Ark II: Life on Gaea - 1. Ark III

The party lasted for hours after Joel’s...speech? The many children controlled much of what happened. As much as they wanted to make it last longer, sleep was necessary. Not just for the children, but the adults as well. The noise level dropped drastically. Joel worried that the many animals in New Charleston were so frightened they may not ever come out again...nuts or not. Even the fireflies were scarcer that evening. Joel knew they’d be back.

They said good night to friends they would see in the morning. What surprised Sara Beth and Joel was they didn’t have to put Ian to bed. He crawled into bed after putting his pajamas on and was already asleep when they came in. Robbie was there as always, but Ian was out like a light.

Sara Beth sniffed quietly, which brought Joel’s attention. She shook her head, leaned in kissing Ian gently telling her youngest son she loved him in a whisper and stood up straight. Joel did it too. Then she and Joel went out into the hall.

“Our baby is growing up,” Sara Beth explained quietly.

They checked on Kevin and Jim.

“We did this with Kevin and Jimmy,” Joel smiled. “How old were they when they started going to bed without us putting them there?”

“About this age,” Sara Beth conceded. “I know it’s natural, but I miss our baby.”

“He’s always going to be our baby,” Joel grinned. “You’ve said it and I’ve told each they will be, even past my age now. We’re doing all we can to teach them and give them the tools they need to be good men.” He touched her swell gently. “We have another one coming.”

“We’re not pressuring him,” Sara Beth sort of asked, “Are we?”

Joel’s eyes widened, “We don’t need to. He’s pressuring himself enough. He was in a near panic this morning with all he needed to do. I had to make him slow down.” He smiled, “He really loves Lightening. I feel encouraging him to visit him as often as he can will distract that busy mind. He’s getting outside. There is more to life than music. I want him to play and be a boy!”

“He is,” Sara Beth said. “His brothers are helping Ian not to get a warped personality...psychologically. Children this bright often get too much knowledge that they can’t understand. They don’t have coping skills yet.”

“You saw Chloe yesterday,” Joel said.

“I did!” Sara Beth nodded with a light laugh. “She has really blossomed. She’s more confident and she is comfortable here.”

“And that dress her parents gave her!” Joel nodded. “It wasn’t the same color from one hour to the next! One was a light green, then a light blue, then a light red. Dark green, to dark blue...it really called attention to herself.” He laughed. “That was proven by the number of boys she attracted.”

“She’s a beautiful young girl,” Sara Beth said. “She’ll be a beautiful woman.” She laughed, “Her father saw that, too.”

“I’ll have many conversations with Hank in the future,” Joel agreed. “With some good whisky ready.”

“You have the same thing ahead with Daylia,” she touched her swell.

Joel and Sara Beth went into their bedroom and Joel nodded, “Ian has many friends other than his brothers and Robbie. There are many here whose job is to see that he won’t be warped. Psychiatrists and Psychologists who will watch all of them.” His grin became a little more...leering? “What about a nice hot soak? You and me.”

“Joel,” Sara Beth returned the grin. “I’m already pregnant.”

Joel’s eyes widened, “You are!?” He smiled. “It never hurts to practice.”

 

The night would never be so used to it was taken for granted. The night insects and birds were singing softly again and a renewed normal was being attained. Their boys and their daughter would get comfort from these noises, too. There was the bobwhite’s call again. He longed for other calls. The nightingale!

At the beginning of the next day Joel looked for his sons and found them on the balcony/terrace hanging some things up with the help of Rob and Robbie. Curious, Joel got closer and saw a birdfeeder going up and something that held up an ear of drying corn.

“Good morning!” Joel greeted happily.

“Hi, Dad!” Jim greeted. He waved at what they worked on. “We are hanging the feeder and lure for the squirrels and chipmunks!”

Joel nodded, “I see that!”

“We’ll be working on the butterfly house today,” Kevin said. “The sand and water, too. They like nectar, right?”

Joel nodded, “They love it.”

“Do any of you want breakfast?” Sara Beth asked coming out with them.

“Yes!” All three boys said.

 

By the first and half hour into the day Joel and Sara Beth went to their offices and lab. Joel noticed the A2s walking around down here now. The families they worked with had two busy adults and children. Having the children looked after while working took a burden from the parents.

