Third Moon Rising Page 3

  Anchora shuddered at the thought of the general population learning that Earth’s leaders had kept knowledge about Zilia secret for fourteen years. They had launched several emigrant transports toward the Messier Colony, with plans for some to continue on to the planet Zilia. This was in keeping with the Executive Committee’s seminal decision to exploit the newly discovered planet and dominate Zilan civilization if necessary. Revealing that information now would undermine support for the overall extrasolar emigration program. They must let it appear that the colony had made the first discovery of the planet Zilia and its hominid civilization.

  He settled into his comfortable desk chair and swiveled to face the large window overlooking New York’s Central Park. His faint reflection stared back resolutely, as if it were a ghost from days past waiting to pounce if he made a wrong decision. Some decisions were simply necessary; it was not productive to dwell on the right or wrong of them. So why was he?

  Anchora straightened his wiry frame slowly and ran a hand through gray-tinged, black hair. He continued looking out across the canopied park. The bucolic view of the park in early spring bloom belied the dire conditions existing globally outside enclosed cities.

  The more civilized a species becomes, he mused, the more it resorts to uncivilized means to survive.

  In this case, survival of humankind was at stake. He could make uncivilized decisions, but he didn’t have to like it. Initiating covert action with respect to Zilia was his first major uncivilized action in a long, distinguished political career, and it roiled his conscience.

  He slapped the arms of the chair, then slumped down; it was only a matter of time before word leaked out. Keeping such a massive undertaking secret was impossible.

  They were launching large numbers of people into the void, into a very uncertain future. Those residing on dying Earth shared its fate, but that did not mean the human race must. The embryonic extrasolar emigration plan still required unwavering, long-term support from those on Mother Earth to ensure success. The plan represented humankind’s hope for survival and advancement. So far, they only had the one thriving extrasolar colony, Messier, on a planet appropriately named Hope, in the Nepali A system. Their extrasolar Cheng Ho Colony on New Earth was still struggling to survive.

  It was galling that most on Earth could care less about extrasolar emigration. It was understandable, though. They struggled daily just to survive. They had little hope of improving their lot, let alone ever leaving the planet. To most citizens, the push to achieve a place for humanity among the stars was a hopeless and draining fantasy. He could understand the despair setting in among the billions of others around the globe, for he shared their terminal fate. They would die on this planet, never knowing what it was like to travel into deep space. That is, all but a select few, the best from among their younger generations.

  It was challenging to decide what to tell those in the distant Messier Colony. Success of the emigration plan depended heavily on the colonists’ loyalty and sacrifice in the trying times to come. But should they be given a vote on the emigration plan? No, Earth must proceed as planned and count on the colony’s strong, pioneering nature to prevail when the time came for action.

  “Geraldo Sepeda, my old mentor, what would you think of your student now?” he whispered into the quiet of the room, where he often felt the presence of the former president’s ghost.

  “Mr. President, Ambassador Trumane is here to see you,” his secretary announced via intercom.

  Now what could be so important that Joseph would come to see him without an appointment? Of course he would see his old friend, NAU ambassador to the United Nations, no matter how busy. He owed much of his political success to Joseph’s guidance. There was no better political analyst and strategist, one who accurately read public sentiments. Joseph had filled the void left when Anchora’s elderly mentor, former President Sepeda, passed away.

  “This is a pleasant surprise, old friend, and a curious one.”

  “I know how busy you are, Anchora, and I wouldn’t intrude unless it was very important.”

  They sat down and waited until the secretary provided coffee and left the room.

  “I’m sure you would come to the same conclusion soon regarding what I have to say, but maybe I can save us some time,” Joseph said soberly.

  Anchora nodded at this comment by his friend, ever the diplomatic one, and waited for him to continue.

  Leaning forward, Joseph said, “What would it do for us if we had a diplomatic envoy arrive at Zilia years ahead of our first emigrant transport?”

  Carlos was relieved when additional observations confirmed that signals were coming from the vicinity of Nepali C, not from some more distant source. Mission Control kept him and Samuel busy setting up new monitoring activities.

  He stayed in close touch with George since the Hycomms link was kept online, and was surprised at Earth’s initial reaction when notified of the extraterrestrial signal intercepts. It was not good. He could understand it being demoralizing. They had set up a colony in another civilization’s neighborhood after a concerted eighty-year effort to establish an independent colony. Still, discovery of another intelligent species nearby was phenomenal and warranted a more positive response.

  “Hey, here’s a good one for you, Carlos,” George said in one of their routine exchanges. “Would you believe the mission to Democritus was not coordinated with Earth?”

  Since learning that the Messier Colony leaders were censoring information from Earth, Carlos had thought the leaders were no more than puppets of the government back on Earth.

  “You’re kidding, aren’t you?” But George wasn’t. The colony leaders had taken a bold, independent step, and Carlos was proud of them.

  The negative reaction by Earth’s leaders was clearly because resources had been diverted that could have been applied to preparing for the increase in colonists arriving at the Messier Colony. Regardless, Carlos was relieved when Earth’s focus changed to supporting the colony in attempting to make sense of the detected signals.

