Nascha: Episode One - New Worlds

By Dani Cartwright

This story is set in the year 2098. Technology has developed to allow the Solar Alliance's fastest ships to move at 99% the speed of light. Captain Ron Henderson is the captain of one of these vessels. His latest assignment is to ferry a group of the brightest scientists representing all the disciplines needed to explore the furthest regions of our solar system.Their exploration is interrupted by an anomaly that threatens the entire ship. Captain Henderson decides to act as a decoy and deploy the Samson to draw the anomaly away from the main ship. He has no crew, but that is soon to change because of the lead scientist's experimentation in the lab with nanite technology. Dr. Moe is a Navajo scientist who has led the research into nano-technology and genetics.This story blends the rich heritage of the Navajo people, specifically around the 19th century, with the future. It is the author's wish that, although enjoying a science-fiction thriller, the reader will also develop a little knowledge and appreciation of the Navajo peoples and their experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jan 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781779416087

Dani Cartwright

Dani's primary interest has been in piano technology, and he has written articles within this field dealing with business solutions facing private entrepreneurs in difficult economic times. His other interests include camping and hiking, and he has combined these interests into his new fiction book. While the central story is fictional, the story contains lessons that help identify certain basic issues that put man in conflict with the animal kingdom and shows serious flaws in man's stewardship of the earth and its living creatures. Dani hopes you find the book an interesting and humorous read, while at the same time looking forward to a time when there will be true harmony between man and other living creatures. Dani is a member of The Authors Guild.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Into the Dark

Chapter 2. Entering the Dragon’s Mouth

Chapter 3. Getting to Know Phoebe

Chapter 4. Day 1 Post Event - The Bizene Civilization and the Existence of Exoplanets

Chapter 5. Days 2 – 4 Post Event - The Hunt for Charcoal

Chapter 6. Day 5 Post Event - Finding Charcoal and the Aqariums Species

Chapter 7. Day 6 Post Event - Relaxing and Making Amends

Chapter 8. Day 6 Post Event - Encounter with a Bounty Hunter

Chapter 9. Day 9 Post Event - Maeir Hub

Chapter 10. Days 10 & 11 Post Event - Building Relationships on Ameki

Chapter 11. Twenty Years Earlier - Fighting Insanity

Chapter 12. Day 12 Post Event - Major Problems

Chapter 13. Day 13 Post Event - The Ghost Warrior Enters Maeir Hub

Chapter 14. Twenty Years Earlier - Beauty in an Alien Galaxy

Chapter 15. Day 13 Post Event - Orbit 385487 Over Maeir Hub

Chapter 16. Day 14 Post Event - Reconsidering and Planning

Chapter 17. Day 15 Post Event - Peeping Tohm

Chapter 18. Day 16 Post Event - Planning to Shake a Tail

Note 1

Note 2 Early 21st Century ‘Gesture’ Not Lost to Antiquities

Note 3

Note 4

A Word From the Author

CHAPTER 1

Into the Dark

Captain Ron Henderson

Piloting the sub-light shuttle was a fairly easy task for Captain Ron Henderson. Most systems were automated, and although his tour of duty was three months, there was a lot to do each day. Time out here was a friend or an enemy, depending on one’s outlook, and Captain Henderson was an expert at time management – even within the confines of this ship. He was not alone though. Co-pilot First Officer Jack Thompson was oldest of the crew and was looking forward to retirement. He had done his share of outer solar system excursions that spanned Mars to Pluto, yet here he was again out on the edges of the solar system.

The opportunity came, some years back, for Ron and Jack to join the Solar Alliance as officers, and pilot the fastest ships invented. These were the electro-magnetic ion drive Formula One race cars of the space fleet. They could move at 99.99% the speed of light (C as in E = mc²) and could travel from Earth to Jupiter in just over an hour if Earth and Jupiter were at opposition (aligned on the same side of the sun). In actuality the trip took about three hours once underway, as it is necessary to reach 99% of C and then decelerate to attain orbit, all while keeping the comfort of the passengers in mind. This kind of speed and unlimited fuel supply was the result of a breakthrough in space travel in 2048. The research into dark matter was making great headway at that time. Neutrino research was at an all-time high but, more importantly, it was recognized that there must be something more to dark matter than just neutrinos. So it was, that in late 2048 a second particle was discovered and was named ‘neurinos’. This particle was discovered in ‘dark energy’. You needed both to work. It was sort of like early 21st century diesel engines. You needed a glow plug to ignite the fuel. Neutrinos were the glow plugs found in dark matter and they were the glow plugs that ignited the neurinos in dark energy. These two combined solved a lot of unknowns regarding the immense mass of dark matter and dark energy in space hitherto unidentified. This was much like the periodic table taught in elementary class. Theoretically, there are elements that have not yet been found but that can be theorized to exist based on an expanding periodic table. Scientists predicted what it must be, but they had to wait until 2048 to get anything tangible. And tangible it was, so that ten years later space craft propulsion was developed that fed off dark matter and dark energy - thus an unlimited fuel supply was generated. Space vehicles not only went farther than ever before but also fast, being able to attain .9C or almost light speed.

