by Kumar Lomash
Earth To Nole
It begins at the end
by
Kumar Lomash
This book is work of fiction and is a product of the Author’s imagination.
© 2015 Kumar Lomash
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the Author.
Edited By:
Aniket P. Athawale
01. Stage 07
In the vast emptiness of space, where nothing ever moves, a spaceship was moving slowly and steadily towards its destination. It looked far from all other heavenly bodies, except for a still distant, but a remarkably bright star. The spaceship kept moving towards it with confidence. Suddenly the onboard computer showed “stage 7 complete” flashing in bright green as if it was a good news for everyone. All screens on the spaceship were showing the same message, mildly increasing the ambient light in the otherwise dimly lit corridors of the lonely spaceship. One screen however had other details to show on priority. The primary pilot screen was showing “30 days to destination” on the top-right. In the same column, it was also indicating fuel, shield and spaceship health - which were all green and within acceptable limits at this stage of the journey.
The spaceship was decelerating. In fact, it had been decelerating for a couple of days now. The secondary pilot screen was showing a 5 digit number, most likely the velocity, which was decreasing steadily. It showed “21738”, “21737”, “21736” and so on. Besides this falling number, it also showed “Stage 1 complete”, “Stage 2 complete”, “Stage 3 complete”, “Stage 4 complete”, “Stage 5 complete”, “Stage 6 complete”, “Stage 7 complete”, “Stage 8 waiting”, “Stage 9 incomplete”, “Stage 10 incomplete”, “Stage 11 incomplete”, “Stage 12 incomplete”. All twelve stages listed one below the other in ascending order, in a column on the right edge of the screen. The majority of the screen still showed the falling number “21733”, “21732”, “21731”. Completed stages were listed in green, incomplete stages were listed in grey and the waiting 8th stage was showing in flashing red.
On the outside, the spaceship looked like a huge piece of metal gliding through the empty space. It did not seem to have any rocket boosters or other mechanisms to generate thrust on its body. The outer body was completely smooth as if all equipment were hidden within it. There were flashes of light, randomly visible near the outer body of the spaceship. The light was caused by the collision of rocks and meteors with the outer body of the spaceship. The collisions and the impact produced by it looked miniscule when compared to the enormous size of the spaceship. The tiny flashes of light faded quickly in the darkness of the space. The spaceship had a dense energy field around it which, although invisible most of the time , would light up whenever a meteor tried penetrating it. All meteors would burn out with the slightest of its touch, producing a twinkling effect around the spaceship.
The spaceship was glowing because of the light from the star. Light was bouncing off its large metallic body. It was impossible to look directly at the star now or at the spaceship except through certain angles. Suddenly, the spaceship started to open up. Two large semicircular gates slid slowly to reveal a large, circular opening in the body of the spaceship. The circular opening was at the rear end and looked large enough for small spaceships to pass through. A large metal rod unfolded, rising above the opening from within the spaceship. It looked like an antenna, extending away from the main body into empty space. The tip of the antenna was thicker than the rest of its body. It looked like a cylindrical capsule which was holding something inside. The tip started to open up like a piece of folded cloth. It took some time for the unfolding to complete. At last a large sheet of shiny surface was revealed. This looked like a solar panel, and the spaceship had deployed its solar panels to harvest the energy from the nearing star. Inside, the primary pilot screen now showed an increasing trend in the fuel levels, spaceship’s fuel cells were now being charged. The secondary pilot screen was still showing falling numbers: “20956”, “20955”, “20954”. The 8th stage was waiting to begin.
Inside the spaceship, in cabin L20-303, a young man was sleeping. Maybe everyone on the spaceship was in a deep sleep. The young man’s eyelids were not moving, his breathing was normal and his face calm. It was difficult to conclude whether he was asleep or unconscious. The display attached to his sleeping pod displayed “283-9-22”. Everything else in the cabin looked organized like a hospital room. There were sensors attached to the sleeping pod but no wires. Somehow these sensors were sending data back to the computer which showed everything was under control. A small medical instrument was kept on a trolley beside the sleeping pod. The instrument held chemicals which had tubes running all the way to the inside of the sleeping pod. Although the sleeping pods only revealed the face of its occupant, it was clear that the man inside was in a healthy condition. His face had little muscle and fat, cheeks almost dipping inwards, maybe the man had lost a lot of muscle and fat during his sleep. However, he did not look pale or sick. He was being kept in a state of hibernation, being fed only what was essential through the tubes running up to his body inside the pod. Everyone on level 20 seemed to be in a long sleep. Most of the computers and systems were in a suspended state as if they were waiting for a signal to wake them up.
Cabin L20-303 was one of the 512 cabins on level 20. Similar to this cabin, passengers were deep asleep in their sleeping pods in other cabins. Level 20 had two blocks, the north block and the south block. The block in the front-half was north block. Each block had 4 sub-blocks with 64 cabins each. The 64 cabins were placed in a 8X8 square grid. There were dozens of levels in the spaceship, similar to a tall building, except that the spaceship was much longer from front to back than it was tall, it was wider too from side to side than it was tall. The north and south blocks clearly did not manage to fill the entire length and breadth of the spaceship. The spaceship had some space reserved for other things apart from the cabins.
