Exodus - 4. Week One: May 28th, 2030

Log May 28th 2030, 0800, Dr. Gregory Faust:

I had the best sleep in years. Perhaps, it was the knowledge that the long struggle has finally ended, and I could raise my son in peace. I never felt sorry for what I did? Maybe, I am unrepentant, but I do not feel that there was much to repent about. If they had the means, they would have done the same to us without any regret. Maybe, I am being heartless or acting out of anger, but when I look at Adam and think about what they did to Henry; I just can’t forget.

Ben, Abigail, and Susan talked with me privately after the ceremony and the wild turn of events. They agreed what I did was the right thing, but it was also something that most likely will come back to bite us. There were far too many lives back home that could not be saved and a good portion of the resistance still fighting. I gave them the edge that they needed for a time, like it or not, we can’t simply just run away and forget about our problems. With any luck, the majority of the Synod will die along with the other 2 billion lives.

Ben is someone that I admire for his steadfast reserve and cool headed approach to life. He could diffuse the situation last night knowing exactly how Billy would react at the same time protecting Jeff. If our positions were reversed, I would not be as patient or clear in thought. Abigail and I have basically reconciled, which is terrific. I never want to lose a good friend like her or any of the others.

Adam is asleep still, but he will wake up very soon, when Jeff comes by for a visit. They are two of a kind; perhaps, they will be the shape of things to come. My generation will have our hands full with the adoption and protection of the rescued teenagers and children under our charge. However, I can surely say within the next two generation my technique shall grow in use and our people shall thrive like never before. Let us hope that they shall prosper on our new world.

The rotational resting points had proceeded as scheduled; transports were busily ferrying the crew and cargo to other ships in the fleet and Benjamin cross was among them with his young son. He wanted to do two things today: the first would be to allow his son some happiness and comfort with his best friend after the traumatic experience of last night, the second would be an evaluation of the current state of the “Warp” research John and Andy were doing on the science ship, and prepare for the first mining expedition that the nanite engineering team would be doing.

Originally, the route to Cygnus would take them to rogue asteroids along the way, but the slight alteration on the timetables has forced the cartography and navigation science team on the science ship to rethink their strategy. They used the deep space gravity spectrometer on board their ship to identify a rare rogue planet only a few thousand miles from their current route. Rogue planets are large objects usually flung out of a solar system during the formation stages. Due to the proximity to their new home-world, this rogue might have been one of the original outer planets. From the gravitational readings, this world is rich in ore, which would be better than multiple asteroids with different compositions.

Even with the ships being automatically repaired by nanites; there must still be raw material for fleet repair and extensive hull expansion. There must also be some industrial raw material for the construction of goods and products. The ice on these stellar masses can be used for water production, which is essential to human and plant life for survival. Finally, the agricultural ships need mineral and additional material to create the carbon soil for their food production.

John approached Ben at the docking port of the science ship; he extended his hand toward his friend and welcomed him aboard.

“So, how many guys have requested that you build them some new toys for them after this discovery. I know Andy has been getting requests and pleads from all the science departments. He and Greg are in a meeting right now, but I told them that I must welcome you onboard, so I got excused,” John spoke bluntly in half mock due to his own scientific staff bickering over the creation of new labs.

“Lucky, I came by for a visit. I am not surprised, we originally wanted to build 4 science ships to put you on par with the other areas, but there was just not enough time. Now, we have the time, and we found a big rogue planet with plenty of material; everyone is demanding a piece of the action,” Ben snickered at his last line.

“Hey, if you are going to build me a couple more science ships, I’d be happy to take them. Greg and the biological team want to have some more room and my applied physics guys have the same idea. Yet, if we are going to start a new ship building effort; let’s begin with a hospital ship. I can stand the bickering and in-fighting among the science departments for a few days longer, but I don’t think I can stand dying if that hospital wing of your ship is ever too full or busy to receive the injured,” John spoke with a strong tone to his voice.

“I told Abigail and Susan that a Hospital ship was the first priority. The industrial ships are already planning and designing space hulls right now. It should take us about a day to produce and bind together the outer hull, then another three to construct the compartments within these new ships,” Ben told John.

“We could have gotten all this done on earth if the Synod had not been so close to uncovering our plans. Anyway, how many ships are we building?” John looked questioningly.

