OTHER WORKS

DEDICATION

This book is a work of fiction, though much of the science in it is based on fact. I would like to thank those that have gone before that have lit my imagination on fire with their works of science fiction and fact. I hope that I am around long enough to see the unification of the physics and math of Albert Einstein, Miguel Alcubierre and Stephen Hawking to finally get us off of dead center and on the way to the stars.

I would also like to thank the greats of science fiction that have preceded me in putting their fertile imaginings on paper. Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, Ray Bradbury, A. E. Van Vogt, E. E. "Doc" Smith and the other greats of science fiction supplied the impetus forward to complete this publication.It amazes me just how many of their imaginings have come to pass over the succeeding years.

Finally, I would like to thank the people and entrepreneurs that are spearheading our drive to get off this rock. They have taken up the challenge that was laid down when we left our first footprints on the moon. I believe that only through their combined efforts will we ever actually meet the mandate that was issued by the astronauts in 1969.

CHAPTER 1 (CONTINUED FROM BOOK 1…)

“Stores load is complete. All ashore that’s going ashore. Security teams to your stations.” Magellan announced over the 1MC. Amazingly, the personnel that were aboard for the load-out were off-ship in thirty minutes. Of course, there were some attempted stowaways, but they were rooted out by Magellan and the security teams. Once the last shuttle cleared the airlock, the security sweep began. Two more suspicious packages were found, but both turned out to be parts and instrumentation.

An hour later, Magellan announced. “Secure from security sweep. All hands, crew muster in the auditorium. All hands, crew muster in the auditorium.”

The auditorium was used for entertainment and crew activities, and had seating for two-hundred people. This was a scheduled activity before getting underway. It was time to meet the crew and officers that were going with us. Only essential personnel were excused from this, so the Cheng’s second, First Assistant Engineer Watson with his deep space preparations and some members of the galley crew were exempt. On stage were the Captain, XO, myself as the chief science officer/owner, Lieutenant Connor, GS Pepper, Chief Chef Lamoureux, Chief Purser Horton, Chief Sanitation/Housekeeping engineer White, and Chief Auxiliary Engineer Masters. The ten of us introduced ourselves, gave a brief description of the duties of our station and locations of our offices and hours when we could be found.

This took another half hour, then we dismissed to our maneuvering watches.

The ship was underway for the outer buoy at 17:00 GMT.

⋮

The chase ship, ‘Olympia’, was waiting for us at the buoy. We stopped long enough to receive the well wishes of Regent Zhang Wei, Regent Bill Walters, and President Andrei Kostopoulos and the rest of the free nations of the world ambassadors. After a bit of fanfare, we were off, maneuvering our way through the Oort cloud at ‘warp factor-2’, we cleared the cloud two hours later came out of warp long enough to get our bearings on Proxima Centauri and relieve the maneuvering watch long enough to get something to eat and relieve themselves, then set it again and jumped to warp factor five. Securing the maneuvering watch, we were on our way!

CHAPTER 2 – Findings

Thirty days later found us outside of the triple system that formed the Alpha Centauri cluster. We tried out our transceiver for earth and were pleasantly surprised when we received a signal loud and clear. Giving our position and our intentions to the folks back home, we investigated the triple system.

We ran a shuttle out with a team to observe from space the system and the feasibility of colonizing the exoplanet Proxima b in orbit around Proxima. The speed of revolution of the tidally locked exoplanet and the interplay of the gravitational forces of the triple star system made it a poor choice for colonization. Returning to the shuttle bay, we closed and locked the clam-shell doors and prepared to get the ship underway again, teleporting the team of six aboard to the lab, including the shuttle pilot James Winston, a non-telepath, and two other non-telepaths, Dr. Sam Washburn and Dr. Bryan Cranston, both meteorologists, we took with us.

Removing our exosuits, we gathered for the debrief. Sue, Pam Jürgen and Jane Wilson (brought aboard as our exobiologists) weren’t exactly ecstatic with our discoveries, but weren’t unhappy with them either. Sam Washburn and Bryan Cranston wanted to stay and study the exoplanet more, but were overruled, because we had to move on. The planet was unsuitable for colonization. They all moved on to their respective work stations after the debrief and started dissecting the data we had gathered.

“Well, that was a bust!” I remarked to Craig and Roger as they worked on the science station beacon we were leaving behind.

“In what way? This star system is a treasure trove of information! It’ll take years for the scientists at home to unravel all of this!” Craig said.

