The Pathfinder Trilogy

by Todd Stockert

  “One of the technicians told me you usually float an apple once in a while to let them know you’ve been by. Have you decided that more is better, for some reason?”

  “Actually, I can explain that…” Adam said, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment. “You see, I sort of… well, I kind of taught the Captain’s son to do that – you know, just to impress him a little.”

  “The villain admits his crime,” grinned Jeff. “We caught the whole thing on tape. The teacher from one of the schools brought a bunch of the kids by on a field trip yesterday afternoon,” he said, unable to stop himself from chuckling. “The minute they passed through the apple grove this happened.”

  He switched the monitor’s image again and Adam watched a bunch of giggling kids first pick and then throw a series of apples as high as they could. Some of them came back down and landed in the general area but most of them stuck in the gravity void. The teacher protested futilely through the whole thing and Adam laughed out loud, watching the expression on her face as she looked upward and saw the floating fruit for herself. A look of determination crossed her face and she finally got everyone settled down and moving forward again.

  “I’ll be careful what I teach the kid from now on,” Adam said sheepishly, holding up his hands. “You’ve got to admit, it is pretty funny!” He held up the tool kit that he had brought with him. “The Captain sent me up here to help you beef up the filtering systems, at least temporarily.”

  “There’s a maintenance team waiting back out into the corridor and off to the left,” Jeff said. “They’ve already been throwing around some ideas, but wanted to wait until they could discuss with you what is possible without putting unnecessary strain on the equipment.”

  “I’m on my way,” Adam said, heading back the way he had come. He stopped abruptly and turned back to Mathison. “Speaking of the Captain’s son,” he said, suddenly getting an idea. “I’d like to bring him back up here once we’re finished so he can help me with another project I’m working on. I know you’re under quarantine and everything but you have to send suited technicians into the wings anyway for maintenance on the equipment inside, so my idea shouldn’t be a major problem.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Jeff asked, his curiosity obvious.

  Adam smiled and promptly told him.

  Thomas had decided to watch the Pathfinder’s latest transit from the observation windows in one of the restaurants on deck one. Although the CAS transits between far away points were virtually instantaneous, this one had been worth making the trip for. Despite the fact that there was an unknown biological agent on board, the Captain had discussed the situation with the ship’s medical teams. No one had seen any need to retrace their steps just yet… they had plenty of samples of the mysterious bacterial agent and were already working hard to find a cure.

  Thus Dr. Markham got her way again and – minutes ago – the ship had moved in close to one of the smaller galaxies they had charted over the past few days. It was really quite impressive to be sitting next to one of the large windows and its view of the dark exterior void, then suddenly see the PTP flash and – pow – just like that a window full of stars again. They were too close for him to distinguish any of the galaxy’s unique details… he couldn’t see spiral arms or anything like that. But it was very impressive just the same.

  Afterwards he wandered slowly back through the corridor in the general direction of his quarters, sipping the leftover iced coffee in his cup through a straw. He noted that the people on duty were flashing quickly by on the moving sidewalks, while off duty civilians like him took their time and were walking about normally on the edges of the corridor. He hadn’t yet chosen to stop by one of the exercise rooms aboard ship, mainly because so far he was having a lot of fun just spending so much quiet time alone.

  He reached the door to his quarters and slid his card key into the entrance slot. The door quietly opened and Thomas entered, moving directly into the kitchen and dumping the leftover ice from his cup into the sink. He headed into the living room and sat down in his easy chair, reaching to his left until he found the light switch. The room lit up brightly and he found himself staring at a tiny black kitten with white spots on its chest and tummy. The kitten just sat there in the middle of his floor for a moment with its bright yellow eyes and looked right back up at him.

  “Mew, mew, mew…” it said, rolling cutely on its side. It stretched, reaching out with its front paws, then pulled one paw quickly back and began licking it scrupulously.

