by Kumar L
It would require a huge team of scientists, technicians and workers and cost a huge amount of money. Fortunately, he was born in a country which could afford it. He would also have to start building a team of astronauts and technicians to man the vessel. He wondered if there was still a possibility that the military would take over the project.
Srinivas put the thought aside as his car detached from the train and entered the ISC campus. The security apparatus scanned his car, identified the occupant and allowed entry all within a second and the car glided to a stop in front of his office.
As he went up the stairs he decided to start off with first things first. He called up the AI and got connected to Doctor Aryan at GMRT.
‘Good Morning Doctor Aryan, hope you are doing well today?’
‘I’m good Director. How was your meeting with the PM? Did you get the go ahead?’
‘Yes, we are good to go. We have authorisation to send the message. They just need to approve the text first. Have you thought about the composition of the return message?’
‘Yes Sir. I’ve kept it simple as desired. Since they seem to understand SOS, that phrase will become our header. This will be followed by our location based on the coordinates provided in the message from Proxima B. Based on the distance the signal needs to travel, it will take just over 4 years to reach the destination. Of course, we will not be able to confirm it has been delivered till we get a reply again.’
“Good. You have the go ahead. Please let me know whenever you are ready. Thank you.’
The holo image blinked off leaving the Director to complete his next task. He called up the schematics of the transport ship he had named Antariksh. Its predecessor Akash had performed very well during field trials. However, since Akash was unmanned it had been used in limited Jump trials with pre-programmed routes. Akash would first be retrofitted with a dome and humans would be on board to test out the capability of travelling faster than light. The findings from all trials would help build the next generation of ships to carry human travellers into space. Srini placed a message to the project in charge to setup a meeting. He was going to personally oversee the construction.
In the meantime, there was one more thing to be done - finding a crew for the first interstellar journey from Earth. He had every reason to be pleased with his choice of commander for the first flight - Captain Anara. The Captain had been his protégé for last many years as she had risen to command lunar flights and then the regular supply and study missions to Jupiter’s Moons.
He placed a call to Anara who was on a supply run to Europa station around Jupiter. She would have landed a few days back on Europa and would most likely be in the biosphere. The biosphere was relatively small when compared to the other off-Earth bases and was built on kilometers of thick ice.
It took a few minutes for the call to go through and the lag was a bit annoying. He realized that this also meant that the space mission would not be contactable at all once it left the solar system and he would have to plan around it.
Anara came on line from the surface of Jupiter’s Moon. ‘Hello Director.’
‘Hello Captain. How’s Europa?’
‘It’s colder than hell as you know well Director. The reading right now is a 170 deg below zero. The research station is coming along well. The basic instruments are already working and we should have the colony habitat up and running by the next run. This is an interesting place Director, as we dig deeper into the ice we should be able to validate if life exists on this Moon.’
‘Good Anara. However, there may be something much more exciting than Europa for you.’
‘That sounds intriguing and what would that be exactly, Sir?’
‘I can't explain this on a call Anara. I am cutting short your trip to Europa. Come and meet me as soon as you’re back on Earth.’
‘Aye Sir. Will see you soon. Anara out.’
Srinivas next called his personal assistant in. Aman walked in from the main door and stood in front of the desk.
‘Aman, we are setting up a high priority mission to be executed over the next few years. I have already set a few things in motion. You’ll find the entries in your log. I need you to keep an eye on Captain Anara’s schedule and notify me as soon as she lands back on Earth.’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘Now you and I need to work on assembling a team of people who can travel to Centauri star system and come back.’
Aman’s eyes showed his surprise. This mission would be the longest humans had ever attempted to travel in space. So, the rumours doing the rounds of ISC were true - alien contact had finally been made.
‘Yes Aman. It’s true,’ said Srini as if reading his thought. ‘We have received the first message from outer space and we believe it’s an intelligent civilization trying to make contact with Earth.’ He went on to brief Aman on what had transpired over the last few days. ‘Let’s start by drawing up a configuration of people required to man the spaceship starting with the Captain.’
‘Yes Sir,’ said Aman and called up a screen. He drew up the standard configuration of the last ten manned missions used for exploration by ISC. ‘We are potentially looking at a twenty year plus mission.’
‘No, we are not. We will be building Antariksh and the flight time will be less than one year!’
‘Sir?’, this was the second surprise of the day for Aman.
‘Yes Aman. We have the opportunity to make first contact with an alien civilization and you and I are going to make it happen.’
15th May 2117
Anomalies
The drains in the energy reserves were now a high priority item on Antariksh. While still not critical the steady reduction would soon be a cause for concern if not arrested. Despite intense covert efforts, Madhavan had not been able to come to any conclusion so far and Commander Ryan was worried.
