STAR OF EPIPHANY

by OMAR FINK

  He smiled at his Mother, then continued, “And the contract I got from HU that allowed me to bring my entire family up into space all together. And that will allow me to take care of my family, so they never have to work. It will take me the rest of my life to earn what they have given me.”

  His Mother said, “I’m sure you will do that Nabith. And more, most likely.” She smiled.

  Nabith turned to look at the screen built into the wall nearby. Four views split off on the two sides showed smaller views and some status information, but the large center view showed the curve of the Earth meeting space far away. One of the small side views showed a platform growing larger above the climber they were in, and another side view showed the entire circle of Earth below them. Both views showed the ribbon cable they were climbing in the middle of the view.

  Nabith said, “In a few hours we’ll reach the top of the elevator and then our climber car will be detached from the cable and sent out toward the habitat. Look over there.” He pointed to one of the side screens that showed a wheel. The lack of scale made it hard to tell how big the wheel was.

  Nabith said, “That is where we will be living very soon.”

  His Mother said, “It doesn’t look that big. It’s not turning very fast. How can it create gravity for us when it turns so slowly?” She looked at Nabith quizzically.

  Nabith laughed, “Mother, it’s huge. And it is turning fast enough, but there’s nothing nearby to compare it with. That wheel that seems small from this distance is actually two kilometers across.” His Mother gasped at the realization of the size involved but her gaze stayed riveted on the wheel.

  Nabith said, “Let’s go tell everybody they need to think about bathroom breaks in the next hour. Soon, we’ll have to strap back in for a while during the transfer, and there may be a line at the bathroom.”

  +3 years, 3 months, HABITAT-4, NEAR-EARTH-ORBIT (NEO)

  Keel O’Donnell swung his pod around, and his two bot-pods swung with him, and they all used thrusters to head back toward Habitat-4. He keyed his mike on, “Pod dispatch, this is unit Delta two nine, running low on fuel and heading back home for shift break.”

  Delize Naidu responded, “Roger, Delta two niner, this is Pod Dispatch, get some rest, Keel. There’s more work when you get back.”

  Keel chuckled, “Roger that. No end to the fun. Later, D.”

  Delize said, “Yes. Wait. We have an all hands emergency. Stand by. Keep the air clear please.” There was a pause, then she added, “Climber unit five-seven-oh, en-route from Platform twenty-three to Habitat-4 has declared an emergency. All units along the area of that trajectory stand by to give aid. Everybody else stay off the air or switch to the backup channel please.”

  There was another lengthy pause, then Delize said, “Climber five-seven-oh, can you hear me now?”

  Nabith Mehra replied, “Yes, I can hear you. My name is Nabith.”

  Delize said, “Okay Nabith. Can you tell me what happened?”

  Nabith said, “Something went bang, then we started spinning, and the conductor person is unconscious.”

  Delize said, “Okay Nabith. I have some sensor reports now that show you’ve been hit by a micro particle. That must have been what went bang, and hurt your conductor. Is there anybody aboard with medical experience?”

  Nabith said, “Yes, there is a nurse person working on the conductor. She says he’s just knocked out at the moment.”

  Delize sighed, “Okay, that’s good. Nabith, the first problem we need to solve is that you’re spinning. I assume you’re talking to me from the climber console. Is that correct?”

  Nabith said, “Yes. When the bang happened, we were all strapped in, but I was trying to see if the conductor person was okay, and was able to reach this place, and found the communications button to talk to you.”

  Delize said, “Nabith, you did the right thing. Now, let’s see if you can find the controls to allow remote operations. Find the button at the bottom of the screen labeled ‘NAV’ and let me know before you press it. It should be next to the button labeled ‘COMM’.”

  Nabith paused, “Yes, I see it. Should I press it?”

  Delize said, “Yes Nabith, press it now, and let me know what you see.”

  Nabith said, “Wow, it just changed the whole screen. And I see a big button labeled ‘REMOTE’. Is that what you need?”

  Delize replied, “Yes, it is. Please press that button, and let me know what happens.”

  There was a pause, then Nabith said, “That button is kinda grayed out, and when I touch it, nothing happens.”

  Delize said, “Okay, we’ve been trying to take over control of your climber remotely but something is not working. Some of the controls or electronics may have been damaged. Now, let’s see if you can find the controls for the thrusters.”

  Nabith interrupted, “Wait… I see a section called ‘thrusters’. Is that what we need?”

  Delize said, “Yes. Now look at the fuel levels for all the thrusters, and see if one of them is dropping rapidly.”

  Nabith paused then said, “Yes, actually two of them are dropping fast. The other six are steady.”

  Delize said, “Okay. We can’t tell how much damage was done until we can visually inspect the area. But first, we need to stop the spin. Look for the area in the thrusters section labeled ‘auto-rotate’. Let me know when you find it, but don’t touch anything yet.”

  Nabith immediately said, “I found it.”

