by Jack L Knapp
“You’re also spending some of your time flying the lifters, the Bedstead and the King. I overheard Mel talking about a pilot’s license. Are you thinking of doing that?”
“I have to. At some point, I want to captain my own spaceship. Joe says I can’t do that unless I’ve got an ordinary pilot’s license first. I need to know so many things, meteorology, navigation, things like that. Chuck has promised to help me if I get stuck.”
“Speaking of Chuck, is he part of the reason why you love it here?”
“He’s part of it. I think maybe he’s too quick to react, but it could be that I’m too slow. I don’t know. I just know I was terribly unhappy, even depressed when we were apart. Is that love, dad?”
“It could be, I guess. I can’t decide for you. If you’re happy, that’s good enough for me. But one reason for bringing this up is what happened to Morty. None of us live forever, and I wanted to discuss what will happen to you when I pass on.”
Lina turned pale. “Dad, are you saying you’re sick?”
“No, no, I feel fine. I had a checkup six months or so ago, blood pressure was up but not enough to be alarmed about, I just thought we should talk. You’ll inherit almost everything, you know. I made provisions for your mother, but she won’t get my business interests. You will, and that includes the company. You’ll own a significant amount of stock, not enough for an absolute majority, but assuming Chuck backs you with his shares you’ll vote enough to take over the chairmanship of the board. Someone else will likely be CEO, though. You don’t have the education or experience for that. But anyway, that’s a question for later, I just wanted you to know what arrangements I’ve made.”
“Dad, you’ll be around for a long time. I don’t want to worry about that now, I’ve got too much else to do. Want to see my concept for the cargo transport Major Hooke talked about?”
“Sure, but there’s another project that may actually make us more money in the end. I’ve been talking to a man named Dolph Petterson. I hired him to take charge of a new department, Plans and Projects.”
“How big is this department, Dad? I thought that was what you and the board did.”
“Right now, it’s just him. Tell you what, why don’t we get together? You, Will, Chuck, Dolph, and me? I think you’ll understand why I hired him after you listen to his ideas.”
#
Chuck pushed the control button, opening the huge doors. The soft light of pre-dawn banished the shadows inside the assembly area. He turned and gave Will a thumbs up, letting him know that the doors were fully open. Impellers whined inside the assembly area and the dark gray spacecraft lifted gently from its cradle. Chuck watched carefully, then held his hands straight out to the side as soon as the ship was clear of the cradle. Using both hands in a come-here gesture, he backed away. The ship followed him, moving sideways. When the far wing cleared the door, Chuck slowly swung his arms down. Will eased the big ship to the ground, allowing the skids beneath the wing roots to touch. Chuck trotted inside the assembly area and moments later, the doors began to close. Ducking underneath, Chuck waited for the automated process to finish, then headed for the open hatch leading into the ship’s cabin.
He closed the hatch behind him, watched to make sure it sealed tight, then picked up his helmet. Unlike the converted motorcycle helmet he usually wore, this one was part of his pressure suit. Hanging the helmet by the copilot’s station, Chuck took his seat and strapped himself into place. He glanced reassuringly at Lina and Joe, seated against the aft bulkhead. They were the only passengers for this first flight to space. Will sat in the left seat, watching the computer display on the forward screen change as it completed the preflight checks.
“Any problems, Will?”
“Negative, everything’s nominal. I haven’t tried the radio, but I won’t use it unless there’s an emergency and it’s worked fine during the low-level test flights. The power plant is online, batteries fully charged, impellers at idle, direction full up. Just waiting for you.”
“Hey, being doorman is very important. I’ve been thinking about dressing up my pressure suit with a yellow stripe down the leg and maybe even wearing a tie.”
Will chuckled. “Run your own checks, Chuck. The sky is waiting.”
Chuck watched carefully, scanning the checklist on his screen, switching his view between the list and the computer display. The check ran longer than Will’s had, but ten minutes later he was ready. “Checks complete, all nominal. Ready when you are, Will.”
“Roger. Lifting now.”
The big craft drifted slowly upward, turning gently in response to Will’s input. Moments later, the nose lifted and it accelerated, climbing gently. Chuck watched the accelerometer readout drift toward the 1.25 gee line. Will eased back on the thrust from the four big impellers aft, then tweaked the directional impellers located behind the radar in the nose. The big ship began to fly. Satisfied, he left the impellers in position and took control using the airfoils.
“This won’t take long. We’ll take her up to 120,000 feet today, stay at that altitude long enough to see how things look, then head for the barn. Time to put your helmets on, folks. It’s just a safety precaution. As for your suits, don’t be surprised if the tubes inflate. That won’t happen unless we lose pressure. The tubes are pneumatic, similar to the ones on gee suits that pilots wear. We’re not flying a fighter and the cabin is pressurized to 8000 feet, so I don’t expect the gee-tubes to inflate. Interior heat is set to 70º F as a priority and the computer will automatically dump excess heat through the external radiators.”
Will was silent for a few moments. “Losing control. The airfoils are getting mushy. Airfoils centered and locked, switching to impeller steering at this time.”
“Switching to impeller steering, copy. Noted.” Chuck entered the time in his log. The ship had just passed through 60,000 feet.
