Escaping the Sun

by Rhett Goreman

  He thought it better that the girl and I were left to sit on the floor, a little way down a short passageway that was blocked where the roof had fallen in, just a few metres further on. He placed a guard on the entrance to our temporary prison.

  Away from the weather, and in the relative privacy of our man made cave, it was much easier to think. It was also much easier to whisper to each other without being noticed.

  We twisted our heads around until we were almost cheek to cheek and the Elite girl said, ‘Look, we seem to have got off on the wrong foot. We need to trust each other. Lets start over. My name is Tukarra.’

  ‘Well Tukarra, my name is Rhett, Rhett Goreman, and I really do want to trust you, but my mind is just bursting with questions.’

  ‘I’ll do my best to answer all your questions,’ she said.

  ‘Thank you. Here goes. If I really have been asleep for a billion years; how come we can all understand each other? Even if we happen to speak the same language, surely over such a long period of time new words would have been added and the meanings of words would have changed. And what did that thug Makhar mean when he said you could be telling the whole of the Elite where to find us?’

  Tukarra took no time at all to reply, ‘Do you remember when we were in the revival room at the bunker? I told you that I was a test tube baby to which various genetic “improvements” had been made. Well one of those improvements was to make part of my brain interwork with the Ether. Like all the Elite, I was taught to speak the Queen’s English by the Ether - although I have no idea which queen that phrase refers to - and the Ether spell checks and grammar checks everything I say. I should also remind you that, despite the Scavengers not benefiting from built-in access to the Ether, they all have either Elite parents, or grandparents, and so they were brought up speaking English too. And yes, their use of the language is already beginning to diverge a little from ours.’

  Tukarra paused for thought.

  ‘What did you want to know about Makhar?’ she asked.

  ‘He said you, “could be telling the whole of the Elite where to find us.” Is that true?’ I reaffirmed.

  ‘Well yes, it works both ways. I can browse the Ether for information or, as Makhar suggested, I can tell all my friends and colleagues what I am doing if I want.’

  ‘Well, have you? Have you told them where we are?’ I asked.

  ‘No. For one thing I don’t exactly know where we are. Another thing, I’ve been trying to keep certain aspects of my work secret for the moment. Furthermore, my friends have already boarded the last spaceship ever to be launched from the Earth - I don’t want them to come looking for me now. It looks like I’m stuck here, stuck with you Rhett Goreman.’

  ‘Listen, if you can answer all my questions as truthfully as that then you can just call me Rhett.’

  ‘Okay, Rhett. Please carry on,’ she said encouragingly.

  I rose to the challenge, ‘I didn’t see any sign of the Academy building, Atlanton’s fortifications, or any roads for that matter as we left the bunker, and where the heck did all those land mines come from?’

  ‘I don’t know of the building you speak of, or any roads in this region. Most surface structures were blown flat when the Great Asteroid hit. The remains of any buildings would have been buried under millions of years of silt from flash flooding, airborne dust, or glacial mud deposits. At one time in our history, this whole area was under a worldwide ocean. Those land mines must have been planted fairly recently.’

  Tukarra thought for a moment then said, ‘Somebody did not want anyone to get into or out of that bunker, even though they didn’t know exactly where the entrance was.’

  She filled me in with some more background information, ‘I was asked by the High Elite to look for any evidence of ancient human activity. In particular, they wanted me to find out if there was more to the Great Asteroid impact than the Ether has told us. I was about to publish my findings when I came across that expanse of land mines. This was a sure sign something important lay in the hills at the very centre of the minefield. It took my team many months crawling on their hands and knees, in appalling weather, disarming enough mines to make a safe passage to where we thought the entrance to the bunker might be. They had to locate every mine very carefully and lift each one from underneath. At first we didn’t know whether all the mines were the same type. It was painstaking work. Each one of us would take it in turn to write up notes from a safe distance just in case the one clearing the mines was killed. In that way, we would know how to avoid the same mistake in future.’

