Date: 1st February 2074 Earth Time
Location: Outer Boundaries of Alpha Centauri-A Habitable Zone
Mission Time: 54 Months, 11 Days, 8 Hours
In suspended animation you don't dream; it's like dying and then coming back from the grave. At least that was the first thought that crossed Josh's mind when he opened his eyes. His last recollection was being given a highly unpleasant shot of a hyperstasis drug to the neck and helped into his hibernation tank, followed by a complete loss of any recollection. So he had to fight a panic attack as he woke, some 54 months after the launch, to find himself sealed inside the shock-absorbent-gel-filled Plexiglas tank, with a breathing tube stuck down his throat and a vest of bio-med sensors strapped to his torso.
Captain Joshua 'Josh' Anderson was the pod pilot and EVA specialist onboard the NIMH-One. Formerly a Royal Navy pilot, he had grown up on his uncle's farm in Hampshire England as a boy, graduating from Cambridge with a degree in aeronautical engineering, before joining Her Majesty's Royal Air Corps. Having fought on the front lines as a teenager in the Third World War of 2055 and the New British Civil War of 2062, flying everything from archaic paper kites to state-of-the-art stealth aircraft, he had established a reputation as a distinguished aviator – it was this that had brought him to the attention of NIMH's recruiting agents within the British government, who had recommended him. For Josh, this was the honour of a lifetime.
Being chosen as the official representative of the British Crown on the new world, to preserve England's reputation for having the world's best space pilots, opened a whole new venue for Josh: a chance to fulfil his life's ambition of reaching beyond the known horizons, to discover a new world, away from the ravaged, dying Earth. The greatest adventure in history was his – and all the dangers that went with it.
This was the first interstellar mission which would require the crew to travel in stasis for so long – the longest so far being the first round-trip to Jupiter 20 years prior –, arising some serious debate as to whether or not they would survive the journey at all. Even making the trip out had its own set of challenges.
To conserve time and resources, the NIMH-One used atomic ion boosters, which made the ship accelerate to almost light-speed, equivalent to a killer velocity of 30Gs. That was why the hibernation tanks had been specially designed to fill with shock-absorbent liquid, shielding the astronauts from the deadly force of the acceleration… theoretically, at least. This modification also required having a breathing-tube stuck down the astronauts' throats for the entire duration of the stasis, to sustain them. If the delicate life support systems didn't perform as advertised, the ship could become the first mausoleum in space.
In contrast to popular belief, even in deep stasis, where all vital functions drop to barely 1% of normal, body metabolism isn't entirely gone, leaving the assumption as to how long an astronaut could survive in question – including the grim prospect of coming round halfway through the journey, to find yourself sealed alive inside a waterlogged coffin of a tank.
Panicking, thinking his life support had failed, Josh began banging his hands frantically against the Plexiglas lid of his tank. Before he knew what was happening, the tank had drained all around him like a bathtub having its plug pulled, the system having automatically sensed his brainwave activity resume the instant he had come out of stasis and shutting down. The airtight seal popped and the lid of the tank opened up.
Josh had barely reassured himself that everything was all right, when he realised just how weak and skeletally thin he was. His usually muscular frame was shrunken down to that of an old lady's after four-and-a-half years of progressive muscle atrophy. Although relieved to have survived both the acceleration and long-term hibernation, he hardly felt 'good as new' after his longest ever sleep; every movement felt painful, his joints creaking like old hinges and his muscles shrunken down to his bones, barely functional. And he still had that damn tube struck down his throat, which he couldn't get out!
As he sat up, chocking, he felt someone tilt his head back and pull the breathing tube out. Coughing and splattering, he turned to see his friend and colleague Dr Gordon Boniface, wearing only a towel around his waist, beaming at him.
"Welcome back from the dead, Josh! Rise and shine!"
Gordon Boniface, a dashing Canadian in his early fifties, was the NIMH-One's medical officer and one of the world's leading minds in space medicine, having successfully treated over a million patients throughout his career. As his colleagues often put it, he could fix any ailment of both the body and soul, except for the deceased. Josh muttered his thanks as the good doctor passed him some coffee.
"We there yet?" he groaned, taking a large sip, only to feel the contents of his stomach about to spill as he swallowed. Dr Boniface barely had time to pass a waste bag to Josh, before the space pilot barfed up both the coffee and his pre-launch breakfast – what was left of it anyway – from four and a half years ago. The doctor chuckled.
