Evolution Shift (The New World Book 3)

by Kurt Winans

  His intent had been properly received, as each of the other two men began to laugh. Then the one who the remark had been aimed at smiled and said, “Alright, you owed me that one. Good job Hank.”

  “Thanks.”

  With that behind them, the four of them were eager to get to work. Before they could begin though, they all received telepathy from Janet. She projected, “It’s wonderful that all of you could get together and work on this vital aspect of our intended plan. There are no others that I would prefer to have in your place. Please keep each other safe for the benefit of those who care about you, and for those who will count upon you. I know within my heart that you will succeed.”

  Joseph was first to verbally respond by saying, “That was a good pep talk to get us all motivated.”

  Hank replied, “I think so too, and let’s all do our best to substantiate everyone’s belief in us by getting to work?”

  Throughout the following month, it became obvious that their collective advance knowledge of flight operations helped with the training. As they spent countless hours in the simulator, each man learned of and practiced all of the duties and responsibilities that came with both of the front seats. While rotating through those seats, or observing from the two crew seats behind, the group continuously bounced ideas off one another to improve their collective performance. That process also included the development of instructional discs that would be employed as one of the many training tools for the following wave of candidates.

  It was suggested, and somewhat reluctantly agreed upon, that an entire training day within the simulator should focus on identifying what would make the shuttle crash. There was a method to the madness however, as that information would be vital for the upcoming pilots. After all, if one of them crashed during the construction phase, then both the shuttle along with the pilot and crew would need to be replaced. If such a case were to occur, the parts to replace the shuttle could be refabricated. Unfortunately, there just weren’t that many viable candidates to replace the loss of four souls who were either pilots or able bodied members of a construction crew. Beyond that obvious predicament, if the mishap were to occur during final ascension to the lifeboat, then there would be no such luxury. The precious cargo needed for the group effort would be irreplaceably lost.

  At the completion of their first month of training, a short rest break had been earned. Hank seized the opportunity to provide his three friends with a ride on his SSP, and Kristyn came along with them. After a few hours of fun, Hank said, “Hey, would anybody like to see what progress has been made with the modifications to the new shuttle?”

  A resounding positive response was all he needed to hear, so Hank turned toward the construction facility. As they looked over both the external and internal areas of the craft, Kristyn could hear the collective thoughts of the four men. Their desire to fly the shuttle into space was overpowering, so she needed to project to them, “Would all of you just calm down a little bit. You will all get your chance to fly one of these soon enough.”

  Her timely premonition was then proven to be correct, as the engineer in charge of construction informed them that the first of the redesigned shuttles would be available for launch and orbital testing within another week.

  Hank did not hesitate to respond to the man’s claim, as he said, “None of the four of us will require any additional time to train beyond that day, and we will all be ready when you are for the inaugural flight.”

  Hank felt the comfort of the pilot’s seat beneath him, and gazed upon the bright and clean instrument panel of the newly redesigned shuttle. Then after rubbing the emblem of his necklace for good luck as Ross had always done just before a flight, Hank tucked it back into his shirt. Then turning toward each of his three crew mates, he asked, “Is everyone ready?”

  After receiving a positive nod from each of them, Hank pushed the throttles slightly forward. As the shuttle lifted a few feet from its horizontal resting position without a sound, and then moved beyond the beach toward the plentiful refueling source of the ocean’s salt water, Janet crossed her fingers. She then projected at Kristyn, “I hope that the name of our new shuttle doesn’t become a representation of its performance.”

  Kristyn couldn’t help but smile at Janet’s thought, and wondered if anyone else felt the same, as the huge lettering on the side of it read, “Dripping Springs”. Then she projected only to Hank, “Have fun, but please be careful.”

  Hank responded with, “Thanks Kristyn, I will. See you in a couple of days.”

  The shuttle then lowered to rest upon the placid ocean surface just beyond the line of small surf. A moment later it rose to hover briefly, and then sped away from the coast while in horizontal flight. As Hank pushed the throttles forward for additional speed, Joseph looked at the instruments before him and confirmed, “The venting design appears to be functioning properly. We are getting a positive reading that the turbines between the external and internal shells of the fuselage are collecting the wind and transferring it into storable power.”

  Mimicking a phrase that each of the pilots had uttered in his presence on multiple occasions, Hank responded with, “Roger that Joseph. That’s good news.”

  Joseph asked, “What’s our speed now?”

  “We’re almost there, just a few more seconds.”

  The two pilots located in the seats directly behind Hank and Joseph braced for the upcoming maneuver and waited. They soon felt the force of being pushed deeper into their seats, as Hank pulled back on the handles and the shuttle moved skyward. Climbing at an ever increasing angle, Hank pushed forward on the throttles to unleash additional thrust. The shuttle responded in kind, and before it shot through the outer atmosphere Hank exclaimed, “Here we go!”

