The most tedious part of the mission had begun: getting far enough away from the large gravity well of Mars in order for the jump drive to be engaged. Two days of travel later, and the Hyperion successfully reached a point at which the gravity of Mars would not interfere with the jump drive’s bending of space. Preparations began for the Hyperion’s first jump as official starship.
Skylar, Sawyer, and Chang spent the hours preceding their arrival at the safe point in order to calculate the exact settings needed to make the jump 5 light years ahead. Normally, the calculations would only take a few minutes, but this jump required extra precision because Sawyer had to scan ahead to see if the Lethe happened to be in the ship’s path. If so, then the Hyperion would want to jump a shorter distance in order to arrive exactly next to the Lethe.
Finally, Skylar announced, “We’re ready to jump, Captain.”
Dobbins looked up from the status monitors that he had been studying casually. “Excellent. Lieutenant Sawyer, any sign of the Lethe in the region ahead of us?”
“No, sir,” Sawyer replied quietly. “Nothing out there at all of any size, sir.”
Dobbins nodded. “That’s to be expected. If the Lethe were this close, someone would have spotted her. Mr. Skylar, whenever you’re prepared, let’s make the first jump.”
Skylar smiled. “Aye, sir.” His hands once again danced over the control panel and the Hyperion initiated a jump.
An observer outside the ship would have seen a unique sight. First, the clear striping around the middle of the ship suddenly began to glow orange. That orange glow grew in intensity until several meters on each side of the ship reflected the aura. Then, suddenly, without any flash from the engines or change, the Hyperion vanished, reappearing just as suddenly in a new location without any signals to indicate its arrival.
On board the Hyperion, the change was as sudden. One minute, Dobbins sat looking at his control panel, watching the jump field grow up to full strength. For the briefest microsecond, he felt like he blacked out, and then he noticed that the jump field indicators on his panel were dropping. The distant star patterns on the holographic display had changed dramatically. The Hyperion had just jumped 5 light years from Earth and sat alone in vast darkness of interstellar space.
“Jump complete, Captain,” reported Skylar.
“No sign of the Lethe in the immediate vicinity,” Sawyer said. “I’m expanding scans outward to 5 light years ahead.”
Dobbins nodded, still a little shocked by the suddenness of the jump. He knew what had happened—even if he did not totally understand it—but even knowing what had happened did not settle the slight sense of disorientation he felt. To try to get his sense of equilibrium back, he walked over to the communications station, where Lieutenant Marquél sat, transmitting on all hyperwave frequencies in an attempt to contact the Lethe.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Blank
Writer's block and too many tasks to do result in nothing to say. I wish I had something inspirational or witty to write, but I have many things demanding my attention that I need to take care of. Don't get wrong. Life is good. God has blessed me with a good set of circumstances, and He is my comfort and my guide. But I just can't seem to put together anything interesting or coherent right now. End of post.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Story: The Lethe, pt. IX
Sorry, this was supposed to be on Wednesday. Had a crazy week. Here it is.
“Message from the dockmaster, Captain,” Lieutenant Marquél announced, “he wishes us good luck and Godspeed.”
“Signal our thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Hyperion continued maneuvering for a couple of minutes before settling into orbit around the planet Mars. At that point, the visitors rose from their chairs and began to make their way to the exit from the bridge. A few felt the need to stop and say something to Dobbins. Most simply spoke the usual words of congratulations and well-wishing. Yentzen gave Dobbins a caution, “I don’t know what happened to the Lethe, Captain, but knowing the Generational ship designs the way I do, be prepared for something unusual, something slightly bizarre. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a sense of foreboding that the lack of communication from the Lethe is far more serious than simply a malfunctioning hyperwave array.”
Dobbins shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Yentzen. I hope you’re wrong, too, but one way or the other, hopefully we’ll find out soon.”
Over an hour past before all of the visitors finally departed. By that point, Dobbins was about ready to throw the stragglers out of the airlock himself. He normally was not an impatient man, but the dour arrogance of the European Prime Minister taxed him greatly. She had almost left the bridge when she decided that she wanted a tour, even though she had already received one earlier in the day. This time, she expected another, conducted by the captain himself. Upon hearing of her request, Dobbins did his best to get out of the unpleasant task of showing her around.
Dobbins nearly lost his patience when the head of the Hegemony spoke up. “Madam Minister,” the Head said graciously and gently, “you’ll have to permit the captain to conduct the tour on a different day. He has a critical mission that he must embark on without delay. I’m sure that he will gladly show you all the corners of this ship upon their return from successfully completing the mission.”