  Carlos had a growing prescient feeling about what the continuing observation of Nepali C’s solar system would reveal. This feeling persisted as Messier scientists focused on four major inner planets orbiting the star. The second and third planets were orbiting in the “habitable zone” of the solar system. In addition, significant bands of matter orbited in the outer reaches of the system, which could contain other planets. They also discovered a faint ring of matter inside the first planet’s orbit.

  The signals were originating from the second planet, just as in his dreams. This was not something he could bring himself to discuss with anyone. The opportunity hardly arose anyway. He and Samuel became distant observers of the unfolding actions and discoveries as the signals they passed along were analyzed at Messier. It was soon confirmed that the stronger signals were links between the second planet’s surface and satellites. These were global navigation and communication systems links, as Samuel had suggested. The absence of broadcast entertainment signals, such as those still utilized in some regions on Earth, was puzzling. Very little radiation was coming from the planet for it to have a civilization capable of placing satellites in orbit.

  Carlos could only watch from afar as the Messier Space Station launched a deep-space probe, which would eventually enter a braking orbit over the north pole of Nepali C. A launch angle was chosen to place the probe far enough out from Nepali B to enable direct observations of the Nepali C solar system near term. This probe would provide continuity in collecting data after the New Horizon returned to Messier.

  Mission Control reported detecting signals from seventeen distinct satellites orbiting the second planet: fifteen in equatorial orbits and two in polar orbits. Decoding of communication channels revealed the inhabitants called their planet Zilia and themselves Zilans.

  Two moons orbited the second planet, a very large one far out and a smaller one located close in. If there were any additional moons or debris
orbiting the planet, they were too small for the New Horizon or Messier Colony systems to detect.

  Carlos’s desire to learn more about the second planet and its inhabitants conflicted with the need to focus on Democritus. But there was no choice in the matter. The New Horizon must enter the proper braking orbit around Democritus for them to make it home safely. They would orbit the planet until the survey process was completed, and then boost the New Horizon back into a trajectory to intercept the planet Hope.

  Carlos directed that ship sensors begin surveying Democritus. He then monitored the ship’s last-minute flight adjustments for entering orbit. As the small planetoid loomed, he thought of his close friend, Dr. Alexi Stavonoski, the resident philosopher at the Messier Colony. The professor had suggested the unusual name for the outermost planet, reminding the colony astrophysicists that a Greek scientist, Democritus, had coined the word “atom” to describe the smallest particle he could imagine. The Greek scientist also believed many worlds existed throughout space around other suns, and that many were inhabited worlds. The remarkable thing was, Democritus had lived on the Greek islands of Iona on Earth in the period 450 to 375 BC.

  The survey of Democritus and space close about it began in earnest. They verified the planet had one small moon, which was comprised mostly of water ice, at least on the surface, giving the appearance of a large snowball. This delighted the Messier Colony scientists, who had several theories about the moon’s structure. Carlos recommended naming the moon Stavon in honor of Dr. Stavonoski.

  Spectral and gravity analyses verified that the planet’s core was very dense and most likely metallic. A high-velocity probe was launched to penetrate deep into the planet’s surface. It transmitted data revealing that the core was comprised primarily of iron, with nickel and heavy trace elements also present.

  After fifteen survey orbits, they were directed to depart for the trip back to the planet Hope. Apparently there were no major surprises in the Democritus survey data, and researching the Zilia discovery was now paramount.

  Carlos delayed heading to the hibernation cells for the trip back as long as he could. Finally Fremont Jones contacted him via the Hycomms link.

  “Carlos, no more dragging your heels—I want you in hibernation within eight hours,” Fremont said sternly. Then he smiled. “You’ve done a great job. Now come on home.”

  Fremont stepped out of view and was replaced by George’s beaming face filling the field of view.

  “Hello, Carlos. Having trouble going to sleep?” George chuckled, then added, “I figured you could use some cheering up about now.”

  George stepped back, and the image panned out to reveal several others gathered around George. They all said hello and waved in unison, and the women blew him kisses. The group included George’s wife, Amanda; two space medicine physicians Carlos had come to know well, Alex Brown and his wife, Laura Trumbull Brown; and two sisters he had been introduced to recently, Sherry and Christina DeLarco. Leave it to George to keep trying to pair him up, even when he was in deep space.

  There was lively banter back and forth, and Carlos enjoyed flirting with the two sisters. He found the older sister, Christina, particularly attractive. She had flowing, black hair and a quick smile, and was about his age. She stepped close to the camera and blew him an exaggerated kiss.

  After several minutes the group settled down. In parting, George said seriously, “Have sweet dreams, buddy.”

  “Thanks, George. Thanks, everybody. You’ve done wonders in lifting my mood.”

  But it doesn’t make me feel any better about having to face hibernation, Carlos thought. Someone at the other end broke the connection.

  “Eve, you are in charge.”

  “Commander, I will watch over you and Samuel.”