  Seconds later they all began to feel a decrease in their weight as they entered space, and Joseph said, “Wow! That was fun.”

  A pilot from the rear seats added, “It sure was.”

  Hank replied, “I agree, and I think that each of you will enjoy the ride even more when you try it from this seat!”

  The forth man then said, “I’m sure you’re right, and I can’t wait to fly one of these into orbit!”

  The next few minutes were spent doing little more than enjoying the view, as they began their initial orbit of the Earth below. Hank didn’t know it, and he never would, but he had just joined Ross in one of those “first ever” moments in the human space endeavor. Unlike during the era of the former space program, Hank had just launched a manned spacecraft into orbit from a horizontal starting position on Earth. When Ross had performed the first horizontal liftoff with a shuttle built during the late twentieth century, he had done so from the surface of Earth’s now extinct moon.

  At the completion of their first orbit, Hank said, “Well each of has some maneuvers to practice, and our solar panels will enable us to stay up here until we get it right. Who wants to go first?”

  Two days later, Janet watched as the shuttle returned to Dripping Springs with a smooth horizontal approach. They were able to re-enter the atmosphere at nearly a sixty degree angle, which was roughly the same as the departure trajectory used to escape it. There had been minimal discomfort of heat or turbulence during the return, and the collective opinion of the four pilots was that nearly any angle of re-entry could be attempted. Hank, perhaps not alone in his belief, felt that re-entry was the most fun aspect of the flight, as he had the shuttle sharply nosed down. Once they were safely through the atmosphere, pulling back on the handles to begin the leveling out process was required. It took some time, but eventually the shuttle was flying in a horizontal position and remained that way for nearly an hour before arriving back at Dripping Springs. Although useless within the vacuum of space, the vents forcing air into the turbines had once again harnessed power during the descent and approach to the launch site.

  The crew began to discuss and compare the data that had been collectively obtained during their journey, but before they were prepared to disembark,
they heard a projection. Janet’s thoughts were loud and clear, “Did everything go alright? You had us all worried because you were up there a little longer than expected.”

  Joseph turned to Hank and verbally asked, “Do you want to handle this one?”

  “Sure, I’ll take care of it.”

  Then Hank projected so that the three members of his crew and Janet could hear, “Please don’t do that mom. You had the ability to track our position via the orbiting satellites, and you could have telepathically communicated with us as a group or individually whenever you wanted to. But if you must know, then yes mother, everything went fine. We all played well with others, had a good time, and we’re sorry to be late. You also don’t have to worry, because I ate all of my vegetables.”

  The deafening silence that followed his telepathy was broken only by the laughter within the shuttle. Hank knew that he had probably made his mother angry, but it was worth it. The past few days had solidified his place within a group that he had aspired to be a part of for many years. He was now a full-fledged shuttle pilot within the eyes of men who had been pilots during a much more heroic era, and he was proud of that personal achievement.

  While positioned in space directly above the northern pole as the first three segments of their intended diamond formation, the Katoomba, Kirkwood, and Maple Ridge awaited the arrival of the fourth shuttle. A moment later Joseph could see the approaching Dripping Springs rising from below, and projected to the pilots and their Mayan crews who were in training to become the next wave of such, “There she is now, and as usual, Hank is right on schedule.”

  After pulling into position to complete the diamond, Hank projected, “Well alright then. Thanks for waiting, should we get started?”

  Then he eased the Dripping Springs forward and the others followed suit. When the spacing between the noses of each shuttle became optimal, the forward momentum was halted. A short time later the men and women aboard the spacecraft emerged from various hatches with pre-fabricated sections of the mainframe, and began the painstaking process of assembling them. The work continued for the better part of two days until no cargo remained within the holds of all four shuttles, but the double deck nose section had begun to take shape. With the process scheduled to repeat itself throughout several upcoming missions, it would take months before the entirety of the basic mainframe could be completed. Only then would they move on to phase two with additional help.

  During the third such rendezvous in orbit, sections just aft of what would eventually serve as the flight deck area were fitted into place. On both the port and starboard side of the now recognizable double deck nose section of the lifeboat, the first two of sixteen sets of docking clamps were ready to be tested. With no others aboard, Hank moved the Dripping Springs into a position that was parallel with the awaiting clamps. Then with a gentle touch of the thrusters, the shuttle slid over until Hank felt the slightest bump. The clamps locked him in place, and he projected, “How’s it look Joseph?”

  “It looks good Hank. Give me a minute to get a reading on the overall structure. I want to make sure that the gentle nudge from the shuttle won’t reposition the entire mass.”

  “Roger that.”

  Within minutes Joseph, who like Hank had temporarily transferred his crew to one of the other two shuttles, had reported that all remained unchanged. He would then proceed with the Katoomba toward the opposite docking clamp. Once secure, he projected, “This is good progress to have these two sets of clamps in place and operational after just three missions. The lifeboat is beginning to take shape.”

