Man's Next 500 Years

By Gerald McManus

The apocalyptic history of humanity over the next 500 years was revealed to the author, a long time member of the distinguished Planetary Society, by a mysterious alien messenger sent from the deep future. This thrilling novel of adventure, romance, exploration and existential war is set both on Earth and across the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy. The novel contains new physics and formulas. It has a dramatic and suspenseful climax with an optimistic ending for the long term future of humanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookPartnership
• Release date: May 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781912924813

Book preview

Epilogue

Prologue

A robotic exploration craft sped past Pluto in July of 2015. It rendered much knowledge of that far away and faint, unknown world. It also completed the initial exploration of the major worlds of Earth’s solar system. At the time I was a science fiction novelist in search of a good idea for my next book.

A few nights later a high, bright Moon bathed Tampa Bay, Florida in a dim twilight until a fast-moving, violent thunderstorm blew through the area. At 4 a.m. my modest, middle class home was rocked by crackling lightning, rumbling thunder and sheets of heavy rain. The turmoil outside of my bedroom window awoke me from a sound sleep. Another flash of lightning illuminated my bedroom for a split second. I got a bleary-eyed glimpse of something in the doorway. I rose up onto one elbow and reached over to switch on the lamp next to my bed. To my great astonishment a short, stocky figure appeared to hover above the doorway’s threshold. It was about the size of a large, legless dog with a grayish, oval head at the top center of its purple body. The center of its head had a horizontal, orange band about one inch high and five inches wide.

Do not be afraid, the creature said in perfect English. I mean you no harm. I am here from the future. I represent an intergalactic coalition of peaceful spacefaring species. We deem it necessary that a skilled writer, such as yourself, be provided with the details of what will happen to your species during the next 500 years. We want you to inform them, via the written word, of the events that will occur over this coming period. As you will presently learn, it will be extremely dangerous for Man to naively venture unarmed and unprepared into the vast unknown realms of deep space. If you do as we wish, it will become much more likely that Man will survive the great trial that approaches. Do you understand what I have said?

I was totally star struck and bewildered. I simply half nodded my head once.

We view your species as one that could potentially join our group in future times. We are in want of a new member for our coalition. But the chances of Man surviving long term are not great. Therefore, we have decided to use you, sir, to improve those odds. You have remarkable creative skills as a novelist and a high level of overall scientific knowledge. But it is your general concern for the continued advancement of your species into space that is the reason why you were selected. Your species has now successfully fulfilled two of the three required preliminary steps necessary to join our coalition. Man has achieved space travel through his own industriousness and completed the initial exploration of the major worlds of your planet’s solar system. Once again do you understand what I have said?

I gulped down some dry saliva. I do understand.

Excellent, the alien said. It hovered closer to the foot of my bed.

I tried to move but suddenly could not. I was paralyzed from the neck down. A colorful beam of light about four inches in width was emitted from the orange band across the alien’s head. It went directly into my eyes. The beam contained rapidly changing images and texts that filled my mind with the history of Man for the next 500 years. It was all too much for me to cognitively grasp any of the specific details. After one minute the beam stopped. The alien returned to the doorway.

You will soon regain all of your senses, the alien said. I can remain here no longer without further protection from your planet’s surface environment. By mandated intergalactic law this will be our one and only allowed communication with any human being from past times. Please remember that it is most imperative that you convey to your species an accurate account of the knowledge you have just received. Farewell.

Another lightning flash brightened my bedroom. I blinked and the alien vanished without a trace. After several minutes my paralysis thawed away with no ill effects. I got up, walked to my bedroom window and opened the blinds. The rain had ceased. The sky was clearing. Moonlight reflected off of the fresh puddles in my back yard. I could still see lightning and hear thunder from the east.

‘Did that really happen?’ I asked myself. But I knew that it did happen.

I walked into my living room and sat down on the sofa. I started to ravenously think about the future. I sat there spellbound for several hours. I chronologically thought through the coming five centuries, one decade at a time. The events of most of these decades were not terribly surprising but one or two decades in each century were of dramatic import. The information I received from the alien must be true. The discoveries, inventions, explorations, tragedies and wars that awaited Man were all monumental and so historically connected. The coming five centuries would have a much greater impact upon Man than did the previous five centuries back to the age of Columbus.

