Resources: Freedom Is Reborn Page 4
Technician, "The first 100gram payload has been caught. Initializing diagnostics on the catcher to access condition. The next payload will arrive in 10 minutes."
"What percentage of the payload did we catch?"
"It is indicating that we caught 97% of the payload. However, the guidance system is indicating that the catcher weight has increased by 99 grams." Said the technician.
"So obviously, 1% of the metal was not captured at all, and another 2% is somewhere in or on the catcher. Overall that is much better than the 90% we had projected to capture. The second of the payloads should arrive at any moment. Let's monitor the results through the last four captures."
As we watched, the next four payloads were caught and processed. The amount caught decreased with each payload. Additionally, the anode and cathode charges also decreased similarly. It was a mystery that would need to be resolved if this was going to work.
"Well done guys. From the results, we are going to have a bit of work ahead of us. We have a couple of weeks before the next loads arrive. I should be back up there by then, and we will get the problem resolved."
A Technician asked, "Jackie, I was just wondering what the payloads were today?"
"Shortly after the asteroid miner started, it happened upon a vein of ore that was 60% platinum and the rest other precious metals. So all five payloads were platinum. The 417 g that we collected on the anode at current street prices would-would have a street value of around $400,000.
The next payloads will be the other precious metals and worth even more due to their rarity on earth."
Security desk, FBI headquarters, Washington DC
It is sure a nuisance to have to check in every time I enter the building, but in this day and age, we can't be too careful with security, thought Agent Therron Chane, as he signed in for the day. "Thank you, Bobby; I will be heading directly to my office."
I was pulled out of my thoughts when the elevator dinged indicating that I was arriving on the 8th floor. It has always been disturbing to me when I see the number of agents buzzing around like a hive full of worker bee drones. It seems so dehumanizing. I sometimes wonder how I ended up in this type of business and whether I would like to continue. Turning to the right, I shortly come upon the administrative assistant Joni Jackson for the head agents. We just called her JJ.
Joni, "Good morning Therron, how are you today?"
Therron, "Good, anything for me today?"
"The analysts have uploaded the latest corporate information to the server, and it should be available at your workstation. I know how much you like my coffee, so I made you a pot, and it is in your office."
"Great, I could use some today." Upon entering the room, the smell of the coffee was so pleasant that I immediately poured myself a cup. It was the caramel vanilla that I liked so much. JJ sure looks out for me, I wonder if she would be open to a date sometime? Oh well, I need to get with it, not daydream about dating.
"Cortana, Please open the end space document and the analyst's corporate compliance document."
Cortana, "The documents are now minimized on your main screen."
After taking another sip of the coffee, I sat down and began to work. As I dug deeper into each of the company's corporate structures and purchases and sales, time just slipped away from me. As I took a sip of the cold cup coffee, I realized that 2 ½ hours had passed since I sat down. As I freshened up my coffee, it occurred to me that some of the corporate reports were too perfect.
"Cortana, Please start an email."
To - Analysts - Corporate division.
Subject – Requesting all information on Infinity Metals, Humanity Holdings, and Seaward Housing and Engineering.
Body – something does not seem right with these four companies. I need you to provide additional analysis of the files the following companies. They are Infinity Metals, Humanity Holdings, and Seaward Housing and Engineering.
Please provide the information as soon as possible. This is a high priority request.
Thank you,
Insert signature.
“Send.”
Hum, what have you guys been hiding?
"Cortana, please run the link algorithm for these three companies Infinity Metals, Humanity Holdings, and Seaward Housing and Engineering and display the results."
After a few minutes, the results of the link algorithm were presented. Going through the data, most of the links seemed to be for suppliers of services, office equipment, and transportation. Although one name did keep popping up and that was SDH.
"Cortana, search for any references to SDH in the corporate listings database."
It only took a moment for Cortana to sort through the corporate data and provide a listing on the screen. There was more than I thought there would be at 26 of them. Each item on the list had a short description of the company, and none of them seemed to have anything to do with space.
"Cortana, Search the nonprofit and trust databases for SDH."
Since it was taking some time to search, I poured myself a fresh cup coffee. As I waited my mind wandered off thinking about JJ. Cortana finally displayed the information requested, and I got back to work.
This time the report was shorter, and one of the entities listed seemed to fit the bill, Space Development Holdings. The description indicated that they were holding a company that encourages the development of space technologies and funds research. Now, why would Seaward Housing and Engineering which builds ocean habitats be connected to SDH?
Picking up the phone and dialing Joni's extension, "JJ, I need you to schedule a flight to Miami tomorrow with reservations at a local hotel with a return the next day. Also, contact the Miami FBI and have an agent meet me at the airport."
JJ, "Will do, you should get the itinerary in your email box within an hour. It is getting late will you need anything else today?"
Therron, "No, I think that will do it."
