Mobius Journey: Voyage to Gliese Book 2

By George F. Ostfeld

I am very happy to have produced this second book of the adventures of the spaceship Cinthea and its passengers—the surviving people of Earth. Having decided to go through the Oort Cloud, not knowing what lies ahead, I had to do some in-depth thinking about what could possibly happen to them. I learned something from this. I learned that an author has to have at least a good imagination to make a story capture a reader’s interest. I have also learned that writing this preface was not the easiest thing to do.

Unlike the first book, this story is all-inclusive in that there are no different scenario endings. It is all one story. From writing this book, I have become personally attached to the story concept. The concept being the continuing saga of mankind’s survival on a ringed spaceship one hundred miles in diameter. I have thought about this structure being built and have concluded, in my mind, that the possibility of this coming to actuality can be accomplished. The world’s space technology is such that this possibility is more like a probability. In other words, building such a craft can be done. The International Space Station is a technological marvel for what it represents in this day and age, but and I say but carefully, thinking about the future—it is small, clumsy, and awkward. So in this respect, I ask with guarded hope, What are we waiting for? Why not build a Cinthea-type spaceship? Why not take that “giant leap for mankind,” as Neil Armstrong said? I believe the people of the world are ready for it, but the leaders of the world are not.

Ah, I digress. This second book incorporates new adventures, experiences, relationships, and tests of the human spirit. I believe the human spirit will always be tested, challenging good against evil and life against death. Perhaps this is a saga of just that—good, evil, life, and death. Let us take sides with the believers of the future and not only hope good wins but also help in securing a peaceful future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Sep 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781982213138

Book preview

CHARACTERS

PROTECTION

CHAPTER 1

Shielding

The people of Earth turned insanely vicious and warlike after the ice age caused by the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador, fighting each other in an ongoing battle of programmed slaughter. Not eradicating each other entirely because if they did there would be no one to fight. So they came to an agreement among themselves to do only so much damage and killing, return to a pre-defined level of population and city buildup before returning to fighting, destroying and killing each other again. After which it started all over.

When the transport ship HOPEFUL from CINTHEA was on a reconnaissance mission to observe the people of Earth, it was destroyed by attack ships. The leaders of CINTHEA then decided to alter course from returning to Earth, their home planet, travel thru the Oort Cloud and head toward the Gliese star system where three planets orbited a star in the habitable zone, a region in which water remained liquid on a planets surface. The particular planet decided upon was called Gliese 667Cc, about 23.5 light years from Earth.

The engines pushing CINTHEA toward their new home were working smoothly. It was decided to operate them at only half power and only for four hours continuously. When shut down, inspections took place and fuel storage tanks were replenished to maximum. When the speed got up to 5,000 miles per hour the engines were shut down and the ship would then be in cruise mode. This is the speed that was determined for CINTHEA to go thru the Oort Cloud.

From what was known before CINTHEA initially departed Earth, the Oort Cloud is an area of vast space containing trillions of small icy particles of matter thought to be where comets originated. These objects were also thought to be traveling at very high speed within the cloud and the most distant objects influenced by the sun. Fortunately, because of the size of the cloud these particles were far and few between. Unfortunately, the whereabouts, sizes and movement of the particles were not known. An impact with one of them could easily destroy the ship.

There were many meetings on how to handle the situation of protection from impacts. It was finally decided to have several layers of protection. The first layer is to have CINTHEA completely encapsulated in a shield, or shell. The second layer is to have very high powered lasers to pulverize objects about to impact the shell. And the third layer is to have powerful electromagnetic pulsed rail guns to shoot projectiles to intercept and destroy the larger objects and particles. Long range radars would support the lasers and rail guns in locating, tracking and aiming.

Even though some particles would get thru and impact the shell it was theorized the particles would be small enough and slow enough to do minimal damage.

A meeting consisting of Stan Obersten, the mission commander, Irvine Bronovich, the ship commander, Bradley Vitosky, the director of communications, Nik Stott, chief engineer and Dr. Henry Astor, university President was scheduled to discuss the overall situation.

Stan took the lead and spoke up first. "Well, we have much to discuss. Let me be realistic about some things. First off, we have to go thru the Oort Cloud. Second, there has to be protection for the ship that will get us thru the Oort Cloud. And third is that doing so will not be easy. But I believe it can be done. I have come up with some figures you might find interesting.