At noon that very day I began to write the first pages of the novel that follows. I wrote it in a way that tells this fateful history from the point of view of authentic characters living their lives during the climatic last few decades of the next 500 years with flashbacks to the most important events of the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th centuries.

Chapter 1

The Orion Spur

It is a truth certain that during Man’s potentially endless journey across the vast eternities of space-time we will encounter intelligent aliens who will be none too fond of us or our sudden appearance.

In the year 2490, a three-ship Space Command squadron was on the 38th day of a secret mission to explore the inner regions of the Orion Spur in the Milky Way Galaxy. The ships were the Cruiser Agamemnon, the Destroyer Tripoli and the science ship Newton. The Orion Spur is a long, curved river of several billion stars that arcs out away from the Sagittarius Spiral Arm. Near the inner edge of the mid region of the Orion Spur sits our Sun and its entourage of planets and moons.

First Lieutenant Adam Middlemarch sat in his modest quarters aboard the Cruiser Agamemnon. He held his chin in hand gazing at the endless stream of stars that drifted past his small porthole window. The Higgs Field halo that surrounded all ships travelling at light speed (C1) or greater was created by space-time itself like a plow crossing a farmer’s field. The halo substantially dimmed the brightness of passing stars. Adam was 24, of average size with straight brown hair and green eyes. He was fortunate to possess an athletic body and a handsome face that many women admired on sight. Nevertheless he was still a virgin. This was because of his sheltered, wealthy upbringing followed by the strict non-fraternization policy at the Space Academy and the very limited access to appropriate females while serving along Man’s far frontier. For years Adam’s body frequently told him that he was ready for a woman but he was forced by circumstance to wait for an interesting female to become interested in him. Adam was also proud to now share part of the same record that his great, grandfather Peter Middlemarch once solely held for having successfully travelled ‘Farthest from Earth’. Adam hoped that his father, Val Middlemarch, would be less angry with his only child when the news of his son’s accomplishment was released to the public. Seven years ago Adam abandoned his prosperous family’s spaceship service and cargo business. The business was based on Neptune’s largest moon, Triton. At heart, Adam was a humanitarian who thought that a career in Space Command was a much higher calling than the pursuit of unnecessary additional family wealth.

There was a knock at Adam’s door.

Lieutenant Middlemarch, there is a red margin message coming in from Space Command headquarters.

I’ll be right there, Sergeant Boras.

*

The squadron commander of the exploration mission was First Captain Horatio Swift. He was a career Space Command officer originally from the Cornwall peninsular of England. He was middle-aged, tall and distinguished with a square jaw and salt and pepper hair. The ability of Man’s newest spaceships to reach a maximum velocity of C2 (light speed squared) allowed formerly unimaginable distances to be crossed in months rather than millennia. Communications signals without mass could travel at the even more astounding velocity of C3 (light speed cubed).

Captain Swift’s orders were to proceed at full C2 speed down the inward length of the Orion Spur and locate its source point. The Captain was to chart this totally unknown region while searching for Earth-like planets or anything else that the dozen scientists on the mission might find pertinent. The squadron was to explore the region for 30 days before returning to a Space Command frontier base to resupply and await further orders.

*

First Lieutenant Adam Middlemarch entered the wide, gleaming, circular bridge carrying a slip of white paper with red margins. The red indicated that the message was for the Captain or the executive officer only. Adam was the acting executive officer aboard the Agamemnon. The message was a confidential communication from Space Command headquarters on Earth. He walked towards Captain Swift who was seated at his high desk in the center of the bridge. The Captain was reviewing a detailed holochart produced by the science ship. It was a three dimensional map of the area that the squadron most recently sped through.

The helmsman was Second Lieutenant Charles Bordeaux. He sat 25 feet in front of the Captain in the nose of the ship always with one or both hands on the traditional silver steering wheel. The helmsman controlled the ship’s course and speed.

Captain we have received good news from headquarters, Lieutenant Middlemarch said.

The Captain looked away from the one-square-yard holochart that hovered above his desk. The holochart contained thousands of white dots each of which represented the location of a star. There were also several dozen blue dots. They each represented a star that was orbited by a rocky planet with substantial amounts of permanent surface water. This was a requirement for the potential colonization of any world by Man. But, there were no signs of intelligent life exhibited on any of these planets. No satellites were in orbit, no signs of surface engineering and no hint of any sort of communications were emitted from these somewhat watery worlds.

Lieutenant Middlemarch handed the slip of paper to the Captain.

