Judgment Day (30 page)

CHAPTER 56 LIGHT IN THE SKY

Developing a low cost method of delivering a payload to orbit is a difficult technical challenge. Once orbit is achieved, however, propulsion through the vacuum of space presents fewer technical obstacles.

—
ALTERNATE PATHWAYS TO SPACE
, EDWARD NORTON

C
row reclined in his desk chair, feet on his mahogany desk, as comfortable in his funeral home office as he was in his own bed. This office was where he did his best thinking, and where he made the decisions that built his empire. Below him in the Master's temple, the plaster-of-paris deity resided, the avatar for the Master, the source of Crow's power.

Crow crossed his legs, the full weight of his legs now resting on the heel of one shoe. As usual, most of his thinking focused on the Fellowship. Shepherd had beaten the molestation charge but polls showed a third of America still believed he had abused children in his cult. That combined with the general dislike of fundamentalists would keep the heat of negative public opinion on the Fellowship. The Venus satellite was still a worry, but he hoped the Fellowship had been distracted from its technological goals by Shepherd's woes.

Rachel entered, wearing a leather skirt, walking directly to a mahogany cabinet, opening it to reveal an entertainment unit with the latest video technology. Rachel inserted a disk and pushed PLAY. Irritated, Crow rocked forward waiting for an explanation.

"The cult is flying
again,"
Rachel said, settling onto the corner of Crow's massive desk. Her leather skirt was slit up the side, exposing most of her thigh. "They're lifting out of both the California and Mexico compounds." Rachel fast-forwarded through the digitized video and then hit PLAY. "Look at the size of the pieces they are lifting to orbit."

On-screen Crow saw the California compound viewed from the Gilroy Ranch, which was east of the launch facility. The launch pad was obscured by buildings, but rising over the rooftops were two of the lifting spheres. Normally speedy, the spheres crept skyward. When they cleared the building Crow could see they were attached to a large cylinder. The circumference of the cylinder was much larger than the
God's Love
, which was the size of a space shuttle. Clearly different from any of the spaceships the cult had been flying, the cylinder was also different from the modules used to assemble the cult's space station.

"What is it?" Crow asked.

"I don't know, but look at this." Rachel stopped the video, then tuned the tuner to cable news. There on the screen was another cylinder being lifted by two more spheres.

"This is the second cylinder to be launched from Mexico."

"Three of them? They must be building another space station," Crow said.

"I don't think so," Rachel said. "Look here and here," Rachel said, while pointing at the flat wall screen.

Crow could see what looked to be hatchways located in three places along the length of the cylinders.

"The cylinders appear identical. I believe these hatches will match up and the three cylinders will join to form a single ship."

"A new class of spaceship."

"It's the next generation of ships—larger than the
God's Love
. Their innovation rate puts Intel to shame."

Crow studied the ship until it shrank to a dot in the sky.

"It must be the Mars ship. They'll give it some religious name of course."

"Something insipid," Rachel agreed.

"We've got to find a way to stop them," Crow said, desperate but with no idea of what to do.

Now the screen showed only a small glowing light in the Mexican sky. Staring at the dot Crow despaired. With every new technological leap the cult moved another step off the planet. Without a means of following them they would soon be out of his reach. He felt powerless. After a moment Crow said, "Rachel, gather the coven. We're going to worship tonight."

"Do you want to sacrifice a dog?"

"No, something special."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, waiting for direction.

"It's time for a human sacrifice."

Crow had expected a reaction from Rachel, but the resulting smile was so cold even he shivered.

CHAPTER 57 MARS RUN

In Roman mythology, Mars was the god of war. March was named for Mars and marked the beginning of the military campaign season which ended with a festival in October. Today we don't limit our conflicts to a single season.

—
UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT
, CHRISTINE MAITLAND

T
he Fellowship's deep-space cruiser,
Genesis
, was made up of three parallel cylinders, each capable of supporting the crew if the other two were damaged. The bulbous main drive joined the three cylinders at one end and provided the primary propulsion for the ship. Electrical power and artificial gravity were provided by secondary drives located in each cylinder. Two lifting spheres, the
Rising Savior and Lamb of God
, were attached to the
Genesis
, one each to two of the cylinders. Riding piggyback on the third cylinder was the
God's Love
. Attached to the forward ends of the three cylinders was the rectangular-shaped Mars Habitat.

