“Honeybees, you say?” Antonio said. “Hmmm…I don’t think Anlon’s studied bees before. Far as I recall, his migration research centered mostly around whales, terns and sea turtles.”
“Actually, he has,” Amato said. When researching potential alternative experts after learning of Dr. Braun’s death, Amato had discovered Cully’s name on two of Braun’s honeybee research studies. When he saw the name, it sparked his memory of Cully’s connection with Antonio, leading to the call. “It was a long time ago and Cully wasn’t the lead investigator, but I expect he’ll be able to answer my rudimentary questions.”
“If you say so,” Antonio said.
“In any event, our study is more about the effects of magnetism on migratory flock or swarm behaviors in general. We just happen to be using bees given they are easier to launch and observe in space,” Amato said.
“Okay, makes sense,” Antonio said. “Magnetism and migration are definitely in Anlon’s wheelhouse. Especially if you’re talking animals with cryptochromes.”
“Crypto what?”
“Oh, never mind. Story for another time,” Antonio said with a laugh.
When the call ended, Mark stepped into Amato’s office. “Dr. Fulton, Dr. Walsh and Mr. Joshi are anxious to meet with you about CUBE-1. Should I send them in or have them come back later?”
“Depends,” Amato said. “Do they look depressed?” If round two of the CUBE-1 space trial had gone poorly, there was no urgency to meet, Amato reasoned. He could catch up with Dante before the group dinner to get a quick recap.
“Far from it,” Mark said. “In fact, Mr. Joshi’s grinning from ear to ear.”
“In that case, send them in,” Amato said, rising to greet his incoming guests.
Armed with laptops and stacks of paper, the three members of CUBE-1’s mission team entered. As Mark had implied, Ajay was happy to the point of giddiness. Dante and Kiera were more reserved, but Amato could see excitement in their eyes as they took seats opposite Amato’s desk.
“Well, well, well,” Amato said, settling back into his desk chair. “The three of you look like you just hit the lottery. Good news, I hope?”
Dante put down his belongings on the edge of the desk and slid a piece of paper across the desk to Amato.
“What’s this?” Amato asked, staring down at the blank page.
“Flip it over and take a look,” Dante said, a smile spreading across his face.
Amato turned the page and found himself looking at an image of the Moon, although the topography was unusual. As soon as he saw the crater known as the Aitken basin, he understood why. The photo depicted the far side of the Moon. Holding up the photo, he asked, “What’s this all about?”
“That, right there, was snapped by Cam-1 less than an hour ago,” Dante said.
“What?” Amato said.
“Got some good shots of Earth from the Moon, too,” Dante said, gesturing to Kiera to hand Amato a collection of additional photographs.
“How is this possible?” Amato asked.
“Our little space bees gave us a ride,” Kiera said.
“Is CUBE-1 still there, around the Moon?” Amato asked.
Kiera smiled and nodded.
“Remarkable,” Amato said, scanning the photographs.
“That’s not all,” Dante said. “We’ve spent the last two hours going through all the data from CUBE-1, and you won’t believe what we’ve discovered!”
8: BIRDS AND BEES
A3rospace Industries Command and Control Center
Mayaguana Island, The Bahamas
July 21, 2018
“They did what?” Amato asked, his face scrunched into an incredulous glare.
“They divided, like cells,” Dante said.
“You mean they reproduced?”
Kiera nodded. “Yep, they made little space-bee babies!”
“How?” Amato asked.
“That, we don’t know,” Dante said. “From what we can tell from the video footage, when CUBE-1 reached a critical speed, around one hundred fifty thousand km/h, the UMOs split into two groups.”
“Did you say one hundred fifty thousand km/h?” Amato asked.
Kiera nodded again and directed Amato’s attention to her laptop screen. She played back Cam-2’s video recording of the event described by Dante. In slow motion, the video showed the pulsing, spinning ball of UMOs.
“In a few seconds,” Kiera said, “there will be a really bright flash.”