He read it. I must inform all three ships about this at once, the Captain said. It will please everyone.

He touched the front edge of his desk and the holochart closed down into a tiny holobit half the size of a finger nail. The Captain pressed a small button on his wrist communicator and spoke:

"Attention squadron crews this is Captain Swift. I am pleased to inform you that we are on course and all is well. We should reach the area where the Orion Spur is believed to originate sometime tomorrow. Space Command has also verified that late last month we broke the record of ‘Farthest from Earth’ set by the Vasco da Gama 22 years ago. For that accomplishment you will each receive a bonus of six month’s pay. You may resume your duties."

Cheering resounded throughout the squadron. The feat and the bonus were music to the crew’s ears.

The previous executive officer, Second Captain Sakai was en route back to Earth. He was also the ship’s top gunner. Most of his family was killed when their home crumbled during a late night earthquake in Japan. The six month’s pay was of little real value to wealthy Adam but the distance record was of great importance to him and hopefully his father. Sir, I would like to donate my bonus to Second Captain Sakai. I’m sure he and his surviving family members could use the funds, Adam said.

That is very kind of you Lieutenant. I’ll forward your request to headquarters with the next payroll update.

Adam graduated three years earlier from the Space Academy with excellent grades and the prestigious senior-year awards in marksmanship for both short range blasters and long range laser cannons. Adam was an excellent gunner. That is partially why he was selected as a replacement executive officer on this mission. Multiple gunners for this expedition into the boundless unknown might well be needed.

Sir, may I commence gunnery practice a few minutes early? Adam asked.

Go right ahead, Lieutenant.

Adam stepped into the gunnery console adjacent to the helmsman’s chair. He strapped himself into a standing position. Adam knew that he was slightly quicker and more responsive to a potential adversary’s countermeasures when standing. The weapon levers, sights and trigger tensions were all perfectly adjusted for his height and reach. He proceeded to vigorously fire at virtual popup targets for ten minutes. He loved gunnery practice so much that the ten minutes seemed to pass by in a minute or two.

Sir, gunnery practice is complete, Adam said.

Good job Lieutenant, you scored 94 percent on your hit ratio.

Thank you, Captain. Adam smiled. He was pleased when his commanding officer was satisfied.

At this time there were armed bandit vessels operating along the ever-expanding frontier of the Realm of Humans. Some 350 worlds in the Orion Spur had a permanent human population that varied from a few dozen prospectors on remote frontier worlds up to 75 million humans on Man’s largest colony, Mars. Conflicts between various groups of colonial inhabitants would inevitably occur. There were also occasional planet-wide insurrections against the laws promulgated by the all-powerful but far away Earth Senate. These laws often failed to properly consider contentious local issues. Violent confrontations would sometimes occur necessitating an armed intervention by Space Command warships to restore order and force a balanced compromise.

Captain Swift stood up and brushed both of his hands back through his hair. He put the holobit into his white uniform’s shirt pocket.

Were there any planets of interest in today’s charts, sir? Adam asked.

No Lieutenant, once again there are none. It is quite frustrating for the scientists and me too.

He started to walk around the circumference of the bridge to stretch his legs. He motioned with a wave of his hand for Adam to follow along.

Captain, may I ask why you think we have not encountered another spacefaring species?

You may certainly ask but your guess is really as good as mine. All of the scientists are perplexed because Man expected to encounter other intelligent aliens in space centuries ago. We’ve been out here looking for five hundred years and still we find no other species travelling in space. We have found some planets of passing interest with unusual life forms but none of them had anything near human intelligence.

A Marine sergeant who stood guard at one of the two entrances to the bridge snapped to attention as the two officers walked by. The Captain nodded to him.

Lieutenant, it seems as if intelligent life forms that are physically capable of space travel must be few and far between. The reasons why remain unknown to us.

The two officers arrived back at the Captain’s desk. He stepped up and sat down.

Sir, may I beam our latest record-setting position back to the frontier?

By all means Lieutenant, let them know exactly where we are. The Captain reached into his pocket and handed Adam the holobit. Beam them the latest holochart as well.

Yes, Captain. Adam strode off for the signal room.

*

Twenty minutes later, Adam entered the bridge again and jogged across the floor towards the Captain. No one ever ran in the bridge. Adam’s face was flushed and his heart was pounding.

The Captain turned his head towards Adam with a perplexed look on his face.

