Confrontation

by William Hayashi

  Both spacecraft were heavily reinforced to withstand the crushing atmospheric pressure at the planet’s surface, anticipated at ten or more times that of Earth. Each specially modified jumper was equipped with four times the number of G-waves of a standard ship. Some were for redundancy; the others were to ensure that the internal cabin gravitational force wouldn’t climb above one Earth gravity, and to be able to lift the ship out of the massive planet’s gravity well.

  This first trip into the atmosphere was to be only a test of the ship’s systems. Chuck was to travel a quarter of the way toward the surface. Andrea was to remain above the atmosphere just in case Chuck ran into trouble. Both jumpers were equipped with magnetic skids that could attach one ship to the other in an unbreakable grip should difficulty arise.

  Chuck’s ship had a number of scientific sensors mounted on the hull to measure temperature, sample the atmosphere at various elevations and electrical sensors to measure any kind of atmospheric electrical discharge. Three of the colony’s scientists were along for the ride to aid in the data collection. A small kernel of the colony’s artificial intelligence’s consciousness was being shared between the computer systems of both jumpers, as the communications lag between Jupiter and the colony was several minutes.

  “Systems check, Chuck,” Andrea radioed. In her jumper was an astrophysicist, ready to interpret data sent back from the sensors on Chuck’s jumper, and Doc Long in his space suit, praying that there would be no mishap requiring his medical expertise.

  “Everything’s in the green. Alex and Nathan state all the instruments are ready to go. Drake’s ready in the copilot seat and everyone’s buckled in. Genesis, ready to record?” Chuck inquired.

  “Recording now.”

  In both ships, each crew member’s datapad displayed a running transcription of their dialogue should voice communications be impaired, almost like the chat software from the CompuServe or Source online world decades ago. Christopher was nearly psychotic in his safety requirements and his need to know exactly what was going on with the expedition as it progressed. He was monitoring the data stream from both jumpers back in Peanut’s lab.

  “Okay. We’re over the center of the Red Spot. Go ahead, Andrea, and move in above us,” Chuck radioed.

  “The pull of gravity is already strong, but everything’s normal in the cabin,” reported Alex, his eyes flying over all the extra instrument readouts.

  “Stand by, I’m beginning our drop,” radioed Chuck as he let Jupiter’s gravity pull the jumper into the upper reaches of its atmosphere. “There’s a trace of wind, not much really.”

  “You’ve passed out of sight, Chuck. You guys keep up a running commentary, keep us informed of your situation,” Andrea requested.

  “Will do.”

  “Upper atmosphere about eighty-five percent hydrogen, the rest is mostly helium, some ammonia, hydrocarbons. Hmm, got a trace amount of sulphur too,” Nathan reported. “Got two samples stored.”

  “Any water?” asked Chuck.

  “Not enough to register. Maybe when we get back we can dig a little deeper into the samples,” Nathan replied.

  “We’re already experiencing more than one atmosphere, Andrea. Pressure’s building pretty quickly. Wind’s not too bad at all,” reported Chuck.

  “How’s your power consumption?” Andrea asked.

  “Negligible. I’m taking us down to two atmospheres and will hold.”

  “Helium’s increasing. Getting some more ammonia crystals. Taking a couple more samples,” Nathan reported.

  “Pressure’s increasing on the hull, Chuck. We’re sliding through two atmospheres,” Alex reported.

  “Got it. Holding, Andrea, how do we sound?” Chuck inquired.

  “Still reading you fine. How’s the wind?” she asked.

  “Not bad. We don’t feel it with the interior gravity so steady,” Chuck said, then paused.

  “Any reason to continue to hold?” he asked. Seeing everyone shake their heads, Chuck continued, “Okay. Drake, take the wheel and take us down.”

  “Roger that,” Drake replied, taking the controls.

  Chuck brought up the camera views from around the outside of the jumper, specifically watching the view below.

