The Ledger of Annabella O’Neil: Ad Melius Inquirendum

By Miles Augustus Navarr

Think for a moment, if we could go back to the beginning of human civilization, what would be the issues you would change in order to make the world a better place to live. What laws, practices, traditions and even taboos need to be altered, or altogether erased for the future generation to live a happier life. Religion, power and wealth are certainly among the leading causes of war and disruption. On individual level, they translate to prejudice and greed.
This book is an attempt to deal with these fundamental issues, both on practical as well as philosophical level. It is mostly in form of a dialogue. The intention is not to present an ideal or perfect solution, but to force the reader to think and ponder about these premises covered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664117280

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Copyright © 2022 by Miles Augustus Navarr.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Rev. date: 04/26/2022

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Day 1 on Terra Secundus

Day 189 on Terra Secundus

Ledgers of Annabella O’Neil

The Lessons Begins

2150 AD

Epilogue

Quotations

PROLOGUE

This is the saga of first interstellar mass migration to a new planet named Terra Secundus or Second Earth. Our home planet, the blue planet, third from the sun, has a population of 20 billion inhabitants. Less than 1% live in luxury. Some on isolated islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and some on the orbital cities built between the Earth and the Moon. The other 99% live in poverty, starving for food, for oxygen, for space, and for security. In the African and Asian continents, virtual anarchy rules in almost all countries, a new version of feudalism merged with gang warfare. The European and North American continents fare better but only slightly. In some cities a semblance of law-and-order endeavours to hold a façade of stability and institution without much success. It is under these circumstances that the secret of interstellar travel is discovered, and at the same time, a planet that resembles the twin sister of Earth is found in a far faraway galaxy.

The first mass migration is heralded as a window of hope for billions of individuals who have lost every hope in our own planet and its governance. If successful, within the next hundred years, hundreds of other planets will be hosting billions of Earth inhabitants. This, at least, is the message of hope and optimism given to the masses on Earth.

Following the failure of Earth’s governments in providing a safe and habitable place for their citizens, the migrants to the new planet are given complete freedom to choose how they are to be governed, whether to have dictatorship and tyranny or a democratically elected head of state. They will be free to decide if they want an official state religion or it’s free for all. It’s a brand new world, and they will be responsible for its failure or success. I am sent to help them pave the way in such a manner that old mistakes don’t happen again, or if they do, try to minimise the consequences. My nickname is Fixator, someone who fixes things or stabilizes the unstable. The name comes from a German word used for hairspray, to keep the hair in place and protect it against the wind after it has been fashioned by a professional. I will be the unseen net that safeguards the new community against winds of disorder and turbulence.

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2135 AD

Regardless of how many times one has gone through the process of hibernation as it has become to be called, I still felt trepidation and doubt as two beautiful technicians, sorry cyborgs, led me through the carbon fibre corridor connecting the orbital station MC2 to the spaceship Ark Nova.

I was amongst the last 750 passengers who had arrived on Mars Mala station a week ago. The journey from Cape Canaveral on Earth had taken a long 29 hours, but the next 7 days at Mala had been relaxing and filled mostly with prearranged socialising schedules to meet other passengers and the crew.

Since the spaceship Ark Nova had been assembled in an orbit few thousand kilometres above Mars, it had become a fixture of Martian skyline as one looks towards the centre of the solar system.

The size of Ark Nova was truly immense. It comprised of a central hub where the captain and the crew, numbering 120, have their control and operation rooms as well as living quarters. This hub known as the Command Module was in the shape of a pentagonal cylinder 150 metres long and 70 metres in diameter. Around the Command Module, five additional cylindrical tube modules, each 500 metres long and 100 metres wide, were connected, like the rays of sunlight, attached to the central module by long access strip known as the Arms. These long modules, known as Hives, each had five individual tubes, each of which were designed to sleep 750 hibernated passengers as well as cargo areas, making each Hive to accommodate 3000 colonists, as four of the Hives were used exclusively for passengers with the fifth one used as storage for various equipment and machinery necessary for the new settlement on Terra Secundus. From a distance, as one approached Mars, Ark Nova gleamed like a small sun, reflecting the small amount of sunlight from its silvery haul. It measured over a thousand metres from one wing to the next, rotating slowly around its central hub.

During the last 15 months, 14,250 colonists had been put in hibernation and placed in the Hives. My group is the last batch of 750 colonists to be put in hibernation before our scheduled flight to Terra Secundus, our future home, 116,000 light years away. Our journey is scheduled to begin at 5:00 am MSTZ (Martian Standard Time Zone) on 12th of February 2135, or the day after tomorrow, and if all goes well, it will take 18 months to reach our destination.

