Chapter
Three
Gas
For the first 6
months the vessel orbited Earth, firing its ion engines, slowly
building up speed and altitude. It was so large it could be seen from
the ground, like a second moon. It moved too far to be seen easily
after a couple months. After 4 months it had completely surpassed the
orbit of the moon and was soon free of the gravitational field of
Earth.
Now in a solar orbit
the ship continued to build up speed so that it moved away from the
sun while orbiting around it. It passed the orbit of Mars but that
world was on the far side of the sun, it did not hit any asteroids as
its path moved it toward Jupiter, as planned. Jupiter was always the
first target, as designed.
Jay Johnson opened
his eyes and found that he was in a chamber alone and the transparent
lid of the cryogenic pod was open. He was excited, had their journey
ended? Had they arrived at New Eden just as it was planned?
He pushed himself
out of the pod and stood. Strange, he didn't feel weak or dizzy from
his eternally long slumber. It was some amazing technology that
people were protected from atrophy but you would think there would be
some issues that had been overlooked.
“Please state your
name” disembodied voice said, Jay looked around the room.
“Let me introduce
myself. I am the main computer of this vessel, the Salutem Novis”
it said “Please tell me your name”
“I am Jay Johnson”
he said, looking around the room again. He was alone, that was not a
good sign since there were a quarter million people in the project.
“What's going on?”
“Let me explain.
One of the most important rules that were imparted to me by the
creators of this project was that a human always be awake during the
voyage” the computer said “I have decided to choose one human at
random, and that was you”
“Wha..?” Jay was
crestfallen. He would never see New Eden. He would spend his whole
life on the ship as the human caretaker. Alone. “Can't you pick
someone else instead? What if I refuse?”
The lid to the cryo
unit shut and the whole thing slid into the wall and a the wall shut
behind it. He could not get back in it after all. He sat on the
floor, stunned at his misfortune to have been chosen for this duty.
“What year is it?
How long have I been asleep?”
“It has been one
year since launch” the computer told him
“Only a year?”
he asked, shaking his head. “So I'm the first one?”
What are the odds of
that, he wondered. Then he knew, one in about 265,000.
“Our present
location is in orbit around Jupiter” the computer said “I am
preparing to lower the fueling boom into the atmosphere, where we
will take on a load of heavy hydrogen. We will do this until the tank
is full.”
“We haven't even
left the solar system yet?” Jay asked, getting upset. “This is
pathetic! What am I supposed to do on the ship for a whole lifetime?”
The computer
answered “There is a complete array of choices for you to keep
yourself occupied, there is a full gym, a virtual reality center, a
complete entertainment library of visual, audio and interactive
media...”
“What about next
week, then?” he asked, he tried to kick a wall but it hurt.
“There are several
biological habitats containing flora and fauna in a park-like setting
for your pleasure, I believe that humans find nature to be relaxing”
the computer said “I mention this because your heartbeat is
elevated too high”
“Yes it is,
because I am upset and mad!” Jay said “and I have nobody to talk
to except a computer”
“Please calm down.
Luckily you are young and in good health, otherwise you would be
risking a stroke or heart attack” the computer said “I could
prescribe a mild sedative to help you calm down, Jay Johnson”
“Prescribe?”
“I am also
programmed in medical diagnostics and treatments of nearly all known
medical ailments, and we have a full surgical suite aboard as well”
the computer said.
“Are you
bragging?”
“I am simply
stating a fact. Would you like a mild sedative?” the computer asked
“How about a
drink? A soda and whiskey would be good right now” Jay Johnson told
the computer as he sat in a chair he found near a table next to the
other side of the chamber. A few minutes later the robot connected to
the ceiling entered through its own chute and set down a tray next to
him with a small bottle of whiskey, a bottle of soda, bowl of ice and
a glass.”
“So, you are also
a bartender?” Jay asked looking at the little robot that just hung
there next to the table.
“Please enjoy your
beverage” the little robot said and took off.
“I see, it has its
own voice and personality” Jay nodded to himself “Sort of like
having 3 people here instead of just me. I get it”
After drinking a
couple of the small glasses of his drink, Jay was feeling much
calmer. The computer spoke again “Would you like to come to the
bridge and see Jupiter?”
He followed the
happy little robot with its own child-like voice as it led him to the
lift which went upwards for a while and stopped. Jay knew the ship
was about a mile tall, a couple miles wide and several miles long.
Then he stepped out into a chamber where most of the ceiling and one
wall was transparent. The massive Jovian world dominated the sight,
the ship was so close that it didn't even look like a planet.
“Is it safe to be
this close? Isn't there a ton of radiation?” he asked, sitting in
what looked like the Captain's chair. He wondered why there were
several seats at different stations and then noted that those
terminals were all blank.