Sir, we have intercepted a stunning signal! Adam said.

What is it, Lieutenant?

Sir, our scanners picked up a signal emanating from an area straight ahead somewhere near the prospective source of the Orion Spur. It’s one of intelligent origin that appears to be a message sent between two alien ships! Our computer was able to interpret the message in three minutes by applying the universal translation formula.

He passed the deciphered alien message to the Captain. It read:

‘Exploration ship Lunzi, because of your reoccurring mechanical problems, you are ordered to return home to Tzumtar at once. Your chief mechanic and others may face charges of malfeasance before a royal board of inquiry. The Destroyer Klek will accompany you. Farewell.

Lieutenant General Zook.’

Helmsman, maintain the current course, but reduce the squadron’s speed to C1 (light speed), the Captain ordered.

Yes sir. Second Lieutenant Bordeaux slowed the ship down from C2 to C1. The rapid deceleration was barely noticeable to all aboard because of the ship’s sequential gyro-buffers.

Lieutenant Middlemarch you are correct. This is the most stunning information I have ever seen. Send an encrypted C3 (light speed cubed) beam with the intercepted message, verbatim, back to Space Command on Earth. Ask if we may have permission to contact these aliens.

Yes, Captain! Adam started to jog back across the bridge towards the signal room.

No need to run, Lieutenant.

Yes sir. Adam slowed to a brisk walk.

With that Captain Swift and Lieutenant Middlemarch assured themselves of a place in Man’s history books forever.

After two long hours, a return C3 beam came in from Earth. It read:

‘Captain Swift, Space Command grants you permission to cautiously attempt to contact the alien ships. Try to determine the location of their home planet, Tzumtar. But under no circumstance are you to divulge any information to the aliens regarding the location of Earth or of our military strength. If they do not respond in a timely manner let the matter drop. Then come about and return to the nearest frontier base. Make certain that you are not followed.

First Admiral Juan De Soto’

Very well, we will do exactly that, the Captain said. Computer, send the following on an open broad channel to the original location of the intercepted alien message and include a star chart with our current position. He wrote out a quick note and showed it to the computer’s eye. It read:

‘Beings of Tzumtar, we have picked up one of your communications signals. We are a friendly species and wish to meet with you for a possible exchange of knowledge and goods. We are at the location indicated on the attached chart. We await your response.

Captain Swift.’

The message was sent in easily translated binary code along with the universal language translation formula. The Captain relentlessly paced around the bridge awaiting a reply for one more excruciating hour.

Adam stood by the seated helmsman awaiting orders. They exchanged excited glances over the sudden, propitious turn of events. Now, there would really be something monumentally important for Adam’s father to hear about.

When they attended the Space Academy in Hawaii, Adam was a year ahead of the helmsman, Second Lieutenant Charles Bordeaux. They were friendly rivals in academics and sports. Both finished near the top of their respective classes. They were surprised to find themselves serving side by side on the bridge of the Agamemnon. Bordeaux was tall and thin. His face was ruddy and working class. He was from a much poorer background than Adam. Bordeaux was the oldest of seven children from acrimoniously divorced parents. The three remaining boys lived with their alcoholic father and the three girls lived with their depressed mother. Each half of the family lived on opposite sides of France. The two groups of close relatives rarely interacted. When Bordeaux got the opportunity to attend the Space Academy he jumped at it. He stayed there all year round bypassing summer vacations at his father’s house. Bordeaux was a hard worker who was always conscientious about accomplishing the task at hand whatever it may be. Captain Swift was aware of the friendly rivalry between Adam and Charles Bordeaux. He thought that it brought out the best in his two subordinate officers.

Captain Swift continued to pace around the bridge while awaiting a response from the aliens. Adam was a bit unsettled and wished that the Captain would sit down. Captain Swift was considering issuing an order to come about and return to the frontier when a reply finally came in from the aliens. It read:

‘Nomadic beings, we are Tzum from the planet Tzumtar and we have received your request for a meeting. You should proceed to the location that we have indicated on the attached star chart. We will confer with you after you arrive.

Lieutenant General Zook.’