Joel looked up at the dome free sky. Clouds were again floating by and there were flocks of birds that flew overhead now. Those birds could fly outside the city walls now. If they wanted food, they’d have to fly back. New Charleston was on the biggest island in the group of islands on the Southernmost tip. The colony was boarded on three sides, not just east and west. Beyond the southern tip you saw what they would call Maui. Reverse the original Hawaiian Islands and you saw it. They could see the sun rise and set from New Charleston. He needed to see Leif’s and Steven’s underwater area. He wanted to see that. He also knew through Athena they had notifications of messages from Ark V, Mars, and Brazilia. He also had one from Jupiter and Venus. Joel knew they knew of the communications network from the lack of time it took to get from here to there and back. He hadn’t wanted to look at them yet.

He was settling into his chair when Hank burst in.

“Isn’t this Saturday?” Hank asked. “It’s the sixth day of the first week of Alpha. Are we having a weekend?”

“You want the weekend off?” Joel asked. “Whether it’s Saturday depends on what day of the week we began on.” He chuckled. “Most go by the religious practice to determine the start of the week. In the Jewish and Muslim faiths, the first day is Sunday. Others begin the week on Monday. Does it matter? Chloe started the week on a Monday. The day usually started at one minute after midnight. We are starting ours in the first hour of the day. It’s all up to us.”

“I suppose,” Hank agreed.

“If you want time off just do it,” Joel shrugged. “However, we’ve got things started but have a lot to do. We need to bring more equipment and supplies from the Ark. Constructing new stasis pods down here...”

“The ones up there can still be used,” Hank reasoned. “Why not just move them?”

Joel grudged a nod, “Because we may need to...very unlikely...we may need to leave due to an emergency. A nova, meteor or a disease...” then it hit him. “That’s one way Campos Saies could hurt us!”

“A disease? You mean biological warfare!?” Hank asked.

Joel began doing more research, “Yes!” He turned to look at Hank. “Other than learning to make fire and how to use it, concrete...there has really only been one major breakthrough. Stasis.”

Hank’s face scrunched, “Huh? How we got here!?”

Joel nodded, “How we got here, how we keep our supplies fresh...” he held his finger up, “and keeps everything alive for a long trip into space. Including bacteria and viruses!”

“Why?” Hank asked in disbelief. “We didn’t hurt him or anyone on Earth. He was clearly insane!”

“He was, and extremely paranoid,” Joel agreed. “He was jealous.”

“Jealous of whom?” Hank asked. “Us?”

Joel nodded, “We were chosen, and he was not included.” He waved at where the screen had been. “He even said they didn’t have our luxury and were not included...”

“We left Earth before he was even born!” Hank balked.

Joel looked at Hank with a grimace, “Don’t be so literal. Yes, he was irrational. It was also clear he was not happy about not being here,” he pointed at the floor. “Stasis could keep a bacteria or virus alive to get here.” He switched his attention to Athena. “Athena, you said you know that probe was no longer functioning.”

“That’s right, Commander,” Athena said.

“Do you know where it is?” Joel asked.

“Affirmative,” Athena answered.

“Get a Harpy-Stinger out there,” Joel began. “Use a grappling hook and line and tow it into Ran. Don’t touch it.”

“You think it carries a disease?” Hank asked.

“I’m saying we don’t want to take a chance,” Joel said. “One of the things that always happens following any war is disease.”

“Instead of cleaning up after the bombs,” Hank tried to grasp what Joel was telling him. “He would send a disease to us.”

“I want that probe caught and then taken to be completely destroyed by Ran,” Joel said to Hank and Athena. “Nothing was released by this probe, was it?”

“No, Commander,” Athena answered.

“Athena knew the probe was coming before it entered the system!” Hank argued. “That was when it was beyond Troy!”

“We’ll watch again to see if there’s another,” Joel confirmed. “For now, I want that probe destroyed.”

 

It was after an exchange with Mars and Ark V that took a few minutes. Joel trusted his impression of Barroso. That man was holding something back. Joel finally sighed and stood up. “Let’s see what Leif and Steve have done. Let’s see some fish.”

Hank nodded, “Let’s do that.”

There were buildings directly on the coast that were never under the dome. Joel and Hank took the couple of kilometers down the walk that extended beyond New Charleston’s wall. There also was an underground tram that would take you. There was a drop off near the shore that had been made deeper by robots. On the surface beyond the two-story building held a dock. Looking out over the water from the dock there were markers that told you where the barrier extended. Whales could indeed swim here with no problem. The breeze up here was like it would be on Earth. The ocean gave the shore that ocean breeze and here Joel did smell the salty air. It was nice. He never thought he’d say it, but he missed the constant cries of seagulls. They had not been brought back yet. Bringing them back you needed to have food for them. More fish was needed and also clams, shrimp and rodents naturally. Joel knew they also got a bad reputation as opportunists that steal food. He agreed, they were, but that was survival. And which sort of seagull? There were over thirty kinds of seagull. Like with all species of animal there were many different kinds. Of the ones they brought back, how many would diversify on Gaea?