“We didn’t satisfy our primary directive, gents. We are looking for a habitable planet. While the currents are keeping the ocean of Proxima b warm and clear of ice, at least on the sun-side, the planet isn’t habitable. And the sun will be eaten by the others in a few thousand years if the orbit holds up that long. As soon as we get our beacon out and into orbit around Proxima b, we’re out of here. Next stop, Tau Ceti. There are a couple of habitable exoplanets there, at least according to the early findings of the century, though their methods weren’t very accurate for smaller planets.”

Justin, Proxima b is a bust. I’d like to check out Tau Ceti. Do you have a couple of minutes for us to go over the star chart for that area?

Copy that. I’ll be up in about fifteen minutes. Give or take a couple. He was using the amplifier.

Thanks. I’m heading for the bridge for a couple. Have to speak to the Captain about this one.

I stepped to just outside of the bridge. The hatch irised open, and I stepped through.

“Got a few minutes, skipper?” I asked Lars.

“Sure. What did you find out?” he asked.

“The planet is tidally locked and not stable. The estimates that I got from Magellan and my own calculations are that the exoplanet will be eaten by Proxima or both will be eaten by Alpha Centauri a or b in a few thousand years. After we get the probe/science station launched, I think we should move on. Right now I’m thinking about Tau Ceti. There might be a habitable planet there or two. We still have found no emissions coming from the area, but that doesn’t mean a lot. It’s close and the likelihood of there being something that we can use is higher than here. How are our stores doing?”

“They are good for another three months if we don’t dally on the way back. We aren’t using as much food and water as was planned. We’ll monitor it. Plus Sue’s fish farm and some hydroponics are producing and supplementing our other food stuffs. We’re doing okay for the time being.”

“Thanks Captain, I’m heading back to the lab. We’ll see what Justin has to say.” I said and was off.

I stepped into the lab. Justin arrived a couple of minutes later.

“So Rob, Proxima b wasn’t a great stop. Where are you thinking now?” Justin said.

“I’m thinking Tau Ceti. There are known planets there and some could be habitable depending on mass and atmosphere in the system. Maybe your charts have something good to say about the system. It’s in the neighborhood. And it’s a G-type star, though it isn’t as massive as our sun.” I said.

“Let’s have a look.” He took out a scroll that was well preserved and started deciphering the language. It wasn’t long before he exclaimed, “Rob! This is it! The star you call Tau Ceti is my home star! The fourth planet out is Tellus!”

“Are you sure? If it is, there must be a thicker atmosphere there than was speculated a few years back. There is also supposed to be a massive debris field around it. Could your people have survived for 14,000 years there?”

“That is it, I tell you! According to the chart, we are just off the edge of the sector…” He started digging through the charts again, looking to match up the edge marks with the one on the bench. Apparently, he found what he was looking for. Sure enough, the charts’ edges matched into the near space that also included earth.

“That is Tellus! That’s our next destination?” he asked excitedly.

“It is. Now what about the space between here…” I pointed. “…and there? What about beacons, sentinels, or defenses? Did your people guard their space with anything that might damage this ship?”

“I don’t think so, but once we get close, I’d advise caution from the Oort cloud in. When we left, we had just achieved the ability for interstellar travel as well. It is possible, I suppose. I’d advise some detective work before we attempt to enter the system.” He said.

“Noted. We need to plot a course and advise the Captain.” I turned to Roger and Craig. “As soon as that thing is ready to go and tested, we need to get it in orbit and off this ship. We heading out to visit the grandparents.” I smiled.

⋮

Justin and I entered the bridge together. “Captain, do you have a couple of minutes?”

Lars looked up from the paperwork that he was doing. “Always, especially when I’m doing accounting and inventory checklists… I hate this kind of stuff!”

“Captain, I think we know where Tellus is. That would be the star you call Tau Ceti. It is a minor planet between two super-earth size planets, Tau Ceti-c and Tau Ceti-d.” said Justin.

“Well now, that is news!” Looking at me he asked, “What do you think, Rob?”

“I think we need to check it out, but because of circumstances of the departure of the Atlantis colony, we need to use extreme caution. The people that are left may not be friendly, or if there are any left, may be in a dark age. Even worse, they may have the place mined!” I said.

“I agree, after hearing the story of their the Atlantean escape. How do you want to approach it?” he asked.

