World of Good - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“…the greatest place in the Galaxy.”

            Like clockwork, when gravimetric propulsion was taken off line momentarily, there was a quiver from the engines and then the Elevator Effect would occur. We called it that, because it reminded us of getting in an elevator; at the beginning we’re pulled to the floor and upon reaching the designated level, the weightlessness would occur. It had become the routine by now, and all had adapted to it. We played games, dictated letters, and conducted research. The Vlancos had given us enough data to spend a lifetime evaluating their world. But they were behind us now and anxiety grew the closer we got to home. It was estimated that we would reach Wolf 359 in an hour, and from there it was a drop in the bucket to Earth.

            As the moment neared, everyone grouped around the main imager to get a glimpse of the Wolf system closing in on us. Earth was only 7.8 light years beyond the wolf system, and at our current speed, minutes away.

            The ensign was at the controls and spoke to the Major. “According to the Vlanco’s Ravionics, we’re getting some readings that indicate two of the other research ships are dead ahead, about two parsecs from here. Should we slow down to investigate?”

            The major stood there, resolving some calculations out loud. “Let’s see, we’ll need to communicate with Earth under light speed anyway. But if we want to make contact with the research vessels, we’ll have to shut down the Gravimetric propulsion prematurely…in about 10 minutes. Is that about right computer?”

            “11.2 minutes, Major,” corrected the computer.

            “Ensign, did you get that?”

            “Yes, sir.” The Ensign checked some data at his terminal.

            The major turned to me. “I know we all want to get home quickly, but I think we’d be good scouts if we lent a hand to those in need. Once we drop out of light speed we’ll lose a day and, and if we pick up survivors resources are a prime commodity right now. Most of the personnel on the other ships, near the Alpha Centauri, Sirius, and Wolf359 systems, are either dead or in critical condition. If we don’t help them now, it would still be at least another two years before they could return on their own. That, I believe, is too long to be out in space injured. Captain?

            I know how I’d feel if someone passed us by. I looked at Tom, who was in charge of the duty schedule. “How much room do we have on board to take the injured?”

            Tom pulled out his compad. “Well if we rotate bed usage, six bunks would be available.”

            The major stepped in. “We don’t need to rescue the dead, but it would be silly to leave someone alive and injured to fend for themselves. Either way, we need to make a decision quick, because the first ship will be visible in about 10 minutes.”

            I looked around at the others. “I think it’s obvious we need to stop.”

            The major turned to the ensign. “Disengage the Gravimetric propulsion sytsem.”

            “Aye, aye, Major” responded the Ensign.

            We passed the red dwarf star of the Wolf system and the gravimetric system was disengaged. It seemed like we passed through the star system, like a car whizzing by a small town in the back country. Only a few months ago, we were in stasis for years, and soon stasis would be obsolete. Our speed was now decreasing from what we called the HPG-R rate, toward the more modest sub-light speed. We continued to decelerate so as to meet up with the disabled research vessel.        

            The ensign scanned the list of research vessels. “The Conquest, destined for Wolf359 was our first encounter. The Dynasty, headed for the Sirius system, was next. Wolf359 and Sirius were on separate flight paths, but since the two ships were launched at the same time, they should be fairly close to each other.”

            The major glanced at the list. “Ensign, see if you can contact them prior to arrival, so we can arrange docking procedures.” 

            “Aye, aye, Major.” The ensign adjusted the communications to the military wavelength. “Conquest, this is Wayfarer1 of Deep Space Command, do you read me. Conquest, this is Wayfarer1 of Deep Space Command, do you read me.”

            We stood around the console, anxiously waiting for a response from anyone...nothing. After a few minutes, we had a magnified visual on the craft. It was moving at half the speed of light. We closed in on it and matched the speed. Soon we were next to her. We continued to hale her.

            Tom crossed his arms. “I never did understand why they went to the Wolf system, in the first place. It was understood that life, as we know it, wouldn’t survive there anyway.”

            The major rubbed his chin. “There might have been some mining potential there.” After several minutes, his patience ran out. “Why won’t anyone hale us? There must be someone alive.”      

            “It could be that they put themselves into stasis, so as to reduce the injuries any further,” I pointed out.

            “If that’s the case, we’ll have to try to dock at this speed,” said the major. He turned to the rest of us. “Any objections?”

            I didn’t care either way. The vacuum of space really has no bearing on what we do unless there is an object in front of us. And our readings indicated that it was clear for two parsecs.

