Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1)

by John Thornton

  “Here comes Hobart,” Cammarry observed. She looked toward where the doorway had dilated open.

  The large man stepped out. He had to turn sideways a bit as the dilated doorway looked almost too small for him. His hair was nearly the same color as the white clothing he had just put on in the decontamination process. His very pale blue eyes looked to Cammarry and Jerome. His pleasant personality shone out through his gaze even though his eyes showed extreme weariness.

  “We made it back. We actually even found a surprise! We stumbled across something we were not expecting,” Hobart said with a smile. “Jerome my friend, you will be very pleased with what we found.”

  “So I have heard, from your colleagues.”

  Cammarry interrupted. “You actually found a structure from before the Great Event? With paper books? Machines? What will they reveal?”

  “One never knows,” Hobart said with a tired smile. He was a generally happy man with a large voice, but even he was showing the exhaustion from his mission. “Dome 9 was a complete loss. The mission briefing will be mostly about how we found the structure and the documents we recovered.” Hobart walked over and put a hand on both Jerome’s and Cammarry’s shoulder. He nodded at them, gave a grin, and walked away. “Also, there was an unexplained failure in the fusion truck. That will need to be thoroughly investigated. Fortune smiled on us, the failure happened on the way back, just before we got here. And someone even turned on some lights for us, just at the right moment.” Hobart winked at Jerome. “If I knew who did that, I would be so thankful.”

  Jerome blushed a trifle under the intense gaze of Hobart.

  “Well a good deed done, anonymously, is still a good deed.” Hobart smiled. “May fortune smile on the other team as well.”

  Cammarry and Jerome stood in silence for a moment. They were both pondering their own last missions outside of the dome, and were wondering when the other team that was deployed would return.

  “Will Karen, Jamie and Paul have a similar problem with their fusion truck?” Cammarry asked.

  “I really doubt it. This was probably an extreme fluke,” Hobart laughed a bit. “Yes, fortune was good to us. The fusion truck did not playout around that crater. That would have killed us all. I guess the extreme radiation at that site could have been a factor in the fusion truck’s eventual failure.”

  Jerome pondered what he had observed of the fusion truck. Their very best technology, and it failed them. The find of books was intriguing, but not at the expense of someone’s life. So far the dome exploration missions had not given any serious hope for the future. Not even one other functional dome had been found. Yet Jerome said nothing about that.

  Cammarry turned to Hobart and reached out and grasped his hand. “Finding actual paper books is amazing. The tragedy of another lost dome however, is not really a surprise. I do wonder what their story was and how they ended up as just a large radioactive crater.”

  “Yes, my dear Cammarry, you are always on a quest for knowledge. What might be truly amazing is if those paper books that were scanned have information that is not in our current archives. That would be really amazing. So much was lost in the Great Event and in the times after that,” Hobart signed in weariness.

  “I wonder when those documents will be ready for viewing?” Jerome said with a touch of awe in his voice.

  “Thanks for meeting me on my return.” Hobart gave them a huge smile and left.

  Turning back to Jerome, Cammarry said, “They might just be copies of things we already know, and it is highly doubtful anything from that era will be technologically more sophisticated than what we have now. Although I guess there are some people who theorize that there were technologies before the Great Event that may have surpassed our own. But I know you, Jerome, you will probably find some figures of speech, idioms, and cultural expressions that were relevant to those times but have no correlation to our modern world.”

  “That very well may happen,” Jerome said as they walked along.

  “I am going over to the cafetorium and see if anyone has heard anything else,” Cammarry said.

  “Cammarry?” Jerome asked with a puzzled expression on his face. “How can anyone have heard anything more? Those adventurers just came back and we were some of the first people they encountered.”

  “You knew they were coming back before I did,” Cammarry replied. “By the time I walk over there some of the information gathered may have already been processed. You never know what people hear.”

  Jerome hugged her and kissed her. He did not share the thoughts that were going through his head, about how she was going there to share the information she already had and not to learn new information. One thing about Cammarry, she loved to be able to spin a good yarn and was able to do so with a minimum amount of information. She was always accurate, but posed questions which did make the mind wonder.

  Jerome walked down a different direction and proceeded to the educational center. He had a lot on his mind and wanted to be able to see some of the age-mate groups and perhaps he could read a story to the 10-year-old group. He always found that a fun thing to do. He considered his own age-mate group and how many more there were in his group than there were in the new infant group or the five-year-old group. These latest groups were down to only twenty-five age-mates, which did not bode well for the population of Dome 17.

  Walking past the nursery, Jerome looked through the windows and saw the bassinets of the newly gestated infant group. The attendants were busy nurturing; rocking, holding, and playing with them. Jerome smiled as he considered how this group of twenty-five infants would grow up together and be lifelong friends. Few people were ever closer than your age-mate group.

