Their ancestors had called it Vhamora. It was said to be heaven, or the home of the gods. Ancient legends said the father of the Sapiens and the creator of the universe lived there, looking down on them. Still visible in the ancient Sapien cities were the ruins of old shrines where their ancestors worshiped the gods, offered prayers, and made sacrifice.
It was once the core of their religious beliefs, but those beliefs had been mostly forgotten or set aside since the age of science began. There were, of course, some that still held the old beliefs. Sapiens were free to believe what they wanted, but religion had fallen out of favor, supplanted by a belief in ration and reason.
Most Sapiens now believed only in what was observable and testable. Nonetheless, this was discomforting information for all. And science had always been vague on the subject of the great void. There were no sound theories as to what it was or why it existed. Mostly it was just accepted that it was there and that one day if would possibly be understood. The great void was also square; a shape that seldom appears in nature. Many well respected scientists touted the theory that the great void was not a natural phenomenon at all, but possibly some sort of advanced technology.
The speaker gave everyone a moment to digest this concept. It was a touchy subject that aroused a lot of emotion in many. She continued, “As you know, because we can detect no readings from the great void, we have never been able to measure the distance or pinpoint its exact location. If, as we believe, the origin of the distortion wave was the great void, we now have accurate readings on its location and distance.” She paused, then strongly emphasized, “It is reachable. It is within the range of the Maximus.”
A triangular shape was overlaid on the image of the universe. The apex of the triangle pointed to an area just outside the upper right quadrant of the galaxy. “We believe this is the location of the great void,” she said pointing upward to the overlay.
She continued, “In addition to the distortion wave there was the call. The wave was detected at our furthest outpost in all directions. The call was not. It had a distinct span. We believe the call was somehow cast onto the wave as it propagated across the point of origin, from a location inside the galaxy.”
Another triangle overlaid the projection. It pointed to a location in the upper right quadrant of the galaxy, along a band of stars in a different galactic arm, all of which were unexplored. “This,” she said, “is what we’ve pinpointed as the origin of the call. It lies along on a near straight line between us and the void. We have narrowed the source to a single star system, but cannot tell exactly which planet was the origin. We have named this start system ‘Hail’, as in to call out.”
The Galaxy of Sapiea
There was a momentary pause, then she continued. “So why are you all here today?” she asked. Then without hesitation she said, “We are mounting an exploratory mission. We will be sending the Maximus to investigate both the origins of the call and the great void. You are all here because you have been chosen to take part in this mission. This is, of course, voluntary. Anyone may opt-out with no questions asked. We cannot even begin to assess what dangers may lie ahead or what you may encounter along the way.
“Let us all take a moment to contemplate what I have just told you. We will take a short break for lunch and resume afterward, where we can outline the mission parameters. Lunch will be served in the room across the hall. Please, have some lunch and return in one hour.” The meeting broke.
An hour later, they resumed. After everyone was seated, Abatta rose and continued. “We have selected Sava Doll to be the mission leader. Masa Sar will serve as his backup.” Sava and Masa stood to acknowledge.
“Because of the long distance nature of this mission, every position will have two persons capable of filling the role. Everyone in a lead position has been selected because of their prior experience in off-world missions. For others, this will be their first mission, so we’ll expect you to help one another and teach each other all you know along the way.
“Sava Doll has been briefed on the mission parameters. I’ll let him take if from here.” Abatta took her seat and Sava stood.
“Thank you,” he said to Abatta. “The call was heard by the Sapiens, the Dolek, and the Nanda. The Tecate’ did not hear the call and seem to be unaware it occurred. Since the call was not specifically directed to us, we have decided that all who received the call should be allowed to participate. Since the call was not heard by the Tecate’ we have decided not to inform them of this mission. We are uncertain why they did not hear the call, but if it was an intentional choice of the sender, we feel we should respect that decision.
“We have already been in contact with the Dolek, and they have agreed to send four Dolek as part of the mission crew. They are currently on a transport bound for Sapiea.”
He paused, then called out “Paumi, are you here?”
“Yes,” Paumi said raising his hand.
“I’m sure you will be pleased to know the Nanda wore the remote translation devices as you requested. They were amazingly successful. We are now able to engage in very detailed and subtle communication with the Nanda. Thanks to that, we have alerted them to the situation as well. The Nanda are also sending three representatives to participate in the mission. And Paumi?”
“Yes.”
“You should know that Nanda hold you in high regard. One of the Nanda who is coming says he know you well. He says he worked with you for months while you both tried to communicate, and that he was there when you finally broke through. He asked me to let you know he is looking forward to seeing you again and hopes he can get to know you better, now that you can speak.”
Paumi looked pleased. “Thank you,” he said. “I look forward to it myself.”
