Chapter Twenty

 

“How much acceleration can the human body withstand over a period of time?” Cramer asked.

“I don’t know. Perhaps two, maybe three Gs. Why do you ask?” Mona narrowed her eyes.

“I know velocities don’t add, but if we could revamp the star drive engines so they would function like those on Quest, I believe we could attain our maximum speed in about three months. We wouldn’t have to use the Ganzer Field until we got to the Oort Cloud. There should be enough power to maintain the field until we make it through the comets. Once through, we could turn the ship around and apply the deceleration again without needing the field to protect us, since the slow down would be at the same rate as the acceleration. We would need to run the figures, taking into account the relativistic effects.”

“I’m not sure the engine design can be changed. We need baffle plates and a valve system like on Quest,” she said.

“I know. This ship isn’t as well supplied with hardware. Maybe we can all put our heads together on this one.”

The five of them pored over the specs for Compassion’s drive engines and fuel tanks. The valve system differed from that of Quest. The fuel valves allowed an uncontrolled blast of hydrogen into the drive engine compartments for immediate ignition—or what amounted to a controlled explosion. That’s what made the engines gain maximum speed in very few seconds, thus requiring the Ganzer Field to help preserve the ship and its crew. Cramer pointed to the area needing baffle plates. Spread out before them, the hard copy of the drawings, detailed with narrow lined pencil, made it easier to view than on a computer screen.

“Floyd, you’re our crack metallurgical engineer. Do you think you can fabricate some sturdy baffles for that area of the fuel channels?” Cramer pointed to the drawing.

Floyd leaned in close, squinting at the detailed drawing, his mouth puckering into a smile. “Yes. Depends on what’s available, but I can tear out some metal bulkheads if possible. We have the necessary torches.”

“The valves are going to be another problem,” Cramer said. “They can’t be made from scratch, so we’ll have to modify the existing ones.”

“I don’t know. If they get screwed up, we’ll never get home,” Mona said.

“It’s not like we’ll be tearing them up. A lot of it will involve writing new programs to operate the valves, opening them with slowness instead of all at once. A few hardware changes will be necessary too,” her said.

“And just who is qualified to do this work?”

“I’m sure Lila can write the programs.” He looked in question at Lila.

“That will be easy so long as the needed hardware is in place,” she said.

“The design, fabrication, and installation of the valve hardware are what I’m worried about,” Mona said.

“I can do it,” he said.

“I didn’t know you had experience in fuel plumbing.” She wrinkled her brow and opened her mouth.

“Other than what I did on Quest in transferring Keldahl’s tank hydrogen, I have very little. In college I worked with vacuum systems which involved large gate valves.”

“Yeah, but that’s a far cry from advanced ship design valves.”

“I know. I planned to use the MindX to access and learn the ins and outs of valve design.”

“I don’t think so,” Mona said.

“Hey, how do you think I solved the Ganzer Field anomaly?” He frowned. “I didn’t pull that knowledge out of my rear end. Eh…sorry ladies.”

Floyd grinned.

“You know knowledge gained through MindX isn’t permanent,” Mona said. “You acquire it then use it or lose it. There’s no redoing the knowledge again via MindX on the same subject. There have been people who have tried it and their mind was fried.”

“I know. At this point I’m not sure what I did about the Ganzer Field. The only thing that sticks with me there is why I was immune to what happened to the rest of you. It had to do with my emotion of fear being in deep sleep.”

“Remind me not to bad mouth you about your fear of cryo sleep. You know you’re the only one who can gain this temporary knowledge via MindX. Lila and I can only use MindX for controlling the ship but not for gaining knowledge. No one else on board can do that but you.”

“Although I have been programmed with extensive knowledge by Dr. Ganzer, the area of valve redesign is not one of them,” Lila said.

“Now you’re scaring me. Okay, I’ll be ready as soon as Floyd finishes the baffle system. It’s best I wait until then so I can go to work right now.”