“I think we get to outside the Oort cloud and probe, looking for radio signals, maybe send in a shuttle or flyby with a probe. Anything to find out if they are friendly. And still alive.” I said.

“Sounds like a plan. How soon until departure?” He asked.

“As soon as we get the science station launched. Roger and Craig are finishing up. It should be ready to go in the next couple of hours.” I said. “What do you think, Cheng?”

“I doubt that there are any survivors if you want to know the truth. When we departed, things were pretty dicey. There may be defenses, though. If they’re automatic, they may still work. We built things to last.”

“Regardless, we need to look. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the Cheng’s assessment may be right on.” I said.

We launched the science station/ probe/ beacon at 1900 GMT. After checking the transmitter and the tracking of the solar panels for recharging the batteries, we set the maneuvering watch and were on the way to Tau Ceti. Securing the maneuvering watch when we were at “warp-factor 6” or sixty times the speed of light two hours later, we were on the way.

⋮

Fifty days later, we were outside of the Oort cloud observing the third and fourth planets from the star Tau Ceti. There were no radio emissions, no artificial lighting from the planet, no sign of intelligent life as far as we could tell. There was a large debris field between the planets that looked like the remains of a moon or something artificial. We had done all that we could do from a distance. It was time to move in closer.

The Cheng, Dr. Steinmetz (an astrophysicist), myself, the XO and the Captain met in the ready room.

“Captain, I think we need to get closer. We can find nothing in orbit or either of the two moons that shows that there is intelligent life on the planet. The debris field between the planets may be artificial or the remains of a moon. We just don’t know. If we proceed cautiously, I think we should try to approach the planet.” I said cautiously.

“I agree,” said the Cheng. “We can learn nothing more out here.” Steinmetz also agreed, as did the XO.

“I agree also,” said Lars. “We can use the telepathic projection capabilities and attempt contact on radio frequencies in the spectrum as we approach. I have the feeling that we will not like what we find.”

I had a premonition of that as well. Not one of the nail biting dying millions of times kind, just one of immense sadness. Like we were looking at a world that had once teemed with intelligent life, now gone.

⋮

We eased our way into orbit with all of our detection equipment, looking for a trap. We found nothing as we ran our tests of the atmosphere, temperatures, viruses and microbes. Ground penetrating radar found empty tunnel systems and some equipment, but no sign of life. We broadcast throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. No response. Sending a shuttle into the lower atmosphere, we sampled from the ionosphere all the way to the lower troposphere. Lots of animal life, but no intelligent life present, not even a primitive fire for a campsite. The vegetation was lush, the water abundant, the wildlife was not huge though, there were some impressive predators, no radiation hazards to speak of, and the atmosphere was breathable. And there were ruins as far as the eye could see, though nothing over five or six stories tall.

We sent a shuttle to the debris field between orbits. What we found was grizzly. The debris was artificial, the remains of a great fleet or fleets that had been destroyed. In the debris were the remains of humans. No signs of aliens or other life forms. When the news reached the Cheng, he wept long and hard for those that had been left behind. Then he changed. The remorse for the errors of those that had gone before turned into resolve. “Rob, we can not let this happen to our people EVER again! This planet once held a thriving, prosperous people that destroyed themselves in the manner that you envision for the earth. The total devastation with no radiation indicates an orbital kinetic bombardment. The destruction of the fleets and the burned, blackened hulls make it clear that what happened here was not an act of conquest, but of civil war, where one faction rose against another. When they saw no way to win, they took everyone with them in an act of pure evil. My God! This is our future, played out before us. And this is our people’s past at the same time.” He was bitter with reason.

⋮

The gravity was about 0.93 g, so we were a little lighter than on earth. Though the planet was a little larger, it wasn’t as dense as the earth. Tellus’ rotational period was about two hours longer than the earth day at 26 hours 5 minutes. The planet revolved around its sun every 403.11 days. The atmosphere was about the same as the earth’s at about 13.2 psi at the surface at sea level. Polar caps were receding from both poles, indicating the end of an ice age was close. Concentrations of oxygen, nitrogen, CO2 and the rest of the gases were close to the same as earth with a little more CO2 in the air at 0.06% and oxygen at about 20.5%. The temperature at the equator was an average of 79ºF (26.11ºC) and the axial tilt was only 3º. Damn near a perfect planet for colonization. And we had come at about the equinox.

