World of Good - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Plans for... Return”

The big day was here and we were anxious to see what our future held for us. My crew was gathered in front of an assorted group of scientific and governmental advisors for a discussion on strategies for a return trip to Earth. Although the voyage home seemed grim, the Vlancos seem to be a resourceful people and offered to do what ever they could to help us. Dale came in late and shuffled over to where the rest of us were sitting. He looked a little under the weather, so I leaned over to find out what was up.

“Where have you been?” I whispered to him. “You know I’m responsible for your actions.
“Oh, it’s alright. I’ll tell you later,” he nervously whispered back.

Hadso, a demure spokesman of the advisors, stood up to greet us. “Salutation to you and your friends, Alex.” He moved toward the center of the room. The other Vlancos sat on one side of the room, we on the other. “I hope we have shown you hospitality, since you have been on Onos,” he said, pausing for a reaction.”

“Yes, thank you, we all have been very intrigued with your culture, and your gracious generosity,” I responded, politely.

“That is good to hear. While you and your crew spent time exploring our culture, we were able to repair your vessel’s navigational processor destroyed in the battle.”

“Thank you,” I replied. We smiled at each other—neither of us knew what the other was truly thinking.

“However, we have been debating options for your return trek,” Hadso said, rubbing his chin. “We have some difficulty with regard to your circumstances and are still deliberating how to proceed. There are ethical and scientific arguments to consider. This may take some time.”

I stood to address the Vlancos. “Before you continue, I need to say a few words. I realize this may be an impossible project for your scientists to overcome, and we are ready to accept the consequences. We arrived here by accident, and we don’t expect you to resolve all our problems for us.” I turned back to my crew briefly to see how they felt. The others slumped where they sat. Even before the meeting started, I sensed some apprehension, and my comments probably weren’t helping any.

“Alex, that is not what I meant.” said Hadso. “We believe we have the capability to develop a method to help you get back to your home planet. And yet, we have an ethical complication.”

I cocked my head. “I don’t understand.”

“Our technology is intertwined with our ethics, Alex. “Some of the technology has not been developed, because we have not found the benefits to our culture and in some cases found detriments in pursuing portions of technology. I would like to introduce, Spaest. He will indulge us in the scientific aspects of your dilemma.”

Chip leaned over. “He’s the scientist I was talking about.”

“Thank you, Hadso,” Spaest said with a bow. He stepped in the center, clasped his hands together, and paced a bit. He glanced back at his associates, then looked over at us. “The repercussions to develop certain technologies may actually create negativity. For example, to achieve deep space travel at the velocity needed to return you and your crew in an acceptable time period, would require withholding a considerable amount of economic value, which is used to support individuals on local planets and satellites to stabilize their survival. We have many concerns at this time that require our resources, such as the magnetic disturbance from a subtle shift in the Tri-Star rotation that has been a nuisance to us in the last year. One of the power sources we have investigated, may yield success for your return. But it is a very unstable source and experiments would require much sacrifice to achieve this cause. Ultimately, we do not consider it a viable endeavor at this time.”

I stood up. “So you have a source of energy, but it’s to costly to investigate. Does that mean we are going to be stranded here, or are there any other alternatives?”

Spaest sat down, as Hadso rose to speak. At this time Alex, we have not found a solution. It may be difficult to hear that we must evaluate how much of a sacrifice it would take for your return. To test such a project could require the death of a test pilot.”

“Well that is out of the question. If we work with you, I am sure a quicker solution could be found.” I doubted my own words.

Hadso glanced back to the other advisors, then dropped his head and shoulders, with a deep sigh.

“Thank you Alex for being considerate. It is admirable and optimistic of you, but only time will allow us to achieve those worthy goals and only the Creator knows how much time it would take. Would you accept finding a quick solution to leave, as well as a long one... and growing old with us?”

Wow that hit me like a bombshell! Until now, I and my crew thought that with their technology, it would be maybe weeks or months before they found a solution. To let go of the life we had on Earth was a whole other issue. I saw the life get sucked out of my crew as they dropped their heads.

I wasn’t ready to give up quite yet. “Do we have a choice? The only other suggestion I have is that we try to brainstorm on the prototype data that Earth was working on for deep space missions. It was the Hydrogen PhotoIonic Gravimetric system. Check our database and see if that may be an option.”