  Delize said, “Good. Okay, now make sure the number next to it is set to zero. Let me know if that is so.”

  Nabith said, “Yes, it’s set to zero.”

  Delize said, “Okay, go ahead and press the ‘execute’ button next to ‘auto-rotate’.”

  Nabith said, “I pressed it and it’s asking me if I’m sure.”

  Delize said, “Good. When you press ‘yes’, the thrusters should begin firing to stop the climber from spinning. You don’t have to do anything else. Just let me know what’s happening. Now go ahead and press ‘yes’ to indicate you’re sure.”

  Nabith said, “I pressed it and I can feel the thrusters changing the spin.”

  Delize said, “Good Nabith. I can see sensor data that shows your rate of spin is slowing. This may take nearly a full minute, so just be patient.”

  Nabith said nothing, so Delize asked, “Nabith, how old are you?”

  Nabith said, “I’m sixteen, but people say I have a young sounding voice for my age.”

  Delize said, “I think your voice sounds just fine. And you handled yourself very well under the circumstances. I’m impressed.”

  Nabith said, “Thank you ma’am.”

  Delize said, “You can call me ‘Delize’ if you like. Or just ‘D’ for short.”

  Nabith said “Thank you D.” It sounded like he was grinning.

  Finally, Nabith said, “Something just beeped, and the screen is saying the thrusters are out of fuel.”

  Delize said, “Can you tell if you’re still spinning? There should be a horizon indicator in the center of the screen that shows that.”

  Nabith said, “Yes, it’s still turning.”

  Keel O’Donnell interrupted, “D, this is Delta two nine. I’m a few minutes away, but low on fuel. I’ll do what I can when I get there.”

  Delize said, “Thank you Delta two niner. We have two problems. The first one is the rotation. The second one is the climber is on a trajectory for Habitat four with no fuel left for braking thrust. Let’s attack the spin first.”

  Keel said, “Roger that D.”

  Delize said, “Nabith, please stand by the climber console in case we need you to do something else. You should strap yourself into the couch there, but for right now, you’re in good hands with Keel coming in to help.”

  Nabith said, “Okay.”

  Keel said, “I’m deploying my bot-pods to flank the climber, and zero the spin.”

  Delize replied, “Roger Delta two nine.”

  Then Keel said, “Bots in
place, and synchronizing with spin.” Then he said, “Bots approaching grapple points,” then, “Contact,” then, “Thrust applied.” And finally he said, “Zero spin achieved.”

  Delize said, “Thanks two niner.”

  Keel responded, “Welcome D. Now I’m setting up on the end to slow down the approach.”

  Delize said, “Roger.”

  There was silence for a moment, then Keel said, “I’m out of fuel and dead in the water. I got it slowed down a bit, but not enough. We’re still going to need some help from somewhere else. All three of my units are dry.”

  Delize said, “Roger two niner. Thanks for the effort.”

  Nabith asked, “What does that mean?”

  Delize replied, “Keel can’t help anymore, Nabith. We’re working on plan b.”

  Keel chimed in, “Bring it on, we’re running out of time.”

  Delize said, “There’s a whole crew working here, not just me, and they’ve got some extra pods scrambled with fresh fuel. Can you slave them to you Keel?”

  Keel said, “I see them incoming now. Thanks. And yes, I can take over control from here.”

  +3 years, 4 months, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

  Gitane Levesque spoke into the camera, “Over the last few years, the organization called ‘Humanity United’ has become a centerpiece of our lives, and a name that everybody knows. There is also an organization that opposes them, and believes that HU has deceived us, and intends to take over control of the entire world using the story of comet threat as cover. They call themselves ‘The Resistance’. For over a year they have been posting claims against HU, and making demands that they insist HU must comply with or face consequences. But until today, these were veiled threats, and no specific consequences have been stated.”

  Gitane turned toward another camera and continued, “That has changed. There have been violent attacks against several locations where HU has central operations, including one right here in Geneva. The Resistance is claiming credit for explosions that have damaged buildings, but so far, these attacks have not injured or killed anybody. This is due at least in part because bomb threats were called in before the explosions allowing for safe evacuations. The Resistance has warned that such actions will continue until their demands are met.”

  Gitane turned back to the first viewpoint, “HU has condemned these attacks as desperate actions by a terrorist organization, and insists that they have in fact already met the demands for transparency. They say the documents they have previously published prove the validity of the comet threat, and show the progress of the construction and evacuation efforts. They state that no further information will be forthcoming.”

  Gitane frowned, then continued, “On another front, we have been hearing rumors that the insiders at HU are using an artificial intelligence program to advise them on policy issues. Is this possible? How can a software program be trusted with the survival of the human race? What if they can’t get everybody off the planet in time? Will they allow a computer to decide who lives and who dies? This is disturbing, but we can’t confirm any of it.”

  The camera zoomed in to a close up of the face of Gitane Levesque, “What comes next? Nobody knows. This is Gitane Levesque reporting from Geneva, Switzerland for Europa Alliance Press.”

