Place Your Bets
The press conference was as close to a media circus as you could get. Alexander Kilroy, a newly minted member of the Flat Earth Society was holding a press conference live from the surface of Mars. Behind him was a brand new Eagle spacecraft. A spaceship that had been paid for by the flat Earth Society.
"Today ladies and gentlemen, I am embarking on the great experiment. My near light speed journey will prove or disprove that Einstein's theory of general relativity is real or fake," said Alexander Kilroy.
The audience laughed. As well as did the approximately four billion people who were live streaming this event. Honestly Alex never thought this job would get this much attention. But, oh well; he had negotiated a percentage of the ad revenue for live streaming and social media monetization.
"So Mr. Kilroy; how long have you been a space pilot?" asked one of the press.
"Well I was an Apache pilot back in the service, and I also did some para-rescue. I put in my twenty and retired about four years ago. Of course when artificial gravity was discovered about a year ago and all these new space ships started popping up I became a space pilot," explained Alex Kilroy.
"And how long have you been a member of the Flat Earth Society?" asked the reporter. There was a lot of laughs.
"About two weeks ago," said Kilroy. "They hired me to fly this mission and wanted an official member to be the pilot." That wasn't as funny for the audience as the reporter had hoped for. That part of Kilroy's answer never got a lot of bandwidth.
A more senior member of the Flat Earth Society came up on stage to speak, "As you can see; Mr. Kilroy is one of the best space pilots that we could ask for. Mr. Kilroy has an analogue Rolex watch." It was one of the new star traveler series; that Rolex came came out with last year along with all the new buzz around interstellar travel.
"According to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity; Mr. Kilroy's Eagle should experience only eight hours of time; while Mars should experience about 117 Earth standard days. And just in case you're worried about Mr. Kilroy simply resetting his watch; we have a sealed atomic clock on board." Kilroy tried to keep a straight face. He knew that the atomic clock was legit. But nobody else would believe it; unless they had an advanced engineering degree and examined it personally.
The press conference when on for a little while longer. Then Alexander Kilroy boarded his Eagle space craft, left Mars orbit and began to approach Neptune at close to the speed of light.
If the flat Earth society was correct; which it wasn't, then Kilroy would be back in eight hours. Which he wasn't.
MARTIAN HORIZON: Year 2038 Corwinian Calendar
Kilroy Was Here
DATE: August 13th; 2038. in the year 14 AG (Artificial Gravity).
PLANET: Mars (in Sol's orbit)
LAT & LONG: (REDACTED)
Chapter one: Anechoic Chamber
Commodore John Koenig was sitting in a private conference room in the Mars Galactic Bank. It was a secure room with accommodations to keep out all and any sound and radio waves. Such a room was called an anechoic chamber.
A small stature woman entered into the room. She was one of the most famous woman in current history. Professor Elizabeth. "Hello John, I know we're friends but I'm a little perplexed at how vague you were in asking me here," she confessed.
John had the Professor's full trust. They were good friends. Some said that they had a 'thing' going; despite John being married to Dr. Russell. They did not. They were good friends though. So was she and John's wife.
"I appreciate you coming," John said honestly. His tone of voice reflected that he was relieved.
"Are you armed; John?" asked Prof Elizabeth smugly.
"Of course," he said. "Are you?" he asked.
"No," she said and then checked to make sure the door to the anechoic chamber was sealed. "So what's all this, then?" she asked.
"Do you remember a man named Alex Kilroy?" asked John.
"Of course. He's the weirdo who disappeared few years back. He said the theory of relativity was a bunch of BS; and he managed to get the Flat Earth people to buy him a spaceship. He was supposedly going to travel two weeks; at near the speed of light and prove Einstein was wrong," surmised Prof Elizabeth.
"That was 13 years ago," said John.
Elizabeth suddenly realized today's date. It was Friday the 13th; about 13 years after Alex Kilroy left Mars on his journey. "As I recall, Kilroy departed on a Friday the 13th," said Elizabeth.
"He did," confirmed John.
"Why are we here John? What does Alex Kilroy have to do with any of this?" Elizabeth was intrigued and concerned.
John Koenig handed Prof Elizabeth an envelope, "That was hand delivered to me via special military courier this morning about an hour before I called you."
The envelope was marked 'Top Secret'. "I verified its authenticity. Whoever sent this has enough security clearance to do so anonymously; through proper military channels. The letter inside is addressed to the both of us."
"Interesting," she said and opened it.
Eyes only:
Professor Elizabeth
John Koenig USSF
Hello there,
I hope I have your attention. If you haven't already; please verify that this parcel was sent through proper military channels. That should dispel any theories about this being an elaborate hoax.
This is Alexander Kilroy; I don't blame you if you are skeptical.
What's important is that rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Commodore Koenig and Prof Elizabeth; I'm asking you to go today to the Central Bank of Mars main building. There; a safety deposit box has been placed for you to open. The bank has on file a power of attorney giving you both access to the box. Please open it in the anechoic room at the bank. Please do so before midnight on Friday the 13th of this year.
For authenticity John, I have an override code for the IFF satellite.
Thanx,
Alexander Kilroy.
As Elizabeth finished reading it John spoke up. "Two days ago, the identify friend or foe satellite orbiting Neptune received a transponder signal from a craft identifying itself as the 'Mary Celeste Hope' with hull number (S7BB765) sierra, seven, bravo, bravo, seven, six, five," said John.