The interstellar travel became possible in 2084. That was the year when Professor Indira Mala from Indian Space Agency and Timothy Jacobson of California Institute of Technology together announced the discovery and isolation of NMP or Negative Mass Particles. For their discovery, they shared the Nobel Prize for physics the following year, as well as numerous other prizes and honours. But as they both confessed in their acceptance speech at Swedish Academy of Science, they were simply continuing the work and research of their mentor Professor Vijayakumar of Cambridge University who had opened the door to interstellar travel by discovering the particles of Dark Matter and Dark Energy almost 70 years previously.

In short, the work pioneered by Professor Vijaykumar broke what was until then thought to be unbreakable, the barriers of speed of light. This enabled man to overcome the vast distances of space. The new generation of spaceships can travel at thousands, and soon millions, of times faster than the speed of light. Using Dark Matter particles and Dark Energy, Professor Vijaykumar managed to isolate a confined or curbed space and disengaged it from the normal space/time continuum. By placing a spaceship or an individual inside the detached space, one could, using Negative and Positive Mass Particles, accelerate the detached space along the time/space continuum to virtually any speed imaginable or theoretically to unlimited speeds. This is possible because space by itself is without mass, and thus, is not bound by Einstein’s constant C or the speed of light as the ultimate possible speed for any particles with mass. Another by-product of this theory was the very important and amazing discovery that time is multi-dimensional, and not limited to a singular dimensional axis. Previously, we considered time as the fourth dimension, the other three being the three-dimensional spaces of height, length, and width. What Vijaykumar axiom proposed was that time itself is multidimensional, having up to seven axes. A concept not very easily comprehended nor imagined, but extremely practical when dealing with interstellar travel.

The first prototype of a spaceship capable of interstellar travel was produced in 2106, and managed to travel the 270 million kilometres from Earth to Mars in 72 minutes. By 2115, the first truly star ship reached Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our own solar system in just over 12 months. That speed translates to just over four times the speed of light. Our journey to Terra Secundus, 116,000 light years away, will attain an average speed of over 77,000 times the speed of light. As I ascended/ or descended, it is so difficult to tell which is which in space, the corridor accompanied by two beautiful cyborgs, I casually turned and looked back towards where the Earth should be. I knew Earth would be too small to be detected with naked eyes, but it was an instinctual reflex, as if saying goodbye for the last time to an old friend or a loved one, knowing full well I would not see them again. Despite the bright artificial lights inside the corridor, the darkness surrounding us was overwhelming as it engulfed the entire visible space. For an instant, I thought I could recognise Earth, a tiny twinkling planet, sometimes blue, sometimes white, far away amongst many thousands of stars and planets along my field of vision. As I waved goodbye, I sensed tears welling up my eyes and blurring my vision. The cyborgs first looked at me and then at each other, obviously not used to folly of human emotions, although I was sure that it was not the first time they had seen such folly.

The climb, as it felt like a climb, from MC2 to the Ark Nova took about 10 minutes. Captain J.C. Ford and two other officers were at the gate to welcome me.

As the escalator stopped in front of the gate, Captain Ford gave me a military salute.

‘Welcome, Dr. Saar.’

‘Permission to come abroad, Captain’, I replied in the old military naval manner.

‘Permission granted. Please come in.’ He replied and stepped aside to open the way for me.

‘It will be an honour if you joined me at my table this evening for dinner at 8:00. Afterwards, I will be giving a short description of our planned flight and what will happen when we arrive at our destination, Terra Secundus.’ The captain said as he passed me to one of his officers to direct me to my quarters.

My quarter for the night was a small room with enough space for a small bed, a desk, and an attached cubicle large enough for a shower. Just before entering the room, I asked the officer about the invitation to dinner.

‘Sir, you are part of the last batch to board Ark Nova. Five hundred of your party have already been hibernated and are in their cells. You, plus 249 others will go through the process tomorrow. The dinner tonight will be for the last 250 colonists and some of the ship’s officers.

I had already met most of the other colonists while at Mala station on Mars. One could find almost every profession, race, colour, or age amongst them, from 8 year old child protégé to 60 year old carpenter.

After dinner, Captain Fox climbed a podium and after the usual pleasantries, told us what will happen during the journey and at arrival.

‘………in fact, all of you will be asleep during the journey, but upon arrival, we will be stationed at an orbit 300 kilometres above Terra Secundus. During the last days of your hibernation, you will be fed intravenously so that upon waking, you will not feel weak or depleted. Each Hive, as those long modules are called, contains five tubes. Upon release, each tube will be split into 50 individual shuttles containing 15 colonists each. These individual shuttles are so designed that upon landing can be disassembled and very quickly reassembled into individual housing units to accommodate 10 individuals. Of course, few hundred units have already been prepared for families and those with children. Altogether, there will be 1,000 shuttles carrying 15,000 colonists from Ark Nova to the surface of Terra Secundus. The additional cargos and those stored in the fifth Hive will be transported automatically to the surface. The shuttles used for cargo are different from passenger shuttles and are used solely as cargo shuttles but can be adopted as military vehicles as well.