When the flash occurred, she stopped the video. “Now, we’ve slowed this next part down even further, because they peeled away superfast.”
On the screen, the flash slowly faded, revealing partial views of two separate spinning, ball-shaped clumps of the UMOs. The balls were of comparable size to the singular mass prior to the flash.
“We have audio, too,” Ajay said, balancing on the edge of his seat. “Play the sound, play the sound!”
“Settle down, Elroy. We’ll get to the audio in a sec.” Dante laughed before turning his attention back to Amato. “When they split, they disappeared. We assume they headed back for Earth, presumably to feed.”
“To feed?” Amato said.
“Yes, we think we were wrong about them feeding on CUBE-1’s engine exhaust,” Kiera said. “We think they were attracted to the VLF waves for a different reason altogether.”
“If you look at the video, listen to the audio Ajay mentioned, you get the sense they burned a lot of energy pushing CUBE-1, rather than nourishing themselves. At least, that’s our interpretation of the pulsing lights and high-pitched whine,” Dante said.
“That’s right,” Kiera said. “As weird as it sounds, we think the UMOs’ interaction with CUBE-1 was sort of a mating ritual. Check it out.”
Kiera played another slow-motion video. This one showed a queen honeybee in flight, chased by a drone bee trying to mate with her in midair. After several attempts to catch up with the queen and mount her, the drone finally succeeded. The video cut to a scene of the queen bee returning to the hive to lay fertilized eggs, and concluded with a shot of the lifeless drone on the ground. Kiera stopped the video.
“Now, drone bees die after mating with a queen bee, but we don’t think that happened here,” Kiera said. She turned to Ajay. “Your turn.”
On Ajay’s laptop, two programs were open and side by side. One was the video of the UMOs accumulating behind CUBE-1 and the other was a radio spectrum analyzer program. Ajay pointed at the video. “The first clip is a series of splices leading up to the flash. We’ve merged the video and audio together.”
He pressed play. At first, there was light static and a small contingent of the UMOs flitting around behind CUBE-1. Ajay spoke over the video. “This splice is just for reference. The static is coming from the VLF engine.”
The video cut away to a new splice in which more of the UMOs were on-screen. The static intensified and soon the UMOs began to spin. Dante said, “The jump in static happened each time we increased engine power.”
Another splice followed. As random UMOs pulsed brighter, light popping sounds infiltrated the static. Ajay paused the clip and directed Amato’s attention to the spectrum analyzer. “The pop sounds are very similar to lightning interference. Look at the spikes. Here, here and here.”
In the next splice, the static sound was soon overwhelmed by a new sound rising in the background. It was a whine, low-pitched at the outset, that grew louder and higher in pitch the faster the UMOs whirled around. As the screen cut to the final splice, Ajay said, “Now listen to what happens when they all start to glow as one.”
The high-pitched whine began to rise and fall in direct correlation with the surges of light from the spinning UMOs. Pops, like the sound of semiautomatic gunfire, followed in quick succession, and then the screen flashed white in conjunction with a sharp sizzle. Ajay halted the video. “How dope is dat shiz!”
Kiera cringed behind a face palm.
“Okay, Elroy, contain yourself,” Dante said, laughing a
gain. “Show the other clip.”
“Roger wilco,” Ajay said, turning the laptop around to execute a few keystrokes.
“This is the most extraordinary part of the event,” Dante said to Amato.
When Ajay was ready, he turned the laptop back around for Amato to view. He pressed play and the white flash began to subside. Unlike the previous clip, this one was not spliced. It picked up the action at the tail end of the flash. As it died away, the two spinning UMO clusters were visible for less than two seconds and then there was nothing but black behind CUBE-1.
As the audio of the sizzle faded in unison with the dying flash, the static from the VLF engine returned. Seconds later, a faint chirping sound cut through the din of the static. Then another, this one’s pitch lower than the first. For the next few seconds, the high- and low-pitched chirps alternated until they faded away. Ajay stopped the clip and said, “Now listen to this version. I filtered out everything but the chirps and boosted the signal strength.”
