Silent Sun: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q Morris

“Of course you were, but that isn’t the same thing because I knew all of you.” He deftly released her bra, which she only wore to keep her contours under wraps.

  “If two people know each other it gets boring?” she asked.

  “I sure hope not.” His hands held her close and the massage transformed into a caress.

  “But we can’t know that for sure,” she added.

  “What can we know for sure?” he quipped. His fingertips traced her navel and she pulled her shirt over her head.

  “Nothing,” she said, turning into his embrace.

  “And everything.”

  July 17, 2074, Paris

  Ha! Finally. He had caught up with that whippersnapper, who must have become lazy these past few weeks for lack of competition. Otherwise Alain never would have had a chance to recover his lead from the last two months. Would the user whom he had divested of first place even know who he was? Probably not; the leaderboard listed him simply as ‘The Engineer.’ Alain felt an urge to enter his full name instead. His mother, however, had taught him that boasting was inappropriate.

  The doorbell rang. Media had kept him on his toes right after his return two weeks ago, but things had gone quiet recently. He checked his watch. It was close to 11:30. At half past two he was due at a local school. They were expecting him to talk about how it felt to be in space.

  He went to the door. Arthur Eigenbrod was there, wheezing and perspiring. He held a huge bouquet of flowers.

  “Monsieur Petit, I wanted to thank you personally.”

  “But that is not necessary,” he replied.

  It really was not necessary. His wife would have been glad to receive the flowers, but he didn’t care much for them. He would give them to the single mother on the first floor as soon as Eigenbrod left.

  “May I come in?”

  “Of course! Please excuse me, I was lost in thought.”

  “In space maybe?”

  “No, with the single mother on the floor below us, to be honest.”

  “Monsieur Petit, is that a new side to you?”

  “Not what you are thinking. But please do come in. I am on a schedule today.”

  Arthur stepped over the sill and went to the living room like somebody who felt at home. And he had been here often enough. He went to the table and sat on the same chair as always. Alain was quite pleased that he did not have to direct his visitor, as everything went quicker that way.

  “So,” Eigenbrod started, “thank you very much, once again, for that story. It has gained me a promotion, by the way. My colleague Lemaire is quite envious. I guess that is his reward for entertaining the intern rather than visiting you.”

  “Didn’t you mention your colleague had another assignment at the time?”

  Eigenbrod appraised him in surprise. “You have a perfect memory. You should be a journalist or an actor! To be honest with you, I lost a bet back then, and that is why I stood before your door and not Lemaire.”

  “Well, I prefer you by far, without even knowing your colleague.”

  “And you? I heard the Ministry of Education has offered you a post as a school ambassador?”

  “Yes, and I’ve accepted it. I visit schools and talk about the mission a bit.”

  “And the medal?”

  “I may call myself Commander of the Légion d’Honneur now, and wear a brooch.”

  “So the expedition didn’t change your life so much? Do people recognize you in the streets?”

  “They always did. The Moroccan fruit dealer on the main road and Geraldine at the bar on the corner greet me every time they see me, like always.”

  “I understand.”

  Eigenbrod didn’t say anything anymore. It was quiet for a while. Alain glanced at his watch once in a while to make sure he would be on time for the school event. What is the editor really here for?

  “Monsieur Petit,” Eigenbrod finally started, “I have a personal question. The answer is just for me and will never leave this room.” He pointed to his head. “But it bothers me so much that I must ask you.”

  “Then go ahead already.”

  “Is it really true that nobody got on board the alien space station?”

  Alain scratched his chin. The reporter deserved an honest response. He believed that Arthur would keep it a secret. Still… it would be wrong to provide the full truth. If things got out, they would take on a life of their own. The danger for Artem was simply too great.

  “Arthur,” he said, “I promise you on my honor that no member of our crew was on board the alien station.”

  “Thank you,” Eigenbrod said, and stood up. “I better leave you now.”

  The reporter seemed to be relieved, despite the answer probably not being what he had wanted to hear. And Alain felt no pangs of guilt since the answer had been true.

  He bade Eigenbrod good-bye at the door. Despite his answer, Alain had the distinct feeling he would be seeing Arthur again soon. The reporter hadn’t asked that question without a reason. He probably had to get to the bottom of a rumor or something.

  Back in the living room Alain sat on the chair just vacated by the journalist.

  “Monsieur Petit,” he asked out loud, as though he were Arthur, “how did space feel for you?”

  He quickly moved back to his own seat.

  “Zero gravity is great,” he said, “especially for old bones like mine!”

