by Bob Cooper
The Antares Codex
Book 1
The Antares Codex Series
By Bob Cooper
1
Dirk Saunders was fumbling through the class lists when the tower bell chimed. Not wanting to be late for lecture, he took a last sip of coffee and stuffed the lists into his worn leather satchel. Heading out for the cadet wing of the Academy, the pungent smell of the creosote bush after an early morning monsoon rain made him inhale deeply to savor the clean desert air. Approaching the inner campus, the hubbub of a new school year became quite noticeable. New students wandered through the labyrinth of buildings looking for classes as monitors incessantly flashed maps and directions, and administrators swarmed to do what they could to ease the confusion.
It had been a long time since Dirk felt their anxiety, but to him, it was just the other day. He envied them, thinking how much easier technology made it to access information. The tools that he used then were archaic compared to what they had available today. In his day, religions stressed a narrow-minded, earth-centric philosophy generally accepted by society. But a lot had changed, especially after first contact was made.
Dirk was a part of that, and his experiences were still fresh in his mind. His many expeditions earned him the respect of his colleagues, and his theories in Astro-Archeology won him critical acclaim. The contributions he made challenged the “old ways” and helped to shape a more liberal society with respect to the possibilities of life on other worlds. All this was a direct result of contact with alien civilizations and cultures. Now it was time to impart this knowledge to the next generation, and he was eager to get started.
Rounding the corner and entering the lecture hall, the familiar scene of students at their stations with computers buzzing and blinking came into view. Nervous chatter and small talk began to die down as the fledgling cadets felt his presence. The security system recognized him as he walked up to the podium and flashed his picture and bio on the screen. A bigger than life picture of him dressed in his finest Journey Master regalia, posing in front of a 3D rendition of the Cosmos, grabbed their attention.
“Good morning and welcome to the Academy,” he shouted, walking down the main aisle.
Slowly they each focused on Dirk until there was complete silence. If the cadets were not impressed yet, they soon would be. Dirk and the Academy were the major forces that shaped the belief in alien diversity. The Academy had the means to visit the stars with several Galaxy-Class vessels equipped with the latest WARP Technology. Public and private institutions frequently funded expeditions. To some students, the Academy represented adventure and exploration. Others pursued science and knowledge. There were those only interested in the monetary gains realized from the trading of goods and services off Earth. Some believed this concept of alien diversity was the ruination of earth’s cultures and societies.
“You sir, please stand up and tell the world why you are here,” Dirk bellowed randomly picking out a cadet.
All attention turned to the skinny, mop-haired, pale-skinned boy. Knocking his com device to the floor, he stood up. His silhouette appeared on the screen, overpowered by Dirk’s image. Coming face to face with the cadet, Dirk waited for him to gain his composure.
“Tell us why you are here.”
“I’m here because my father and my uncle were graduates and…”
“Stop right there,” Dirk shouted. Facing the cadets, he walked backward to the podium. “The only answer I will accept is that you have a BURNING PASSION to make contact with other worlds for the purpose of CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING AND SCIENTIFIC GAIN. Any other reason is NOT LEGITIMATE.”
Dirk studied their faces, now that he had their full attention. He knew some vehemently opposed the Academy’s mission and goals. He often saw them outside picketing and hurling insults at the faculty and staff. “Earth for Earthers” they called themselves.
The first lecture was always the same—to dissect each word of the Academy’s mission. The class listened intently as he described how private funding and trading with other worlds helped to make it possible to run the Academy and provide the financial means needed to maintain two Galaxy-Class science ships. Students knew crews were selected directly from the Academy’s brightest students.
“For your first assignment, I want you to examine your motives, question your judgment, and be absolutely convinced that the life you choose will be in support of the Academy’s principles.” Statistically, he knew by the end of the first year, almost half of the starting cadet class would not be able to meet the rigors of academic life and drop out.
Dirk watched the solemn procession of cadets leave his classroom. His colleagues thought him too intense and hard on the new cadets. But most of them spent the majority of their tenure behind a desk, simulating contact with other worlds. They never left the solar system. His classes prepared the next generation for the realities they would face in interstellar space and for contact with alien species.
***
Dirk’s living space was on the 135th floor of the Academy’s faculty residential complex. It was on the last level in the building, with easy access to the roof where he spent most of his time stargazing. The building had been his home for most of his adult life—first as a cadet and then as a professor. He raised a family there. Mementos of his family and achievements hung everywhere, keeping him close to everything he held dear.
“Hi, Dirk, how was your day?” shouted a voice from the galley. Acey called her Grandfather by his first name at his request. Any other name designation made him feel old. She hit the buttons on the food selection menu, and the computer did the rest to prepare dinner.
“Another group of cadets all full of piss and vinegar,” he shouted back, reclining in his favorite chair.
This was Acey’s second year at the Academy. Science and Alien Archeology were her forte. All the stories Dirk shared about leading science expeditions to uncharted worlds, and his encounters with ancient, alien civilizations fueled her desires. As a young girl, she spent many nights on the rooftop with Dirk looking at the stars and listening to his stories. His was the only home she had ever known.
