Dark Star Rising Second Edition (Pebbles in The Sky) (21 page)

“That is very good news, I will pass that along to my friends.  It will take away some of the sting of the cost I think,” Benjamin said with a laugh.  “Oh, one more question.  How do we stand on the birth control vaccine?”

“Well, in theory it is ready.  We prepared a small batch and gave it to Doctor Basjani at NIH.  The government wants to be able to offer it at no cost to people at all government health clinics.  If a young woman agrees to get the vaccine, then they can administer it and then enter it into their computer information systems so she automatically gets the no child tax credit from the IRS without a bunch of paperwork hassle.  I believe it will go over very well, but it is slightly more expensive to produce as it takes growing the tissues in vitro to produce the altered sperm cells.  Unfortunately, it will probably be cost prohibitive for any small third world country to do it independently due to the cost of the lab resources to produce it.”

Benjamin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  “Peter, I am going to send one of the production specialists over from my new pharmaceutical company over to look at your techniques for producing that.  Maybe he can come up with a more economical method of production.  Would you please share it with him?”

Brett nodded and started to speak but just then Amy entered the break room followed by Jessica and Dr. Tomes.  “All done,” said Amy.  “It did not hurt anything like I was expecting.  As a matter of fact, since I had to fast for the procedure, I could really use some lunch.  I guess I better enjoy eating now before I start getting morning sickness too,” she grinned at Jessica.   Jessica gave her a knowing wink.

Benjamin stood and gave Brett and Jessica and Dr. Tomes a big hug. “If this works, nothing can repay you for what you have done for me.”

Taking Amy by the arm, he led the way to the door.  “You name what you want to eat, and it will be done,” he said to her.

“How about a chili-dog and milkshake from Dairy Queen?” she asked.  They all stared at her in horror.  “I was just kidding! Geez guys, I know I am eating for more than one now.  How about I have a good nutritious salad with grilled salmon on top?”

“There you go, that sounds better,” said Jessica as Benjamin and Amy walked out the door.  Dr. Tomes shook Brett and Jessica’s hands and followed Benjamin out the door.

Brett and Jessica stood and watched them drive off.  Brett took Jessica’s hand and gave it a kiss.  “I wonder how much he is paying her,” Brett said.

“Five million dollars plus all expenses,” said Jessica.

“You have got to be kidding me!” he exclaimed.

“What is wrong with that?” she asked slyly. “How much would you pay me to have your baby?”

“Well I sure don’t have five million dollars,” Peter said.

She turned and started back into the lab.  “Well, you better start saving then, because my period is almost six weeks late,” she called as she went inside.  Brett stood there too stunned to speak.  Then, a big grin split his face as he rushed in after her.

Chapter 21

June 28
th
, 2019

Cape Canaveral, Florida

President Montgomery sat in the Cape Canaveral viewing stands with NASA Director David Honstein and the new Director of Space Forces, General Robert Seale.  Robert Seale had been chosen as director of the new agency due to his experience working with NASA as well as several of the other major aeronautical engineering firms that had provided vehicles for the Air Force X37B space plane program.  At one time, he was in the pipeline to train as a space shuttle pilot until that program had been scrapped.  They were here to watch the launch of a new space race.  This time the United States was not competing with another country for one-upmanship and bragging rights.  It was a race to build a space defense network to protect the planet from the rain of asteroids and comets that was expected to start with the passing of the Brown Dwarf, or Peter’s Star, as it was now being frequently called by the general public.  The President smiled to herself.  As much as the scientific community and Peter Rockwell himself had fought it, the name given to the Brown Dwarf by the press had stuck and it was just referred to as Peter’s Star now.

Sitting on three separate pads in front of them, each about a mile apart were two of the new NASA Space Launch System Heavy boosters and a Space-X Falcon 9 Heavy Booster.  This type of cooperation would have never have happened ten years ago.   The two SLS each held part of the trusses of the new space station ‘Alpha’.  The Space-X Falcon 9 Heavy had a Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream chaser with seven Astronauts sitting atop it.  The Falcon 9 would launch first putting the Dream Chaser into a low Earth orbit where it would Rendezvous with a temporary work and habitation module provided by Bigelow Space Industries.  The SLS and their cargos would follow in about four hours.  Then, the work would begin in earnest.  The astronauts, who could more aptly called space engineers at this point, would begin assembly of the trusses.  The trusses would become the back bone of the new low Earth orbit Space Station Alpha.

After Russia had pulled out of the International Space Station Program two years ago there was no longer any capability of launching astronauts to that platform.  Having almost reached its projected life expectancy, it had been broken apart and de-orbited. This had resulted in some spectacular fireworks as the modules burned up in the Earth’s
atmosphere.  Today would only be the third time since then that man had been back in space.  The other two times had been test flights of the Space-X/Dream Chaser Hybrid.  David Honstein reached over and handed the President a pair of binoculars.  “We are into the final countdown Madam President.”

The large digital counters in front of the viewing stands paused at thirty seconds, and then begin counting down again.  At about nine seconds there was a flash of light and flame at the bottom of the booster, and smoke billowed out in an expanding cloud.  At about six seconds, the sound of thunder hit them.  At zero seconds on the counter, the rocket seem to sit there on a pillow of smoke and flame, and then it began rising. It accelerated rapidly and climbed into the blue sky above.  The sight of those seven brave men riding a controlled explosion into space to begin the task of protecting their fellow men brought tears to the President’s eyes, and an immense sense of pride.  While the rest of the world was drawing back into itself and engaging in squabbles and war, the United States was once again showing itself as the shining symbol of hope for all the people of Earth.  Their country alone had to shoulder this massive burden.