I took half of the brigade with my team of scientists in our exosuits to what looked like the remains of the capital to look for records of what had happened here. The computers we found were all useless and anything left exposed was rotted and broken. Records had not survived. The brigade kept the predators off of us as we searched. My team found nothing of note on the first day. Except human remains. Lots and lots of those. We returned at dusk with some samples of what the local wildlife and what looked like some form of insect life. Biologists bagged and tagged everything.

The second day of exploring in the capital was done in burnable decontamination suits and respirators after we were cleared by the virologists and the biologists, finding nothing that was any worse than what was on the earth in the atmosphere, in the woods or on the ground. We set up one of the portable labs that was on board in what looked like the capital square where a former paved road was. Sue and Pam took a shuttle and a fire team with them to the ocean, taking water samples and samples of the local sea flora and fauna. After bagging and tagging, they brought those to the local lab for analysis.

Connie volunteered to work with the entomologists collecting bugs. She was on the ground, helping with the sampling process. A couple of hours of working collecting the critters had her skin crawling and had satisfied her curiosity. She found an enormous flat ten legged bug she bagged. One entomologist informed her it was a tick of this world. The thing was about 3 centimeters wide and 4 long. She was on the next shuttle to the ship.

I found what looked like a vault the second day in the basement of what we were calling ‘the capital building’. With the proper amount of persuasion, we finally opened it without destroying the contents. What we found was a treasure trove of information and artifacts that told the story of the rise and subsequent demise of a civilization that had lost their way. We took only what was pertinent, leaving the rest for our people to ponder for when they came to clean up this mess and start again.

After the biologists and botanists determined that some of the local fauna and flora was edible, we had a cookout of something that looked like a large, six-legged deer that one of the brigade had harvested and some tubers that smelled like parsnips and a potato vegetable the botanists harvested. We grilled them all on a gas grill. The deer-thingy didn’t really taste any different from the elk I hunted in Wyoming. The parsnip thing was a little strong, though the potato thing was good.

The third day was spent at the poles. One team took a shuttle to the north pole and one to the south. Thank god for the exosuits. It was cold in both places. At the water’s edge for the southern cap, the temperature started at about 36ºF (2.22ºC) and by the time we were at the pole it was -50ºF (-45.55ºC). It was about the same at the north pole.

After two weeks of living off the land and staying on the planet for the last week of that, and exploring major cities on five land continental masses other than the poles, it was time to decide. The ecology would support us better than earth and we had not found an intelligent species that we would be displaced. It didn’t get any better than that. Except for the obvious reconstruction and burials that would have to occur. A few of us had been bitten by the local insects, but the bites were treated and nothing toxic or otherwise was released into our systems. The ticks were pretty enormous, though. We packed up and returned to the ship.

⋮

We reported our findings labeling them as “Top Secret”, encrypted them and sent them over the “Interstellar,” as it was being called, and hit the road for home. This wasn’t the home of the original vision, but it would do remarkably well.

CHAPTER 3 – Homecoming!

We left beacons at four points spaced at about 90º on the equator on the land masses that straddled it, then headed out. The crew was a happy lot as we left the system for home. We had found what we had set out to find, and were bringing home the bacon and all the evidence to support the claim. We hit warp-factor six and held it all the way home, arriving at the outer buoy on March 19th, 2055, 155 days from our departure date. It was mid-spring in the Northern hemisphere when we pulled up to the buoy. We had to get a parking slot. The buoy location was getting busy!

“Magellan, go into island mode please. Protocol alpha, charlie, x-ray, echo 003 in effect. Absolutely no access for software updates or local port access, unless specifically allowed by me. No information is to leave the ship unless specifically allowed by me. If you detect you are under attack, take countermeasures and attack the invading software, you may destroy the invading software and its source. Take out the entire network. I expect that to happen soon. Let me know when it does. When the Brigade changes out the watch, Lt. Baker and GS MacIntyre are allowed access and no others and protocol alpha, charlie, x-ray, echo 004 goes into effect.”

“Understood Rob. No access to the ship, period. Destroy all invading sources.”

Anyone that made an attack on Magellan was going to regret it. Magellan was now completely capable of taking not only defensive but offensive action against all intruders. He would destroy another invading intelligence or government if they did something rash.

