Man's Hope

by Zellmann, William

  When Dolf had completed his computations and observations, he shared his results with David, who immediately called a crew conference. He quickly summarized Dolf's idea, and then turned the floor over to Dolf himself.

  "Once again," he began, "random chance has favored us. When we dug into the comet, we dug more or less straight toward the center of the head. As a result, we are less than a degree off pointing to the comet's center of mass. If we can rotate the comet to place the ship opposite the direction we wish to move the comet, it is possible that we will be able to change the comet's orbit, to move perihelion closer to the Sun. This would result in a 'slingshot' effect that would speed up the comet, and shorten our voyage by months."

  "I'll make the decision," David said, "but I want everyone's input before I do. Yuri, what do you think?"

  The Russian shook his head. "I am against it. It would be an unjustified risk to the ship, our mission, and ourselves. Ice is a very unforgiving material. Even the small vibrations from the ion engines would quickly shatter our ice wall. And that is not to mention the acceleration itself.

  "I think the ice wall would shatter, and the Hope would come driving forward to crash its nose into the ice. Besides," he added, "Frank has a supply lift scheduled for as soon as we regain contact. It is programmed to follow the original orbit. If we emerge from behind the sun on a totally different, unpredictable orbit, they would have to wait until our orbit stabilized, and then completely reprogram the launch and the control system, and delay the whole process."

  David nodded. "Ron?"

  "I must agree with Yuri. I do not think the possibility of cutting a few weeks off the duration of the mission justifies the risks that would be necessary."

  "Raoul?"

  "I would like to arrive at the asteroid early," Raoul said slowly. "But I do not wish to risk our lives to do it. I think the 'slingshot effect' should remain science fiction for a few more years."

  David straightened with a nod. "And I'm afraid I must agree. I'm sorry, Dolf, but I just can't permit such unnecessary risk."

  Dolf scowled, but said nothing. He stood carefully and stomped off to his room. At least, he tried to stomp. Somehow, the effect was lost in virtual weightlessness. He considered referring the matter to Frank, but he was unwilling to go over David's head.

  But he did talk to Frank, in a carefully-scripted interview, one which had to be done over a period of time, due to the light speed lag, and then assembled into a coherent whole. In the interview, Frank continued to hammer at his theme of 'mankind's great stride into space', and emphasize the fact that no individual government sponsored it, that it was purely for the benefit of humanity.

  "Why do you think the United States is pursuing you so mercilessly?" Dolf asked.

  "I have no idea," Frank replied. "The only criminal charge they've actually filed is for 'suspected' violation of the technology transfer laws, and we've released our procurement documents that prove we purchased nothing from America.

  "Throughout his political career, the President of the United States has supported space exploration. Now, when someone finally does what he has dreamed of, he has his UN Ambassador file absolutely ridiculous charges before the International Criminal Court. I do not understand it. Mr. President, do you no longer want man to pursue his destiny in space? Or is it simply that it's being done by someone other than NASA? Please, Mr. President. As the saying goes, 'if you can't lead or follow, get the hell out of the way!'"

  Despite his 'exclusive' interview with Frank, Dolf's listenership was declining, as they had expected. There was simply nothing very exciting happening

  A second large hole had been dug, and the core stage tank had been carefully lowered into actual contact with the surface of the comet. Dolf had been quick to point out acidly that by doing so, they had added mass to the comet, which would, of necessity, alter its orbit somewhat. So, he added, they were already doing what they were so frightened of doing. He reluctantly admitted, though, that the effect was minor.

  The core stage tank was frozen into place over the second hole, which contained the machinery for cracking the water ice into oxygen and hydrogen, compressing the gases, and pumping them into the tank. This had required that power lines be rigged from the reactor to the electrolyzing machinery. A tunnel led to the surface, so that ice could be easily brought to the machines. The tunnel meant, of course, that the cracking plant could not be pressurized. All work had to be done in space suits.

  But the plant was operating, the huge tank was slowly filling, and the men had comfortable quarters in which to spend the long time until they reached their destination in the asteroid belt.

  The only complaints and recriminations came from Dolf, who was still irritated that his plan had not been adopted. Now, though, he was complaining that they had not stopped the comet's tumbling and rotation before freezing Man's Hope into the ice.

  David had decided that it would be too risky and impractical to try, with the core stage attached to their belly, and sticking far out beyond Man's Hope's nose. Besides, the tumbling and rotation were not noticeable by the crewmembers; the only real effects at the moment were to complicate Dolf's orbital calculations slightly, and to occasionally interfere with Dolf's antennas.

  Nevertheless, Dolf's concerns had some validity. When they approached perihelion, they would be inside the Earth's orbit, and the ice would be subliming faster. If they had been able to stop the rotation, the ship could have remained on the 'dark side', away from the heat of the Sun, where the gaseous eruptions of the vents would not have been a hazard. Now, though, the crew would have to carefully monitor the condition of the ice surrounding their holes and, of course, the ice 'plug' that retained the ship.

