“We will soon begin relocating machinery, which will free up all three sectors.”
“If I'm right, then we'll need factories for manufacturing and outfitting the defense corps if we're going to use all three sectors for spaceships and related equipment,” Karen pointed out.
“That's true, but we're obliged by federal contract to create one million jobs. We can set the factories up on Ukrainian State territory,” said Steersman.
“Have the plans been drawn up for the defense corps base unit?” asked Karen.
“The creative director of the architect studio is delivering some interesting ideas.”
“Who? Gore? He designs buildings, doesn't he?”
“Basically, he's an artist with a whole heap of creativity. For him, this is just another design job. The architects will prepare the plans. So far, they have designed some pretty atypical buildings, so this won't be as big a challenge as the one they experienced when the firm first came to work here.”
“Yeah, I've heard the story,” said Karen, a half-smile playing about the corners of her mouth.
“Oh, and I've heard from Anwar Sterenberg in the botanic research section that he is working on something … pretty innovative.”
“Yeah, that's how it struck me too when you suggested that spacecrafts could operate as an independent, self-sufficient ecosystems. Then I realized that it works rather like a human body, the only difference being that external requirements have to be provided from within the system.”
“Interesting. Is this why you're planning a complete farm on the ship?” asked Steersman.
Karen nodded and began to elaborate. “It all came from the fact that I really don't think all nutrients and foods should be in preserved form. In addition, the quantity of food that can be stored is finite. This way, a continuous supply is guaranteed. Only the initial supply of meat will be preserved and canned. All essential foods and nutrients will be produced on board the ship, in the nutrient plant and the farm. Milk, eggs, cereals, vegetables and fruit.
“Using live animals?”
“Yes, they'll be kept in a sterile environment. They'll be as clean as the people they are traveling with. We only need them for the foods that they produce, and only small animals we will be carrying. Ninety percent of them will be females. The main aim is to provide an adequate source of protein for the crew.”
“A bold plan. And what about crops?”
“With gene-condensation procedures, crops will only need one-ten-thousandth of the area that they normally require and less if we use a shelving system. Five grain types will be cultivated: oat, rye, wheat, rice and corn, but we'll also be modifying strains of staple roots and tubers to allow for diversity of complex carbohydrates and sugars.”
“And what about the two basic needs: air and water?” asked Steersman.
“There will be a special site planted with a specially developed plant species that has a much stronger photosynthesis cycle, processing more carbon dioxide and producing more oxygen. In this area, we'll initiate weather cycles, condense the vapor and thus gain clean water. Waste water will be used to irrigate the site, which will filter and purify it, and it will also function as a recreational park, allowing the crew to relax and regenerate,” explained Karen.
“What percentage of the ship's area will these facilities require?”
“The food production facility will cover twelve percent and the natural purification plant, fifteen percent,” said Karen.
“The ships will function like living organisms, yes?”
“Yes,” confirmed Karen.
“What will take the role of the ships immune system?”
“Well mainly the on-board medical center, but perhaps even more importantly, the maintenance crew. They will be responsible for ensuring that every live and inanimate entity remains in perfect health. Five percent of the ships area will be dedicated to the maintenance crew and equipment.”
“What other areas have been established?”
“The nervous system and the brain. The nervous system is fairly simple because it essentially consists of the staff itself; the people who control the ship, collect and distribute information, solve problems, undertake routine operations and perform specialized tasks. The ship provides their living and resting spaces.
For each of the three ships, the brain will have a specific function. The flag ship will carry out detection work with space dedicated to biology laboratories. The technical vessel will carry production tools and facilities, and equipment for colonization. On the defense vessel, we'll be transporting SRT units. These areas and facilities will take up 50% of the net area on board each ship.”
Steersman thought for a moment, then asked, “Has the amount of space required for ships systems been established?”
“Not yet. Many of them are still under development, but a preliminary estimate has shown that it will be about half of the ship. We haven't yet worked out placements. There are still debates going on as to the optimum position for the Gravitors and electrical systems. The engineers are all agreed that electricity delivery should not rely on a traditional cable network as it is too prone to error, and installing an error detection system would be unduly cumbersome. The final ratios will depend on these factors. But apart from this one problem, we can start building the structural framework.”
“Power transmission has always been an issue. I'll have a think about it too,” said Steersman, almost grudgingly.
“Strange as it may seem, the outer shell will be the most complex component as it has to have such an extensive functionality.”
“Just like human skin?” noted Steersman, smiling.
“Exactly,” said Karen without any trace of humor. “Protection against impact from foreign bodies and radiation, temperature control, camouflage, navigation and comm-network, as well as reconnaissance equipment will all be on the ships outer surface.”
“And it has to be hermetically sealed,” added Steersman.