After the rocket was out of sight and only a slowly drifting cloud of vapor and exhaust remained, the President stood.  “Congratulations to both NASA and the Space Force gentlemen.  Hopefully, this is the beginning of a new era in space for us and the cornerstone of our future defense against any objects from space that may threaten our planet.  Now, if you will excuse me I have a plane to catch to Atlanta where I am to inspect the work being done on the new capitol complex.”  She stood and made her way out of the stands escorted by her security detail.

David and Robert shook hands and Robert made his way to his car.  Robert was flying to Houston to monitor the rendezvous of the new trusses with the work module and David was on his way to Texas to check on the progress of the new Space Force Launch Center. David glanced around the view that was available from the viewing stand before he left.  He could see the huge earthen berms that were being pushed up around the Cape Canaveral Launch Facilities.  Huge mounds of dirt and rock were being erected to protect the facility from the high tides that were expected when Peter’s Star passed.  They were being raised to seventy five feet above sea level.  It was a monumental task and millions of tons of earth were being excavated, hauled and pushed into place.  He just hoped it was enough.  But he thought, that is why the newer and larger Space Force Facility was being built in Texas above
the reach of the encroaching tides.  Heaven only knew that it would take both of them operating at a frenetic pace to launch all that was needed into space.

             
                                                       
…

The President relaxed in her cabin as Air Force One lifted off from the runway at Cape Canaveral and turned toward Atlanta.  She was in the midst of a one week tour of all the huge engineering projects that were underway.  She shuddered to think of all the money being spent, but then smiled to herself.  Her Presidency could now claim that it had the lowest un-employment rate of any President since World War II.  Every able-bodied man and woman was hard at work, either at their previous jobs, or the huge new national projects that were now underway.  Five days ago, she was touring a massive new nuclear power plant being built on the Savannah River in South Carolina.  There were eight more just like it being built across the Southern states.  Each facility consisted of eight nuclear reactors that were of the latest design. They were being built with numerous redundant systems to prevent them from being breeched during any of the earthquakes they may have to endure as the Brown Dwarf passed.  It was hoped that these plants could take up the slack of all the northern dams and power plants that would eventually succumb to the snow and encroaching glaciers as the planet cooled.

After that she had flown to Northern Mexico, where with funding from the United States, massive irrigated fields were being prepared for raising crops that should feed not only Mexico but also contribute a great deal to the food supplies for the United States when it lost its bread basket states in the north.  Unfortunately, the Imperial Valley of California, if it survived massive earthquakes that were predicted along the San Andreas Fault, would no longer have the climate to grow many of the fruits and vegetables that it was now famous for.  The poverty stricken area that had been Northern Mexico was now booming with jobs and opportunity.  The drug barons and smugglers had been rooted out by US Special Forces and Mexican police forces.  It was now a safe and stable place to live and find work.  A large portion of the illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States had moved back there as the agricultural industry flourished. Hospitals and housing for the workers had been started and it promised to be a very worthwhile investment.  Mexico was flourishing with the influx of wealthy people from all over the world seeking a warmer and safer place to live.

Central America’s economy was also booming.  Although it had been known as a good place for wealthy Americans to retire for the past fifteen years, its population was now swelling with people from the Scandinavian Countries as the populations of those countries were trying to find a new home in warmer climates.  When the cold winters started, the glaciers would overrun all of northern Europe. The people who lived there now had no other place to go but to the areas around the equator.  For the rich it was no problem, but if you happened to be less fortunate, the future was grim.

Two days ago she had stopped in St Louis, Missouri where a Pharmaceutical Company set up by a group of wealthy philanthropists headed by the Billionaire Benjamin Greco was manufacturing and distributing the remarkable new vaccines for free to the third world countries and to areas with large numbers of the poor around the world.  Through their own network of clinics, the philanthropists were vaccinating hundreds of millions of people in Africa, India, South America, and much of Southeast Asia.  By their estimate, over two billion people would receive the vaccines by the time the mass campaign was completed the end of next year.  The wondrous vaccines had been developed by the two Nobel Prize winning researchers, Brett and Susan Driskall.  She remembered talking to them almost three and a half years ago when they had just made their initial research breakthrough.

Now, the two Driskalls were in charge of the DNA Ark project.  They had been tasked with recording and saving in redundant computer databank repositories, the DNA of every creature or plant alive on the planet that they could before the arrival of the Dwarf Star. It was a monumental task.  Many of these plants and animals would go extinct after the encounter. It was hoped someday that they could somehow be brought back and re-established in controlled habitats when the Earth had settled down and stabilized in its new orbit.

The pilot called her cabin and informed her that he would bank the plane into a turn so that she could see the new capitol complex below on her side of the plane as they approached the airport in Atlanta.  Realizing that trying to keep the nation’s capital in Washington was going to be impossible as the winters grew colder and the glaciers advanced, Congress had voted to build a new capitol just south of Atlanta, Georgia.  South of the city a massive new complex was being erected.  There would be a new Presidential residence, new Senate buildings, and all the underlying support facilities that the far flung agencies of government demanded.  Looking out the window she saw a huge area of red Georgia clay that had been scraped away from around Lake Jackson.  Several hundred thousand acres had been purchased all around the lake and the new capitol was being built in a circle around the lake.  It was going to be a beautiful complex.

A new Interstate highway connecting I-75 and I-20 had been built to connect the new capitol with the nearby metropolis of Atlanta and the surrounding roadways.  Many had argued that the cost was too extreme, but in the end through a popular vote, it was decided that the country needed a capitol to be proud off.  When Washington was evacuated and lost to the ice and snow, the new one would be ready to receive the government.  Below her, she could see miles of new streets being paved. Even from the air, she could make out thousands of bulldozers and earth movers hard at work.