The Prime Minister seemed satisfied with those assurances, although she still slowly made her way to the docking port where her shuttle waited.
When the final shuttle had cleared the Hyperion, Dobbins gave the order to break orbit. The Hyperion’s sublight Ion Drive engaged, emitting a bright blue glow from the rear of the ship. The Hyperion slowly slid away from Mars and began to follow the Lethe’s course.
“Message from the dockmaster, Captain,” Lieutenant Marquél announced, “he wishes us good luck and Godspeed.”
“Signal our thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Hyperion continued maneuvering for a couple of minutes before settling into orbit around the planet Mars. At that point, the visitors rose from their chairs and began to make their way to the exit from the bridge. A few felt the need to stop and say something to Dobbins. Most simply spoke the usual words of congratulations and well-wishing. Yentzen gave Dobbins a caution, “I don’t know what happened to the Lethe, Captain, but knowing the Generational ship designs the way I do, be prepared for something unusual, something slightly bizarre. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a sense of foreboding that the lack of communication from the Lethe is far more serious than simply a malfunctioning hyperwave array.”
Dobbins shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Yentzen. I hope you’re wrong, too, but one way or the other, hopefully we’ll find out soon.”
Over an hour past before all of the visitors finally departed. By that point, Dobbins was about ready to throw the stragglers out of the airlock himself. He normally was not an impatient man, but the dour arrogance of the European Prime Minister taxed him greatly. She had almost left the bridge when she decided that she wanted a tour, even though she had already received one earlier in the day. This time, she expected another, conducted by the captain himself. Upon hearing of her request, Dobbins did his best to get out of the unpleasant task of showing her around.
Dobbins nearly lost his patience when the head of the Hegemony spoke up. “Madam Minister,” the Head said graciously and gently, “you’ll have to permit the captain to conduct the tour on a different day. He has a critical mission that he must embark on without delay. I’m sure that he will gladly show you all the corners of this ship upon their return from successfully completing the mission.”
The Prime Minister seemed satisfied with those assurances, although she still slowly made her way to the docking port where her shuttle waited.
When the final shuttle had cleared the Hyperion, Dobbins gave the order to break orbit. The Hyperion’s sublight Ion Drive engaged, emitting a bright blue glow from the rear of the ship. The Hyperion slowly slid away from Mars and began to follow the Lethe’s course.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Tired
I don't know what it was about this past week, but I still feel tired now, even after sleeping 8 hours each of the past two nights as well as an extra hour or so today. I wonder if some of it is just because I was on surrounded by people nearly 24/7 for the past 3 days. Although it is hard for some people to understand, being around people incessantly is draining for me. It's not that I don't like people, but that I am tired by relating. The teachers' conference I went to on Thursday and Friday this week drained me far enough down that I'm still not rested. In a few hours, it's going to be time to sleep, and I know that I won't have enough rest. I'll just have to trust in God's grace.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Story: The lethe, pt. VIII
By 1200 hours, the number of people on the bridge exceeded the capacity specified by the designers. In addition to the usual crew of the 2nd shift, there were a number of dignitaries from the “United Earth Hegemony” government. The governor of the Martian colonies sat next to the commander of the Lunar outposts, the two men quietly laughing at some private joke. Next to them, looking bored as always was the Prime Minister of the European Union. Dobbins could not remember ever seeing the woman smile. If she was enjoying being on the Hyperion, she showed no sign of it. The Emperor of South America and the President of the United States of North America stood next to their chairs, listening to the slow, sonorous voice of the head of the Hegemony. By no means did all of the inhabitants of Earth live under the rule of the Hegemony, but far fewer lived outside than inside. The other dignitaries included the Prime Minister of the East Asian Republic, the commander of the Martian shipyards, and the Hyperion’s primary designer, Albert Yuntzen.
The bridge itself held all of the extra personnel with difficulty. Aside from the touch-sensitive panels that ringed the outside of the room for various secondary systems, and most of the dignitaries found themselves stuffed in between these outer stations and the inner area of the bridge. The captain’s station, which included readouts for every major system and basic controls that he could use, if necessary, stood at the very center of the bridge, a large, almost complete circle of touch-sensitive panels. Behind the captain’s station were the communications and tactical stations, facing forward. To the captain’s left was the vast, intricate control panels for the chief science officer, and to the right was the executive officer’s station. It looked like a smaller version of the captain’s station, a semicircle of panels facing forward. In front of everyone sat the helm and navigation controls, a vast set of panels operated by the helmsman. The remaining dignitaries who could not fit around the edge of the bridge found themselves stuffed into whatever space could be found within the inner bridge.