“Of course. What about the command candidates?”
“Well, we have all agreed that they'll take part in traditional military training first, but more specifically, only in practical situations that train their ability to withstand stress. In this way, we'll know, right from the start, who can take the pressure and who can't. Other than problem solving, this is the most important quality we need to develop.”
“So, Murinko's dealing with them?”
“Yes, for a while.” Steersman stopped for a moment, then with a quick nod, continued. “Right Karen, it seems to me that this program is in excellent hands. I'm going to find out how Gibbs and his team are getting on with the drive project. He sent me a message this morning and it seems that there are some encouraging signs.”
“Glad to hear it. I'll pop for a look in later,” said Karen.
NGI
Steersman had felt an inexplicable sense of unease for days. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Seemingly everything was on track, and yet something was still missing. Fortunately, no one noticed.
Oliver Trenerry joined him in one of the ASEC transport tunnels. He always noticed when something was up, but this time he didn't say anything, or perhaps didn't want to believe his instincts.
“It's a fairly ethereal activity, creating a universal communications protocol,” he said softly.
“In as much as it's intangible, it is also very existential and pervasive where there are not only people, but fairly soon we'll possibly be coming into contact with aliens also. Last but certainly not least we must care for the environment that we have so far neglected.”
“I do not deny its importance.”
“As communications expert, consider this your ultimate life's work,” explained Steersman with his usual raw logic.
“Sounds good.”
“To be clear about what we're expecting, we have to clarify the basics. We need to work out what will be considered acceptable behavior in relations between
humans, aliens and machines and what sort of directives we will need to apply to these combinations.”
As they talked, they entered the energy department, and their conversation was drowned out by a rhythmic knocking sound that emanated from the far corner of the hall. There were a number of scientists gathered around a steel clad object the size of a train engine. At times, the noise intensified, and at others it trailed off, its rhythm constantly changing along with its pitch. The drive shifted alarmingly, despite being attached strongly to the heavy scaffolding surrounding it.
“What do we have, Gibbs?” Steersman addressed the scientist.
“Mr Steersman, I think you'll be pleased,” he said. “We have created a completely new method for harnessing DCG technology. In this power transmission system, the drives now successfully eject anti-gravitational pulses. With this additional step, we're able to produce multiple velocity pulses to eject propulsion material,” Gibbs explained enthusiastically.
“Excellent! Where are we with regards to testing?”
“We're working on adjusting systems so that the timing is perfect.”
“How does this impulse thing work?” asked Trenerry, intrigued.
“It's roughly comparable to the difference between exhaling slowly and consistently or exhaling in short strong puffs. The amount of air is the same, but in the second instance, the initial speed of air being expelled is much faster. At the moment, we are controlling each pulse by the regulation of negative gravitational fields using a seven second pulse frequency,” Gibbs explained, “but there are limits to its usage.”
“What?” asked Steersman.
“The system can only be used safely in zero gravity or close to it, in a vacuum, as it creates very strong fields that load everything that moves with high acceleration, not to mention having a fairly heavy impact on the surrounding environment.”
“What do you mean?” asked Trenerry.
“Put simply, if we were to use it within the Earth's atmosphere, it would be fatal for whatever it impacted,” Gibbs elaborated.
“So, how are you able to test it?”
“So far, we've only been able to test it using scaled down sizes and quantities. We're working with just five fields of strength, which is fairly safe.”
“Five fields of strength? In comparison to what?”
“Compared to the most powerful DCG sphere that currently exists, the one we use for Sumo type II craft. It has become the standard unit, because its output can't be increased without a further increase in size. With this new structure however, we plan to create an anti-gravity field strength of almost one million, bringing us close to the maximum speed that can be achieved. And that's just the beginning.”
“A drive of that strength could tear a spaceship crew apart, right?”
“As we are expelling a passive gravitational mass for thrust, then there'll be no problem as long as we use it in gravitational fields close to zero. In that case, acceleration is much more gradual.”
“What material is ejected?”
“That's the beauty of it! Ordinary sand particles can be for propulsion.” He grinned and pointed to panels on the wall behind the structure that were dented and scoured in the middle as a result of impacts from small objects. “Virtually anything of a compact size is suitable, though. For this reason, the ship does use ‘fuel’, although the consumption is extremely low. According to our calculations, only a tiny amount of material is required for more than one million kilometers, but it is still a consumable resource.”
“If it can't be used on Earth, how will it be tested live?”
“When we've finished assembling the individual components, we'll begin to build the engines according to our model here, but we need to make some provision for the expulsion of the propellent, Mr Steersman. If we begin to test here, even tiny particles become hazardous at such speeds,” noted Gibbs with some concern.