As he went down to the power plant to confer again with Madhavan and Manisha, he went over the options open to them. They had tried using drones and robots to open up conduits and cables but had been unable to find anything. Short of actually stopping the ship and ripping apart connections he did not see any way out. The Captain was also contemplating directly confronting Narada because his recalcitrance in sharing information on this issue was worrying her too.
As he went down the steps, his mind went over to the time the ship was being built. He could not but thank his stars again for the opportunity that had been given to him. He was the first American to have reached interstellar space. Even though America has put the first men on the Moon, the 21st century had brought challenges which had taken time to resolve in terms of economy and conflict. His mother and father had both been soldiers in the US Army and his Mother’s discipline had helped reform young Ryan from his wayward ways in New York. Their absence from home on duty tours had affected him and his grades had steadily dropped. However, he had managed to stay in college and complete his training.
At the base in Diego Garcia with his parents, he had started working very hard and decided to aim for a degree in engineering at the top schools. His doctorate in physics had earned him a place at NASA and a secondment to the USAF where he had worked on military strategy and also served on the front lines in the South American wars. He had applied through NASA for the mission and with a lot of hard work and a bit of luck had been selected as second-in-command for the mission. It did not hurt his chances that ISC was looking for an international crew and his knowledge of propulsion systems and space quantum mechanics was required to complement the engineering team on the flight.
‘So Madhavan, where do we stand?’ he asked the engineer on entering the plant and finding him and Manisha at Madhavan’s work station.
‘Nothing concrete to report, Sir,’ answered Madhavan. ‘The drones have done their work and we have checked every circuit we could open. I’m afraid we are no better off than we started.’
‘Except…,’ prompted Manisha.
‘Except that while studying the drawings we have
found a small anomaly in the ship's design that we can’t explain.’
‘One more mystery for us, is it?’
‘Well Sir, not so much a mystery as a flaw which could be related to what we are searching for. You see, while looking over the design schematics we have found a difference of 1 meter at three sections on each side of the ship. I am unable to account for those even if I take into account the additional shields and bulkheads.’
‘That sounds strange. Weren’t you involved from the beginning in the construction of the ship? Wouldn’t you have noticed any differences then?’ asked Ryan.
‘Not really Sir. You see I was inducted into the programme a few years after construction started and that too as projects head for the propulsion subsystem. I really took over as chief only in the last two years of construction by when the hull was complete and we had moved in the interior design and getting ready for field trials. Manisha here in fact came in even later in the final stages after her training in flight control and navigation. So, you see, I never actually got exposure to the hull design except after completion of construction.’
Ryan nodded his understanding. ‘I think it’s time we brief the Captain on what you’ve found and decide our next course of action.’
‘So, Commander what has the team found about our problem?’
The four of them were seated in the Captain’s quarters and she had enabled her privacy function to lock out the AI.
Ryan briefed her on the situation with interjections by Madhavan and Manisha. Anara listened carefully asking some questions from time to time.
When he finished, she leaned back in her chair thinking about the two issues in front of her.
‘Based on what you tell me I also agree that the two things are related,’ she said. ‘Somehow there is power being fed to the compartments that we know nothing about for a reason we cannot fathom right now. I believe it is time for more direct action.’
‘Narada,’ she addressed the AI, ‘come online please.’
‘Yes Captain,’ replied the AI after a brief pause.
‘Narada, we spoke about the power drain. We have been unable to locate the source or the area where the power is being fed. What can you tell me about it?’
‘I’m sorry Captain, my readings to do not indicate any drain.’
‘Then how do you explain the readings from the field instruments and those gathered by the drones?’ asked the Captain.
‘I think there must be calibration error, Captain,’ replied Narada.
‘There is no calibration error and you know that well Narada. I have personally checked the settings!’ said Madhavan nearly getting out of his seat. ‘Are you implying that I am lying or incompetent?’
‘I’m implying nothing of that sort. Just that humans are prone to errors and this can be merely one of them.’
‘You. you..’ spluttered Madhavan unable to complete his sentence. Manisha looked up at him alarmed. She had not seen him this agitated or angry every before.
‘Easy Madhavan,’ Ryan said trying to calm him down.
‘Easy my foot, this lying piece of artificial intelligence thinks it is better than humans!’ Then realizing who all were there in the room, he apologized ‘I’m sorry, Ma’am!’
‘Narada, that statement is uncalled for and unwarranted. Now I ask you again, what can you tell me about the power situation and about the extra space in the hull?’
‘I’m sorry Captain, there is nothing in my logs to verify either of the two submissions.’
The AI was refusing to acknowledge the problem in spite of the evidence gathered so far. Anara controlled her temper and dismissed the AI. Direct action had achieved nothing with Narada. He was completely in denial.
‘This is not going to work,’ she said addressing her team. ‘Let’s plan a shutdown after our next Jump and get to the bottom of this. Commander, I expect a full plan to do this by the time we are ready to enter the Jump. Use whatever resources are required. This is obviously not just about the drain anymore. With Narada refusing to cooperate I believe we should not continue if the ship is compromised in any way. The lives of fifty five people may depend on it.’
