by Todd Fries
He stopped and stared directly at Nickolas.
Nickolas stopped to think and remembered that day on Proxima b, as he was flying SM1 from the day side of the planet to dark side. Being so close to its star, the planet was tidally locked with one side always facing the sun and the other side always pointing away into deep space. Because of this, a ring of storms circumnavigated the entire planet from pole to pole and he remembered the lightening and wind as he entered the zone between night and day.
Traveling forward, he remembered arriving and departing several storm zones and he watched as the star Proxima dropped lower and lower on the horizon, setting before his eyes and as he approached the termination between night and day, the shadows grew long and dark and he knew that a great change was coming. Looking back he saw the patient calm of a never-ending day, but looking forward, a massive storm raged like a hurricane as the warmer air from the star facing side raced toward the dark side, where it condensed and shrunk in a continual process of atmospheric transference. He replayed the words of Job in his mind.
“Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath. Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.”
It was here that the monster roared. The winds of a hurricane on earth could reach speeds of over 150 miles per hour, but in this twilight zone, the gusts approached velocities of almost 300 miles per hour. The whole front side of the planet was one eye within and eye within an eye of a great cyclone that never ended, and only in those safe zones did a temperate environment exist.
His mind wandered back to that time. When he entered the black clouds, SM1 shook like a Lockheed WC-130J aircraft, which could fly directly into a hurricane and he felt like the air around him was an oppressing demon, squeezing the ship like a leather glove, cold and impersonal, and as he navigated forward, the muddy blackness enveloped him like a black hole. And for the next few minutes, the leviathan crashed against the hull and pounded every inch of its surface with a rage that was indescribable in human terms. He contemplated the words that Jacob read.
“He lets loose his lightning’s from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole. In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic. He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice— His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding.”
But on that day he never slowed down and eventually, the crushing weight of the air released its grip on the ship, and as he traversed the gap between heaven and hell, the buffeting stopped as quickly as it started. He recalled that before he could get his bearings, the ship reacted immediately to a looming danger that swelled out of the darkness in front of him. SM1 accelerated upward as it climbed up and over a vertical wall of ice and snow that had to be a mile high.
“He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’ and the rain, ‘Soak the whole countryside!’ No one can escape the weather—it’s there. And no one can escape from God.”
When he thought back to that time, he remembered that it was a monstrous glacier that extended from horizon to horizon and must have encircled the entire globe. As he skimmed over the top, he remembered seeing large crevasses and ridges, cliffs and ice-mountains, which extended over the nocturnal plateau like a thick blanket of frost. The warm, moist air of the day side was frozen and compressed into a massive layer of water-ice, which swept across the plain like a sandstorm in the Sahara.
“Nickolas!”
He was startled by the sudden outburst.
“Do you remember?”
It was Jacob repeating the question.
“Yes. I remember.”
Jacob turned to Job 37:9 and read one last passage.
“The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds’.
“Are these passages familiar to you when recalling your exploration of Proxima b?”
Hannah jumped into the conversation.
“He does that all the time. You’ll get used to it. He goes to his own little world in his mind and tunes out everything else. This is usually a good thing because it means he’s thinking and solving mind-bending problems.”
Nickolas smiled and answered the question.
“I remember like it was yesterday. Your biblical description is right on point.”
Jacob continued like a lecturer in a class room.
“I believe that the planet Proxima b is a starting point that leads to many other destinations. Remember when I talked about the ‘Tree of Life?’ Using various clues found in the text, I was able to create a map of sorts using the Tree. Would you like to see it?”
Everyone nodded in approval. He displayed a new image on the wall. It was a star map showing all of the known exoplanets in the galaxy.
Jacob continued.
“The area we want to concentrate on is the areas known as ‘The Chambers of the South’ which you may recall included the constellations Aquarius, Canopus, The Southern Cross and Centaur. This comes from Job 9:9.”
He zoomed in on this section of sky, which showed a variety of stars with known planets including Proxima at the bottom of the chart.
Next Jacob continued by overlaying an image of the Tree of Life on top of the chart.
“I then position the ‘Tree of Life’ onto the map with the lowest Sephirot positioned on Proxima. Remember that the starting point for man is the (Malkuth) or physical realm of the planets. Our first stepping stone is Proxima b, so using our map, I positioned that point directly over the star Proxima.”
Jacob stepped back and allowed the team to view the image of the Tree, which was rotated at a slight angle. They all wondered at the same time why the Tree wasn’t positioned straight up and down, but before they could ask the question, Jacob asked it for them.
“Remember the number of God?”
Major Brooks responded.
