being adorable is his only skill.”
“Ohh, I didn’t realize you were such a softie,” Catie cooed.
“I’m just getting him acclimated to the environment,” Dr. Teltar said. He was bristling at being called a softie. “I’m sure that once he’s acclimated, some of the crew will appreciate his company.”
“Do you want me to acclimate the other one?” Catie asked.
“Go ahead.”
Catie got the other Shih Tzu from his cage. “They are fun to hold,” she said as she snuggled her face against the dog. He started to lick her face.
“You do know, you’ll need to disinfect your face,” Dr. Teltar said with a grimace.
“Oh, he’s worth it.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Look at him go!” Catie squealed as she and Liz watched one of the Basenjis chase after a rabbit. The other dog helped by cutting off the rabbit’s escape route.
“Those dogs are really fast,” Liz whooped. “We should hold dog races.”
“This is better,” Catie said. “Yes, he caught it.”
The Basenji carried the rabbit over to Dr. Teltar. He handed it over, and Dr. Teltar put it in the cage that was on the bot he was standing next to. Then he gave both dogs a treat. He ordered them to sit while he viewed the video from the probe hovering overhead. It took several minutes before another animal poked its head up. This time it looked like a squirrel. Dr. Teltar pointed it out to the dogs, and the chase was on.
“Those dogs are well trained,” Catie said, “aren’t they,” she said to Genghis, the Shih Tzu she was holding.
“Yes, I’m amazed he could teach them not to kill the animals,” Liz said.
“I don’t know why. Puppies are always playing with each other. They look ferocious, but they don’t hurt their littermates.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I’ve never had a dog.”
“We did when we lived in Boston,” Catie said. “But after the divorce, Mom gave it to her parents when we moved.”
“Oh, that had to suck.”
“Yes, but who was going to take care of it when she was working all the time? I had to go to school.”
“There it goes, it’s running for the tree!” Liz shouted, changing the subject.
“The other guy cut it off! Smart dog. Is he as smart as you, Genghis, is he? I don’t think so.”
“Well, look who’s running around and who’s sitting in someone’s lap,” Liz said.
Chapter 12
Board Meeting – May 3rd
“Okay, we’re all here,” Marc said. “I want to go back to calling these board meetings. We’ll discuss some iss
ues related to Delphi Security, but we should focus on MacKenzie Discoveries more and only provide support to the prime minister when she asks for it.”
“Why isn’t the prime minister here?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“I’ll meet with her separately. Other than foreign affairs and national security, I want her to be in charge.”
“Are you really going to let go of that much?” Samantha asked.
“I’m going to try,” Marc said.
“Why is it that much?” Catie asked. “He’s still the president.”
“Haven’t you read the Delphi Constitution?” Marc asked.
“Yeah, but I didn’t really study it,” Catie said.
“Well, based on the constitution and the parliamentary form of government, the prime minister is really the head of government,” Marc said. “The president is the head of state, and mostly deals with foreign affairs.”
“Sounds perfect,” Catie said. “The rest of that stuff is boring.”
“How are you going to deal with the proprietary technology Delphi controls?” Admiral Michaels asked. “You’ve been keeping a tight rein on that.”
“Almost all of it is controlled through MacKenzie Discoveries,” Marc said. “The Paraxeans work for MacKenzies, the scientists we’ve brought here all work for MacKenzies and are under non-disclosure, and ADI, the best source of technology information, is part of MacKenzies.”
“What about that battleship and the two carriers we captured? They all have DIs, right?”
“Owned by MacKenzie Discoveries,” Samantha said. “It was a very deft piece of negotiations if I say so myself.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that,” the Admiral said.
“Now to business. Delphi and Russia have both been invited to the G7 summit at Fort William, Scotland, next week,” Marc said.
“They invited Russia?”
“I think Prime Minister Woodward is trying to get us into the same room in hopes of calming down tensions,” Marc said.
“That’s the sense I got when their ambassador called me,” Samantha said. “I recommend we go.”
“Do you think the Russian President will show up?” Blake asked.
“I’m sure he’ll show up,” Marc said. “Whether he’ll be in the mood to talk is another question.”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll talk,” Samantha said. “He’ll at least want to know what you might give him.”
“We’ll see how things stack up once we get there. I’m hopeful,” Marc said. “Now, Blake, what’s the status of our new planet?”
“Haven’t you been reading the reports?” Blake said. “We’re on our way to the second one now. The first one looks good. We’ve left some experiments running, satellites in orbit, and some drones at each base camp to continue logging the indigenous species.”
“I’ve read the reports; I was hoping you might have more insight now that you’ve had time to reflect on your discoveries,” Marc said.
“Hey, what’s this I hear about you getting eaten by a tiger?” Kal asked.
“Obviously I was not eaten!” Blake snapped. “It was a minor incident that was not supposed to be reported!”
“It wasn’t reported, per se,” Kal said. “I just happened to stumble across the video of it when I was checking the security feeds.”
“Just happened to stumble across it!” Blake said while he turned and gave Liz and Catie a murderous glare. Both of them were struggling to suppress laughter.
A video of Blake and the tiger came up on the display, with The Eye of the Tiger blaring over the Comms.
“Enough,” Marc said. “We need to move on.”
“Thanks,” Blake said.
“Sam and I will invite Kal over tonight to watch the video over some wine,” Marc deadpanned.