Early the next day the Space Command squadron arrived at the location indicated on the alien star chart. It was a diminutive red dwarf star without any planets. It was quite near the source of the Orion Spur. The scientists aboard the science ship Newton were jubilant over their serendipitous opportunity to actually meet with the very first spacefaring aliens ever encountered by Man. The squadron slipped into a predictable orbit 93 million miles out from the star. The cruiser and the destroyer were a half mile apart. The lightly armed science ship Newton was a refitted older destroyer with only one small cannon left aboard. The Newton was tucked in midway between the two warships.

Warship commanders anticipating any possibility of battle would cruise along at 432 miles per second (the square root of light speed). It was the initial speed necessary to execute a light- jump to a speed faster than light. A light-jump came in particularly handy for any spaceship attempting to escape incoming enemy salvos.

All Space Command ships were cigar shaped. Battleships were 900 feet long, cruisers were 600 feet long and destroyers were 300 feet long. The rear third of all warships contained propulsion systems and fuel. The middle third contained crew quarters, a large mess hall and recreational facilities. The front third contained communication rooms, weapon systems, officer’s quarters, an officer’s lounge and a cafeteria. The bridge was always located at the front end of the ship. All warships were constructed with diamond-spun, proton-steel hulls. They were eighteen inches thick for battleships, twelve inches thick for cruisers and six inches thick for destroyers. Battleship hulls could absorb about a dozen hits from Space Command’s most powerful cannons, cruisers could take five or six hits but destroyers could only weather a couple of hits before their hulls would begin to crack open. All warships were most vulnerable to enemy fire upon their rear end propulsion systems.

Adam was enormously excited about Man’s first contact with spacefaring aliens. But he was also concerned because no one knew exactly what to expect from these ultimate strangers. Would they be friend or foe? What would they look like? Could they be trusted?

The Captain ordered the crews of his three ships to battle stations as a precaution. For 45 minutes the squadron maintained its orbit and waited.

Suddenly eight alien ships emerged from directly behind the red dwarf star. They were in close formation and rapidly closed in on the three Earth ships. The alien ships were of various lengths but all were also cigar shaped. They were all black on top and yellow underneath with military-style markings amidships. They slowed down and somewhat ominously circled the Earth squadron once. They slipped into a matching orbit about five miles away. They remained tightly clustered together with their largest ship at the center of their formation.

Sir, their ships have the same cylinder shape that ours do, Adam said.

Light-jump logistics must be the same across the galaxy, the Captain replied. We have already learned something from them.

A small ferry exited from the bottom of the largest alien ship and moved at a moderate pace towards the Cruiser Agamemnon. The Tzum commander sent a message ahead. It read:

‘Nomadic beings, we are approaching you for the conference that you requested. We are also friendly and peaceful and seek an exchange of knowledge and material items. May seven of my crew have permission to come aboard your ship?

Lieutenant General Zook.’

Captain Swift was apprehensive about letting seven aliens, sight unseen, board his warship. His reply, by computer voice, to the aliens was immediate and clear:

This is Captain Swift, a human from the planet Earth. Permission to come aboard my ship is denied. I repeat, permission to come aboard is denied. I will exit my ship and join you aboard your ferry for our initial meeting.

Captain, the alien general replied by interpreted computer voice, we do not have an environment fit to receive beings of unknown size as well as the requirements necessary for your physical well-being. So, we must come aboard your ship. I repeat we must come aboard your ship. We are approximately three feet in height and two feet in diameter.

General, I repeat that your request is denied. I will wear my all-purpose protective gear. With it on, I will be able to board your ferry no matter what the environment is like. I am approximately six feet in height, two feet in width and one foot in depth.

Very well, Captain. If you insist, you may board our ferry shortly after it arrives. We will need a moment or two to prepare for a visitor.

A minute later the alien ferry parked under the front center of the Agamemnon. Captain Swift stood by the bridge’s airlock door and put on the last piece of his protective gear. He would travel over to the alien ferry on a light-walk. It was a stable, luminous Higgs-field platform on which one could stand or move short distances through space.

"Lieutenant Middlemarch I am suspicious of these aliens. So if you do not hear from me within ten minutes of my entry into the alien ferry you will open fire on the ferry and their other ships as well. If you do hear from me but I do not say the word ‘Jupiter’ in my first sentence, you will commence fire upon them. Fire for one minute only and then try to light-jump away from here as fast as possible because they outnumber us by 8 to 3. Order the Tripoli and Newton to follow you."

Adam did not want to fire on the alien ferry with his Captain inside of it. But sir…

I want no buts about it Lieutenant, you have your orders!

Yes sir. Adam would