  “Well hello,” Thomas said cheerfully, rising to his feet and reaching out a finger. “Where did you come from, little fellow?” he asked. The kitten responded by swatting playfully at his finger and he quickly pulled it back hoping no blood had been drawn. “Talk about sharp little kitty claws…” he said, putting the finger in his mouth and sucking on it. It was right about then that he heard the little boy giggling from behind the room’s other recliner.

  “What are you up to, Joseph Kaufield?” he asked. The boy stood up, still laughing and he was astonished to see Adam hiding behind the chair with him. “Oh, I see…” he said smugly. “This is a two-person operation.”

  “That’s right,” Joseph said proudly. “This is your new cat George. We brought a litter box, some food, and all the other stuff you’re going to need.”

  “George, huh?” grinned Thomas. “You named him after…”

  “We just decided to call him George. You get to keep him and hug him. And you’ll love it… he’s really cool.”

  “Be sure and keep fresh water out for him at all times,” Adam suggested. “The vet we got him from said cats absolutely love drinking fresh water. They’re very finicky if it sits out too long.”

  “They need water because they lick themselves so much,” giggled Joseph.

  Thomas couldn’t help himself. He picked the little kitten up and held it gently, looking into its yellow eyes. The baby cat began purring and rubbing its chin against his hand, then began licking him with its sand-papery tongue. “Hello George, how are you?” he said, reaching around with his other hand to scratch the kitten behind its ears. It purred more quickly and pushed its head into his hand, prompting him to continue the scratching. Thomas suddenly got a puzzled look on his face and glanced at his brother. “How did you swing this with the environmental people?” he asked. “From what I’ve heard, there’s an unknown bacteria floating around.”

  “That’s exactly why we want people to start keeping pets in the passenger areas on the ship,” said Adam. “Anything really dangerous that spreads into the civilian quarters should normally affect the animals first.” He grinned at his brother. “The added bonus, we decided, is that lots of the people who are living alone – primarily you, for instance – need a friend for company.”

  “You can’t have a dog, though…” said Joseph disappointedly. “If you want to see the dogs, you have to go to the Livestock wing and play with them there.”

  “Dogs would have to be pretty well trained to live in the passenger section,” Thomas mused. He held the little kitten close to his body and it curled up in his arm, purring away. “Thanks very much, you guys!”

  “Have you experienced any of the hallucinations yet?” Adam asked curiously.

  “No, oddly enough,” said Thomas. “For the past couple of weeks I was having all kinds of whacko visions, but ever since they put me on my new prescription there’s been absolutely nothing. It’s kind of disappointing, actually. I heard that some of the passengers have been taking some pretty memorable trips.”

  “I saw Mom and Dad last night right before I fell asleep,” commented Adam idly. “Dr. Simmons thinks that the bacteria affects and enhances the subconscious area of our brains, so when we’re at rest and not keeping mentally active the hallucinations begin to assert themselves.” He reached out a finger and gently stroked the purring kitten sitting in the crook of his brother’s arm. “That’s very good from the Captain’s human resource perspective. We’ve had
very few incidents reported from people on duty, since they’re naturally pretty focused on their work.”

  “Did Mom and Dad have anything important to say?” Thomas asked.

  “Yeah, they told me to take good care of you,” grinned Adam. “How about those apples?” He watched Joseph twitch at the mention of the word ‘apples’ with more than a little satisfaction.

  “Where did the bacteria come from?” wondered Joseph. He might be only twelve years old, but the kid knew when to try his best to quickly change the subject.

  “We don’t know. Your Dad doesn’t want to say anything officially yet. But the word around the ship is that we caught an undercover agent working for the Brotherhood. There were marines searching every cabin on deck four this morning.”

  “Whoa,” replied Thomas. “That must have been upsetting to some of the folks.” He invited his unexpected pair of guests to sit down while he lay down on his couch. He settled back comfortably and carefully set George on his chest. The little kitten immediately began poking him with its front paws until it found a comfortable spot, then curled up and went right to sleep.