"At a speed of 5,000 miles per hour it would take CINTHEA 38,800 years to reach the initial fringes of the Oort Cloud. During this time, design, construction and testing of the shell along with lasers, rail guns and radar systems would take place. Also, there would need to be several hundred Williams particle collectors to accommodate the production of materials for the shell and other devices. Upon entering the Oort Cloud it would take another 199,600 years to go thru it. Comparing two different speeds, at 20,000 miles per hour it would take 734,300 years to get to the Gliese system. Traveling at 40,000 miles per hour it would take about 367,150 years. These figures do not include accelerating or decelerating times.

Let’s be realistic here about all this. This is not going to be an easy voyage taking into consideration all that has to be done. Nik, my heart goes out to you seeing as how the shell, lasers, rail guns and radars all falls under your department.

Nik thought for a moment, then said Stan, I know. The main advantage is that we have the time and tools to accomplish what needs to be done. The difficult part is assembling the personnel from different fields. Henry, as the university president I’d like to ask you if there is any special amenities you can offer to students who study the required courses needed for this?

Henry said Good question Nik. Tell you what, let’s get together at the university along with some specialist and discuss different aspects of this project. As Stan said, and I totally agree, this is not going to be easy.

Nik replied Sounds good to me. I’ll also bring some people with me. When would be a good time for you?

I’ll clear my schedule for a day so we can work uninterrupted and let you know.

Stan spoke up again. Before we adjourn this meeting let’s also consider informing the people what we intend to do. The shell is going to block out the stars for a long time and that could be unnerving for some and unacceptable for others. Henry, perhaps some of your psychologists or sociologists could come up with something.

I’ll have a meeting with them and see what they say.

Very good. Let’s meet again in a week. I’ll send a message to each of you as a reminder. Thank you for coming and take care.

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When Nik got back to engineering control he called a meeting of his engineers and explained the situation to them.

"Listen up people. We are going to travel thru the Oort Cloud. We are tasked with three objectives. In order to protect the ship from being damaged by who knows how many particles we have to come up with some type of shield, a detection and tracking system and a system to destroy the particles. The single advantage we have going for us is that we have about 38,800 years to complete these tasks. Even so, it is going to be difficult considering the size of CINTHEA.

"We’re going to get help from the university in that they will set up special courses geared for the requirements we need. What I want all of you to do is just think about ideas for these three systems. If you don’t come up with anything, don’t worry about it. I am asking a lot from you. Do not over stress yourselves.

Eventually I’ll be breaking you up into teams. So be creative and feel free to explore as many options as you like. Any questions?

Jerry Wintrop, chief mechanical engineer raised his hand. Nik, would you please explain in a little more detail the shielding part? I’m not quite sure what you mean.

Sure Jerry. The entire ship has to be protected from impacts by particles or objects in the Oort Cloud. A protective layer, skin or some other barrier has got to do that. But let’s also be realistic here. Not knowing every object making up the Oort Cloud makes for a very difficult design. I have no doubt there will be some object penetrating the shield and doing some damage. So do the best you can and we’ll have a discussion on what is presented. O.K.?

Wow! This is going to be challenging. Thanks. Now I understand.

Nik continued. "As for the tracking and destruction systems, use what ever resources we have to get information on their design. Work individually right now but there will be teams assigned for each system. I am implementing an open door policy from now on for anyone wanting to discuss anything. I just hope you don’t call too often in the middle of the night.

That’s all I have right now. All meetings, from now on will be everyday at 0800 hours in the engineering conference room. Have a nice day guys. Nik then left to allow them to talk about their new work.

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At first they just sat there and looked around or stared ahead thinking. After a moment they started to talk. There were five of them. Two mechanical engineers, one metallurgist, one electronics engineer and one physicist. Andrew Dean, the second mechanical engineer, spoke up first.

Thinking back to the original Group 6…

Group 6? Who are they? said Hans Detrick, the electronics expert.

Andrew, or Andy as he was called, said Group 6 were the original six people that came up with the basic design of this ship and also gave it its name over 800,000 years ago. One of them, a Dr. Joe DeWade, a metallurgist discovered a material stronger than diamond.

Of course said Gaven, the metallurgist. Nothing known has the ability to scratch its surface but it has to be made to order. In other words, it can be manufactured and shaped only once then sets in the form it was molded. Otherwise it can not be reshaped.

What’s this material called? asked Peter, the physicist.

Gaven said For lack of anything better it was named after diamond but with a suffix. It’s called Diamond X. As you know diamond is the hardest substance known to man. However, it was discovered that synthetic diamond has a hardness greater then naturally made diamond even though synthetic diamond is chemically the same as natural diamond. This Diamond X is even more hard than synthetic diamond. Nothing known has been able to do any damage to its surface and we still haven’t been able to find its melting point.