‘Tell me Madhavan,’ asked Anara, turning to face him. ‘Do you think we can fix the issue with Narada if we restart his programme?’
‘I have been thinking about it Captain. Narada has a failsafe built in. It can be turned off only in case of extreme emergency and even then the program goes dormant in the central computer core. Also, this can only be done when we are back on Earth.’
‘What happens if we do shut him down and then reboot him?’
‘Technically that is possible using your codes but the core programming would still be in place when we boot up and Narada would be right back where we started. And before you ask Captain, no, I cannot make changes to Narada’s programme or trouble shoot it. I doubt anyone on this ship can. Its millions of lines of very sophisticated code. Not to mention any messing around with AI programs is protected under strict rules.’
‘I know Madhavan, but out here in space we do have a bit of leeway that we can exercise if necessary. Though I guess such leeway is of no use since you can’t do much about it.’
‘I’m sorry Captain,’ said Madhavan.
‘That’s alright but we must keep looking for options.’
‘Understood Captain. There is one more thing. Manisha?’ said Ryan gesturing to the Lieutenant.
‘Yes Sir. Captain, this is about object M2575 which we had detected a few days back. It came on our radar after two course changes not consistent with movement of celestial bodies or other objects we have encountered so far.’
‘What do we know about it, Manisha?’
‘We've been unable to get any fixed readings as it's still too far away. It definitely consists of metals and alloys more than other elements. A spectroscopy analysis has not shown anything remarkable. We are continuing to track it,’ said Manisha.
‘Captain, M2575 has changed positions and vector three more times since we've started tracking it. Its roughly in our path and there is enough reason to believe it is artificial and under its own propulsion,’ said Ryan.
‘You mean it could be a ship or a probe? When can we expect to get more details about this object?’
‘I'm keeping an eye on it Captain. I believe resolution will improve after our next Jump,’ said Manisha.
‘So, we have three anomalies important enough for us to investigate. Let's split resources and get Rawat in on this as well. I and Manisha will focus on M2575 while Ryan you, Madhavan and Rawat will focus on the power issue. Dismissed.’
While her team left her quarters one by one, Anara composed an encrypted message to the Director and sent it through the backup transmitter bypassing normal protocols. She may not get an answer but at least someone beyond the ship would be aware of the situation.
30th August 2110
The new Captain
Anara saluted casually as she entered the Directors room. She had worked many times with Director Srinivas and admired his ability to draw out the best in people. She had flown back directly from Europa cutting short her mission, just dumping off the load her ship was carrying.
‘It’s good to see you back on Earth, Anara.’ said the Director sounding genuinely pleased.
‘Me too Sir. Been out there too long. So, what was the hurry, Director?’ asked Anara. She had been on tenterhooks throughout the journey wondering what was behind her first ever recall from an active mission.
‘Straight to the point as usual, huh. Okay then. Tell me what do you know about the deep space probes sent from Earth in last 20th century?’
Anara was confused. Had the Director called her back for a history lesson? He must have a valid reason and she decided to play along for the moment.
‘Well there were a number of probes sent out to explore the solar system and beyond during that time. I recall the names Voyager and Pioneer,’ she answered. ‘But due to technological limitations of that
time, the lifespan of the was limited and most of them lost contact with Earth early on in the 21st century. Also, the instruments on board were very primitive but they did give us the first glimpse of far off planets in our solar system.’
‘That’s correct. You may also recall the messages from Earth which were embedded in these probes in hope that someday some alien race would find and decipher the messages and hopefully be curious enough to reach out to us.’
‘Yes Sir. I do recall something about golden discs or plaques.’
‘Correct again, Anara and what I want to tell you today is that .. someone did find the message and they have reached out to us.’
‘What!’ exclaimed Anara. Whatever she was thinking as the reason for her recall, this was not it. ‘But Director, that is stupendous news.’
How.. why.. when - a million questions crossed her mind simultaneously.
The Director went on to explain the findings at GMRT and walked her through some of the details ending with a brief about the meeting with the Prime Minister.
‘And that is why Anara you are back home in a hurry,’ he said with a slight smile on his face. He was sure he had more than intrigued her. The question was would she take the bait or not? He wanted this to be a voluntary mission because of the dangers involved.
‘I admit this is the last thing I expected to hear Sir, but I am still not clear. What does this have to do with me unless..’ she trailed off.
‘Yes Anara, we have sent a signal back but we also want to send someone from Earth to make contact with the aliens who read our message.’
‘That means you are setting up a deep space mission and you want me to be a part of the team. That is unexpected.’
‘It’s more than that Anara. I want you to lead the mission. You see since our labs have discovered the signals, it has been decided that India will host the mission and I cannot think of anyone besides you who has the depth of experience necessary to pull this off.’
