STAR OF EPIPHANY

by OMAR FINK

  Several hours later, he was back in the small rotating wheel they used as a base station near the platform at the top of the space elevator. The base supervisor was talking to him, “That finishes the incident debrief, but there’s something else I need to discuss with you.”

  Keel had started to get out of his seat, but sat back down, “Okay.”

  The supervisor said, “You’ve seen how the habitat construction site has grown in the last few months. We need our best handlers over there now more than we need you here. The accident rate is higher. and the time line is more critical. We need to move you over to the habitat site if that’s okay with you.”

  Keel said, “Sure.”

  The supervisor said, “For now, it doesn’t mean much change. You’ll continue to sleep and eat here, but you’ll have to jet over there for your working hours. In the longer term, I think this change will become more significant. I don’t see anybody who moves over there coming back here. It’s beginning to look like a one way flow.”

  Keel asked, “What does that mean?”

  The supervisor replied, “Well, for now the habitat construction site is nearby, and the materials are coming mostly from the Moon, and a few things from here. But when that wheel is done, it will be moved out into an orbit that takes it out somewhere past Mars I think, and maybe eventually into the asteroid belt. They tell us that is where we’ll all be living eventually.”

  Keel asked, “When will all that be happening?”

  The supervisor responded, “I don’t know. You can see the progress on the habitat. It will take several more months to complete at a minimum, and even though they’ve already begun moving people up the elevator and onto the hab, I’m not sure how long that will take to finish, and when they plan to start moving it out into the new orbit. The bottom line is I expect most of the handlers who are moving over there now won’t be coming back, but will end up going on out toward the asteroid belt, and staying there. We know the need for experienced pilots and handlers will be growing quickly for many years in the areas where we are expanding most.”

  Keel said, “Wow. I guess I knew all this was coming, but it seems so fast.” He shrugged, “Anyway, I’m down with it. I’ll go.”

  The supervisor said, “Hey, we’ll all be following just behind. And of course, this means a promotion and a raise, although just as it’s been here, there won’t be much down time for the next few years, and you’ll be piling up a small fortune in comp time.” He grinned.

  Keel grinned back, then he added, “Oh, by the way, that new pod and skin work great. With the thin skin gloves on my finger, I had much better articulation during the accident, er incident, than I would have with the old thick suit gloves. And no windows in space is good too.” He grinned again.

  +2 years 3 months, PULAU BALAMGUNG, SPACE ELEVATOR PLATFORM JUST SOUTH OF SINGAPORE

  The man behind the desk said, “Your full name is Kazimieras Jagiello. No middle initial?”

  Kaz replied, “Yes, that is correct. Please just call me ‘Kaz’.”

  The man smirked gently, “Your biometrics have been confirmed. Your medical and education requirements have cleared. You are being processed to go up the space elevator within a few hours. This is our final review, and your final chance to ask any questions, or decide to back out. Any questions?”

  Kaz said, “I’ve seen all the plans, but they change a lot. How long are we expecting the trip up to the space platform to take?”

  The man said, “You’re right about changes, and you must know it’s a likelihood that more things may change in the next few days, but right now the estimated travel time is just over seven days. Then it will be at least a few more hours, but probably less than a full day travel time to get over to the space habitat, which is under construction.” The man looked carefully at Kaz to see if he had another question, and when Kaz said nothing, the man added, “If you have no further questions, you need to go through the security screening and change clothes. Give me any credentials you want scanned and added to your file. You’ll take off your clothes, go through the scanner, put on the under-skin and blue jumpsuit they give you, and you’re done. Everything else will be destroyed. Right over there.” He motioned to a nearby door.

  Kaz came out the other side of the security section wearing a blue jump suit. The security attendant said, “Your credentials will be added to your file. Your clothes will be destroyed. You are not permitted to take any personal belongings with you. The attendant over here will take you to the climber car, and give you a brief orientation session. She’ll also be traveling with you and should be able to answer any questions, or help with any needs while you’re in transit.” He gestured toward a woman who was standing nearby, “Jill, this is Kaz. He’s ready for you now. Kaz, have a nice trip.”

  Kaz replied, “Thanks.” and turned to meet Jill.

  Jill smiled up at Kaz, extended her hand to shake, “Hi Kaz. I’ve got your profile right here on my tablet, so I know all about you, but now it’s my job to show you the climber cabin we’ll be in for the next few days.”

  Kaz shook her hand, “Okay.”

  Together they walked out of the office and across the bridge from the passenger dormitory platform to the climber car platform. As they went, Jill said, “You’ve been here longer than I have and since you’ve been working on these platforms for about a year and a half, I’m sure you know more than I do about them. But I’ve been training about the climber cars, and how they work, so that I can make sure our trip goes smoothly.”

  Kaz said, “Do you go all the way to the habitat with us? And what then, stay there, or come back down to escort another group of passengers?”

