City-Ship Ascension

Conference Room

“Can we go?! Can we go! Can we go?!” Al said while jumping in his seat, just like a little kid.

That was Al’s reaction when Michael called everybody from the inner circle for an impromptu meeting and told them all about the new space station. The reaction of others was somewhat subtler, but he could see that the same childlike exuberance of Al’s, was bubbling underneath. That response was preceded by punch-drunk amazement and a few dropped jaws, while Max presented a holographic image of the station and its measurements.

Consequently, the Excalibur had to make another trip to the space station, by popular demand. Jack and Dave decided to take a rain check, since they were only attending by videoconference, and didn’t have the time to spare from all the work they were doing on Earth, no matter how entertaining the trip was promising to be.

Michael looked around the Excalibur, and the ship felt somewhat crowded.

Elizabeth, Tyron, Pete, and Alice were on the bridge, while Anna, Emma, Zizi, and Dr. Ross occupied the AutoDoc chamber. Al had to spend the trip sitting on the toilet in a small bathroom; and strangely, he wasn’t even complaining. When asked about his claustrophobia, he answered that he wasn’t feeling it here, on account of all the space around them. It just expressed itself when he was deep underwater, surrounded by all that deadly pressure; apparently, he was perfectly fine with the vacuum of space.

The approach to the station was as absorbing as the first time for Michael. Watching the enormous vessel grow in size had the beauty of its own; it reminded him of so many science fiction movies from his youth. While he had to suppress acting on that childlike thrill, Al had no trouble at all expressing it.

The first part of the station’s tour was quite similar to the one he previously experienced, except there were people now on the station; around two hundred botanists and other professionals had arrived in the meantime and set up shop. They were shoveling dirt, introducing needed microorganisms and bacteria, essential for the plant's growth. For now, they were concentrated on test patches that should give them valuable information for larger areas. Michael even saw one guy pulling a cart full of earthworms, and throwing them around as if he was throwing seeds on the ground. Poor creatures had no idea that they were vanguards of their entire species, going boldly where no earthworm has gone before.

This time they all went to the central support pillar in the middle and inspected the apartments built on all sides of it. They were quite spacious and modern, with a nice feature to make the entire outer wall transparent. They went there on Zizi’s urging, who wanted to see the view from the top floor. The kid used his connections with his mother, Elizabeth, and Ares, to secure the place on this trip.

Excalibur brought them to the foot of the pillar and they entered a quite normal looking elevator. The speed by which it took them to the top floor was anything but normal; the elevator traversed thirteen hundred feet (396.24 m) under a minute, without its occupants noticing the acceleration.

The view from the last apartment, right beneath the ceiling, was breathtaking. They were higher than the top of the Empire State building, and the transparent windows made it appear as if they were standing close to the edge of the cliff. The entire level spread before them, all the way to the nearest wall, which was ten miles (16 km) away. But there were no walls as such; the mountains rose to meet the sky at their eye level. A quite clever optical illusion; even standing close to the ceiling, they felt as if they were in the mountain valley and not in an enclosed level of the space station. The only thing that spoiled the view was the ground, which was still brown and dull, yet that will change in time.

Max gave them an impromptu lecture about a few station specs, which made them even more impressed by his creation. Just this level could comfortably accommodate up to one million people, and there were four residential levels planned. The optimal populace for the entire station would be around five million, and if they didn’t mind the crowd, it could go up as much as fifteen million. The plan was that all surplus population would have to move to one of the additional stations Max planned to build in the future. The vision of Earth’s overcrowded cities was something to be avoided.

Ten levels were reserved to be fully agricultural; at the end of the day, many hungry mouths needed to be fed. Though, it will take cargo transporters thousands of trips to bring enough topsoil to enrich the ground so it could sustainably grow food. Even while they were still in the apartment, Michael could see those transporters arriving and unloading rich dirt on the floor. Until the station’s food industry was fully operational, the food would still need to be imported from Earth, but once it started growing, it would be a whole different ball game. It involved Max’s plans to export the surplus back to the planet.

Max expanded the tour to include a visit to the upper landing bay where ISS2 was parked. Original plans called for building it close to the Ascension, but Max decided to do the whole thing in the Main Asteroid Belt. The abundance of materials found there, made the new plan more cost-efficient; in Earth’s orbit, the cost of the materials for it would be astronomical.

It was strange looking at it in its current environment; it seemed small and insignificant compared to the vast open space around it. The landing bay was much smaller than the main level, yet there were still miles from one side to the other. It could hold hundreds of cargo transporters and ISS2 had a diameter of only five hundred twenty-two feet (159.1 m). Still, vastly larger than its predecessor, which was currently holding orbit close to the Ascension. Their perception of size had gone through a strange metamorphosis in recent times. Even the City-ship looked minuscule compared to the main level, so the massive ISS2 was comparable to a child’s toy.

