STAR OF EPIPHANY

by OMAR FINK

  17 Consequences

  “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.“

  — William Shakespeare

  +11 years, 1 months, PARIS, FRANCE

  Gitane Levesque took another long drink from his glass of wine and kept on talking, “I think it was the grandest adventure of all time. I mean, where else will you hear a tale of such epic proportions. The survival of all humankind was at stake. Nobody knew if the plans would succeed, and some even doubted they were real. We all could have died. Did you know that?” He nodded as though to reassure himself. A slight breeze blew through the sidewalk cafe, rustling some debris in the gutter.

  The couple he was addressing were sitting at the table next to him, and trying to ignore him by looking away, but Gitane keep on babbling, “At the beginning, nobody actually believed that we could build space elevators and move everybody off the planet. That just didn’t seem possible. The whole idea that we all might die seemed unreal. It was preposterous! Do you remember where you were and what you were doing?”

  Finally, exasperated with their inability to talk to each other without being interrupted, the couple finished their pastry and coffee, and got up and left. Gitane rubbed a three day stubble on his chin, took another long drink of wine, then turned his attention to another victim sitting nearby, a middle-aged man, “How about you? What were you doing? I remember exactly what I was doing at all times. I was reporting on the story. I was warning people about the danger that was coming. I was on television all the time. This was the most important crisis in the history of the world.”

  The man looked at Gitane, then went back to reading his tablet. Gitane continued as though he had been invited, “Nobody was sure what the real truth was. It was confusing. They weren’t telling us everything. They treated us like children who were incapable of understanding an adult problem. Did you feel childish?”

  As the man got up to leave, Gitane tugged at his sleeve and asked, “Hey, have I told you how I met Lee Martin? She discovered the comet, you know. And I discovered her.” He nodded as though to reassure himself.

  +11 years, 2 months, MORIA, AU 2.7

  The sign over the entrance to the office read, ‘Street Investigations - Confidential, Discrete, Private’. The entrance itself was an arch that was wider than it was tall. The arch looked like it was made from a sandy colored stone or hand hewn block. Thick but transparent walls blocked the corners of the arch with a wide walkway in the middle allowing access to the office. A groove in the floor indicated that the transparent walls could be moved to close in the middle, offering security when needed.

  Billy Street leaned back in a massive chair that looked like it was leather clad, but the surface had shaped itself to his form. His feet were propped up on a small square object that seemed to be designed as some kind of stool, and he was balancing a little ball on top of a wand that he held in his hand.

  A soft chime noise sounded and a sultry female voice announced, “Incoming v-mail from Lewis Barton.”

  Billy said, “Accept and play.”

  The female voice announced, “V-mail from Lewis Barton, origin RRRT ring near AU 4.0, delay 27 minutes.”

  Then Lewis ‘Sonny’ began talking, “Hey Billy, Sonny here. I hear you’ve hung out your shingle as an investigator over there on Moria. I hope business is booming for you. I’d like to open a discussion with you regarding putting you on a retainer with RRRT to pick up odd jobs when we need you. Our mission over here is evolving once again, and it’s moving beyond just rescue to include some actions that are more security related, almost police-like. I’m sure you know Sparta has built a dominant presence in city security, but they don’t have the mobility that we have and the specific expertise. General Decker over there has agreed on a framework of collaboration between us and them, and we expect it to work well.”

  Sonny continued, “Of course, we’re thinking of using you primarily in your area of expertise, that being investigation. As Decker expands his business, there will be plenty of background checks and some other ‘boots on the ground’ kinds of investigation needs. You had also expressed some interest

  in learning some of the rescue oriented skills, and we would be glad to get you through our basic training level in exchange for some hours of standby duty. Oh, and you also said you did some work in the drama department in college with makeup and costume. We might also be able to use some of those skills focused on disguise. What do you think? Let me know. Sonny out.”

  +11 years, 3 months, RRRT HABICRAFT, AU 4.0

  “Sonny” Barton looked away from the wall display, “Okay, so we have a survival pod we’ve designed. We’ve stocked it with oxygen reserves, water storage, food bars, and a primitive CCN center. What else do we need?”

  Keel and Kaz looked at each other, then back at Sonny. Kaz spoke first, “We should include some specialized multi-purpose tools that are compact.”

  Keel and Sonny both looked at Kaz. Kaz said, “What? You said this pod is designed to survive atmospheric re-entry and make a soft landing on a planet, right? So, we need to consider many different scenarios, including those on the surface of a planet.”

  Keel shrugged, “He’s right, Sonny. Besides, a basic, multi-purpose tool can be useful in many different situations.”

  Sonny said, “Okay. So what’s next?”

  Keel suggested, “Training?”

  Kaz confirmed, “That’s right.”