“Of course, we won't start the NGI engines here,” he said, giving the drives their official name for the first time, “and as we have no idea about control protocols, we need to first build several smaller versions of the drive, ones that we can install on a transport ship. We'll perform tests on that. The final drives will be constructed for spaceships,” said Steersman.
“Okay.” Gibbs nodded.
“You can use a Sumo II for testing. The second sector will soon be vacated and you can install the drives there.”
“Why?” asked Trenerry.
“All three factory sectors will be handed over for construction of the space fleet. All of our existing equipment will be transferred to the new IRD station, when it is ready.”
“Is that the new building site on the north side?” asked Trenerry.
“Yes. The area is twice as big as the rest of the ASEC and it will be dedicated to asset storage. It will not take up any more space in the production area.”
“Basically a massive hangar.”
“Sort of.”
“Fairly soon, we'll need to create new working standards to use for future projects, because continuing to work without them will become cumbersome,” said Gibbs, thoughtfully. “New units, scales, and so on. For example, the strength of gravity in a given position has great significance to us. It may also be a good idea to involve the astrophysicists.”
“All right, I'll talk to them once we have deciphered the new signals they've been receiving,” said Steersman.
“Another message has been received?” Trenerry gasped.
“Did we get a reply to our message?” said Gibbs, equally surprised.
“All we know is that the incoming signal has changed quite drastically. We don't yet know what it contains. It's far more complicated than the previous transmissions that were intercepted. We've had to seriously upgrade our decoding capacity.”
“It's getting umm, … rather exciting!” Trenerry said, but it was obvious that he had left something hanging.
Like all beginnings
The three sectors, vacated within a week, were left eerily empty. spaceship construction engineers waited impatiently to begin, including Surinder Neelam's team, which had been put together to construct spacecrafts under the aegis of ASEC.
Previously Neelam had played a significant role in building India's national space research program which quickly became a success story, so a number of less than competent politicians had felt the need to take an active part in. As a result of their dilettante reasoning the success story quickly came to a dead end. When the highly qualified and respected engineers and technical specialists working on the space program began to feel disillusioned and had had enough of playing clowns in the shadow of idiots, they began looking for a better deal.
All of them, along with their multi-generational families, now looked to Excolopolis as a new home full of opportunity, where they could wake up to views of large forest groves, green hilly suburbs and crisp clean air.
Karen had the completed construction plans. She knew exactly what would be built in which sector, and she knew how the colossal spacecraft were to be assembled. Many of the machines and much of the required equipment were still under development, but this didn't mean that they would delay starting work on the frames.
She held her first briefing with Neelam.
“I know how it feels when you want to resolve every single issue yourself, therefore I'm asking you to notify me regarding anything that helps or hinders your work,” Karen requested.
“Of course,” said Neelam.
“Please, use the CCI logging system,” she added.
“Sure, no problem. I've reviewed the plans and have felt something that I do not often feel: hesitation. Neither the form nor the technology resemble anything we have worked with thus far in our careers, although we have always been considered to be working at the leading edge of our industry,” said Neelam voicing his first impressions.
“That's always the case at first, but it doesn't matter what we have dealt with in the past. What's important is our ability t
o adapt quickly,” Karen reassured him. “You used to be involved in aircraft construction, right?”
“That's right.”
“Then, it must not have been easy to move into the space industry, yet you succeeded. Now you are facing the same challenges again.”
The engineer began to visibly relax.
“What materials will we be working with?”
“The frame will be entirely built using an electrolyzed protein solution, in which the structure's regenerative polymer tissue will be generated. This material has very high torsion capabilities, and also possesses the ability to regenerate damaged areas at an incredible rate.”
“We will construct spaceship frames from organic material?” asked Neelam scientist, taken aback.
“Yes. And the outer layers of the surface will also contain organic material.”
“Really? And what will happen if it cannot tolerate vacuum of space?”
“Not a single integrated organic part will be in direct contact with space.”
“Not even the outer surface?”
“No, a liquid cover will hermetically seal the entire body. Plus an inverse gravitational field will shield against external stresses.”
“Nice idea,” the scientist said in some surprise, having not been previously aware of the existence of such technology.
“If the level of exposure exceeds the level of protection, then instability in the frame structure will be the least of our problems.”
“Understood. So, first we construct the frame, right?”
“The plan includes the progress schedule, and we now have the locations for parts manufacture. In the first stage, we'll build each of the structural elements required for assembly. Only then will we be able to turn our attention to building the outer shell, that being the second phase,” said Karen as she opened out the respective plans. “The casing will comprise five layers, four of which will be produced here.”
“Ah yes, graphene mesh, a very strong material indeed,” interjected Neelam, relieved to at last be on familiar ground.
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