“It’s ready,” she yelled as she swung the bubbling concoction of cheesy tofu and vegetables onto the table.
“How is the research coming on your Ancient Cryptography project?” Dirk asked as he shoveled the gooey stuff into his mouth.
“The computer algorithms I wrote aren’t strong enough to crack the secondary sequence. I’m comparing them to what was used on the Antares Codex. Hopefully, I can find some useful information there.”
Acey’s father discovered pieces of the Antares Codex on a planet inhabiting the Antares system. Antares is one of the largest known stars in the Scorpio Constellation, having several hundred times the diameter of the Sun and 10,000 times the Sun’s luminosity and lies about 600 light-years from the Earth. Several planets and assorted moons were discovered there. The concentration of work for the Codex took place on the planet Antares Proper. They contained the key to understanding the lifecycles of that ancient civilization and how they devised unlimited and clean energy technologies.
Her memory of her parents faded long ago. When Acey was two years old, they were killed when their starship shuttle exploded around the planet Antares Proper. Dirk never talked much about the incident. He lost his son, Henry, and his daughter-in-law, Laura—the only family he had, except for Acey. She never knew her Grandmother, and for that matter, Dirk had only one picture of her. Waiting for him to return home from his frequent and long journeys into space turned them into strangers. She finally left him after their son graduated from the Academy.
“I will look in the Academy archives for any notes that your father might h
ave saved. Come down after class tomorrow,” he said.
***
The next morning, Dirk stood and watched from his office window as the noise outside became unbearable. When the two factions lined up on each side of the street, he heard glass breaking before the Citizen Guard came to stop the protest.
“Damn Earthers!” he shouted as he picked up the com link.
He tried to warn Acey not to come down to his office, but all links were jammed. He tried to leave the building, but the Citizen Guard would not let anyone out or anyone in. He waited at the main entrance for Acey, seething at the senseless violence outside.
Acey managed to get to the main gate and could see what was going on. She slipped into the delivery entrance of the administration building and then back out to a side street leading to the Astro-Archeology building. A group of protesters also headed down this street. As Acey approached the entrance, the group blocked her access while waving their signs and chanting. She tried to walk by, but they wouldn’t let her pass.
“Where do you think you’re going?” shouted the leader.
She was wearing two black armbands with a picture of the earth and a shield. Acey could see she was a veteran Earther. She also wore a strange amulet around her neck.
“Let me by,” Acey shouted back. “You have no right to stop me.”
“So you and your Academy friends can destroy our culture and civilization? Earth for Earthers!” shouted the leader.
“Earth for Earthers!” they chanted back.
Acey tried to shove passed but was knocked to the ground. Someone kicked her in the leg, and she grimaced in pain. As she fell, she managed to pull the leader down with her and punch her in the face.
Dirk had a hunch Acey would try to sneak in the back door and headed towards it. He swung the door open and, with a whirlwind of fists and feet, cut through the crowd. A Citizen Guard patrol wagon came to a screeching stop in the narrow street, as patrol officers in riot gear chased the crowd away.
“Acey,” Dirk yelled as he picked her up off the ground.
“I’m Okay. This one here is the leader,” Acey said, pointing to the girl on the ground with the bleeding mouth.
The patrol officers grabbed the girl as she struggled to run away.
“Earth for Earthers! All you pigs will soon learn your lesson. It’s already starting to happen,” the leader shouted as Citizen Guards shoved her into the patrol wagon.
Acey did not understand what the leader was talking about. In her eyes, there was nothing nobler than understanding the history and culture of an alien civilization and sharing ours with them. All worlds benefited.
“If you wish to press charges, you will need to come down to HQ and sign the necessary papers,” a Citizen Guard patrol officer told Acey.
“Gladly,” she said sneering at the girl through the window of the patrol wagon. “I’ll be down this afternoon.”
As Dirk and Acey walked through the door, Dirk held her tight as she limped to the elevator. Dirk didn’t like what was happening. The demonstrations were becoming too frequent and more violent. He had a feeling this would not be the last time they would feel the sting of the Earthers.
2
Acey walked to the Citizen Guard headquarters that afternoon trying to make sense of the earlier confrontation. Earthers believed that contact with an alien world was wrong. To them, contamination of our cultures by alien ideas and customs would be Earth’s downfall. It violated the tenets of established religions and shook the very core of their traditions. But Dirk taught her that there was much to be learned by opening communications and establishing commerce with alien societies.
“A culture can’t grow when new ideas are shunned,” Dirk often told her.
Acey walked into the windowless HQ building and was immediately scanned for weapons. She stared into the retinal scanner, which identified her as A.C. Saunders, seventeen years old, female, Caucasian. The turnstile gave way, and she entered the main hallway where an officer of the Citizen Guard met her.
“Hello. I’m Officer Aidan Carter. I understand you’re here regarding the protest incident this morning at the Academy. How may I be of service to you, Miss Saunders?”