We set station keeping watches at 16:00 GMT and powered down to 5%, “hot standby”, the old navy used to call it. Those that wanted shore leave could go, and those that wished to remain aboard stayed. It amazed me that almost a third of the crew stayed aboard for the first night, voluntarily including half of the engineering section. The ship had become a home to some of the hardcore spacers. As usual, the Brigade kept strict security protocols and let nothing aboard the ship that wasn’t supposed to go. The entire platoon was relieved when Lieutenant Baker and his platoon reported aboard at 18:00 GMT. Baker was one of the awakened and had brought GS McIntyre as his second. The rest of the platoon was a mix of old and new. Abernathy and Jones had both made Sargent since I last saw them and were in the relieving platoon.

⋮

We had been in communication with the folks at Aero and WEE (Mark had made Mike one set) throughout the trip. They had kept our findings a secret. One thing that we didn’t want to do was to announce that we had found a habitable planet suitable for colonization yet. We needed to get a couple of ships made so we could start the ferry service to Tellus first.

Mike and Mark had been busy beavers in the five months we had been gone. Mike had supplied the reactors, lift units and the variants of the “Rescue Pod” and Mark had put together the ships and units with the forms constructed at the three facilities near the west coast. The fueling station was in place above Neptune and was a work in progress above Jupiter. Tankers had been made from modified trucks and were making the run to the bases on the Moon, Earth, and Mars from the Neptune facility. The shipyard was under construction at L2 and there was a station that was manned just inside the asteroid belt of nine SU units to support the work going on there. A couple of DW units were out in orbit with the refueling station on Neptune. Just like last year, there was a lot going on.

⋮

Regent Zhang Wei of the Chinese Republic was no longer the Regent, but had been elected as its President. Bill had stepped down as the Regent of the NAU and declined to run for office, but a staunch believer of the rights of individuals over the rights of the few was in office. A fellow named Malcolm McDonald was now the President. Bill had vetted him and the other candidates before they ran for office. The ones that had ties to the underworld and criminal pasts were removed from contention before they could do damage for all the governmental posts. All the nations of the world learned that their politicians were now being held accountable for their actions. The underworld could not survive in a telepathic world.

⋮

I finished catching up on the news of the world, before Connie and I were ready to leave the ship. We let the folks know we were in as soon as the watches were set and security was established. Until we were ready to take the ship out again, the Captain, XO, and I were on duty rotations, so at least one of us was always aboard the ship. Lars had the first night of duty. I had the second.

The Cheng had some business with his surviving brother and sisters to update them about the changes at their home world. He was leaving it up to them to decide if they wanted to go back or not. He thought they would wait to return on the first colony ship instead of riding with us, but we left that for his brethren to decide. Engineering was also in three section duty. His second officer took the first night of duty, and though his third officer was slated for the third night, he assured us he would return for the second night. His home was aboard.

⋮

Connie and I stepped off the ship in our civilian duds. Apparently, I was filling out and was still growing up as well. Some new duds were in order after we got to the house. I hoped that this growing thing was about at an end. 6’3” was more than enough in more ways than one. Of course, Connie was still the same little trim woman that started the trip.

The gravity took some getting used to. Even though we maintained a workout regimen under full gravity, just like everyone else on the ship, a full g still took some getting used to for the first day back at the homestead.

Sue beat us in with Pam Jürgen and Jane Wilson in tow. She was cornered in the living room when we stepped in. The folks were being regaled with the tales from the trip by all three of the women. Connie and I landed and were swarmed almost as soon as we touched down. I let Connie lead and filled in the salient points as they came up. It was getting close to lunch, so we all pitched in talking and catching up while we prepared the chow. Mom was still the field general in her domain, and under her guidance and Dad’s grilling of the burgers and brats, lunch went down right at noon, Jim and Nancy joining us like usual.

⋮

After cleanup, I wanted to check out the homestead. Connie had other ideas about checking up on the business, so we parted company for a bit. I saddled Cowboy up and ambled off to the south gate. It felt good to be back in the saddle again. New grass was coming up, and he had to nibble a bit as we made our way around the property. As usual, I kind of drifted off, working on the problems of colonization that I saw coming up. Letting Cowboy take matters into his own hooves, he took the familiar path around. About three-quarters of the way back, I was rousted out of my stupor when Magellan let me know that the expected cyber-attack had happened just like we thought it would. The Russians were going to be without a computer system for a while, apparently. He hadn’t taken out their backups, though. We hadn’t wanted to cripple their government, so we left that alone this time. If there was a next time, we’d take it all.