No, the magic was below the dock. Straight down about five tall floors were these windows that looked out into the contained water where they could observe all life down here. Sea flora and fauna could be observed, including whales and sharks! That created a large area of the barrier that could be observed with the naked eye.

Joel and Hank entered the smaller building at the dock and descended by elevator a floor or two down. They entered the area open with six-meter ceilings. There was the clear observation glass in front of them. There were many stations about that ten or more people worked from. Aquatic equipment technology had moved forward. The midst of the floor was a large pool that anyone could enter the water to work. Even the whale and shark could be worked on here. Joel and Hank were known by all and were welcomed.

They saw someone surface in the pool and was assisted out to stand there. It was female in one of those suits you wore when water diving. It had short sleeves and short pants. All three wore hot pink that wasn’t a fashion statement but was easiest to see on the open water or in the water. Someone else was helped out of the pool and then another. The two men with her, one was very tall. One hundred and ninety-eight centimeters and blond. A well-defined chest on a man that had swimmer’s muscles, as in they were rounded from lack of resistance but well-shaped. He’d spent most all of his life in the water. The other man was two meters and dark headed. He also had the swimmer’s body. The tanks they wore had changed and got smaller and lighter over the centuries. They were also hot pink. A man could work for hours using these tanks.

“Damn!” Hank marveled. “That’s one big Viking!” He shook his head at Leif.

Joel chuckled and nodded, “And a big pussycat.”

“Don’t you mean a lion?” Hank asked.

Steve looked up and smiled, “Joel! Hank! It’s good you came!” He waved at Leif. “We were checking on the seafloor plants and animals.”

“The seaweed is doing well,” Leif said. “The kelp is flourishing. Even the coral seems to be thriving.”

“Aren’t coral animals?” Hank asked.

“Yes,” Steve nodded. “And very slow growing but they are growing!”

“We can’t have all species of fish or any other animal life here...” Joel reasoned, “Or even plant life.”

Leif consented a reluctant nod, “No. We do have enough diversity to create a life balance. There are so many more species in the depths of the ocean it would be impossible to have them all.” He shrugged. “There are some species we could not possibly transfer.”

“Such as the life around the hypothermal vents, or smokers,” Steve agreed. “Life exists at depths over two thousand meters! Fish and decapod crustaceans live at such depths we once thought was impossible.”

“The crustaceans are crab, you know?” Leif added to which Hank and Joel nodded. “And at such temperatures we also didn’t believe was possible either. Temperatures hot enough to melt lead! But life adapted!”

“Not even that extreme!” Steve pointed out. “Penguin!”

“Penguin,” Hank repeated.

“We have the many penguins on the Ark!” Leif nodded. “However they normally do best in very cold environments. Is there such a place on Gaea?”

“Life adapts!” Steve pointed out. “It has to, or it dies!”

“It will evolve,” Leif agreed. “We’ve said it before. The lives we brought here will evolve and new species will emerge. New adaptations.”

Joel smiled at their passion for life in the water. It was important to both of them. No wonder they developed love for each other.

“The terraforming of Gaea is ongoing,” Joel walked to the clear wall and looked at the water beyond. “I’ve always loved aquariums. Dolphin, porpoise, whales, fish...” he looked back at Leif and Steve. “I even thought about becoming a marine biologist.” He shrugged but saw them smile. “I did! I was fifteen and the job possibilities were posted, that was one!” He chuckled. “I wanted to help people. Life in the military just seemed like it offered more.”

“We are grateful you did,” Leif said. “None of us would be here. You and Sara Beth helped choose the department heads. We might have gotten onboard, but...” he waved at Steve. “He and I will have children, but even to this day...Matt and Mark, Nancy and Connie, Adel and Brice...we would more than likely have been skipped.”

Joel nodded, “It is Matt and Mark that developed a way for Adel and Brice,” he waved at Leif and Steve, “You two can have a child together.”

Leif grinned, “Do you want to swim out there?” He waved at what was beyond the glass.

Joel nodded, “If we have a guide.”