NASA had contracted with the Fellowship to deliver the Mars Habitat to the Martian surface where seven scientists would spend three months. Since there were no seas on Mars, and so no sea level, elevations were measured differently. Mean surface level was the artificial datum used as the standard for elevation. The Mars Habitat would be delivered near the Martian equator, three kilometers above the datum. Positioned between an ancient seabed and a small mountain range, the astronauts could explore diverse Martian features.

Micah settled into the pilot's seat of the primary flight deck and plugged in the earphones. Breaking into the telemetry that was broadcast to Earth when they weren't using the voice frequencies, he contacted his new wife on New Hope.

"New Hope station, this is
Genesis
. Do you read me, New Hope?"

Micah repeated the message several times, then sat back to wait. Mars was 130 million miles from Earth at this time of year, and it took nearly twelve minutes for a radio signal to transmit to Earth. Studying the looming red planet, Micah tried to imagine living on the arid surface with its wispy atmosphere. Except for a few lichen, life from Earth could not live here. Could the planet be terraformed? Possibly, but the result would always be a poor imitation of Earth, with one-third gravity and a thin atmosphere. The Fellowship had no interest in Mars but Earth governments were terrified the Fellowship was going to claim the planet for themselves. The Mars Habitat project was the U.S. government's effort to make its own claim to Mars, so NASA had been surprised when the Fellowship agreed to deliver the habitat.

"Genesis
, this is New Hope. It's Shelly, Micah. I was at the doctor yesterday and everything looks normal with the pregnancy. No major problems here, although our friends in Congress are keeping the heat on. Stoop filed another suit, this one in the World Court trying to get us to adhere to the International Law of the Sea. Stoop's lawyers are claiming provisions of the treaty can be extrapolated to any undeveloped natural resources—including Mars. Our friends in the U.N. also voted to extend the moon treaty to the rest of the solar system and now claim jurisdiction over Mars. Emissaries from the U.N. delivered a copy of the treaty to Stephen. He tore it up after they left. I miss you, Micah, and I love you. This message will repeat."

The computer automatically repeated the message while it waited for the confirmation signal from the
Genesis
. It was impossible to converse over distances measured in light-minutes, so they had learned to anticipate questions and tightly pack their messages.

"I love you too, Shelly," Micah responded when her message finished repeating. "We'll achieve orbit within the hour and land the habitat shortly after. Shuttling down the supplies will take another few days. Let Stephen worry about the lawsiiits and Floyd manage the properties. I know it's hard for you, but let them pick up some of the load. How's Junior? Is he still climbing out of his crib? How is Daniel doing?"

Impatiently he waited for the message to repeat and then for the reply. Finally, he heard his wife's voice again.

"Stephen's people have filed countersuits and have restraining orders against Stoop's kooks in two states. I finally gave up and put Junior into a bed. He loves it. The Remples are still having a tough time. Daniel ran away again yesterday. The police picked him up hitchhiking to San Francisco. By the way, I've decided the baby's room should be yellow, that way it won't matter if we get a boy or girl. How about Abraham and Judith for names?"

Ira entered, climbing into the copilot's seat, ignoring Micah. Lowering his voice, Micah sent his final message.

"Time to go to work, Shelly. No on Abraham, yes on Judith. Wish I could be there to coach you through the delivery. Bye for now."

Micah wanted to be with Shelly, knowing he was missing a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A baby has only one birth and one first smile, and he wouldn't be there for either.

"Are you working or not, Micah?" Ira groused.

Jerked out of his reverie Micah focused on the task at hand. The complexities of the landing soon absorbed him, his loneliness temporarily forgotten.

CHAPTER 58 MARS ORBIT

Mariner
4's cameras were trained on the planet Mars, and the pictures were radioed back to Earth. They revealed something unexpected and disappointing: a cratered surface that looked more like that of the Moon than that of Earth. Of the "canals"—and of life—there was no sign.

—
UNEXPLAINED:

MYSTERIES OF MIND, SPACE AND TIME
, PETER BROOKESMITH (ED.)

H
aving Mark Shepherd and Ira Breitling on board vexed Micah. He revered the leaders of the Fellowship and wanted to please them, so their presence distracted him. Mark kept out of the way during landing operations, but Ira was copiloting the ship and Micah found him difficult to work with. "I wouldn't do it that way," he would mumble, or "That's one way to do it," implying he had a better way.

