Dark Nights

by Christopher A. Gray

  He thought Jamieson had a similar demeanor to Agent Bishop, though maybe a little toned down from Bishop’s professional soldier persona. Jamieson would be spending weeks in close quarters with the rest of the team so it was fortunate he was fairly affable. Regardless of Bertrand’s cooperation, it would be a comfort to have a Jamieson sharing the spacecraft’s controls.

  The two men shook hands.

  “Nice to see you again Dr. Lockwood.”

  “You’re going to be a very busy man Doug,” Leach said. “Commander Jamieson will be assisting you and Dr. Persaud once you touch down on FLO.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Doug said, smiling.

  “We have the makings of an outstanding team,” Bertrand said expansively. “I don’t envision any problems along the way, so long as everyone is mindful of their duties.” It came out sounding a bit pompous, but Bertrand looked absolutely sincere.

  “Do we have a telemetry update on Bishop?” asked Doug.

  “He’s on course and on schedule,” replied Leach. “Despite being faster than anything we’ve ever launched before, the vehicle is slower than the Copernicus. Utilizing Venus will allow him to arrive a couple of days before you.”

  The launch timing was fortuitous. Earth, Venus and FLO were in the correct orbital positions so that Bishop’s vehicle could take advantage of a Venus slingshot. The later launch date of Doug’s team meant that they could just barely use that same window, but only if they launched immediately, forgoing the much needed training. That was a bad idea, so they were going to use the Sun just as the Envoy had done. It would give Bishop time to complete the journey and establish himself on FLO.

  Aside from covert operations and select White House personnel that were involved in launching Bishop’s top secret mission, the only other members of Doug’s team that were aware of it were Bertrand and Jamieson. Bertrand had been instrumental in providing logistics for Bishop’s landing and operative contacts on FLO.

  As Leach finished speaking the lights flickered. Power hadn’t returned to normal in the area yet because continued, small quakes kept damaging some of the repair work and the diesel backup generators weren’t completely reliable. Yet another reminder of the reason for the mission.

  – 54 –

  An hour later Doug was in a private meeting with Leach and Dr. Persaud. They were talking about the most important part of Doug’s mission. Dr. Persaud was attempting to convey the difficulties that might be encountered in any direct communication with Mekhos. Communiqués from the US government on FLO had implied that the team would be allowed some sort of interaction with the quantum supercomputer. Whether it would be direct interaction or indirect was unknown. Leach reiterated the importance of their primary task.

  “Nathan Smith,” he said to Doug, “will be our diplomatic advocate, interacting with other ambassadors on FLO. He’s scheduled to attend meetings with their UN and White House. You and Dr. Persaud will be our primary practical diplomats for Mekhos and any of its human administrators. Once on FLO you may be asked to accompany Smith on his goodwill tour, but we want you to clearly define your role as a scientist primarily concerned with establishing a dialog with Mekhos. We don’t yet know if you’ll be allowed to speak with the machine individually or as part of a team.

  “Dr. Persaud has consulted with certain members of the Envoy about how Mekhos is likely to react or respond to a wide variety of questions. If the two of you are able to communicate directly with the machine, we want Dr. Persaud to do most of the talking. You’ll be her backup.”

  “The key is to not get overly passionate in any discussion,” Persaud said. “Mekhos understands logic above all else. Therefore it would not be productive to try and appeal to its emotional side. Mekhos doesn’t have one. Bertrand told me unequivocally that our clues about which direction Mekhos might lean in any conversation will come strictly through spoken language. Its word choices. Mekhos obviously does not provide body language and it provides only a few nuances of inflection in its speech.”

  “Will we be reading from a script?” Doug asked. “A guideline that we can study and rehearse and improvise on makes sense, but a fixed script might be limiting. Damaging, even.”

  “I will have a script, yes. However we won’t know if any prepared words will be appropriate until we actually speak with Mekhos. Just as with a stranger you might engage in a conversation, we won’t know how to best plead our case until we get first-hand experience with the machine, despite any prior knowledge the Envoy has given us.”