The ship kept rising and the sky slowly darkened. The curvature of the Earth, seen through the two portholes, was clearly visible. Far below, a few white clouds blocked the view of the Earth’s surface. Chuck monitored the lights and gauges on his board and occasionally noted the altitude. The computers would generate a more-precise record, but Chuck’s handwritten notes were backup if for some reason the computer log couldn’t be retrieved. Joe and Lina were smiling as they looked out the two small glass ports.
“I’m not seeing any problems, and the flight is going as planned. I’m keeping us at a constant one gee acceleration for comfort. I’ll go weightless as I get ready for turnover, then we’ll head for home, same acceleration or less. No reason to stress Joe’s ticker. What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful, Will. The stars are like...well, it’s like the holiday lights people put up. But there’s no twinkling, just jewels on a piece of black velvet.”
“I agree, Lina, it’s beautiful. Maybe one day I’ll get used to this view, but I’m like you, it’s the kind of view that few people have ever seen. You doing okay, Joe?”
“I’m fine, Will. I didn’t experience any stress at all. It’s like flying in an airliner.”
“That was my intent, Joe. There’s no need to pull high gees, I’ve got the kind of control the Apollo and shuttle crews could only dream about. For that matter, I could even reduce the acceleration, drop it to a half or a quarter gee. Some authorities think that a lower gee environment puts less stress on the circulatory system.
“Prepare for zero gee. I’m ready for turnover, then we’ll head for home. Radar is clear, no airborne returns, so either no one noticed us or they think we’re a military flight. We should be in the barn forty minutes from now. Want to take us home, Chuck?”
“Absolutely.”
“Your spacecraft, Chuck. No flat tires, okay?”
“I’ll watch out for nails, Will.”
The control handoff was easily executed; Will simply removed his hands from the commander’s panel. Chuck put his fingers on his control board and the computer continued to fly the craft. He pushed a butt
on on the panel, initiating the automated turnover maneuver.
“Powering down the impellers...turnover now, reversing...powering up the impellers, one half gee. We’re slowing, altitude is decreasing.”
The feeling of weightlessness changed to a sensation similar to the falling sensation that passengers in an elevator feel. Chuck watched his display, flying with impellers but ready when the airfoils regained bite.”
“Skin temperature nominal, no sign of heating. I’m holding altitude with the impellers, trim is eight degrees up. Rate of descent, one thousand feet per minute. I’m going to take her around in a circle, bleed off more speed and altitude. We’ll overrun the factory and have to bring it back around if I don’t. I’d rather do it up here where I’ve got altitude to burn.”
“Copy, Chuck. You’re doing fine.”
“Switching to airfoil control at this time.”
“Roger, airfoil control. Watch for loss of control. I’ll monitor and bring up impeller steering if needed.”
“Roger.”
The ship continued to slow. The factory came into sight ahead. “Take her down, Chuck. Let Frenchy do doorman this time, I’ll give him a call.
“Frenchy, Will. Got a moment?”
“Absolutely, Will. What’s up.”
“Estimating home in less than five. Can you open the door?”
“Sure. Give me a moment. Maybe you need one of those pushbutton garage door openers.”
Chuck switched off the radar, then eased the ship inside the assembly building, drifting it slowly into the cradle. He shut down the impellers, then switched off the fuel pump. Will watched, but said nothing. Chuck was doing what he was supposed to.
“We’re on battery, Will. Ready to switch off main power?”
“Dump the log to a thumb drive first., then shut down the computers and pop the hatch. Switch off main power as soon as the hatch is open.
“What did you think, Joe?”
“Good flight, Will. Any problems with the controls?
“No problems at all. I kept waiting for Murphy to stick his finger in, but I didn’t see any problems. I’ll want to look at the computer log, but as far as I’m concerned, that was a perfect flight.”
“I agree. We didn’t learn anything, because nothing went wrong. It will, one day, so be ready,” said Will.
“I wasn’t surprised. The only thing that was different was the altitude and we planned for that. We’ve already got more than 200 hours in the log, low altitude with the Bedstead and King as chase. I’d have been very surprised if anything unusual had popped up.”
#
“How did it go, Chuck?”
“Good, Frenchy. Will has the computer log, we’ll know more after we see what’s on that. If you’ve got a minute, I’d like to talk to you.”
“Let me check in with Will. Meet you in the hangar?”
“Sounds good. It’s not private, you can have Lina and Will sit in if you want. It’s just that I had a concern, based on that visit from DARPA.”
“Your concerns are my concerns, Chuck. Meet you there in half an hour or so.”
Chuck nodded to Mel, typing at a keyboard. Dumping out the stale coffee, he added grounds and fresh water, then pushed the start button. He changed out of his flight suit and hung it up to air out, then went out to see what Mel was doing.
“What’s rattling, Mel?”
“Just summarizing the gripes in the maintenance log, Chuck. I’ll be flying the Bedstead next week, and there’s a couple of notes I wanted to put in the King’s log before I forget.”
“Anything major?”
“No, one of the bulbs in the panel burned out. The only concern is that this is the third bulb that’s gone out in that circuit. One of us needs to check it to make sure we’re not getting a voltage spike. I’ll deadline the King until I can find the problem.”