“All systems report ready, sir,” Brackers reported.
“Excellent, Commander, thank you,” Dobbins responded. “Mr. Skylar, when you’re ready, clear moorings at take us out of dry dock, full thrusters.”
Skylar’s hands flew over the panel with the fluidity that came from years of familiarity. “Aye, sir. Moorings cleared. Aft thrusters to 100%.”
On the holovision at the front of the bridge, the three-dimensional view of the dry dock ahead of the ship began to slide backwards as the Hyperion accelerated out of dry dock and began initiating orbit around Mars.
The bridge itself held all of the extra personnel with difficulty. Aside from the touch-sensitive panels that ringed the outside of the room for various secondary systems, and most of the dignitaries found themselves stuffed in between these outer stations and the inner area of the bridge. The captain’s station, which included readouts for every major system and basic controls that he could use, if necessary, stood at the very center of the bridge, a large, almost complete circle of touch-sensitive panels. Behind the captain’s station were the communications and tactical stations, facing forward. To the captain’s left was the vast, intricate control panels for the chief science officer, and to the right was the executive officer’s station. It looked like a smaller version of the captain’s station, a semicircle of panels facing forward. In front of everyone sat the helm and navigation controls, a vast set of panels operated by the helmsman. The remaining dignitaries who could not fit around the edge of the bridge found themselves stuffed into whatever space could be found within the inner bridge.
“All systems report ready, sir,” Brackers reported.
“Excellent, Commander, thank you,” Dobbins responded. “Mr. Skylar, when you’re ready, clear moorings at take us out of dry dock, full thrusters.”
Skylar’s hands flew over the panel with the fluidity that came from years of familiarity. “Aye, sir. Moorings cleared. Aft thrusters to 100%.”
On the holovision at the front of the bridge, the three-dimensional view of the dry dock ahead of the ship began to slide backwards as the Hyperion accelerated out of dry dock and began initiating orbit around Mars.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
It's Cold
It may be October, but it feels like November, or even December. An arctic air mass has plunged into NE Kansas, bringing unseasonably-cold temperatures. I endured this cold snap first-hand, refereeing three soccer games on Saturday out in the cold. I can't remember ever refereeing games that were that cold. It was not fun to referee the games, although it was interesting to see a kid commit a blatant hand ball. He reached out and spiked it to the ground, drawing a yellow card, a rarity in recreational soccer.
Today was equally cold. Thankfully, I was able to spend the day inside.
This coming week will be warmer, but still cooler than normal. This cool Fall is fitting with the trend of a cool summer. If the weather continues to be this cool, it could be a cold winter.
Today was equally cold. Thankfully, I was able to spend the day inside.
This coming week will be warmer, but still cooler than normal. This cool Fall is fitting with the trend of a cool summer. If the weather continues to be this cool, it could be a cold winter.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Story: The Lethe, pt. VII
“Our mission is to find out what became of the Lethe, taking advantage of this new jump drive technology to follow the Lethe’s course, assuming she’s still on it, overtake her, and find out what happened. If the Lethe still is function and if people are still on board, we are to take them—and the ship, if possible—to Elysion and help them establish the colony. Hopefully, they’ve just had a communications system malfunction but are otherwise fine. Any questions?”
Brackers spoke up, “Sir, exactly how are we supposed to track the Lethe? I know that we can use the jump drive to jump instantaneously to any point within 5 light-years of our present position, but that still leaves a lot of territory to cover. It’s 46 light-years to 47 Ursae Major. It could take a year or so to explore all of that distance, even if we jump frequently.”
“The Lethe used a very powerful Ion Drive,” Dobbins replied, “and would have left a trail that we should be able to pick up once we’re outside the Solar System. Lt. Commander Sawyer, I am correct in thinking that this ship has the sensors to scan 3-5 light years ahead of its current position, am I not.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Sawyer quietly.
“Then, this is the plan: we head out of the Solar System along the Lethe’s original path, pick up her trail, and then jump outward in 5 light-year increments, scanning ahead of us each time until we either find the Lethe or reach 47 Ursae Major. Comments?”
“What if we don’t find any sign of the Lethe and we reach Ursae?” asked Skylar.
“Let’s hope, Mr. Skylar,” Dobbins responded, “that it doesn’t come to that. This search is already going to be difficult enough if the Lethe is where she’s supposed to be. Other questions?
