by Chris Troman
Radioactive?" Conrich enquired. "No it's a form of non-bioluminescence, which my co conspirator has dubbed the Susan effect,” replied Doctor Hopson.
"And now for a magic trick", I intoned as I placed the end of the tube in a hole, in the side of a small machine. I pressed a button and seconds later; I reached in to remove a small ring of material about six inches in diameter. "This little wonder can easily cope with the required stresses and is light as a feather, figuratively speaking. We've run the numbers with Ralph and he's ecstatic." "Well if he's O.K. with it that'll do me", beamed Conrich. "So now you've been locked up until you've paid the piper, I suppose I'll have to release you kids." Then bidding Farwell he signed off.
Three days later with our prototype safely stowed in the hold, we took the Spirit of Challenger back to Earth ready to start constructing the full size machine. Back in Conrich's office I filled him in on the device. Susan was busy organizing materials. "The material itself is a mixture of carbon fiber doped like Silicon is in transistors, but with several elements and isotopes that wouldn't mix well under gravity’s pull. These can be held in suspension in the micro gravity of space. As the silicon’s electrical properties are improved, so the mechanical properties of the carbon fibers are magnified many times over. The tests we've preformed show it's endurance is almost unlimited, and of course the luminescence will make it glow faintly." "like a beacon to humanities achievements" grinned Conrich.
"The process of solidifying is a sort of 3D printing. Conventional 3D printers build up the artifact in layers, so in one direction the tension properties would be useless. Our process is more akin to hologram printing. A conventional hologram produces little dots in a see through medium, so you get an image of the subject. Our machine takes a 3D image off a computer, and using a bank of lasers print the dots, where two lasers meet the material is fused solid. Our dots are joined dot to dot until the whole is complete.
Unused mixture is pumped out for the next batch, and the part is complete. The whole process takes little time so we can soon reach Earth, and as the Lasers can pass through the solid, and only effect the liquid when two meet, we can link each section like a Greek key, meaning they can't come apart. The rope can be produced in the same way in a continuous process passing through a series of rollers and pulleys to keep the tension."
Over the next few months I had to visit the station a couple of times purely in an advisory capacity. Susan kept her feet firmly on the ground, utilizing the video link for any information needed off her. "I'll see you up there when the lift starts" she chuckled over the T.V. screen. It was on my second visit that I met Boris, and asked if he were advising on the construction work too. "No you see that structure over there." I looked out and saw what I had taken to be another part of the station. "Second station for other sky lift", I floated there in amazement. "we rocket it over to Moon, send down ground part by conventional rockets and build it dam quick."
He explained how Conrich wanted to mine useful minerals on the Moon, in exchange for an equal mass of useless Earth rock. The gas for the Moon lift would be stored in banks of huge air tanks, which would eventually be replaced by CO2 as the Moon operation used it up. Then a hydroponic plant would continually recirculate the process. "All run off solar power again, there's a lot of free surface for panels, but surly you knew. To get Aardvarks to planet X you need to leave planet Y and fly across. Y Earth X Moon yes." "So we will still be using fuel to pass from the Earth to the Moon", the thought reached my lips as it did my mind. "Yes but Moon rich in Tritium. Good source of Hydrogen 3, very fine fuel, enough to get us out there." He pointed to the stars visible through the viewport.
In not too long a time the ropes were tethered, and so too the rings followed and tests were made. Finally the station was powered from Earth by cables run up in the structure of the tower. It shone out like a beacon atop the glowing tower beneath. The press was restricted to video link cameras in our control, as security was and always had to be so tight. Ralph was still up top, he said he preferred it there and Boris was on the moon, but the rest of my colleagues from the plane and Susan assembled for the inaugural run.
Mr. Conrich appeared and said, "just waiting for aunty." I wondered who this mysterious relative was. Then to general gasps of amazement, a uniformed vet led out an Aardvark. Conrich explained that Anty was very fond of ants and termites, but for this trip he would be dinning on Peanut Butter. "He prefers it but couldn't get it in the wild. Besides all those ants would play havoc with the space ship. For my part I have to give up a good drink, seems booze an space doesn’t mix either."