  Jill smiled, “Good question. I stay up there and learn to live in the habitat with all the rest of you. Each cabin attendant is sent on a one way trip. Actually, I’m not sure there is any simple way to get back to Earth at the moment. If there was a serious need for that, they have a plan for a descent capsule with braking rockets and parachute, but even for most medical emergencies, you can get full treatment up in space, including surgery. One of the first construction priorities on each habitat is a medical clinic and operating room. If the doctors onsite don’t have the right skills and experience, they get somebody who does to oversee the operation, or even perform it remotely.”

  They reached the climber car sitting in loading position in the center of the second platform. It stood about fifteen meters tall, and was roughly ten meters squared on the base dimensions, giving it the appearance of a tall rectangular cuboid with rounded corners. The exterior plating was a dull gray-silver-like unpolished nickel or aluminum. There were no windows, but many small fittings and attachments blemished the surface, each one with text labels near them.

  Jill swung the entry hatch door open, but before stepping inside, pointed over to the first platform where the ribbon tether was visible anchored to the middle of the deck. She explained, “I’m sure you know all this, but I’m told to explain it to everybody. When we’re all loaded and ready to go, this cabin will be moved across the rails on the bridge, and fitted into a climber chassis, and connected to the tether. When we get a launch go, it will begin climbing up the tether, using the large friction wheels on the chassis. The first sixty klicks or so, we’ll go slow because of the atmosphere. That will take us about one hour and after that, we can go much faster.”

  Jill stepped inside the lock and motioned for Kaz to follow. Kaz ducked his tall frame under the top, and stepped over the threshold to join Jill in the bottom level of the climber cabin mostly filled with comfortable looking reclining couches. The middle of the cabin was divided by a ramp which went up into the next level, leaving two rows of the couches on either side.

  Jill pointed at the ramp, “That goes up to the next level, which is identical to this one. There are five levels. The middle level has two bathrooms and a kitchen and some general use space. There are two more levels above that just like this one. This cabin can carry about fifty people.”r />
  Kaz replied, “Interesting. I’ve seen sketches and diagrams and lots of technical documents, but this is more impressive. It’s beginning to seem real.”

  Jill smiled at Kaz, “Yeah, I know that feeling. In a few more days, we’ll be looking down on Earth from space. That seems fantastic to me.”

  Kaz mused, “I noticed there are no windows, but you said we’ll be looking down on Earth. So there must be video monitors?”

  Jill replied, “Yup, that’s one of the anticipated frequently asked questions. There will be no windows in space. That just puts a weak spot in the hull of the cabin.”

  Kaz chuckled, “No windows in space. Seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before.”

  Jill smiled back at him, “I think you and I will get along just fine for the next week, or maybe more.”

  +2 years 4 months, PIRAEUS, GREECE

  Zorba Omega touched his ear, “Hello Mr. S.”

  On the other end of the line, Billy Street said, “Hello Mr. O.”

  Zorba said, “Please confirm the security instructions.”

  Billy replied, “This call is being routed over a secure channel, and I am talking on a burner phone that will be disposed of after the call. If the channel was set up well, the call should be encrypted and tunneled and totally secure.”

  Zorba replied, “It has been. This is not a company channel, and we need to avoid any mention of the company or individuals associated with it, and none of them are to ever know what you are doing on this assignment. Is that clear?”

  Billy said, “Yes.”

  Zorba said, “Good. Also, I don’t want to know where you are unless you are in Geneva. If you are in Geneva, say you’re at home, otherwise just say you are not at home, and we won’t discuss your location any further.”

  Billy said, “Okay.”

  Zorba said, “You were tasked with finding the group that is resisting HU, and developing a dossier on the group.”

  Billy said, “Yes. They call themselves ‘The Resistance’, and they believe HU is a fraud and the comet and space elevator plan is all fake, and carefully designed to allow the people behind HU to take over the world.”

  Zorba murmured, “And so they are actually plotting to take over the entire world. Please continue.”

  Billy resumed, “They have small but growing branches in the EU, the U.S., and Japan. Their current mode of operation seems to be based on propaganda or as they call it, ‘anti-propaganda’, because they consider the announcements by HU to be propaganda. That is the extent of their planning at this moment, to try to hammer HU with their version of the truth. I don’t have details but I’d expect it to be an internet and social media based campaign. And I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the future, this escalates toward protests, and even organized violence, but that is just my opinion, and it’s only based on some of the extreme rhetoric I’ve heard, not on any actual facts.”

  Zorba said, “That’s an excellent start Mr. S. I want you to continue with this, and try to get as far inside the organization as possible. I will make funding available to you, but not through the usual channels. As I mentioned before, none of this must be connected at all with the usual channels. The funding provided will include not just your expenses, but also any encouragement that is needed including outright donations if that is the best way for you to move forward.”