“Yes. Wasn’t it 3168?”
“Correct. The ‘Tree of Life’ in this image is tilted exactly 31.68 degrees off of center.”
He updated the slide on the screen so that the angles of 31.68 degrees were extended beyond the Tree.
“If we follow the path emanating from the ‘feet’, ‘hands’ and ‘mind’ we see that the lines all point to
K2-72, while the ‘crown’ of God points the way to the star system named ‘Trappist-1’.”
Nickolas asked a question.
“Didn’t they just find a bunch of rocky worlds around that star that may be suitable for life?”
Jacob responded.
“Correct. There are several planets that are roughly the same size as Earth and may have liquid water on the surface.”
Major Brooks was skeptical.
“This is just a bunch of lines. How did you come up with these angles?”
Jacob continued.
“Remember God’s number is 3168. This entire diagram is built on the number 31.68. Let’s see what happens when we apply that angle to our map of the stars.”
He advanced to another slide.
“This is how I established the initial angle of ‘The Tree of Life.’ This is based on an angle of 31.68 degrees. If you don’t believe me, measure it yourself using this image.”
He then advanced to the next slide.
“As we add more and more angles, you see a pattern emerge.”
“Do you see how each angle builds the structure of the ‘Tree of Life?”
“And we add still more angles at 31.68 degrees.”
“The results are indisputable. When every Sephira is accounted for on our map, our target is ‘Trappist-1.
The room fell silent. Nobody said a word. This was like nothing they had ever seen before and it was hard to get their head around the information being thrown at them in this meeting. This wasn’t what they were expecting when they first entered this room and now, a whole new dimension was opening up for mankind.
General Reynolds was the first to speak. He stood up and poi
nted to the map, following the lines from beginning to end.
“I noticed that Trappist-1 isn’t the only target? The lines also point to K2-72, Kepler 298, Wolf 1061 and GJ 667C. What’s the significance of these other stars?”
Jacob pointed to a few locations.
“Each has exoplanets and may be future bases of operation or sources of supply for human expansion into the universe. It is my belief that these are stopping-off points for future travelers. We won’t always have SM1 to haul cargo to and from an Exoplanet. Eventually mankind will figure out how to develop long range transports that may require years or decades to reach distant points, and having bases along the route may be critical to advancing into deep space.”
The group was now on their feet, examining every detail on the map. As they did so, Jacob spent over an hour explaining the math. It was odd to see it displayed this way and even stranger to realize how the angle of 31.68 degrees seemed to work so perfectly within the “Tree of Life.” The amount of information thrown at them was almost overwhelming, but through it all the Truth of God’s word shone through like a beacon in the night. The revelations, combined with the recent discoveries of science, seemed too coincidental to be true, but given current circumstances, couldn’t be ignored.
General Reynolds had been right to consider the inconsiderable when evaluating his unlimited range of options regarding SM1. Anyone else would have dismissed this as “Voodoo Science” and not something worth consideration. But after hearing the facts and reviewing the figures, Jacob’s theories held water. This was more than just a random group of facts that seemed to fit together. This went way beyond the common probabilities; this was something worth considering.
As much as they wanted to delve deeper into this mystery, General Reynolds suggested they take a break before presenting their next speaker; Jillian Green.
JILLIAN GREEN
Jillian was born in Kansas City Kansas. She was the daughter of Indian immigrants who came to America in the 1980’s. As an only-child, she received the benefit of seeing her parents tend to their greenhouse as they grew flowers, vegetables and other things for their family business.
It was expected that she take part and learn as there was no doubt that she’d inherit everything in the end. For the family, it was a foregone conclusion that she would follow in her parent’s footsteps, but there were many clues that should have alerted them that she was her own person with her own destiny.
When her father and mother arrived from India, they adopted the American culture immediately. No longer did they wear the traditional clothing of their countrymen, but assimilated the Western style of dress and abandoned everything Indian. They even changed their name from Gujarat to Green in an effort to fit in. When their daughter was born, they ignored tradition and named her Jillian, which meant “youthful” and educated her in the best schools available.
Given her status, Jillian never felt the desire for fancy dresses or skirts, but found the traditional Sari and Choli to be the most comfortable. It seemed the more her parents tried to push her into Western culture, the more she rebelled by going back to the old ways. It was important for her to understand her roots and she wasn’t ashamed of where she came from or who she was. In fact, she used her differences to separate herself from the crowd, but this was hardly necessary.
When she walked into a room, her beauty was accentuated by her half-saree, which was a three piece set consisting of a lange, a choli and a stole wrapped over her like a tunic and the colors made her sparkle like a bronze goddess. The reds, pinks and blues, shimmering as silken waves across her body.
