The Orthogonal Galaxy

by Michael L. Lewis

  Zimmer stood and rebuked Landry with calm yet vehement tones. “Mr. Landry, you have falsely accused me of negligence of human life. The entire team have spoken directly to both Mr. Joonter and Mr. Slater, and the risks—which they have assumed of their own volition—have been accepted by both individuals.”

  Zimmer looked at both astronauts, and each nodded affirmatively.

  Backing down from that angle, Landry asked “You mentioned that there would be a next time. When you say that, I trust you are referring to the next time we throw hundreds of billions at ST4, right?”

  “Throw, Mr. Landry? Is that a synonym for the word lose that you used earlier? I think I was clear that this is an investment of money, not a waste of it.”

  Raising his voice in agitation, Landry began to border on dramatic. “Investment?! Why not invest it in food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless? Instead, you have chosen to ‘invest’ the money in the execution of a pair of lowly criminals!”

  “Mr. Landry!” It was Gilroy’s voice which objected. He launched himself out of his chair, and buried his fists on the table as he leaned over to peer hotly as the insolent behavior of the journalist. “That is enough. You have gone beyond objective reporting in favor of setting personal agenda, and even beyond that you have now slandered these two astronauts. Your questioning is complete.”

  The word ‘complete’ was offered with irrefutable finality. Landry glared back at his opponent, but eventually slinked into his seat, as the nearby security detail took a couple of steps out of the darkened corner of the room, prepared to pounce on anyone to whom Gilroy gave the order. Gilroy sat down slowly, but refused to take his eyes off of Landry, until the latter broke off the staring contest with an awkward attempt to scribble notes on his clipboard.

  Utter silence was broken by a deep parched voice at the front of the room. “Dr. Gilroy, may I say somethin’ to answer the question?” All eyes turned to Blade, whose face was expressionless. Gilroy, not sure of whether Slater would help the cause of the press conference or not, hesitantly yielded to the request.

  “Mr. Landry, I don’t think ya’ meant those words, and I suspect ya’ might regret havin’ said ‘em later. Fo’ yer benefit, I’ll just say that I assume these was spoken in the heat of the moment. I do see where you’re goin’ with the concerns over the financin’ of the mission, but let me allay any and all concerns as to the motivation of my companion and me in acceptin’ this mission. Neither of us was forced to do this, and there was no premeditated decision by the government to seek a couple of felons as lab rats in some super-warp experiment. Paol made his decision in the presence of his lawyer, and I made my decision in the presence of Paol. No government agent spoke to us ‘bout this opportunity until after the decision had already been made.

  “What’s more, if you’re worried ‘bout me takin’ this course of action just so I could break outta the pen’, then let me just remind ya’ that I would be free of my obligation to society in just under a year right now. Why would anybody choose to go on a 12-year mission away from his home planet when he’s just a year away from purchasin’ his freedom. It makes no sense. So, let me say now, on the eve of my departure from Earth1, I am not doin’ this fo’ any selfish purpose. I’m doin’ this fo’ the good of mankind.

  “Let me say somethin’ ‘bout my companion here too. While I have got to know Paol Joonter in the last few years, I can tell you that this is a man who was convicted of a crime he did not commit. He was setup, plain and simple. I’ve talked to him in confidence, and I can assure you that his sacrifice is great. What’s more is the sacrifice of his family. They was not too terrible interested in the idea at first, and I mean, who would be? They won’t see their husband and father fo’ twelve years! But in time, I saw ‘em change their attitude. They went from consternation to utter pride. When they look at Paol, they see a hero who is makin’ a tremendous sacrifice fer his country and fo’ scientific discovery and progress—and he’s doin’ it at great risk, as you point out, sir.

  “So, Mr. Landry, believe whatcha will ‘bout this mission, and ‘bout the pair of us who’s goin’ out there tomorrow. Paol and I know in our hearts the reasons fer us doin’ this thing, and that’s enough fer us.”