  Sonny asked, “How do we do this?”

  Keel said, “Simulation training that creates a full immersion experience is the way they trained me to fly drones. It was very effective.”

  Kaz nodded, “I’ve been through some sims too. I like that idea. What kind of scenarios do we use, full variation?”

  Sonny asked, “What would that mean?”

  Kaz replied, “Every variation we can think up. Planetary landings, drifting in space, near an asteroid, near a damaged craft that can be salvaged, the list is long.”

  Keel nodded, “I know some software engineers that do the environmental stuff here. They’re top-notch. You guys probably know some too. We should make a list of scenarios and objectives and get them to give us some feedback on their ideas.”

  Sonny said, “Good. Let’s do it.”

  +11 years, 4 months, ARETE STATION, AU 2.5

  The hair on the head of Zorba Omega was changing from the younger jet black to include streaks of silver and gray. He pulled the cloth napkin out of a ring and placed it in his lap. He nodded thanks to the waitress who brought his glass of wine, and smoothed out the tablecloth in the center of his place setting before moving the glass to that spot. He twisted the stem of the glass to turn it, then repeated the action several times. Finally, he picked up the glass and took a sip. He put it back down and then picked the napkin up from his lap and stood as Tony Azaria walked up to the table. He held out his hand, “Welcome. Glad you could join me.”

  Tony Azaria shook the hand and took a seat. He wore his customary uniform, a dark gray business suit with just a hint of pinstripes, a crisp white shirt and a blue tie that also had a touch of gray to it. His sharp eyes and thin lips gave him an intense look. He said, “I’ve heard very good things about this restaurant. All cloth I see.” He motioned to the table covering and napkin.

  Zorba chuckled, “Yes, and real human waiting staff to serve us.” He waved toward the waitress who was returning to help.

  Tony ordered a cup of Lapsang Souchong tea, then asked Zorba, “What do you recommend from the menu?”

  Zorba smiled, “I’m having the filet which is always good, but the Chicken Oscar is also wonderful. It starts with a celery based broth soaked into the chicken, then the standard crab, asparagus, and hollandaise. The hollandaise sauce is perfectly done, by the way. Then they add some little pieces of flaked beef, which is unusual but quite tasty. If you’re partial to oscar style variations, you should love it.”

  Tony looked up at the waitress and nodded, “Chicken Oscar it is.” He picked
up the menu book off the table and handed it to the waitress without looking inside. She departed.

  Tony turned his attention back to Zorba, “What is the purpose of this meeting?”

  Zorba frowned, “I wanted you to hear this directly from me. Helen and I are divorcing.”

  Now Tony frowned too, “Does she know about this? She hasn’t said a word to me.”

  Zorba waved his hand as though to dismiss that comment, “Of course she does. She’s the one precipitating it. She says she intends to file here as soon as she arrives and seems to think she can get our prenup invalidated in a court here. That might allow her to claim half of my wealth, if it were to happen, which it won’t.” He frowned.

  Tony’s eyes narrowed just a bit and his lips returned to their normal straight line, “Well, I’m sorry the marriage is not working of course, but you can be a bastard to get along with. I’m sure that’s not news to you.”

  Zorba shrugged, “That’s your opinion. I get along just fine with most of the people I work with.”

  Tony raised his eyebrows, “Most of the people you work with kiss your ass because you’re the richest son of a bitch in the Solar System. How would you know how well you get along with them?”

  Zorba looked up sharply, “That’s pretty harsh isn’t it?”

  Tony replied without hesitation, “Just the truth.”

  Zorba leaned back in his chair, “What’s more important is because of the way you and your pals have set up the justice system and courts here in this city, she may have some legal ground to stand on.”

  Tony replied sharply, “What! There is nothing wrong with how the courts are set up here. It was all done by consensus, and with a great deal of care to follow precedent and tradition.”

  Zorba drank some wine, “Well I’m not happy with it and I won’t tolerate having your sister try to claim half of my wealth that she has absolutely no right to claim.”

  Tony was silent for a moment, “Zorba, for such a business savvy guy, sometimes you get things all bass ackwards.”

  Zorba scowled, “And you always get it right, do you?”

  Tony opened his mouth, but the waitress appeared with two plates of food and placed them on the table. Tony closed his mouth and surveyed the food.

  Zorba said curtly, “Thank you.” to the waitress and picked up his fork and knife.

  Tony leaned back in his chair, “You know I don’t always get everything absolutely right, and I don’t expect you to either, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Sometimes it just seems like you need an obstacle to push against, and if there’s not one present, you’ll create one. I don’t like being your foil. Can we just eat and stop talking. This food looks marvelous.”

  Zorba put his silverware back down, “I’m not hungry now. Why do you have to be such a bitch? I was trying to be friendly.”