  A crackling sound briefly caught our attention. There was a glimmer of flickering yellow light now highlighting the outline of the guard. The light glanced along the walls of the passageway towards where we were sat. A smell of smoke confirmed the Scavengers had lit a fire, although they certainly didn’t need a fire for its warmth.

  Tukarra concluded her story, ‘Eventually, we came across a gap in the rocks, a small cave, and soon realised we had found our way into an ancient concrete bunker. It was similar in construction to the bunker our great city, Vidora, was built upon, but its contents were completely different. To start with, every corridor, every vault, every room, was filled from floor to ceiling with an artificial rock-like substance, rather like pumice stone. We had to go back to Vidora, and ask the High Elite to develop special tools to help us remove it. Each time we returned to the bunker, we had to accurately retrace our steps through the minefield, but it was all well worth the effort. One of the first vaults we opened housed those Hippo armoured vehicles, including the one we rode in. Exploring further into the bunker, we came across a vault full of stasis pods and much to our surprise a few of them were still functioning. In all, we could only find ten pods, including your own, out of around ten thousand within that vault, that still contained viable signs of life.’

  Just then, we were both surprised by the smell, of something awful being cooked, that wafted into our cave and floated past the guard, to attack our noses.

  Chapter 14 – The Paricianne

  Quiana, one of the little girls on Cerrina, was supposed to be asleep by now. All that running around in the artificial rain had made her hungry, and she certainly looked very tired.

  So after being collected from the Arboretum, her Elite mother had dried her hair, changed her muddy clothes, given her something to eat, and put her to bed.

  However, Quiana did not want to sleep. Well not just yet. Suran’s talk about the Paricianne had inspired her to learn more about the starship and its inter-galactic adventure. Perhaps she could make believe she was one of the passengers, and drift off to sleep sailing amongst the stars.

  She took a small gold star out, from where she had hidden it under her pillow, and placed it on her forehead. In moments, her mind was filled with all the information she was looking for, and more.

  ‘This is Suniva Atrox, for Cerrina live. Today we take a closer look at the star cruiser Paricianne as it prepares to leave our Solar System on its historic voyage to another Galaxy. Later in the programme we will hear from our reporter, Larine Vangel, aboard the Paricianne, but first we take a look back at the events that led up to this heroic endeavour.’

  *

  Suniva then launched into her carefully scripted history, ‘Despite the Great Asteroid impact wiping out almost all life on Earth, the Ether cloud has continued to function for more than a billion years.’

  ‘Whether in an outpost on Mars,’ she continued, ‘Perhaps on a moon of Jupiter, or maybe across the ancient network of asteroid mining and deflection ships, the Ether’s self repairing servers somehow managed to keep on running.’

  ‘For millions of years, every surviving radio dish across our Solar System was aligned and coordinated by the Ether with just one objective - to wait for a signal from Quatinus 1.’

  You may remember, Quatinus 1 was the robot scout-ship sent to New Earth, in the Andromeda Galaxy, when I was at the Academy - which for me seemed just a few weeks earlier.
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  ‘Well, the unimaginably weak signal, the Ether had been waiting for, was successfully detected over a thousand years ago. The signal conveyed the message that New Earth was indeed the temperate paradise everyone had hoped it would be. This was the trigger that had caused the Ether to start the long slow genetic engineering and revival processes that eventually resulted in the birth of the Elite.’

  ‘Guided by the Ether, the Elite picked up where the early humans had left off. They built rockets, started mining their own asteroids, and they further developed the Dark Matter Engine technology now being used to push the Earth and Moon apart.’

  ‘Its primary mission, to revive and preserve mankind, now well under way, the Ether turned its attention to what it considered the icing on its cake - the construction of a starship to take just a few Elite and humans to New Earth. Having a colony set up far from harms way, in another galaxy, would surely guarantee the long term survival of the human race.’