“Maybe I’ll have time to help, but if I don’t I’ll mention it to Lina. Frenchy’s on his way down and I put fresh coffee on.”
“I wouldn’t mind a cup. I could use a break too. Next week, I’ll finally get around to doing those altitude tests. I kept putting them off, then we had to deal with Morty’s death and the visit from the DARPA people. I still had more flights to make using the King, so I just never got to it. I’ve got time now, shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Sit in if you want, Mel. Maybe you can tell me if I’m getting paranoid.”
“Sure. Paranoia is a good thing, there’s always someone after you if you look hard enough.”
“I’ve heard that.” Chuck’s voice was dry.
“ Heard what, Chuck?” Frenchy walked into the break room.
“Just wondering if I’m being paranoid, Frenchy. Got a question for you, how’s that green power plant coming along?”
“The contractor should be finished with the PV panels in a month, maybe six weeks. The inverter is already installed. We’ll begin getting our first wind generators in six months, maybe a bit less. The factory is overworked, but the rep said he’d try to hurry our order through. They’ll use their own contractor, it has to do with their insurance. We should be fully operational in nine months to maybe a year. Why?”
“How much trouble would it be to add more solar panels to your order?”
“Not much. There’s some lead time between order and delivery, but I could do it. Why? Do you think we need more capacity?”
“In a sense. I don’t really feel good about those DARPA guys. I think they figured out more than we wanted them to know.”
“Really? I don’t see how. We never showed them an impeller, not the inside. The outside is just fairing, either carbon fiber or fiberglass. There’s nothing to see.”
“You’re right, but there’s something to hear. That whine...I listened to it, and it sounds like an electric motor, spinning something.”
“Um. You think that’s enough of a clue?”
“I don’t know. Probably not. But it occurred to me that we only have one factory, only four craft flying and all of them flying out of here. And they know where we are, where the factory is. Suppose they showed up and just took the ship, maybe the King and the Bedstead too? They’re not licensed, not inspected or anything. It wouldn’t be the first time something happened. Remember that Soviet jet, the Foxbat? It scared the hell out of people until that pilot defected. The Soviets got it back, but by then it had been flown and the engines torn down to see what made them tick.”
“Keep talking.”
“I’ve got a place on Morty’s ranch we could use in an emergency. I went exploring after the memorial service; I always wanted to see what was down there, ever since I first saw the place. I was just a kid back then and Morty told me to stay away, so I did. Anyway, there’s a big sinkhole that opens into a cavern, a huge room that’s been dissolved out by the carbonic acid in groundwater. Part of it collapsed a long time ago, so it’s sort of like Carlsbad Caverns except without the big formations. I’m guessing, but I think the collapse only happened a couple of thousand years ago. Anyway, I roped down into the cave and took a look. It’s pretty big, big enough to hold all our stuff except maybe the Twin. There’s room enough to store the extra impellers we’ve got in the storeroom too.”
“So what does this have to do with the PV panels, Chuck?
“I could set up a small power station between the cavern and the ranch house, big enough to power the house and the shop. That would give me a reason for putting up a PV station but I could also divert enough power to make the cavern livable. It’s dark as hell down there, chilly too. That’s okay for storing the equipment, but it would be pretty uncomfortable if we had to spend a long time down there. I was thinking of putting an insulated shelter in and doing everything by electricity. Heat, hot water even...there are pools back in the cave...lights, maybe even enough to power a workshop like Morty’s. We’d also need some sort of electric lift.”
“What about security, Chuck?”
“You’ve seen the ranch. It’s isolated, there’s n
ot even much traffic on that farm-to-market road. Near as I could tell, I’m the only one who’s ever been down in that cavern, and I only explored part of the big room. I don’t think it would be a problem.”
“You’re not planning to move the lifters or the ship, just run a power line?”
“That’s it. I think we should store at least some of the ready impellers, though. I’ll put in computers too, load the manufacturing software and the control stuff. Just so we don’t lose everything if there’s a problem
“I’ll get you the panels, Chuck. For that matter, why don’t you just drive the truck out to the site and load them? I’ll order replacements, they should be here before the contractor is ready to install them. Who’s going to install them on the ranch?”
“I’m thinking I could borrow a few of the engineers, the part owners who have a few shares in the company. I can buy ready-mix concrete in Andrews as soon as I’ve got the footings built. After the frames are in place, it’s not rocket science, bolting on the panels and connecting them. I’ll run buried Romex cable to the cavern and to the ranch. I doubt anyone will pay attention, and if they do they’ll think it’s for the ranch house and Morty’s shop. People knew he did a lot of work there. Putting up a PV system is the sort of thing he would have done.”
“Go ahead, then. Don’t move anything until I look at this cavern, okay? Running electricity to it, that’s not a real problem. We could probably even explain that. Other things might be more difficult. But I see your point about needing a bolthole. It’s a shame, but I have to say that I don’t trust the government, not any more. The people are mostly all right, but they take their orders from politicians. The politicians hold tight to department budgets, and to be honest I don’t think they work for us any more.”