Cramer went below to check on Floyd’s progress on the baffling. He found him already lying in the narrow confines of the engine compartment, his small body an advantage. Floyd came up with some plating he felt would be suitable. The torch and its tubing lay strewn nearby along with stacks of the metal he intended to use.

“I’m going to wait until you’re finished with the baffles before I start on the valves. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah, you can hand me the torch and that top piece of metal,” Floyd said, craning his neck to look from where he lay. He wore his welder’s helmet. Cramer obliged.

“Don’t be looking at the torch flame unless you have number fourteen glass in front of you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Sparks flew, molten metal blobs dropped as Floyd installed one baffle. Cramer admired his old friend for his speed and efficiency. Hours went by as he stayed close by if Floyd needed him. The baffles fit perfectly. Cramer went to the MindX link.

“Are you sure you want to do this so soon after the Ganzer Field link? Lila may be able to study the available information and do the work,” Mona said.

“This will be faster. I really want to do this.”

“Okay, be careful. Pull yourself out if you feel any discomfort at all.”

He sat in the chair and lowered the cap. Lila tuned the link mechanism to access the computer library’s data on the fuel valves. Doctor Ganzer perfected the valves for rapid acceleration from the solid hydrogen fuel reservoir. Totally different from the huge valves on board Quest, Cramer hoped to reconfigure Ganzer’s valves to be more like Quest’s valves.

Lila activated the link. Drawings, design specs, methods of operation, chemical and physical reactions, repair procedures—modifications all floated in the sea of his mind. All of it became clear. On and on the information fed into his mind. Just when he believed his head would burst with the new knowledge, the link reduced its feed to him. He perceived the system regulating the speed and amount of information fed to whatever a user could handle.

The MindX link knowledge mode, although smart in that respect, didn’t have the ability to distinguish one user from another if a second user donned the link for knowledge mode. It all hinged on Cramer, and sensed the pressure.

The cap lifted, and he got up, a bit unsteady, holding his head. Mona assisted him, showing a look of concern as she observed his wobbly walk.

“I’m okay. I’d better get started.” He went below to the engine and fuel tank area.

His confidence overwhelmed him as he approached the fuel valves. He rummaged through the supplies and tools. New flanges, pressure seals, short sections of pipe soon lay before him along with special tools he’d not known the function of before. He dove into the valve modification like a man possessed, yet careful with the delicate machined parts and lapped pressure sealed surfaces then rigged solenoid-controlled valves, worm screw closing and opening devices, electronic connections—all manipulations seemed obvious to him. He finished one valve. Two engines and two valves represented a lot of work still ahead of him. He tore into the second one as the second hour passed. Oblivious to anything around him, he centered his activities in an efficient way.

Halfway through revamping the second valve, a vague feeling started creeping over him. It unsettled him. He continued to work, not acknowledging time until he completed the second valve. This one took three hours, and he grew concerned at his reduced speed.

He started disassembling the third valve when the feeling, once vague, now became a fully-fledged emotion of confusion. He looked at the third valve, its inner workings exposed, and couldn’t remember seeing anything like it before. Despite all the valves being identical, he believed he had never seen the device.

Then it hit him; the knowledge gained from the link drained from him as fast as a sink draining water out. He panicked as he stared at the scattered parts on the floor beside him. He couldn’t recall how to assemble all these pieces for revamping the third valve. He could disassemble one of the completed valves and teach himself, but he knew just enough valve technology to know that would be unwise. Breaking pressure seals usually resulted in a flawed device after reassembly.

No, he had to leave well enough alone. Very few fragments of knowledge remained from the MindX link. Now he must reach back into his college research days when he fabricated vacuum systems for a newly designed spectrometer he and a fellow student built.

He peered at the exposed valve, then the parts on the floor beside him. He picked up the worm screw device and remembered one he’d used on a delicate valve in the spectrometer’s analyzing section. The solenoids and flanges with a multitude of screws resembled the spectrometer’s vacuum system in his college days, only this assembly must contain pressure rather than vacuum. What once seemed easy, then complicated, became easy once again. The principle was easy—change this valve from a fully open or closed operation to a slow opening or closing operation. Finally, he finished the third valve. This one took him four hours, not bad considering a loss of MindX acquired knowledge remembering techniques learned some forty years ago.