  “You both know the stakes are high,” Leach said. “You are going to ask Mekhos to help Earth by either reversing its theft of the Moon, something we think it is unlikely to do, or by replacing the Moon with a large body from somewhere else. You will also ask Mekhos if other solutions are available. We’ve concluded that there are many reasons Mekhos may not be interested in making the attempt. It might not like its chances, or it may even believe a second Earth in this solar system is redundant, and should be allowed to perish. Neither line of thinking means it cannot be swayed. Obviously we ‒ you, that is ‒ are going to try.”

  “We’ll make every effort to plead our case,” Doug said, leaning back in his chair. “Mekhos hasn’t shown the slightest inkling that it gives a damn, at least not according to the Envoy, so that tells me that nobody has earnestly asked our question. So maybe we actually have a chance. Best case is that I ask the question and Mekhos says ‘Hey Doug, I’m glad you asked. I didn’t know you needed my help.’ Mekhos may even have reasons for letting our world devolve that it’s willing to discuss with me. Either way, Miekela and I get to make our case. Is there a contingency plan in the event we fail? I’ve always assumed that this group isn’t the only one looking for answers and solutions.”

  Doug chose his words carefully. Of course there was a contingency plan. Bishop was being sent as an infiltrator, but Persaud didn’t know that. Doug wanted to gauge her and Leach’s reaction to his question. Perhaps there was a plan C as well.

  Miekela and Leach looked at each other briefly. Miekela then looked away from both of them.

  “No. This is the only plan. What other plan could there be? The Copernicus is the only spacecraft capable of reaching FLO. The only backup is the thoughts and prayers of a grateful nation and a grateful world.”

  Doug looked carefully at Leach, then at Miekela, then back to Leach. Bullshit, Doug thought. But whatever else was being planned, common sense dictated that the less Doug and his team knew about it, the better off they’d all be. Mind you, Doug mused to himself, if there is a third plan, something besides Bishop’s mission, I’d prefer not to be an unwitting piece of bait. He nodded to both of them.

  “Good luck,” said Leach.

  – 55 –

  The accelerated training schedule was, in a word, shocking. Classroom instruction on ship systems, FLO sociology and political systems, mission science and simulations was relentless. They were moved back and forth from simulators on which they did prep and practice, to the Copernicus itself. Twice each day they were suited up and immersed in a neutral buoyancy tank to perform various technical tasks and exercises. Once each day they underwent physical stress testing. As an avid cyclist Doug had thought he was in good shape, but his sessions on a stationary bike in the physiotherapy rooms while his respiration was monitored were akin to pedaling full-speed up an endless mountain. His lungs and legs were burning, sweat was pouring off of him, yet all the doctor in charge yelled repeatedly was, “Faster! Push yourself! Get ready for your mission!” Several teams members collapsed during the first few sessions. They were give oxygen, fluids, electrolytes by IV, then forced right back at it. The stronger you got, the harder you were pushed.

  Each day they were all rounded up for decompression exercises in case the ship’s cabin lost atmospheric pressure. But the worst of it all, at least for the first few days were the parabolic flights on a KC-135 Stratotanker designed to allow them to experience brief periods of weightlessness. Doug managed
to get through the zero-gravity practice flights without actually throwing up, but Foley, Persaud and Smith weren’t so lucky. Jamieson, the seasoned fighter and Shuttle pilot, looked like he was in his element. By the fourth flight nobody on the team vomited, but many still felt nausea as their bodies struggled to adjust.

  In these practical training sessions the backup team sometimes trained with the primary, and sometimes separately as space considerations dictated. Aside from a few stolen conversations and the occasional hug of encouragement, Janet and Doug trained as professionals focused on the task at hand.

