Chapter 46: Star People Side Story 8: To the Stars, Above and Beyond

Star People

Side Story 8

To The Stars Above and Beyond

Sept 29^th, 12 AE…

Kingdom of Atlans Space Research Facility Number 7…

“Yesterday was a monumental occasion for the Kingdom of Atlans, as we are the first nation of Istaria to have launched an object into space!” Lenns Hodder announced proudly as he stood in front of a group of scientists, engineers, reporters and some politicians. He was met with a huge round of cheers and applause. After a few seconds, he held up his hands to quiet them down and continued speaking. “However, we cannot rest on our laurels for too long. This was merely our first step towards our ultimate goal of joining Free Land among the stars.”

This announcement caused several people to converse among themselves. One person, who was the governor of the Varkens territory in Bisra, raised his hand. “Excuse me, Captain Hodder. May I ask why it is so important to get to space? I mean, getting an object into space is already a great achievement and we’ve spent a great deal of time and resources already. We really don’t need to rush.”

“On the contrary, Governor Harto. We cannot just be satisfied in just sending an object into space. If you had seen what Third Lieutenant Jans and I had seen on the Missouri, you’d be just as eager to get into space. The applications of space travel are completely mind-boggling!”

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Flashback…

Sept 7^th, 12 AE…

“So when are we going to reach outer space?” Lenns asked eagerly as he and Akar were sitting at a table in the main observation deck of the Missouri.

Ensign Nehat shrugged his shoulders as he sat opposite to them and took a sip of tea. “Actually, we’ve been in space for quite some time since we took off from New Pearl Harbor.”

“WHAT?!” Both officers exclaimed as they quickly stood up and ran toward one of the viewports. Their eyes bugged out as they saw the world of Istaria from high-planetary orbit.

“Is that… our planet?” Lenns asked in total astonishment.

“Correct.” The Velor officer nodded. “Your world Istaria is what is referred to us as a Class-M planet, which is suitable for most life-forms without the usage of special environmental equipment or modifications. If you look toward the northern hemisphere, you can see the southern tip of the Alder continent.”

“Wait a second!” Akar suddenly said. “If we’re in space, then shouldn’t we be beyond the pull of the planet’s gravity? Shouldn’t we be floating about in this weightless vacuum? At least, that’s what I read about in the science journals.”

Nehat nonchalantly waved it off. “No worries. The artificial gravity system of the Missouri is more than capable of keeping us on the floor. After all, if the g-force nullifier allows us to escape the pull of your world, then it’s a simple matter to do the reverse. However, if you wish to experience the weightless environment of space, I can arrange it.” He put down his teacup after finishing and stood up while motioning the Atlans officers to follow him to one of the hyper-lifts.

“Where are we going?” Lenns asked.

“We still have some time before we meet up with the Iowa. Come along. I’ll introduce you to our Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Shepherd.”

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The Engineering Section…

“Is this what is powering the Missouri?” Lenns asked as he and subordinate looked at the ship’s power plant in awe. It was cylindrical in general shape and was about the size of three diesel locomotives.

“That’s right.” Chief Engineer Matthew Shepherd nodded. “What you’re looking at is a Pulsar-Class, Mark Four Meson/Anti-Meson Reactor.”

“What’s a meson?” Akar asked as he watched the gigantic mechanism thrum with power.

“You know what an atom is, right?”

Lenns nodded as he replied. “According to what I’ve read in science journals, an atom is the smallest unit of matter that forms a chemical element. Like if I had an atom of iron or carbon. Anything smaller than that and you no longer have that element, but the pieces like protons, electrons and neutrons.”

“That’s right.” Shepherd concurred. “What we’re using are high-energy sub-atomic particles called mesons. We’re using a special process, (which of course, I can’t tell you), in order for these mesons to continually produce energy to run all the systems on the ship.”

“How much power can this reactor produce?”

“Well… to give you a ballpark figure, letting this reactor run for five minutes would produce energy equal to enough electricity to power twenty of your cities for a decade.”

“That much?!” Both Atlans officers exclaimed. Their best coal-fired boilers, internal combustion engines and hydroelectric generators couldn’t produce that much power, even if they ran them nonstop for a year.

“Yes. However, you’re not here to talk about the Missouri’s reactor, right? Ensgin Nehat said you wanted to experience zero gravity. I can give you that experience.”

“How?” Lenns inquired as he continued to stare at the reactor. A single reactor could power every city in Bisra and Excra.

“Follow me please.”

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Two minutes later…

“Where are we?” Akar asked as they found themselves in what appeared to be the inside of a tall column. On the far end, they could see a ladder that seemed to reach up to another level two stories above them.

“This is one of the main access routes to the engineering sections of the ship.” Shepherd explained as he walked over to a control panel. “In normal conditions, we’d climb the ladder to reach the upper sections. However, out in space, we have the option of turning off the artificial gravity to this section of the ship. Like so.”