He realized he’d been working nonstop for ten hours. He forbade anybody to be present for fear of distractions. He put up the tools, cleaned up the spare parts, then went above to the pilot’s cabin to join everybody. Eyes rose at his haggard, fatigued look. Cindy responded first. She helped him sit down.

“Part way through the third valve I lost my MindX knowledge. I’m confident the third valve is correctly revamped. Believe it or not, I called on experience I had forty years ago from my college research days.”

“You’re exhausted. Here.” Mona set a liter bottle of orange juice in front of him.

“Boy, that’s going to hit the spot. Thank you.” He took a big swig of the orange liquid and, with his free hand, pinched his tight and aching neck muscles. He grimaced in pain, moving his head around. No position or pressure helped.

“I have training in medical techniques. That includes massage therapy. Let me help those tight muscles. You’re suffering from a lot of stress,” Lila said.

Moving behind him, she pressed the right areas with her hands on both sides of his neck. Did he see a little bit of jealousy in Mona’s eyes? At any rate, the tightness started draining out of him. He shut his eyes, breathed deeply, and enjoyed Lila’s touch. Her hands worked magic. He heard snapping noises, first thinking she popped her knuckles, but then he realized some massage therapists could cause the muscle fibers to pop, allowing air to actually escape, thus relieving much pressure. That seemed like magic, and she had it.

He silently thanked Ganzer for his programming skill. “Thank you, Lila. That’s cured the problem.”

Lila released her grip.

“When should we test fire the engines?” Floyd asked.

“How about tomorrow? I think Joe needs some rest,” Mona said.

“I’m ready for some sleep. That will give Lila some time to go over the numbers for our velocity and timeframe to get back home. There’s a lot to consider.”

The meeting broke up and everyone headed for their rooms. A few stifled their yawns.

“I’m so excited we can finally head for home.” Cindy grabbed the crook of one of Cramer’s arms.

“Everything has to work right and fall into place, sweetheart.”

“It will,” she said, then released him and walked to her room.

“You and Floyd have done a good job,” Mona said from behind Cramer.

He turned in time to make eye contact, see a slight smile, and watch her walk away to her own room.

~ * ~

Cindy awakened Cramer from a deep sleep. He dressed, met the others, and they went through a dry run with Lila’s program. Without flaw, the mechanisms worked on all three valves. Now it remained to allow hydrogen into the lines and activate the ignition sequence. Just a puff of hydrogen went through the new plumbing and baffle system with the ship already oriented to head for home.

The hydrogen flowed through the small valve opening and the igniters fired the fuel. He could hear a roar as all three engines belched what would have been blue flames as seen by an observer floating outside the ship. When that happened, there was a slight jolt as the ship accelerated. They shut the valves and met again to discuss the final step before heading home.

“Ship’s time to the Oort Cloud will be four months,” Lila said. “It will take two months to get through the cloud. After that we’ll need to turn the ship around and decelerate. That will take a year, ship’s time, to reach home.”

“Dad, we owe this short time to you.”

“Let’s not celebrate until we see Mars or Earth. I just hope everything works.”

“The two Gs acceleration will take its toll on our bodies. I believe we should stay in cryo sleep as much as possible,” Mona said.

“Oh, joy.”

“How much do you weigh, Joe?” she asked.

“What?”

“Weigh. You know, that antique square metal thing some people keep in their bathroom. It has a readout in pounds or kilograms, whichever you prefer. You step on it and it…” Mona fell silent.

“I know what a scale is. I weigh one hundred seventy pounds. I’ve picked up eight pounds, before you comment on that. Where you going with this?”

“You know, as we approach the speed of light the relativity equations say mass increases. For some reason nobody can explain, we don’t seem to be bothered by that. Maybe our strength, organ functions—all that takes on more efficiency to compensate for mass increase.”