  As Yuri had mentioned, ice is an 'unforgiving' material. If a vent suddenly appeared in the relatively thin ice 'plug', weakening it, the pressure inside would explode the plug into space, depressurizing the 'cave' and instantly killing any unsuited men inside. They were already maintaining a monitoring schedule and frequent inspections; but as they approached perihelion, their vigilance would have to be constant and total.

  But their lives had, for the most part, settled into a routine. Amazing as it was to say, Man's greatest space adventure in history was becoming boring!

  And the closer they approached to the Sun, the closer they came to losing their communication with Earth. Even before they started their swing around the Sun, they would, of course, be unable to communicate with Earth; the Sun's vast electromagnetic aura would simply overwhelm any signal they were capable of transmitting. So, their contacts with Control became more hurried, more comprehensive, and the crew's monitoring of news broadcasts became more frequent. Dolf had to prepare his audience for the loss of contact and the cessation of his broadcasts for a period of several months.

  His final, static-laden broadcast ended with the playing of one of David's old musical recordings, ". . . See you in September . . ."

  ***

  Susan was really worried about Frank.

  The resort that was their temporary home was incredible. About a mile south of the "city" of San Antonio, it featured a gorgeous beach fronting on the South China Sea. It reminded Susan of nothing as much as old National Geographic pictures or some of those oversized coffee-table travel books people had when she was a girl. All it needed was bare-breasted girls in grass skirts.

  The resort was reached via a narrow, well-maintained gravel road leading through a seemingly endless forest until suddenly the trees stopped and you were faced by that breathtaking beach view of the South China Sea.

  Then the road turned, and you saw a reasonably large, Spanish-style hotel building surrounded by six of the bamboo and palm-frond buildings the natives called bahay kubo, or "nipa hut," and fronting on several swimming pools.

  Jaymo had been wise enough to consult Frank about western standards of comfort, considerably different from Filipino standards. Here, even the bedrooms of the nipa huts were air-conditioned, and featured que
en and king sized beds. Bathrooms, often called 'comfort rooms' here, were roomy and plush. Guests had their choice of a bathtub or shower stall, and both featured hot water, a rarity in the Philippines.

  As a result, Jaymo marketed his resort to westerners, mostly Americans and Australians, via the Internet. Another of his investments was a web design company in Olongapo City, who made certain that Jaymo's ads were effective.

  One of Frank's investments had been to have Jaymo add an "Owner's Suite" to the design, at his expense. At that time, Frank's wife had still been alive, though ill. Frank had designed the suite for maximum luxury and comfort, and Jaymo had fulfilled his plans. Frank brought Yoli here several times, and she had loved it. When Frank was not in residence, Jaymo was able to charge a premium price for the suite.

  Susan loved it, too. There were several concrete walks leading into the forest behind the hotel building, and Susan loved to walk among the cool, green trees. She especially loved the wild monkeys that inhabited the forest. Jaymo considered them pests, because guests tended to feed them, and they turned into thieves, scampering into the trees with anything edible.

  Mostly, though, Jaymo was concerned about safety. "Monkeys have big teeth. Bite much," he told her. "They can hurt bad, have to go to hospital. Also, they carry diseases. Please, Miss Susan, watch monkeys, they are fun. But don't try to touch, and please don't feed them."

  To Susan, it was paradise, and their stay should have been a romantic fairytale. But Frank didn't seem to notice. He was spending up to sixteen hours a day on his computer, trying to rebuild his fortune.

  At first, he had spent all his time monitoring the news, especially news about Man's Hope. But he had found little that wasn't a rehash of Dolf's briefing broadcasts. So now, he was constantly on the Internet, sending e-mails or making VoIP calls to his brokers, or simply monitoring his investments. He could rarely be persuaded to go swimming or fishing, both of which had been favorite pursuits, or to go snorkeling to admire the spectacular corals in the crystal-clear water, or to simply drive into San Antonio or Olongapo, for a dinner out, or a visit to the Subic Free Port to buy western treats. He never missed Dolf's briefings, though.

  Dolf had been waging Frank's war, going savagely on the attack. He began during one of his briefings by cataloguing the actions the U.S. government had taken to oppose Frank and the project, and then accused the U.S. of opposing the project only because it was not a U.S. project, and they could not control it. He called on the entire world to demand that the U.S. explain its ongoing hostility, and on all Americans to demand an explanation from their government that did not rely on obvious nonsense like 'terrorism'.

  In his next broadcast, Dolf accused the U.S. Government and NASA of a long history of obstructing the development of space technology in the U.S. by using money and supposed NASA support to obtain detailed information, and then asserting control. He accused NASA of using variations of three basic techniques. First, the use of government contracts to control and/or kill independent developments. Second, through phony 'partnerships' designed to encourage the partner to overextend, at which point they typically destroyed the partner and the project by abruptly withdrawing their support. Finally, by launching an 'investigation' of 'possible violations' of the technology transfer laws to drive away investors and customers. He referred his listeners to specific cases in which he alleged that each of these techniques had been used. Then he demanded that the U.S. Congress launch an investigation of NASA to refute his charges. "These," he claimed, "are much more valid 'crimes against humanity' than those of which Frank is accused, since they have held back man's drive to space." He also called on any company or nation that had experienced these techniques to go public.