All the boys raced after her like a pack of dogs, which made the other girls jealous. How could they compete against this exotic beauty, who could light up a room by simply walking into it. As for the stereotype of being studious and smart, she was every bit of that and more. She was an honor student all four years of high school and earned a free pass through college. By the time she finished her education, she was a highly trained botanist, ready for the challenges ahead.
But those challenged didn’t include her family’s garden greenhouse and when it became evident that she was pursuing scientific studies of plants and agriculture outside the realm of their business, her parent’s couldn’t understand. In fact it became so tense that her father didn’t talk to her for several years. But a father’s love for his daughter is something that can’t be buried by anger or strife and when the time was right, they forgave each other and made peace with the reality of their situation. How could he stand in her way when she was changing the world? He should have felt proud and he did, but even in his quest to abandon the traditional ways, there was still a piece of him that wanted her to follow in his path, but that was never to be.
So as she advanced in her career and made a name for herself, the little greenhouse back home slowly fell into disarray and while she longed for those happy days in the garden, she also knew that it wasn’t her destiny and no matter how hard she tried to go back, she was never able to bring herself to do it.
When General Reynolds found out about her skills, he approached her, seeking advice about growing food on Proxima b. He needed someone who understood the various aspects of plants, an educated botanist, intimate with the process of photosynthesis at the molecular level as well as the relationship to plants within their environments.
He needed someone who understood the main purpose of agriculture used in food, fiber, fuels, turf and cover crops and how to develop plants that could respond to the stress of darkness, heavy water, climate variations and virgin soil. After all, vegetation was used in making medicine, bio-fuels and timber. Everything needed to colonize a new planet was found in the skill-set of a botanist, so why not select the very best for his needs.
When she agreed, he set her up with her own lab and gave her a staff of the very best interns, all for the purpose of planting a garden on a far distant world, many light years away. She still remembered feeling that soil for the first time and marveling at the granular texture in her hands. It was truly a new chapter in botany and much of her work would be ground-breaking. In fact, during the few months of work at Area 51, she developed ways to grow plants in complete darkness. It was a marvel to behold and one that could have long term ramifications for food production all over the world.
With each new success, came more money and more help and soon she was managing a complete laboratory with the latest equipment and the best experts. The amount of cash being thrown at her project was astounding and she wondered where the government was digging up all these funds. All she had to do was ask and it was given, without regard to cost or having to justify the expense. It was a bizarre dream and she didn’t want it to end.
Now with her data in hand, she was being asked to prepare a detailed inventory of everything needed to send an expedition to an exoplanet with the purpose of growing plants and food. In essence to lay the groundwork for a future colony in space. The target world was not only Proxima b, but any habitable planet circling close to a red dwarf star. For red dwarf stars were the most numerous and it was only natural to find rocky worlds close to these dim and tiny suns.
Even if they could introduce life onto one of these worlds and mankind never returned for millennia, these plants would adapt to their new environment and over time, when humans finally arrived to stay, these new worlds would be capable of supporting complex life like people and animals. It was all about preparation and planning and the General was wise to understand the need at such a deep level.
She was in a position to make decisions that would affect billions of lives now and in the future. And when the General finally announced his recommendations, he’d be under intense scrutiny from every possible direction. Nothing would be left to chance, and every aspect of his decision would be examined and reviewed down to the tiniest detail. So for her own protection, she also had to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ just as Jacob Logan had prior to his presentation.
There could be no reasonable doubt as to the validity of her research, but if she was to survive the coming storm, she had to be ready and since the work she enjoyed was also the driving force in her life, she felt confident in her level of readiness. The facts she would submit to the group were beyond dispute. All she needed was the chance to prove herself and that moment was at hand. Once she stepped in front of this assemblage of people, she would be forever tied to this unique band of travelers, a part of history itself and in that moment she was proud.
Proud of her family, her heritage and her independence. It was more than she could have hoped for so long ago in that small garden greenhouse; her mother by her side. When she thought back to those days, she didn’t miss the simple gardening, but she yearned for the long conversations with her mother as they dug around plants, removed weeds, planted seedlings or just talked about life in general.
Once she left that patch of ground to start her new life, she never got the chance to enjoy those long rambling exchanges again. Life moved too quickly and when she did come home, it was more about reporting on her progress and less about their lives, hopes and ambitions. As intelligent as she was, it never occurred to her that her parents might have aspirations and dreams. After all, they were set in their existence like a post in concrete, so what was there to talk about?