  After this speech, the atmosphere was tense and electric, and all were glued to their seats, except for one person, who stood slowly in the back and began to slowly applaud this astronaut for his stirring words. Kather Mirabelle was quickly joined by Joram, who propelled himself out of his seat and began applauding even more loudly. Within moments, all were on their feet, applauding with excited anticipation for the mission. Landry alone remained seated, with a glare that bored down on Blade. How dare this crude, uneducated man best him in his attempts to spread his doctrine and gain more disciples to his ridiculous cause?

  …

  The press conference had been a success, even beyond Gilroy’s wishes. All of the major television stations were broadcasting video clips, quotes, and commentaries on the event, while Americans remained glued to their television sets. Talk was animated and cheerful around the water cooler at work, over the fence with neighbors, in shopping malls with complete strangers.

  “Where did you get that ‘Paol and Blade’ T-shirt?”

  “I grabbed one of the last ST3 bumper stickers on the store shelf just yesterday.”

  “OFFICE MEMO: Don’t stay home to watch the launch! We’ll broadcast it live in our large conference room.”

  “I heard the President is going to meet with the astronauts in the morning to wish them well.”

  All were cheering for Paol and Blade. There was so much support that the skeptics were compelled to hold their peace until after the excitement wore off. They figured that they’d get their chance after the spaceship disappeared into the yellow beam. After a few weeks, life would be back to normal, and they could again begin to sow their seeds of discontent.

  Carlton Zimmer’s research trio thoroughly enjoyed being at the press conference. Excitement and energy proliferated the room, but they were even more excited for their next opportunity.

  “Blade, Paol, I’d like you to meet some friends of mine.” Carlton Zimmer was beaming to make the introductions, and had looked forward to doing so for years. “This is Kather Mirabelle, Joram Anders, and Reyd Eastman—my post-doc research students, who helped to discover the superluminal comet, shortly after the Camp Mars incident.”

  Hands were extended warmly between the astronauts and students. Blade was the first to speak after greetings had been fully exchanged. “I’m so pleased to meet all of ya’. Thanks fo’ yer hard work in discoverin’ Earth2 and makin’ this opportunity possible.”

  “You’re thanking us?” Kath queried in stunned appreciation. “You two are making the hero’s journey along with a tremendous sacrifice that few could ever step up to.”

  Paol stepped forward and put a hand on Blade’s shoulder. “You know, Kath, I find that some of the most important heroes in life are those unsung heroes who never make the headlines. It is a shame that my partner and I garner all of the attention from the media, when it is all because of your efforts that we are even in this privileged position to begin with.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Joonter,” Reyd interrupted softly.

  “Oh, you can call me Paol.”

  “Paol, then—there’s something I’ve been curious about.”

  “Go on,” Paol smiled.

  “I’m a bit perplexed about your attitude—actually both of your attitudes. Tomorrow, the two of you leave on an extremely dangerous journey, ranging through expanses of the galaxy that just a few years ago, nobody thought ever to be possible. At best, you won’t see your family for a dozen years, and at worst, you’ll suffer a horrendous death in the expanses between stars, or maybe you actually reach Earth2, find it to be hostile, and suffer death there, or the Star Transport fails in one of a million ways leaving you to float endlessly through space, or—”

  Kath stabbed Reyd in the ribs with her elbow
. “Would you get on with the question? What are you trying to do anyway—convince them to back down now just 24 hours before launch?”

  Reyd blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  Blade laughed heartily at the exchange between Kath and Reyd, while Paol simply gestured for Reyd to proceed with the question.

  “Well, you say this is a ‘privileged position’. How have you formed such an attitude?”

  Paol tried to ease Reyd’s embarrassment. “Thanks for asking, Reyd. It’s always good for me to remind myself of my personal reason. Let me assure you that I’ve thought through every horrible scenario that you have, and many more than those. Further, let me state that the decision isn’t as easy as I might let on with my language. Leaving my family behind like this is a very, very difficult thing to do. But, I take comfort in believing honestly that there is more purpose in a life given in service to others. Sure, I could wait for my acquittal in prison, and then return to the business sector and continue to build products and earn profits, but how does that help my fellow man? This is a fulfilling opportunity that I trust will give more to the world than I otherwise could contribute. In short, this is what will make my life meaningful.