            “Let’s get to it,” ordered the major. “Computer, continue to match course and speed with the Conquest, while initiating the docking procedures.”

            “Affirmative, major.”

            The computer slowly brought our ship toward the Conquest and when we were a few feet next to her, released the access shroud. It sealed firmly into the locks on the Conquest. Tom and I were to be the first to unlock their access and enter the ship.

            When I entered, as I suspected, the computer was in auto pilot and all personnel were in stasis. I checked the life signs on board. Two out of six men were alive. We manually overrode the controls and set the two men on an awakening cycle. It would take about 30 minutes for them to fully awake.

            We were looking around the vessel for problems, but found no physical damage. After 30 minutes, our sleepers came to life.

            The access door to the cubic opened and an old man crawled out.  “Are we to earth yet?”

            The man looked to be about 150. I looked at the chart and saw he was only sixty seven. The other man hadn’t aged, but did have some serious skin lesions. We quickly rushed them aboard and released the Conquest to follow its course home with its dead.

            The two men explained that all the crew members were awake during the disturbance and recorded every phase of the event. Immediately after they were hit, side affects started appearing. Some experienced rapid cell aging, while others developed cell degradation. When they learned what was happening to them, they opted to slow it down by going into stasis.

            We agreed with the idea and put them right back in the Wayfarer stasis cubicles.  After we got them tucked in, Shelby sat down with me and Tom to ask what had happened.   

            “Did they see anything when they were hit?” asked Shelby.

            Tom glanced back to the cubicles. “It was very peculiar, Shelby. They said they had just come out of stasis to take some readings when they saw a bright light in space. The light developed a dark oval shaped hole in the center of it and expanded, as it approached the ship. The edge of it was the only part of it that hit their ship. As it passed through the area, none of the shielding could repel the effects of the disturbance. I’ve downloaded the information from their ship and hope it gives us a clue to what happened.”

            The effects of the disturbance was always on my mind. What kept nagging me was—why weren’t we affected? And why did we end up across the galaxy, unlike the others? While I pondered some reasons for this dilemma, the Wayfarer’s speed began to increase so as to rendezvous with the next ship, the Dynasty. We found the signature of the Dynasty and within several hours were able to bring the gravimetric propulsion on line. Shelby pointed out the bright star Sirius on our port side, and Alpha Centauri hanging in the distance on the Starboard side.

            “Ah the dog days of summer,” said Shelby.

            Tammy was puzzled. “What do you mean by dog days?”

            “Sirius was known, by the ancient Egyptians, as the dog star, after their god Osirus, whose head in pictograms resembled that of a dog. In Egypt, Sirius shines for most of the summer. Since it is such a bright star, the Egyptians believed that the additional heat from Sirius, combined with the Sun, was responsible for the summer heat. This is where we got the phrase 'the dog days of summer.’”

            “Very interesting, Shelby. Did you get that from an Egyptian history class or the space-net?”

            “Neither—Astronomy 201.”

                       

            It wasn’t long before the Wayfarer approached the Dynasty. We initiated docking procedures and pulled up to the emergency access. We released the access shroud then stabilized air pressure. This time, when Tom and I entered the ship, an alarm went off. I barely turned around to see movement behind me when a figure leaped out.

            “Good heavens someone made it to us!” a woman shouted and lunged for me.”

            Startled and surprised, I fell backward over a large deck screw, and hit my head against the bulkhead. My hands naturally spread out to catch myself and break my fall...but failed to do so.

            Tom rushed the woman and held her back. “Wait a minute, lady.”

             I sat up and rubbed the bump forming on my head. “Ouch!” Who are you?”

            A woman spoke sympathetically. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was so excited to see someone else, I...I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

            Tom released the woman. She had lesions on her face and hands, like she had been out in the sun for months and the blisters had cracked open. It looked painful, to say the least.  Her hair was thinning. She tried to comb it back with her fingers—clumps of hair came out.

            I stood to my feet. “You didn’t frighten me. You, you, surprised me, that’s all.”

            “Are you the only one alive?” asked Tom.

            “No, but my Captain is dead. And since I’m the Executive Officer, I took charge of the ship. The rest of the crew is still in stasis.” She glanced at a mirror on the wall. “Oh my goodness, would you look at my lips.” She dabbed the cuts with her fingers. “I’ve got to find some ointment for it.”

