The Earthrise Trilogy

by Colin Owen

  "Eden this is Discovery requesting permission to take off, over."

  Malcolm took Dorothy's hand in his.

  "Permission granted Discovery, have a safe and blessed trip, over."

  The engines started, and slowly, the huge ship lifted off the pad and began to climb. It soon accelerated away and was lost from sight. Malcolm and Dorothy were the last to leave, they were silent and lost in a mixture of sadness and deep joy. Slowly, they began their own journey into a new future.

  The vibration was not as bad as on other takeoffs, the huge ship had lifted off the pad with ease. Tris handled the controls as only a sharp young man can, and orbit was achieved in a matter of seconds. Steve entered the cockpit, along with Clare, and tapped in the coordinates for the first stage of their journey, but let Tris take her out.

  "Hold on," Tris said, as he engaged the first stage Trion. They knew this feeling well, there was a mighty rush forward as the ship accelerated away from the Moon. They weren't going to engage the light speed drive until they'd let the first stage Trion show what it could do.

  Acceleration was constant and 100,000 miles-per-hour came up in a few minutes. In the rear viewer, the moon was receding rapidly, the Earth was also becoming smaller with each minute that passed.

  "500,000." Tris called out, and the mighty ship kept accelerating. The next time Steve looked, Earth had all but gone, now, the focal point was the Sun. This would be visible for quite some time, a last landmark for home. Once it had gone, only the instruments would ever find it again. It was a chilling thought.

  ❧

  The evening was warm as Eden returned to an approximation of normal. With the Foresters gone, there would have to be a new definition of the word normal. On the way home, Malcolm and Dorothy bumped into Sarah, affectionately known as, 'the drip', because of her work with water. It's a nickname she had started herself, to counter 'on tap', which some bright spark had coined, or was it gushing? It didn't matter, Sarah was 'one of the boys' and could give as good as she got, she was respected for it too.

  "Evening both," she said, on seeing them, "just a thought, but would you like a puppy? They're really good company, and seem to fill little gaps that appear, if you know what I mean."

  "A puppy," Malcolm said, he'd never liked pets, and especially dogs, "we'd love one, can we come and pick our own?"

  "Certainly," Sarah answered, while Dorothy stood open- mouthed. "Come around tomorrow and see which one you like."

  ❧

  Tris had been timing each successive hundred thousand. "They are getting shorter Steve, we are accelerating at an ever faster rate. We've just passed the million mark."

  "Wow, a million miles per hour in what...Twenty minutes, that's amazing. Is there any reason why it should be different when we engage light speed?"

  "None that I can think of," Tris replied.

  "Good, we'll try it tomorrow, we should be clear of our solar system by then, I'm starved, fancy something to eat?"

  Steve punched the auto pilot button and the computer took over.

  "Look out galley," Steve yelled into the intercom, "two hungry space men coming through."

  ❧

  Early the next morning, Malcolm and Dorothy arrived at Sarah's house. She wasn't used to getting up so early any more, as her job now was very much part time.

  "Come on in folks," she said, opening the door to them.

  "Sorry we're so early," Malcolm apologised, "but we couldn't sleep."

  "That's all right, I quite understand," Sarah replied, with a warm smile. "The pups are through in the kitchen. Go and pick the one you want while I get dressed."

  The Eves' hurried through into the kitchen, quite anxious to get started, both of them very excited about the new family member. Dorothy took one look and fell in love with all of them, Malcolm was a little more cautious; it took him several seconds to fall in love with all of them.

  "Oh dear," he said, "they're all so adorable, how ever are we going to choose just one?"

  Dorothy took the hint, "We'll make it 'his and hers' then shall we?"

  "Agreed." He said, without any hesitation.

  Sarah had just caught the last two sentences. "It's always difficult to choose, you just take your time. I'll put the kettle on."

  Coffee was made, and mostly drunk, and still no decisions had been made.