  It was a grueling schedule, made even more so by the quick succession of diplomacy and protocol classes, in which they had to forget about significant physical aches and pains in order to focus their attention. The classes were important for all of them but especially for Doug and Persaud, who were faced with working through a mountain of research and recommendations. Most of it was hugely speculative, about how to communicate with Mekhos. Envoy members had contributed to some of the research and it was that input on which Doug and Dr. Persaud spent the most time.

  Other sessions covering specific mission parameters were given to team members individually. It was exhausting work. Though he agreed the training was necessary, Bertrand assured everyone the design of the Envoy ship would allow them adequate space to rest and prepare for the ground mission.

  The crew had been provided with their blue Nomex flight suits early on in their training. Notwithstanding some contemporary NASA touches, they borrowed the design of those worn by the Envoy, including small patches that allowed the astronauts to affix themselves to a wall or chair while working or at rest, making it easier to remain stationary in a weightless environment. Retractable tethers scattered throughout the ship’s interior would serve the same purpose, as would patches on the soles of their feet.

  After being instructed on the utility of their suits Bertrand had led the team on a one-hour tour of the Envoy ship. This was the first time any of them had seen it up close, and it was impressive. Roughly the same length as the retired Space Shuttle, the craft was lower and sleeker, with refined proportions that made the old Shuttle look boxy and primitive in comparison. The roof was a solid piece, with no cargo doors. Similar to the Shuttle, the top half was white, the underside black, but with a thin blended layer that looked like a grey stripe in between. The name Copernicus was etched into this stripe just below and aft of the cockpit windows.

  The exterior heat-resistant tiles were much tougher than the fragile ones used on the Shuttle fleet. There was some scarring due to reentry and micro-object impact, but Bertrand explained the durability and insulation properties of the exterior were many times better and more effective that those on the Shuttle. No repair or maintenance would be required before their journey, even considering the ship had been within close proximity of the Sun for several days and would be again during the flight back to FLO.

  Bertrand’s voice input would allow Jamieson and him to fly the Copernicus. The Envoy had explained to their Earth handlers that any tampering with the ship’s internal systems would lead to complete inert shutdown at best, and self-destruction at worst, depending on the level of tampering. The landing gear would be inspected for safety reasons, since it had to be in good working order for takeoff. The tires were of standard size and as a precaution they were replaced by ground crews at Andrews, as was one leaking hydraulic strut in the starboard landing gear.

  As Doug had guessed during his observation of the Copernicus landing, there were jet engines embedded in the root of each wing for self-propelled flight through the atmosphere. Twin chemical engines of an advanced design were integrated in the tail, which had retractable coverings for better aerodynamics during air travel. The Copernicus was equally at home in the air as in space. It could be used as an airliner for intercontinental flight and reach its destination quickly thanks to its higher ceiling and hypersonic speed.

  For space flight a large fuel tank to feed the primary engines was required. Once they were aloft the ship would rendezvous and dock with the half-full fuel tank it had left in Earth orbit prior to landing.

  The inside of the Copernicus carried over the airliner-shuttle theme, with pilot and co-pilot adjacent to each other in a large, open cockpit, and crew seating for an additional four persons just aft of the cockpit area. Each crew member seat faced a small monitor and control panel in the seatback ahead of it. Front and side exterior windows and ports would tint automatically to protect the crew from intense sunlight.

  Just behind the crew seating was a lab area, with stand-up workstations and associated equipment for carrying out experiments. The walls of some could be closed off depending on the nature of the experiment. Midship was a bulkhead with a sliding door dividing the ship in half. There was a centrally located galley and mess area with table and bench seating for meals and a small lounge for relaxing. Sleeping quarters were located nearby with bunks, tethers and privacy curtains. The single head containing a shower and lavatory facilities was located further aft. At the tail of the ship were supply storage and utility compartments.

  Doug sat in one of the reclining lounge chairs. It felt extremely comfortable, more so than any chair he had ever used.