“You . . .”
“Catie, the twins loved the pictures of the triceratops,” Samantha interrupted, trying to avert a squabble between the two brothers. “They didn’t care that it wasn’t really a dinosaur.”
“Yeah, that was cool,” Kal said. “Too bad it had to tear down all that fence.”
“Moving on! Blake, do you have any insights?” Marc asked.
Blake let out an exasperated sigh. “Sure. I think it will be an excellent planet. The system has a healthy asteroid belt that will probably prove useful in the future. We’ve found all the necessary elements for a technological civilization to form. It will not need very much terraforming, which will be especially helpful to the Paraxeans. We were able to eat the local plants, and the local wildlife might provide a source of protein.”
“The Paraxeans grow all their meat,” Catie said. “They only keep animals as pets.”
“But will they be able to do that while they’re establishing the colony?” Kal asked. “Those vats take a lot of maintenance, and you have to provide all the minerals.”
“I don’t know; I’ll have to ask Dr. Teltar,” Catie said.
“What about the weather?” Marc asked.
“Dr. Bremer says the climate will generate some extreme storms in the winters, but they should be manageable. Especially if they start out close to the equator.”
“Good, maybe we have a home for the Paraxeans and they can move on,” Marc said. “We should start planning when and how to transport them to it. Catie, any word from Dr. McDowell?”
“Hardly,” Catie said, “but he is working hard on it. He’s ordered some probes designed and built based on the new concept, so I think he’ll be testing it later this month.”
“Do you want to share with us exactly what this new concept is?” Marc asked.
“You won’t get bored?”
“If we get bored, we’ll go back to the video of the tiger.”
“I will get even!” Blake said.
“You always say that,” Marc said. “Now, Catie.”
“Okay, you asked for it. The jumpdrive works by forcing a gravity void to develop between the four engines. You might think that there are lots of gravity voids, but that’s not true. There is gravity everywhere, the effects of far-off stars and even far-off galaxies can be felt everywhere. So the drives have to be tuned to adjust for all that until there isn’t any gravity. When it creates the void, a wormhole forms. The other end of the wormhole jumps to an area of space where there is another gravity void, or extremely low gravity, that matches the vibrations in the end we form. If there is enough energy to expand it so that it encompasses all the mass in the vicinity, then the wormhole grows from a microscopic size to one big enough for all the mass to move through it.
“At first, we thought the space between the engines couldn’t have any mass in it, but that didn’t make sense since there were parts of the drives in that general area, and how would the wormhole grow if it had to pass through all that mass. So, I thought that we could put each engine on a separate ship or probe and then form the wormhole around the mass we wanted to transport. That would allow us to set the drives symmetrically around the mass we wanted to move, like the asteroid.”
“And you thought this up by yourself?” Samantha asked.
“Well, I really just thought about how I wished it would work,” Catie said. “Having to put the four engines on one side of the asteroid meant we needed to form an even bigger wormhole. It would be so much more convenient if we could place them around the asteroid. Then since it’s not a sphere, I thought ships would be better. Then that made me realize how cool it would be to have four ships that you could use to move another ship or object through the wormhole. Then we wouldn’t need to put those big drives in every ship.”
“Okay, okay, now go back to where you’re putting them on separate ships, and Dr. McDowell,” Marc said.
“Well, that’s mostly it. I went to ask him about it, and at first, he said it wouldn’t work, then he immediately saw something, and he’s been working on it since.”
“So how long before we know?” Marc asked.
“First, he has to figure out whether it will work. After that, we’ll
have to go through the same set of tests,” Catie said, “so, two months, plus maybe a month for him to finish his analysis. Of course, that all assumes my idea actually works.”
“Are you going to tell the U.N. about the planets?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“I’d like to know about the second planet first,” Marc said. “Just solving the Paraxean problem isn’t going to change much at the U.N.”
“I didn’t realize we were a problem,” Dr. Metra snapped.
“Sorry, I should have said the Paraxeans’ problem,” Marc apologized as he wondered why that had drawn such a strong reaction from Dr. Metra. He filed it away as something to discuss with Samantha.
“Thank you,” Dr. Metra said.
“Do you think that having a colony planet for Earth will make that much difference?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“It’s not just a colony planet,” Marc said. “With the jumpdrive, we will be able to trade with it, and the Paraxeans’ colony as well. It also opens the door to trading with the other spacefaring civilizations out there. Nobody is going to want to lose out on that opportunity.”
“But you risk starting another round of competition that could lead to war,” Kal said.
“That’s why we have to do it very carefully,” Marc said. “And as long as we create the engines and drive, we can dictate the terms of the trading relationships.”
“As long as we can keep control,” Admiral Michaels said.
“That brings us back to security. Kal, how is our recruitment and training for the security forces going?”
“We’re doing well,” Kal said. “But with this latest development, I am wondering if we should step it up. Ten-thousand Marines isn’t very many if you’re talking about multiple planets and a fleet to protect them.”
“I agree,” Admiral Michaels said. “We should grow as fast as Kal can manage; we should shoot for fifty thousand in the first two years. We might want to look into purchasing a few more frigates for here on Earth. Ideally you would have two or three per carrier.”
“I wish we could purchase them from the U.S.,” Marc said. “But they’re not relaxing their posture as of now. Spend what you have to.”