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‘You have all seen the actual films of your base on Terra Secundus, its surrounding habitation, as well as a collection of native animals. The base, temporarily named Alpha, or Base A is located along a 300-kilometre strip of land with the beautiful Bay of Naples to your west and majestic Black Forest and Everest Range to the east. River Tiber and Amazon are located to your north and south, providing fresh drinking water, hydroelectric power, as well as making the base ideal for agricultural and horticultural use.’

As the captain spoke, films of the Base Alpha and its surrounding area was projected on a screen in the background.

‘The base has been prepared for your initial arrival by a team of 200 experts and professionals. I say initial, because it will be up to you to create and build the environment and social structure necessary for your long-term survival and prosperity. We could not possibly land 15,000 people all at once. It will create havoc and chaos, the last thing we want to start a new colony. Fifty shuttles or 750 colonists will be transferred every week. This means that we will be there with you for at least the next 20 weeks after arrival, but my guess is that our stay there will be closer to 30 weeks’.

One of the colonists stood up and asked, ‘In what order the colonists will be transferred to the surface?’

‘Those that are needed most to begin a colony will be transferred first. The order of disembarkation has been prepared very carefully in advance by specialists.’ The captain replied.

I began remembering other facts about my new home. It was almost 10% smaller than Earth, and thus, gravity acting on your body was 10% less than Earth. The air had slightly more oxygen and less hydrogen but not enough to be noticed. A few native animals were identified around the campsite Alpha. Some were strange but not odd. Half a dozen carnivorous animals were identified, but none larger than a domestic dog. More than two dozen herbivorous animals, ranging in size from a cat to an elephant were also identified with half a dozen suitable for human consumption. Few of the animals differed from their Earth cousins by having six legs, although mostly were either two or four legged. A six-legged animal, almost the size of a horse but with four eyes and horns, was identified as a possible replacement for the horse. The reports also indicated a hard shell, six-legged animal that resembled a beetle but the size of a bison in the barren areas of Gobi Plains with possible use as a beast of burden, pulling carts and heavy loads, but not much investigation and research had been carried out around that area. The voice of Captain Fox brought me back to present and to the meeting,

‘Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope I haven’t bored you with facts and details which I am sure most of you already knew. This group, as the first set of colonists, will be stationed at Base Alpha. It is planned that other groups will be stationed at bases B, C and D in the future, with the next group planned to be stationed for 2138. Currently, there are no roads between A, B and C camps, but who knows, maybe you think of building one yourself soon. Now all that remains for me is to say good night and for you to get a good night rest for your journey into the future. Good night.’

The captain descended the podiuming, shaking the hands of the colonists and wishing them well on his way to our table. As soon as he sat down, he turned to me and said, ‘Dr. Saar, you are amongst the first group that will be transferred the day after our arrival. Confidentially, a governing council or such is initially appointed for the first year of colonization at Base Alpha. Five people have been selected, and 16 others are to be elected after the transfer is completed. You are amongst the selected five. I am sure you know why better than I do, but I just thought of reminding you.’

As a matter of fact, I didn’t know about the initial selection of five members to a council. I thought everything was to be decided by the colonists themselves, but I was glad for the news. It made my job that much easier. Of course, I just nodded and smiled, just like a good politician.

The next day I was accompanied to one of the Arms by another pair of cyborgs. The distance from the Command Module to the Hive must have been at least 200–300 metres. We covered the distance in less than a minute, standing on movable plates that seemed to glide through the air. A technician received me at the entrance of the Hive, and after a 10-minute walk, we arrived at my designated shuttle. Four technicians and seven colonists were in the shuttle. Three rows of five hibernation cells were the first thing I noticed. Five cells furthest from the entrance had their lids on, with the rest open and ready to receive their occupants. I was directed to a very large armchair that resembled a giant dentist operating chair, with mechanical arms protruding from several instruments attached to the main body.

As I sat in the giant chair, I saw one of the colonists, a female, aged around 30, being taken to one of the hibernation cells where she was gently laid inside. Two technicians immediately began fixing various tubes and instruments to her body.

By the time my operation on the chair was completed, two other colonists had arrived at the shuttle. I was then taken to my hibernation cell and placed inside. It felt comfortable and warm, and by the time the technicians had connected various tubes and injectors into my suit, I was already asleep.