  September 7, 2074, Earth Orbit

  The brief vacation on Earth had been a mistake. Artem—officially called Dmitri now, and claiming Byelorussian nationality—had never had Sobachka spayed. The risk of her meeting a male dog in space had been zero. A week ago that had changed considerably, when the total number of space dogs had increased by two males and a female. The little ones were doing splendidly and had everyone on the Ark laughing when they fell over themselves exploring the space station. Poor Sobachka had her hands full keeping her family together. Try as she might, Artem had to help her once in a while.

  But it wasn’t like he didn’t have time. Officially he was responsible for investigating the solar space station. But the world was taking its sweet time when it came to providing the necessary resources. And every passing week increased the risk of some person or group getting the station under their own control, despite the United Nations declaring it a prohibited zone. Even Russia had agreed to the declaration. Artem supposed the RB Group was lying low for a while to let the dust settle. Karl Freitag had told him about Amy’s visit to Akademgorodok, the research center of the conglomerate, where she had spelled things out very clearly to Shostakovich.

  Artem wasn’t upset with the delays if he was being honest. After all, he had been able to get Irina off the Mercury base under a pretext and now she was the one and only member of his team. And she was his mate. The woman had a refreshingly practical way of dealing with issues that he would stew over. But she also knew when to leave him alone. And she loved Sobachka just as much as he did.

  September 9, 2074, Maui

  It is hot today. Heather was wearing a lightweight dress, yet she was perspiring already. At least she had no competition out here. Everybody else had fled to air-conditioned rooms. The wall she always sat on had a narrow section that stood in the shadow of the telescope building. She would sit here, eat the sandwich her daughter had prepared, and enjoy her favorite view.

  Routine had returned and she was grateful for that. She had relished the first days alone in her room at home, with no snoring colleagues or rackety life support. Soon, though, she had started to miss Callis’ warmth against her back, the light touch of his breath on her neck, and his embrace. He had requested a few weeks to wrap up things at JPL. Then—he had promised her while they were still on the Ark—then, he would come to her. They had not arranged any time or place. The right time, he had said, would come by itself.

  She was not so sure what to think, as she hadn’t heard from him since then. The ‘few weeks’ had turned into two months. Callis hadn’t called. They hadn’t set up anyth
ing, but it felt wrong to her that she should break the silence. It felt like a bad omen: As though, if she were to get in touch, it would have bad consequences as happened in the biblical story of Lot, whose wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back in spite of the strict warnings not to do so. Heather had Callis’s official number at the JPL but neither his address nor private phone. And he knew only that she was working at the DKIST on Maui. The scant time they’d had together seemed too valuable to waste on such details. Quite the mistake, it seemed clear to her now.

  She wrapped the remainder of her sandwich back into the paper and looked out into the distance. The ocean had put up its finest today. The view was clear and the rare cloud provided the frame for a picture she could never get enough of.

  “Now I see why you wanted to come back here.”

  She hadn’t heard him arrive. Am I dreaming this? Heather did not turn for fear of destroying the illusion. No, not a dream. The weight of his hands on her shoulders spoke the truth. The man was truly part of her physical world. Callis had come. She leaned her head to the left and caressed his hand with her cheek. His other hand removed a strand of hair from her face.

  Heather closed her eyes. The sea had not left her. It would always be there.

  Author's Note

  A very, very warm ‘welcome back!’ I know you have come directly from the sun’s atmosphere, so you have not yet reacclimated to our comparatively cold weather. There is a lot going on in and around our sun. Even if there is no alien megastructure—that we know of—there are still many fascinating discoveries to make. I deliberately made sure to describe the solar cage in such a way that today’s technology cannot detect it. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has begun orbiting around our star in a very wide orbit, and soon it will be close enough to really feel its pulse. And there is more to come, as quite a few solar probes are in the planning phases.

  Solar astronomy can also tell us a lot about our universe. The sun is a typical, relatively quiet star. There are more red dwarfs out there, yes, but as a ‘main sequence star,’ the sun is mostly typical, yet it has secrets. Like the anomaly I wrote into the novel, our sun is unusually quiet. Many red dwarfs are much more active, hurling flares at their planets and making them uninhabitable. Lucky us to have such a gentle star!

  Personally, I enjoyed revisiting mathematics while writing this book. When I was still in school, I was quite fond of math. I went to a math club twice a week. Instead of playing football, I challenged myself in the Mathematics Olympiad and won a regional medal. I never made it to national level, the level of true geniuses, but it was fun to think about a problem for as long as half a day, and find a solution. Or not. I knew, though, I would never become a mathematician. These scientists think about a problem for a year, or two, or ten, and then find a solution. Or not!

  I would have loved to explain mathematics to kids. I think everyone can like math—if it is taught the right way. Math can be really fascinating. Think about Pi, which is such a strange number. And then change the definition of distance and you get a much easier Pi. Now, certain practical problems are easier to solve, and it still describes reality.