"Go slowly, lad; your body is still recovering from the shock of stasis and will reject too much nutrition intake. Take your time." Passing Josh a towel, he hurried away to help another awakened crewmember out of his tank.
An hour later, the eight-person crew of the NIMH-One, fully-dressed and helping themselves to fluids and calcium and protein bars, had gathered in the ship's Observation Room for debriefing. This unique, sphere-like compartment, fitted with a mirror-like dome, housed the onboard state-of-the-art artificial intelligence – the heart and soul of the ship. Resembling a planetarium, it also served as the platform for the holographic visual and lingual embodiment of the ship's eighth, non-human AI crewmember: OWL, another of NIMH's high-tech toys. This fascinating technological breakthrough monitored all of the onboard systems, performing the most complex tasks the humans couldn't manage themselves, giving the ship a sentiency of its own.
As far as appearances went, the NIMH-One roughly resembled a modern lookalike of the fictional Discovery-One which Arthur C. Clark had introduced in his books over a century ago: a command module and crew habitat housed inside a massive cone-shaped landing module mounted on a disk-shaped heat shield, not unlike the old Apollo CMs, only much larger, and with four massive ion boosters mounted invented on top.
Trailing aft of the command module was a rotating girder cluster dubbed 'the spine', which contained the resupply module, solar panels and antenna arrays. The ship was designed to function two-fold: for space flight, she used her ion drives and attitude thrusters for control, heat shield facing forward; for landing, she'd penetrate the atmosphere vertically, using the rotation of the heat shield to control the re-entry corridor, with the deceleration rocket boosters on it providing the necessary counterthrust for touchdown, as well as for take-off afterwards.
The interior of the ship was, likewise, a revolutionary feat of engineering: powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators, the NIMH-One applied all the latest technologies needed for long-term, interstellar travel. Space luxury had advanced a long way since mankind's first space missions over a century ago and thanks to NIMH's board of directors sparing no expenses on the project, the crew of the NIMH-One wouldn't lack anything on this long haul.
With artificial gravity, light and heating in all compartments, and a vast e-library containing a rich selection of books, films and music, courtesy of NIMH's Global Board of Education, serving as their entertainment centre – a means of keeping the crew sane during their long voyage – the NIMH-One's crew habitat resembled that of a luxurious space cruiser, rather than an exploration starship. As for life support, the onboard recycling units could provide them with abundant breathable air and water, and a hydroponics bay would cover their food needs for a period of up to 120 months. In addition, the ship's state-of-the-art medical bay and space gymnasium would keep the health and physical condition of the crew up to scratch at all times.
Additional facilities included the most sophisticated space lab ever launched, allowing the onboard science team to study the new star system down to the last detail. For EVAs, the ship carried eight ion-drive-powered pods, capable of both space and atmospheric flight. Finally, there was the bio-payload delivery modules in the form of ten unmanned, automated probes, which would be used to carry out their panspermia operations on the new world. For ground operations, the ship also carried a resupply module called the REMO, containing all the necessary equipment and supplies for setting up an outpost on the surface of the new world.
The final touch to the ship's cargo was a special copy of the famous Rosetta Disk carried onboard – a prized gift for the future inhabitants of the new world, commissioned by Dr Valentine himself. Made of ever-lasting nickel and gold, this dinner-plate-sized disk was edged with microscopic texts in all known languages, selected works of literature and history, bible verses, scientific formulas, as well as greetings from every nation – a touch copied from the original gold disk carried onboard the old Voyager probes. Personally, Josh could see little use for that.
The crew's attire was fairly plain: navy-blue, single-piece, cotton-and-polyester overalls, with multiple zip pockets, similar to those worn by the Apollo and later the Shuttle astronauts, which they wore over a single-piece undergarment. Each uniform bore the customary NIMH-One's logo – an owl holding the NIMH banner in its winds - knitted over the right hand side chest pocket, in addition to the astronaut's nametag on the left, complete with the flag of the country he represented, knitted on the top of the left sleeve. A cap, also bearing the NIMH-One logo, a pair of dog-tags, and a pair of astronaut-issue boots completed their wardrobe.