  Tony looked exasperated, “Alright Zorba, what’s eating at you? Let’s just get this over with so I can eat.”

  Zorba glared at Tony, “I don’t like the way you and your gang of buddies set up this city.”

  Tony shook his head, “What’s wrong with the city, Zorba?”

  Zorba replied, “Your little gang thinks just because you all were on the inside during the creation of HU, that means you get to make the decisions for everybody.”

  Tony muttered, “That’s ridiculous.”

  Zorba continued, “You think just because you gave the city a Greek name, that would placate me, and you get to decide everything else.”

  Tony retorted, “Unless you’ve forgotten, I’m Greek too, and besides you had every chance to disagree with the city name and said nothing.”

  Zorba fumed, “The name is not important. It’s everything else. It’s where I get my space. It’s how the governing council will be run. It’s how the finances are run. It’s everything, and you didn’t include me in the planning.”

  Tony frowned, “Zorba, you’re actually being childish now. It does not become you.”

  Zorba stood up, “Doesn’t become me. What the hell does that mean? Oh, never mind. Enjoy your dinner. It’s on me. I’m leaving. Bye.”

  Zorba started to leave the restaurant, then turned on his heel and ranted, “And you can take this city and shove it. Tell your partners I want out. I’ll go start my own city and do it the way I want.” He scowled then stalked away with his shoulders hunched over.

  +11 years, 5 months, DIOS, AU 1.9

  Delize Naidu looked at the viewpoint, “This is Delize Naidu at Naidu News, the best news feed in the asteroid belt. Here is our top summary at the moment:

  Earlier this year, the Miners Guild purchased HAB-81 from HU and renamed it ‘Moria’. Now they have announced new rules for making prospecting claims. In addition to offering complete prospecting and mining equipment packages, they are also pairing up with Omega Finance to provide loans to get started with mining operations.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  Former General, Bill Decker, has announced he will accept an appointment as Commander in Chief of all security forces from Sparta. He was one of the founding members of Sparta, formerly known as HAB-107. Sparta is located on the ‘C’ Kirkwood Gap at 3.3 AU. They offer a variety of security services which are used the Asteroid Belt.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  The Rapid Response and Rescue Team (RRRT) has accomplished another rescue, responding to an emergency broadcast from a way station just off the ‘B’ Kirkwood Gap at AU 2.5. An accident caused a loss of compression that the crew was unable to fix. It took the RATS almost two days to get to the location, but they were able to save all hands and restore normal functions.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  Back on Earth, one of the core project managers who helped to create HU, Sam Hoffman, was killed when a bomb exploded in Seoul, United Korea. The bomb was apparently targeting a Korean politician known for his ties to corruption and shady business practices. Hoffman was acting as his public relations advisor and political strategist and seems to have been collateral damage.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  There is a movement back on Earth to outlaw fully self-aware artificial intelligence. Simple AI agents are not included in this focus, only those programs that can qualify as having some level of self consciousness. This has been problematic because HU steadily refuses to get involved and the remnants of what were national governments are quite tenuous. Some smaller nations that survived the great emigration project more intact have already issued such bans. There does not seem to be any such similar support out here in the asteroid belt. In fact, folks out here in the rocks seem to be going in the opposite direction, adopting more and more use of AI agents all the time, with stiff competition on which programming enclave can produce the best products. And the term ‘best’ is often defined by level of self awareness.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  Everybody knows about the agricultural Kibbutz colonies in the asteroid belt because they supply a lot of special food products that we can’t get anywhere else. K-ALPHA and K-BETA were both such habitat rings with economic production centered on agriculture. Not so many know about K-GAMMA, which focuses on finance and banking, but it’s been at AU 2.4 for a little more than eighteen months. And now K-DELTA is nearly finished, already taking on occupant-citizens, and will be both a mining and refining based Kibbutz. Of course, all of these colony cities use a political system they call Social Democracy, firmly anchored in the Jewish religion. They also supply their own internal security services instead of using services from SPARTA as do many others.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  The Greek word ‘arete’ means excellence. The habitat ring city, Arete Station, is widely known for promoting principles of excellence. In keeping with this
theme, they have recently announced a warranty for all of their products that guarantees them for the life of the product. They will replace any product that fails for as long as you keep it. Product life spans are constantly shrinking as they become obsolete, and are replaced by newer and better products. Many of the products currently being produced by Arete Station fit into the category of ‘automation sprites’ that work in swarms and fogs to perform a variety of tasks.

  [Select this story to see all the details and background information].

  A new construction habitat ring has been purchased by a group of investors that include Peter Anderson among others. The group has named the new city, “Delphi” and says they intend to focus on database technology, knowledge management, predictive software and advisory agents.