  “That said, it is easy to think that I am just doing this to save my own skin—meaning, I have been convicted of a murder I did not commit, and this buys me time for my name to be cleared. However, it is harder to make a case for my friend here. When the opportunity was presented to him, he scoffed at it—didn’t even give it a thought before saying it was crazy. He did the numbers, he knew that he would probably be out of prison before the spaceship even left the ground. He might have his freedom today on parole. But, in the end, he could sense what a big opportunity this was for this country, indeed this world.”

  “Off the record,” Joram spoke up for the first time during the interchange. “The media is frenzied about the odds of this. You can’t turn around without seeing some update on the odds in Vegas. Does it bother you guys that most think this won’t succeed?”

  Blade let out a groan.

  “Every time I hear the naysayers, I remind myself of Christopher Columbus. Most people laughed him to scorn, and fo’ six persistent years, he tried hard to convince people that you could sail a ship towards the west to get someplace that’s in the east. Ludicrous, ain’t it? It’s no wonder nobody believed him. Finally Spain took a risk on him and provided him with the support he needed. It was awful brave of him to do it, but I remember readin’ a quote from Columbus that showed me why he had faith that his mission would succeed. He said:

  “With a hand that could be felt, the Lord opened my mind to the fact that it would be possible to sail and he opened my will to desire to accomplish the project. This was the fire that burned within me, the fire of the Holy Spirit urging me to press forward.”

  “Now, I’m not much of a religious man, and I certainly ain’t felt no Spirit urging me towards Earth2, but I believe that this mission—this exploration—can succeed. First, Columbus—as an insider—believed in himself and his mission. He knew things that the critics didn’t ever know. I can tell ya’ that with what I’ve seen in the last few years, what the critics don’t understand, is that every possible brainstormed problem, issue, and hurdle have been addressed. The odds fo’ success are certainly maximized. Second, there’s no question that we have the technology to succeed. Columbus was able to succeed with far less. Further, Columbus set sail into uncharted waters—there was no evidence that this new path would get him anywhere, let alone to the discovery of a new world. On the other hand, we actually did discover our new world befo’ we’re settin’ sail. We also know the exact path to take to get there, and the computer’s all programmed and ready to go. And that’s that, friends. There’s no use in thinkin’ it can’t be done, because it can.”

  “Thank you, Blade, for the Columbus analogy,” Joram congratulated, shaking his head at his own lack of faith. “For the first time, you’ve given me hope that our work of discovery won’t be in vain, because until you return with all of your stories, data, and materials, I’ve often felt that this discovery is really meaningless.”

  “Well, Joram, you just keep discoverin’ those amazin’ things out there, and when we return, you’ll have to catch us up on all that we missed out on, ok?”

  “Deal!” Joram nodded and smiled enthusiastically.

  The door opened to the room where the group was convened, and all attention was diverted to a rather anxious looking mission commander.

  “I know that this has been a rather brief meeting,” Vurim Gilroy directed his comments to Carlton Zimmer and his students, “but there is a busy preparation schedule ahead for these two, and they are going to need their rest for the big day tomorrow.”

  Zimmer reached out his hand to the astronauts. “Gentlemen, thank you for the interview. This has been a most pleasant exchange. Godspeed on your journey tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you about twelve years from now.”

  Chapter

  26

  The sky to the east turned to a milky blue, forecasting another arrival of the Sun. Despite a few wispy clouds that began to glow on the horizon, the Florida morning was crystal clear, and dead still. The weather was fitting to the mood of those who awoke early to witness history. As the wind held its breath, so did the thousands of spectators gathered at various locations around Kennedy Air Force Base. In the center of this group of people, several strong search lights flashed up from the launch pad onto the star of the show.