“10 new ships will be built. 3 new science ships, 1 hospital ship, 5 large freighters, and 1 “specialty” ship,” Ben responded to John’s inquiries.

“What’s so special about this ship?” John looked puzzled.

“I got the thought in my head that we needed a different kind of ship; something specifically outfitted for exploration and surveying,” Ben told him.

“Ah, I see Andy got to you with his “Star Trek” idea,” John laughed.

“To be honest, I was always a fan, but we did not need an explorer type ship until now, because our journey was pretty much mapped out for the next fifty years. Now, we have so much more time and so many more things to check out in the next six months,” Ben spoke very enthusiastically.

Ben had fully comprehended the new scheduling change which meant that their voyage need not just be about survival, but it could encompass exploration. The universe is vastly uncharted, and it was his hope to create ships built on the principles of exploration and discovery. The idea was not realized, because his people needed to get to their new home safely and quickly without a detour to investigate something new along the way like road side distractions on the highway slowing down travelers.

“Well, Ben, since you have that particular science fiction show on your mind; I want you to know that Andy, and I have been working on this “warped” space idea. It is proving very interesting, but it will be a while before we can apply it to ships,” John nodding at Ben. Ben knew it would not be as easy as the TV show; in likelihood barring a giant scientific breakthrough, it would take them years before they can reproduce the same field that allowed them to traverse 50 light years in a matter of hours. Still, it was good to know John and Andy had not given up on the concept.

“Daddy, I wanna to play with Adam,” Jeff sheepishly cried to his father in the middle of the conversation. John looked at Jeff’s sparkling smile and knew that he should not keep Ben busy with small talk; even if it meant going back to that department meeting.

“Ben, take your son to see Adam; he should be in his quarters playing some computer games,” John took his leave of the pair to face his tormentors once more.

Ben was directed by an escorting crew member, a young teenage girl, who showed him to Dr. Faust’s quarters. Adam was eagerly playing a new computer puzzle game that was developed by Ben’s company. At the sound of the door opening, Adam abandoned his computer console and jetted toward the entry way to greet his favorite guest.

“Well, you two behave; Sharon here will be your babysitter for a short time. I got to save your dad and Uncle Adam from a pretty intense confrontation, which I gathered from John’s reluctance to leave,” Ben started walking away, but he could not quickly depart as Adam jumped him with a big hug.

“Thanks for saving us last night, Uncle Ben,” Adam hugged his uncle as if his life depended on it. Jeff had given a similar reaction last night after the ceremony going so long as to not let his father sleep without him at his side. Adam did a similar thing with his father, but Greg acquiesced to Adam sleeping in his bed. It can be called irony that two men, whose lives are parallel in so many ways, must also share similar burdens of love in their children.

“Adam, I would do anything to protect you and Jeff. Remember that boy, Billy, was hurt really badly like Izzy by the Synod. He was taught to be mean like that, but we are trying to help him. He might one day be a good friend to you two, too,” Ben spoke with compassion and understanding that he wished this new generation shall learn.

“Yeah, he seemed pretty scary, but I know cousin Izzy was mean, too, before Auntie Abe and Auntie Suzie helped him,” Jeff spoke up from behind Adam. They both shook their heads in agreement to acknowledge their forgiveness of Billy’s actions.

“Okay, boys, I am off,” Ben ruffles both boys’ hair and leaves to rescue his friends from a mob of scientists out for lab space.

The industrial production ship is nothing like the factories of earth; it is sleek with production facilities that are more akin to a sterile laboratory than a place of mass production. The “state of the art” tools made production less of a “dirty hands” job and more an aesthetic and craftsman’s pursuit as it once were before the advent of the industrial revolution. Teenagers and working age children were assigned rotations to the civilian manufacturing ships to learn the crafting techniques on a basic level. The more advanced teenagers and adults were assigned to heavy industrial ships that would require a greater knowledge of advanced engineering and construction design.

On board one of these industrial ships, Eli Wallace was designing the exterior hull for the new hospital ship. He was a gifted designer with an uncanny ability to find the best median between efficient design and aesthetic needs. The fleet’s hulls and compartments were designed by him and his team. At the age of 73; he is the oldest member of the expedition and the worldliest out of all the travelers. Ben had offered him a place on the command council, even his own seat in leadership. Eli said “no” to Ben’s suggestion, because he knew that his knowledge and experiences were not what this generation needed. Eli’s place was here building the future for his people, while his own destiny was defined. He knew this voyage would be his last, but at the very least he may be able to see their new home if only briefly.