  In another broadcast, he challenged every spacegoing nation on Earth to categorically deny that they had ever launched a nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed military or other satellite. He claimed that the people of the world would recognize that anything but a flat 'we have never' denial would be, in fact, an admission. He stated that he would call them on it in his broadcasts, and demand that detector satellites be launched to verify that no Earth-orbiting satellites were emitting detectable nuclear traces. He also mentioned that upon completion of their mission, the Earth would have a useful space station from which to launch cheap, plentiful detector satellites. "In fact," he said, "My crewmate Ron Mbele has already designed one that would be cheap to manufacture and easy to deploy." He urged the leaders of the world's spacegoing nations to be careful in their denials.

  The President of the United States went on national TV to denounce the 'vicious, unwarranted attacks' by the crew. When asked if he planned to respond to Dolf's challenge with a categorical denial, the President replied, "It has always been the policy of the United States to prevent the spread of nuclear power and nuclear weapons into space. In fact, the U.S.sponsored the UN ban on nuclear power in space."

  The President of the Russian Federation announced that, "This government has never launched a nuclear payload into space." China remained silent, as did the European Union.

  Meanwhile, Brazil was the first nation to respond with a categorical denial excepting the launch of Man's Hope, of course, closely followed by India and Japan and a host of smaller nations, from Kazakhstan to Peru.

  Dolf's next broadcast began with, "By refusing to categorically deny it, the President of the United States yesterday confirmed that the U.S. has launched nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed satellites, as did the President of the Russian Federation, who claimed that 'this government has never launched a nuclear payload', but failed to address the actions of previous governments, particularly the USSR. China and the European Union were more honest; they simply refused to answer. So, this pretended outrage over our small power source is as phony as the charges against Mr. Weatherly."

  US Congressmen and Senators, ever vigilant for opportunities to enhance their visibility, began appearing on every talk and news show, demanding an investigation of NASA's dealings with private companies. NASA fell back on the 'national security' defense, while it frantically tried to defuse the situation. The NASA director 'categorically denied' that Frank Weatherly had been the target of a NASA vendetta, but fell back on 'no comment' when asked about unofficial reports from the IRS and SEC that their investigations had been initiated at the request of NASA. Smelling blood in the water, the U.S. media began delving into various past NASA contracts and 'partnerships'. Brazil and the SeaLaunch company were particularly helpful.

  After starting the riot, of course, Dolf let it fester, moving back to mission-related subject in his reports. It wasn't from lack of commitment; the ship was approaching the comet.

  Dolf's listenership reached an all-time high as they approached and then "landed on" the comet. The world hung on his every word, and his reports were rebroadcast numerous times and translated into numerous languages. Commentators argued about every detail of every report, and talking heads interviewed each other almost every day.

  It was at the end of one of those briefings that Control said, "Hey, Dolf? Could you tell Mister W to call Anton? It's important."

  Dolf chuckled. "I think you just did." But he repeated the message before signing off.

  Frank frowned. "Anton" had to be Dr. Anton Ternayev, the Russian engineer. But what could he possibly want? The mission had launched. Energia's involvement was over. Could it perhaps have something to do with his Kliper/Parom investment?

  Moscow was five hours behind the Philippines, so Frank didn't have to wait, and give the CIA a chance to set up an attempt to locate him. He used three separate anonymous servers before using VoIP to call Anton's office number.

  "Frank!" The Russian answered. "I'm glad you got back to me so quickly."

  "Yeah, well, I wanted to call quick, before the CIA could figure out how to backtrack this call. What's up? Is it the Kliper project?"

  Anton laughed. "No. That project is running merrily along. No, this is something else. Something you'll like.

>   "When you came here the first time, there were quite a few people who were very suspicious of you and your plan. One of them was the Energia Director at Baikonur.

  "Well, he has realized his error. Last week he appeared at Energia headquarters, and submitted his resignation. His major reason was that he had concealed the existence of a second Energia booster. I'm not sure how we missed it. It was the one in that picture you kept waving around. If we had thought about it, we'd have realized that Energia would never have gone to the expense of moving that booster from Baikonur without a compelling reason. I notified Gorneliev, of course. We had, after all, sold you 'all' our Buran-related equipment, and I thought a second core stage should certainly have been included."

  "For some reason, Gorneliev informed the President's office. Gorneliev called me yesterday, frantic to get in touch with you." He cleared his throat, and his voice turned formal. "'The President of the Russian Federation, recognizing that this core stage should have been included in his original purchase, offers to Frank Weatherly the Energia booster located at Baikonur. It is the hope of the government of the Russian Federation that Mr. Weatherly will use this booster to launch the second Buran now located in Brazil.' That is the official text, but the point is that you've got another core stage! You can launch Man's Dream!"

  Frank sighed. "Thank him kindly, Anton, but there's not much I can do about it. I don't have the money to launch the Dream, even if that core stage was in Brazil. And by the time I do, Man's Hope will be back.

  "What?" Anton's voice was incredulous, then it began turning furious. "You don't have the money! Are you insane? Or just a blind, stubborn fool?" There was a pause as he took a deep breath.