I dismounted from Cowboy and walked him back to the barn. After putting away the tack and saddle, I brushed him down and treated him to an apple I had in my pocket before I left for the house. I took my time smelling how fresh and pure the air was. The air on Tellus was much the same way. It had a distinct smell, but with no one around for thousands of years and an ice age, it had recovered remarkably well.

⋮

Connie met me at the door. “Well, the business hasn’t suffered in our absence. The company completely debt free and is in the top five in the world. That doesn’t include the revenue from the asteroid belt. The ‘State-5’ lab and the people we left behind have been adapting some of your designs and you have shared patents on over a thousand separate items that have come out of it since we left.”

While that was all good, I guess riches and money had never meant that much to me. All that had ever meant anything was trying to save our race from itself. That was still the goal. If the perceived riches of gold or silver or whatever form of barter were in vogue and would get us there, that was great. None of that had any real meaning in the long run, especially if there was no one around to enjoy it. We weren’t out of the woods until the last telepath we could remove was off planet. We hadn’t even started that move yet. And it was already the spring of 2055. Fifteen years to go.

⋮

We needed help. Building a colony would require access to water, food, space, people, construction materials, energy, transportation, communications, and capital investment. It is likely the colonies would be near the physical resources. We needed rugged individuals to start with. We needed to organize and plan all of this before the first ship was in orbit above Tellus.

According to Connie, I had the capital to cover the capital investments, construction materials, and communications. Transportation could be covered by Aero to Tellus. Energy was WEE’s business. Vehicles were not a problem with my investments. Water and food were not a problem until the colonists were planet side. Food was no problem for the short term. Long term, the colonists would have to grow their own. Communications were no problem. Location near a ready water source was a necessary item. And we were going to a planet that we had originally come from. No problem!

⋮

Mark, I’m back on Earth. I guess that I’m feeling insecure. Do you have any news on the construction of the colony ships as yet? The year has changed since we left. It’s 2055.

We have a completed design and are gathering the supplies needed for the effort. We need to meet and get the first one underway. Internal components are fabricating. The reactors are in process. We think that three 150 MW units are enough.

I’ve seen our future if we don’t get moving, Mark. Pictures and words cannot describe what happened at Tellus. There is no time to get fancy. The ships that I dreamed of were built like the luxury liners of old and will have their place eventually, but we need to think about container ships now. If we put 100,000 colonists on board in S5s on a container ship with a couple of covered wagons on sleds, we can start moving them to Tellus in a matter of weeks with their gear. Not years. That way, we can use the minimum of crew and life support and get the move underway. We’re running out of time, Mark. 100 million people in fifteen years, plus progeny. 6,666,667 people a year. We’ve got to change. Five or ten, more is better. Ships running flat out for fifteen years can do it, but it will not wait. I’ve got some new designs that are basically carriers or covered container ships. We need to meet and get them going. I waited.

So do you think the colonists would go for something like that? Hop into a box, get zapped and wake up on another planet with your mates and go to work?

Trust me when I say that with long days of unending space for 100,000 people at a time, there would be trouble. Not only that, but the life support and most of the bulk supplies for the ship would make it infeasible. Better to just have the space part over with and get there with something to do. Space is not something that most want to endure. I can send you the plans, but we need to talk about implementation of a plan to move 100 million people. And build the society for the future. That is the real problem. The ships are easy compared to that. I said that thinking about what having that many people awake for three months with nothing to do but get in trouble. It gave me the willys!

I see your point on both counts. You’ve found a planet. Now we need to start the move. Can we do this aboard the Magellan tomorrow? I’ll bring the design team with Allan, Han and Dave so we can go through it. Mark was thinking rapidly. The ships were just the tip of the iceberg. He also realized that 100,000 at a time would be much less a headache than a million.

That would be awesome. I have the duty tomorrow anyway, so that works for me. I said. Thank heaven that I’d had the twins (Roger and Craig) working on the power problems since the beginning of the trip of discovery. I had the beginnings of a plan. Now I needed WEE and Aero to buy into it.

⋮

Dinner was some of Mom’s famous homemade spaghetti and meatballs with a Caesar salad and garlic bread. Dessert was spumoni ice cream. We enjoyed the dinner as a group. It felt good to be at home. I had missed our little family more than I could say.