A beam of light fell on L20-303’s door. The door had “L20-303” written on it. The beam grew brighter and denser indicating that the light source was coming towards the door, maybe a flying flashlight. The light suddenly went dim and a flying hover-bot appeared, trying to peek inside the cabin through the glass door which looked opaque. The hover-bot was a small flying saucer. It was remarkable how it flew without making the slightest of noise. Its flight was swift and precise. It slowly went near the door which grew transparent to allow a peek inside. The hover-bot quickly scanned the inside of the room to its satisfaction, looked at the sleeping pod and then at the display attached to it, then hovered back again. The glass door went back to being white, opaque as if the transparency was an exclusive privilege of the hover-bot. The hover-bot rushed to the next cabin, which read “L20-304” on its door. As the hover-bot continued its inspection of the cabins, the secondary pilot screen in the cockpit showed numbers “20047”, “20046”, “20045”.
Every level was being inspected by hover-bots. These small hover-bots were going from cabin to cabin making sure everything was normal. As soon as these hover-bots completed one round of inspection, they would rush back flying to their charging stations where they waited for their next set of instructions from the spaceship’s primary computer. A charging station is usually situated in the center of a block, surrounded by the 4 sub-blocks. Level 20’s hover-bot was almost done. It was satisfied with the looks of the last cabin on its checklist, “L20-512”. It slowly backed off and then zipped to its charging station which was in the central area of the south block. The hover-bot landed on the charging station floor and
began charging. It rested there with others waiting for the next instruction.
A deep and loud siren broke the silence inside the spaceship. Dimly lit corridors of the spaceship were now being lit by bright lights one after the other. It is always advisable to turn on the lights one after the other in a sequence instead of all at once, so that the electrical control system on the spaceship can monitor the total electrical load and avoid any surge. The siren did not blow again, it must have been a one time affair. It was not supposed to be a wakeup alarm. The cockpit was still dimly lit, probably because a darker cockpit allows better visibility into the dark space outside. The secondary pilot screen was showing “19996” and the flashing red “Stage 8 waiting” was now a steady yellow, reading “Stage 8 engaged”. Stage 8 had begun, maybe the siren marked the beginning of this stage. Outside, the spaceship was still approaching the star.
The spaceship looked much alive now. It had arrays of tiny bright lights running from side to side on it’s flat backside. The back of the spaceship was a flat surface and looked like a grid of brightly lit windows. 43 rows each having 17 brightly lit windows going from side to side. 8 cabins on one side and 8 on the other separated by a longer bright stretch which must have been the corridor between the sub-blocks formed each row. The spaceship was wider towards the mid and then narrower again towards the front. The front-end was narrower than the rear-end, almost vanishing into a tip which must be the cockpit. The spaceship had many cabins. It had more cabins in it than was visible on the outside. Not all cabins had a view of the outer space, after all. If each of those 43 floors had 512 cabins then there were at least 22016 cabins in the spaceship. The front half of the spaceship was still dark on the outside. No cabins or windows there, not even dimly lit ones. It was however glowing in the light of the star, which was nearer every moment. The front-half of the spaceship was probably the storage or the section where equipment and other things were kept. Maybe the front-half had weapon systems among other things, it would make much sense to have weapons on the front and passengers on the back for a spaceship which was travelling deep into unknown territory. The spaceship was too big however, to be classified as a war machine. spacecraft designed for warfare are much smaller and more agile. Moreover, with so many passengers on board, this spaceship looked more like a voyager.
02. Stage 08
Inside, the computer in cabin “L20-303” was now beeping persistently. The display was still showing “283-9-22”. The sleeping pod made a sound similar to that of an airlock being released. The display was showing cabin temperature as “normal” and cabin pressure as “normal”. The glass cover of the sleeping pod opened slowly, releasing fumes and gases trapped inside it. The computer attached to the pod made some beeps and the equipment by its side responded by pumping out a transparent liquid into the tube running up to the body of the sleeping man. The man’s eyelids were moving now. His breathing was deeper. His calm face was not calm anymore. He looked tired and weak. The man opened his mouth and took a deep breath, almost as if it was his first in many years. He was awake now. A hover-bot was commissioned right away. It left its charging station and reached the cabin in a flash. Upon arriving it stayed outside the now transparent door and watched the man struggle to move his body while breathing heavily. The man was barely able to move his hands or lift his shoulders. He seemed to be in shock not remembering where he was or why. His head was exploding with pain but he could do nothing except for squeezing his eyes shut. He wanted to shout with pain but he did his best not to. His body was too weak to respond to his commands. His muscles were loose as if they had not been used for years.