I was grasping for straws, but I really didn’t want my crew to fall apart and lose hope of returning.

“Alright, Alex. We will consider that option,” he said, with a smile. It didn’t light up my crew‘s faces, but it was a start. “We Vlancos never withdraw from a good challenge. And it seems as though we have one here.”

***

My crew and I decided to take a walk and discus thoughts about the dilemma we were in. We made our way to a green-area with plenty of aquatic creatures in the meandering waterways. Local fowl were perched in the trees above. In normal circumstances, it would have been beautiful and romantic, but under these conditions it was difficult to appreciate it.

“What are we going to do now?” asked Dale.

“We don’t have much choice, we work and wait,” Chip piped in nonchalantly.

“Well, I don’t plan on making this my permanent home,” Tom added firmly.

Tammy had to get her two cents in too. “Well, I know we can all fret and worry, but don’t discount an opportunity to enjoy ourselves on this planet too.”

Tom turned to her and said, “Oh yeah, that’s easy for you to say, you’ve got a new beau. But I don’t intend to leave my last surviving kin alone 25,000 light years away.” Tom’s eyes started to well up. He turned and kicked a lump of foliage emerging from the path. Shelby patted his left shoulder.

“Hey, maybe Earth sent out a rescue vessel to find us.” I said, trying to lighten up the mood. Everyone looked at me over their nose with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding kind of look. “Okay, okay,” I said raising my hands in surrender. “It’s a long shot, but not impossible.”

They shook their heads and looked away. The stars were low in the sky and the evening was warm. There was a curious set of clouds that looked like a group of cumulus clouds with a hole in the center. Like benign tornadoes hovering in the sky. With the reddish hue from the stars, it really was a sight to see.

“You…are…beautiful,” Shelby spoke to the clouds.

“It’s nova!” said Dale.

We kicked some stones, waved to some Vlanco family’s walking through the path, and threw out ideas. All of the sudden I realized what it was like to be an alien. I was separated from my friends and family, only be to stranded in an unfamiliar world. Since I was a white American, I never experienced the exclusionary conditions that a foreigner would encounter. Even though they have greeted us warmly here and they welcome us like family, we still felt like outcasts. Maybe Tammy would understand, because her parents migrated from South America to the States, and maybe Tom would understand, because he was originally from Nigeria. In a way we are all aliens, not just in the physical way but in a moral way too. It’s like living with Mother Theresa—only millions of them. I even feel kind of dirty when I’m around the Vlancos...like they had a better-than-thou attitude. But that’s not true. The they just happen to be a very virtuous people.

“I don’t know if I could handle living with these people for very long,” said Dale, who seemed to be reading my thoughts.

“I wouldn’t mind it for awhile,” said Chip, “the research they have is a gold mind.”

“Yeah, but would you want to stay here for the rest of your life?” inquired Tom.

“I could be persuaded to stay. As long as they left me alone, and didn’t pester me with their dogma,” retorted Chip.

“Oh speaking of dogs,” said Dale, “that reminds me of the cartoon with this family of dogs driving a hovercar with the bumper sticker that said ‘have you licked your kids today?”

Shelby chuckled and the rest of us stood there and groaned.

Chip scowled at Dale and snapped back. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know, it just came to me when you said dogma,” Dale said, meekly.

We all just stared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. I grabbed Dale and gave him a nooggie. “You’re great, buddy, I’m glad we have you along, even though you go off the deep end sometimes.”

I turned back to Chip and Tom with regained concern for our situation. “Chip, with the research you have done on Earth and what you have gathered here, do think it is possible that we could come up with something that the Vlancos have missed?”

“Highly unlikely, Alex. Their computers communicate with one another like you and I do right now, the only thing left out is the human error and ethics,” said Chip, bluntly.

“Yes, but could their ethical constraints, which are superimposed on the computers, affect the way their computers come to conclusions?” I added.

“Good thinking, Alex. Their high moral standards could be infringing on results that would not necessarily be of a concern on Earth. Bbut we can’t ask them to change their computer program boundaries to fit our needs...or could we?” I could see Chip’s mind whirling, always up for a new challenge. “They don’t have to know that we uploaded relevant data pertinent to space travel from their computer to our ship’s computer. It’s always better halving two teams working the same problem.”