  “You have to stay there now until George wakes up,” Joseph said, pointing. “You can’t get up and disturb the kitty – it’s a Pathfinder rule!”

  “Really,” Thomas said, looking at the curled up ball of fur sleeping on top of him. “What if I have to use the restroom or something?”

  “Too bad so sad,” Joseph replied, shaking his head back and forth repeatedly. “The kitten needs his sleep.”

  They visited for a while longer, with Adam and Joseph pointing to and explaining the use of the various pieces of cat gear they had brought with them. Most of the items were toys of one sort or another, but there was also a small book on feline care and behavior that had been donated by one of the veterinarians. Eventually Adam decided it was time to take the Captain’s son home and they left, but he promised to return again the next day as usual to see how his brother was getting along.

  “Thank you very much, guys,” Thomas said softly to himself as they left. He watched the door to his quarters slide shut and then put his right hand on top of the sleeping kitten. It snuggled up against his palm, opened its eyes, yawned widely and began stretching out its paws. Thomas carefully watched the splayed claws catch and pull on the fabric of his shirt and commented, “Those front claws are coming out as soon as you’re six weeks old, little friend. I’ve only got so much blood to give.”

  *

  Karen was staring at an image of the strange new bacteria on her computer screen when Kaufield joined her. He had just finished his duty shift for the evening and sat down next to her, folded his hands and lowered his chin onto them.

  “How are things coming, Doc?” he asked.

  “We lucked out, Captain sir,” she replied. “The planetoid this came from had a minimal atmosphere – I checked with the shuttle crew. There wasn’t a lot of oxygen and nitrogen around but enough was present for these little beasties to survive.”

  “How big of a threat are we looking at?”

  “Fortunately for us, not much of one.” She switched the computer to standby mode and swiveled in her seat to face him. “Jeff’s botany team can’t even tell it’s here without us showing them what to look for – most of the animals and all of the plant life are almost totally unaffected. Except for the mammals, of course…”

  “Ahh,” Kaufield responded carefully. “Anything with higher brain functions and a subconscious capable of producing dream activity is vulnerable.”

  “That’s right,” Dr. Simmons confirmed. “And anything with the ability to dream normally has a reasonably developed immune system.” She smiled at him, overwhelmed with relief. “It’s like catching a cold that makes you hallucinate. Instead of a stuffed up nose, you get to see all of the people and things your subconscious chooses.”

  “Colds have a habit of… recurring from time to time,” Kaufield pointed out. “Ongoing, unpredictable hallucinations among the crew would be bad, Doctor.”

  “I can help you there, too,” said Karen confidently. “Including Thomas Roh I’ve treated a total of ten members of the crew for stress-related issues over the past couple of weeks. Seven of them are taking an anti-depressant that contains a new, experimental chemical we call Mirzion and not one of them has had any hallucinations even though the bacteria is present in their systems.”

  “So you’ve got a cure already,” Dennis grinned.

  “Not a cure,” she corrected, “But a chemical that appears to nullify the hallucination symptoms anyway. We can administer it to everyone right away and then give them a booster every ten years by including it with their tetanus shot.”

  “I’ll take that solution,” Kaufield decided, standing up. “I hope the folks in the Lab wing can manufacture this ‘Mirzion’ of yours as a stand-alone chemical without the anti-depressant.” He chuckled under his breath.

  Karen smirked. “What’s the matter, Captain?” she asked playfully. “Don’t you want a happy, laughing crew?”

  “Not that happy,” grinned Kaufield. “So I take it this whatever-you-call-it is already part of the ship’s bio-system?”

  “That’s right,” she said. “The situation is very similar to the safeguard procedures we used back in the Sol-system… protocols space colonies use to keep infected material at one site from damaging the ecosystem of another.” She reactivated her computer screen and pointed at the bacteria. “No matter how hard you try, something inevitably slips through now and then. You do the best you can, but in the end it’s still an imperfect process.” She sighed, slightly depressed. “I had a sister working at a site located on one of Jupiter’s moons. I miss visiting with her via the daily Comm-traffic.”