The new International Space Station was dome-shaped and had more than 200,000 ft.² (18580.6 m²) of legroom; what’s more, there were hundreds of windows on it, quite a different design than the Ascension or the new space station, which did not have any. Both latter vessels were designed emphasizing the protection from the cold and unpredictable space, hence their remarkably thick hulls. The ISS2 was a research station that will be placed in LEO — an acronym for the low-Earth orbit; the hull simply needed to be strong enough to keep the atmosphere in, and resist occasional collisions with micrometeorites.

It was constructed by using a big circular metal baseplate, which supported the dome. On the bottom side were numerous airlocks that would be used when the station was in a vacuum. Since it was made with Solarian proprietary technology, it would be given for use only, not ownership. From the beginning, it was designed to protect the S.U. tech built into it. Gravity plates that provided 1G of pull, and the cold fusion reactor that powered the entire station, were only two of many technologies built into it.

Plates were sandwiched between thick slabs of metal inside the baseplate, and the power plant was accessible only from the outside, behind a highly secured hatch. The machine intelligence operating it would immediately eject it and initiate its self-destruct sequence if any tampering was noticed. The station would then go in a safe mode and run on limited energy reserves; to ensure those on board would remain alive.

They entered inside of it, and everyone commented on how nice and spacious it looked. It was nothing elaborate like the Ascension, but far better than any station NASA, or other agencies, were able to put in space so far.

Dr. Ross was on cloud nine, from the first moment they saw the giant space station. Before he saw it with his own eyes, he was convinced the whole project was theoretical. He, his entire team, and Max came up with the concept and created detailed plans using CAD programs. Still, to see something he only dreamed about, real and mostly finished, was beyond exhilarating. In fact, Michael had a few scares when he thought the man would suffer a heart attack, despite medical nanites making that an impossibility.

When he calmed down, he started asking Max a river of questions, mostly technical in nature, but one Michael found very interesting.

“So Max, how long until the station arrives at its destination? And which one did you choose?” The doctor asked.

“By my calculations, it will take two more months; I needed to take into account a long deceleration procedure, so it hits the sweet spot. The station’s new home will be in Halo Orbit around Earth-Moon L1 Lagrange point. It is considerably closer to the Moon than the Earth, yet still a short trip to the Ascension or the planet itself with the transporter,” the AI answered.

“Hey, how do you think Earthers are going to react when this ginormous metal ball arrives?” Al yelled from the top of the ISS2, and Michael wondered how he managed to climb all the way there under 1G of artificial gravity.

“Oh, they will notice it long before that, it’s not like it’s invisible. It is simply too big to hide with holo-emitters, and it would be too much of a bother. We will need to issue a statement so they don’t start to panic,” Max answered.

Soon, Michael’s second trip to the station was over, and they boarded the Excalibur for the express return trip back to the City-ship. He watched through the transparent canopy as they exited the station, and as it became smaller with the increased distance. He looked at that shiny dot and knew it represented the future of his people, yet he also noticed how small it seemed compared to the vastness of space all around them. The discussion about the best way to break the news of the station's existence to the Earth itself ensued, and pulled him back from those deep and existential thoughts. There will be time for those contemplations, but right now, he had to deal with all the problems that will arise with the reveal.

Of course, Al enjoyed the ride back to the station sitting on a toilet seat, again.

***

City-Ship Ascension

Michael’s Office

“Why were we not informed about it before!” the Russian president demanded.

“Because there was no need to?” Michael responded, looking calmly at the upset man.

It was a videoconference Max arranged between him and the grouchy crowd; the name he sometimes used for all those faces of the world leaders looking at him from the holo-screens.

The news about the Solarian Union new space station hit all major news networks a day before, and it was done by a short statement by Michael, sitting behind this very desk in his office.

They had no choice since some amateur astronomers detected a new moving object closing in on Earth, and that nearly caused the very widespread panic Michael and the others were trying to avoid. His speech was followed by a few infomercials with a detailed mock-up of how a finished interior would look, and a call for immigrants that could apply on a website of the Solarian Union immigration office.

At first, people thought it was some kind of a joke, but when the first official telescope images showed up, the whole thing turned into a spectacle, and the press went into a frenzy.

That was the reason for this videoconference, a way to placate the numerous leaders of nations, who felt that they had the right to know about the station before that information was released to the public. They have been calling non-stop after he issued a statement, and he had no intention to speak to them separately… life was too short for that.

“I never saw you informing the entire world when you decide to build a new building or a new housing complex. Essentially, that is what this space station is to us, a bigger dwelling for our people.” Michael continued, talking to the Russian President.

“This is not a building! This is a gargantuan space station that will be hanging above our heads!” The fuming man kept raving.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Mister President, I sympathize with you, but what did you think? That we were simply going to stay on one spaceship and… wither. Every nation has a basic obligation to improve the living conditions of its citizens, and that is exactly what this is. I don’t see any sense in all your objections. Furthermore, the station will be closer to the Moon, permanently parked on Earth-Moon L1 Lagrange point, so you saying that it will hang over your head are stretching the facts. You’ll hardly even notice it.”

The man’s blood pressure was rising, judging by the vein pulsing on his forehead. “But that place is of strategic significance for Russia’s future… scientific efforts.”

Michael tried not to smile. “Well, my grandfather would say to you that the early bird gets the worm.”