“Not bad, Chip. We wouldn’t have to ask the Vlancos to violate their ethics, and it may give us an option they would normally overlook.” The atmosphere seemed a little brighter.

Tom grunted. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our computer has only so much storage. The volume of data needed to digest could be too much to handle.”

“It will be tricky,” said Chip. He shifted into instruction mode. “However, the information that is uploaded to our ship could be scrutinized and dissected. Irrelevant information could be discarded, allowing new information to be uploaded and evaluated. Unimportant data that is already on file but not needed—such as historical data—could be removed. If push comes to shove, I could add more memory to our systems, but I may have to get the Vlancos to share certain equipment to do it.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said, trying to keep the emotional momentum on the upswing.

Shelby squirmed a bit. “But shouldn’t we tell them what we are going to do first?”

I set my hand on her shoulder. “Shelby, I think due to the circumstances, we should take advantage of a ‘what they don’t know wont hurt them’ approach. It may be the only hope we have.”

“But what if they put a stop to it for some ethical reason?” pressed Shelby.

“We’ll deal with that bridge when we get to it. I don’t intend on surrendering to staying here the rest of my life. But I won’t approve of this unless we are all in agreement. Are we? How about a show of hands…for those in agreement?”

Everyone raised their hands quickly except for Shelby. She sighed, then slowly crept her hand up with a squeamish expression on her face.

I sighed with relief. “Okay, then it’s agreed. Let’s figure out how to implement this beast of a plan. We got here in the blink of an eye, why not the reverse? ”

“It may even take years before we could come up with something viable,” added Chip.

“Oh, thanks Chip for putting a depression on my excitement,” said Tammy, “you sounded so confident a minute ago.”

Chip was indignant. “I didn’t say I couldn’t find a solution. What I meant was that it may take years before we could...”

“Hold it!” I said cutting off Chip. “This is only a start guys. We have to begin somewhere and unless you have a better idea, this is our best option.”

There was an agreeable murmur from the crew. I extended out my hand to the group. One by one, everyone smacked it with earnest agreement.

“Nova!“ Dale whispered loudly, staring back up at the sky.

“Those clouds are starting to look a little spooky,” said Tom nervously.

Sure enough, the clouds were haunting. They glowed deep red, with a turquoise sky behind. In the center they were pitch black. The sight brought shivers up my spine.

Then without warning, the wind began to pick up and musical sirens flooded the area with sound. A few people ran past us, and some people in the distance were waving to us to come. Before we knew what was happening, dust was swirling about and the beautiful tornado group was starting to touch down. The air became thick and our vision became obscure. Before we knew it, the cloud had overtaken us and we could barely see one another.

A bright laser beam shot out from a structure, I assumed it was a beacon. I motioned for my crew to follow me and we directed ourselves toward the source. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep our balance and cover our faces at the same time. Dust particles had whipped up in all directions as we fought our way to the light.

Chip was directly behind me. I yelled for him to pass on that they grab the wrist of one another for stability and to keep a connection while we worked our way to safety. I felt like a teacher with school children playing a game of snake through the playground. Our bodies rippled in the tornadic wind. A large object knocked Tammy’s feet from under her and Shelby lost her grip. Dale was on the end and struggled to use both hands so as not to lose her. The freight train sound that normally accompanies a tornado didn’t compare to the harmony that several tornadoes made. It was deafening and absolutely frightening.

By this time we were on all fours, just trying to stay upright. The beacon of light ws now directly overus. It grew in intensity and covered us like a cocoon. So much so, that the wind whipping around us—abruptly stopped. We collapsed forward to the ground on our faces. From upheaval to calmness in an instant. We rolled over, still coughing out the dust. I looked up at the torrent above us while we recovered in this cocoon of serenity. It was more like a tunnel that extended forward toward the light. I turned back to see if everyone was accounted for…Dale and Tammy were missing.

I called out into the darkness, “Dale! Tammy!” Nothing except a low rumble outside the protective tunnel.

Chip reached up to touch the wall of light. “It looks like some type of energy field distributed from that structure. I assume to act as a shield from the storm.”