“So?”

“At two Gs you’re going to weigh three hundred and forty pounds. How well do you think you’re going to lug that extra baggage around, especially for several months?”

“All right. I get your point. But don’t expect me to be happy about deep sleep just so I don’t feel the effects of acceleration.”

“I’d never expect that of you, Joe, and you have good reason to abhor deep sleep.”

“We do need to be awake during our trip through the Oort Cloud though.”

“I agree, but as soon as we get through the comets we go back in until we reach Mars.”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“Joe.” Mona’s voice was stern.

“Okay, you’re the boss, and at this point I have a problem with that, but as soon as we cut engines to coast into our solar system, I want out of the polycarbonate coffin.”

“We’ll worry about that when we get there. Now, let’s prepare to fire the engines and get started,” she said.

Jubilation swept through the crew like a cool breeze on an August afternoon. Lila donned the MindX and started the sequence. Through the link she determined the right valve opening and proper flow of hydrogen to the engines. She ignited the hydrogen and the flames burst forth, giving them the acceleration. The crew felt the two Gs, and Cramer experienced the impact of Mona’s argument. As he walked toward the engine compartment, he imagined wading through water. He soon became winded as he strolled to look at the valves, happy his and Floyd’s modifications worked.

The time approached to go into the sleep chambers. Lila would be by herself for the next four months. The whole crew would be awakened during the two-month journey through the Oort Cloud if something happened she couldn’t handle. The big question remained: Would the Ganzer Field last long enough to make it through the Oort Cloud?

Cramer did not look at Mona as he climbed into his chamber, yet her gaze was on him. He couldn’t be angry with her, just angry about the necessity of using cryo sleep. He looked forward to coming out in four months. At that point, it would be an anxious time for all of them. Ganzer would have to go back to the drawing board on his field.

Fear did not grip Cramer this time while he slept. More pleasant things passed through his semi-awareness during the four months.

The crew awakened together. He took a deep breath and allowed a smile to spread across his lips at the absence of the two G effect and drop in acceleration as they approached maximum eighty percent light speed.

“It’s less than an hour to the beginning of the Oort Cloud,” Lila said.

“I’ll start powering up the Ganzer field.” Cindy busied herself at her console.

“I sure hope that power source holds up,” he said.

“During your cryo sleep period, I plotted a course through what appears to be the least dense part of the comet field,” Lila said. “That is according to our trip out. The comets are unstable in their orbits, and we can’t totally depend on previous data.”

Cindy set the parameters for activating the Ganzer Field to protect the ship from the comets ahead. With the comet field less than thirty minutes away, she turned on the field, checking the stability and power consumption. As they entered the Oort Cloud, the field deflected everything in its path. After several hours of monitoring, she determined a projected time frame for the Ganzer Field’s power source.

“How long did you say it would take to get through the Oort Cloud, Lila?” she asked.

“Two months.”

“The field’s power will fail in about a month.”

“We only have one hope,” Cramer said.

“What’s that?” Mona asked.

“The closer the ship gets to the speed of light, the more its mass increases. We can only hope the ship is massive enough to crush any comets that get in its way.”

“This month of waiting will make me very nervous,” she said.

“At eighty percent light speed the ship’s mass is enormous. It’s our only hope.”

The month went fast, and Cramer stared as the field begin to collapse. The power indicator dipped lower and they felt an occasional comet skim the hull. The ship responded with a slight jerk.

Cramer watched the large monitor in the pilot’s room, sitting, staring, mulling over in his mind the great massive ship crushing and shattering every comet in its path. At their incredible speed they couldn’t see the comets in the distance approaching. They appeared for a split second on the screen, then shattered.

He reached up and pecked a button which recorded and slowed the images so he could view the comets as they appeared seconds before. That didn’t help much. A comet would move toward the ship, so it seemed, then splinter into small chunks of ice to make way for the next one. Occasionally, there would be a long break where the comet field cleared, a time that always gave the crew hope.

