The Experiment

by Costanza, Christopher

  Copyright © 2015 Christopher Costanza

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1532722080

  ISBN-10: 1532722087

  CONTENTS

  Heading for the Stars

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Heading for the Stars

  Ever since I can remember, my nights were spent watching the transport ships go to and from the Aurora Station. Lying in the cool grass as the night breeze swept over my body was so soothing after bearing the intense heat of the days. When they began to break out of the atmosphere I could hear the low rumble in the distance and clearly see the brilliant, blue glowing trails they left behind.

  Even after all these years I can’t help but become mesmerized by it and the idea of heading out into the stars. There’s still so much we don’t understand... And no matter how powerful the human imagination may be, it will most likely pale in comparison to what’s waiting to be discovered.

  The small corner of the universe we know is almost completely lifeless, an example of chaos and deadly conditions cleverly disguised with unimaginable beauty. And even though it’s most prolific offerings are unending darkness and the threat of death, so many of us can’t help but wish to venture out and explore it.

  For some, obsessive curiosity, and risking everything to obtain the answers to life’s most important questions are just part of being human... And many would argue that these qualities are exactly what make us so special…

  Long before I was born, our space program - The Aeris Coalition of Intelligence, sponsored the first long distance mission in search for life, new elements, and minerals.

  At first, the idea was met with great protest from the general public and powerful figures within the government.

  The main reasons being the cost, high level of risk, and the widespread belief that Aeris was the only planet in the universe able to house complex life. It was also during a time where superstition outweighed science in the minds of the majority. And the ACI had long been exploring nearby planets but found no signs of life whatsoever; which only fueled the opposing arguments.

  They were forced into constant political battles and always struggled to acquire funding. The only reason they were able to exist at all, was due to the amazing technology they invented and released to our government and the public.

  In the midst of this nationwide controversy, three of the wealthiest men on Aeris offered to take on %80 of the expenses. They were already investors with the ACI and personally believed in their ideals.

  One of them was even quoted as saying “The exploration and understanding of our universe is inarguably the most important endeavor of man.”

  This helped quell the public outcry and allowed the government to take on the other %20 of the cost.

  It enabled the ACI to begin the long planned construction of the largest ship the world had ever seen. They called it - The Sirius. Simply due to the fact that its planned course was the recently discovered “Sirius” galaxy.

  Two years earlier the ACI sent an unmanned exploratory vessel into deep space. The data it sent back led them to believe one of the newly discovered galaxies was home to a planet with developed continents, vast oceans and traces of oxygen. The planet dubbed D-217 was a perfect example of a planet that could house some type of evolved living organisms and new minerals that could help our society progress.

  Once The Sirius was completed, it was so massive, the history books claim it literally blocked out the light from our star when it launched from Aeris for the first time. It’s still talked about today as one of the most incredible events in the history of our world. The event captured the imaginations of people everywhere and inspired them to join the ACI.

  The new ship was specifically designed for missions that would last years, or even decades. The majority of the space onboard was utilized for creating oxygen, hydro farming, food storage, and water conversion/storage facilities.

  The crew could only consist of 2,500 because the journey to planet D-217 in the Sirius Galaxy would take approximately four years. The ship was so complex it took well over a thousand people just to operate it and manage all the systems. Along with hundreds of maintenance experts and engineers to prevent malfunctions and perform any necessary repairs.

  Scientists at the ACI invented something they refer to as suspended animation or stasis years earlier, but the time was limited. The earliest subjects began to show signs of brain damage if the time spent in stasis was longer than two years.

  This meant The Sirius would have to support 2,500 men and women for four out of the eight years of travel, and the time spent studying D-217. It was a massive undertaking, requiring methodical planning and vast amounts of wealth.

  The majority of the people still believed it would be a complete failure and that the participants would most likely never return. Even though the ACI had proven itself and acquired a mass of private funding and evidence to support their cause; the public still repeatedly tried to put a stop to the mission.

  Despite all the obstruction and doubt, the Sirius returned and the mission was a complete success. The exploration team had discovered microbial life in every water source on D-217. Astonishingly, it was very similar to the type of life that eventually led to the evolution of all species here on Aeris. It proved beyond any doubt that other planets in the universe could produce life.

  It was the most important day for science in our history. And it directly led to the ACI receiving unlimited funding from the government and a mass of new private investors.

  Due to their newly acquired wealth, the ACI strategically crashed the existing space station into the ocean and began to construct a new one. After 18 long years, what they called the Aurora Station was completed. It was large enough to permanently house and support over 30,000 people.