  “I see you have discovered one of the benefits of computer-aided development when unlimited funding is available and a quantum supercomputer is responsible for much of the engineering.” Bertrand watched Doug examine the chair. “Like many other items on the ship, they automatically conform to the user’s physical dimensions. I doubt even your own bed at home is as comfortable as that chair.”

  Doug was impressed. The ship was designed for maximum efficiency without compromising crew comfort. Despite the circumstances, he was looking forward to a trip on such an advanced vehicle.

  “I would imagine that most of your public ground vehicles and buildings offer some of the same advancements?”

  “Of course. Society has made great strides in the past fifteen years.”

  Meaning the time Mekhos has been actively involved in world issues, Doug thought, and it’s a subject Bertrand and I absolutely cannot discuss. There’s too much at stake for a sarcastic wink or an inadvertent reveal to sink us without a trace. Still, Doug wondered what life must be like on FLO. Less conflict, better education and employment for the masses, more leisure time. A machine directing it all. We ask for the rule we end up with most of the time, and we rebel when that rule limits our choices. No good deed goes unpunished.

  – 56 –

  Norman Stravinsky was having lunch at his favorite café. In between bites of his sandwich he scribbled down some speech ideas in a notebook. He could type or talk into his Raim but he preferred the notebook, which was easier to flip through for referencing earlier ideas. Sometimes he would lean back in his chair when deep in thought. He saw his driver a few tables over, reading a newspaper.

  As he was about to return to his notes he did a slight double-take as he noticed the other man two tables away from his driver, also reading a newspaper. It was the same man he saw talking to the police officer outside of his apartment yesterday. The man looked a little bigger and more menacing than the usual drivers or security personnel. Why would they double my security? he thought. Oh yes. With the visiting dignitaries from the Twin, the security experts were probably on higher alert than usual. Maybe it’s a good thing. Stravinsky turned his attention back to his notebook.

  – 57 –

  The physical training finally wound down the day before departure. At breakfast the next morning Doug was still a bit tired but noticed that Foley and Smith looked extremely fatigued. Both complained of nausea but Smith tried to put on a brave face, managing a shaky smile throughout the small talk as they ate. Foley operated under no such pretense, grunting answers as he glumly looked down at the table and sipped his coffee. Dr. Persaud looked better, tired but able to function normally. Jamieson and Bertrand looked as if they had just come from a typical morning workout, alert and friendly.
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  After breakfast the crew was prepped for their departure. Lift-off was scheduled for 10 00 hours, though lift-off was an inaccurate term in this case, since the ship would take off like a regular airplane using its wing engines, climb to 90,000 feet, then use the primaries to attain escape velocity.

  Doug and Janet had spent a final night together. They talked for an hour in the dark.

  “I’m actually looking forward to being your remote backup,” said Janet. “Should you become incapacitated ‒ say from eating that chocolate cake you’re tempted by, since I won’t be around to eat half of it with the second fork ‒ I’ll be more than happy to speak with Mekhos or his handlers in your place.”

  “Yeah, yeah, and you would do a much better job even from 300 million kilometers away, I get it. I might as well take a vacation while I’m there, and visit Paris without you.”

  She jabbed him in the ribs as he cried out in mock pain.

  “Don’t you dare! Neither one of us has been to Paris and we’re going to visit it together, here,” she said. “And besides, you can’t speak a word of French. How are you going to order anything without me?”

  They were silent for a moment.

  “We’ll see each other when I’m back in a few months. Even a partial mission success might be enough to make a difference.”

  Doug knew Janet wasn’t fooled by any suggestions about partial success, but he wanted to insist on as much hope as possible, not just about returning to Earth but doing so in one piece.

  After breakfast the crew was given a final briefing. Doug thought Foley still looked pale but his mood was improving. Besides having been college friends he and Foley worked well together. Doug was glad he was on the mission. He fervently hoped his friend was feeling better mentally as well as physically. He wanted to have a private conversation with Stan to find out for sure, but there was far too much to do now and there would be plenty of time to talk once they were on their way.