  ‘The Elite did not have to begin building their inter-stellar craft from scratch; because the Ether told them where to find the very first truly viable starship ever built - Kesinko 1.’

  ‘Named after the famous scientist Vitcha Kesinko, Kesinko 1 was a prototype starship that had been abandoned during its space-trials. It had been left to drift around the Sun in a similar orbit to the Earth. The Ether instructed the Elite to use this as a starting point for their new project. As a result, Kesinko 1 was extensively upgraded and completely engulfed by the most advanced smart materials available. After almost a thousand years of development, you would never know the original prototype vessel is still somewhere inside what can now genuinely be described as a luxury cruise liner.’

  ‘But that is enough of a history lesson. Let us go now, live, over to Larine Vangel aboard the Paricianne.’

  *

  ‘Welcome everyone, I’m Larine Vangel broadcasting live from the Paricianne.’

  ‘Today, I was treated to a view from one of the miniature cameras that orbit around us, like a swarm of bees.’

  ‘From a distance, this huge organically inspired space city looks like a cross between a jelly fish and a giant mushroom. The whole structure rotates around its long axis, making one full revolution every minute. The rotation provides the passenger compartments and other decks with artificial gravity. Its size is important to minimise differences in gravity between our head and toes, and to prevent nausea from the Coriolis effect as we walk around.’

  ‘The hood of the mushroom, some ten miles wide, is used to shade the living quarters from the heat of the Sun. The hood also acts as a huge sail, catching the solar wind. The sail helps to aid the DM propulsion system in the early stages of the outward journey. Then, upon arrival at the target star, it will serve as a drogue parachute, slowing the vessel down.’

  ‘Like a mushroom, there are dark radial gills under the hood. They are said to contain thousands of small landing craft that will descend like spores down onto the planet surface when we eventually reach our new home. But for now, all those bays have been covered over by a thick protective membrane.’

  ‘Long tendrils extending out from the centre of the gills are plaited into a roughly cylindrical stem, around a mile in diameter and ten miles long. Along the stem, and perfectly fitted into gaps between the weave, there are thousands of oval cabin windows. Some windows are dark, twinkling with reflected starlight. Others radiate a warm flickering glow, as if they are illuminated by candlelight from within.’

  ‘It is generally understood among the passengers, that one particular member of the High Elite was the sole architect of the cruiser, and also the main driving force behind our quest to settle on New Earth. He apparently lives as a recluse towards the stern of the ship. His private quarters, considered out of bounds to passengers and crew, are located next to the heat shield and they are wrapped around the engine room. There is a rumour not even the Captain has seen the architect of his ship in person.’

  ‘In the quieter cabins and corridors you can hear the sound of a heartbeat, which I was told by the Captain is exactly what it is. Every wall, every floor, every touch sensitive surface, is part of a fully networked biological computer that needs to be fed with liquid nutrients - nutrients coming literally from the heart of the ship.’

  ‘The twenty thousand passengers and ten thousand crew have been specially selected and genetically filtered to ensure they are all fit and healthy adults, of child baring age.’

  ‘Almost all the passengers are Elite and something like ten percent of them are High Elite. Human passengers are very much in the minority.’

  ‘That said, half the crew are human, the rest are robotic. There is always a crew member on hand to cater for our every need and the food they prepare for us is of an exceptional quality.’

  ‘We have been shadowing the dwarf planet Pluto for almost a year now, whilst the crew have been practising their operational duties and testing the ship’s systems.’

  ‘Pluto is expected to make an ideal starting point for our inter-galactic flight because it has such an eccentric orbit, tipped away from the plane of the Solar System. Using Pluto as a springboard, we expect to avoid most of the other lumps of rock that orbit our Sun - in the Scatter Disk or the Kuiper Belt for example.’

  ‘Any day now, the mighty DM Engines will be fired up once more. This time, they are to be left running for the foreseeable future. Our speed will build and build over many years until we are travelling close to the speed of light.’