  "I know," Sarah said, "let's let the puppies choose."

  She got up and let the pups out of the pen she kept them in. There was a general rush in all directions, but slowly the mayhem settled and one little chap came to Malcolm and flopped on his foot.

  "I'll take this one," he said, picking the little fellah up, and grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't long before another one gave Dorothy such a look that she was smitten, and made a grab for the owner of 'the eyes'. The choices were made, and the Eves' stood up, ready to leave with their newfound offspring.

  "See, that wasn't so bad," Sarah said, bidding the two little rascals a fond farewell. "This is James, and this is Jane," she said pointing out which was which. "You can pick your own names of course, and start your own litters too when they're older."

  Malcolm and Dorothy left Sarah's house beaming and thanking her profusely for the idea.

  ❧

  Clare and Hope had been busy in the galley. They wanted their first meal in space to be special, and it was. The boys floated through into the most wonderful smell you could imagine.

  "Wow," Tris said, "we should have left sooner!"

  They all laughed and settled down to eat. Settling down being quite an apt word for it, they had to strap themselves into the dining chairs so as not to float away. The table had been designed to handle all this, and was fitted with restraints for all the dishes and utensils. Tris was invited to say grace, which he did by saying,

  "Father I'm stunned at all the you have done for us already, and excited about all that is yet to come. Our lives are in Your hands. Amen."

  Under the table, Rufus and Lady were tucking in too. They had special cages to hold them, and their food, down.

  The meal went smoothly, as did the conversation afterwards. Apart from the people talking, the ship was silent, Trion made no noise at all, unlike the rockets that could damage ears if not properly protected.

  "So Hun, what do we do next?"

  Steve just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't rightly know Sweetie, wash the dishes I suppose. The ship is on autopilot, so we don't need to worry about that side of things too much. If anything happens, we'll hear an alarm."

  As if on cue, the intercom fired up with, "Mak 1."

  This signified ten million miles per hour. The sub light speed had been calibrated in millions, and the system was programmed to call out increases of ten. The light speed system was essentially the same, but the 'Mak' calls would be in terms of light speed, and programmed to call out each increase of one. No one really knew if they would ever hear that system call, but they would find out soon enough.

  "I'm going to turn in early guys," Steve announced, "see you in the morning." He left the room followed by Clare.

  "Don't stay up too late you two," she said, closing the door behind her.

  Tris took Hope into the cockpit, they sat in the pilot's chairs looking out the front ports at the stars.

  "Funny," Hope said, "even at this speed, you can't see any movement."

  "No," Tris responded, "and we probably won't throughout the whole trip."

  The gauge hit Mak 1.5 and kept climbing steadily.

  "I'm sleepy," Hope said, "see you in the morning." She leaned over and kissed his cheek and left the cockpit. Tris took one last look at the stars before turning in himself. It had been a big day.

  ❧

  Teatime at the Eves' house was a little later than usual. Something to do with the newcomers getting into things they were not designed for, and making messes in places that were not suited to the purpose. Both Malcolm and Dorothy were worn out by mid evening, and the said new comers, were fast asleep in new
baskets in the kitchen.

  "I wonder where they are now Malcy, and what they are doing?"

  "A very long way away, and breaking the speed limit," he answered with a wry smile. "I guess, we all have new routines to get used to, and new challenges to face. We've got to get these pups house trained, and they've got to learn to use that new fangled bathroom. I'm not sure which of us has the easier job! Come on Dot, let's go to bed, I'm bushed."

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter 5.

  Light Speed and Farming

  The daily trip to the farm was becoming second nature to Danny. He could easily do it in ten minutes, and much faster if he needed to. Unlike most of the other kids in Eden, Danny had taken the berries, quite a few of them in fact, and he was therefore much more capable than they were. It didn't really show of course, and wouldn't until a situation arose that required something special. Danny's dad had talked to him about showing off, and Danny understood the implications of what he could do that the others couldn't. He wasn't to go walking on the water, for instance, while other kids were around. In a way, the farm was the perfect place for Danny, out here he could do what he liked, and no one would be any the wiser. He had decided to try to hone his skills as best he could, especially jumping...He liked jumping.

