»Quaoar must be a very lonely place.«
How right he is! Davis thought and smirked.
»But that’ll change in the near future. As soon as we start mining and production, we’ll definitely establish a base on Quaoar.«
The astrophysicist leaned back into her seat and lectured, »Quaoar was discovered in 2002 when the Kuiper Belt was systematically surveyed for larger objects. After Quaoar and Sedna, many other objects in the outer areas of the solar system were discovered.«
Karokan sighed silently.
»Sorry. I can’t spare you this, Karokan,« Davis joked. »Lieutenant O’Tubian is a Human history book. She knows everything about the origins of astronomy and space travel.«
»Is it my fault that Humanity’s elite is only interested in racing through space in fast ships instead of taking time for real education?« Lieutenant O’Tubian joked. »Even reading a book would help. There was still pioneer spirit in the old days! The ancient astronomers searched the sky with telescopes and made remarkable discoveries. Pluto was discovered that way!«
»Is that right?« Karokan asked, astonished.
»You bet!« Davis growled.
»Uh … what’s a book?« Karokan quickly added.
Major Davis couldn’t suppress a grin. He had seen numerous of these ancient objects in Caroline’s bedroom.
»I believe they were data carriers made of cellulose,« Davis explained, »with information printed with black or colored ink, because of the lack of recording technology similar to ours a few hundred years ago.
»Not even coded and compressed?« Karokan asked, incredulous.
»Exactly,« Davis confirmed. »Books transmitted ideas that shaped past societies. Freely accessible books are still available in Earth’s Moscow Library. You can sign them out and take them home for a short period. If I remember correctly, in the early stages of our civilization, they cut down trees to harvest the cellulose which was used to make pages for these books.«
Caroline smiled as she listened to Davis’ comments. He had obtained this information from her and remembered it!
»And these … people weren’t arrested?« asked Karokan, astonished.
»They should have been. Then we would have larger forests on Earth,« Caroline added excitedly.
»But they still exist,« Davis butted in.
»I’m not talking about the small national parks and protected forests. I’m talking about real forests, as large as the Union states of Brazil and Columbia combined.«
»Are you kidding me?« Karokan objected. »Uh … please do me a favor and call me Amdul. We’ll be together for many hours and it would be more personal.«
Bill Davis smiled.
»Okay then … Amdul. I’m Bill and Caroline is …«
»… Caroline,« the astrophysicist, finished the sentence.
Trigital coding
The alert reverberated through the Ryan and the standby watch immediately took their positions. Vacant stations and consoles were quickly occupied, computers were brought online and all sensors, scanners, and antennas were aligned.
Karl Jörgmundson, almost always present in the Ryan’s control central, was among the first to hear and see the incoming signal. The signal was graphically reproduced on the screens after the computer analyzed it and separated the signal components according to spectrum parameters.
»This is the strongest signal received so far! Recording in progress, cross scanning activated! This time, we’ll locate the source!« one of the lead scientists reported excitedly.
Jörgmundson transferred the signal to his computer console and began working. He wouldn’t let anybody take this away from him.
»The signal is alien, I’m sure of it,« the same scientist whispered in awed tones.
»How do you know that?« Jörgmundson asked quickly. »There’s no evidence of it yet!«
»Take a look at the modulation, Jörgmundson. It’s a unique frequency. No Human would transmit a message based on the silicon atom base frequency. Nobody would even pay attention to this part of the frequency band. We discovered it by accident, not by a selective search.«
Jörgmundson pondered and rubbed his chin, studying the unknown signal.
»Polarized and frequency modulated, trigital word sequences, apparently based on the septimal-system … very unusual.«
»No decryption possible yet,« reported another scientist with slightly blushed cheeks.
»Directional scan?« Jörgmundson couldn’t hide his impatience. »Which star?«
»Analysis is still running,« the navigation section replied.
While the signal was further analyzed, the encrypted direct link to Triton Base was established. Donald Day’s face was visible, and he said abruptly, »I’ve just been informed about the alert. Is it back again?«
Jörgmundson nodded briefly toward the camera.
»Yes, and unbelievably strong, much clearer than before. This time, we’ll locate the source with certainty and analyze this thing.«
Donald Day wiped his forehead.
»If we find out that somebody’s playing with us, then that somebody had better be prepared for serious ass kicking!«
Jörgmundson seemed to be distracted. He muttered absently, »An utterly strange encryption and signal sequence. Our best computers still can’t crack the code. That’s more than unusual.«
Donald Day ran his right hand through his hair.
»What have you found out so far?«
»It seems to be a directional radio signal. We’ve found the signal path and source of the transmission by accident. There are word sequences contained in these messages whose smallest data sets can maintain three different states: no signal = zero, a positive gate = one and a negative gate = minus one. We have coined the word trigital for this type of signal.«
»Analysis complete!« a technician called over from the scanner section.
»We can now locate the position of the transmitter with a tolerance of plus or minus ten percent. The transmitter is located in the Kuiper Belt!«
Astonished, Jörgmundson looked over to the scanner section.