"Alexander's ship; that got lost in space thirteen years ago," confirmed Elizabeth.
"The Mary Celeste Hope was tagged as a possible bogie entering our solar system because there was no flight scheduled," continued John.
Elizabeth was silent.
"The satellite then received an override code commanding it to change the Mary Celeste Hope's designation to friendly; VIP," Concluded John.
"Do you have the box?" asked Elizabeth.
"No, I wanted to wait for you to get here. The bank manager recognized me and knew I was coming," explained John.
"Same here," said Prof Elizabeth. "Well; let's see if this plays out."
John opened the vault door to the anechoic chamber and called for the bank manager. A middle aged woman in a suit appeared. "How can I help you; Professor Elizabeth and Commodore Koenig?" she asked simply.
"Do you have a safety deposit box here under the name Alexander Kilroy?" asked John bluntly.
"You mean the same guy who said he'd be back in a week and got lost in space?" she asked a little confused. She thought John was joking with her.
"Yes," answered Elizabeth. "We're quite serious."
"Oh, I'd have to look," explained the manager. "Do you have a warrant or a power of attorney, because without one of those I cannot disclose any private customer information to you." This did not surprise either of them.
"I believe you should have a power of attorney on file," said John. "I don't know if it's under my name or Elizabeth's."
"I'll look," the manager said. There was an eerie silence and the manager returned, documents in hand. "There is indeed a power of attorney, it requires both of your signatures to activate before I can disclose anything." They both read through the document and signed it.
"Alexander Kilroy does indeed have a safety deposit box here. I have your key here," She placed it on the table and Elizabeth picked it up.
CHAPTER: Alexander's Box
John, Elizabeth, and the manager proceeded to the vault to retrieve the safety deposit box. The box wasn't overly big, but it was heavy. The bank manager turned off the artificial gravity and it still took three people to move it to the anechoic chamber.
The gravity was returned to Earth normal. John and Elizabeth were left to examine its contents.
First up were a pair of colt single action army revolvers; and included a holster rig for both of them; but no ammunition. John safety checked them. The cylinders were indeed empty. John, was a cowboy action shooting enthusiast; and examined the revolvers closely. "They're actual colts. Serial number indicates they were custom ordered as a matching set." They were both charcoal blue with color case hardened frames. The shorter one had a bird's head grip and a four and three quarter inch barrel. The other had a standard grip with a 7 and a half inch barrel. The grips on both guns were black, hard rubber. John examined them both carefully disassembling both of them.
"They were manufactured about two years ago; and probably ordered directly from colt two years before that," stated Koenig. "It looks like they've only been test fired at the factory."
"That's suspicious, considering Kilroy has been lost in space for about thirteen years," observed Elizabeth. "Are you sure they were custom ordered?"
"100 percent. They're both chambered in 45 ACP instead of the traditional 45 long colt. That's a custom order only," explained John.
"Why would anybody do that?" asked Elizabeth puzzled.
"45 ACP is a lot cheaper," said John.
"But those guns were very expensive. Why bother with cheaper ammunition?" asked Elizabeth.
"Because you can find 45 ACP at the sporting goods store in large quantities. You usually have to order 45 long colt," surmised John.
The next was a note: it was typed.
John and Elizabeth,
The revolvers were sold to a licensed FFL. I own it. Please note they are chambered in 45 ACP and NOT in the more traditional caliber. I'm going to want these back when I arrive. If that's a problem simply keep them in the military armory and I'll pick them up. All the proper paperwork for this is included.
Also, there is financial records that implicate the head of Martian Dynamics Corporation in a number of very serious felony crimes. What is not generally known, however, is that I own those companies through a blind trust. If you want to speak to me any further on that account you'll have to wait until my attorney contacts you.
There is also a great deal of paperwork proving that I own Martian Dynamics (about 57% of the stock).
I plan to return to Mars on Friday the 13th 2038. Please arrange for my smooth approach and landing.
Thanx,
Alexander Kilroy
P.S. because I failed to file a proper flight plan I am assuming I will be hit with substantial fines and penalties. I have included 320 ounces of gold coins in the safety deposit box to cover these.
John and Elizabeth looked in Alexander's box. There was indeed 20 pounds of American Gold Eagle coins in the bottom.
"We'll; it seems that Mr. Kilroy has gone from the village idiot to the richest man in the world," observed Elizabeth.
"Yeah, he also has enough power to get military over ride codes; and obtain firearms legally," added John.
"What do you want to do about the criminal stuff?" asked Elizabeth.
"Martian Dynamics has a lot of military contracts. Sending these documents to the commanding officer here, which is me, was actually the correct thing to do. I'll handle it," said John. Elizabeth didn't argue; she knew John was the right person for that job. "But why did he involve you in all of this?"
"Because I'm the most famous scientist in the cosmos. If I tell people that Alex Kilroy has indeed returned after thirteen years they'll believe it," stated Elizabeth. "Given the contents of Alexander's Box; I think that Kilroy has played us all. He had no intention of disproving Einstein's relativity."
"Yeah," said John as he was thinking deeply. "I wouldn't want to play this guy in a game of chess."
STAY TUNED FOR MORE TO COME
THANX
Corwin