  The twenty-five ten-year old students were just finishing an interactive lesson with biologist John. John was an older man, and being a biologist he mostly spoke about things from the ancient past. In a way, Jerome related to him differently than anyone else in the dome. Jerome liked the old literature while John liked the old biology. The few aspects of biology in Dome 17 were all interconnected: human lifecycle biology, recycling of human wastes, and the biology necessary to make the food ration bars. The food ration bars were very simple biology, and human biology was often overshadowed by the medical facilities, and the population guidance procedures. He knew John was actively involved in both of those areas as well as teaching the children.

  Jerome leaned into the classroom to listen to what John was teaching.

  “…. so yes children there were vast regions of water at one time covering a large percentage of the earth’s surface. In some places that water was kilometers deep.”

  There was a chuckling and laughter that emerged from the crowd of ten-year-old children. One of them commented under his breath. “This must be a fairytale. I cannot ever believe that there was that much water anywhere.”

  “I heard what you said young man,” John stated with a wry grin. “And I certainly understand why you would say that. Currently there is no amount of water like that anywhere on the earth and we have to struggle to recycle as much water as possible. Our efficiency and reclamation of water here in Dome 17 is very high but not quite 100%. We do still extract a little bit of water from the outside atmosphere but that amount is less and less every year and involves every increasingly complex sterilization and cleansing. Our deep underground cistern system provides a small amount of water as well, but it too is hard to make potable. When I was your age we got a much larger percentage of our water through extraction processes from the outside atmosphere and ground but unfortunately now we cannot do that. However, in the distant past the water system of this planet was very impressive. Hydrology was a vast science and it is just fascinating. Let me have my personal AI show you an ancient visual recording. Rachel Carson?”

  The artificial intelligence named Rachel Carson responded with a mechanical voice, “Yes John how may I assist you?”

  “Rachel Carson please search the archives and display a video of one
of the old Earth’s oceans while it was intact,” John instructed.

  “Most of that information is only available in limited two-dimensional format. Will that be acceptable? I could extrapolate and make a three-dimensional presentation, however, that will not be precisely what was recorded in those ancient times,” the AI Rachel Carson stated.

  “You are so lucky to have a personal artificial intelligence system,” one of the students muttered. There were nods and comments of agreement from the other children.

  “Yes, I am fortunate, not everyone has a personal AI. The Committee, senior-level staff, and all the adventurers have personal artificial intelligence systems. You have ready access to the public education AIs as well as the archives, Dome 17 news, and all historical records, and the data sticks.”

  “That is not the same,” grumbled the student, and a few others made similar comments.

  “You are correct. It is not the same, but shall I have the view of the ocean shown so we can know it is not a fairytale?” John winked at the inquisitive student and then looked over the class. The bright and eager eyes of the ten-year-olds were on him and the student who had claimed all that water was a fairytale was now grinning from ear to ear. John then said, “Rachel Carson, the two dimensional original format will be fine. Please use the front wall of the classroom for that demonstration.”

  The front wall of the classroom, which was made from permalloy, shifted in color and a wide vista of an ocean view was displayed. The ocean was a turquoise blue color with light wave action. The sky was a vibrant blue color with white clouds. There were birds that were flying past and over the beautiful, sandy, white-colored beach.

  The students were quiet for a moment as they watched an ecological scene they would never see in their own world. Their eyes took in the scene in wonderment.

  Then the same student who had called the water a fairytale asked, “How do we know this recording or whatever this is, is…. well… genuine? Is it real or some prevarication? The world before the Great Event had lots of fairy tales and made up stories, right?”

  John smiled at the young man. “You are absolutely correct. Literary fiction was quite popular then. Fabricated entertainment was a very common thing for those masses of people. There were also groups that did something called propaganda which was telling lies to large groups of people to try to achieve an agenda. So you are wise to question any information from that era. Our archives do meticulous work sorting out what is real from what was equivocation, fabrication or imaginary. That enables you all to trust what the public record shows. You may also note on any disputed issues, and there are many, there will be a disclaimer stating, ‘The records are inconsistent on this issue, and scholars are divided on this topic’ so you can know what we do not know.”

  “So this idea of vast amounts of water, all lumped in one place, is real?” The student asked. “So it did not boil away? Or get all soaked up in dust?”

  “The biosphere was so very different then. Everything was in balance, sort of a perfect recycling. Yes, just like shown in the records. A vast gathering of water was called an ocean. Places where there were flows of water into that ocean were called rivers, streams, and creeks. There were also lakes, which were smaller than oceans but still held vast amounts of water.” John eagerly watched the student’s faces as he spoke about the water.

  “And there were things in the water?” The student asked incredulously. “How did they keep the toxins and radiation out of the water? Water here goes through lots of purification processes.”