Andy said Let’s make a sample for testing. I’d personally like to see how much this Diamond X material can take.

The others spoke up in agreement.

Gaven replied All right. I’ll make a sample then give you guys a call. Then we can go through the testing together.

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Three days later Gaven called the four others to the lab. After they arrived he explained the set-up. What we have here is a three foot by three foot sample of Diamond X that is six inches thick. As you can see it is braced upright and immovable. Five feet away is the most powerful laser we have on board CINTHEA. It can generate a 100 gigawatt laser beam. Gentlemen, for safety reasons we have to go into the observation room before we start.

All five of them exited and went to another room fifty feet away. The testing room had three cameras pointing directly at the sample at different ranges. One of them showed a close-up of the area of impact, another showed the entire sample and the third the sample with the rest of the room behind it. They did not have to wear any safety apparel. All of them were watching the monitors as Gaven operated the controls and readied the laser for firing. He gave a five second count down. Right after saying one he pressed the firing button.

At first there was the most brilliant white light from the straightest beam anyone ever saw. At the point of impact there was a splattering of light beyond imagination. Every filter of the close in camera came into use till that camera burned out and shattered. After about another five seconds there was a flash of light throughout the room and then an explosion. Safety features cut off the operation of the laser and activated fire suppressant. All cameras were destroyed but the room stayed intact because of its design to handle destructive testing.

Everyone waited outside the room. The room was very hot. Ventilation fans came on to clear out the smoke and cool the air inside. After about fifteen minutes it was cool enough where the door lock released. Jerry opened the door slowly but didn’t enter yet to make sure it was safe. There was a slight rush of warm air that escaped that everyone felt.

When Jerry looked inside everything was strewn everywhere. Small streams of smoke were rising here and there but there were no visible flames. It took a while to move debris out of the way to make a path to the center of the room. Eventually he saw a table overturned, lifted it up and saw the Diamond X sample. It was still in one piece showing no scratches or damage of any kind. He put his hand on the bottom edge of the sample to lift it and screamed at the top of his voice in pain as he jerked his hand away. The Diamond X was hot enough to melt his flesh down to his bones.

He was immediately helped out of the room into the hallway and sat down on the floor. Someone called for emergency evacuation to take him to the hospital. Three minutes later an emergency medical vehicle arrived and took him away.

Gaven called Nik. Hello, Nik here.

Nik, this is Gaven. We have had an accident while testing the Diamond X sample. Jerry is badly burned and is currently en-route to the hospital. For the next two minutes he told him what happened.

Nik said OK, listen carefully. I want everyone out of the room and wait for me. I should be there in five minutes. Make sure no one enters the room. Got it?

Yes. See you in five.

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Nik arrived in four minutes with some equipment. He looked in the room and saw the mess. He said Show me where the sample is.

Gaven took him through the debris to where the sample was leaning against a steel beam. He took a probe out of a satchel along with a meter. He turned it on and put the tip of the probe on the surface of the sample. He then looked at the meter and saw the needle peg to the far right. After adjusting a knob the meter finally stabilized and moved to about two thirds of the scale.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Nik said. The surface temperature is five thousand degrees Fahrenheit. But there are absolutely no scratches, chipped off fragments, cracks or other obvious damage.

Gaven chimed in. Five thousand degrees. No wonder Jerry’s hand melted. As a metallurgist I recommend we just let it cool down by itself where its at without even touching it.

So much for heat. After it cools down we need to do some more testing, especially impact testing. In the meantime we can clear this mess away working around the sample. How does that sound, Nik?

Sounds good to me. But I want to be here for any further testing. Keep me advised of what you are going to do and when. O.K.?

Yeah, that’s fine. Can you leave your temperature monitor so we can keep tabs on the sample? I don’t want to put any water or any other coolant on it but want it to cool down by itself. At least for the time being.

Sure, not a problem. Gotta go now. Think I’ll take a visit to the hospital and see how Jerry is doing.

Let me know his condition. His hand looked terrible.

O.K. Take care.

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Three days later the testing room was completely cleared except for the sample still resting against the steel beam. Gaven took a temperature reading and found the sample to be a cool five hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Still too hot to handle by hand so he decided to accelerate the cooling process by spraying the sample with a small stream of water. After six hours the sample was finally cool enough to pick up with bare hands.