  Hank replied, “Yes she is, but we still have a long way to go. Now just imagine the overall size being about five times larger than what we have already assembled.”

  With the Kirkwood and Maple Ridge in position just meters off the aft end of the docking clamps, all fourteen men and women within them began to spill out to continue what had been started. The efforts needed to add length to the mainframe behind the first of the docking clamps would be addressed during the fourth mission in a few days’, but what remained of this cargo was destined for the nose section. Resembling bees working on the hive, work began on closing in the area around the nose section and flight deck. Pre-fabricated panels intended for both the external and internal shells, along with the dense insulation layer that would be sandwiched between, were fit in like pieces of an old fashioned puzzle. Shared alien technology then came into play, as a substance with a consistency similar to cold honey was applied to all the seams both inside and out.

  Via the first of many telepathic conversations that transpired soon after learning that ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2 would not become part of the equation; Hank had been informed by their alien friend to be liberal with the application. The semi-liquid substance that he and others were applying to the lifeboat had been developed by the alien species during the early days of their exploration of space, and they gladly shared that ancient technology of how to manufacture it from elements found on Earth as well as many other worlds. Behaving like a form of liquid metal, the substance penetrated any seams that might be present within the framework of a spacecraft. Then it would harden into an invisible layer. Supposedly it didn’t matter if the application took place within atmospheric conditions or in the vacuum of space; the results would be the same. Some had been skeptical at first, but tests on Earth led to a continuous solid piece of shell. The current work had become the first application in space for humans, and Hank, Joseph, and the others could now confirm that whatever the stuff was, it worked really well. Although unwilling to provide the humans with transport to another world, the alien species had shared a substance that could help with the intended endeavor.

  Before moving back into the Dripping Springs with the three Mayan members of his crew, Hank marveled at the progress that had been made on this mission alone. Not only could two shuttles now dock whenever on site, but the three layers of non-distortion glass that created a large curved viewing portal from the flight deck were now securely in place. Hank projected toward those present within each of the four shuttles, “This is going well so far, and I thank you all for your hard work and effort. Now let’s all head back to rest and get another load of cargo. The sooner we get back up here, the sooner we can complete the mainframe of the lifeboat.”

  Standing in the manufacturing facility with a handful of his co-inventors, one engineer said, “I think that we have finally figured it out!”

  Another replied, “I agree with you. This new design of ours will create nearly the same output as the older version, while also being compact enough to fit well within the limited space that we have been allocated.”

  With that the troublesome question of the hydroponic system needed for use in the essential greenhouse had been successfully addressed, and it would fit harmoniously next to the water purification system when the time arrived. That question of purification had initially been thought to be a more daunting challenge than the distribution, as a major shift in what needed to be purified became the ultimate concern. Once the original supply of ocean saltwater within both the holding tanks of the lifeboat and those of the shuttles had been purified and consumed through various ways, then only a supplemental purification process could provide an additional supply. Both the gray water and wastewater would need to go through an extensive process before it could be considered potable and therefore suitable for human consumption. As a consequence, a process needed to be developed that could purify water from a natural state as well as one that had run through the human body.

  The concept of such a process was something that the society of new Earth had never remotely considered, because they had always just desalinated the seemingly endless supply of ocean saltwater for their consumption needs. Sadly, that lack of vision was quite similar to the values of the late twentieth or early twenty-first century in the decades leading up to the apocalypse. At that time in human history, in spite of strong evidence to prove otherwise, a significant majority of the ever-expan
ding population considered the natural resources of the planet to be something limitless in scope.

  Fortunately in the present day, the engineers assigned to the project of water purification had come through quickly, and had disproved the general consensus that their task would be more difficult than that of distributing the essential product. Conversely, those assigned to the relatively easy project of hydroponics had dragged their feet somewhat. Now a year into construction of the lifeboat, each of those vital systems could be installed at any time.

  Janet walked into the communication center and found one of Kristyn’s young protégés at the main consul. She said, “Good morning. Could you please help me contact Crewe, or should I locate Kristyn to do it?”

  From another section of the facility, Kristyn replied, “Hello Janet. He is quite qualified to contact them for you. Just tell him who in Crewe that you need to speak with, and then sit back and relax for a minute.”

  Turning back to the young boy, Janet said, “Can you get me the administrator of the community first, and then I would like to also speak with the lead engineer of the manufacturing facility.”

  Barely twenty and known to be deep into the infection stage, the latest in a line of very youthful administrators within Crewe soon appeared on the screen. Although pleasant enough in his approach to the job, the man was serving more in a compulsory role for the community as opposed to one of benefit. He truly had no clue as to what was required of him. In typical fashion, he said, “Good day to you Janet. Are things well in Dripping Springs?”

  She thought, are things well? It was a rather ridiculous question in light of the global epidemic, and the time sensitive nature with regard to the pending departure from Earth, but it went in line with his oblivious nature. “We’re fine today thanks. How are you?”