  “It looks like there’s some kind of lightning a ways below. I’d love to get down there. Genesis, is there any electrical activity in the atmosphere outside?” Chuck inquired.

  “A negligible amount, some static electricity build-up, but nothing that endangers the spacecraft.”

  “What’s the pressure, Nathan?” Chuck asked.

  “Almost at three atmospheres.”

  “Andrea, how do you read?” Chuck radioed.

  “Still coming in fine. I’d like to remind you that the mission profile calls for a halt at three atmos,” she said. “Can you tell how much farther down you want to go?”

  “I have no idea. Distances are impossible to estimate by eye. Even with the little sunlight getting down here, every view is endless,” Chuck replied.

  “How’s your power?” she asked.

  “We’re still well over ninety-eight percent,” Alex reported. “Power’s not going to be a problem, the G-waves are running very efficiently. I just gotta say it, Chris’ discovery always leaves me speechless.”

  “Genesis, how’s the hull taking the pressure?” Andrea asked.

  “The hull is holding up well. There is minimal compression, certainly nothing to be concerned about. Given the amount of compression the jumper is experiencing under three atmospheres, and the current power reserves, I estimate that the jumper will survive descent through greater than ten atmospheres of pressure. According to theories put forth by both scientists at the colony and on Earth, the jumper can safely descend to the core of the planet, whether liquid or rock. It’s not expected to be completely solid.”

  “Thank you, Genesis. Chuck, there’s no way you all are going that deep. I want Peanut’s people to go over the hull inch by inch to make sure there’s no damage. We have no idea how corrosive those atmospheric compounds are. Combine them with electrical discharge and you add variables that can’t be calculated,” Andrea pointed out.

  “But everything is in the green, a few hundred more miles shouldn’t make that much of a difference … ” Chuck began.

  “Can it, Chuck. This is why the council put me in charge of the mission, not you,” she said, drawing laughter from everyone in Chuck’s jumper.

  “She’s got you there, skipper,” said Drake.

  “How about we descend to just above the lightning, Andrea? We can stay well out of the discharges,” Chuck implored.

  Andrea didn’t answer for a few moments. She looked at Doc Long, raising an inquiring eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders, willing to let those best acquainted with the engineering of the jumper make the decision.

  “Gentlemen,” Andrea addressed those in Chuck’s shuttle. “Please try thinking with your big heads here. How sure are you that the jumper’s going to hold up if it gets hit by one of those bolts of lightning?”

  Drake gave Chuck a thumbs up, as did Nathan and Alex.

  “The consensus here is that we’re willing to go ahead, taking it slow, of course,” Chuck promised.

  Sighing in resignation, Andrea relented. “Okay, take it down to four atmos and halt.”

  Chuck signaled Drake to continue their descent. He put the downward-facing camera view on the display above their heads.

  “Helium and some noble gas percentages are increasing; grabbed more samples,” Nathan reported.

  “I’ve got some measurable electrical build-up in the atmosphere,” said Alex.

  “Okay, four atmospheres. I’m holding steady. Holy shit! Look at that!” Drake shouted as a huge bolt of lightning crossed the camera view below.

  “Genesis, is there any way of measuring the energy in that discharg
e?” Chuck inquired.

  “Not exactly. Based on the tiny buildup of energy around the hull, and the static generated across the EM band, you are most likely looking at hundreds of billions of electron volts,” Genesis replied.

  “Jesus! That one bolt could have powered the colony for hundreds of years,” Alex said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “Okay boys, the jig is up. Get your asses back up here,” Andrea ordered. “I’m not kidding!”

  “Take her up, Drake. I definitely don’t want to fool around with something that powerful. We should send down something unmanned before we take a chance ourselves,” said Nathan.

  “What if there’s only lightning here in the Spot?” said Chuck. “Maybe we just chose the wrong place!”

  “Maybe so, Chuck, but you’re done for the day,” Andrea replied.

  “On our way!”