The Chief Engineer punched in a code and the main indicator lights turned from green to red. Almost immediately, both Akar and Lenns felt as if they were much lighter. Shepherd then demonstrated by lightly pushing off the floor. He gently began floating upwards. When he reached the proper level, he grabbed hold of a nearby ladder rung and stepped onto the platform.

Both officers from Atlans followed suit and began experimenting with zero-gravity acrobatics. It wasn’t long before they started smiling and laughing at how much fun it was.

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 One hour later, back on the main observation deck…

“I trust that you and your subordinate enjoyed your experience with zero-gravity?” Ensign Nehat asked as the two officers exited the hyper-lift.

“It was incredible!” Hodder remarked.

“Indeed! I’ve never felt so light!” Jans concurred. “It makes me wonder why you even have artificial gravity on this ship. It would make moving about so much easier if you left it in zero-gravity.”

“As much as you found it amusing, there are some considerable risks when exposed to a lack of gravity for too long.” Nehat pointed out as he gestured for his guests to sit down at a table.

“What kind of risks?” Lenns inquired.

“Think about it. You were born and lived on a planet with gravity; a force that was always being exerted upon you. As a result, your body adapted and strengthened itself so it could withstand it. Eventually, your muscles and skeletal structure was strong enough to push yourself upwards and allowed you to go from crawling to walking. Eventually, you learned to run and even jump. Now, what do you think would happen to your body if you were no longer hindered by gravity for a long time?”

There was a long stretch of silence as both men considered Nehat’s words. Finally, Lenns responded.

“With no gravity… our bodies would no longer have to maintain the same strength to support ourselves…”

“Correct. Your muscular and skeletal systems will begin to atrophy after a long period under zero-gravity. Even under reduced gravity, such as on a lunar surface, that will cause a person to suffer bone-loss after a long period of exposure. If you were to experience a year of reduced or zero-gravity, and then come back to Istaria, then you will find that your bones will be too brittle to support yourself. The Terrans discovered this danger long ago, and made certain that all of their lunar and orbital colonies had gravity fields that were exactly like their home planet.”

“Wait a minute! Did you say lunar and orbital colonies?”

“Indeed. Many of the Terran’s technological advances could only be achieved in reduced or zero-gravity environments, such as building our space fleet. The same development of advanced technology in space also occurred among the Catians, the Nemonians, the Kyteeri, and of course, the Velor. If you like, you can see one of our orbital space shipyards. We should be passing by Gamma-Rigel at this point.”

The two officers stood up and walked over to one of the large, viewport windows. Their eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day as they beheld a gigantic, structure that had several ports like that of a harbor docking station. In each port was a starship in varying levels of completion. If one used the visual enhancer function, one could see thousands of humanoids milling about in spacesuits, as well as hundreds of robotic drones.

“We have already set up several orbital and lunar colonies as well.” Nehat remarked as he stood up to join the flabbergasted Captain and Third Lieutenant. “Not everyone lives on the Alder continent.”

“What? You’ve already colonized our Moon?!” Lenns said in astonishment.

The Velor shrugged his shoulders. “Nobody was living there and there were no claims on the land. It was all free territory as far as the settlers were concerned. It only took them about a month to set up environmental city domes, agricultural centers, utility and power stations.”

“Hold on! They have agricultural centers?!” Akar exclaimed. “You mean they’re actually farming on the Moon?!”

“Oh yes indeed! In addition to their superior medical technology, the Nemonians are quite good at making plants grow and thrive in reduced or zero gravity.”

At this point, both Lenns and Akar wondered if all common sense were to be thrown out the window when dealing with Free Land.

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Another hour later…

Hodder and Jans continued to watch in awe. After firing the Missouri’s Neo-Proton Wave Gun and sending the Planet Ravager into the Sun, Ensign Gatsbu had entered the code to retract the weapon back into its housing. The barrel of the weapon began moving back into storage as the two halves of the bow started to move forward and towards each other. A few seconds later, the cams locked into place and the bow of the Missouri was whole again.

“That… was incredible!” The Atlans Third Lieutenant said breathlessly.

“So that was the Missouri’s most powerful weapon?!” The Atlans Captain asked in total bewilderment. “I thought it was the main turrets… the pulsar guns was it?”

“Using the Neo-Proton Wave Gun on the capital city of the Empire of Sath would have been complete overkill. Even at a low setting, it would have split the entire Merdov continent in half.” Nehat said simply. At that moment, the device on his suit’s collar beeped. The ensign tapped on it before speaking. “Ensign Nehat speaking.”

“This is the Captain. Did our guests enjoy the demonstration of the Wave Gun?”

“Yes they did, Captain. They were thoroughly impressed by its power.”

“Very good. Please bring them to the bridge.”

“The bridge, Sir?”

“It’s all right. The Council has decided that there won’t be any major security risks, so long as they leave all of their visual and audio recording devices in their quarters.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Ensign Nehat out.” He then turned to his guests. “Gentlemen, if you will follow me please?”