“Sir, the surgical decks have been fully integrated into our overall design for the medical ship, the advanced spectrometer for the explorer class ship has been allocated from the upper-aft section to the forward central area, and deck expansions on the command ship are being drawn out,” a young voiced echoed to Eli in his deep thoughts.

“Don’t call me sir kid; it makes me feel a few years younger than I am. If you want, call me Grandpa Eli,” Eli laughed at his teenage page and newly adopted son, Brian. Eli took up care for Brian only a few days before they left for the moon base. Brian was one of the last few batches of rescued teenagers from the Synod’s institutions. Brian was supposed to be executed on his 16th birthday for his resistance, but he was saved before his execution. Eli saw potential in the boy’s artistic and fundamental gifts in art. He also could see through those dark lifeless green eyes in the safe house, where they first met, that this boy had been through hell. He knew that Brian would take to his freedom slowly, but Brian will eventually accept it.

“I am still not used to having anyone like a parent, but I will try Grandpa Eli. I also need to tell you that some of the design team will be going down with the mining engineers to the planet,” Brian told Eli albeit hesitantly.

“You guys don’t need to go to that dark lifeless mass of rock, the nanites can do the mining, and the engineers can supervise the nanites,” Eli told Brian.

“Yeah, but we want to make sure that the mining process and refining process for the alloys are good quality. Even if we can build our ships with average quality material, it is more beneficial to get the right kind of material for the task,” Brian answered Eli’s open question.

“Well, kid, I am proud that you are taking the job so seriously. Don’t get too wound up about a few imperfections, it takes a few imperfections in life for us to learn and grow from experience,” Eli spoke for the first time in a fatherly manner to Brian.

“You got it grandpa,” Brian finally broke his stoic mold for a brief moment and laughed at the fatherly advice that he had just received.

Eli thought to himself; Brian is going to turn out to be work of art himself.

“We are not going to build an entire deck filled with water and plankton in order to test out your oxygen producing theory,” Greg retorted against a female marine biologist within his group.

“How about one room?” the female marine biologist tried to concede.

“Maybe, if you promise that the water used is limited, because we are trying to conserve our reserves. We can’t stop at every comet looking for a fresh supply of water, because you need a clean supply to keep your plankton alive,” Greg compromised.

“Deal” the female marine biologist smiled.

Discussions like this were going on throughout the science ship’s conference room, where multiple departments were holding a universal meeting on how to divide the three ships that they will receive in the next three days. They had to come up with a basic list within the specified hull limitations from Eli for specific design and equipment requisition before 1500 hours, when they would stop at the rogue planet and the industrial vessel would start production.

Ben came into the room and immediately was pummeled for additional requests for new laboratories and ships. Greg, John, and Andy quickly realized their opportunity to beat a hasty retreat as the mob had a new target.

After all the thunder and roars from the science ship, a final outline for the space allocation was reached by the entire community. Not everyone was completely satisfied, but they were happy to have some space for their own pet projects.

The fleet reached the rogue planet at 1503 hours. It was an amazing sight unseen, because, unlike most science fiction shows, there is actually no visible planet from the naked human eye in deep space without a star nearby. It took specialized electromagnetic scans to identify the planet was in front of them. It took a gravitational scan from far out to identify the presence of such objects in deep space.

A preliminary survey was conducted by the electromagnetic scans; the composition of the rogue planet was 40% iron, 20% magnesium, 15% silicon, 12% nickel, and 23% miscellaneous minerals. It was an excellent discovery by any mining standards. The planet had ample supplies for ship construction and enough resources to keep the fleet running for centuries if they desired.

During these scans, a faint signal was detected by the sensors. It was artificial due to the mathematical principles behind it. There were also faint traces of unusual energy emissions from the same coordinates on the planet. The science team tried all standard signals and prime number sequences to get the unknown signal to respond without success. The information was relayed to the leaders of the science vessel and Ben, who was having a late lunch with them after their ordeal.

“Is it possible that there is some sort of life down there?” Ben asked inquisitively.