When I next opened my eyes, I was unsure of where I was or why I was in a transparent box. It took several minutes before I remembered the answers. I tried to move my hands and legs. To my delight hey were responsive. I don’t know how long it took before the lid was opened, but by the time it happened, I had regained my complete senses and felt normal, if somewhat fatigued and depleted.

A voice echoed in the room, metallic and pre-recorded: ‘Dear colonists, welcome back to Ark Nova. We have arrived at our destination and are currently orbiting Terra Secundus at an altitude of 300 kilometres. Please stay in your hibernation cells. In few minutes, the lid of your cell will be closed again, and we will begin your landing. You may feel fatigued, and your muscles will ache. This is quite normal and is caused by the inactivity of your muscles during your hibernation. This will dissipate after few hours of activity on Terra Secundus. Please relax and wait for our next announcement.’

I remained where I was as instructed. Soon another announcement informed us of our flight within minutes, and simultaneously, the lid on my cell closed. Within few minutes, I felt movement and then acceleration. Not having a watch, I had no idea how long it took to fly from Ark Nova to Base Alpha, but to my reckoning, it must have been almost an hour before the metallic voice rang in my ears, informing us of our eminent landing. The landing was rougher than I expected, but I was grateful for a safe landing, especially a pilotless one controlled by a computer 300 kilometres away.

DAY 1 ON TERRA

SECUNDUS

2136 AD

Soon the artificial light gave way to a flood of sunshine as the front part of the shuttle opened. Almost concurrently, the lid of my cell was lifted, and I felt a light breeze of fresh air on my face. As I had been instructed before the flight to Mars, I sat up and began unplugging the tubes and connectors from my suit. The hibernation suit was light in weight and easy to move about. About half a dozen people entered the shuttle and started to check each individual passenger. As instructed, I remained in my cell waiting for the technicians to arrive. The wait was short, as one of them reached my cell within few minutes.

‘This may hurt a little, just like an injection, it is an electrode that will send electric pulses into your muscles, reactivating the dormant tissues. You must remain motionless for 30 minutes before you can stand up. I laid back again and waited for the buzzer to inform me when 30 minutes was up. As soon as I heard it, I was out of the hibernation cell and standing on the floor. My legs felt weak, and every muscle in my body ached. One of the technicians saw me standing, rushed towards me, and caught me just in time as my legs gave way under the weight of my body.

‘You are far too weak to be able to walk on your own. You need at least 2 days of physiotherapy, water therapy, and massage before your muscles can regain their strength. Remember, your body and muscles have been inactive for over 18 months.’

All 15 of us plus the six attendees were boarded on a small roofless open shuttle that looked like a large motorboat. We glided about 10 metres above the ground, following a long narrow grassy road towards north. For the first time, I looked around to see the new alien world I had chosen to live in, perhaps for the rest of my life.

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The sky was blue, a deeper blue than I remembered on Earth. On our left was a large body of water that must have been the Bay of Naples. The slight breeze made little waves on the surface of the water, and yet the bay seemed calm and tranquil. On our right, a green canopy rose to incredible heights, higher than any mountain I had seen on Earth. From the background knowledge I had read, I knew it was the Everest Mountain Range, 12,000 kilometres long and over 11,000 metres high, over 3,000 metres higher than its namesake on Earth. Despite having the suit on, I could tell that the weather was warm, maybe around 25 degrees centigrade. In short, it looked and felt like heaven.

‘The air strip is about 50 kilometres from the base. It will take us about 20 minutes to get there.’ The pilot said.

‘What is the local time now?’ one of the passengers asked.

‘It’s few minutes past eleven in the morning.’

I remembered that a day lasted 27 Earth hours on Terra Secundus, but instead of having watches and clocks with 27 dials on their face, the hours were extended so that we still had 24 hours in a day, with each hour measuring 67.5 Earth minutes. Also, the number of days it took Terra Secundus to orbit its sun was 447 days. However, there was only three seasons in a year—warm, mild, and rainy, each season having approximately 5 months and lasting 149 days. The first 4 months having 30 days with the fifth having only 29 days. This makes the year on Terra Secundus having 15 months instead of 12 on Earth.

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I then remembered that Terra Secundus was in a bi-solar system, meaning it had two suns instead of one. However, the second sun was a small Red Dwarf and on the outer edge of the planetary system. From the surface, it was the size of our moon on Earth, but red/orange in colour. The primary sun looked bigger than our own sun and more whitish than yellow. Terra Secundus also had three primary moons and eight secondary moons. This meant that because of opposing gravitational forces, there was very little tide and, consequently, only minor variation in the seasons and temperature. The surface temperature varied between the high of 41 degrees centigrade during warm season to low 9 degrees centigrade during the