 

Hank and Joel put on the suits. The material had changed as had the tanks. Neoprene was used for a hundred years. The new suit was easier to get on dry. The old suit had to be literally pealed off. A diver also had to judge counterweight. In order to work at a particular depth, you had to figure out how buoyant you were and add the counterweight to keep you at that point. That ratio was automatically understood and a computer around your waist adjusted it for you. There was a powder inside the suit when water was added turned into a heavier, dense gel. That was the counterweight. The water temperature was not as high as it was recommended, but it merited the new suits to prevent body temperature loss. Flippers on the feet were normal. These were made of a material when wet elongated and allowed for more powerful kicking strokes. Scuba divers used all sorts of ways to communicate below the surface. The neural interface solved that problem. Steve and Leif had the filaments inserted so communication was not a problem. Joel was a man that dealt primarily on the ground...until recently. He’d been scuba diving once. On vacation! Hank had done it many times and was more comfortable than Joel was.

Hank adjusted his mask and smiled at Joel. “They’ve made diving idiot proof.”

Joel’s eyebrows rose as he looked at Hank, “Lucky me. So simple even I can’t drown?”

Hank grinned and gave a nod, “Like I said, idiot proof.” He looked at Joel more sympathetically. “You’ve done a spacewalk. There’s not a lot of difference between space walking and scuba diving. We’re taking our environment with us. We’ll be weightless again.”

Joel smirked at him. “Both of us will be in environments that can kill us. In space, it would be quick pulling all the moisture from our bodies, no air to breathe. With water it takes a few minutes as your lungs fill with water. You die.”

Hank conceded with a nod, “So don’t drown.” He smiled, “I’ve never done it, but when you do die from drowning...I understand you get this good feeling of euphoria!”

“I’ll pass,” Joel grumbled testing his walking with the flippers. Then brightened. “I’m looking forward to doing it again!”

“That’s the spirit!” Hank slapped Joel on the back.

Leif and Steve laughed.

“Don’t worry, Joel.” Leif said to encourage Joel. He waved between Steve and himself. “I’ve lost count of the time Steve, and I have been diving. We’ll keep eyes on you.”

“You will love it!” Steve agreed. “I promise.”

“I’ll be fine,” Joel said.

 

He had been scuba diving once and remembered the feeling of freedom and it came back in just a few seconds. The floor under the water here was not like the ocean floor on Earth. The centuries and countless life and death cycles left the floor near the shore with many lifeforms and mud. Kelp and other strands of plant life reaching for the sun shining through the depths. It was getting this way here, but just beginning. No random fish or the crab moving...yet. There were things moving in the water that were so small, you weren’t sure if you were seeing it or not. Plankton. The algae were there and formed a greenish layer on the surface.

“Have either of you done those really deep dives?” Hank asked. “The ones where you have to use the liquid air supply due to the pressure?”

Steve nodded, “We have.”

“It almost isn’t worth the time to decompress in that lovely chamber to prevent decompression sickness,” Leif nodded. “Almost.”

“Going down is a Hell of a lot easier than coming back up,” Steve grinned. He chuckled touching Leif’s arm. “A lot of time with nothing to do but read, or...”

“Fall in love?” Joel nodded understanding.

“I knew I was in love already.” Leif explained and waved at Steve. “He just took a bit longer.”

“I came around!” Steve defended. “Those hours decompressing, we had to do something.” He shrugged. “I was a bit more concerned about having an audience!”

“Because you are being watched during decompression,” Joel nodded.

“Certainly,” Steve agreed.

“Monitored at least,” Leif said.

“Our submarine is on the way,” Steve diverted the topic.

“There is a ship coming, too.” Leif added. “When we have those, we can go down and look at things more directly.”

“There is a perfect spot for the next big construction,” Steve smiled.

“Our next big construction!?” Joel asked.

“A future construction,” Leif restated. “We are going to continually terraform all of Gaea. We are also going to be bringing some dangerous animals here.”

Steve nodded, “There is this beautiful plateau in between...Maui? Lanai and Kauhuula? If we are going by the Hawaiian names...” Steve grinned. “Our city there can be close enough to all three yet apart from the dangerous animals.”

“It’s almost all flat,” Leif added. “Under a few meters of water, it would be the perfect spot! Easily accessing each island.”

“We’re not even finished with New Charleston!” Hank balked. “Do we need to start so soon?”

Leif chuckled, “Not necessarily tomorrow, but one day.”