“Good. That’s it for now. We depart dry dock at 1300 hours sharp. Be to the bridge by 1200 hours for your shift. Dismissed.”
The senior staff rose almost as one to leave from the briefing room. They exited as they entered, talking in pairs or threes, only this time the conversation focused on the Lethe, even the conversation between Marquél and Skylar, who seemed to be arguing about the origin of the name Lethe. Dobbins just shook his head at those two as he turned off the briefing room lights and left for his quarters.
Brackers spoke up, “Sir, exactly how are we supposed to track the Lethe? I know that we can use the jump drive to jump instantaneously to any point within 5 light-years of our present position, but that still leaves a lot of territory to cover. It’s 46 light-years to 47 Ursae Major. It could take a year or so to explore all of that distance, even if we jump frequently.”
“The Lethe used a very powerful Ion Drive,” Dobbins replied, “and would have left a trail that we should be able to pick up once we’re outside the Solar System. Lt. Commander Sawyer, I am correct in thinking that this ship has the sensors to scan 3-5 light years ahead of its current position, am I not.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Sawyer quietly.
“Then, this is the plan: we head out of the Solar System along the Lethe’s original path, pick up her trail, and then jump outward in 5 light-year increments, scanning ahead of us each time until we either find the Lethe or reach 47 Ursae Major. Comments?”
“What if we don’t find any sign of the Lethe and we reach Ursae?” asked Skylar.
“Let’s hope, Mr. Skylar,” Dobbins responded, “that it doesn’t come to that. This search is already going to be difficult enough if the Lethe is where she’s supposed to be. Other questions?
“Good. That’s it for now. We depart dry dock at 1300 hours sharp. Be to the bridge by 1200 hours for your shift. Dismissed.”
The senior staff rose almost as one to leave from the briefing room. They exited as they entered, talking in pairs or threes, only this time the conversation focused on the Lethe, even the conversation between Marquél and Skylar, who seemed to be arguing about the origin of the name Lethe. Dobbins just shook his head at those two as he turned off the briefing room lights and left for his quarters.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Rambling Ruminations about Endurance
Endurance can be a paradox. In order to develop more, you must exhaust what you have. That is certainly true in running. You don't gain better endurance by resting too much.
I wonder: is the same true with life in general? Is the only way that God can helps us learn to persevere by taking us to the end of ourselves? I realize that our endurance and perseverance are ultimately the result of His grace at work in us, but at the same time, unless we are at the end of ourselves, we humans have a notorious habit of trying to rely on our strength. Perhaps, then, this need to learn perseverance is part of why God allows difficulty and hardship in the life of believers.
"In this world, you will have trouble..." (John 16:33) says Jesus in the midst of His final discourse with the disciples before His crucifixion. This world is fallen, crises happen. Relationships fail, emotions cloud rational judgment, and decisions that should result in good unintentionally cause evil. We constantly find ourselves tested by the circumstances of life. We need endurance to push through the hardship and honor God in the process. We can only do that in one way: through Jesus. This fact is why Jesus precedes, "In this world you will have trouble," with "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace." In other words, for Christians, the source of our peace in trial and our strength to keep going in hardship comes not out of ourselves but from He who dwells within us.
The challenge that we face, that I face, is to rely on the grace of the indwelling Spirit instead of on my own strength. It is in that grace that I hope to trust this week.
I wonder: is the same true with life in general? Is the only way that God can helps us learn to persevere by taking us to the end of ourselves? I realize that our endurance and perseverance are ultimately the result of His grace at work in us, but at the same time, unless we are at the end of ourselves, we humans have a notorious habit of trying to rely on our strength. Perhaps, then, this need to learn perseverance is part of why God allows difficulty and hardship in the life of believers.
"In this world, you will have trouble..." (John 16:33) says Jesus in the midst of His final discourse with the disciples before His crucifixion. This world is fallen, crises happen. Relationships fail, emotions cloud rational judgment, and decisions that should result in good unintentionally cause evil. We constantly find ourselves tested by the circumstances of life. We need endurance to push through the hardship and honor God in the process. We can only do that in one way: through Jesus. This fact is why Jesus precedes, "In this world you will have trouble," with "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace." In other words, for Christians, the source of our peace in trial and our strength to keep going in hardship comes not out of ourselves but from He who dwells within us.
The challenge that we face, that I face, is to rely on the grace of the indwelling Spirit instead of on my own strength. It is in that grace that I hope to trust this week.
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