Gradually, the chemicals injected earlier into his body started taking effect. After some time, the man started getting memory flashbacks. He was remembering things in bits and pieces now. He was in too much physical pain earlier to concentrate on these memory flashbacks but now he was feeling better. His headache was subsiding. He remembered getting into the sleeping pod voluntarily and puncturing needles into his body. He recalled having a hover-bot to his assistance which monitored his getting into the sleeping pod and initiating the deep sleep. He was fully conscious now. He realised that not able to move his body was probably normal at this stage. He was not in shock anymore. He stopped struggling and allowed his body to lie in the sleeping pod which was no longer sealed. His whole body was visible in the pod, naked, still connected to the medical instrument beside the pod with tubes and needles. He tried opening his mouth and his lips moved. He knew what he was supposed to do next. He said, precisely, in a whisper
“Identification K42-262284”
“Date of birth 2755-5-7”
“Good Morning”
Cabin doors opened slowly, the hover-bot quickly moved in. The computer connected to the sleeping pod announced, “Identification confirmed. Wake sequence completed”. The hover-bot quickly added, “glad to have you back, Kevin”. The man said “surprised?, are you Moji?” with a smirk. Kevin’s voice was much stronger now. He was not whispering. “Just glad”, Moji said, hovering further such that Kevin could see it in front of him . “Well, good to see you too”, added Kevin.
“How long have I been sleeping?”, Kevin asked
“Kevin, you have been asleep for two hundred and eighty three years nine months and 22 days. Which is about 3 years more than what was planned. “, Moji replied.
Kevin smiled gently on how easily the hover-bot mentioned 3 years. He knew time doesn’t mean much for bots who can virtually survive for infinite time while dormant. “Oh, is it?, it was supposed to be only 280 years, right?” Kevin had a hint of sarcasm. He asked, “So, what happened?”
“I do not have any communication on this, said Moji, but we did enter a level 3 blackout 223 years into the journey. The blackout lasted only a couple of months but it slowed us down.”, Moji replied
“Level 3 huh? Do you realise that a level 5 blackout would have killed us all?”, Kevin recalled details from his debrief.
“No, Kevin. It would have killed most of the passengers but you would have survived a level 5 blackout.”, Moji clarified.
“How come?.”, Kevin asked.
“However, a level 6 blackout would have definitely killed you. But don’t worry, that happening now has a very low probability.”, Moji said.
“So, I can still die, huh? Thanks Moji!, you always cheer me up”, Kevin was being sarcastic again. “What about the others?”
“So far 3 deaths have been reported on level 20. 11 of the passengers are not responding to wake triggers, they are being attended by MedBots. Rest of them are recovering normally like you, Kevin.”, Moji reported
“Do I know anyone who died?”, Kevin looked concerned.
“I am not sure if you know anyone at all - Kevin!”, Moji sounded sarcastic.
“Aah, so you finally learned sarcasm! Good for you! I see that you have spent these years fruitfully”, Kevin said.
“Yes Kevin. I spent my time watching movies and reading books. Also...”, Moji wanted to say more but was interrupted.
“Ya ya…”, Kevin tried to change the topic, “We will hear your recitations later. How long before I can walk?”, Kevin asked impatiently.
“A couple of minutes, Kevin. Your muscles are very weak due to years of inactivity. I suggest you spend the rest of the month exercising or you won’t be able to walk on Nole.”, Moji replied.
“Nole!, oh yes. I completely forgot about it.”, Kevin remembered it from the debrief.
“Our destination, Kevin. Nole is an Earth like planet with a ‘g’ of 11.3. You will experience a 15% increase in your body weight as compared to Earth. 15% is not much but given that you have been sleeping for the last 283 years, you would be able to barely walk on this spaceship which has a much lower gravity right now.”, Moji said.
“How much?”, Kevin asked.
“Simulated gravity on this spaceship is 3 meters per second per second right now. So you will experience a low body weight and your weak muscles would be ab
le to carry you around.”, Moji replied.
“That is Good, isn’t it?”, Kevin was glad to hear this.
“As per the schedule communicated to me, the simulated gravity of this spaceship will increase from 3 to 11.3 gradually in the next 30 days.”, Mori said.
“I am worried about you Moji. Would you be able to fly then?”, Kevin asked jokingly.
“Yes, Kevin. I can fly up to a ‘g”’ of 100. Although my flight time would reduce considerably per charge.”, Moji replied unoffended by the joke.
“Is Nole exactly like Earth?”, Kevin was now thinking about Earth and how far he is from it.
“No Kevin. But it is your best chance for continued existence. Nole is 43% water and 57% land, most of which is habitable for humans. It is believed that Nole had intelligent life form once. Apart from these dominant, intelligent life form, Nole also…”, Moji was interrupted
“What happened to them?”, Kevin asked. He looked concerned.
“Nobody knows, Kevin. Most believe they perished, some believe they left Nole for better places in this star system.”, Moji replied casually.
“Are there more such planets here?”, Kevin asked.
‘There are, Kevin. But Nole is the most suitable for humans.”, Moji replied.
“Why would the natives perish if Nole is so suitable for us?”, Kevin asked.
“The natives were not humans, Kevin. They were intelligent like humans but had a very different body composition.”, Moji tried to guess.
“I don’t understand. Why would a life form evolve on Nole and then die or run away because it is no longer compatible with its planet?”, Kevin asked a logical question.
“I don’t know, Kevin. That does sound unlikely. A life form which has evolved in a certain environment would always be most comfortable in that particular environment. However, I know another life form which evolved on a planet and then grew incompatible with it.”, Moji paused.