 

As much as Joel loved being in the water, he and Hank had other things to do. It was just after the eighth hour for the day when they got lunch. They were going to contact Ark III at the ninth hour. The beginning of the morning on Tau Ceti’s planet the Ark III called home. They also needed to talk again to Mars, Brazilia, and Ark V. In dealing with three different worlds, two groups on one world, the timing was important. It would be midday on Gaea, morning on Tau Ceti, Evening on Mars...Joel pinched the bridge of his nose to stop his racing mind. Joel would wake up in the middle of the night, if needed. He’d need coffee but he’d do it. He tried to remember if there were coffee plants on Gaea. With two thousand adults and even young adult children on Ark II, consumption of coffee was a needed thing! Which coffee plant? The areas where coffee was grown were important as in the climate, soil content, and rain needed. Accessing Athena he understood there were. Again, the greatest thing was stasis. Harvested fruit, vegetables and other perishable items were kept at the peak of freshness.

The distance between Ran and Tau Ceti was just less than six light years. That was practically next door!

The people of Ark II were too pleased to relinquish the coveralls. The material used for the coveralls could be broken down and new garments were made. Athena was the artificial intelligence for the Ark, but she was heavily used by everyone. Colors were everywhere. Joel wondered if she ever got tired. Just to make Humans comfortable? She proved herself daily speaking with many at one time in many languages.

The day was still having to be adjusted to. In many ways it seemed the day was just so long. Equally, the long night. He wondered about his sons, what they were doing and was told Kevin was working on an assignment for school. Jim was working in the robotic lab with Anthony, Medika, and Scott. They were working on the antigravity field with medical equipment. Gurneys. Ian was with Lightening and the two new colts. There were three yet to be born. When they were, Ian and Lightening would be there. He knew Sara Beth was in her lab working on Human issues this time.

It was just at nine when Hank, Nayef, Leah, Tom and Joel sat to begin the conversation with Tau Ceti.

Precisely at nine the “screen” that wasn’t really there flickered and the image of a middle-aged woman appeared as she looked at all of them. She was not unattractive and had negro features and something else. Her hair was straight and not at all kinky as with most people from Africa. Pakistan or India?

“I knew you have developed the means to speak lightyears apart,” the woman marveled. “To see you...” she paused, “You hear and see me?”

Joel nodded as he smiled, “Hear and see you. I’m Commander Joel Kevin Nesmith. “ He waved at Hank. “My first officer Henry Cavill, or Hank as he prefers...” and he introduced the others.

“You are the same Joel Nesmith that launched from Earth over two centuries ago!?” The woman asked astounded. “I have seen images of the people that left Earth. It looks like you.” She became adjusted to the novelty of it. “I am Wilma Cox. I speak for this group of survivors on Elysia.” She chuckled, “That’s what we call this planet.”

Joel smiled, “We also continued the Greek theme here. We sent authorization codes to prove we are who we say.”

Wilma shook her head, “I believe you, but it is amazing. Our Oracle verified you are.”

“Oracle is the name of your artificial intelligence,” Joel said to confirm.

“Yes,” Wilma confirmed. “Yours you call Athena.”

“We are now over two thousand adults with many births happening soon,” Joel reported. “We had our first birth on Gaea this week. More are on the way.”

“All survived!?” Wilma balked.

“Yes,” Joel replied. “I understand you had some deaths.”

Wilma nodded, “Yes.” She sighed. “There were some malfunctions, and almost half of our stasis pods didn’t work after a few months. We lost one thousand and ninety-eight people before we even got to Tau Ceti. My predecessors claimed that we were rushed. We launched fifteen years before we were scheduled to leave.” She looked at Joel. “We had our supplies ruined because the stasis fields failed. Then we had to do some in stasis and some out for about a hundred years.”

Joel nodded understanding more, “I heard that. Those things, the stasis gas and pods, the stasis storage containers are critical.”

Hank frowned, “The stasis pods require very little power.”

Wilma smiled, “The line that fed the pods failed. What was wrong I couldn’t say. The pods effected were most of our engineering and science personnel.”

“Your Oracle couldn’t tell you?” Joel asked.

Wilma looked a bit sheepish, “He was effected, too.”

Joel frowned, “But the military personnel remained unaffected.”

“Yes,” Wilma nodded. “I am the granddaughter of one of those leaders.” She admitted. “Those people were chosen because of the service, but lacked some skills for repairing and maintaining the Ark.”

“That’s convenient,” Nayef muttered. “You may have been sabotaged.”