Now this Infinity Metals, what are they about? The description says that they are a startup company that wants to mine the asteroid belt. They seem to be purchasing a lot of robotics and communications equipment. I did not see any rocket equipment which is odd if they are going to continue. I am going to have to check in on them further once, I get the new analysis and return for my short trip.
Passenger Lifter, Space port America, NM
The lifter is was not quite what I was expecting having looked at the plans all those months ago. The outside had a much sleeker look, it was kind of reminiscent of a Gulf Stream, or Lear jet crossed with a space shuttle. It does seem a little strange not seeing any cockpit windows or side windows. Those were replaced with sensor blisters, which did give the impression of eyes and nose on the front of the ship.
Unlike a passenger plane getting to my seat in the lifter is a little tricky because I am climbing up what would typically be the floor to get to the seat. Buckling in is different because of the five-point harness, which reminds me of those found in a high-performance race car or jet plane. The seats are more of a form-fitting couch or recliner designed to support your body during the stresses of liftoff.
The passenger compartment is not very big since it is designed too only hold 12 passengers. On the back of each seat is an 8 inch LCD screen with options to select forward, side and rear views, entertainment, additional menus allowing connection the to flight assistant or other seat stations. The large buttons seemed to be designed for a child to use. However, I realized the reason for this is that the passengers pressure suit gloves made small buttons impractical.
"Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain," said the captain, "we are going to be launching soon. I would like to welcome you each to the first maiden flight of this passenger lifter. This ship has been fitted with the new inertial dampeners. This will cut the time The trip to the Lagrange 5 down to approximately two hours and 20 minutes. When we reach orbit there will be a few minutes of zero gravity before we cut the dampeners in and boost.
For those of you have neve
r been into space before, I think a rundown of the launch would be of interest. Initially, there will be some strange noises, thumps and such, these are perfectly normal. Shortly after that, the engines start to rumble, and you will see a 15-second timer counting down on the screen. Please for safety sake, make sure that anything you brought with you is secured in the bins under your seat. When the countdown hits zero the engines will kick in with a thunderous rumble and intense vibration. It will feel like a giant hand is pushing down on you, while we are accelerating at 2 ½ times gravity.
For every flight, one of the passengers is designated as the flight assistant for the passenger compartment. You can reach the flight assistant by pressing the flight attendant button on your media panel. Feel free to use the media panels and I hope you enjoy the flight."
A few minutes later, I hear some thumps and grinding noises. They would've been quite disturbing if the captain had not warned us about them. Then the 15-second timer starts counting down. I am getting a little more anxious regarding the launch and before I know it the countdown has hit zero. The captain had understated the effect of acceleration and how it feels. It is more like a 2000 pound elephant sat down on me and isn't getting up. Thankfully the oxygen mask forces air into my lungs, so I don't blackout.
After what seems like forever the media center starts another 15-second countdown indicating when the thrust will end. For a moment I am relieved to have the pressure gone but then the feeling of falling takes over, and it reminds me of the feeling, I got when parachuting in the military.
Deciding that I needed something to do, pressing the front view button brought up a view with the bright pinpoints light of the stars in front of us. Pressing the side view button brought up a screen with four different pictures. The first picture showed another of stars and had a red highlight, Two of the screens showed what looked like mirror images with lights and just a sliver of the earth showing but the fourth had this beautiful picture of earth with a field of stars around it. I selected the fourth picture to bring it up to full screen.
The earth was so beautiful that it took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. The clouds floating over much of the planet had kind of a dreamy effect. As I looked, I wondered why humans could not see each other as one big family and work together to everyone's benefit. It was incredible to realize that the thin layer of atmosphere is all that protects every living thing on earth. I realized right then that the space colony was more than a means to an end, it was a means to protect the planet.
I must've lost all track of time staring at the earth because suddenly on the screen it is indicating that we have five minutes until arrival at the space colony. Selecting the forward camera view, I see a rapidly expanding translucent light blue sphere. There are a couple of sparkles inside the ball. Suddenly I realized that this sphere is the solar shield fluorescing from its interaction with the solar wind. It is beautiful in a different way from the earth. The two sparkles must be the 50-foot spherical habitats that we are testing. As I watched the earth, it seemed to fill the entire screen.
Flight assistant, "Fellow astronauts, we are entering the solar shield and will be docking in a minute. The two sparkles you see are the test 50 foot spherical habitats. Ahead you can see four large cylinders that are attached side-by-side in a Square that are slowly spinning. Each of the cylinders is used for a different purpose, the first is the station command center, second administrative and workshops, third the living quarters, and fourth the construction hanger. There are docking rings at the end of the cylinders, where we will connect shortly. You will be living here until we get the 250-foot habitats constructed."
The docking was somewhat anti-climactic because it was just a slight jar. I felt a moment of dizziness as the lifter started to spin with the station. It was weird to see some of the passengers floating towards the front of the vehicle while the rest of us drifted towards the back. The airlock light switched from a steady red to a blinking, then orange and finally to a steady green light.