“What?”

“Parking lot is occupied,” Michael said, trying to look dignified, and fighting a smirk.

“That’s unacceptable! What gives you the right to occupy that position in space?”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” he answered, wondering if his replies would make that vein even bigger.

The entire videoconference went downhill after that, accusations and recriminations were mostly flying in his direction. Yet, he did not really care and was getting fed up with their constant talks. It seemed to him as if those people had nothing else to do in their lives than to constantly argue about what was allowed and what was not. The Solarian Union had no intention to play by their rules, well, not yet. He needed them rattled, and unsettled; he was playing the role of a girl that was hard to get. One of the basic elements of human psychology was that everybody wanted something that was unobtainable. The S.U. had technologies they wanted, and he was planning to extract a high price for those parts he was willing to trade for.

The entire situation was so outside of their worldview, and they still didn’t quite come to grips with the City-ship, let alone a massive space station. The Russians were particularly jealous since they didn’t have one of the most advanced space programs anymore; compared to the S.U., they were practically trying to boost rickshaws into space. At least the USA and President Garner were not among the pushy ones, trying to be a voice of reason, and settling the rising passions of the international community.

In the following days, there were even a few talk shows where self-proclaimed experts stated that the whole thing was a hoax. According to them, it was impossible to build something so massive in space. The S.U. didn’t comment, despite all the mean taunts; in the end, there were still some people who believed that the Earth was flat.

Many TV evangelists and a platitude of representatives from several religions, screamed that the S.U. was going against the wishes of their respective gods, by trying to imitate the creator itself by copying his design. They constantly called for everyone in space to repent and return to the planet, a place they were meant to live, worship, and die. The people of the Solarian Union did the most sensible thing… they changed the channel.

Thousands of immigration applications were filed every day, with the understanding that the full colonization would not start for some time yet. All the same, that little fact did not slow the flood of applicants one little bit. So many people were more than ready to leave all the unsolvable problems that they had to deal with on Earth. The new space station offered much greener pastures and the chance to start a new life. Yet, not all applicants could; the selection process was very tough, and a good percentage of them gave up when they realized just how many hoops they needed to jump through to be allowed to emigrate.

The Solarian Union wanted people who were not afraid to reach for their dreams, and who were ready to fight for them. Those who would quit if things got a little tough, were not the ones they wanted anyway. Space was an unforgiving environment, and only those that showed enough resilience would be allowed to live there.

After a few weeks, things concerning the station settled down to a great degree. The novelty wore off. Besides, people’s attention span was rather short in this new digital age; there was always a new scandal or a viral video of a funny cat to focus the limelight on.

***

Earth, New York City

Grand Central Station

Faraz Kazi has waited for this day his entire life, all eighteen years of it. His heart overflowed with pride when the greatest man he had ever met chose him for this mission. Abdul al-Vasir said that God himself was speaking to him, and Faraz absorbed all Abdul’s teachings as if they were the Holy Scripture. Before the great man took him under his wing, Faraz was nothing more than a poor goat shepherd; doing exactly the same thing his ancestors did for centuries. He disregarded his father’s warnings about joining the Holy War; the old man was talking nonsense about staying home and finding happiness in simple things. On the other hand, al-Vasir was talking about achieving greatness and all the rewards that were waiting for him when he fulfilled the will of God.

Faraz looked around him while trying to remain inconspicuous. He was sitting at one of the benches in Grand Central Station and was appalled by the sights he was seeing. These people were all infidels and sinners; the women were dressed like harlots, displaying themselves to strangers and showing no dignity. They tempted even him with their uncovered flesh, making him have sinful thoughts. He used all his willpower to hold out against those base desires; they were the gateway to sin and God’s displeasure. Faraz took a deep breath and regained the peace within his soul; he will show all of them, he will be the hand that strikes into the hearts of these heretics.

He opened the backpack he was given and pressed a button on a complicated device within. The man who instructed him on its use said that it was an atomizer that would spread an invisible mist, using the attached pressure canister. There was a small hole on the side of the backpack, so the actions of the device would not be obvious. That was good, as his orders were to be unseen.

Nobody paid him any intention, owing to the fact that he was clean-shaven and wearing a Yankees baseball hat and a jersey. The clothes were also provided by the same man who gave him the device that was now active and running, spreading death in the air.

He was told that its effects will not show for a few days, but all those that breathed it in will eventually succumb to the disease. For some time, they will not show any symptoms, but the infected will spread it further; doing God’s will, without their knowledge.

Faraz was not afraid for himself; Abdul al-Vasir told him that he would be protected by the grace of God, the poison will not affect the faithful. Because of that, a sense of happiness spread within his soul, knowing he was successful in his task. This was so much more important than running after goats all the time.

Half an hour later, Faraz got up from his seat and boarded the train that stopped close to the safe house his contact provided. The canister was empty, its content now finding the fertile ground in the lungs of those unlucky enough to be here this day.

Before taking his seat, he smiled at the thought that this same thing was happening in several places around the world. His brothers in arms were also doing the will of God.