Wilma’s smile was tight, and she was giving a voice to what they held quiet about, “Yes. There was a man, Joseph Dunn, who was both military and a scientist. He theorized a group working with the military was responsible. We have no proof. He was granted a seat at the round table.”

Joel’s eyes widened, “Round table? As in King Authur’s Round table?”

Wilma nodded with a smile, “Yes. As in the story of King Authur. The round table was set up so no one man sat at the head of the table.” She shrugged. “The purpose was to give all at the table an equal voice. Originally there were ten places. There were two more slots allowed at the table giving the voice of an Ensign the same power as an Admiral. When we realized what happened, meaning the deaths, martial law was declared.”

“Giving the military even more power,” Tom said.

“Yes,” Wilma nodded. “Their control was never to be questioned. Joseph Dunn questioned.” She sighed. “A group that was opposed to this formed and they covertly undermined the military’s control. It came to be almost a war.”

“How does that make sense?” Leah asked appalled. “We were sent out to survive! All of us. Killing to keep control is stupid!”

“It is. Discipline was severe,” Wilma agreed. “Those found guilty were simply put into an airlock and jettisoned into space.”

Joel sighed, “These people on the Ark were chosen?”

Wilma grudged a nod, “To a point. They had to be disease free and unaffected by radiation. I’ve seen some of the hoops you had to go through.” She shook her head. “Remember, Ark II was planned for seventy-five years! The last five years were choosing who to save. We had it done very early. I said it was very rushed.” She grudged an angrier shrug, “Poor Ark IV! They were super rushed.” She looked at Joel. “You confirmed what we thought. They were destroyed.”

“We’ll send the data,” Joel nodded. “You can see for yourselves.” He smiled at Wilma, “The important thing is, you survive. You have begun the process of building a colony from Earth on Elysia. I’ve seen what you have done.”

Wilma smiled, “I was born here. This is my home. Joseph Dunn and his brother Benjamen Dunn did a lot to make it possible. Benjamen was my grandfather.” She smiled. “My grandfather originally was not a part of the military but became one after the launch. He and his brother overthrew those military and martial law.” She smiled even more, “I’ve seen what you’ve done. That’s impressive.”

“That is why we’re out here.” Joel said. “As far as your systems repair and maintenance goes; we have a savant here where engineering is concerned. With your permission, perhaps he can look over the mechanics and help you out.”

Wilma smiled, “We’d like that.”

“As far as your round table is concerned,” Nayef began. “I’m assuming it still functions.”

“Yes,” Wilma nodded. “It’s not what it was, but it still functions. I am the spokesperson for the round table. I am not in command of this world. Our Council is. We are growing! We have a lot of work to do.”

“Were you given the air processors?” Joel asked.

“Of course,” Wilma nodded. “It’s worked wonders underground.” Her head wavered, “We are becoming an underground species. Mars has them. Earth has them. The mines around Jupiter. The colony on Venus. The mining outpost on Mercury!” She waved at her surroundings. “We have.”

“The animals you have brought back?” Nayef asked.

“Mostly we have concentrated on livestock,” Wilma replied. “Survival was more important. We finally have a surplus of food.”

“You won’t mind us looking over your technology? Your Oracle? Even your agriculture?” Joel asked. “My wife can grow anything!”

Wilma smiled, “Dr. Nesmith’s reputation is well known. We will open communication with you.”

“We have a wonderful person that oversees our computer intelligence,” Joel looked at Hank. “I’m sure between her and Athena, they can repair any system needed.” He grinned, “If needed, we can even send someone to you to help one on one.”

“You can come here,” Wilma repeated uncertainly. “You can take the time?”

“It would only take...” he thought the question and Athena answered, “Two- or three-days travel to Tau Ceti and two or three days back. A week of time.”

Wilma’s eyes widened, “Two or three days!? Five lightyears?”

“Yes,” Joel confirmed. “Five and a half lightyears actually. We might even allow two or three of your people to come and see Gaea. Walk in a forest, among grass...see the animal life we have. Stroll on our beach...”

Her eyes grew even more, “We can? How? It took over a decade to get here!”

“We’ve...improved our travel in space,” Joel nodded. “Just like we have with our communication.” He held up his finger. “You understand we won’t just give you any technology. We will help you improve Elysia. We are the hope for Humanity. We are doing the same job.”

“You do have robotic assistance,” Leah asked.

“We use those to dig out the living space and farms, but yes.” Wilma nodded.