            I followed her to a first aid cabinet. “What’s your name? I’m Alex, and this is Tom.”

            She found some cream and applied it to her lips. “I’m Chris.”

            “Why didn’t you respond to our hale?”

            “I didn’t have time. I was in stasis and programmed the computer to awake me if any approaching vessel invaded our space. When you were docking, I was getting my bearings and was only fully awake as you entered the ship.”

            “I see. So how many of your crew is still alive?”

            She walked to the cubicles. “When I entered stasis, there were five of us alive—two died soon after. I hope the other two made it. It was the strangest phenomena. It penetrated the ship’s shielding like a hot knife through butter and it felt like a hot knife through my body.” She checked the monitor read-out on each one. “It almost depended on where you were in the ship, to how it would effect you, but I really didn’t have a chance to theorize. I’m not a medical expert and the one who was, was killed.” Her eyes watered as she got the results from the last cubicle. “Oh no. Jack didn’t make it,” she moaned. 

            After checking the last cubicle, she sat down on the floor. She put her head in her hands.

            I could see she was still fighting the stasis reversal, as well as the effects of the discharge. “I’m sorry about your crew. With your permission, I’d like to download your ship’s computer. I did the same thing with the Dynasty. We might be able to put two and two together to get some answers.”

            She looked up. “You mean the Conquest was hit also?”

            “All ships 100AU outside Pluto were affected—including mine.”

            “But you look perfectly fine. How did you get through it?”

            “It’s a long story. Right now we need to get you to the Wayfarer, and back to Earth as quickly as possible.”

            Tom and I helped her into the Wayfarer. We opened the cubicles for her and the remaining crew member still alive. We sedated them and so as to reduce any further stress they might incur. After we downloaded the ship’s files, we set the Dynasty for an automatic course heading to Earth.

            Once we were released from the Dynasty, the Wayfarer accelerated for a few hours before the Gravimetric drive was engaged. Everyone was awake now and anxious to get home. No one wanted to be asleep when we entered the heliopause—our last and final leg, back to Earth.

            Later that evening (Earth time), Tom and I were in the lounge, having a few drinks, relaxing, and talking about the side effects of the Discharge.

            Tom mentioned something I hadn’t considered before. “...two freak accidents on both ends of the galaxy. It really is a small universe.”

            “You know, Tom…it just dawned on me that this Discharge may, somehow, be connected to the shock wave in the Vlanco system.”

            Tom smirked. “The Vlanco shock wave? How?”

            “If it’s true that time and space can be folded over one another, then it may be possible this plasma discharge phenomena may, either have caused or was the result of the Vlanco shock wave.”

            “Wow! that’s what I call a leap of faith, Alex. I would concede that the Discharge may have a remote connection to affect the Vlanco system, but how in the universe could the Discharge take place prior to the Vlanco shock wave and yet be created from the shock wave.

            “I wouldn’t be too sure of your assumption, Tom. Time/space is a strange bird. If the universe could be folded over onto itself, it could be that it just seemed like it happened before.”

            “So you’re saying that the Discharge either brought us to the Vlanco system through some sort of rip in space and initiated the shock wave, or the shock wave occurred, causing the rip in space to pull us into the Vlanco system before it started.”

            “Right,” I affirmed.

            “Very hypothetical, Alex.”

            “I guess I’m just trying to put things in a cozy little package.”

            Tom frowned hard. “You may be imagining the whole thing and this is all a dream.”

            I grabbed and twisted his little finger. “Maybe your right. This is all in my mind.”

            “Ouch! Very funny,” he said extending and flexing his hand.

            “It was my duty to confirm your theory.” I stood up. “Let’s take a look at the recording from the Conquest and match it with those on the Wayfarer, maybe we can identify a common thread.”

            Tom followed me to the control center. We found the Major working on some technical data he found in the Vlanco files.

            As we approached, I gave a casual salute. “Major, could I use the console for a minute. I want to test out an idea of mine.”

            “Be my guest,” said the major. He made some adjustments then backed away.    

            I accessed the Wayfarer files and played the shock wave incident side-by-side to the Discharge captured by the Conquest and Dynasty. I played the images a couple times but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

            However, the major’s eyes widened at the third play-back. “Look at that.” he pointed to the images.

            “What?” Tom and I asked in unison. We couldn’t see what the major was pointing at.

            “Start the holofile once again,” said the major.

            I obeyed. “What did you see?”