  “Yes indeed our water does need that. But back then freshwater was safe and drinkable as it came out of the ground, or fell from the sky. There were two types of water, freshwater, and in the oceans and some lakes there was what was called saltwater. While fish lived in both those water, people can only drink freshwater because it…”

  Jerome smiled as he recalled how John had instructed his own group of age-mates. He realized that there would be no time for him to interact with the students. He stepped away from the classroom while the curious student was again asking John the biologist another question. That question had to do with some kind of animal that apparently lived in the water. Jerome knew John could lecture on that topic far longer than the students would tolerate listening. Even that curious student who was so filled with questions would tire before John got to the end of his speaking about fish.

  The regular curriculum would involve learning all about the way the dome operated, how to make emergency repairs, and what to do to keep the systems running at peak efficiency. That was mandatory training for all age groups. The educational system in Dome 17 was not just utilitarian, it also involved arts, music, and other topics. Jerome liked to stop by and do oral recitation of special stories to the children, however that was not likely to happen today with John there speaking about biology. John’s optimism and good natured love for his students overshadowed the impracticality of learning about biological systems that had been extinct for decades.

  Jerome walked away pondering the future of Dome 17 and he hoped fervently for the children to have a good and safe place to grow up and grow old. Jerome questioned in his mind, ‘Perhaps the next mission, when it returns, will offer these children more concrete things than just hopes and desires?’

  2 Informal traumatic reports

  Jerome awoke early the next morning. It was morning for the alpha shift people anyway. The one room apartment he shared with Cammarry was quiet and still. Her breathing was deep and regular as she slept soundly. He watched her and the peaceful look on her face. His mind wondered about the documents that the team had brought back with them. He reminded himself that the documents did not come back, but the information that those documents contained did. Jerome knew the paper of those books would never see the inside of Dome 17. But what information they contained, that was a mystery that Jerome’s mind could not release. He also was a bit surprised that the other adventurer team had not yet returned. Faraday would have notified him if they had.

  Without making much noise at all, Jerome slipped from the bed he shared with Cammarry. He pulled on a basic set of work clothes and slipped on some shoes. He wanted to do his morning calisthenics, and on many mornings he would have waited until Cammarry awoke, however on this morning he was eager to exercise. His mind was busy, and keeping his body busy helped to maintain his wellness.

  He also wanted to consult his artificial intelligence Faraday, but knew if he did that it would probably awaken Cammarry and so he waited until he left the tiny apartment.

  In the hallway outside the apartment Jerome turned and went through his morning calisthenics routine. His routine did not take much physical space but involved many isometric exercises, stretching, and moving into positions which allowed his body to become more flexible, limber, and agile. It also relaxed his mind. While he enjoyed an occasional game of ricochet ball, he much preferred solitary calisthenics. While he was doing those he called upon the artificial intelligence Faraday.

  “Has there been any sign of the other adventurer team returning?” Jerome asked.

  The AI Faraday responded, “I would have notified you had there been any perception of the team returning. That was what I agreed to, and I meet my agreements. However, the monitoring system you have established is no longer functional.”

  “What? Why did you not tell me?”

  “I did tell you, just now. There has been no activity at the entrance to Dome 17 or in the decontamination areas. The energy to your monitors was disrupted six hours, three minutes and forty-one seconds before you asked me the question. I have been analyzing the factors regarding the loss of power. At this time, I cannot identify if was a deliberate act or an engineering failure. You did not build any redundancies into the monitoring system,” the AI replied.

  “Let me know when you find out. Has the information the team brought back from their Dome 9 excursion been made available?”

  “Yes. The volumes which were recovered, were 91%
already known to the archives. There were several pieces of what is called advertising which were previously unknown but each of those has been deemed as irrelevant. There were handwritten notes in one volume, and those are still being evaluated as to penmanship, content, and relevancy to the material in which they were scribbled. There was another volume which was titled ‘Oh God. It Hurts!’ and relates a family memoir addressing the theodicy question. That volume was unknown to our records until now. There was another volume titled ‘The Collected Works of Mark Twain’ which has some previously lost novels.”

  “Philosophy? That could be interesting.” Jerome had just finished the last of his stretching exercises. “So as to technology or direct applicability that entire mission was basically a bust. A cake not worth the candle.”

  “Becoming aware that Dome 9 no longer exists is not worthless information. The reasons for the destruction of Dome 9, remain unclear. Perhaps when the other artificial intelligence systems analyze the information there may be further conjectures. Additionally, I am sure Brink will review the materials. The paper bound books which were surveyed and entered into our archives confirm what we already knew, so that too is not worthless information. The additional philosophical work is not worthless, but you are correct it is not mechanical, engineering, or technological.” Faraday’s voice sounded almost indignant. “So in my opinion the cake was worth the candle, using your archaic idiom.”