The crew themselves were a multinational mix of some of the world's greatest nations. Aside from Josh and Dr Boniface, there was Lt. Commander Penny Stacy of the US Air Force, second-in-command and the only female member of the crew; Major Frank Wilson, navigator and avionics officer, from South Africa; Colonel Heinrich Strauss, engineering officer and designer of the ion propulsion systems, from Germany. The two civilian members of the science team were Dr Cole Schultz, terraforming scientist and geneticist in charge of the bio-payload, from Russia; Dr George Stetson, the astrophysicist, whose studies of the universe rivalled even those of the late Steven Hawking, from Australia. And standing tall and proud before his crew was Gen. Commander Paul Fitzgibbons, formerly US Air Force, like Lt Stacy.
The no-nonsense, iron-disciplined Commander of the NIMH-One, a veteran astronaut, who had done several tours of the Moon and Mars, called his crew to order. Everyone stood at attention and fell silent.
"Crew at ease!"
Walking over to a control panel mounted on a pedestal in the centre of the sphere, he pressed a key. The dome lit up with beams of rainbow-coloured lights, which slowly morphed into holographic images. The entire room, including the dome and floor, morphed into a 4-D model of their new solar system with its three suns (Centauri A, B and the Proxima red dwarf) outside their ship, their trajectories marked in red vector lines. Josh smiled at the sight of his colleagues fighting vertigo, as the ship seemed to literally disappear all around them, leaving them 'standing' in outer space. Fitzgibbons, Lt Stacy at his side, cleared his throat and began speaking in all his pompousness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to announce that we have all come through the first difficult stage of our mission safely. We're now in orbit around Alpha Centauri-A – the largest of the three Alpha Centauri stars. Circling our new star, which exceeds the size of the Earth's sun by nearly a quarter, is this…" Turning to the control panel again, he punched in some further commands. A tracking square marked in quarters moved across the dome, zooming in onto something barely visible on the far side of the sun: a new planet – two of them actually: what looked like a gas giant, resembling Neptune, and a second smaller planet circling around it. The scope zoomed on the smaller of the two bodies.
"That, people, is our ultimate destination: a new planet, the moon of that gas giant, roughly the same size as our Earth. Our first observations indicate that this planet has an atmosphere and lies well within Centauri-A's habitable zone." Instant muttering broke out among the crew of the NIMH-One as they feasted their eyes on the sight of the new world. It seemed coming all this way had indeed been worthwhile.
"What do we call these new planets, Captain?" asked Dr Schultz giddily, raising his finger like a schoolboy asking to use the loo. Although Josh respected his PhDs in terraforming, he always thought the little scientist was a bit of a squeamish nerd. Fitzgibbons frowned at being interrupted, always preferring to hear a simple acknowledgement without any backchat, yet his military code of making allowances for the 'undisciplined civilians' on his team, which he was expected to babysit on this mission, won out. He nodded to Schultz.
"That, Doctor, will all be explained to you in greater detail by our astrophysicist," he said, summoning up Dr Stetson, who was working away on a flexible computer-like device called an HHC, or Hand Held Computer – another of NIMH's designs, "Dr Stetson, the floor is yours."
The lanky astrophysicist, who was fighting the worst case of vertigo of all, hurried over to join Fitzgibbons at the control panel, almost as if afraid he'd 'drop' through the invisible floor at any moment and into the universe.
Taking out a crystalline, dice-shaped device he'd been programming, called a hologram data cube – a descendant of the old memory sticks, complete with their own data drive and holographic camera, all rolled into one – he inserted it into a slot on the control panel. The cube glowed transparent, as it beamed its own holographic projections, which blended in with the dome's own projections, morphing into data icons suspended in mid-air. Josh watched in fascination as the blurred holograms, encountering obstacles in their path, which were he and his colleagues, automatically adjusted and straitened themselves out, by means of the microscopic fibre-lenses in the holographic projectors. NIMH sure spared no expenses with their high-tech toys. Stetson picked up where Fitzgibbons had left off.
"We haven't had time to decide on any permanent names for these new bodies, so we've temporarily named them after the corporation we represent: Nimh-Alpha and Nimh-Beta. The orbit of Beta around Alpha appears to be completely circular, with no ellipse, rotating on its axis at a distance of 500,000 miles, through a period of 19 Earthly days. Unlike the Earth however, its axis has no tilt, which means there should be no season cycle; however, the orbit of Alpha around Centauri-A appears slightly elliptic, which makes up for Beta's circular orbit around Alpha. Simply put, we should expect a yearly cycle of freezing winters and baking hot summers – which lasts 420 days, or twelve 35-day months, in comparison to the Earth's 365-day calendar. Likewise, the day cycle lasts 26 hours, rather than our own 24. Our calendars and watches will be pretty useless here, at least without some serious adjustments." Dr Schultz took the stand next, to explain the environment of Nimh-Beta.