  The close proximity to our star made energy production and things like farming extremely simple and effective. It was a self-sustaining wonder of technological achievement and was yet again met with great public disapproval due to the cost.

  A sizeable majority felt that kind of funding and effort should be spent on healing the dwindling atmosphere on Aeris, instead of an “unnecessarily large and advanced” new space station.

  The ACI argued that the advancement gained from space travel and the possible discovery of new technology or elements could lead to a breakthrough. Otherwise, at the moment, repairing the atmosphere was an impossible task.

  At that point, the ACI was far beyond the effects of public opinion so they swiftly moved forward with their plans. Soon after the Aurora Station was completed they began building more exploration ships. They weren’t quite as large as the original Sirius but were far more advanced and could now support a crew of at least 3,500 indefinitely.

  The ACI had two new goals. To search for elements that could aid in repairing the atmosphere and to make contact with advanced civilizations that may be willing to share technology.

  The original Sirius mission showed everyone that within our first few steps out into a universe so vast it’s incomprehensible; we were able to find the early stages of intelligent life.

  These events led to what are now referred to as “The Sirius Missions.”

  Over the next 30 years, the ACI completed 17 long distance journeys to other plants with little success. Useful and interesting minerals, plant life, and
more oceans had been discovered, but the true dreams of the ACI seemed to stay out of reach.

  Just when the public and their investors were reverting back to their old ways of thinking concerning the ACI, The Sirius 4 returned with a groundbreaking discovery.

  On its mission to a planet designated R-58, their scientists discovered a mineral that could produce more energy than our current technology was able to register. This new mineral turned what was once thought of as pure fantasy, into reality.

  After three years of study the ACI was able to use the mineral to produce a protective field around the capital in order to shield everyone from the radiation coming from our star. The problem was that the mineral found was so rare, they only had enough to power a protective field over The Capital for around forty years. But it did prove the ACI had been right all along…

  For a long time our civilization used harmful substances and chemicals to power society and advance. By the time our scientists had developed a way of harnessing our star’s unlimited energy, and converted our society, it was far too late. The atmosphere on our planet had deteriorated to less than %60. By the time the ACI produced the protective field over the capital, it had dropped below %50.

  The entire planet was beginning to suffer. Several different diseases were widespread throughout Aeris, the temperatures were rising, and the weather was getting more intense and unpredictable as the years went by. By the time I was born, most of Aeris had blistering desert like conditions and it was estimated that close to %20 of the planet was unfit for human habitation.

  Once the rest of the cities heard about the Capitals protective field, it caused major political issues. They felt that the government and the ACI were being dishonest and only cared about themselves…

  The idea that the ACI never planned on helping the outside peoples spread like wildfire. Mainly due to the fact that all members of our government, along with the wealthiest and most influential people on Aeris reside in the Capital.

  In reality, it had nothing to do with our government. It was simply technology that a private organization was using to protect its own interests, operations, and members. They couldn’t share it with the rest of Aeris, whether they wanted to or not. The Capital just so happened to benefit because it’s where the ACI had all of their facilities.

  The Capital only contains approximately 12.8 million people; the other 2 billion are forced to live much harsher and shorter lives, spending most of their time indoors or underground to avoid contamination from the radiation.

  It’s gotten to the point where any above ground water sources are unsafe, the wildlife is dying off at an alarming rate, and the plant life is disappearing along with it.

  The government and the ACI did the best they could to aid the surrounding cities. They would send food, clean water, medical supplies and anything else they needed. But it wasn’t enough…

  The existence of the protective field inevitably led many of the outside cities to denounce affiliation with our government. They secretly joined forces in order to overthrow the Capital and seize the technology for themselves. The attacks lasted for weeks at a time and eventually the Capital’s military began to be overrun.

  After much debate, the ACI’s private military was forced to get involved…It only ended in mass death and even more suffering…

  Once the ACI’s military joined with the Capital, it gave them a huge technological advantage and the invasions were a complete failure. The ACI continued to promise they were searching for more of the element but the people were hesitant to believe they were telling the truth. The threat of them attacking the city again still exists to this day…

  Shortly after the fighting ceased, top minds at the ACI had discovered a way to create a crystalized powder that they could combine with the atmosphere. The substance would supposedly restore the protection from our stars radiation and slightly speed up the healing process.

  The only predicament was the main mineral needed to produce this substance had been almost totally depleted during our technological evolution. Chrysos, was used in almost all technology as a conductor, but most importantly, applied to space travel in order to shield people and equipment from radiation.