Like Ron, Jack had spent a lot of time in the solar system shuttling crews stationed on several of the moons that were known to have water. This created a new specialty called Subsurface Water Intense Mining (SWIM). Jupiter’s mineable moons were Europa (having a subsurface ocean with more water than is found in the oceans on Earth), Callisto, and Ganymede. Saturn’s moons, Enceladus and Titan, were also included in SWIM operations, until it was discovered that Titan had too little water to be of any commercial value. The SWIM miners would work for six months and then would have a month back home on Earth to be with their families and friends. The sub-light shuttles would pick up or drop off crews in the Jupiter and Saturn systems. More importantly, giant pontoon spaceships resembling great water balloons were in a constant convoy, transporting the mined water to earth for processing in specialized plants before an elaborate transportation system distributed the alien sterilized water around the planet. Earth had become very thirsty. Just as an interesting side note, the water is heat treated but there has never been a single microscopic organism originating outside of Earth ever found in the waters. This was a great disappointment to biologists.

This job that Ron and Jack have far surpasses the junk ships they piloted earlier in their careers. They had had minimum creature comforts on a journey of six to thirteen months (Jupiter sits 365 million miles from Earth on a good day and over 600 million miles when the two planets are not in opposition). Jupiter only comes into opposition with the Earth every thirteen months. Windows and timing are critically important to shorten the journey.

Robotics took over the piloting of these barges in 2090, making it unnecessary to have human pilots on board. Ron and Jack were out of work. Security was still high though, so security personnel were stationed on the barges. Since this had nothing to do with flight Ron and Jack never applied for those positions. A scientific breakthrough just prior to 2078 opened up sub-light travel, greatly reducing space travel times in the solar system. New ships needed confident pilots, so the Solar Alliance began an intensive training program to find the best pilots and bring them up to speed – light speed that is – or almost.

It seemed that perhaps interstellar flight would now be possible. Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B are about 4.37 light-years from Earth. A third star, Proxima Centauri (sometimes called Alpha Centauri C), is gravitationally associated with the former. It’s slightly closer to Earth at 4.24 light-years away.

So, as was the case with the Apollo program, then the Mars program, mankind was again reaching for the stars. This closest star contained two remarkable exo-planets. These structures sparked the imagination of space cadets everywhere. Spending over 4 years in a spacecraft was not the problem. The trouble was that very little was known about these planets, and it was a long way to go just to find out that one couldn’t land on them. Probes were sent out and beamed back some interesting results, but nothing showing that there was an atmosphere. There is no shortage of nearby objects lacking atmospheres in this system, we don’t have to travel 4-5 years just to see another one up close.

So now Ron and Jack were piloting sub-light vehicles filled with scientists of all stripes. The crew’s job was to fly the ship and keep everyone comfortable with meals and other creature comforts. The ship itself was relatively huge and fully equipped for space travel. It had living quarters, exercise rooms, and swimming pools. The greenhouses were run by the most brilliant of botanists, so they could feast on any kind of salad they wanted – even here millions of miles from Earth. This was the equivalent of the old cruise ships that plied the oceans of earth early in the 21st century.

On this mission they were outside the Kuiper Belt, picking their way carefully through the Belt to avoid the proliferation of icy objects scattered everywhere. Slowing down was a must and that made the trip longer. Technically, Ron, Jack, and their crew were outside the limits of the Solar System. Not a small feat for 2098.

The best brains were on this mission including the fields of astrophysics, theoretical cosmology, and about a half dozen other specialties. The scientists continued scanning regions farther out as the flight progressed, but their interest was captivated by one specific anomaly closer to them. The Kuiper Belt had a hole in it. By ‘hole’ we are referring to a circumference of 50,000 miles devoid of ice junks, asteroids or other Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). This region of void was in proximity to Pluto. By ‘proximity’ the scientists plotted a distance of 1,000,000 miles – give or take.

So it was that on an uneventful day about 15 days into their research that this particular anomaly was noticed. Captain Ron was shown the coordinates. He was in no rush to get further out into the cosmos. They were at their mission destination. But there was quite a raucous going on amongst the scientists. What they had noticed was a long black line in space. The scientists were postulating that they had discovered an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. Captain Ron went up to the observation deck and had a look for himself.

Dr. Moe was the head scientist. He was of Navajo descent and had come from Santa Fe to join the crew.

What am I looking at? Captain Ron asked as he peered through the lens of a specialized instrument that detects gamma radiation.

Dr. Moe explained, You are looking at the tunnel portion of a worm hole, we think. No light enters or escapes. Do you see it?

I think so. Quite fascinating. How far away is this anomaly?

