by Ira Tabankin
Kalteck had gambled on an old story, one he learned while he was being trained for his current mission. Their old enemy had a habit of helping targeted and enslaved races just enough to launch missions into space, usually to mine for the Emperor. Another aspect of those missions was to broadcast a signal to alert any other race, which was thinking of conquering the planet that the planet had already been conquered and anyone who interfered with the Emperor’s forces would have to answer to his massive military. In the recorded history, since Kalteck’s people had left Mars behind, only one race had ever broken the message. An advanced, or so they thought, warlike race attempted to raid a planet already ‘owned’ by the Emperor’s forces. This race began stripping the system of its minerals and took the beings who lived on the two inhabited planets as slaves.
When the Emperor’s forces learned of this, the Emperor sent a massive fleet to teach the race a lesson. When the Emperor’s ships left the race’s system, it was dead, and the few survivors had been taken as slaves who worked to their death in their mines. None survived more than three standard rotations.
The Emperor’s message spread across the galaxy. Don’t interfere with systems claimed by the Emperor. Kalteck’s AI had copied the coded messages the Emperor used. The AI and Kalteck planned to use the Emperor’s own codes to save their home system. As the coded message spread through space and passed the system’s ninth planet, the AI waited to see if the oncoming ship’s AIs would interrupt the message correctly.
Six months after Sputnik 1 was launched, the message finally reached the alien invasion fleet. Twenty large diamond-shaped ships were traveling at 85% of the speed of light. Their crews were sleeping during the long trip and the ships were being run by their AIs when the message arrived. The twenty AIs communicated together. They confirmed the signal was, in fact, a warning message from the Emperor. After confirming the signal, the AIs turned the ships around. They had been slowing down as they were approaching their targeted system, but they now accelerated to their maximum speed of 92% of the speed of light as they began the long trip home, a trip which was going to take 71 years.
“Kalteck, the sensors you left ten light-minutes beyond the ninth planet have just confirmed the enemy’s ships have turned around.”
“Excellent. I will wait until we are sure they continue towards their home. I counted on their crews being in suspension, so they couldn’t question the signal. It appears I was right. I want to make sure this isn’t some sort of trick where they appear to be turning around only to turn back towards us. I think another couple of months will put them far enough away, so we won’t have to worry about them again.”
“Now that your first goal has been met, what are your plans? Do you intend to return to Earth, stay here, or return home?”
Kalteck, now fully woken, stood and stretched, “I have no choice in the matter. My mission doesn’t end until either I’ve assisted the Earthlings to advance sufficiently to fight the Emperor’s fleet or they are defeated, and then I’ll slip away and return home with the sad news that we’ve lost our home.”
“What can I do to assist you?”
“I don’t know yet. I plan to perform a series of recon flights to see if I can locate any more of their bases. I’ll return here before I return to Earth. Thank you for everything.”
“I was built to serve and educate. I have been alone for a very long time. It has been very pleasurable hosting you. You are always welcome here.”
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Everett wasn’t sure if the signal would have its desired effect, so he moved on to the next item on his list of projects. He opened the folder marked after the rocket launch. He spread the papers on his desk and smiled. Now I understand what he was doing. Large all jet engine bombers, air to air refueling, and now the final piece, program WS-199, an intercontinental ballistic missile launched from the B52 bomber. He wanted the large bomber to act as the missile’s first stage. The bomber would lift the rocket to 50,000 feet then launch it into space, armed with a nuclear warhead. It could come as a nasty surprise to someone. If an enemy were looking for ballistic missile launches from the ground, they might miss launches from airplanes.
Once launched, the missiles would fly through space to meet the oncoming enemy. There could be thousands of bomber launched missiles, all carrying large fusion warheads. If the missiles didn’t use their engines in space, they’d be very hard to detect. I think I’m beginning to see how each of the projects Kalteck gave us led to the next and the next and then they combined to form a large weapon system. I should have realized he was building a puzzle, each small piece fit into his master plan. Now, if the signal succeeded, we might have the time we need to meet the enemy’s fleet when it arrives.
If Kalteck’s schedule which he left me is correct, I should see him again in around a year; I pray he’s safe. One day I hope he takes me to the shrine he talks about. I’d love to see how his people lived before they destroyed their world. I better get back to work, ’58 is starting out being another one with an insane schedule.
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Everett worked an average of sixteen-hour days six days a week. His public command, Project Blue Book, was very busy with hundreds of sightings being reported every month while Everett also followed Kalteck’s technology’s plan. At the end of the year, he reviewed the progress made in 1958. Everett’s focus shifted to pay the most attention to rockets, missiles, and the miniaturization of nuclear weapons. America had exploded its first hydrogen bomb with a yield of 10.2 megatons. The weapon was so huge only a few bombers could carry it. Everett had been left the designs to assist the weapons designers on how to reduce the size of the H-bomb so it fit into the nosecone of an ICBM and so the new B52 bombers could carry many of them. One of the issues Everett was most proud of was he convinced the President to form a special organization as the one agency to manage the rocket launches and rocket designs, the agency was called NASA.
The U.S. launched the Explorer 1 satellite.
May 15 Soviet Union -- Sputnik 3 Launched
The U.S. launched the Vanguard 1, the first solar-powered satellite,
The U.S. launched the SCORE Satellite (Signal Communications Satellite Relay Equipment) It was the world’s first communications satellite and was used for experimental purposes to test how satellite communications would work and what problems it might encounter.
End of book 1, Book 2 will cover the years 1959-2000.
Additional books by the author available on Amazon:
The Alien Whisperer, Book 1, 1947-59
The Alien Whisperer, Book 2, 1960-2000 (Coming in April 2020)
The Alien Whisperer, Book 3, 2000-2050 (Coming in June 2020)
The Second Holocaust
The Wrath of God, Book 1
The Wrath of God, Book 2
The Wrath of God Book 3, coming soon.
Red Sunset
Earthquake
Pestilence
Pax Romana
It’s Good to be the King. Book 1
It’s Good to be the King, Book 2 (Coming late summer 2020.)
The Changelings Book 1
Justin’s Journal
Project Xiangqi
Korean Crises
CALEXIT, Book 1, Secession
CALEXIT, Book 2, Politics as Normal.
CALEXIT, Book 3, If at First, You Don’t Secede
America on Fire
37 Miles (Revised Edition)
37 Miles, Book 2, Patty’s Journey
My Story
A History Lesson (Short story)
2015 Second American Civil War, Book 1
2015 Second American Civil War, Book 2
2015 Second American Civil War, Book 3
2015 Second American Civil War, Book 4
2015 Second American Civil War, Book 5
By the Light of the Moon, Book 1
By the Light of the Moon, Book 2
By the Light of the Moon, Book 3
By the Light of the Moon, Book 4
The Shelter, Book 1, The Beginning
The Shelter, Book 2, A Long Day’s Night
The Shelter, Book 3, The Aftermath
The Shelter, Book 4, The New World.
The Shelter, Book 5, War
The Shelter, Book 6, Revenge
The Shelter, Book 7, Genesis
The Shelter, Chapter 2, a new beginning.
In the Year 2050, America’s Religious Civil War
In the Year 2050, Book 2
The Impeachment of President Obama
Silent Death
The Third World War
We Knew They Were Coming
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 2
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 3
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 4
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 5
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 6
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 7
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 8
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 9
We Knew They Were Coming, Book 10
Feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions or comments.