“Impossible, the radiation, the lack of an atmosphere, and a viable water supply,” John told Ben skeptically.

“Maybe, they are silicon based life forms; like a more advance version of our nanites,” Greg responded.

“It's cool; maybe we can make first contact with them. Any civilization with the ability to send out radio signals from a rogue planet is definitely worth making friends with,” Andy addressed.

“Babe, they might just be visiting like we are, or it could just be a crashed probe or something,” John responded.

“Maybe, it came from our new home-world. We were never able to ascertain if the world was inhabited or not. It might pay off to give our future landlords some notice before 30 plus ships appear in their solar system. It might seem like an invasion or something,” Andy appealed.

“In any case guys, we should say hello and established some type of relationship with these guys. The landing area for an extraction point is only 20 miles away from the origins of the signal. We can send a science team along with them to investigate,” Ben was told his friends.

“Well, we have finally proven that we are not alone in the universe, let’s just hope, they are friendly. I hate to think that the only types of beings in the universe are intolerant and religiously aligned zealots, who were made in god’s image,” John retorted with a bit of bitterness.

The lunch topic soon turned to the possible alien physiology, and if they were probing, then what type of drive system would they be using to travel across space this far out. The debates went on further to whether the aliens were a heterosexual species or a homosexual/asexual species. Greg was in the idea that these aliens could be silicon asexual life forms, who evolved in this harsh environment with radiation as their basic nourishment. John countered that silicon base life forms created in nature has not been proven; it is merely a conjectured idea. The back and forth got the entire science ship involved. The scientists, who only a few hours before were fighting over their laboratory rights, were debating the alien race, their technology based on the energy emission, and other related topics.

At 1700 hours, the science team reached the area of concern with a personnel transport ship.

At the same time, the remaining mining team had been actively working to mine the largest ore deposits with the help of nanites breaking down the matter into base molecules in a semi-liquid state. Twenty mining sites were established on the planet with three engineering person teams, along with an industrial crafter for quality assurances. About several thousand tons of material was being ferried per hour through these mining sites with automated cargo transport ships. They were being stored on the industrial manufacturing ships, which used them to create the compartments for the new ships to come. A magnetic field was established by a single industrial vessel around a 2,000 square mile area geo-synchronously in orbit around the planet. This area would serve as the staging point for ship construction and ship expansion.

The science team communicated to the nearest mining site and requested the use of an automated cargo ship to ferry an alien object to the science ship. The mining team at the location knew this would through off their schedule, but they also felt a great sense of excitement at discovering an unknown alien object. They all unanimously agreed the alien object must come first. The engineers programmed the automated cargo ship to the coordinates and the science team loaded the object.

Brian was watching from his mining station as the cargo ship moved into orbit. He marveled and dreamed of the things this object might contain. Before the purges, Brian had always imagined and dreamed of journeying to new planets and learning about alien civilizations. The news that he heard only an hour before his departure awakened something in him. He had a keen mind for imagining the impossible perfect outcome, but he was never allowed to fulfill such dreams in his isolation at the hands of the Synod. His new father had tried to open his mind to nuances in the last few days and Brian responded with joy. Seeking something perfect in a chaotic universe may be impossible for the observer, but it is not for the dreamer that has traveled so far.

“Greg, you called us all to the science ship, so I am guessing you found something interesting in that alien object that your guys picked up a few hours ago,” Brett came in with a bit of bustle. The entire command council had assembled for an undisclosed purpose. Greg wanted them to see something with their own eyes that he could not believe himself.

“Guys, I did an internal magnetic scan on the object and found a living being inside,” Greg told them.

“There is more, we identified that there were energy patterns within the pod that resembled tachyons,” John told his friends with a strange hint of bewilderment in his voice.

“Tachyons can theoretically go faster than the speed of light and have many interesting properties; one of them is a type of time dilation effect if they are properly manipulated,” Andy told them.

“So, this alien has been in this box for a while. Is this a form of cryogenic suspension?” Abigail inquired. She had remembered medical treatments on earth, where dead bodies were frozen for the purpose of one day resurrecting them from the dead.

“He is very much alive, based on the readings of his body,” Greg conceded.

“How can you know that from an alien physiology, Greg?” Abigail questioned.

“The kid inside is human, approximately 12 years of age,” Greg addressed them all. There was no word in the room for what seemed like an eternity.