I settled into the easy chair after the cleanup, tilting back and relaxing to the banter in the household. Sue, Pam, and Jane were in a lively discussion with Mom and Dad, with Nancy, Connie and Jim in the audience. They were telling the ‘rents about the animal life on Tellus. “Six legs? That doesn’t seem like a very efficient design.”

“Actually, we have a film of the animals ambulating. The haunches of the animals were like the animals of earth, but the forequarters with that unique design allowed the animals to climb and descend hills with more agility.” Jane was breaking out some footage of the deer-thing. They watched it run and bound over the hills faster and with more agility than the earthen counterparts. They had shots of another animal that was larger, like a draft horse, but bigger. That had my interest.

“Jane, what kind of animal is that? It doesn’t appear to have fangs or be carnivorous. Is that like an enormous horse?”

“It appears like it might have been domesticated at one time. It wasn’t afraid of us and it wasn’t aggressive. We observed these grazing on a type of grass, so we think it is an herbivore.”

An animal that large had possibilities as a work animal. And it looked strong. Hmm.

They continued to talk about Tellus into the night. I fell asleep in the easy chair. That was about 20:00 local time. I guess that the gravity and the differences between GMT and MST were getting to me. Space lag? I didn’t know what to call it. But I was tired.

“I’m heading to the ship. I could use some sleep. It’s been a long day. And I have the duty tomorrow.” I looked around for Connie. Apparently, she had succumbed shortly after me. She was out in my former bedroom. “I’ve got meetings tomorrow as well. I’ll be back after shift change the day after tomorrow. Good night, folks. I’m really glad to see you. Today has been wonderful.” I hugged the ‘rents and the rest and telling each good night, then stepped to our suite on the ship.

Letting Magellan know I was aboard, I stripped to my underwear and climbed into the rack. I was almost out before my head hit the pillow. I woke in the morning with Connie in her favorite position, snoring softly, head on my chest.

Back in a skin-suit and coveralls, I relieved Lars at 08:00 GMT. My job was to stay up with the work going on and the replenishment of the ship while the day progressed. Unlike the first stores load, we replaced only what had been used on the first trip and what was needed for ship’s operations over the time the ship would be in port. The ship had only used a little over two-thirds of its fuel load for the trip and was taking on fuel, water and consumables today. There was some preventative maintenance going on with EVA work to replace emitters on the hull, and work in engineering, but overall it was a slow day, comparatively. Connie and I made our way to the mess and had a hearty breakfast, then after walking the ship, hit the gym for a rigorous workout before making our way to the suite for some wrestling and a shower. Then it was back to the bridge. I made a trip through the ship checking on all the work, looking for any problems along the way. I was wary, keeping watch over my friends and the ship with Magellan’s presence, the Brigade and my reminders that this ship was not taking any chances with the security and safety of those aboard. The paperwork got to me after a couple of hours, so I stopped and made another walkabout, chatting with the crew as I went. Connie had qualified ships and was instructing some newbies when I found her. Both of us were off to the galley for drinks and a light lunch. Later, I was back at the paper chase, tracking the work, reviewing work orders and approving or denying requests to come aboard. If people had no business onboard, they were denied. That included petty politicians, minions, entertainers, and for sure anyone that hadn’t basic ships qualifications. The first thing that was checked at the airlocks by the Brigade was the qual-cards of anyone requesting entry. And so it went until 15:00 GMT when Bill, Mark and his people, Mike and his people and some other civilians I recognized from the awakening were announced from the primary airlocks midships. I had been expecting them, so the conference room was already set up. The Cheng, Justin Tucker, was going to join us shortly as well.

They were given an escort of brigade to the large conference room where I met them after finishing the last request. I had Magellan load up the holographic projector with the proposed ship and animations showing the loading of the first 100 thousand of the colonists onboard the container ships with their equipment and the sleds staged with the first of the equipment and initial load out for the first of four proposed sites for settlement all near the ocean and freshwater sources.

I walked into the room. The holo froze. Greeting the assembled group, I noted that there were twenty-seven in the room and four that I hadn’t met and that weren’t awakened. Notably among the participants were Janice Leary and Mary Scott. Janice had risen with Mike to the top of the WEE food chain and was now the CFO of WEE Worldwide.

I welcomed them all and was introduced to nine that weren’t part of the WEE/Aero organizations. I greeted Lyle and Laura McCall, Jasper Cummings, Charles and Lisa Gooding warmly as members of the wakened from the night of May 21st, 2053. They seemed shocked that I remembered them, but I tried to make them feel welcome, as I did the other four that I shook hands with. Adam Reich, Stephen Gallagher, Maureen Holt, and Julie Summers were all good people and had been vetted by the others before I met them.