“We are quite
close to the planet” the computer admitted “But our speed is
sufficient to keep from falling into it. We are trailing a boom, a
tube, which has a device at the end that is sifting the atmosphere
for heavy hydrogen, this is what we are pumping back into the fuel
tanks. You must remember that our tanks at launch were less than 1%
full, just enough to get us to this point”
“We'll be heavier
when full” Jay said, remembering “Now that we are so far from the
sun we can afford to take on so much more mass”
“Affirmative”
the computer said
“It is quite
beautiful” Jay said, looking at the swirling bands of orange and
white and other colors of the clouds. Soon enough the large red storm
was barely visible on the edge of his vision. The ship was at the
equator so the great red spot went below them, not underneath. “How
long will we stay here?”
“It will take
approximately 15.4 days to fill the tanks at the present rate”
“Then we increase
altitude and speed, get away from Jupiter and move towards the edge
of the solar system. How long before we leave the solar system?”
Jay asked.
“That depends on
what you define at the edge of the solar system” the computer said
“It will probably take a few years to reach the Kuiper belt and
enter the heliopause.”
Jay Johnson
whistled. “This is going to take a while then. No hurries I guess.
It's not like we ever figured out how to build a warp engine”
“Warp is only a
theoretical possibility, but in reality any device which could do
this – if such a thing could be built – would need an infinite
amount of energy. To reach the other side of the galaxy, you would
likely need the energy of every sun in it. Not that I have done the
calculations, which would take a long while, even for me” the
computer said.
“Right” Jay said
remembering that the computer was massive itself. It reached every
part of the ship, there were huge computer chambers everywhere. It
was so extensive that some thought the computer could become
sentient.
“It's not against
the rules to thaw another human is it?” he asked the computer “I
would like to have a companion”
The computer
answered after a moment “While not specifically forbidden it is a
waste of resources, which is against the rules. My main goal is to
reach New Eden with the most number of human passengers in good
condition as possible. This trip will take thousands of years, which
means that I will already be using hundreds of humans as crew during
the voyage as it is. So I would have to say that I will not bring
another human out of cryogenic suspension”
Later, Jay entered
one of the biological habitats. It was about 4 acres of trees,
shrubbery, grass, some small critters and a few insects, strictly
controlled and unable to breed. The top was completely transparent
and he could see Jupiter dominating half the view. He couldn't make
out any of its moons or the faint ring though.
“Years” he told
himself “Years and years”
He looked back at
the hatch, which was open and the little robot that hung from the
ceiling was in the doorway. Jay felt like this robot was watching
him.
“What is your
name? Do you have one?”
“Gopher” it said
“I am called Gopher. It has been 4 hours since you were taken out
of suspension, are you hungry?”
As a matter of fact
he was. “Yes I am. I could really go for a nice steak dinner and
all the fixings and some wine”
“Is that your
order? I will bring it to you”
“Here? I can eat
here?” Jay asked.
“You can eat
wherever you wish” the robot said and departed, Jay watched the
hatch doors finally shut.
The computer spoke
again “I can understand you will feel lonely, but it is important
not to dwell on this and to focus on other things”
Jay really didn't
want to get mad again, he didn't want to talk to the computer right
then. “I will eventually go insane like this”
The computer spoke
after a couple of moments “Yes” it said “That is probable”
Now Jay was
confused, the computer already knew. It already had plans for that
eventually, he bet.
“Look, I need
companionship. I need to be with a woman. I'm not a monk” he told
the computer “It is a human desire, need, imperative”
“I understand
human physiology and sexuality, Jay Johnson” the computer said “The
library has a full array of visual, audio and interactive sexual
programming that will mostly satisfy these urges in human beings”
He put his hands
over his face. “Oh give me a break”
Then he laughed “And
while we are at it, can I have some real clothes? I feel like I'm
wearing a woman's one-piece swimsuit or something. Except this thing
is as thin as paper.”
“Of course, I can
produce any type of clothing article you would like”
Jay lay down in the
grass. “I wonder how long it will take me to lose my mind?”
The computer
answered “I estimate 20.3 years”
Jay sat straight up
“You estimate that? You know, I think you are what will drive me
crazy”
“Unlikely” the
computer said “The longer you are here the more I will be able to
match with your personality”
Jay scratched his
head and then laughed “Are you saying we're going to become
friends?”
“In a manner of
speaking, yes”
The hatch opened and
there was Gopher, with a tray covered by a dome lid and a decanter of
liquid, his meal was ready. “Compliments to the Chef” the little
robot said with his high voice “There is not really a chef,
though”.
Jay laughed again.
“There is no way I'm going to last 20 years”
Salutem Novis
decided to do another analysis, Jay Johnson might not be as stable as
he first believed him to be. This would be an interesting case and
the computer would learn a lot about interactive with human crew.
.........................
Link to Lonely Space - Chapter One
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