Despite Ira's constant second-guessing, Micah was successful in directing the landing of the Mars Habitat. The research station was now safely settled on the Martian surface, tucked behind the lee side of a ridge to help protect it from winds that could reach 200 miles per hour. Once the habitat was down, half the astronauts stayed on the surface to anchor their new home while the remainder helped the
Genesis
crew land the supply modules that were maneuvered out of the hatches in zero gravity. It was three full days before the habitat was fully functional and they were able to shuttle down the last of the astronauts. Once the lifting spheres and the
God's Love
were again secured to the
Genesis
, Micah contacted Commander Grady in the habitat.

"We're ready to leave orbit, Craig. Do you have any last-minute needs?"

"Let's see," Craig Grady's voice crackled from the surface. "We've got the hot tub, the pizza oven, the pool table. Nope, it looks like we have everything we need. Just don't forget to come back for us."

"Remember, if you move, please leave a forwarding address. Good luck, Craig."

"Bring me a piece of an asteroid, Micah."

Signing off, Micah turned to look at Mark, who was standing behind the pilot's seats. "Well, Mark, do we proceed?"

Mark looked at Ira.

"The main drive performed as designed on the trip out," Ira said.

Now they both looked at Mark, waiting for the decision.

"Let's go," Mark said.

"Next stop the asteroid belt," Micah said, then punched commands into the computer that would take them deeper into space than any human had ever been.

The distance from the sun to the Earth is designated as one astronautical unit (AU). Mars is 1.5 AUs from the sun and the asteroid belt another AU beyond that. The
Genesis
made the voyage to Mars in ninety days. The voyage from Mars to the asteroid belt took only forty days.

Over five thousand asteroids carry numbers or names in the belt, many more drift in an endless orbit, content to carry no human designation. The
Genesis
was now approaching one of the largest asteroids, Vesta, an irregular rock 336 miles long.

With Micah at the controls, the
Genesis
was within a mile of the asteroid, the ship's lights illuminating the oblong rock so cameras could record the encounter. But the crew of the
Genesis had
little interest in the asteroids and made perfunctory studies, gathering samples and taking special care to get high-quality recordings—a network television deal was awaiting their return.

Micah maneuvered the
Genesis
around the asteroid until it shielded them from the Earth. When the cameras had thoroughly scanned the surface the lights were turned off and the
Genesis
pulled back twenty miles from the asteroid. Then the internal gravity was reactivated. Once they could move about comfortably again, Ira, Micah, and Mark gathered on the flight deck. Bob and the rest of the Fellowship crew were crowded in behind. Ira spoke first.

"The flight from Mars was nearly problem free. We had six technical

failures, all in minor systems. The engines performed to specs and at only seven percent of capacity. I see no reason we shouldn't proceed with the test."

"Micah, what about the flight systems?" Mark asked.

"Functioning as designed and all backups are in working order," Micah said.

"Life-support systems are operating normally," Mark said. Then turning, "Bob, or anyone else back there, do you have any reason we shouldn't proceed?" A chorus of "No's" followed. "Then let's pray for protection and get under way."

Bob squeezed into the front as they joined hands and the others formed a chain down into the depths of the ship. When they were linked physically they joined in prayer, praising their maker and savior, then praying for guidance and protection. They prayed to be worthy in the sight of God and for success in their mission. Then each turned to their tasks. Ira and Micah settled into the pilot's seats with Bob and Mark into the engineering stations behind.

The next hour was spent running through extensive checklists for every system and every backup. There was an environmental-control subsystem, food-and-water-management subsystems, and a waste-management subsystem in addition to redundant flight systems.

Like the New Hope station, the
Genesis
used a two-gas atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen, maintained at 14.13 Newtons/sq cm (14.7 lb/sq in).

The environmental-control subsystem stored, distributed, purified, and conditioned the ship's atmosphere, while maintaining atmospheric pressure. Each cylinder had its own duct system complete with heat pumps and fans, all connected through the bridges linking the cylinders. To remove carbon dioxide, excess heat, water vapor, and dust, each cylinder was equipped with particle screens, activated charcoal filters, and beds of zeolite (aluminum silicate). Except for the microchip control circuits, the technology had changed little since the 1980s.

Computers monitored all critical components, but Ira preferred to have human eyes in key positions. Once the checklists were complete the navigational computer was calibrated using Earth, Mars, and Polaris as anchors for three axes. There was no communication with the New Hope station.

With everyone secured at their station, the gravity was discontinued, their stomachs fluttering as they quickly reached zero gee. With a last look at the stars, Micah closed the shields over the ports. Accelerating at one gee, Micah took them a safe distance from Vesta before increasing power to the drive and accelerating to two gees. In an endless rotation, Ira demanded reports from all stations despite the all-green indicator board before him, and the lack of warning beeps from the computer. A significant portion of the Fellowship's assets were invested in the
Genesis
. The loss of the ship would impoverish the Fellowship, but the loss of their leaders would be the end of their movement.