We think it is only 3Us away. Dr Moe explained.

Just a minute, Captain Ron quickly retorted. If some of the tunnel portion is 3U’s away, where is the entrance?

We are not sure, but based on the axis of the tunnel it might be very close.

This is not good! The last thing we need is to be sucked into that thing.

I know, we are trying to work out a solution for you, so you can lay a course to put us a safe distance away from the entrance. Dr. Moe tried to sound reassuring.

Ron quickly called up to Jack to hypersensitize the gravity sensors in the cockpit. He knew that if there was even the slightest pull toward the entrance of this wormhole, it could spell disaster – there would not be enough power in the engines to counter the pull.

Ron fought the tendency to engage engines and just start going toward the Kuiper Belt. He had the star charts for this area all programmed into the computer, but many areas were sketchy at best. It could be compared to new neighborhoods springing up on earth and the GPS systems have not had time to program them in. You could be led on a goose chase by faulty GPS systems. The same is true in space. Ron knew fairly well where he was, but there were no detailed stellar maps to help him get away from a monster ready to swallow them whole. Heading for the Kuiper Belt seemed the logical thing to do, except for one thing. The wormhole might be embedded in that Belt somewhere close. The trouble with wormholes is one doesn’t need to be sucked in to die. The ship could meet its demise just as easily by running into the side of the thing. Wormholes contain vast amounts of energy very capable of destroying a fragile ship.

Ron ordered all engines to be shut down and the gravitational sensors engaged to the max. He calculated the drift from the time the engines were shut down and plotted the course line he was on. If there was even the slightest hint of gravitational pull one way or the other from this course line, he wanted to know about it so he could quickly counter it. He also told Jack to monitor his speed. If the speed started to increase or decrease without engine power, that would be an ominous sign. But measuring speed is a problem. It’s not like on earth where you have a speedometer and reference points. The star charts are sketchy out here so finding a point of reference by which to monitor the speed can be tricky. Jack quickly searched through the star charts for a reference point. Amazingly enough, he found Pluto. Pluto is embedded in the Kuiper Belt and Jack found it along with two other familiar objects. He honed and calibrated his instruments on Pluto, Makemake, and Eris (other KBOs of fairly substantial size).

All scientists on board were working on determining where the entrance to the wormhole was. Scanning equipment was panning 360° around the ship. They were also panning 360° above and below the ship. Space is not a 2-dimensional medium.

Ron had a degree in astro-mathematics and was making some calculations of his own. Jack was keeping a close watch on those gravitational sensors. Everything seemed to be OK until…

A slight twitch registered on one of the gravimeters. It would have gone unnoticed or be dismissed as inconsequential, but things were different now. The gravimeter registered a slight pull to starboard. The speed calculations done by Ron also confirmed the pull as the speed of the craft very minutely slowed. This was not good. Something was causing this and there were no large masses in the vicinity to account for any gravitational pull. Ron wished that some other reason could be propounded. The scientists gathered in the meeting room as Jack and Ron presented their findings. They too had corroborated the findings with their own lab apparatus.

So, if the pull was to starboard, could the craft be steered to port in a direct line perpendicular to the pull? There was a consensus that this would be the right thing to do. Ron started the engines and Jack punched in the port settings. Jack engaged the engines and created a burn that lasted for 10 minutes. All engines were shut down and new readings were gathered. This burn caused them to move 10,000 miles, hopefully away from the original heading. For a while, everything seemed normal and quiet.

The thing about wormholes is that they are crafty characters. If a comparison could be made, the extinct giant squid that once lived in earth’s oceans would provide a good analogy. There is some evidence to suggest that wormholes will ‘hunt’ for energy sources. So by creating a burn, this could have the detrimental effect of attracting the wormhole toward the energy source. Energy to wormholes is like fish food for squid.

Ron was hoping that the burn would have accelerated them away from the wormhole and, by shutting down the engines, they were running silent – not giving off any radiant energy. Ron directed that all internal sources of energy such as lights, pumps, anything not directly involved with life support, be shut down. This reminded him of an old submarine movie he saw in the archives back home called Run Silent. Run Deep. Ron pictured space as an ocean on earth. It has a beauty all its own, but it can kill quickly.

With the non-essential energy systems shut down, the scientists and crew were again in the meeting room. The scientists explained to Ron and Jack that there was also evidence to show that entrances to wormholes can be compared to looking at a giant squid head on. The wormhole seems to send out energy tentacles, like feelers, searching for energy sources. These tentacles have been recorded to stretch as much as 50,000 miles while being attached to the wormhole itself, and there could be as many as ten of them.

Again, Ron was fighting the urge to engage sub-light power and get the heck out of Dodge. The scientists strongly warned against this. A massive outburst of power from the engines would almost certainly attract the tentacles, and they would not be able to outrun their reach. The crew of the Orien had to continue the cat and mouse game with the wormhole until it hopefully tired of