“No doubt.” I coughed a few times. “Where is Tammy and Dale? Are the rest of you okay?”

While gathering ourselves and checking for injuries, five Vlancos approached us at a good trot.

They were young male Vlancos, with the usual good disposition. “Allow us to help you, Earth people,” said the one in front.

“We seem to be okay, but two of my crew are missing,” I said, worried. “The rest of you stay here, me and a couple of the Vlancos—.

Before I could finish organizing a rescue operation, I heard a shuffle at the opposite end of the light tunnel from where the energy beam came. Out of the darkness staggard Dale with his arm around Tammy’s waist.

“Whew, that was fun,” Dale said caustically. He let one of the Vlancos take hold of Tammy, while another checked her health. Dale bent over with his hands on his knees and coughed up dirt.

Tammy had a big bruise and blood oozed out of her leg. The Vlancos opened a medical kit and began to work on her. A big Vlanco picked her up and walked back toward the light. The rest of us hobbled back to the structure still coughing and snorting. Once inside the building, the field was de-energized.

“We are truly sorrowful we did not inform you of the suddenness of the storms in this area,” said one of the advisors in the facility. “Can you forgive us.”

“Oh yeah, we’ve had worse,” said Tom. I’m sure he was recalling one of his many near death experiences.

As Tammy was being carried away, she called back in a raspy voice. “Speak for yourself, Tom.”

The tornadoes continued to kick up debris for awhile. But we watched from the safety of the building. Within minutes, the chaos and destruction turned into peace and tranquility. Again the sky was beautiful. The horizon was a deep red as the three major stars started setting. I was hoping this mission wasn’t going to be a series of events with serenity and turmoil, but as usual, my wishes rarely come true.

***

A day later, back at the ship, Chip and Tammy went to work transferring data from his compad to Sojourner’s main database, while the rest of us brainstormed on theoretical concepts.

“What are you doing, Mr. Wizard?” said Tammy, as Chip strapped a small square tab to the side of his forehead.

“I’m connecting my compad to the ship’s computer,” he said, without looking up. He gave a brief glance and a wink to Tammy.

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you using your Davis Chip neural-connection?”

“Why of course, my dear, I can sort things much quicker this way.”

“And I bet you think your memory can truly hold all that information.” Chip ignored her and kept working. “Even if it could, Chip, the repercussions...” Chip rolled his eyes as she lectured. Tammy stopped and put her hands on her hip, like a big sister. “You know what I’m talking about. Those studies that have indicated serious side effects on people that use the mind-computer links.

“Tammy, those studies have not been conclusive. And besides, until there is a law banning it, I have the liberty to use it as I see fit. Even if it means I’ll only be able to retain 5% of the information. Additionally, I’ve modified my compad a bit. It can store almost half of what the ship’s computer can. I’ve got to admit, it's truly revolutionary.”

Tammy crossed her arms. “Really, how?”

“Eh, I just tweaked it here and there, that’s all. I know I should have let Alex know about it, but since it’s primarily experimental, I haven’t been able to fully test it out. So far, my newest upgrades have been quite successful.”

“Fine. I don’t care.” Tammy tried not to look interested. “As long as it’s in our best interest.” She stopped for a minute, then remembered something. “It is in our best interest, right?”

Chip tilted his head. " You sure are frisky, after getting a punctured leg."

She rubbed the bandage on her leg. “This isn’t that hybrid bioelectronic memory that the Mars colony was working on, is it?”

“Yes...it is.” said Chip meekly.

“Chip, you idiot! If that virus breaks out like it did on the Mars colony, we’re as good as dead. I can’t believe you Chip! If its new and different, you have to be the first one to use it! Err!” she said through gritted teeth. She gave the floor one good stomp with her foot, then checked the aft passageway for eavesdroppers.

“Calm down, Tammy. I have isolated those problems and there are no contaminants of any kind.”

“You better be right mister. Because when I leave this planet, I plan on being alive and in one piece!” Tammy shook her head. “I’m warning you. If I even see a hint, of a glimmer, of a subatomic complication, I’m going to shove this compad right up your—”

Chip gave her a smirk. “Don’t worry, Tammy. If there are any problems, I will personally hand you the compad myself.”