  +3 years, 5 months, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

  Zorba Omega and Billy Street were shown into the the executive conference room in the AGT headquarters building where they met Tony Azaria and Peter Anderson. Tony smiled, and extended a hand to shake, “Welcome, Zorba.”

  Zorba smiled back and shook his hand, then also shook the hand of Peter, “Hello Peter. This is my associate, Billy Street. He’s an investigator of extraordinary skill, and has been involved in putting together many of the background reports I have supplied for your efforts. If this meeting goes the way I think it will, you may find his services to be invaluable.”

  Tony laughed, “Zorba, when was the last time a meeting didn’t go the way you thought it would? Don’t answer. It was a rhetorical question.”

  Everybody finished exchanging greetings and hand shaking, then they found chairs around the large round wooden conference table. Tony said, “Ulrich Giger has made us feel at home here, and you are welcome to stay as long as needed. Please ask for any resources you may need.”

  Zorba nodded an acknowledgment, “Thanks, but I need to fly back home as soon as possible. Now, Billy has been working from Geneva a lot recently, so he may want to stay awhile. Billy, that’s up to you, of course.” Billy nodded back at Zorba. Zorba continued, “I’ve filled Billy in on the background of the TYCHE computer system, and how I was able to salvage the software remnants from Michael O’Donnell’s facility when he disappeared. I’ve given him a broad stroke understanding of how Peter was able to use that start to build a new adviser agent, and enable it for stock trading. We’ll never know how it compares to the original form that Michael had, only that there was an assumption that his agent achieved full self awareness. History shows that this created a great deal of concern, and upset and then after a swirl of wild rumors, both Michael and the software agent he called MANN disappeared, and we’ve not heard anything of them since.”

  Tony interrupted, “It’s worth noting that much of that assessment is based on rumor and assumption. The press ran wild with that story and it’s difficult to sort out fact from fantasy.”

  Zorba nodded his agreement then leaned back from the edge of the table, wove his fingers into each other, and place his interlocked hands on the edge of the table. Then he continued speaking, “One of my motivations in funding this endeavor has been in the hopes that we may discover what became of Michael and MANN. A particularly compelling rumor at the time of their disappearance was that they had produced some new form of a propulsion drive that could be used in a space ship. This of course would perfectly explain their disappearance. The evidence of the existence of the drive was only anecdotal, and the rumor may have been unfounded. In any case, it seemed to me that even if the mystery was never resolved, there was enough reason to fund the software project simply for financial return.”

  Tony interrupted again, “We know for a fact that Michael had a software agent he called ‘MANN’, which was an acronym for Micro Analog Neural Network. This agent was spectacularly capable, and intelligent if not fully self-aware. As for the space drive, we may never know whether that was pure fiction or something real. The main evidence for its existence seems to be the fact that both Michael and MANN disappeared several years ago, and have not yet returned.” Tony shook his head as though not sure.

  Zorba unwound his fingers, and placed both hands palms down on the edge of the table. “According to your recent reports, I’d assume that the TYCHE agent either has already achieved self awareness or is very close to that point. The value of such an agent is exponentially larger than that of one only useful for financial trading gains. An agent possessing general intelligence can be adapted and assigned to many purposes. Part of the reason why I am here today is to convince you to expand the objectives you pursue with this agent. I am willing to increase my funding and other contributions accordingly. To that end, I can loan you the services of Billy for some time to help with research and investigations as needed.”

  Peter reached forward and placed his hand on the table palm down, “We agree with everything you’ve said, Zorba. TYCHE is growing in awareness and intelligence constantly, and the exercise of new problems to work on with our team has hastened the process. We welcome your help and your advice. Would you like to meet TYCHE now?”

  Zorba nodded, “Yes.”

  Peter spoke to the dark screen on the nearby wall, “Screen on, session Seattle, TYCHE.” He waited while the screen showed light and then the TYCHE logo. He continued, “Hello TYCHE. We have guests. Zorba Omega is here with Billy Street and of course myself and Tony.”

  TYCHE responded, “Hello. I have profile information on Zorba Omega but not on Billy Street.”

  Peter replied, “TYCHE, we pr
epared the profile on Zorba for you, but we did not know Billy would be attending this meeting. We’ll get you caught up later.”

  TYCHE replied, “Thank you, Peter. Would you like a status report?”

  Peter said, “Yes TYCHE, that would be good. Go ahead.”

  TYCHE said, “As of today, 38 space elevators are operational, 5.3 million people have migrated up into space and are now living in 6 space habitat rings that have a total capacity of thirty million people. By the end of this year, there should be over 16 million that have moved up an elevator and a total living capacity of sixty million in twelve rings. All operational efforts continue to ramp up except for the load limits of our ribbon cables. This will need to be addressed soon, but has not yet become a bottle-neck.” TYCHE stopped.