  Billy replied, “Will do, Mr. O.”

  +2 years, 5 months, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

  Peter Anderson spoke to the large video screen in the AGT Executive conference room, “TYCHE, have you reviewed the materials we gave you on space habitat trajectory optimization?”

  TYCHE responded, “Yes, I have Peter, and I’m ready to offer some advice to improve the deployment schedule, if you’d like it.”

  Peter smiled, “Yes, TYCHE, please go ahead.”

  TYCHE said, “As you all know, the task is to create a series of stepping stones created by the space habitats that allow migrants to move from one habitat to another, gradually moving farther and farther away from Earth, and into the region of space between Mars and Jupiter that is known as the asteroid belt. There are many real time adjustments that compound the difficulty of the problem. Orbital trajectories will not be perfect circles, but more elliptical in nature. This is known as eccentricity. The orbits may also be tilted or inclined off the plane of the planets. This is known as inclination. In most cases, these factors will be used to create an orbit that takes the habitat farther away from the Sun, and then back to the original starting point. However, when each habitat returns to its origin, the neighboring planets and other objects are going to be in different positions. We need to enable the transfer of large numbers of people from Earth to the habitats, and from the habitats to other habitats. As each habitat goes through a series of orbits out and back, its proximity to Earth will change with each pass. When the habitat returns to the orbital path of Earth, but Earth is on the far side of the Solar System, the transfer of people is not enabled. Depending upon the characteristics of the orbit of the habitat, it may take many cycles until both Earth and the habitat are near to each other. This drives the need to have many habitat rings that intersect both the orbit of Earth and of each other frequently. The more intersection points that are created, the more options for pathways the optimization program has available to work with.” TYCHE paused for a few seconds, but no questions were raised.

  TYCHE continued, “As each habitat ring moves out toward the asteroid belt, it may need to divert from the planned trajectory in order to pick up resources such as a rock to extract building and life support materials from, and also to pick up and drop off passengers at intersection points with other habitats. Some of these changes can be anticipated and predicted, but because of the constant rate of change, many will have to be reacted to when they occur. With hundreds of habitats in a dynamically changing environment, this problem becomes complex. Here is an animation that demonstrates how the trajectories are planned.”

  The video screen changed, and an animation showed Earth and Mars and Jupiter orbiting around the Sun leaving blue lines that traced out their orbital paths. A dot representing a habitat left Earth, and began slowly moving outward until it reached the orbit of Mars. It also left a blue line, but thinner and fainter than the orbits of the planets. And when it reached the orbit line of Mars, it split off a new habitat which moved outward toward the inner edge of the asteroid belt. When the two dots separated, they flashed green momentarily, representing the construction of a new habitat. The original habitat dot looped back toward the line of Earth’s orbit, while the new one moved out toward the inner edge of the asteroid belt. When the original habitat dot got back to the orbit line left behind by Earth, it began moving back outward again, and in like manner, when the new dot reached the edge of the asteroid belt, it looped back toward the orbit of Mars. They continued to trace out their lines, and split off new construction habitats on each cycle.

  The animation flashed an acceleration factor on the screen, and everything started moving faster. The habitat lines looped out and back many times, creating a thick pattern of lines that connected the orbit of Earth with the orbit of Mars, and a thinner pattern connecting the orbit of Mars with the edge of the asteroid belt, and yet another even thinner group connecting the edge of the asteroid belt with the middle of the asteroid belt, and so on. Many yellow flashes were constantly showing intersection points, and the green flashes showing new construction were also steadily increasing.

  TYCHE resumed speaking, “As you can see, we have established the pathways of stepping stones. Now watch as we add some groups of migrants moving across the pathways.” The animation now added a thin red line that left Earth on a habitat, moved out to the orbit of Mars on that same habitat, then shifted to another habitat, and rode it into the edge of the asteroid belt, then shifted again to another habitat, and rode it even farther into the asteroid belt. Then many red lines began doing the same thing, until they looked like they were weaving a
big dough-nut of yarn on the screen. The animation halted.

  TYCHE observed, “You can see how complex this becomes, and this representation is from planning data only, and does not include any perturbations from events that are not predictable. You can also see how the pathway of stepping stones works to move large quantities of people across space in a few years. This technique is necessary to move enough people in enough time to save the entire species population.”

  +2 years, 6 months, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA

  SYNCON/TYCHE Journal:

  The habitat migration scheme is yet another application most aptly solved using vector space analysis and matrix algebra.

  These techniques do not seem to lend themselves easily to intuitive human understanding.

  With large data sets, they also can become computation intensive, lending themselves well to electronic computation which yields bonuses from accuracy and performance increases.

  While some Humans do have a simplistic grasp of vectors mostly based on physical actions, the subject area of linear algebra is considered to be advanced, and is only taught to a few students who seek a higher understanding of mathematics.