Cramer tried to get some sleep. As he lay in his bunk, he dozed until the ship gave another jolt from hitting a larger comet. The rest of the crew seemed in better shape, not sleep deprived, not worrisome, but accepting of the present circumstances. He hardly slept in the week that followed. The ship took the buffeting better than he took the loss of sleep. For brief periods there would be a clear path through the comet field. When that happened, he dropped off almost sound asleep until another ship-comet collision brought him awake.

“Joe, you look like warmed over death,” Mona said one day when the five of them were together.

“I can’t get any sleep. I feel like I’m ready to collapse.”

“I can help you,” Lila said.

Mona stared questioningly at her. Cramer, through tired eyes, tried to focus on Lila’s face. “How?”

“There are pressure points I can use that will relax you, then you can sleep.”

“That might be dangerous. Joe, perhaps you should go into cryo sleep.” Mona looked askance at Lila.

Cindy interjected, “If she can help Dad, let her try.”

“Yeah, we need Joe alert, rested,” Floyd said.

“Let her try, Mona,” Cramer said.

“Let’s go to your room so you can lay down immediately when sleep comes,” Lila said.

She helped him to his room. Mona insisted on going along, apparently concerned about the procedure, or, Cramer wondered about possible jealousy again. In his fogged state of mind, he discounted that as wishful thinking.

In his room he sat on his bunk, Lila on her knees behind him. She moved her hands with care, caressing his shoulders, his neck, and his temples.

He closed his eyes, finding the touch of her hands incredible and the pressure of her body against his back exhilarating. Embarrassed, he felt his skin heat and started to resist. Lila assured him he would be out in less than a minute.

He gazed at Mona and couldn’t be sure about jealousy. Boy, Joe, you sure have a high opinion of your own charms. He dropped his gaze to Lila’s magical hands, admiring them, wanting to touch them. Mercifully sleep overtook him.

~ * ~

“Joe, you’ve been out for twelve hours. Did Lila pinch too hard on a nerve?” Mona asked, shaking him awake.

“My body must have really been sapped.”

“We’ve entered a heavy part of the Oort Cloud. When we get through this we’ll be home free.”

“All hands report to the pilot’s cabin,” Lila said over the ship’s speaker system.

Cramer and Mona arrived last. The rest of them hovered around the long-range sensor screen.

“Extreme range sensor shows a large body in our path. Estimated time to encounter it is one day. The accuracy and position of this body is at question from this distant point,” Lila said.

“That gives us some time to secure vital equipment and supplies to prepare for this collision,” Mona said.

“Will our flight chairs and crash webbing be strong enough to protect us when it happens?” Cramer asked.

“I think we have extra crash webbing. I believe we’d better rig an extra layer of webbing for each of us,” Floyd said.

“Take care of that, Floyd. Cindy, you see to our supply restraints. Joe, you and I had better see if we can strengthen the supports on the sleep chambers. Lila, keep us updated on the large comet.”

The crew worked the next twenty-four hours solid doing what they could to buckle down all vital gear on the ship. The massive comet, not in their path, wouldn’t be a glancing blow either. Cramer seated himself along with the rest of the crew. He swallowed hard and glanced at Cindy who gave him a feeble smile. Then he glanced at Mona. She met his gaze. He interpreted her expression of concern for the coming collision and perhaps apprehension over the safety of the crew.

“Ten minutes to impact,” Lila announced.

“Do you think the ship can make it, Lila?” he asked.

“Yes. The increased mass of the ship at this relativistic velocity will bring it through. We have no way of knowing what it will do to the crew and ship’s systems.”

The dot grew fast on the monitor. Lila warned the impact could be any second. The collision could be described as blinding. Everyone’s crash webbing, both the primary and secondary webbing installed by Floyd, flew down, surrounding them.

Cramer’s neck jerked violently forward, and his seat restraints snapped as his body flew into the webbing. His webbing snapped as it reached its limit. Blackness closed in on him as he struck the bulkhead.