The testing room was replenished with equipment, tables and other items to continue testing. One of the items brought in was an electromagnetic gun, or rail gun. By the use of high energy pulsed electricity a very strong magnetic field can be built up to accelerate a metal object to extreme speeds. This is what they were going to do for impact testing on the sample.

Gaven called Nik to advise him of the test in one hour. Nik said he will be there and just before the appointed time he showed up. Hans, the electronic engineer, was setting up the apparatus and making final adjustments. The object to be accelerated was a small spear that was tipped with a solid tungsten conical bullet like point. The first test will accelerate the spear to 10,000 miles per hour in about a six foot long rail and aimed in the center of the sample located ten feet away from the apparatus.

Everyone was in another room situated behind the rail gun for safety sake. Nik gave the go ahead to Hans and he gave a five second count down. At zero he pressed a button firing the gun. Almost instantly a very loud crack was heard, then silence. They went to the room and opened the door only to see the sample in its frame holder unscathed. There was no effect on the sample that could be seen or felt. The tungsten tip was flattened and lying on the floor. The spear was shattered and in small pieces everywhere.

Hans said O.K., so much for the first test. We’ll use another spear and tungsten tip but a speed of 20,000 miles per hour. That should do something to the sample.

Another test took place with the increased speed but it had the same results. No effect.

Nik asked What next Hans?

Next we use a diamond tip. replied Hans.

Wouldn’t that shatter the sample? asked Nik.

It shouldn’t because it’s diamond against Diamond X which is harder. But at high velocities I don’t know and that’s what I want to see. said Hans.

The rail gun was set up again with a spear having a solid diamond tip and adjusted for a velocity of 30,000 miles per hour. Everyone went to the control room and anxiously waited the firing. Again after a five second countdown the firing button was depressed and a louder sounding crack was heard. Everyone thought the sample was destroyed. Upon entering the room the sample was still in its frame without a scratch or other blemish. Everyone just stared at the sample for a moment. Then Hans put the flat of his hand on its surface very cautiously and moved it over the surface.

He said Smooth as a baby’s ass. This is incredible. Seems like we have our material, folks.

Peter, the physicist spoke up. Not so fast Hans.

Hans looked at him and said What do you mean. This stood up to the most rigorous impact testing I have ever put anything through and not so much as a dent or tiny chip or anything affecting the surface. What have we overlooked?

Well said Peter, we have tested this material in this room at room temperature. But it is going to envelope the ship in space where the temperature is cold enough to freeze a fart. I suggest we do the same testing with the sample outside in the frigid space environment and see if it stands up with the same results. After all, there is where the impacts will take place.

Hans and Nik looked at each other. They knew he was right. Hans said Why didn’t we think of that?

For the next several days they built a frame of titanium to put the sample in. The frame was attached to the ship at the central hub with steel beams so as to be positioned about 20 feet from the surface of the hub with the sample facing the hub’s surface. The rail gun was positioned directly in front of the sample and attached directly on the hub’s surface and pointing to the center of the sample. There was a ten foot separation from the end of the gun’s rail and the sample.

By the time everything was ready the sample was acclimated to the space environment. Andrew volunteered to go out in space to re-load the gun with a projectile after each firing. Before each firing he would go and stay behind a five foot square shield positioned fifty feet distant. The test would be performed exactly as before.

Cameras were in place and monitored by the team in the control room. Everything being ready Hans again gave a five second countdown and pressed the firing button. The projectile was so fast, at 10,000 miles per hour, that no one could see it travel the ten feet to the sample. Andrew had to be told it was safe to return to the sample for inspection and re-load. When the tungsten sample impacted the Diamond X sample it flattened and splattered to an inner tube shape. The metal shaft shattered and flew everywhere, some of it hitting the shield Andrew was behind but not doing enough damage to hit him. The others monitoring the sample had to watch the video of the impact in extreme slow motion and then only a few frames at a time.

From the cameras and Andrew’s inspection everyone saw there was no damage or effect whatsoever. Andrew was directed to re-load with the next projectile, also with a tungsten tip. After re-loading he returned behind the shield. The second firing took place at 20,000 miles per hour. Again no effect on the sample. The final test was to use a diamond tip only instead of 30,000 miles per hour a velocity of 50,000 miles per hour was to be used. Nobody really knew how fast objects in the Oort Cloud traveled so they wanted to test at a higher speed just to see what, if anything, would happen.

Andrew expressed that he wanted to be in the ship instead of behind the shield. Nik agreed and all waited till Andrew