Sava went on. “The Nanda are an aquatic species. They require a different environment from us. They have sent us specifications and the Maximus is currently being retrofitted as necessary to provide living quarters and life support for the Nanda. We expect that construction to be completed by launch, which is ten days from now,” he said informatively. “The Nanda are also underway.”
“We will be in unexplored space, so we don’t know what we may encounter. The distances we need to travel are great and this will be an extended mission. The call traveled on the distortion wave so it has to have been propagating a long time. We have no idea if we’ll find a living civilization or ruins.
“The great void is even further. Even at the FTL speeds achievable by the Maximus, the journey will be long and arduous. No ship has ever undertaken such a voyage, and no crew has ever faced such uncertainty. What lies ahead is a complete mystery.
“Because of the length of this mission, we have selected only Sapiens who are unpaired. We understand that we (Sapiens) pair for life, and that once a bond is made, we are emotionally bound to our partner. This is part of who we are and must it must be a consideration. We will not tear apart a bonded pair and will not want anyone on board to have regrets.
“If you have any reason whatsoever to decline this mission or any hesitation, please opt-out. Anyone may do so without any concerns. We will find an alternate to fill your role and no questions will be asked. If you want to opt-out, please raise your hand now.”
The room remained still.
“Again, anyone? It’s no dishonor to stay.”
Still the room remained silent. No hands rose.
“Then let me add one last thing. We’ve never undertaken a mission of this length before. As most of you know, the QETAR cannot be used when a ship is in FTL flight, so we will be unable to communicate with home world or any other location for a very extended period. Your crew mates will be all you have. We will need to be more than a crew. We will need to be family.
“And along those lines, the ratio of male and female crew members is nearly balanced. Everyone is unpaired and most of the crew is near normal pairing age. If anyone chooses to pair while we are on this mission, it will be permitted. As ship’s captain, I’ll be happ
y to officiate any ceremonies.
“Oh, and please keep this mission private. We understand you will want to tell family you are departing on a long mission and may not be back for some time. That is permitted. Feel free to say your goodbyes, but keep in mind, we are going to the great void. There are still some that hold to the old ways, and we do not want to start any rumors we are going to Vhamora or to visit the gods. People who hold to the old religions can still be volatile and unpredictable, and we don’t want any disturbances. Officially, this mission is the exploration of new territories. That is all.
“Last item,” he added. “We will be far from home and out of touch. We may encounter unforeseen situations for which we have no precedent. For this reason, we have been authorized by the council to make decisions as we see fit. We will be writing our own rules. After we are underway, we will elect a council of our own, and they will be the final authority.
“Now, let’s review the roster.
“I and Masa Sar will be in charge of the ship and technical mission commanders.
“Devor Bon and Ala Sol will be in charge of any planetary missions and first contact. Devor was first contact for the Tecate’ and the Nanda. Ala was first contact for the Dolek.
“Asha Aah and Dobro Nor will serve as ambassadors.”
He continued on for over an hour reading out the positions and personnel to fill each role. The meeting adjourned and the crew went their separate ways to prepare as best they could.
Chapter 4: A New Family
Paumi, Devor, and Asha used their last days differently, in the manner most appropriate for themselves.
Paumi went to visit his mother and brother. His mother, unfortunately was greatly aged and had advanced dementia. She barely recognized her son. He spent what quality time he could with her and said his goodbyes. He knew for him this was the best closure he could get, but he also knew she did not understand what he was telling her, nor would she remember. The one saving grace for him was that she would not feel the pain of his absence. She would not even remember he had ever been.
Paumi was never close with his brother, but he wanted to connect as well as he could before he left. Paumi was a practical, pragmatic person. His brother was always somewhat irresponsible and bit of a hedonist. They went to spend several days together in Lavada, a resort city on the Sapien moon Barra.
Lavada sat on top of an ancient magma chamber that was noted for its thermal vents and hot springs, but mostly it was a gambling town: bright lights, cheap thrills, loud music, and inscrutable characters. They gambled, got massages, drank heavily, and even experimented with some of the more illicit options available for a small fee. Paumi’s brother was impressed at how relaxed Paumi was and how freely he spent his money with, apparently, no regret. Paumi was surprised at how good of a time he actually had, and knowing where he was headed, he didn’t care at all about the intense losses he took at the gaming tables.
Devor had no family left. He was an only child. His parents were, like him, off-world explorers. They were killed on Dolis. They were among the first to visit Dolis, and having no concept of predators, they had no idea how unsafe it was to wonder off into the jungle by themselves. They thought they were on a leisurely walk, but just a few hundred yards from base camp they were attacked and eaten by wild timarans.