As the audio began to play again, Ajay said, “They were talking to each other! The two clusters. One high, the other low. Listen!”
Amato listened to the recording and then asked Ajay to play it again, this time without commentary. When the second run-through finished, Amato asked Dante, “Is that what you think as well? That they were talking to each other?”
Dante shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t deny it’s a possibility, but it could just as easily be ionosonde interference released after they divided.”
“But CUBE-1 was way beyond the ionosphere when the chirps occurred,” Ajay said.
“True,” Dante countered, “but—”
“But nothing!” Ajay said. “They were talking to each other. Which means we might be able to communicate with them!”
“Whoa, easy there, Elroy,” Dante said. “Let’s not go crazy.”
Amato looked to Kiera. “What’s your opinion?”
“I think Ajay’s right,” she said. “About the UMOs talking with each other, not about communicating with them.”
“Based on what?” Amato asked.
“The two different pitches, the alternating pattern,” she said. “If there had only been one pitch, and the chirp pattern was more random, I’d side with the ionosonde interference theory.”
“Explain,” Amato said.
“Well, first of all, let’s deal with ionosondes in general. They do making a chirping sound very similar to what’s on the recording. They occur when HF radio waves bounce around in an ionosphere,” Kiera said. “So, as an example, two people are using shortwave, ham radios to talk with one another. The transmission from one hits the ionosphere and reflects back down, ultimately reaching the intended radio on the receiving end. If your radio receiver isn’t tuned to the exact frequency the ham operators are using, you’ll hear chirps as the conversation goes back and forth.”
“HF radio waves, you say,” Amato said.
“Correct. Now, even though Ajay is right, CUBE-1 had flown through Earth’s ionosphere by the time the chirps occurred, I do think an ionosphere was involved. I think the UMOs created one inside their spinning ball, similar to what we did in the engine’s plasma chamber,” Kiera said. “At first, when we thought they were feeding on the ions, we assumed the spinning behavior was sort of a feeding frenzy, but after seeing them divide, I think the ball served a different purpose. I think the UMOs created it to capture and contain the ions from the engine, building up a critical mass of energy they needed to spark mitosis.”
“I see,” Amato said. “Do you have proof to back up your theory?”
“No, nothing conclusive,” Kiera said. “But we have spectrometers on CUBE-3 and CUBE-5 that can detect and image magnetic fields around the fleet. When we’ve launched the rest of the CubeSats, we should be able to tell more.”
“All right,” Amato said. “What about the chirps? I noticed they only occurred at the end, after the UMO ball split in two. If your theory is valid, shouldn’t there have also been chirps before the split?”
“You would think so,” Kiera said. “Could be due to Ajay adjusting the frequency during the recording.”
“Did you?” Amato asked Ajay.
“Yes, sir, I moved around between ten and fifty megahertz, trying to pick up whatever sounds I could with the low-gain antenna,” Ajay said. “I first noticed the chirps around thirty megahertz.”
“So, we may have missed earlier chirps,” Amato said.
“Unfortunately, that’s correct,” Ajay said. “But at least we know where to tune to pick up the chirps from now on.”
“True, but until we can confirm whether the chirps happened during the initial spin, it weakens the conclusion the UMOs were communicating,” Amato said.
“I’m not sure I agree,” Kiera said. “It certainly weakens the argument they only communicated after the split, but I think the nature of the chirps is a clear indication they were communicating. If it was random HF interference, the chirps would have sounded like crosstalk, not a conversation.”
Amato rocked back in his chair, closed his eyes and tilted his head up toward the ceiling. He thought again of Brock and her declaration that the UMOs had not swarmed CUBE-1. Had she known they were converging to reproduce? He mumbled, “These creatures are far more complex than I’d imagined.”
“I agree, and they might be more helpful than harmful,” Dante said, closing his laptop.
“How so?” Amato asked, lowering his head and opening his eyes.
