However, shortly after takeoff disaster strikes the mission, and the chances of the crew making it to Enceladus, let alone back home, look grim.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Ice Moon – The Boxset
All four bestselling books of the Ice Moon series are now offered as a set, available only in e-book format.
The Enceladus Mission: Is there really life on Saturn's moon Enceladus? ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, makes its way to the icy world where an underground ocean is suspected to be home to primitive life forms.
The Titan Probe: An old robotic NASA probe mysteriously awakens on the methane moon of Titan. The ILSE crew tries to solve the riddle—and discovers a dangerous secret.
The Io Encounter: Finally bound for Earth, ILSE makes it as far as Jupiter when the crew receives a startling message. The volcanic moon Io may harbor a looming threat that could wipe out Earth as we know it.
Return to Enceladus: The crew gets an offer to go back to Enceladus. Their mission—to recover the body of Dr. Marchenko, left for dead on the original expedition. Not everyone is working toward the same goal. Could it be their unwanted crew member?
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Proxima Rising
Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth’s space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away. The unusual crew faces a Herculean task—should they survive the journey. No one knows what to expect from this alien planet.
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Proxima Dying
An intelligent robot and two young people explore Proxima Centauri b, the planet orbiting our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Their ideas about the mission quickly prove grossly naive as they venture about on this planet of extremes.
Where are the senders of the call for help that lured them here? They find no one and no traces on the daylight side, so they place their hopes upon an expedition into the eternal ice on Proxima b's dark side. They not only face everlasting night, the team encounters grave dangers. A fateful decision will change the planet forever.
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Proxima Dreaming
Alone and desperate, Eve sits in the control center of an alien structure. She has lost the other members of the team sent to explore exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. By mistake she has triggered a disastrous process that threatens to obliterate the planet. Just as Eve fears her best option may be a quick death, a nearby alien life form awakens from a very long sleep. It has only one task: to find and neutralize the destructive intruder from a faraway place.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mars Nation 1
NASA finally made it. The very first human has just set foot on the surface of our neighbor planet. This is the start of a long research expedition that sent four scientists into space.
But the four astronauts of the NASA crew are not the only ones with this destination. The privately financed ‘Mars for Everyone’ initiative has also targeted the Red Planet. Twenty men and women have been selected to live there and establish the first extraterrestrial settlement.
Challenges arise even before they reach Mars orbit. The MfE spaceship Santa Maria is damaged along the way. Only the four NASA astronauts can intervene and try to save their lives.
No one anticipates the impending catastrophe that threatens their very existence—not to speak of the daily hurdles that an extended stay on an alien planet sets before them. On Mars, a struggle begins for limited resources, human cooperation, and just plain survival.
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Mars Nation 2
A woman presumed dead fights her way through the hostile deserts of Mars. With her help, the NASA astronauts orphaned on the Red Planet hope to be able to solve their very worst problem. But their hopes are shattered when an unexpected menace a
rises and threatens to destroy everything the remnant of humanity has built on the planet. They need a miracle—or a ghost from the past whose true intentions are unknown.
Mars Nation 2 continues the story of the last representatives of Earth, who have found asylum on our neighboring planet, hoping to build a future in this alien world.
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Mars Nation 3
Does the secret of Mars lurk beneath the surface of its south pole? A lone astronaut searches for clues about the earlier inhabitants of the Red Planet. Meanwhile, Rick Summers, having assumed the office of Mars City's Administrator by deceit and manipulation, tries to unify the people on Mars with the weapons under his control. Then Summers stumbles upon so powerful an evil that even he has no means to overcome it.
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Glossary of Acronyms
AI – Artificial Intelligence
CPR – CardioPulmonary Resuscitation
FTL – Faster-Than-Light (travel)
IDA – Instrument Deployment Arm
IDC – Instrument Deployment Camera
JAXA – Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency
LCVG – Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment
LED – Light-Emitting Diode
MfE – Mars for Everyone
NASA – National Space and Aeronautics Administration
Metric to English Conversions
It is assumed that by the time the events of this novel take place, the United States will have joined the rest of the world and will be using the International System of Units, the modern form of the metric system.
Length:
centimeter = 0.39 inches
meter = 1.09 yards, or 3.28 feet
kilometer = 1093.61 yards, or 0.62 miles
Area:
square centimeter = 0.16 square inches
square meter = 1.20 square yards
square kilometer = 0.39 square miles
Weight:
gram = 0.04 ounces
kilogram = 35.27 ounces, or 2.20 pounds
Volume:
liter = 1.06 quarts, or 0.26 gallons
cubic meter = 35.31 cubic feet, or 1.31 cubic yards
Temperature:
To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 and then add 32
To convert Kelvin to Celsius, subtract 273.15
Excerpt: The Death of the Universe
Cycle YA7.3, K2-288Bb
“Breakfast, John!”
Kepler lifted his head. This butler annoyed him.
“Johannes! How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Excuse me, Jo... hannes.”
The butler pronounced the name with an English ‘J’. Incorrectly. Kepler sighed.
“Think of it as a ‘Y’. Yohannes.”
“Wy-o-hannes.”
“Never mind. Just call me Kepler.”
He got up from the seat in which he had spent the night in sleep mode. He could smell fresh coffee and croissants.
“Very well,” said the butler, “I’ll call you Kepler.”
