Space Pioneer 1 - 8. Chapter 8

"I want to find out about the fate of the second spaceship," Lest said. "It left Seth 45,000 years ago. It was declared lost in space, but I don’t believe it got lost. People have been speculating for ages and many said it travelled to a well-defined place. You must know of these speculations, Ezer."

Ezer nodded slowly. "Sure I do, but all in good time, Lest," he said. "We were left without an answer for centuries. We can wait another couple of days. No need to hurry, I think."

"I need to go back to Ephos in twelve days and retrieve the Horus," Lest said. "I rented a hangar."

Ezer gave a laugh. "This is not a problem at all, Lest. Give me the intercom address of the hangar company and I will arrange a longer stay, if necessary." He paused, his eyes fixed on Lest. "I’m a wealthy man, but I spend my credits wisely. I might fund your mission, Lest, but, please, provide me with more information first."

"Yes, what do you have in mind, Lest?" Jeff asked uncomfortably.

"I think the second spaceship travelled to Earth. They must have arrived about 45,000 years ago, but civilization on Earth developed only thousands of years later. I was wondering. What happened back then? What happened to the Seth fugitives?" Lest said. He turned to Ezer. "Jeff told me of the ancient Egyptians who built huge pyramids 5,000 years ago. The Egyptians used the ancient Seth names. Jeff told me that Horus, the name of my ship, and Seth are the names of ancient Egyptian gods. I think the Egyptians were descendants of the Seth colonists and I suspect that they held the knowledge of their origin." Lest leaned back and looked between Jeff and Ezer. "I want to find out what happened back then and I want to do some research. In short, I want to jump back in time."

Ezer straightened and Jeff shifted uncomfortably in his chair. There was a brief silence. Lest looked eagerly between the two men.

"This is plain impossible," Jeff said finally.

"It’s not," Lest replied. "I jump through space all the time. Space and time are entwined."

"True, Lest, but the space jump drive is fairly common throughout space, whereas only few species are in control of the time jump drive," Ezer said.

"I know," Lest replied. "Level A species only have permission to work with the time jump drive. The Daglons were A until twelve years ago and they regained status A a couple of days ago. I’m fairly sure that the Daglons know how to operate the time jump drive." He leaned forward and fixed his eyes on Ezer. "Ezer, I want a time jump drive for my ship and jump back in time in order to find out what happened on Earth."

Ezer crossed his arms in front of his chest. He didn’t reply and instead mustered Lest. Jeff looked between the two men. He sensed that something was going wrong. The atmosphere in the room was tensed.

"See, Ezer," Lest said. "You would get the information exclusively. You’d be the one who officially had the idea of researching Earth’s past and you will get an entry into the history books. How does this sound to you? I don’t seek fame. All I want is a time jump drive."

"You want a hell of a lot," Ezer said. He emptied his glass, placed it on the table and looked at the door.

"Think about it, Ezer," Lest urged. "Don’t miss the opportunity."

"Why are you so interested in this mission, Lest?" Ezer asked. "Do you just want to get hold of a time jump drive in order to sell it for tons of credits or what?"

Lest leaned back and crossed his arms. "I may have become a somewhat shady figure, but I’m not a common thief. I would never steal from the Daglons and I would never steal from you, Ezer," he said.

"I know, I know. Let me think about it, Lest," Ezer said. He rose to his feet. "I’m going to my room now and will arrange the transfer of Jeff’s ship. We’ll get it done tomorrow morning and then we can fly to the Beliad region. I will arrange for the trip also."

Ezer nodded at Jeff and cast Lest a look. "All in good time, Lest. We’ll talk about your plan tomorrow. Good night and thanks for contacting me," he said.

Lest gave Ezer a curt nod, stood and went to the window. Night had fallen meanwhile.

Jeff rose to his feet. "Good night, Ezer," he said, shaking the man’s hand. He opened the door for him.

Ezer measured Jeff. "I would like to spend more time with you, Jeff, just to get a feeling for your species. I travelled through space a lot when I was younger, always in the service of Daglon. I retired when they declared the war. I couldn’t relate to my own people anymore. I want to get to know you better before I take a decision," he said.

"Certainly," Jeff replied. "I’m also wondering if Lest’s plan is a good plan."

Ezer gave Jeff a brief smile, wished him a good night and then walked down the corridor. Jeff closed the door. Lest turned around and glared at him.

"I heard what you said," he hissed. "Why did you stab me in the back, Jeff?"

"What? Stop it, Lest. I didn’t stab you in the back," Jeff said. "Actually, I don’t understand your intentions. Why do you want to explore Earth’s past? Why don’t you jump back and visit Seth or your own planet Daglon, if you really must jump back in time. Isn’t it dangerous anyway? Wouldn’t a time jump change the course of time?"

Lest made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "We wouldn’t change anything. We would just observe and watch," he said.