  “I understand completely Doctor. However, my concern was to bring the situation under control. If I hear you correctly, then I’m a happy Captain,” concluded Dennis. “How is our Brotherhood guest doing?”

  “Not well. He had sores resulting from prolonged, direct exposure to those mineral rocks all over the inside of his mouth and tongue. All of the lesions our people have will eventually heal, but for him it’s going to be a painful process that will take a few extra days. He seems much more susceptible to it for some reason.”

  “Perhaps it’s all those genetic enhancements that give him superior strength.”

  The Doctor chuckled wryly. “As soon as the nurses finish cleaning out all of the pus and fluid from the sores in his mouth I’m planning to give him something for the pain.”

  “Not tonight you don’t,” Kaufield said, shaking his head. He completely ignored the expression on Karen’s face.

  “Captain…”

  “Not tonight!” shouted Dennis angrily. “I want that SOB to lie there all night and think about what he tried to do to us. It certainly won’t kill him to spend one night with discomfort… you know, like the sleepless nights he and his people put Thomas and all the others through. Who knows, an uncomfortable experience like that might actually penetrate this so-called ‘superior’ brain of his and change his mind the next time he thinks about building explosive devices on my ship!” He walked over to the door and turned back. “You can give him something tomorrow at 0800. Not before… and that’s a direct order, Doctor.”

  “I guess it’s not a good night to be a spy on this ship,” Karen commented as she watched him stomp angrily out of the Medical Ward.

  THE PATHFINDER PROJECT

  Chapter XII: Black Tie Affair

  Thomas Roh sat watching the stars from his seat in the Observatory wing, completely stunned. Not that it wasn’t really great to see stars again, mind you… that part he was quite comfortable with. However, in the three weeks that had elapsed since Dr. Simmons brought the unknown bacterial infection under control, the Pathfinder had steadily explored outward from its home galaxy. And outward further. And then further outward beyond even that.

  They were currently situated somewhere in the midst of the Centaurus super-cluster. Distance
measurements from home base were almost impossible now, if not for the carefully plotted waypoints they had established along the way. When all calculations were said and done, the Pathfinder had journeyed more than 1.5 billion light years from its original Milky Way starting point.

  “That’s over a hundred and fifty million light years for each pound George has grown!” he pointed out to Dr. Markham as she walked by. “And thirty two million light years for each day that we’ve been in space. For God’s sake how long can this go on? There’s only so much area in our universe, you know.”

  “That’s why it’s called the known universe,” said Julie proudly. “Now that your team has got the train moving, it’s our job to determine just how much area there is in the unknown.”

  “This is absolutely profound,” said Thomas. “For crying out loud, there are a lot of people on this ship – and I happen to be one of them – that really believe in the concept of Intelligent Design. I hope you’re not going to try and find a scientific explanation for everything we discover out here. You’ll blow our faith and we’ll have nothing left to spiritually comfort us!” He looked out the window again. “After all, everyone knows the universe is filled with a colossal number of galaxies – each containing an unbelievable star count – so why do you have to go and try and map it all, anyway? Aren’t men supposed to be the over-aggressive, OCD type?”

  Since she was standing, Julie leaned her head down next to Thomas and whispered softly in his ear, “Centaurus is not just a galaxy or just a star cluster. It’s a super-cluster containing hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of smaller galaxies, depending upon how and where we decide to draw our perimeter lines.”

  “Oh, now I understand,” Thomas acknowledged dryly. “It’s a super-cluster. Thank you for pointing that out Doctor. Now this journey to the edge of infinity makes perfect sense.”

  Julie sat down at her desk and began typing rapidly on the keyboard of her laptop. “Why are you here again?” she asked, resting one of the ear tips from her glasses against her lower lip. “Did the Captain suddenly decide I need a babysitter? Did he think that someone constantly playing Devil’s Advocate would lighten my mood? Aren’t there literally a dozen other places on this ship where you could be right now?”