“When we decide to come there,” Joel began. “And if we bring you here...we’ll introduce you to something else. That is for another time.” His mind went to the clock. “I have a wife and children to see.” He chuckled. “And a horse to see.”

“Horse!?” Wilma balked. “You have a horse there?”

Joel chuckled realizing the other three were born, “We have six now. We have five robotic horses to ride. The real ones can’t be ridden for a year or two. Perhaps that can be another incentive to come here.”

“You have a forest and other animals besides livestock,” Wilma said to confirm. She shook her head, “I’ve seen them in movies and in pictures of Earth, but...I’d love to see it! I never knew I could.”

“That’s another reason we’re out here,” Joel chuckled. “We’ll talk again. Commander Nesmith out.” He looked up slightly. “Athena, can you connect with Ark III’s Oracle?”

“I should,” Athena’s voice replied. “The connection will be done through the network.”

“We’ll have Rita look at the Oracle to see what has been damaged and needs repair,” Joel said. “I assume that like you, Athena, the Oracle has eyes in the various places.”

“That would be a logical conclusion,” Nayef nodded. His head wavered, “I know a little about the Ark projects. Ark III is based on what was done for us.”

Joel nodded, “We can have Hank look over the engineering and manufacturing abilities. Sara Beth can look over their agricultural attempts and advise what to do next.”

“Won’t we risk letting them know our technology?” Hank asked.

“Right now we are just looking at them,” Joel clarified. “We can see what we’re dealing with.” He accessed Athena, “Right now we look and see. No information is transferred from us to them.”

“Understood, Commander,” Athena replied.

“Were you serious about going there and bringing them here?” Tom asked.

Joel smiled, “I felt no threat from her. Not like I did with Barroso in Brazilia.” He shrugged. “We can help, create good will and make allies. This is the best way.”

 

There was a connection made between Athena and the Oracle. The first images they saw were of Ark III’s interior. It looked a lot like Ark II only no one had done on Ark III what Sara Beth had done on Ark II. There were no plants on the Habitat Ring. Their Habitat Ring was a little wider than Ark II. There were the same rooms and labs, but it looked far more utilitarian. Function was more important. There was a Control Room, but it was a Military Control Room. When the people of Ark III left the Ark to go down to the planet they left in a hurry.

Joel sighed, looked at the time and did what he said he was going to. He and Hank took the tram to the livestock area. There Joel saw Ian, Rachel and Chloe dealing with the newest colts. The two born the day or two before were again enjoying being chased by Lightening. Joel thought about the artificial eggs that Matt and Mark had created. Making the eggs was not hard, but there were so many! The fish! Fish laid hundreds if not thousands of eggs! Very tiny eggs that were to ensure the species survival. Most of the eggs were consumed by other fish and other marine life. A few of them would grow to adults and continue the cycle. They needed the predators to keep the balance. There were also some other livestock animals coming like the pig and cows! He noticed the number of chickens! There was even a rooster!

Gaea would keep track of all the animals brought back. Not each one because that would be nearly impossible. The larger animals had something in them that helped Athena keep track of the coming and going. The number of squirrels, birds and insects were monitored and kept up with. Whenever men had imported animals and even plants to other regions on Earth, there were problems when there weren’t the predators. Births became a problem. Like in Australia. Frogs were a problem so they brought in rabbits to eat the frogs and then the rabbits became the problem. The kudzu plant was brought to Southern America and nearly choked all of plant life out. There were safeguards being put in place to help with problems.

Joel heard the screech and looked up at an eagle that flew overhead.

They all returned to New Charleston and had another meal. Family time was the glue that kept them together as a people. The no coverall theme was going into full force. No one wore that uniform today. Joel would return to his coverall at the beginning of the week. He’d be working.

He did contact Raymond Bouillion with Ark V, Lucus Saint-George of the UWSA on Mars, and even Luis Barroso in Brazilia. Joel promised to give them the power booster with the Boran Nitrate. There was a huge amount of energy used to create magnetic fields just as Jim, Anthony and Joder used to create the antigravity field. The opposite was needed to make gravity increase! Not repel it. More than half of the energy collected from Sol, the sun was used on the moon and good bit on Mars. The Boron Nitrate could boost the gravity field even more. The sun back around Sol gave off a lot of energy that was wasted. The people of Ark II would give the technology to boost the power even more! There were several large cities now on Mars that had over a million people...or more! Farms were again underground to keep away from those killer sandstorms on Mars.