“Okay folks, let’s get down to business. Magellan, please give us the images of the approach to Tellus from a light minute out then from high orbit for the first couple of trips around the planet.”

“Certainly Dr. Marshall,” replied Magellan.

I took them through the salient things we had found about the planet, including walking them through its vital statistics, notably leaving the discussion of the former occupants to the last. Justin came into the room and took a seat quietly at the head of the table with me. I continued.

“Zoom in please Magellan on the capital cities on the land masses.” He did, splitting the view between them. “Note the ruins of the buildings and cities on the surface. This wonderful planet was once inhabited by people like us. The planet appears perfect to me for colonization, because it is. The remnants are all that remain of our forefather’s civilization. We came from here and found it again with the help of one remnant of the colony that was founded on our world. The colony of Atlantis!” I had to motion almost everybody back to their seats and quiet them. “This man sitting quietly to my right calls himself Justin Tucker, though he has had many names in the over 2000 years that he has been in and out of hibernation. Justin, please stand and tell your story. They all need to hear it.”

Justin stood and told his story, the story of this extinct civilization we saw the remnants of on the holoprojection. He told of the upheaval and the persecution of the telepaths, much the same as with our own civilization until now. He told of how greed, envy, and the rest of the sins of man had destroyed their civilization and how hate had finally killed it in a rain of kinetic bombardment from orbit. We zoomed in on the debris field with its countless hulks and the millions of destroyed humans floating with and between them. Tears were in all of our eyes as he finished. “We can not let this happen to what may be the last of man. We founded Atlantis with an ideal. A slight lapse of attention killed us when an asteroid missed detection from the sun's side of earth’s orbit destroyed our island home. You are the survivors of that cataclysm. My three companions and I are the last of the once proud race of the Tellurians. The same sins that killed our race are present in our progeny, including you. The new race of telepaths holds the key to mankind’s future. Those sins of man cannot exist in a society where secrets can not be kept. Telepaths will eventually replace the humans as they are now. Humans will not go silently. The evidence is before you. Rob,” he nodded to me, “is a seer. He possesses the ability of precognition and clairvoyance. With those two curses, for that is what they are, he has seen the destruction of life on earth in the year 2079. The path becomes inevitable in 2070. You have less than fifteen years to save mankind. Use it wisely for all of our sakes. Thank you.” He left us in stunned silence.

Letting a moment pass before I gathered myself to finish the presentation, I started again. “What do you think? We are at a cusp. There are over 100 million of us telepaths putting pressure on the human population. We know how stable our forefathers have been. We know what is at stake and what it’s going to take to save all of us. Shouldn’t we get us, the population that is causing the pressure out of here, so mankind survives? We have the planet, the ability, and the know-how to start relieving the pressure. What we do not have is the time. Our deadline is 2070, less than fifteen years from now. I’m calling all of us out to meet the challenge. All of my resources are committed. That is what it’s going to take. With the abilities in this room, we have the way to save mankind. We must act now, or it will be too late. Even now, it is imperative that we move 6,670,000 per year just to make that deadline. We have not moved one soul as yet. Magellan, bring up the ship again please.” I asked, “This is a container ship. It can move 100 thousand people at once in S5 pods and their equipment and food to survive until the colonists are self-sustaining. Much of the local fauna and flora are edible and will sustain life. The wildlife is manageable, the microbes are manageable, water is available, and the food is edible. We can help with supplements for the first couple of years until the pioneers gain a foothold. We even have a vast debris field of metals to recycle and use again. Everything needed to sustain human life is on the planet Tellus. We can have the first of the container ships in service in a month. What say you? Do we commit totally or die?”

The vote was unanimous. Of course, everyone wanted to live. The rest of the meeting was devoted to putting the steps in motion to make that happen. Four hours later, we had a plan. WEE had the power plan. Aero was working on the ship design catching things I hadn’t on the plans, changing them to accommodate the design changes and the nine people that had accompanied them were working the colonization plan. Fairly small settlements supporting an agrarian population seemed the best thing to do, using the earth’s new world in the North American continent as the base model. The big difference was that we already had water, food, construction materials, energy, transportation, communications, and capital investment available. What we needed were colonists willing to put it all on the line.