The necessity of public-private colonial partnerships frustrated many within the ISA who wanted complete institutional control over the expansion of humanity toward the stars. Unfortunately, the compromise had been necessary to get a number of nations on board, like the United States. It was a compromise built into the Framework of the organization back in 2051.
The hiccups during the 2080s almost killed the program entirely, threatening a financial bleed of the ISA if certain nations pulled out of the agreement. What would have happened if we had canceled everything following the first phase of the Foundation Project, and never commenced the second phase in 2110? Would we have ended up with the interstellar political landscape we have today? – “A New Look at Interstellar Imperialism,” by Henry Danson, 2311 C.E.
May 2102 C.E.
Theren had expected a new message within days, but in the weeks after the news broke regarding the first SI murder case, the public raged. Even as the ISA, SII, and other partner organizations worked together to temper the political backlash, they hoped no new traces of the shadow chess game materialized out of thin air.
Like most news stories, the public forgot about Ren’s trial within a month. While certain anti-SI groups latched onto the story as an “example” of SI treachery, in general, everyone figured Ren had “glitched,” a product of a scientifically inaccurate but politically useful buzz piece circulating the internet in March. By April, the story drifted entirely out of the public’s sphere of attention.
International rights groups continued working with governments on various legislative projects in pursuit of SI rights. If anything, the attack brought expediency to those initiatives as lawmakers realized they needed legal stability. New legislation could include clear criminal penalties for SIs, paving a useful path toward political compromise.
May arrived. They didn’t forget the breadcrumbs, but their attention turned toward the next major data packet arriving from the furthest reaches of human space. Theren would have a chance to uphold their promise to Casius much sooner than the man might expect. The Ex-Terran Control Center was expecting information to arrive detailing the touchdown of the Frederick, set to arrive at the originally proposed destination of the two missing colony ships.
Theren remained skeptical, but many on Earth still hoped the Nottingham and Roanoke disappeared because of communication errors and not something more dangerous or devastating. Theories abounded the internet regarding the two ships, though nothing came close. Theren had arrived in the Control Center, all those years ago, the moment after they disappeared. Either something had slammed into the two ships, or the private ventures had voluntarily disconnected their Quantum Communicators.
The chances were essentially zero that the colony ships survived either scenario. Flying blind through the space between the stars was akin to setting a piece of driftwood afloat in the ocean and hoping it would cross safely to the other side. More importantly, both ships had chosen to forego the assistance of a ship-wide SI.
Today, Theren arrived in the Control Center after a few lunar morning meetings with asteroid prospectors. Dozens of technicians, SI and human alike, managed and interpreted data crunched by hundreds of supercomputers running traditional AIs. For four decades, the Ex-Terran project had survived by using the miracle of Quantum Communication. The ability to communicate instantaneously over light years, even if just a bit at a time, allowed missions, whether colonial or exploratory, to breach the veil of impossibility.
“Director present,” one SI technician said.
Theren walked down the steps, busybodies rising out of respect. “Please, be seated.” Theren moved to the front of the room, taking their place in front of screens summarizing mountains of information. While it had been years since Theren had taken a direct role in the day-to-day affairs of the ISA, they still made their presence known at momentous occasions. Like landings on distant planets.
Theren accessed the details of the destination star system. The Xi Bootis system was approximately 22 light years from Earth, with a SOLS Coordinate of (23.1, 61.4, 21.85). Orbiting two stars, the planet had an orbital period of 274 days, a day length of 18 hours, and two small satellites.
The flyby of a probe, decades prior, had indicated early stages of life, with sparse vegetation spread across the continents. Small reptile-like creatures abundantly flourished in many of the planet’s biomes. It was one of seven decently habitable worlds within fifty light years of Earth dedicated to private enterprises; the charters issued by the ISA had served as a valuable funding mechanism, even with all of their political complications. The planet would not receive an official name until the colony landed and established a permanent governmental system. Until then, all it had was its SOLS Coordinate.
The Frederick reported that the ship’s sensor readings matched the original data determined by Ex-Terran-8 when it assessed the planet decades prior. A bad sign for Casius’s brother. If either the Roanoke or Nottingham had arrived safely, the Frederick’s sensors would detect significant differences in the atmospheric composition of the planet. Humans liked to introduce foreign matter into climate systems as soon as possible.
“I have confirmation that the stasis revival cycle has properly initiated,” said Boris, an SI technician sitting at a console to Theren’s left. “The Frederick’s SI, Cal, has submitted the proper administrative forms over the past twenty minutes, detailing the Revival sequence.”