  ‘It would be impossible for such a densely populated vessel to carry enough food and oxygen for a million year voyage into the unforgiving vacuum of space. So when the time comes, every one of the thirty thousand beds will automatically raise up, and stow itself against the cabin wall, to reveal a stasis pod. All the passengers and crew will be put into a deep frozen slumber. We will just have to trust the Ether to revive us, when we reach our destination. Although, for the moment, nothing could be further from our minds.’

  ‘We are all fully aware of the dangers associated with the inter-galactic voyage. In particular, we were made to sign a contract forcing us to...

  1. Accept all risks associated with the long voyage including the use of cryogenic techniques to sustain life;

  2. Be solely responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to ourselves or any of our offspring;

  3. Indemnify and hold harmless, the architects, sponsors, owners, officials, directors, agents, employees, and representatives of the Paricianne from any and all claims, demands, actions and costs which might arise from the voyage to New Earth including but not limited to the use of the facilities and amenities offered.

  ...Nevertheless, despite all the risks, the potential benefits of taking part are huge. We are destined to become founder members of New Earth. We could well go down in history as heroes who saved the human race from certain extinction.’

  ‘To help us endure the worry and stress of the task ahead of us, everyone on board the Paricianne is expected to keep fit, work hard and play hard. To that end, no expense has been spared on facilities to help us all enjoy our journey as much as possible, while we can.’

  ‘A wide range of luxury accommodation has been provided including executive suites, family suites, staterooms and split level loft style cabins.’

  ‘Each of the suites is surprisingly spacious, with extra large beds, a shower room, a jacuzzi, mood lighting and ultra-comfortable sofas and armchairs that mould to the shape of your body. They also have climate controls and calming holographic landscape scenes on feature walls which depict mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, forests and jungles - scenes and sensations we hope to experience for real when we arrive at our final destination.’

  ‘In a band, around the middle of the sinuous hull of the cruiser, there are extra large windows. They are made from a material similar to that of the cornea of an eye. These larger windows provide a view of the heavens for several Observation Decks where passengers are often served fancy cakes and cocktails
, whilst they gaze out at the stars.’

  ‘The hollow core of the ship provides a public meeting place with brightly lit pathways, flower gardens and tall trees. This valuable area is not exactly an open space. Looking directly overhead you see more pathways, gardens, trees and people hanging like stalactites from the ceiling. The trees have already grown to incredible heights because of the fall off in gravity towards the central axis of the ship.’

  ‘Scattered around the gardens are a diverse selection of shops, lounges, bars, and gourmet restaurants offering mind blowing beverages and unrivalled cuisine to please every palate.’

  ‘For the health conscious, there are several spas, gymnasiums, swimming pools, squash courts, and climbing walls.’

  ‘Those seeking more excitement can make use of zip lines, roller coasters, and flume rides - some of which offer breathtaking views of outer space.’

  ‘Augmented reality, multi-player games include Hunt the Scavengers, Haunted Caverns, and Survival on New Earth simulations.’

  ‘There are also several night clubs catering for music, dancing and cavorting to suit every taste.’

  ‘Largely to maintain the sanity of the human crew members, the lighting in most corridors, cabins, and public areas brightens and dims to help mark out a notional day and night.’

  ‘There is a party every night aboard the ship for some reason or other. Typically concocted celebrations include, one thousand years since this, fifty years since that, a year since leaving Earth, or the Captain’s birthday. On this particular night, a wedding reception is being held in Observation Deck No. 3 and as I speak the after dinner party is in full swing.’

  ‘The human bride and groom consider themselves extremely lucky to have been given a place on this historic voyage of discovery. In fact, to even be considered for the journey they first had to win one of several monthly lotteries back on Earth. Over several weeks, all the lottery winners had to put their case, for becoming a passenger, to a worldwide audience and then subsequently win a public vote run by our very own Suniva Atrox.’