  The ACI made a public announcement, vowing to send out every ship they had in the attempts to find the mineral, chrysos, and help the rest of Aeris. The plan stopped the threat of attacks, but tension has long been building, as over the last six years the missions haven’t produced a single piece of chrysos.

  Due to the outside cities totally separating themselves from The Capital, they are experiencing widespread poverty and famine. This has led to small resistance groups forming that constantly attack The Capital to steal food and supplies.

  In recent times they have even tried to sabotage the power station energizing the protective field out of spite. They refused to believe that it would eventually cease to function or that the ACI was using all of its resources to try and help them.

  The Capital and The ACI constantly offer to send aid as they did in the past, but it’s always turned down. The government even sponsored the building of public housing for millions of people and formed a lottery so everyone would have an equal chance to move to the Capital.

  Unfortunately, it was mainly met with protest and most of the housing still remains empty to this day.

  The outside peoples have actually developed an intense hatred of the Capital and everyone in it. They still believe they’re being deceived, and the only reason they don’t have protective fields is because the Capital is home to the most important and influential people on Aeris…

  I don’t blame them for thinking the way they do. If I were out there trying to survive while watching the Capital flourish, I’d probably start to believe the same things… There were times where even I wondered if some type of deception was taking place…

  Everything changed about two years ago when an unmanned, exploratory vessel returned from its twenty year mission. While it contained a mass of information, and promising data on many new planets, one in particular stood out.

  The ACI’s scientists believed the data suggested it had almost the exact same conditions as Aeris. And they claimed that if it even had a fraction of the chrysos Aeris originally had, a mining operation would be a complete success.

  The ACI immediately began training a massive off-word mining team and preparing for the estimated fourteen year mission. The Sirius 7 would take approximately five years to reach the planet designated X-451, and they estimated the mining process to take at least four. The amount of chrysos needed was immense; close to 7,000 tons…

  My name is Atlas Simon. At the age of 24 I joined the ACI military academy in order to take part in healing our world. When they announced the plan to fix the atmosphere and the possible 14 year mission, I immediately felt the need to sign up.

  The training at the academy lasted for almost a year and was intensely serious. We all had to be in peak physical condition and health. In fact, anyone who tested positive for the possibility of future genetic ailments could not qualify for the ACI. They were extremely strict and selective.

  While most people seemed to be afraid, I couldn’t help but like the idea of spending years in space and the mission I’d be a part of. I didn’t at all understand how the plan would work, but from the suffering I’d seen, I knew it was something worth risking my life for.

  It was the opportunity to finally help the rest of the people on Aeris. To show them that we weren’t lying. That the ACI was feverishly working to come up with a solution. Not only because the field over the Capital would cease to function soon, but because they genuinely cared.

  Sadly, it seems as though many people in The Capital have forgotten what’s going on outside the protective field. To some, those on the outside have turned into members of an opposing side rather than victims.

  Many citizens of The Capital think of it more as a way to prevent further attacks instead of focusing on the fact that we have the ability to
help billions of people. They aren’t directly affected, so it seems they don’t understand the harsh reality of the situation… They aren’t the ones getting sick, having to hide indoors, live underground in the darkness, and knowingly eat contaminated food that will shorten their lives…

  All those nights I watched the transport ships taking people up to the Aurora Station, I would always try to picture what it would be like to look down on Aeris from so far away. To imagine all the wonders and beauty the universe had to offer… Soon I would know…

  Growing up in The Capital had lost its excitement long ago. My parents had recently passed away and I found myself without purpose.

  My life was admittedly easy. When my parents died, I inherited their house, there for I only had to work part time to support myself. I was never able to pursue higher education so for years I had jobs in factories, doing manual labor, and even being a delivery driver.

  I never had the ability to stay in one place for long… I always found the need for change. Though recently, I’d discovered what I really wanted was something more out of life.

  I had always known the importance of the Sirius missions but had never given much thought to being involved... Life in general had just gotten in the way and made the very idea seem like a fantasy.

  Then one day I found out my neighbor (who wasn’t particularly bright) had signed up for the military in order to take part in the mission to X-451. It made me realize I could leave my empty, boring life behind and do something meaningful. That I could realize the dreams that I’ve had since I was a child.

  And right now, the Sirius missions are more important than ever before…

  I wasn’t exactly the “military type” but it was one of the few ways for someone like me to become a part of the ACI. Generally, only children from very wealthy families were able to attend the science academy and prepare for a career with the ACI. Every now and then you’d hear of a child with exceptionally high intelligence scores being given free admission, but it was extremely rare.

  My parents had been well off enough to acquire a home in the Capital and give me a wonderful life, but the science academy was far from their reach.