  Most days started the same way, with Danny arriving at the farm to be greeted by Seth. The two would climb onto the tractor and head off to wherever Seth had decided to work that day. Danny was very much a novice and so needed to be supervised quite closely. He showed great aptitude for the work, and Seth was very pleased with his progress. Danny, like most kids, had an ability to learn and remember, that most older folks can only dream about. He was picking the job up at an amazing rate, probably due to the berries, but he really liked the work too, which helped. "If you keep on at this rate Dan, I'll be able to retire soon." Seth said. He was pleased to have Danny around, he was good company, as well as a tireless worker.

  ❧

  Morning came on board Discovery, well, the alarm went off which is the only way they could tell. Clare was up first, having undone the straps which held her in. To her surprise, she didn't float up off the bed; she felt very light, and a little off balance, but she stayed down.

  "Hun," she called at Steve who was still in snooze mode, "Something's up...Erm, well actually...Down."

  "What's that?" Steve said, still in a daze.

  Rather than try to explain it to him in that state, she simply stood there with her hands on her hips. Steve saw it and immediately thought he was in trouble.

  "Why...What did I do?" He protested.

  "Nothing silly...Look at me." He looked but didn't make the connection.

  "New nightie?"

  "No!" She hollered, "Look at my feet!"

  Steve looked down mumbling to himself "a lot of fuss over new slippers..." Then the penny dropped...

  "You're not floating off the floor...How come?"

  "Search me," she said, "you're the brains around here."

  Just then, Hope came in complaining about the noise.

  "Hops, you're walking."

  "Yes, daddy, I've been doing it since I was a year old."

  Then she realised what he meant.

  "How come I'm not floating daddy?"

  "I don't know, must be something to do with our speed. Is Tris awake?"

  Steve got out of bed and headed for the cockpit. The gauge said Mak 6. Steve went back through into the living quarters.

  "We've topped 60 million," he announced, to all. "Perhaps the speed is creating gravity, or maybe it's static, like we used in the Moon base. I don't see how travelling through a vacuum can create static, but hey, this is new territory for mankind."

  Tris made an appearance looking a little the worse for wear.

  "Rough night?" Clare asked him.

  "You could say that," he answered, "but I'll get used to it before long."

  "Mak 7." The intercom announced.

  "Wow, we're still accelerating," Tris said, starting to come to life, "I wonder where we are."

  ❧

  "A day like any other...I think not." Roland said. He was missing Tris already. "I wonder where they are. Well, here's to ya," he said, raising his coffee cup in salute, "may your journey be peaceful."

  "Hear hear," Kay said, having just arrived for the last bit of the ceremony. "And how are you this fine morning Roly?"

  "All the better for seeing you marm." This was his usual reply at such times, but today, it was a comfort to them both.

  Roland started by saying, "I've been working on the sub, and I think we'll need batteries. I'd hate to be suddenly caught in a dark spot and lose power. I'll fit both systems though, as the underwater bit is only a part of what this machine will do."

  Roland went on to explain to Kay that he had converted a Keracraft into a sub by making a new top section for it, with water- tight hatches. An air supply with recycle and filtration systems had been added too, but basically, it was a Keracraft, and would do all the things a normal Keracraft would do.

  "I call it 007," he said, pulling the covers off his new creation, "but you can call it what you like!" Kay was really impressed with the new craft, it looked every bit like a submarine should, except it was made from Kerasite, so it was shiny, like glass, well, apart from the solar panels.

  "It should be ready for testing some time tomorrow."

  "Wonderful Roly, well done, it looks great."

  "Are you going to go down in her on her maiden-voyage boss?"

  "Hmm, I don't know about that," she said, "we'll see."

