Blast off into the stars in this dystopian sci-fi adventure!
Prologue for Expedition Epsilon
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Expedition Epsilon
Prologue
2109, Hawking Observatory on the dark side of the Moon.
A single scientist sat in a large cold room full of computers, whirring electronics and soft jazz playing in the background. He leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers behind his head before speaking into the empty room, “All I’m saying is we could really do with a movie theater, bowling alley and massage parlor – Is that too much to ask for in a lunar observatory? I know you would be first in line for the massage parlor SWAI-A.”
A disembodied, genderless voice filled the room speaking over the dampened music, “Oh yes, Mac. I have deduced that physical manipulation of my circuitry and robotics would feel heavenly. Please, would you be my personal masseuse? I am captivated by this procedure you humans speak about called a ‘happy ending’. Will you provide this service?”
“That's a lot of sarcasm from an AI named after a fish,” Mac huffed while grabbing a protein stick from his drawer. “Ain’t no happy ending for you if you keep up with that attitude. Remember, I can turn you off.”
“Troubling. Your emotions indicate that you are increasingly annoyed the more that I speak,” SWAI-A countered. “That is a lot of distress for a human named after a pasta to feel about an AI named after a fish.”
Mac’s face went red and he clenched his fist, nearly popping his protein stick out of the package to shoot across the room. “Why I oughta-”.
“That's enough Mac,” a voice spoke from behind him, “We were lucky they sent over this updated version of the Ship Wide Artificial Intelligence - Assistant model. They needed it tested and we could use the help. SWAI-A has been nothing short of a major advantage in our research for the last few weeks; It has greatly helped us in our search for life outside the solar system. Most importantly, It is able to process data faster than you can complain about being bored.”
“Yeah, yeah boss. If it was so helpful how come we haven't found anything new or groundbreaking like they pitched to us? We have been up here for years and nothin’ changed when we got SWAI-A. I think it’s a load of rubbish.” Mac took a bite of his protein stick, his face scrunched in disgust and then continued talking while chewing, “Instead of sending a new AI to babysit and tell us what we already know about all the existing exoplanets, they should be sending us some real food ‘cause this shit is gonna make me violent eventually.”
“Dr. Ricci, I am programmed to deter all violence and physical threats, shall I dispose of Mac?” SWAI-A chimed in. Mac gulped hard and looked at Dr. Ricci with what seemed like legitimate fear in his eyes. Dr. Ricci, now leaning on the console in front of Mac, just stared into his eyes with an expressionless face
“I’m not sure yet, we will re-evaluate in 24 hours. Hopefully by then this protein stick tastes like steak and Mac learns to show some respect around here.” He glared at Mac with a slight smirk, “I also believe you owe SWAI-A a happy ending, eh? I’ll make sure to set that u–”.
“Anomaly Detected,” SWAI-A boomed over the intercom. Both scientists stiffened like a board and stared at each other with wide eyes, silence between them.
“Location: Orion Constellation.”
“Asterism: Orion’s Belt.”
“Star: Alnilam.”
“Initial scans show an undiscovered habitable exoplanet. Earth-Like. 1.6 times the size of Earth. Water - found. Atmosphere - nitrogen/oxygen rich. Satellites - two.”
“Potential Life.”
Mouth agape, all Mac could manage to say was, “Imp…impossible.”
After a moment of disbelief, Dr. Ricci snapped back to reality, a grin growing ear to ear. He slapped Mac on the back. “You were saying?” After taking a few deep breaths and mentally organizing his thoughts he spoke to the AI, who was now silent. “SWAI-A, wake everyone up. Mac, get Washington on the phone now. Everything has changed.”
2153, Worldwide media broadcast.
“‘One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind.’ These words marked a historical event the likes of which we will never forget – Mankind’s first steps on the satellite of our Earth, the Moon. Followed by the less intelligent, but still significant, ‘Contact has been made with the Red Planet’ when the first boot landed on the surface of Mars in 2032, followed by the colonization effort.”
“With the colony quickly succumbing to the harsh Martian elements, mainly a superstorm that destroyed most of the equipment and lives that were brought to study the planet, it struck a huge blow to the exploration of space. It is now widely accepted that there are no habitable planets within our own solar system, all being deemed too dangerous for humans. While that hasn't stopped drone-controlled mining operations, it has for a long while halted the development of any means of space travel and colonization.”
“That is until the scientist’s Mac Grayson and Dr. Leonard Ricci of the Hawking lunar observatory discovered an exoplanet that could be a twin to Earth in 2109, dubbed Epsilon. It was not a question of it being habitable, but a question of how we were going to get there. Suddenly there was a reason to explore space again, and much deeper than before. Epsilon sits at a staggering 1,344 lightyears from Earth at the blue supergiant star Alnilam, which happens to be the centermost and brightest star of Orion's belt. It came as a shock since this star had been intensely studied before their discovery - almost as it appeared out of nowhere.”
“Since then efforts have been focused on finding a long-term solution for space travel at or near the speed of light. A combination of what were once theories have now culminated into the solution for traveling at such speeds. The improved ram augmented interstellar rocket, or RAIR, is arguably the most vital part of the new technology. It uses a fusion reactor and electromagnetic field scoop to ‘scoop up’ hydrogen in space which then becomes the propellant for plasma thrusters through a fusion reaction.. An electromagnetic field is also used to speed up the particles even more as they exit the thrusters. This is where it gets interesting. This allows for stars to be a fuel source since the electromagnetic field can essentially steal hydrogen from the star. With this technology these voyages could be fueled for very long distances, but the drawback is that the speed - which is essentially half the speed of lightspeed - is nowhere near what is needed to travel to Epsilon in a reasonable amount of time.”