"Our initial analysis of Beta's atmosphere indicates non-breathable conditions, mostly a mixture of carbon dioxide and helium, yet there appears to be localised traces of water vapour, possibly originating from large subterranean columns of frozen water. Also, the planet's powerful magnetosphere, much stronger than the Earth's, indicates strong geological activity, which should, theoretically, make up for the higher solar radiation of a larger sun – three suns actually. Centauri-A and B shine on the day side, while Proxima is visible on the dark side once a year, at the peak of the elliptic – a day which we've decided to mark as January 1st of the Nimh-Beta year. Furthermore, the presence of trace carbon and nitrogen – two of the key elements of life – support our theories that terraforming on this new world is indeed possible…"
"Which brings us back to our mission plan," interrupted Commander Fitzgibbons, retaking the stand, without so much as an apology to Shultz, who scurried away, "Our schedule for the next 18 months is as follows: land on Nimh-Beta and set up base on its surface; seed the surface with algae and bacteria, based on our FAO team's specifications, as well as document the environment in every detail. A full report must be ready by the time we've rotated back home, six years from now…"
"After due consideration with Flight Navigator Wilson, I have decided to use Hohmman's trajectory to adjust our orbit as we slingshot around Centauri-A, to rendezvoused with the NIMH bodies on the far side, approximately three months from now. This way, we will have the time necessary to fully recuperate from stasis and properly prepare for our ground operations on Nimh-Beta." Fitzgibbons went on with a long and boring lecture on the code of discipline and responsibilities everyone was expected to follow under his command if they wanted to get on well together. Finally, he called them to order again.
"Lt Stacy, you're in charge of supervising the setting up of the space lab and hydroponics; Dr Schultz and Dr Stetson will be performing a full inspection of the bio-payload; Colonel Strauss, you're in charge of inspecting reactors, propulsion systems, and life support; Major Wilson and I will run a full navigation review up on the bridge, to plot our new trajectory for Nimh Beta; Dr Boniface, you're in charge of setting up the med bay and making sure everyone is in good health and fit for duty; and Captain Anderson, I expect a full report on the status of the pods, space suits, the REMO and the rest of the EVA equipment. I expect each of you at your stations within five minutes – and I want a full report on my ship's status within the hour. That will be all." He turned and gave his officers a military salute, which they all returned. "Dismissed!"
Oh boy, here we go... thought Josh, watching Fitzgibbons leave to get up to the bridge with Wilson and Lt Stacy. He had never particularly liked his Commander, partly because of the man's snobbish, stuck-up attitude and the fact that he often had the impression Fitzgibbons thought of him as the equivalent of something unpleasant stuck on the bottom of his shoe. But like every disciplined soldier, he had a chain of command to follow. This was sure going to be a long flight...
Having been given their orders, the crew of the NIMH-One dispersed, to take up their respected posts. As part of the ship's design, all the delicate equipment for the onboard facilities, including the lab, hydroponics, infirmary and living quarters, were stored in sealed, shockproof lockers throughout the ship. These storage conditions were the only guaranteed way to protect their precious equipment from damage caused by the massive G-forces of the light-speed acceleration. But that would change now that they were on a smooth free-return trajectory, and on their way to their ultimate destination.
The were already four-and-a-half years into their voyage, but their real mission was only just beginning; ahead of them lay twelve restless weeks of rehab, an appalling diet of dull calcium-and-protein foodstuffs to regain bone and muscle mass lost while in stasis, not to mention long and heavy duty work under Fitzgibbons' monarchy and his acid tongue. But, otherwise, Josh and his crew were thrilled by the fact that, very soon, they would be making history as the first human beings to set foot on a new world, light-years away from their home planet. If all went well, soon, humanity would be taking a new step in its existence: its evolution on two worlds.
Author's note: For those of you who are wondering, the ship's technology, as well as the astronomy described, are all based on real science and are applicable in theory. Enjoy and please review!