He sat down in a chair and leaned back, exhaled deeply and looked at Jeff.

"Are you not interested in Earth’s past? Don’t you want to find out about the truth? Don’t you want to know if the humans descended from Seth settlers?" he asked.

Jeff sat down on the couch. "The genetic profile is proof of it. Why do you want to jump back and visit the ancient Egyptians, Lest? It doesn’t make sense to me. If at all, whey not jump back to the time when the settlers built up the colony?"

Lest crossed his arms in front of his chest. Jeff leaned forward and looked at Lest.

"What do you really want, Lest? Tell me," he said.

Lest took a breath. "I was thinking," he replied. "You told me of the Egyptian’s preservation cult. They preserved the ancient Seth names. I was wondering what else they might have preserved. It can’t hurt to have a look. Daglon’s history is well known and documented. We have many artifacts. The past holds no secrets on Daglon."

"I’m not convinced," Jeff said. "Are you really just planning a sightseeing trip? Do you want Ezer to steal a time jump drive for a fun trip? Come on, Lest. Are you kidding me?"

"Hell, no," Lest exclaimed. "I don’t want him to steal the time jump drive." He stood and walked to the window. "You’re right, Jeff. It was a foolish idea. Ezer would have to make the operation somewhat official in order to legally get hold of the drive. He would have to reveal the reason of the operation and the mission’s target, of course."

"Yes," Jeff replied. "The inevitable would happen. The Daglons would visit Earth and probably claim the planet. The people on Earth would all freak out. The politicians would be the first to adept to the new situation and they would try to establish political connections with Daglon. I suspect the nations would fiercely compete."

"This is typical class C behavior," Lest said. "But you’re right, Jeff. I could imagine that the human politicians and lobbyists would put pressure on Daglon by exorbitant claims and demands. This can’t be in Daglon’s interest. The Daglon government would have to somehow handle the matter. Not an easy task, considering our common origin. The Alliance would also intervene sooner or later. They’re always in search of new markets."

"Daglon could cut off the connections. The planet is too far away for us to reach," Jeff said.

"Sure," Lest replied. "But the Alliance would not stop to capture the new market. They would also take political influence. The 29 nations are superior to Earth, technology-wise. Earth would never be the same."

There was a brief silence.

"An undercover operation would certainly be best then," Jeff said.

"You have changed your mind?" Lest asked. "I thought you didn’t want to jump back at all."

"How does a time jump drive work anyway?" Jeff asked. "Like a space jump drive?"

"Similar," Lest said.

He seized the menu brochure that Jeff had read earlier, ripped a page out and placed it on the table.

"Look at this word on top of the page and this word at the bottom," he said. "Let’s assume these words are solar systems and the distance between them is one Earth light year. A conventional spaceship will cover the distance in a certain amount of time, depending on the ship’s speed. It would cover the distance in one Earth year at light speed."

Jeff nodded.

"If you want to shorten the trip, you must fly with a space jump drive," Lest said. He folded the paper several times in the middle. "Now the distance between the solar systems is shorter," he said.

"Space is folded, so to speak," Jeff replied.

Lest nodded. He unfolded the paper and placed it back on the table.

"Now imagine the tabletop represents present time. The past is below the table. Now, how can you travel back in time? For instance, how can you reach the floor?" he asked.

"I would have to fold the space below the table," Jeff said. "You mean the time jump drive works similar to the space jump drive?"

Lest looked up. "Space and time are entwined. I think you know this. It’s basic knowledge," he said.

"Space-time," Jeff replied. "An interwoven continuum." He leaned back and looked at Lest. "I understand the concept, although I still have no clear idea of how space is folded, technology-wise, I mean. The Daglons are an advanced species and have mastered space-time. The humans are way behind."

Lest smirked. "We’ve not yet grasped the concept entirely," he said. "We know how to handle the space jump drive. Every species operating in space has learned how to use it. The time jump drive so far is only used in research, because of a few accidents in the past. The Alliance set strict rules and every nation abides to them, at least in this part of the galaxy."

"And you would jump back despite the risks?" Jeff asked.

"I would," Lest replied. "I’d like to step into the unknown. The trip might well turn into a one-way trip. It’s a risk, but I’m willing to take it. I don’t want to get into the history books. The operation would be a step into the future and I’d feel proud to be a part of it."

Jeff’s suspicions faded at Lest’s words. He had felt the same when he had been chosen for the mission to Mars.

"I understand you now, " he said. "These are the thoughts and dreams of a space pioneer."

Lest looked at him with surprise, but then smiled.

"I think, we have a lot in common, Jeff Caspar," he said.

Jeff smirked. Lest rose to his feet, walked over and placed his hand on Jeff’s shoulder.

"Let’s rest now. We have a lot to do tomorrow," he said.

They exchanged a look. Lest hesitated, but then turned around and went into his bedroom. Jeff remained sitting on the couch for a while.

***