Sara Beth greeted Joel as she sat with her family in the Dining Area. She blew a tired breath, “I heard your conversation with this Wilma Cox from Ark III. I also accessed the files on their agricultural projects. It’s impressive what they’ve done.” Then her head bobbed a wavering nod, “It seems they were struggling with oppression rather than surviving. They concentrated on survival. Their hydroponics and crops are impressive, but I will talk with their botanists tomorrow. I have some suggestions that will help.”

Joel nodded, “I knew you would.”

They were adjusting to the longer days and longer nights, but it would take more time. Again, Ian went to bed on his own that night. Running most of the day with Lightening was tuckering him out! Good! Were his sons getting a tan? He touched Ian’s arm and held his arm next to his. Yep! He was browner than Joel was! Good, again!

Barroso still denied knowing what his grandfather had done.

 

Hank studied the images he got from Ark III.

It was Monday morning at 03:00 hours when Rita burst into the Control Room. “It was a virus!”

Both Hank and Joel looked at Rita surprised.

“Not the coughing or sneezing...runny nose sort of virus, I take it,” Hank stated.

“A computer virus?” Joel asked. He held his hand up, “I’m not doubting you, but are you saying that’s why Ark III’s systems failed.”

Rita nodded vigorously, “Yes. It is also the cause for those stasis pods failing and all those people died!” She frowned, “I’ll even wager it was the reason Ark IV’s navigation failed with those meteors!”

Hank’s eyes widened, “Do we have the virus?”

“No,” Rita sighed rubbing her swell. “I need a chair.”

Hank jumped up and led Rita to the chair he had been in.

“I’ve gone over Athena’s systems carefully and my team is going over it still now,” Rita said. “The virus was deeply set in the Oracle’s system in 2340. Security was so tight around Ark II. Athena was completely installed by 2325.”

“Who would do this? Why?” Hank asked.

“Maybe the same ones that bombed Earth,” Joel shrugged.

“That doesn’t make sense!” Hank bellowed. “We left to save the Earth...or at least part of it.”

“Naturalist Zealots.” Joel said. “So convinced they are right, and nothing can stop them. There were several groups that claimed they had set off the bombs.”

“Which one did it?” Hank asked.

“I believe they all did,” Joel said. “It was worldwide and in all those countries. There were five that were the most powerful.” He looked at Hank and Rita. “They had one singular goal. To reduce the Human threat.” Athena appeared among them. “Two of the groups wanted to wipe Humans out altogether. The other three wanted to send Humans back in development to a simpler time with less technology and more farming.”

Hank frowned, “I know they probably are, but I hope they died miserably.”

Joel grinned, “I say we are the best Ark since Noah! They wanted to give the Earth a fresh start...with or without Humans.”

“How is making Earth a radioactive dump going to do that?” Hank asked. “They destroyed not only Human lives, but many animal and plant lives.”

Joel nodded, “Because the Earth will survive. It may take thousands of years, but the Earth would live. Life would adjust and adapt. Our threat would stop on Earth and anywhere else in the galaxy.”

“My point is, when Ark III and IV were launched,” Rita began again. “The viruses were dormant and activated when they left.” She had gotten used to the filaments and a screen showed the center of Ark III. The placement the stasis pods were like their own but Joel was amazed at the number of pods, twice as many as they had on Ark II. She pointed at the screen, “You’ll see the pods first affected are progressive that failed. They revived with enough time to shut down a lot of the Oracle’s functions.” She shrugged, “They don’t really use the Oracle for anything on the planet now.”

“Can we fix it?” Joel asked. “I mean fix their artificial intelligence.”

Rita nodded, “We can.” She looked at Athena. “We need to delete the remaining effected areas. Then we can clone portions of Athena’s programming and insert them on Oracle.”

“That would make the Oracle become Athena?” Hank asked.

“He would retain his personality,” Rita nodded, “but much of Athena would be transferred.”

“Nothing about our technology is given to them,” Joel said firmly.

“No,” Rita agreed.

“It will fix the problem?” Hank asked to be certain.

Rita smiled nodding, “It will.”

“Our threat isn’t Ark III,” Joel said. “It’s Earth. Brazilia may not be as bad without Campos Saies in control. I know his grandson Luis Barroso is not telling everything. Ark III is not living up to it’s potential. They don’t even have the Space Elevator. I’m sure they have it, but...”

“They left Ark III and the Oracle alone,” Athena said.

“I think Ark III will be a good ally,” Joel said.