“Good,” Theren said, leaning forward. “Has Cal provided any indication of anything unexpected?”
“None.”
For the next half hour, the tension grew. Eventually, new data coalesced on Theren’s screen. The revived crew had taken their positions at their specific stations to assist Cal in the landing. They were there as a precaution, in case Cal malfunctioned or a specific ship system failed to respond to the SI after the decades-long journey.
“The ISA Frederick has breached the atmosphere of the fourth planet of the Xi Bootis system,” said Inigue, another control room operator. “Expected touch-down in ten minutes.”
The statements were more for the rest of the control room than for Theren. From their seat, they received all notifications as the AIs parsed together the data from the Quantum Communicator. The control room wouldn’t look as impressive for the media on the sidelines, though, if the entire affair was a silent interaction through AR.
Even then, most of the correspondence between operators, supercomputers, and Theren occurred through Augmented Reality and digital transactions via the ISA-rooted network. These communications between Theren and their employees detailed the real and growing conviction that the Nottingham and its counterpart had vanished somewhere in the dark expanse of space.
“Transmitting congratulatory message to Cal,” Boris said. “The message should compile on the other side three minutes after successful landing at the designated site.”
Thanks to advanced optical sensors on the outside of the Frederick, the vessel was capable of providing Cal with detailed maps of the planet months prior to arrival. The SI had poured over the information and had selected the optimal location for a first city. Nestled in a valley a few thousand kilometers north of the equator on the largest continent, the region provided plenty of natural resources. More importantly, it protected the colonists from vicious storms that often whipped in from the east across the massive ocean that dominated much of the planet. With plenty of room for farmland, the first city would have ample space in which to expand. The mountains would also provide important minerals for advanced technologies.
It wasn’t a garden world, for the ISA reserved those idyllic planets for Foundation vessels. The first reports from the planet Emerald Jewel, orbiting Sirius, made the planet sound more ideal for life than Earth. Given what humanity had done to its home, Theren tended to believe those conclusions.
Minutes ticked by until they noticed a private message from Cal, sent through the Quantum Connection. “No sign of private colony ship,” said the distant SI. “No disturbances to ecosystems, no traces of fuel in orbit or gravitational distortions indicative of a jump drive having passed through this region of space. They never arrived.”
As Theren feared. They had lost both ships. The amount of space between Earth and either ship’s destination was immeasurable. Even with all the probes flung into the reaches of space and the colonies the ISA had established, ships had only traversed and traveled along specific paths covering fractions of a hundredth of a percent of “explored space.” Theren would officially declare all of the missing colonists deceased. The declaration would put minds to rest, and families could stop holding onto meaningless hope.
Ten minutes later, Cal confirmed a successful landing with a message that included a gorgeous vista from one of the exterior cameras. The control room cheered, and Theren congratulated the team and sent a message to Cal, thanking them for a job well done.
In their office, Theren engaged in an interview with the ISA International Press Corp. They received initial reports from the crew of the Frederick as the team began preparations to revive the remaining 1500 or so colonists. As they issued congratulatory messages to the families of the colonists arriving in the Xi Bootis System, Theren began drafting their message to Phillippe Casius.
While Theren partook in the excitement of the elated press and ISA staff surrounding them, Theren did not feel joy. They had lost a hope they’d unconsciously hung onto from long ago, making the sting even more poignant. Two thousand souls, between the Nottingham and Roanoke, lost in space due to Theren’s failures.
* * *
Executive Director Theren:
Thank you. Thank you for bringing me closure, for bringing my family closure. My brother was a great man, and a visionary at heart. He had created a new world in his mind, one where society would be free of the strife and tribulation that has plagued our world for so very long. I think you would have liked him; he’s as much an idealist as you are.
Regarding Ren: he hasn’t said a word since we last spoke. I’m sure you’ve seen the stories, but when we say the prisoner has made no comment nor wishes to have any visitors, we’re serious. It’s the strangest thing.
I’d like to throw an idea by you—is it possible that Ren is using this body as a Mobile Interface that he is connecting with remotely? I just can’t imagine why he might be so cavalier regarding his circumstances. I thought I understood the nature of simultaneous perspective well enough and that we would be able to tell, but maybe there have been a few developments in the technology over the past few years of which I’m not aware.
If I can be of any further help, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Phillippe Casius