The flight attendant, "Station control indicates that we are clear to enter the station. Additionally the green light above the airlock indicates that we have a breathable atmosphere. Welcome to your new home."
As I exited the shuttle, I noticed how much of the space in the cylinder was open. At the one end, men were moving walls into place and attaching them with glue. While I floated slowly to the floor, the station manager "Fighting" Jim Booker came up to me with a big smile.
"Ben, I'm happy that you are finally able to come up. I understand that your visit is going to be short, only about 24 hours. Let me give you a little tour, and then we'll get down to business.
The four cylinders are at this time are labeled one through four. We are currently in cylinder three which is primarily a dormitory for construction workers until the larger habitats are available. As you can see we're still installing partitions for dorm rooms. While dorm rooms are not as efficient use of space has a large dorm, we have found that the smaller 4 man rooms are more comfortable and offer some privacy.
On the ceiling are two large circular openings which lead to cylinder one. Which is where we are going. I would recommend pulling yourself along with the ropes until you get used the tubes," Jim said, as he jumped and flew up the tube.
Grabbing the rope I started to pull myself up, "It's good to see you too Jim. This is quite a bit different than what I was expecting."
"I can imagine but next month the first of the 250-foot habitats will be coming on-line, and everyone will be moving over. At that point, all four cylinders will become our primary staging area for the asteroid mining group," said Jim. As we moved along the connecting tube towards the cylinder one. "Look out; we are reaching the midpoint between cylinders, and the gravity orientation flips 180°. You get used to it quickly but the first time is a surprise."
After flipping over, we slowly drifted down the tube towards cylinder one. Jim reiterated that currently, cylinder one is the station command center. Although most of the work happens in the construction hanger and out in space.
The command center was a surprise because it is entirely open with different banks of monitors with technicians sitting in front of them.
"This is where I spend most of my time anymore." Said Jim.
"Why are there some many monitors Jim?"
Jim, "Each bank of monitors, has a different purpose. There is a bank for each of the four cylinders, staging areas and flight control. Over here is the bank for cylinder 4. The cameras show the three sections. The main area in the middle is the assembly area and is pressurized so they can work in a short-sleeved environment. At one end is where all the components are stored, and the other end is used to test vehicles and equipment in a vacuum before launching into space."
Ben asked, "So the vehicle we see being assembled now is how far along?"
"The vehicle is about 50% done and should be complete in the next few days. The vehicle looks like it is ready for inserting the rocket engines and connecting everything up. The rest is mostly modular and assembles relatively quick.
Over here is where we monitor and control the solar shield. When we move over to one of the new habitats the solar shield controls will get their own control center. I think that's enough to absorb at this point let's take a break and get us a meal."
Sometime later we entered the administrative cylinder
Ben, "When you said let's have a meal, I wasn't sure what you meant Jim."
Jim chuckled, "The spin of the station does not create much weight to hold things down. So, most food has to be eaten from enclosed containers and drinks. Those that we don't have to eat from the containers, often leave crumbs. The air in the cafeteria is circulated at a much higher volume than anywhere else in the station to remove crumbs and liquids. For bigger messes, we bring out the vacuum hose."
"I was wondering why it seemed kind of breezy in the cafeteria," said Ben "Now that you mention it that does make a lot of sense. So now that we are in the confer
encing and planning room can you give me a rundown of where we are now?"
"I have set up a presentation that we can go over."
"Cortana, open presentation files secure one, presentation one, and construction one. Next, configure two work areas on the display table."
"Okay, slide one of the presentation shows we have four primary areas that we need work on. The four areas are Construction, Security, Self-Sufficiency, and Misdirection. Present Next slide.
Construction is probably the most complicated of all of these since it touches on every aspect of building the station. I am not going to go into all the details at this time, because that would take most of the time that we have. I will highlight a few of the critical areas.
Materials – with the accelerated construction time, and changes we have made to the plan, it is imperative that we do not have any delays in receiving the materials. Currently, we obtain materials in two different ways one through mining asteroids and by bringing them up from Earth. It is crucial that the lifters be able to bring up the materials we can only get from Earth. To address any issues that may crop up, I have instituted daily reports in the hope that we can nip problems in the bud as they develop."
Ben, "Jim that seems to make a lot of sense. I would like you to send the portion of the report that pertains to each supplier, to them daily also. This will reinforce the importance of making sure we receive materials on time."
Jim said while selecting the next slide, "The building out of the 250-foot habitat spheres is going to be an issue. The construction of the spheres is not a problem, and we will make our completion date, but the interior construction is projected to take 25% longer. While I have some ideas on the issue, I wanted to get your input and how you think we should proceed."
Ben, "What specifically is causing the additional time on the build outs?"