»Inside our solar system? Are you kidding me? Verify this at once!«
Eagerly, the scanner team went back to work, but crosschecks revealed the same results.
»We had already expected this after we measured the signal strength,« said a scanner operator.
»No inter-solar signal would have such amplitude, Jörgmundson. The unknown transmitter must be inside the solar system, and relatively close. The most possible location for the transmitter would be on Quaoar.«
Donald Day froze. His face paled.
»Is it possible the signal originates from the defective Mars Mining platform?« the Triton commander speculated.
Jörgmundson shook his head defiantly.
»Not very likely! Still, I’ll have one of my specialists to check that out.«
While Jörgmundson tried to interpret the signal with everything at his disposal, Donald Day had also been busy. He returned after a couple of minutes and looked into the camera.
»Listen, Jörgmundson, we have only one confirmed landing on Quaoar so far and that is the Mars Mining platform! If the signal doesn’t originate from their probe, then another corporation must have landed there.«
»That’s out of the question. A mouse couldn’t escape our radar surveillance, let alone a big and metallic body like a space probe. We would have detected that!« Jörgmundson replied.
Donald Day slowly nodded.
»True enough, but I’ll check the flight data for the last two years. Perhaps something slipped by us.«
Jörgmundson yelled some commands and the data in question were transferred to Triton Base. Then he leaned over, closer to the camera.
»Don’t you want to send a message to Major Davis?«
Donald Day seemed to ponder for a moment and then shook his head.
»Let’s go over the data again first. He’ll reach the Quaoar sector in a few hours. Maybe Davis
can help us solve this phenomenon.«
»Shouldn’t we at least initiate a pre-alert for the Neptune system?«
Donald Day wrinkled his forehead unenthusiastically.
»Why? We don’t need widespread hysteria in this sector without credible information. I want the facts first. Then we’ll see.«
»What about your pilot?«
»Rock will play it by the book. If Quaoar really has a secret, then he’ll realize it and avoid the danger.«
Comm-loss
The Hawk had finished its third braking phase and was approaching Quaoar after a long flight, precisely according to the predetermined course vector.
Karokan was getting increasingly nervous.
»I can see the planetoid already!«
Caroline looked sideways out of the cockpit.
»Yes, there it is. Still about 600,000 kilometers away. I’m very excited. An excellent opportunity to collect some surface samples, if Mars Mining would allow it. The planetoid de facto belongs to your company. Isn’t that true, Amdul?«
Davis switched his optical systems to maximum resolution and transferred the outside picture onto the monitors.
»It reminds me a bit of Mars from this distance. Slightly red in color. Amdul, don’t you finally want to tell us what important stuff your lander discovered before it stopped its operation?« Davis suggested.
Caroline began a spectroscopic analysis and did some measurements of the surface reflection properties of the planetoid.
Karokan contemplated for a while and seemed to struggle with his decision.
Is it just loyalty to his firm or does he actually possess any secret information? Major Davis wondered.
»Well, sooner or later you’ll find out anyway. The lander supplied us with entirely unexpected results.«
Caroline stopped her work and waited for Karokan’s explanation.
»I hate suspense, Amdul. We won’t talk about your secret; my word on it,« encouraged Davis.
»First, you should know that the platform began behaving erratically on its approach to Quaoar. We were actually very surprised to land it safely at all.«
Caroline interrupted her analysis.
»The lander was en route for many years. It was very likely damaged by micro-meteorites.«
»No, Caroline, that wasn’t it,« Karokan replied hastily. »We believe that it flew into some kind of radio dead zone that disrupted communication with the guidance control. In that case, an emergency program automatically takes over to land the platform safely.«
»Wait a minute, Amdul. What do you mean, radio dead zone? What could interrupt radio traffic out here?« Davis wanted to know.
Caroline was alerted by a signal from the spectrometer.
»Bill … wait a minute. I’m receiving some very strange values.«
Karokan was getting more and more nervous.
»We presumed that Quaoar has some specific unknown characteristic which could interfere with our transmitter and receiver units. Then, after many hours of uncertainty and many tries, we were able to briefly re-establish radio contact. Using a transfer window, we were able to receive the data sets. Then the connection finally failed.«
Davis turned the Hawk into an orbit around Quaoar and was getting impatient.
»Karokan, get to the point!«
The technician briefly lowered his head.
»Quaoar is unique. It may possess a massive core of uranium ore! Quadrillion tons of ore of the best quality! According to our data, the uranium must be present in such abundance that it even broke through the surface. That would explain the striking surface coloration. We think that its energy emission heats up the core of the planetoid, leaving the surface ice free. If we’re right, there must be an explanation why it hasn’t set off a natural chain reaction on Quaoar and blown the planetoid apart. Maybe there exist strata of different minerals between the uranium ore layers. These might act as dampening rods in a nuclear reactor, preventing the spreading of free neutrons or inhibiting their flow.«
Caroline interrupted Karokan.
»No ice on the surface, I can confirm that. Only some small patches, nothing larger. Very strange, actually a minor phenomenon. Rocky stone deserts, no atmosphere. The temperature of the crust is …,« Caroline paused to wait for the results from the infrared scanners, »… minus 242 degrees Celsius! Your theory doesn’t seem to cut it, Amdul. The planetoid is ice cold!«
Karokan seemed angry.