            “Now fast forward from the Conquest and Dynasty...There!  Stop! Freeze it and set them to the right.”

            I did as he requested.

            “Now reverse the recording of the shock wave...Stop! Freeze-frame it to the left.” 

            We stood back for a minute, to let the images penetrate our minds.

            “Can you see it?” the major reiterated proudly.

            “Yeah,” I said, gawking at the similarity of the two images. It looked like three images with identical characteristics. “So there was a connection! Computer, get a spectral analysis of the two images and determine what, if any, similarities are between the two.

            “Affirmative,” replied the computer. In another minute the computer confirmed what our eyes saw.

            There was an identical molecular structure between the three. When the shock wave broke up into fragments, the smaller component parts of the wave took on the characteristics of the fragment or plasma discharge that appeared in the Epsilon and Wolf systems. It was a fascinating connection, to say the least.          Why was my crew unharmed and why were we expelled to the other side of the galaxy? Did we get lucky and hit the Discharge precisely in a way that opened a door for us to enter then travel through a short access to the Vlanco system? The shock wave may have just skipped through space, in and out of the known universe, like a lightening bolt touching the earth and sky.

            There were still a lot of unanswered questions like: If we did take some kind of short cut to the other side of the galaxy, could we replicate it? Did we go back in time, when we slipped through the rip in space? And if so, did we initiate the whole shock wave event?

            I never did like time/space theory and thinking about going back in time just doesn’t sit right with me… However, a universe folded over on itself that allows us to skip around in space isn’t much farther off than the Gravimetric propulsion system, which is based on curved space. Either way, with all this information, it looked as though scientists were going to have a conniption with all we’ve uncovered. 

* * *

            After pondering my grandiose ideas, I looked around the compartment. The major and the other men were huddled over the imager inspecting a new weapon system on the simulator. Shelby was consoling the new injured passengers. Tammy was holding her side, grimacing as she shuffled through the ship. It was an incredible journey and now we were home.

            I peered out the port hole and noticed some recognizable territory. “Were getting close.”

            The ship shot past the yellow Alpha Centauri A star then the orange Centauri B star on the starboard side in less than a minute. We passed Proxima, the dim red dwarf, which formed the triple star system of Alpha Centauri, and move onward. 

            The crew clustered around a view port anxious to get a peek of something recognizable.

            We entered the Oort cloud, and knew it wouldn’t be long before we reached the Kuiper belt, where the mobile military units stood like sentries.

            This part of space looks awfully familiar,” said Tom.

            “Computer, reallocate propulsion to the Hydrogen PhotoIonic system only,” said the major.

            The Gravimetric drive was disengaged and we started slowing to sub-light speed. The major then sent out a message to Deep Space Central Command, to let them know we were back. The message was intercepted from a mobile unit outside Pluto. It was a long 30 seconds, before a familiar voice was heard on the com.

            “This is the Comstation-2 mobile observatory. Could you repeat your message? It sounded like you said Wayfarer1 has returned.”

            “Parker?” said Tom, “is that you?”

            “God in the Heavens! Dad?”

            “Yes son, we made it back.”

            There was a long pause and finally he came back on. His voice cracked with emotion. “I knew you’d get back! You always come back. I‘ve been manning this post for a 20 days. Everyone else had given up on you, but I didn‘t.”

            Tom grinned broadly. “Son, we’ll be reaching Earth by tomorrow about this time, and won’t be able to stop. But to hear your voice is the best present I’ve had in a long time.”

            “Thanks, Dad. I’ll try to get back to Earth as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I’ll send the good news to Deep Space Command. You can contact them when you get closer. Is everyone else okay?”

            Tom sighed, “The crew’s fine. It’s a very long story. I’ll explain when we have more time. Are the grandkids okay.”

            “They’re my pride and joy, Dad. I’ll sign off now.”

            “A-okay, Son. Over and out.” Tom flipped the connection off, then sat back with a satisfied smile.

             

             The ship continued to decelerate, as it neared the solar system. I sat back comforted with the fact that at this speed my days in stasis will be a thing of the past. I could leave home, do research, and come back on the weekends. If that doesn’t please Carol, I don’t know what will. 