  The Star Transport interstellar vehicle stood erect on the launch pad high above the ground. It was supported by three large fuel-bearing silo rockets. Each white silo was attached to the spacecraft with large bands, one under each wing, and another under the body. While Star Transport would not have the luxury of being launched into space in this manner from Earth2, the Star Energy team took advantage of this launch to minimize the consumption of the fuel that would be required for the trip home.

  The Star Transport, at the center of everyone’s attention, had been considered by many an uninspiring work. As black as the depth of space it would traverse, it was designed to absorb every scrap of energy as it hurled through the darkest reaches of the cosmos. Its propulsion system was a combination of nuclear and exotic fuels, but all other electronics—including lights, computerized equipment, navigation panels, and communications devices were powered purely on electromagnetic collection panels that made up the entire body of the craft. The collectors were designed to suck in all of the solar and cosmic energy in the vicinity of the craft, much like a vacuum cleaner. For this reason, the body had no shine or luster. In fact, it largely resembled a lump of coal, and wouldn’t have been mistaken for the star of the show, had it not been for the staring crowds and the flood of blue lights, mixed with the white flashes of camera equipment.

  The body was entirely seamless, except for a nearly invisible door in the back of the craft. There were no stark edges or lines to be seen anywhere. The final design of the Star Shield was a thin, transparent, but practically impenetrable compound which was sprayed onto the craft with precision jet spray robots. Once cured under extremely high temperatures, it was as smooth as glass, and harder than anything known to man. Also lacking were windows of any kind. The two-man crew would instead rely on a series of image sensors surrounding the aircraft to provide visual details of their environment.

  The fuselage had the appearance of a shark, consisting of concentric ellipses that grew towards the center of the body and tapered off slightly at the back. The nose was tilted downward very slightly into a curved point designed to deflect debris away from the vehicle. Direct impacts with the nose were calculated to be about five particles per billion. In preparation for even this most unlikely scenario, the shield was sprayed on to a greater thickness of five inches at the nose, whereas the rest of the body was given two to three inches of protective coating. This black resembled that of a clown’s nose on the front of the vehicle.

  Working back f
rom the flight deck, the wings gradually tapered off of the fuselage. It was clear that the entire body was molded as one piece. No bolts or rivets anywhere. Gradual curves leaving the elliptical sides of the fuselage formed thinly flattened airfoils to create the wings. In the back, the tail stabilizer curved away from the fuselage gradually. This was the image for thousands of onlookers and millions stationed at television monitors around the world as the sun broke the horizon far across the Atlantic Ocean. Broadcasters added to the drama with lavish countdown ceremonies, colorful commentaries and exclusive pre-taped interviews with the astronauts and engineers behind the ST3 mission. Having tested the Star Transport during a couple of rigorous test flights—first around the moon, and then the sun—this was the third such launch in the history of the spacecraft. But, of course, this was the mission for which NASA was grooming the Star Transport all along. And while the ST1 and ST2 missions certainly drew the attention of many, this is the one that had the world enraptured. This is the one where suddenly-famous astronauts Paol Joonter and Blade Slater would say farewell to loved ones and the inhabitants of Earth1 for more than a decade.

  The family of Joonter, as well as Slater’s uncle and mother sat front and center in the VIP stands just above the astronaut preparation facility. Wide-eyed spectators waited anxiously for the emergence of their beloved astronauts. Joram, Kath, and Reyd joined Professor Zimmer on the left-hand side of the stand, and watched as the scene unfolded down below.

  Launch specialists zoomed about every direction whether in car or on foot. Some hurried about, while others barely moved. Security forces held back crowds, which were cordoned off from access to the tarmac, and all were clamoring for a view of the scene.

  At long last, two large doors to the building slid open, as a procession of specialists filed out double-file. Camera flashes further lightened the dawn as Joonter and Slater quickly came to view, attired in deep blue spacesuits and beaming smiles. Each looked up to the VIP room, waved, winked, and blew kisses to their loved ones. Spontaneous applause erupted, and even the driest of eyes were threatened with emotion. Shouts of “I love you”, “Good luck”, and “Godspeed” could barely be heard through the din.