  He went reluctantly to meet Samuel to prepare for entering the hibernation cells. It was all he could do to step into his individual cell, this being his first extended experience with hibernation sleep. Nevertheless, he did so, trying to hide his emotions from Samuel. Carlos welcomed the sedative-induced sleep, which cut off his growing anxiety. The last thing that came to mind was Eve’s statement, I will watch over you.

  It was a frightful dream, of tumbling in space inside a capsule that was losing its air. Carlos was so cold he couldn’t shiver, and breathing was impossible. He tried turning back in on himself, willing himself into a deep sleep to block out the fear of exposure to the vacuum of space.

  Warmth spread through his limbs, and his mind became more alert as the dream faded. He was not in the vacuum of space—he was in a hibernation cell. A light grew brighter in his mind’s eye. His thoughts flitted back to his childhood; could it be an angel? No, it was something beyond eyelids still stuck closed.

  His extremities began tingling, and he had the urge to stand and exercise his muscles. His inability to satisfy this urge became almost unbearable as cramps started in both legs. This soon eased as well, and his thoughts focused better. The drugs, the electrical muscle and bone stimulation, and the injected nanoagents were efficiently getting his body back to normal.

  Still, he could hardly stand as he struggled out of the cell and donned a loose-fitting gown. He was the first placed in hibernation and the first revived. Samuel’s cell was still dormant but would soon activate to revive him.

  “Eve, what’s our situation?”

  “All systems are functioning normally, Commander, and the New Horizon is nearing the end of its voyage.”

  Carlos walked slowly to the small crew lounge. He filled a cup with warm nutrient broth from an autodispenser. He savored the first cup, refilled it, and headed to the control center.

  His sluggish thoughts turned to Nepali C. What additional discoveries had been made while he slept? Finding out would have to wait until his stability returned, both physically and mentally. Right then, he would happily agree to never go into hibernation again.

  Once in the control center, he settled into the commander’s chair to rest and let the soothing broth take effect. But George Sayer was not going to let him rest in peace.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, don’t you think it’s about time you did some work?” George said via a conventional laser comm link.

  “Go away, George,” Carlos replied, still groggy.

  “No way, my friend. Don’t you want to know what’s been going on?”

  Carlos took another sip of broth. “Eve, where are we located with respect to the space station?”

  “The New Horizon is approximately ninety-one hundred kilometers from Hope and making final trajectory adjustments to enter a braking orbit.”

  “OK, George, what’s going on?”

  George replied in a teasing voice, “Correlating the data collected so far, we’ve learned some exciting things about the second planet around Nepali C. Are you up to hearing about it?”

  He could wring George’s neck. George was obviously going to tease him with information and banter until he had gathered his wits. Why was he feeling so cross? It had to be a side effect of the hibernation process.

  “Eve, remind me to never have serious conversations right after coming out of hibernation.”

  “Yes, Commander,” Eve said evenly.

  George laughed at this behavior from his unsteady friend.

  “Well, I’m going to tell you whether you’re ready or not. The planet is slightly larger than Earth and rotates a little more slowly, but in the same counterclockwise direction with respect to the north-south axis convention. Each day is about 8 percent longer than the Earth day.

  “The planet orbits its star a little farther out than Earth does around the sun, with one complete annual orbit being about three hundred eighty of its days. The small inner moon completes its orbit once in slightly over twenty-five days, and the large outer moon completes its elliptical orbit once every seven years. This is fantastic stuff! I don’t know why we haven’t looked more closely at the Nepali C system before.”

  George continued describing discoveries made while C
arlos was in hibernation. The planet’s axis of rotation tilted slightly more than eighteen degrees from the ecliptic. This tilt was less than that of Earth but still produced four annual seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres, similar to those of Earth. The Messier scientists could not determine the full extent of the seasons until the deep-space probe traveled closer to the solar system and provided more data. However, the planet’s polar regions were clearly larger and likely stayed much colder than those of Earth. In spite of this, the planet’s equatorial region stayed hotter than that of Earth by an average of several degrees centigrade, or so they theorized.

  The planet had two temperate zones conducive to maintaining life as known on Earth, one each in the northern and southern hemispheres. Another important discovery was that the oceans covered about half the planet. This was significantly less than on Earth, which was covered almost 70 percent by oceans. The planet would be semiarid in most regions.

  “Enough of the details,” Carlos interjected. If left to his own devices, George would describe every physical detail of the planet and its nearby star. Moreover, it was irritating to hear everything compared to Earth. Their home world was Hope!

  “What about the people, or whatever they are, who reside on the planet?”

  “Well, we haven’t determined much yet,” replied George, reluctant to shift the direction of the conversation. He clearly still had lots of information he wanted to discuss. “So far our analysts haven’t completely deciphered the language, and we’re still screwing with trying to figure out the synchronization technique used in their video data. But there’s no question that very intelligent beings exist on the planet, and this worries our leaders.”

  Then George let a mysterious note creep into his voice. Two could play at redirecting the conversation. “But I do have other news you’ll find interesting. Earth directed we ready a spaceship and crew for a possible mission to the Nepali C solar system.”

  Carlos sat up and leaned toward the console. There could be only one spaceship advanced enough and anywhere near ready for the trip—the New Horizon.