  Kay left him to carry on and went to pay a visit to the Eves. She wanted to get to know them better, as did most folk in Eden, so she thought she'd make a special effort, having seen how they were when the ship left.

  She knocked on their door and was greeted by wails of, "just a minute, Malcy get hold of James!" The door opened and a somewhat harassed Dorothy Eves said, "Hello Kay, do come in, just mind where you step, they're not house trained yet and we've found mess in places you wouldn't believe."

  Kay was forced to smile at the way she said it. "I've never had a pet, Dorothy, so I don't know what it's like."

  "Neither had we until Malcy went goggle eyed over these two, now we're having a crash course...Do sit down."

  Malcy appeared at the kitchen door, "It's Ok Dot, they're in their baskets. I think they're worn out from all the running around we're doing!" He flopped into a chair and smiled at Kay. "It's all right, we like a challenge."

  Kay laughed, she had warmed to them both already.

  "Cup of tea dear?" Dorothy asked, smiling.

  ❧

  Having dressed and breakfasted, Steve announced that they would have morning prayers. "I don't know about the rest of you," he said, "but I feel the need to keep my attendance card up to date. We're really out on a limb, now that Earth has disappeared, and it won't be long before we lose sight of the sun."

  He pointed to the rear view screen where the sun was just a tiny dot, a little bit brighter than all the other tiny dots. Prayers were said, and meant, and the day was off to a good start.

  Looking up, and grinning from ear to ear, Steve said, "Well guys, I guess it's time to push the big button."

  Tris swallowed hard and said, "I'm game...If you are."

  They strapped the dogs in and went into the cockpit.

  "Right," Steve said, taking command, "we have no idea what will happen so brace yourselves."

  He pushed the button. There was an increase in the level of vibration for a second and then the ship lurched forward pushing everyone back into their seats. A high-pitched wine became audible, and grew in intensity and pitch until it became inaudible to the human ear, but both dogs yowled tunefully to it. The backward pressure remained fairly constant as the ship accelerated, but the stars began to change into tiny streaks, as though distorted by a faulty mirror. The streaks grew longer as the speed increased.

  "Mak 1." Came out of the speaker, and the gauge
kept going up.

  At the rear of the ship, the Trion wave had split neatly into two, the two waves recombining in perfect phase to double their power. What the occupants of the ship did not know, was that the Trion wave would split and recombine in this manner at every Mak call, thus increasing the power by a factor of two each time.

  The stars were now more like strings, reaching out towards them, and turning blue as they did so. Movement could be seen, like the slow advance of water droplets on a windscreen.

  "Mak 2."

  The stars were now longer streaks of light and visibly moving towards them. Steve took a deep breath and hit the engine kill button. Within seconds, the pressure was gone and they could all move normally again. The ship stopped accelerating, but Mak 2 was being maintained, the gauge was holding steady. Steve flipped on the rear viewer, it was black.

  "What's up daddy is it broken?" Hope asked.

  "No Sweetie, it's working fine. It's just that the light from the stars behind us can't keep up with us so we're not seeing them."

  Tris had been very quiet since the button had been pushed, and even now, he was not saying anything.

  "Are you all right Tris?" Steve asked. He was looking a little on the green side.

  "I think I left my stomach back there somewhere," he answered, "I need to go and lie down for a while."

  He got up, and was surprised at how difficult it was to walk, they all were.

  "That solves that puzzle then," Steve said to Clare, "it is the speed that is generating gravity."

  Hope went with Tris to make sure he was all right. "I'll be fine, just give me a minute to rest." He flopped into a chair and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

  "I guess he did have a bad night." Clare said, on seeing what had happened. "He may be homesick, it is his first time away from his parents. You'll need to treat him gently Hops, at least till he gets over it."

  Steve entered the living quarters at this point. "I've just run a diagnostic on the ships systems Hun, and it seems that every time we increase Mak speed by one, power goes up by two."