»Only a massive radioactive shower could have caused the equipment failure. Our scientists have simulated and studied this event exhaustively!« Karokan replied.
»How was it possible to re-establish contact with the lander after the initial loss of communication?« Davis asked the most important question.
»In the case of ‘comm loss’, the lander initiated a self-check routine and scanned the radio frequency band until it re-established contact with Earth. We were able to lock on the signal and briefly establish contact, just long enough to receive the first data sets. One of the drones had flown into a deep crater near the landing site and taken measurements from the bottom of the crater. It reported extremely high gamma-ray values. We had to assume there was uranium.«
Davis made the final landing preparations. He entered Karokan’s coordinates into the navigation computer.
»I’m making a direct landing, no orbital approach. Caroline, can you detect any significant emissions? If Amdul’s right, they should be phenomenal!«
The astrophysicist shook her short blond hair vigorously.
»No, everything looks normal. Our surface scan is limited from here, but …«
Karokan was glued to the observation window.
»That can’t be right! Our readings left no doubt!« Caroline’s water-blue eyes never left the screen.
»Face it, Amdul. Your probe was probably so banged up that any data was unreliable.«
Karokan paled. Had his company sunk all that money into a worthless chunk of rock?
»Why are you so broken up?« asked Davis from his pilot seat. »If the CEOs at Mars Mining made a wrong decision, that’s certainly bad for the company, but that’s their screw-up. You’re sweating bullets. I can see that even on the monitor!« Karokan seemed defeated.
»I’m not a technician.«
Caroline was confused.
»Then who the hell are you?«
»I’m one of the three owners of the corporation. This mission was our last hope to save the company. We need Quaoar! We put most of our capital into this endeavor. It was to be our big score … the last hope of saving the company.«
Davis was not entirely surprised. Karokan’s reactions and detailed knowledge hadn’t rung true for a mere technician. Now everything fell into place.
»Well,« Davis said suddenly, coolly and with a changed voice. »Let’s just take a closer look.«
»You still want to land on Quaoar?« Karokan asked cautiously.
»Absolutely,« Davis answered dryly.
»Bill, I don’t think there’s anything special down there …« Caroline butted in.
»Close up your spacesuits and listen. The situation has just changed. Both of you will follow my orders to the letter! We’ll land near the platform and inspect it. Take weapons with you and be ready to use them before we step out! Understood?«
»Weapons? Why?« Caroline asked, confused and frightened.
»I’ve just lost the comm-link with Triton Base. More precisely: we can’t receive any signal, not even background noise. Looks like we’ve flown into your radio dead zone, Amdul. We need to check this out. Prepare for landing!«
The Hawk made its approach. The cratered, Moon-like surface of the planetoid came closer slowly.
Alert Phase Alpha
Donald Day entered the command central and approached the OIC.
»How does it look, Major?«
»Commander, we tracked Hawk until its final approach to Quaoar, then we lost all contact,« the major said haltingly. »It is as if the scout-ship van
ished.«
Donald Day’s eyes narrowed.
»I don’t want to hear that, Major! Davis is my best pilot. I won’t believe he crashed on Quaoar!«
»We don’t believe that either, Commander. The Hawk was still 150,000 kilometers from Quaoar when we lost contact,« the major explained.
»Was there an accident? A meteor collision?« Donald Day demanded.
»No, Sir, we don’t think so. Our photometric equipment didn’t register an explosion. If the Hawk crashed, we’d know about it. Besides, the Hawk’s neuronal computer would have automatically prevented such an accident. We’re worried about this unexplainable radio dead zone we detected when the Hawk disappeared. All radio signals and background noises usually associated with our communications are heavily distorted or completely gone. Our radio checks with Pulsar PS-3498-13b revealed we can’t receive even those signals at least not without a long delay, even though the pulsar is in direct alignment with both Quaoar and Triton. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone on Quaoar is interfering with our radio signals – either preventing them from reaching us or completely blocking them.«
Donald Day looked at his officer for a moment, then issued a series of terse commands.
»All civilian air traffic in the Triton sector is immediately grounded. Triton Hawks to battle stations! The squadron will assume launch readiness! Alert Phase Alpha is in effect immediately! Prepare fleet landing fields for traffic from the Triton sector. I don’t want to see any civilian craft in our space in two hours!«
Suddenly there was complete silence in the control central. The major was obviously dumbfounded.
»Did you say ‘Alert Phase Alpha’, Sir? A direct threat to the base?«
Donald Day interrupted his officer with a slash of his hand.
»Execute, Major! Call the Ryan. We’re breaking radio silence.«
Behind a shield
Caroline tried to re-establish radio contact as the Hawk slowly approached Quaoar’s surface.
»We’re completely cut off all right! Nothing, absolutely nothing. I’m transmitting our SIF code on every frequency, but I can’t tell if we’re getting through to anyone. It almost seems …«
NEBULAR Collection 1 - The Triton Base: Episodes 1 - 5 Page 4