  Drake continued their flight out of Jupiter’s atmosphere, angling the jumper vertically so he would have a better chance of locating Andrea’s jumper by eye.

  “Anyone see Andrea’s jumper?” Drake asked. “Genesis? Where are they?”

  The others looked at the screens, now showing the view forward, with Chuck peering through the hardened glass.

  “Please bear fifteen degrees to starboard, Drake,” Genesis directed.

  “Okay, I see it. Thank you, Genesis. Hey Andrea, did you move while we were down below?” Drake asked.

  “No, we’ve been holding steady,” she replied.

  “Damn. Chuck, that’s a lot of drift. The winds must have been stronger than we could tell,” said Alex.

  “The whole storm’s cyclonic. Hard to tell how fast the atmosphere is rotating inside there,” said Chuck.

  “Yeah, but we dropped down in the middle. It should have been the calmest air right there,” said Drake. “With the G-waves keeping the internal gravity steady, you really can’t feel a damn thing while you’re flying, in atmo or out.”

  “According to Genesis, you drifted about three thousand miles away from your drop point,” Andrea reported.

  “Oh man. We didn’t feel a thing. And there was no way for me to tell while I was piloting,” Chuck said in amazement.

  “We did well, though, I got nineteen atmospheric samples we can look at when we get back. I can’t wait to check them out,” Nathan said.

  “And we have the data from the sensors on the hull. I wonder what kind of readings we have on electrical buildup. Billions of electron volts are nothing to sneeze at. Imagine a space station even bigger than ours and it’s powered by dropping a lightning rod into the atmosphere!” said a visibly excited Alex.

  “I wonder if there’s anything alive down there. You know, something we’d recognize as life?” Nathan speculated aloud.

  “Given how strong the gravitational field is and the pressure of the atmosphere at the bottom of that gravity well, it’s hard to imagine intelligent life evolving there,” answered Chuck. “Think of the energy, chemical energy, it would take to lift even a small spacecraft into orbit, or to build a freestanding structure. Genesis, have you had a chance to analyze the RF signals within the atmosphere?”

  “I am still sifting the RF data recorded, Chuck. So far I have not been able to detect any patterns to suggest intelligent life. Once this data is transmitted back to the colony, and I have the full processing power of the network, I will be better able to dissect and analyze the data collected.”

  “Good enough,” Chuck said as Drake pulled next to Andrea’s jumper.

  “Ready to head back?” Andrea radioed.

  “I am. I could use some hot food and a good night’s sleep,” said Nathan, drawing laughter from the others.

  “Take us home, Andrea. You have the con,” said Drake, slaving his navigation system to Andrea’s jumper.

  The conversations on the way back to the colony were a freewheeling mix of speculation on what the giant planet might be concealing and proposed technologies needed to more fully explore it.

  Chuck dictated a brief mission summary to Genesis to transmit back to the colony for Christopher, then chatted privately with Andrea about the logistics of planning a second mission back to Jupiter. By the time they returned, scientists and engineers were already poring over the data collected by the sensors. The excitement began anew in the colony when Nathan arrived with the atmospheric samples, with one or two biologists hoping some form of microscopic life might have been collected.

  As Chuck was shutting down the jumper’s systems, Peanut entered the craft saying, “Did you really want to tangle with a lightning bolt bigger than Earth? You know what Chris is going to say.”

  “But I didn’t. That’s all he needs to know. Anyway, you all designed the shell to be nonconductive, what’s the big deal?” Chuck said defensively.

  “Yeah, but all that went out the window when you all decided to add the electromagnetic skids. They’re nothing but lightning rods. But don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. How was it down in the soup?” asked Peanut.

  “It was pretty cool! There was a little bit of light pushing through the atmosphere, but the big thing was that the wind was a hell of a lot stronger than we thought. And it really is red when you get down in that spot.”

  “And how’d the jumper perform? Anything my guys need to work on?” Peanut asked.