“Well, they gave us an incredible jump in speed, and when we got past the Earth’s ionosphere, we could control the thrusters, which means we might be able to get to Callisto a hell of a lot faster than we could without them,” Dante said. “We’re talking less than ninety days to go six hundred twenty million kilometers, assuming we slingshot around Mars on the way. That’s three times as fast as the theoretical limit of the VLF engine at full power, and seven times faster than any probe ever sent to the Jupiter system.”
“And we peaked at only thirty-five percent of engine power,” Kiera said. “Imagine how fast we could get there if we run at sixty-five or seventy percent.”
“No doubt we could go faster. We’ll have to make some modifications, though,” Dante said. “The solar panels aren’t sturdy enough to withstand the vibrations from the UMO spinning. We lost another one during the retest.”
“In the grand scheme of things, that sounds minor. Based on what you’ve shared, we have a bigger issue to solve before we launch the full fleet,” Amato said.
“What do you mean?” Dante asked.
“The fleet radiation shield,” Amato said. “As you recall, our shield design creates an ionosphere-like environment around the fleet. Given what’s happened, I’m not sure we can predict how the UMOs will react to it.”
The shield Kiera designed used a network of low-strength magnets embedded in the fuselages of each probe to attract ions expelled from their engines. If the probes flew in a tight enough formation, the interplay between the magnets and the expelled ions would create an ion bubble around the fleet, deflecting solar wind and preserving the probes’ components from radiation exposure.
Dante reopened his laptop and began typing notes. “Fair point. I didn’t think to activate CUBE-1’s shield during either test, so we don’t have a read on that. I’ll make that top priority.”
The concern, as Amato saw it, was twofold. Would the fleet shield lessen the volume of ions available for the UMOs to create their spinning ionosphere? In theory, the combined output of twelve engines would more than offset ions siphoned off for the shield, presuming the UMOs were attracted to the fleet as a singular entity, rather than as a collection of individual ion generators.
This unknown formed Amato’s second concern. If the UMOs treated the fleet as a collection of individual CUBEs, they might concentrate their attention on a subset of the probes, breaking up the fleet as one or more zoomed off under the control of the UMOs while the rest remained behind. This would not only dis
rupt the integrity of the radiation shield but would also wreak havoc with the command control CUBE’s ability to manage the fleet.
Amato shared his concerns and then said, “Let’s bring CUBE-1 back into orbit around Earth, turn the radiation shield on and repeat the engine test as close as you can. And let’s make sure we have the low-gain tuned to pick up chirps for the entire test this time.”
“Roger that,” Dante said. “We can bring CUBE-1 back tonight, then launch the rest tomorrow morning, but we’ll have to postpone the group dinner to get it done.”
“Understood,” Amato said. “I have to fly out first thing tomorrow anyway, so it’s probably just as well to postpone the dinner. By the way, how did the team react when you told them about the UMOs?”
Dante turned to look at Ajay, who remained visibly excited throughout the meeting. “Well, they aren’t all as fired up as Ajay, but, as a whole, I’d say they’re in a good place right now. Especially with how things went in round two. I think everybody, me included, felt much more in control of the situation than we did during the first test. That helped.”
Amato rose from his chair, signaling the end of the meeting. “Good, do your best to keep everyone focused. As much as I hope the UMOs cooperate tomorrow, I have a feeling they have more curve balls in store for us.”
After the group exited, Mark returned to tell Amato Antonio had called back. “Dr. Wallace said to tell you Dr. Cully is pleased to meet with you.”
“Excellent,” Amato said. “Where? When?”
“He’s in San Diego right now. Dr. Wallace said he’ll be there for a few more days. The address is for a marina,” the assistant said.
“A marina?”
“Yes, evidently, Dr. Cully recently bought a boat and is having some work done on it before he sets sail for the Galapagos.”
“The Galapagos?” Amato said. “Hmmm…I guess it makes sense to see Cully first, then.”
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