“That is where magnetic explosions come in. Yes, you heard correctly – magnetic explosions. Scientists have figured out how to manipulate electromagnetic fields so that they essentially intertwine and then snap back into realignment, just as we see with solar wind from the sun. This extremely powerful event allows the ship to be sped up to 99.9% of lightspeed. This same event can be triggered in the opposite direction to provide what is essentially the ‘brakes’. The energy needed for this is extremely draining and can only be performed twice per fuel up. Once for speeding up and once for slowing down. However, the speed can be maintained indefinitely in space for as long as needed since there is no friction in space. Finally, we have a means to travel to Epsilon, even though it will take about 1,400 years to get to.”
“With the advances in cryosleep over the years it is entirely feasible to suspend human animation for this duration. The current thought is to man these ships with enough qualified personnel and colonizers so that each person can give up a year or two of their life to run the ship before returning to cryosleep. With enough people it is entirely possible for everyone involved to arrive in what they would feel as only a few years, but would in reality be over a thousand.”
“The work on these mega-ships has already begun, with two of them planned to be finished by 2185. Together humanity will now reach a distant world and spread the consciousness of humankind – a dream previously thought to be dead. We will end this broadcast with the words of a beloved 20th-century astronomer, Carl Sagan, ‘…every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring – not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive…’ Thank you, and goodnight.”
2184, 5 days after a massive solar storm swept the Earth.
“How…is this possible?” The president of the United States asked, pale as a ghost behind his desk in the oval office.
“Sir - we aren’t sure. They have never been a threat in the history of their existence on Earth.” replied a scientist named Miranda. “They must have been mutated by the recent solar flares radiation. There is no other explanation that I can think of.”
“Lovely, so not only is our entire communications network and electrical grid knocked out but we are getting killed - sorry, eaten - by microscopic bugs that we cannot fight because they can survive anything?” A pause ensued after the president asked this. He tried to compose himself, but his shaking was as noticeable as the tone of his ghostly white face and sweaty palms. “We can’t shoot them? There is absolutely nothing we can do?”
“Sir, I have studied these creatures for almost half my life. They exist everywhere and can survive a massive dose of radiation, extreme heat or cold, drowning, the pressure of 6 times the deepest part of our oceans and the vacuum of space. This was before they mutated. From what I have studied they have increased their survivability a thousand fold. Before they needed to be in what we called the ‘tun state’ to survive - essentially a hibernation where they dehydrate and the metabolism stops.” Miranda paused and took a deep breath. “They no longer need this state to survive and their cannibalistic traits of eating their own species has evolved to humans being the new preferred food group. They are also growing - something never observed before. By my calculations, they will have grown substantially by the time the next generation appears, almost as if the process of evolution has sped up for them.”
“Do I dare ask how big and how soon?” the president choked out with his head bowed, not making any eye contact.
“Well within 5 days their size has doubled. The average size of them is 1 mm long and they reproduce rather quickly..” Miranda gulped, not ready to share what she already knew.
“Spit it out Ricci!” the exasperated president demanded.
“I give it around 50 days until they are the size of a medium-sized dog, along with any other evolutionary traits and mutations they pick up. A very…violent and invulnerable dog.” She told him. “In one year's time, given the rate of growth does not slow, they will be larger than an Asian Elephant.”
“We’re fucked…” the president mumbled as he slid down into his chair further.
“Sir, with all due respect our only chance is to launch the two ships and save as many as we can by sending humanity’s last survivors to inhabit the world my father found. The ships are sterile since they were built in space and we can host a short quarantine to ensure passengers are not carrying any on them - or in them.” Miranda Ricci explained. “I know one of them is a year from being done, but they can finish it up in space and launch without coming back to Earth.”
The president let out a long sigh, “You have a week. Get it done Miranda, you have any resources that you need. I would wish you luck, but we need more than luck at this point - we need a miracle. Now excuse me, I need to address the public and attempt not to cause total panic.”
“Yes sir, good luck.” she said as the secret service started to usher her out.
“Wait…Ricci, what did you call these things?” The president asked.
“Tardigrades, sir.” Miranda told him as she turned to walk into what she knew would be the longest week of her life.
Choices from the author for Part 1
Follow Miranda Ricci on her week of hell - quarantining millions to get the ships full of qualified personnel and ready for travel.
Follow a character that is trying to escape with their family from across the country to one of the ships. They are coming from a tardigrade hotspot, where they are growing much faster. Craziness ensues.
Skip the week and go straight to the launch of the first ship, with a different characters perspective.
Skip straight to the launch of the second ship, a year after the first left and another characters perspective.
Ready for the next part? Chapter 1
Can’t wait to see what you guys pick! As usual the comment with the most likes OR the most commented choice will be picked for the next part. I hope you enjoyed and are excited for more of Expedition Epsilon! Next week we have the opposite of this genre (Surprise!) before returning to the horror story Trapped Within Darkness. I hope you all have a great week, and as always…Choose Fiction!
I kind of like the idea of skipping ahead (like with option 3), but then circling back to Miranda's hell week. Could be a pretty good way to jump in and incite the reader to ask: "how the hell did she get herself here?!?" Then you can just explain exactly that.
Skip straight to the launch of the second ship, a year after the first left and another characters perspective. I can't wait to read more !!