           

            The tension continued to build, as we closed in on the Jovian moons. It was estimated that time of arrival to be in a few hours. When we passed Jupiter and its moons, a brilliant series of lights erupted from Europa, most likely colonists welcoming us home. The command center would have received the good news. Breaking news would be sent to the colonies and Earth. The same event occurred when passed Mars. But it really didn‘t compare to the image of Earth as it grew bigger and bigger in the forward porthole. It was a sight for sore eyes.

            “Wayfarer-1. Major Larson, can you read me?”  The imager came into focus.

            “Yes, Colonel. It’s good to see you.”

            “I still can’t believe your back. The whole world is awaiting your arrival.”

            “I’m honored, Sir.”

            “I’ll meet you and the rest of the crew at the space station, in a few hours, for debriefing.”

            “Yes sir.”

            The major turned around. “Well, hang on to you’re shorts people, it looks like we have a big event on our hands.”

            The Wayfarer gently docked into the cargo bay of the space station where a huge crowd had assembled. Banners were waving, people were cheering and reporters were crowding to the front to get images and reports of the survivors of the Discharge.

            Gathering up our belongings, there was a moment when we just stood still, as a group, when Shelby spoke up.

            “Before we leave I wanted to say something.”

            “Sure, what is it, Shelby?” I asked.

            “You all know I try to give others freedom to be left alone, when it comes to spiritual issues. But right now I’d like to imprison you for a minute.”

            “Imprison?” said Tammy.

            “If you are willing to listen?”

            The rest of us nodded for her to continue.

            Shelby smiled. “Thanks. I just wanted to say that we have a truly awesome God. We have traveled farther than anyone on Earth has ever been and He has brought us home. We have gained knowledge and wisdom, which I hope we will use for the good of man. Thank you all for allowing me to make a journey with you.”

            There was a silent pause…then we spontaneously shook hands and hugged one another. The access opened and we stood ready. The docking bay was full of people. For a brief moment one could hear a whisper. 

            The major stepped out to the entrance. He raised his close fisted hands and shouted. “Its great to be home...the greatest place in the Galaxy!”

            The crowd erupted with a cheer. They swarmed in on us. We felt like heroes as we walked down the ramp through the people, patting us on the back and waving to us. Reporters tried to edge in for a quote, but we managed to keep it simple till our briefing with the military was finished. In the mean time, we fought our way through the throngs of people wanting our autographs, pictures taken with them. 

            We were led to a large meeting room where the Colonel and a few others greeted us warmly.  We gave them a summary of our escapades. Thankfully, they obliged us a transfer shuttle back to Earth to see family, before getting into the finer details of our adventures.

  

            Our shuttle brought us down to the Deep Space Command Center, where we had another opportunity for additional exposure to the mobs. However, not only were there thousands of people there to celebrate, the President of the Continent was there.  In normal circumstances I would have been impressed, but to be honest, all I could think about was Carol. I half expected her to be there, but since she wasn’t in the crowd, I assumed she didn‘t want all the exposure. 

            When I got home Carol was there waiting for me, with some close friends. I embraced her and smelled her familiar perfume. We sat and talked about aliens and highlights of my adventures for awhile. Finally, Carol and I were alone. We just held each other for hours.  The next morning, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise. For the first time, the sun almost looked a little lonely, without two other stars next to it. And I almost missed that turquoise sky.

* * *

            As the weeks passed, and the thrill wore down, and we were back to our old selves again.

            “Honey, could you hang this shelf for me?” asked Carol.

            I was reading my new mystery novel, sipping on a drink. “Well my back had been giving me these twinges.”

            “Does it bother you now?” she asked.

            “Not at the moment.” I set the glass down to adjust the speed on the page.

            “Good then you can hang the shelf for me.”

            “Oh, Oh, I’m starting to feel a twinge in my back.”

            She tipped her head and smiled. I got up and gave her a big hug.

            Yes it was great to be home with Carol, we seemed to really appreciate one another, for once.  I attribute much of it to my Vlanco friend’s advice about balance in my life.

            It’s too bad I had to travel across the Galaxy to realize how important the little things are. I leaned against the garden wall and looked out to the sky. I thought back to my friends on Onos, the world of good. With my arms crossed, I felt a bump underneath my shirt and I pulled open the neck of the shirt, to see what it was. I had almost forgotten about it...the Triclet. In the past I thought that I had to earn perfection on my own and knew I never could…but I was wrong. With God, all things are possible.

The End

This ends the World of Good web-series. I hope you have enjoyed it. Let me know if you would like a web-series sequel and I’ll dredge up some more of my old sci-fi files.