Even though they were not allowed to bring their cameras and tape recorders with them, both men were still excited that they were going to the bridge of the Missouri.

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10 minutes later…

The bridge…

“Captain Delan, good to see you again!” Both Lenns and Akar saluted Mark, in which he, his wife and his third-in-command returned.

“Good to see you as well, Captain Hodder. You too, Lieutenant Jans.” Mark then began introducing his bridge crew. “This is my First Officer, Commander Reelan.”

“A pleasure.” Mark’s lifemate gave them a warm smile.

“This is my Second Officer and third-in-command, Lieutenant Commander Harken.”

“Greetings, gentlemen.”

“I have the best helmsmen in the fleet, Ensign Gatsbu. Beside him is the best navigator, Ensign Taichen.”

Both turned about in their chairs and nodded to the guests before returning their duties.

“Over there is Lieutenant Visera. She is my primary Communications Officer.”

The Kyteeri communications officer nodded to them.

“Now then, gentlemen, I imagine that you have many questions. Feel free to look around, but don’t touch anything. My crew will answer any queries you may have, within reason.”

As both Lenns and Akar began walking about the bridge and chatting with the other crewmembers, Mark, Reelan and Harken began privately speaking to each other in their respective chairs.

“Captain, is it wise to have them on the bridge?” The Kyteeri First Officer asked. “After all, Atlans is quite hungry for new technology.”

“It’s all right.”  Mark assured. “Even if we showed them the technology, they can’t reproduce it at their current level. They’re not allowed to record anything or even take notes. The Council decided to let these men to accompany us into space as a sign of friendship between our nations.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give them a small push toward their own endeavors into space.” Harken said. “I hear that the Council had decided to give Atlans some old rocket technology.”

“In any case, let’s give them a look ahead.”

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A few minutes later…

“Well now, Captain… Lieutenant… are you ready for your first trip through hyperspace?” Mark asked as they were all seated and ready to make the jump.

“When you said hyperspace, what did you mean?” Lenns asked as he and Akar sat in the auxiliary seats next to Captain Delan’s.

“What I mean is that we’re about to travel outside your home solar system and enter another. It’ll be a short trip, no more than 50 light-years.”

“What’s a light-year?” Akar asked.

“It’s the distance that light can travel in a year.” Reelan explained. “In your terms that would be almost 6 trillion miles or 9.5 trillion kilometers.”

 “Nine point five trillion kilometers?!” Lenns exclaimed. “That would mean that 50 light-years would be… 475 trillion kilometers! And you call that a short trip?!”

“For the Star Alliance, yes.” Mark said with a smirk. “Normally, it wouldn’t take us more than 20 minutes at top speed to cover that distance with our hyperdrive technology.”

“Hyperdrive technology?” Akar wondered.

“Well, we can’t tell you how the technology works but we can tell you the basic theory. To begin with, according to a physicist named Albert Einstein, an object approaching the speed of light squared will gain mass towards infinity. As a result, the energy requirement needed to push that increasing mass will also go towards infinity. So logically…”

Lenns caught on. “You… can’t reach the speed of light or go past it.”

“Correct.” Harken stated. “However, that theory no longer applies when in hyperspace.”

“What’s hyperspace?”

“What we are in now is called real space.” Reelan answered. “Hyperspace is a plane of existence that is parallel to real space. Think of two roads side by side. We simply move off the road with the slower traffic and onto the road with the faster traffic.”

“We’re still traveling the same amount of distance, but at a higher speed.” Mark continued. “However, unlike real space, we don’t gain any extra mass in hyperspace. Therefore, we can reach and easily exceed the speed of light.”

“How fast can this ship travel?” Akar inquired.

“Well… we normally don’t exceed Warp 10 unless we really need to go that fast.”

“How fast is Warp 10?”

“Well Warp 1 is the speed of light; Warp 2 is ten times that, Warp 3 is one hundred times and so forth. So Warp 10 is one billion times the speed of light.”

Lenns’ jaw, along with his subordinate’s dropped, when they heard that number.

Mark could only smile as he directed his helmsman and navigator to lay in the course to the neighboring solar system.

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End of Flashback…

“To be able to travel to another solar system in less time than it would take for us to drive to the capital? To be able to create huge starships, and colonies in orbit and on the Moon? To be able to meet with other beings and discover the secrets of the universe? Gentlemen, I tell you that following Free Land to the stars is not just our duty, but our destiny! As I have said before, Let’s Catch Up To Free Land, Someday!”

After finishing with his speech, Lenns Hodder was again met with a thunderous round of applause as the scientists and engineers of Atlans had become motivated again.

 

Author’s Notes

I couldn’t help but write this side-story as I continue to work on the next chapter. As for the Warp Numbers being different than in Star Trek, I reasoned that since hyperspace is faster than just warping real space, the velocity numbers would also be higher. In any case, I hope the readers enjoyed this side-story.

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