The butler bowed perfectly, as far as Kepler could tell, and led him into the neighboring room. Where did Zhenyi even get this antiquated model? He estimated its age to be at least two kilocycles. Old-world butlers had come into fashion again then for a short time. He had externalized his memories of that year on Terra, so he couldn’t remember any other details. But this butler could be several mega-years old. Who knew, these days? Kepler wondered whether he should ask him, but that seemed somehow improper. The butler was a machine, but he played his role so believably that Kepler felt a certain respect for him.
“Please excuse me, venerable Kepler,” said the butler, “for not meeting your language requirements. My vocalization memory is no longer as flexible since the last mega-flare from K2-288B.”
“Why haven’t you repaired it?”
“It wasn’t a priority.”
Of course. How long had Zhenyi been underway? The butler hadn’t had anything to do for a few cycles, until Kepler’s arrival on K2-288Bb.
“Your breakfast,” said the butler, pointing at the table.
The table looked like it was made of wood. It was an exceptional imitation. You could almost smell the scent of the hardwood. The room was bathed in an atmospheric light. The walls glowed a warm yellow. On the far side a fire blazed in a fireplace. Kepler went around the table. The fire radiated heat. Flames licked around the logs. Such excellent work! Zhenyi had always had a penchant for luxury. These weren’t algorithms at work, the hologram must have been designed by hand. There were only two holographic masters capable of something like this.
Kepler kneeled in front of the fireplace. The master must have left his signature behind somewhere. Maybe he’d recognize it. He stretched out his hand to lift up the uppermost log.
“Ouch!” Kepler cried out in shock, pulling back his hand. Either the hologram had no safety circuit or...
“Butler, what’s wrong with this hologram?”
Kepler looked at the hand he had held in the flames. Two large blisters were forming on the skin, white in the middle and pink around the edges. He activated the pain sensors that had automatically switched themselves off, savoring the pain. The wounds burned like hell. He concentrated his perception on them. This was life. It wasn’t so easy to be in touch with it anymore.
“The fireplace is not a hologram,” said the butler. “The wood comes from Terra.”
Was that something resembling pride in his voice? If he hadn’t misheard, then this butler couldn’t be a level 1 AI, as prescribed for ordinary servants. That would fit with Zhenyi. She liked pushing boundaries. But what had the butler just said? Kepler swung around to face the flames again.
Real wood was burning in this fireplace! Kepler couldn’t believe it. Doubtless Zhenyi knew what she was doing. She was burning biomass, organically grown! There had been no forests on Terra for a long time now. The last tree had been incinerated when the Sun had expanded into a red giant mega-cycles ago. Or was the butler lying to him? Level 1 AIs couldn’t lie, and nor could a level 2, if Zhenyi had upgraded him illegally.
Kepler stood up. He breathed deeply, then he turned back to the table. Was the food also biologically generated? Nothing here would surprise him now.
“Please have a seat,” said the butler, and pulled out the only chair.
Kepler walked around the table and accepted the invitation. The butler pushed the chair in. The wood creaked as he sat down.
In front of him stood a large plate and a glass. It was a simple drinking glass, transparent and colorless, a narrow cylindrical shape. He picked it up and took a sip. It contained cool, clear water with almost no taste. On the plate were vegetables and half a roasted fowl, probably a chicken, but Kepler wasn’t certain. In the last few kilocycles he had nourished himself bio-optimally. The chicken could also be a pigeon – or a duck. He could no longer remember the actual size of these terrestrial animals. This knowledge was most likely among the memories he had externalized. It was the only way to stop the memory load of so many megacycles from gradually poisoning his brain.
He reached for the cutlery. A knife and fork lay to the right of his plate. He carefully sliced off a piece of the animal, pushed it into his mouth and closed his eyes. It was chicken, there was no mistaking it. He hadn’t forgotten that flavor. He chewed thoroughly and swallowed, then opened his eyes again.
“This is chicken,” he said.
“Very good, Johannes,” answered the butler. “You’re the first guest in a long time who’s recognized it.”
Johannes. Oh well, he couldn’t help it. Kepler was amused in spite of himself at the way the butler praised him like a small child.
“Is it... from Terra?” he asked.
The butler smiled.
“No. You know yourself that’s not possible.”
Kepler nodded. Terra had been dead for megacycles. The organic material of the chicken would long since have decompose
d. Nano-fabricators must have manufactured it here on K2-288Bb.
“But the wood?”
“That was a happy coincidence.”
“Coincidence?”
“A ninety-niner had a cargo of wood. The ship had made a complete circuit of the Milky Way, but the wood had hardly aged. Zhenyi bought it.”
That was a more or less believable explanation. At 99 percent of the speed of light, time passes very slowly. But this wood must have enormous value – and his friend was simply burning it?
“Why doesn’t Zhenyi build something out of it?” he asked.
“I can’t speak for my owner. But this table is built from the wood. I have instructions to ensure the utmost comfort of the guests.”
“Thank you, I’m honored,” said Kepler.
He wouldn’t get any more than that out of the butler. Butler AIs are optimized to evade uncomfortable questions. Instead he concentrated on the food. The chicken was truly delicious. The fibers of the meat almost melted on his tongue. The skin was browned and had a wonderful aroma. And the vegetables perfectly enhanced the flavor with herbs and sweet notes.
Kepler pushed back the chair. His plate was empty.
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