It was actually because of the death of his parents that Sapiens first learned what predators were, and also weapons. Sapiens had no concept of weapons, but the Dolek taught them. They taught them spears, and blades, and a small firearm called the burner. A burner was a pistol type object that fired an energy blast of charged ions. The blast was a short lived but powerful enough to pierce the skin and burn through the flesh of most of the predators on Dolis. Now, all Sapiens visiting Dolis wore a burner.
Devor spent the days he had at the arsenal. He practiced spears, and blades, and the burner. He was naturally athletic and easily ran through most of the obstacle courses they had set up to simulate the jungle environment of Dolis. Sapiens were not warriors. For them arsenal was mostly a game. For him there was always a darker undertone because of the fate that had befallen his parents.
Asha went to spend her last days with her parents and visit family. She had a large family with several aunts and uncles and many cousins. She stayed in her parents’ house during the visit, in the same room she grew up in as a little girl. It still had much of the same furnishing and many of her childhood keepsakes still lay in their proper place.
Staying in her old room sometimes made her feel a sense of warmth and security, like she felt as a little girl, knowing her parents where there to protect and comfort her. Other times she remembered what was about to happen and felt remorse in knowing that she may never see her parents again. They were getting old, and she was unsure if they’d survive for the duration of her trip. She was uncertain, actually, what the duration of her trip would be. Maybe she’d never return.
Regardless, she enjoyed the time with her family. Her parents hosted many dinners and much of the family came to partake in the fun. They all knew she was going on an exploration and could be gone for a long time. They just didn’t know exactly where she was going, except to ‘parts unknown.’
Asha had a close and warm family and enjoyed the time with them, but now it was time to leave.
Asha met up with several others at the loading dock in Center Station. The crew was being ferried to the Maximus in several shuttle runs. Each shuttle carried up to a dozen people. They are scheduled to run every half hour until the crew had boarded. She caught the next available shuttle and they lifted off.
As the Maximus came into view, she marveled at its size. The ship was quite large and impressive. It was the largest ship the Sapiens had built so far. The main body of the ship was globe shaped. It was surrounded by three large concentric rings that encircled the globe at evenly spaced intervals of about 120 degrees each. The shuttle approached the ship, then slowly circumnavigated the vessel. All the shuttle pilots were doing this so the crew could get a good first look at the ship that was about to become their new home.
The front of the globe had a rectangular observation port built in, about three quarters of the way up to the top of the ship. Behind that was the bridge and operations center. Both the port and starboard sides of the ship were also fitted with a long, narrow observation window, centered on the globe. The observation port spanned the full height of the center deck.
Asha knew this because she had been given specifications of the ship after the council meeting. The entire crew had been given the specifications and was asked to familiarize themselves with the ships’ design before they returned. She had reviewed the plans in great detail while visiting her parents.
The center deck was the largest deck on the ship and was the recreational area. Behind the observation ports lay large lounge areas with comfortable seating and spaces for socializing. The interior of the center deck contained the galley, supply depots, exercise facilities, and various gaming centers designed to provide some diversion during a long trip.
Because of the globe shape of the ship, each deck got slightly smaller as they neared the top and bottom of the vessel. The decks just above and just below the center deck were living quarters. Most other decks were either engineering spaces or science centers. The ship was equipped with several science stations and laboratories that could be used for study and research along the way.
Below the port and starboard observation ports was a large ring mounted on the side of the ship. These were the docking stations where the transports would attach when delivering supplies or allowing passengers or crew to embark or disembark. As the shuttle rounded the starboard side of the vessel, she could see the previous transport still attached to the ring where it remained docked. The shuttles were actually part of the ship. The last transport to arrive would be piloted by one of the crew and dock in the port docking station, where it would remain affixed for the duration of the flight. The ship itself was not designed to land o
r ever enter an atmosphere. The shuttles were to be used for all planetary excursions.
As the shuttle rounded the rear of the ship, Asha could see a large, bulbous extrusion centered on the back side. This was the main engine. As they passed the engine, one of the large concentric rings that wrapped the ship came into view and passed by. It was a very industrial looking device that had a lot of machinery mounted to it. The ship’s sensors where embedded in these outer rings. The body of the ship was white, but the rings were painted bright red. There was no real purpose for the red. It was strictly decorative.
Asha knew from the specifications she had reviewed that the ship’s core, the globe, had both an inner and an outer hull with a large gap between them. That gap was filled with water. It served as both their water supply and as a protective barrier. Water provided a natural shielding against cosmic radiation and helped protect the crew from exposure. During flight, most of the water would be allowed to harden and freeze. This reinforced the outer hull and strengthened the ship. It also served as an insulating barrier protecting the living spaces from the extreme cold of space.
The Long Day Page 4