The trip across to the Moon for all of us would include a special section for Anty and his keeper, on a rotating arm so they could relax in one gee. "The rest of us will have to float", explained Conrich. Then we landed, and if we didn't take an Aardvark to planet X, or at least the Moon. Then the T.V. cameras broadcasting round the world had to be wrong. As Conrich sat at a desk, with Anty crouched on it munching on a pot of Peanut Butter, and behind him a full-length view port of extra thick Plexiglas, showing the backdrop of our own satellite from ground level. He beamed out his ever-friendly smile.
Advivum
Simon woke with a pounding headache; still you didn't go on a stag night every weekend. His blurry eyes tried to make sense of the other recumbent figures in the room, why was it swaying so? And then it hit him, it wasn't a room, he was in a van. What had his best man Tony done? I'd better not find any tattoos Simon thought as he struggled to raise himself at least into a sitting position. His tongue felt like he had swallowed a carpet and that puddle of carrots in the corner accounted for the empty rumbling feeling in his stomach, but who were these people crashed out around him. He still felt dizzy, would he be able to get to the wedding, if not, he shuddered to think what Mary would say. On reflection Simon decided a stag night only hours before your wedding was probably a mistake.
Then the van ground to a halt, and as the morning light swept in it blinded Simon. He could just make out the silhouettes of his companions rising. Awoken by the sun and staggering out on wobbly legs he followed the crowd. The dust-strewn sunlight was almost too much for Simon and he had to shield his eyes, but he was stirred in to action when the whirr of the electronic motor told him of the departing van.
"Merde" he screamed, this day could surly get no worst. As he grew accustomed to the light he realised that apart from the few buildings a short way off he was literally in the middle of nowhere. Thinking has quick as he could; he turned to one of his companions. "How do I get back to town buddy? Did Tony pay you to Shanghai me for a joke?” The nearest man just looked at him and then replied, "my name is Andrew not buddy and I think we are on the Moorhouse ranch not this place you call Shanghai."
Simons jaw dropped, they had to be androids. How had he gotten in with a crowd of them, but before he could pull himself together a man and a woman strode up to the group. "My name is Ann Droid, only joking it's Sara Moorhouse and you will be working here for the next six months. Today we will be showing you around the farm." Simon raised his hand and blurted out "are you an android?" "No that was only a joke" the woman replied a bit stymied, they usually didn't respond to jokes perhaps this was a new model. The company was always upgrading the product. "You see,” continued Simon, "I'm not one either."
Sara took a closer look but of course that proved little, the synthetic life corporation made them a little too well these days. She turned to Hank. "This one's good, we may need a Turing shroud test." Hank shrugged. "You know Billy's the only one qualified on that, and he's off for the weekend what with his dad being ill." Simon having heard all this pushed forward. "But I'm telling you I'm human and I've got to get back to town by four, I'm getting married." Sara turned to Hank "done the head count?" "Yep a bakers dozen, unlucky for someone." Turning to Simon, Sara addressed him personally. "O.K. Simon you come with me while Hank shows these fellows round the farm" and with a knowing nod to Hank she strode off with Simon in tow.
"If you could
just step in here." Sara indicated a door in the main building. Simon did and was surprised to get it slammed behind him, he turned to get out but a click of finality told him he was trapped, so he looked about. The room was bare except for a plastic chair, but was at least clean and decorated. Outside Sara was looking for Fred the mechanic, she found him in the garage working on a tractor. "Fred we've got a problem, one of the units says it's a human. I think it's angling to escape, can you keep an eye on it while I go phone for help. Why Billy's dad had to go ill on an induction day."
The mechanic started to clean the oil off his hands. "Sure, it's a pity Billy's not here to do the test. Say why do they call it the Turing Shroud test anyway, I thought that was some kind of holy relic?" Fred had got a good lather up now. Distractedly his boss replied. "It's from an old test called the Turing test, to see if a computer could fool someone on the other end of a screen and key board set up. To think it was just a human typing away. When they started on androids that looked real enough, they wanted to make sure they could tell that they were androids. So they came up with the test