"We've just passed point three c," Micah said, his words heard all over the ship.

The satellite they had used to test the capacity of their drive had reached only a tenth the speed of light. Now three times faster than they had ever achieved, they continued to accelerate at two gees. The computer controlled their flight, preprogrammed to achieve speed greater than subatomic particles.

"Point four c," Micah announced, and then, "point five c."

The ship was silent now, the crew monitoring all indicators.

"Point six c," Micah said. Then, "Mark, it's not too late to stop this. We don't know what will happen as we approach the speed of light. According to the theory of general relativity we shouldn't be able to reach it at all. As we near light speed we should acquire mass. If we compensate by increasing drive we will only acquire more mass. In other words we can never achieve light speed."

"We've been through this, Micah," Mark said. "It's not possible to achieve light speed, but then it isn't possible to defy gravity either. All things are possible in Him, Micah."

"I know. I just wish you and Ira would have waited at Vesta. Point eight c," Micah said. "Acceleration is slowing."

The invisible hand pressing Micah to his seat let up slightly.

"Point nine c."

"Incredible," Mark said.

Now Micah's eyes were glued to the digital display, watching their speed continue to climb, inching toward the speed of light. He expected disaster at any moment.

"Point nine two c," Micah said.

Still they accelerated. Because it was considered impossible to reach the speed of light, little was known about the effect on passengers. Time would slow, relative to Earth, but what other effects? Some believed mass accelerated to light speed would become charged particles—a cosmic wave. Others speculated travel at light speed through the space-time curve would return you to your point of origin at the same moment you reached light speed—you could go nowhere fast.

"Point nine seven c," Micah said.

Their biggest concern with travel at these speeds had been collision with objects. As they accelerated, the energy of collisions increased proportionately, until even a microscopic particle could tear through the
Genesis
. Encountering a small boulder would release energy equivalent to a fusion bomb. Though experiments with the Venus satellite, as well as their own ship, reassured them. As they accelerated, the drive field funneled particles around the path of the ship. With enough speed, nothing could collide with the ship. Unless the object encountered was large, there was little danger of collision.

"Point nine nine c."

Now the crew collectively held their breath. Breaking the sound barrier created shock waves that could tear airplanes apart. They worried there might be unknown parallel phenomena to breaking the speed of light. Watching the display he saw the moment of truth arrive.

"One c," Micah said.

A warning beep from the computer was accompanied by a red warning indicator. Reflexively Micah and Ira checked the displays locating the problem while they continued with the flight plan.

"What is it?" Mark asked.

"We've lost navigational lock," Ira said. "It's not serious. The computer switched to gyroscopic."

Without stellar reference points the computer used internal sensors to measure variations and compute course and speed. It was a temporary solution with much greater potential for error. A few seconds of eternity passed and then the speed indicator was back. Micah gasped. "One point two c," he said.

"Micah, Ira, switch to the external camera," Mark said.

Ira turned on the monitor and switched to the camera mounted in the nose of the command cylinder—the image was black. Thinking the camera was damaged, Micah switched to a camera mounted just forward of the main drive. Now he could see the cylinders making up the ship, but still the sky was black.

"Where are the stars?" Ira asked.

"Maybe we better shut it down, Mark?" Micah said.

"No," Mark said. "We're nearly to the end of the flight."

The next few minutes were tense, the entire crew alternating between scanning their instruments and staring at their monitors, searching for stars. Then the program reached the deceleration phase and the ship was rotated so that the crew would once again be pushed back into their seats. Deceleration began and Mark watched the speed indicator as it crept backward from one point three times the speed of light. When they dropped below light speed the navigation computer came to life at the same time the stars reappeared. Cheers erupted from deep in the ship and relief spread among the flight crew. Ira and Micah remained focused as the computer struggled to identify the bright dots in the blackness. Then the computer signaled success and began computing position. A few seconds later they knew where they were. As if one they turned to the monitor to see a bright dot growing in the middle of the screen, a smaller dot to one side. Ira's hand came up, shaking noticeably. Touching the dot with one finger he said, "Pluto."

"And Charon," Micah added, touching the other dot.

Then they clasped hands and for the first time since meeting Ira, Micah saw the one-eyed man smile.