Crystals of Enceladus

By David Gibson

Planet Earth was heating up but the commercial interests of the ministries running the planet were focused on profit not environment. The expedition to Saturn was mainly about greed but they found something on the moon Enceladus that transcended all profit and changed civilization forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326207854

David Gibson

David Gibson (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is minister of Trinity Church in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a coeditor of From Heaven He Came and Sought Her, and his publications include Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End; Radically Whole: Gospel Healing for the Divided Heart; and The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host. He is married to Angela, and they have four children.

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Crystals of Enceladus

Crystals of Enceladus

Copyright © 2015 by David F Gibson

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

First Printing: 2015

ISBN 978-1-326-20785-4

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Scenario Year 2275

The power of the sun had increased and global temperatures have risen quicker than expected. In some parts of the world the temperature had soared to over 70 degrees and others were down as low as 20 but the changes had brought about droughts in some areas and constant torrential rain in others. The weather had become very unpredictable. Europe seemed to be mostly dry and North and South America were very wet. The sea level had risen by only 10 metres but that had meant an end to some island nations and many costal capitals moved further inland. Low lying areas of Europe benefited from the Dutch engineers who had vast experience of holding back the sea with London and the Scandinavian capitals intact. The flood defences around Copenhagen were a work of art attracting many new tourists. The only plus side was that nearly every part of the globe used solar energy. Just as well because fossil fuels became scarce over 100 years ago The decision was made by the world leaders supported by the financial ministries to search out the outer regions of the solar system to see if there was anywhere that could support life. There was a small colony on Mars but the conditions there were hostile with the planet not having a magnetosphere, radiation shielding had to be used and also nothing would grow there unless it was protected. Therefore a sustainable population would be very small and not commercially viable. The outer plants and their moons seemed our only hope.

4th March 2275

My name is John Taylor I have never really been afraid of anything except heights, or rather being higher from the ground than the 2nd story. I think that is more apprehension than fear but may depend on who is standing behind me. I am OK in a plane but sometimes uneasy when flying through bad weather. A good friend of mine once told me that he was not afraid of flying but terrified about the possibility of crashing.

I have been working as a cryo engineer for several years now after being recruited from University by Ministry 1 (pharmacy) because I was brilliant (their words not mine) and now we were trying to keep people alive rather than freeze them to death and then pursuing a futile attempt to revive them. The early experiments in the 21st century on live subjects proved very costly for the company in compensation to the relatives. The freezing experiments started in the late 20th century and when the customer’s money ran out so did the contract to keep them frozen. We should have learned then that it was a futile course to take but – well humans are full of bad ideas, and even worse at learning from history.

When the early manned outer planet probes were launched in 2234 the main problem was boredom on the flight. There is only so much star charting you can do and staring out the viewing dome can get a bit tedious even for the most dedicated cosmologist. For the military on the flight it was even worse. Their attention span is much less, very much less and even pumping zero gravity iron in the gym gets tedious.

So we had to develop an alternative to the human ice lolly. I worked with a team who had developed a way of lowering the metabolic rate to one tenth that of normal slowing down all functions and placing the subjects in a state of hibernation which, in theory, would at least make the flight seem a lot quicker although they would still retain some degree of consciousness.. This was the theory.

There was a distinct shortage of volunteers for the ‘risk free’ experimental process so I had put myself forward and we planned to do this on the 1st April 2276 one week from today. It was a sheer coincidence that the timing fell on that day but people still played pranks and I had to assure all involved that this was serious.  The process was perfectly safe I kept telling myself as I walked out of the unit to my car for the short drive home. My mind was distracted; luckily the car knew where it was going. Human intervention in most things has long since been reduced to a minimum.

I arrived home, was recognised by my dwelling and the garage door opened to let the car park itself. It closed after me and I felt secure so exited the car and walked up the few stairs to my living area. These were troubled times on planet Earth and there were a lot of people wanting to take advantage of any vulnerability, not all of them criminals. I liked a bright simply furnished lifestyle and had very little in the way of decoration apart from the usual screens in every room displaying whatever art work amused me at the time or a broadcast from the thousands of media channels. Even my speakers were built into the walls and ceiling to avoid unnecessary furniture.

It is strange how your feelings of security can be upset by one tiny detail like a cushion being in the wrong place. I froze momentarily and then turned round to face the stare of a young lady about 3 metres away dressed in a black jumpsuit and looking very dominant and sexy, well those were my first thoughts. What the hell are you doing in my apartment I asked mostly because I could not work out how she got into my apartment but she looked like she could cause serious damage by just looking at me, in that split second I regretted my retort.

I must ask you to come with me was her polite and unemotional reply. I realised this was not a request but an order.

I realised she was not a threat so I winked at her and said Where are you taking me with a mischievous look on my face, she was after all very attractive.

That was wiped off by her cold reply Ministry 7

Ministry 7 was about global security so I must be in trouble but I had no idea what I could have done.

At least give me time to shower and change I asked not expecting to be given that opportunity. Of course you can and she sat down on the chair with the cushion in the wrong place.

I was almost pleasantly surprised and headed for my bedroom and the attached bathroom. I could not help noticing that objects had been moved in there as well and all thoughts of a pleasant liaison with her had been firmly driven from my mind. I must not be in serious trouble or I would not have been given this opportunity. My shower was uneventful and swift and I noticed that my hairbrush seemed very clean but I did not dwell on that. I put on some fairly smart clothes but not a tie, I had not worn one since my first school when I was 3, but back then it was not optional and at that age I was not nearly so rebellious.

I came out 10 Minutes later and she was still sitting in the same chair with her portable in her hand, I assumed she had reported to her supervisor. I would feel more comfortable if I knew your name I asked.

Mr Taylor you do not need to know my name as it is unlikely we will meet again and your feelings are of no concern to me. I felt a chill run down my spine and had a feeling that would not be the last chill I experienced today.

The drive to the Ministry was quiet as the small black saloon with blacked out side windows drove down a ramp and into the underground car park with the entrance portal opening and closing so swiftly I almost thought we were going to crash into it. This looked like one of the most secure building on the planet despite the fact I could not see a single guard outside. Certainly a lot more secure than my apartment had turned out to be. This sort of security was reserved for the highest of all ministry official buildings.

We parked in the bay next to the elevator and the girl two men in the car got out and escorted me to the doors.

The elevator took us to the 17th floor and I felt uneasy, probably not because of the distance I was from the ground but, more likely, because of not knowing the reason for my forced abduction. As we left the elevator to walk down the brightly lit corridor I noticed the clock on the wall was 22:15 and suddenly thought I had had nothing to eat since breakfast. Perhaps that added to my uncomfortable feelings and light head. We turned right and on to a large pair of black doors that started to open. They looked like marble but I am sure that would have been too heavy. I could not resist and yes, they were cold to the touch so they were probably not wood or plastic. I have that sort of analytical brain that is constantly curious about my surroundings.

Welcome Mr Taylor… please take a seat a disembodied and monotonous voice said from the shadows. The voice was echoing so the room must be very large and have a high ceiling but I could not see. I sensed other people