  “It was like any other mission. We have to do something about navigating around all these planets. GPS for the solar system would be really nice; could you have your guys to get it done by the end of the week?” Chuck requested, laughing.

  “Sure thing, asshole. I’ll have them get right on it. Hey, wasn’t Genesis able to keep track of where you were? At least in relationship to Andrea’s jumper?”

  “Sort of. We were able to vector to her from its directions. Let me write a routine for the display systems so pilots can at least see where they are relative to the start or fixed point of a mission. How about you let Genesis drive? TJ’s still pissed off that you forbade giving control to the A.I., he says you’re some kind of superstitious Luddite,” Peanut said, hopeful that Chuck would at least consider a change in his human pilots only policy.

  “No way. The only way that will ever happen is if everyone else in the jumper, or any of our spacecraft, is so severely incapacitated that it’s the only way to get them to safety. And don’t go and get Chris or the council to overrule me,” warned Chuck.

  “Hey, that’s not what I’m getting at. Just a little navigational aid. Plus, with the newer super-high-definition screens TJ’s people have been turning out, I’ll bet we can make the display 3-D without using glasses or cross-polarizing the output.”

  “Fine, whatever. But see what you can do about insulating these bad boys against lightning. Would your new shield emitters be able to block lightning?” Chuck asked.

  “Sure, on Earth. But a bolt as big as a planet, with that many petajoules of energy? I have no idea. Let me run some simulations and see what we get.”

  “Good. Because if there’s any hint of danger, no one’s going to let me go back.”

  “Why is this one so important? According to our own guys there’s probably no real surface down there to land on, just hydrogen gas turning to liquid in all that pressure. What up?”

  “Because if we can get down to the bottom of Jupiter’s gravity well, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are going to be a breeze.”

  “Shit, I didn’t even think about that,” Peanut said, surprised.

  “Not to mention, if your FTL stuff works out we should be able to check out practically any planetary body unless its atmo is so corrosive that it melts the jumper. I’m thinking long-term,” answered Chuck. “Did you ever think about the prospect of us finding beings out there like us, like humans? You know, who shoot first, ask questions later?”

  “Um, no …”

  “Your team designed a jumper that should be ab
le to stand up to or outrun anything they have on Earth. But you know what? We’d have to be fools to think we’re the biggest dick in the galaxy.”

  “Damn, Chuck. You’re like the colony’s chairman of the joint chiefs,” said Peanut, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

  “More like lord of war,” corrected Chuck. “I’d love to believe that any civilization more advanced than us would have outgrown war, killing, whatever. But I can’t help thinking about all those movies with hostile aliens in them. And religious fanatics who think God created a universe just for us are idiots. What kind of Supreme Being makes an entire universe just for the likes of humans?” Chuck asked sarcastically. “It’s hard to believe that we’re not going to find signs of life in even our own solar system. Jupiter’s moons are supposed to have water, to me that’s almost a guarantee we’re liable to find something.”

  “Yeah, but people? Or something like us? Doubtful.”

  “Maybe not here, but in some other solar system? Look how many planets in the Goldilocks zone Earth’s scientists have been turning up all over the galaxy. The only thing that would make it impossible to find beings like us, is timing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like if we stumble on a planet where people existed millions of years ago and already died out. Or we go the other way, we find some place where there’s oceans with simple plants, algae-like, and maybe single- or multi-celled organisms that haven’t had the time to evolve yet. That’s what I mean about timing. Then there’s the problem of where in the galaxy we go looking, too.”

  “Dude, you’ve been really thinking about this!” Peanut said in wonder.

  “You bet! Ever since you started working on the FTL equations and the interdimensional probe. Did you ever consider that using the probe to punch through into another dimension might be detected by folks more advanced than us?” asked Chuck.

  Peanut was completely blindsided. Chuck laughed at the expression on his friend’s face.

  “The things you and Chris are doing on the quantum level have never been done before by humans. But do you really think that a race that started a few million or a billion years ago wouldn’t have discovered the same principles?”