The no-nonsense officer stood stone-faced, waiting for her to reply. However, his deep blue eyes softened his demeanor.
“I’m here to press charges against the Earther that attacked me,” Acey managed to say, distracted by his blue eyes and short-cropped, blond hair.
“Come with me please, Miss Saunders,” he said, leading her through the maze of desks.
The monitor on his desk already had the rap sheet listed for a “Raina,” last name not given, twenty years of age with her parents or guardian listed as unknown. Acey was surprised to see that she was an Academy drop out, arrested four times for unlawful assembly and trespassing.
“Please read this statement for accuracy and sign on the bottom line. It states that you have identified Raina as your assailant, and you wish to seek justice and compensation for the injuries done to you. With her record, this should be enough to get her two to four years in the penal system,” Aidan said, handing her the pen.
Acey studied the rap sheet. After dropping out of the Academy, Raina became one of the main leaders for the protest movement. What could have caused such a radical change in her thinking, Acey wondered? She was close to her age, but Acey never saw her around the Academy.
Acey came back to reality, and Aidan was still holding the pen. He stood there as though scanning her with his eyes as the computer did earlier. The thin-lipped expression on his face was exactly the same as the moment she first saw him.
“If I sign this, will she actually serve time in the penal system?” Acey asked, reaching for the pen.
“This should be enough to put her away,” Aidan responded.
Acey reread the rap sheet. She felt the pain from the bruise on her leg. She put the pen to the paper but then pulled it away.
“I don’t believe I want to press charges at this time,” Acey said, giving the pen back to Aidan.
“That’s your prerogative, Miss Saunders. You have forty-eight hours if you change your mind.” Aidan responded.
Acey smiled at Aidan. She saw the slightest upward curve of his lips as she was leaving.
***
Dirk returned home after his daily Tai Chi session in the park. Earlier, he had searched the Academy archives for any additional information that would help Acey with her cryptography project. He found a small, sealed box that he did not remember seeing before and waited until he got home to review the contents with Acey.
Henry, Acey’s father, was one of the significant contributors to decoding the set of ancient texts found on Antares Proper. They were never completely deciphered, and even though others have tried, nothing of any consequence was accomplished. The Codices contained the promise of obtaining clean, pure energy as well as other benefits. After Henry’s demise, what could be found of his work was stored in the bowels of the Academy. Dirk often thought of continuing Henry’s work but decided against it. Instead, he hoped Acey would pursue it. He encouraged her and helped her gain access to information that no cadet would typically have available.
“What happened at the station?” Dirk asked as he walked into his apartment and threw his satchel on the table.
“I found out that the leader who attacked me used to be a cadet in the Academy. How could she become an Earther? She’s been arrested before for protesting, but this time she would have to serve time in the penal system. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, so I didn’t press charges,” Acey said.
Dirk scowled but knew it was time to change the subject rather than to argue with her. Acey had a strong will like her mother, and he finally recognized that Acey should make decisions without him imposing his ideas and beliefs. He found it hard to do at times.
“I found this box that I’ve never seen before. It belonged to your father,” Dirk said, changing the subject.
She opened the
box and on top was a picture of Dirk with the Academy graduating class from twenty-one years ago. In front, kneeling down was Acey’s father. She recognized him after carefully searching through the picture.
“Your father was quite the cadet. He graduated with honors. On his first voyage to the Antares System, he met your mother. She was a Medical Officer onboard. It was her first voyage too. They met at the Captain’s Ball their first night in space.” Dirk said, staring intently into the picture.
Acey heard the story many times before. It always conjured up new images of her parents that kept their memory alive. She imagined them dancing together, eyes locked on each other’s face, Laura’s light brown hair flowing down her neck and swaying in the wind as Henry twirled her on the dance floor. Of all the stories Dirk told, she thought this one was the best.
There was also a stack of letters wrapped in a blue ribbon. Acey examined them. They were letters from her father to her mother during the year he was away on a consulting assignment with a mining company on Jupiter’s moon Europa. She thought it was an odd way to communicate, but she was thankful that she had something tangible that belonged to her parents.
Acey held them close to her breast and looked up at Dirk.
“You read them. They’re yours now,” he said as he continued to paw his way through the contents of the box.
He found a series of notebooks at the bottom of the box with the Academy classified stamp on it. Dirk opened the first one and leafed through the pages.
“This looks like field notes from his expedition to Antares Proper. They must have gotten separated from those that are part of the official body of knowledge on the Antares Codex.”
Acey grabbed the notebooks and almost tripped as she carried them to the table.
“This is totally unbelievable,” she said, trying to calm down. They began to read and discuss the contents excitedly. There were only a few inhabitants left on Antares Proper at the time of the expedition, but a civilization that flourished 8,000 years ago left a rich historical legacy. Evidence revealed this civilization conquered most of the problems that plagued the earth to this day. The Academy had a team of scientists working to decipher the cryptic symbols and letters documented by Acey’s father.