  Have you had your own adventures with math? I’d like to hear about them. Just write to brandon@hard-sf.com and let me know.

  In my next novel, a special kind of mathematics will also play a key role. We will talk about nothing. THE nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. What is it? For my protagonists, it’s their lives, because a huge rift—that consists of nothing—cuts through the sky. It looks dangerous, but it turns out it’s not a problem at all. At least that’s what people get told. But is it true? Preorder The Rift here:

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  Thank you so much!

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  Also by Brandon Q. Morris

  The Hole

  A mysterious object threatens to destroy our solar system. The survival of humankind is at risk, but nobody takes the warning of young astrophysicist Maribel Pedreira seriously. At the same time, an exiled crew of outcasts mines for rare minerals on a lone asteroid.

  When other scientists finally acknowledge Pedreira’s alarming discovery, it becomes clear that these outcasts are the only ones who may be able to save our world, knowing that The Hole hurtles inexorably toward the sun.

  3,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/527017

  Silent Sun

  Is our sun behaving differently from other stars? When an amateur astronomer discovers something strange on telescopic solar pictures, an explanation must be found. Is it merely artefact? Or has he found something totally unexpected?

  An expert international crew is hastily assembled, a spaceship is speedily repurposed, and the foursome is sent on the ride of their lives. What challenges will they face on this spur-of-the-moment mission to our central star?

  What awaits all of them is critical, not only for understanding the past, but even more so for the future of life on Earth.

  3,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/527020

  The Rift

  There is a huge, bold black streak in the sky. Branches appear out of nowhere over North America, Southern Europe, and Central Africa. People who live beneath The Rift can see it. But scientists worldwide are distressed—their equipment cannot pick up any type of signal from it.

  The rift appears to consist of nothing. Literally. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Most people are curious but not overly concerned. The phenomenon seems to pose no danger. It is just there.

  Then something jolts the most hardened naysayers, and surpasses the worst nightmares of the world’s greatest scientists—and rocks their understanding of the universe.

  3,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/534368

  The Enceladus Mission (Ice Moon 1)

  In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon.

  The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon. If life does indeed exist on Enceladus, it could only be at the bottom of the salty, ice covered ocean, which formed billions of years ago.

  However, shortly after takeoff disaster strikes the mission, and the chances of the crew making it to Enceladus, let alone back home, look grim.

  2,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/526999

  The Titan Probe (Ice Moon 2)

  In 2005, the robotic probe “Huygens” lands on Saturn’s moon Titan. 40 years later, a radio telescope receives signals from the far away moon that can only come from the long forgotten lander.

  At the same time, an expedition returns from neighbouring moon Enceladus. The crew lands on Titan and finds a dangerous secret that risks their return to Earth. Meanwhile, on Enceladus a deathly race has started that nobody thought was possible. And its outcome can only be decided by the

  astronauts that are stuck on Titan.

  3,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/527000

  The Io Encounter (Ice Moon 3)

  Jupiter’s moon Io has an extremely hostile environment. There are hot lava streams, seas of boiling sulfur, and frequent volcanic eruptions straight from Dante’s Inferno, in addition to constant radiation bombardment and a surface temperature hovering at minus 180 degrees Celsius.

  Is it really home to a great danger that threatens all
of humanity? That’s what a surprise message from the life form discovered on Enceladus seems to indicate.

  The crew of ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, finally on their longed-for return to Earth, reluctantly chooses to accept a diversion to Io, only to discover that an enemy from within is about to destroy all their hopes of ever going home.

  3,99 $ – hard-sf.com/links/527008

  Return to Enceladus (Ice Moon 4)

  Russian billionaire Nikolai Shostakovitch makes an offer to the former crew of the spaceship ILSE. He will finance a return voyage to the icy moon Enceladus. The offer is too good to refuse—the expedition would give them the unique opportunity to recover the body of their doctor, Dimitri Marchenko.

  Everyone on board knows that their benefactor acts out of purely personal motivations… but the true interests of the tycoon and the dangers that he conjures up are beyond anyone’s imagination.

  3,99 € – hard-sf.com/links/527011

  The Sun—A Guided Tour

  Introduction

  The sun—Old High German goddess of the sun: Sunna; Old English for sun: Sunne—is the star that you know best. It has illuminated you, literally, since your birth. If you get too little exposure to its rays you fall ill. If you have too much exposure you will be sick, too. The cycle of the sun determines your daily routine, even though mankind today does not have to endure darkness when there is no sun. Regardless, your biological clock remains tied to the star in the sky of this planet. That is unlikely to change even when, someday, we are settled on other worlds.