“Many people. But unlike the first time, this time some people might remain.”
“Who? Who will remain?”
Scott gave a long sigh. “Lieutenant Colonel Lan, I’ve said enough. Why don’t you seek the fruit of knowledge for yourself? Everyone’s got to take that step, after all. Isn’t that right?”
“Where should I seek it?”
“Set down your work, and think about it. Feel more, and you’ll find it.”
After speaking with Scott, Lan Xi halted his busy work amid chaotic feelings, and stopped to think, as the colonel had advised. Faster than he had imagined, Eden’s cold, slippery vipers crawled into his consciousness. He found the fruit of knowledge and ate it, and the last rays of sunshine in his soul disappeared forever as everything plunged into darkness.
On Starship Earth, an invisible, taut string was being pulled close to snapping.
Two days later, the captain of Ultimate Law committed suicide. He had been standing on the aft platform at the time, a platform enclosed in a transparent dome that made it seem exposed to space. The stern of the ship faced the Solar System, where the sun was by now no more than a yellow star just a bit brighter than the rest. The peripheral spiral arm of the Milky Way lay in this direction, its stars sparse. The depth and expanse of deep space exhibited an arrogance that left no support for the mind or the eyes.
“Dark. It’s so fucking dark,” the captain murmured, and then shot himself.
When Dongfang Yanxu learned that the captain of Ultimate Law had committed suicide, she had the premonition that time was up, so she convened an emergency meeting with the two vice-captains in the large spherical fighter hangar.
In the corridor on the way to the hangar, she heard someone behind her call her name. It was Zhang Beihai. In her gloomy state of mind, she had practically forgotten about him for the past couple of days. He looked her up and down, his eyes full of a fatherly concern that gave her an undreamed-of sense of comfort, for it was hard to find a pair of eyes without a shadow on Starship Earth these days.
“Dongfang, I don’t think you’ve been right lately. I don’t know the reason, but you seem to be hiding something. What’s going on?”
She didn’t answer his question, but instead asked, “Sir, how have you been lately?”
“Well. Very well. I’ve been touring all over the place and studying. I’m familiarizing myself with Natural Selection’s weapons system. Of course, I’m only scratching the surface, but it’s fascinating. Imagine how Columbus would feel visiting an aircraft carrier. I’m the same way.”
Seeing how calm and relaxed he was now, Dongfang Yanxu felt a little jealous. Yes, he had completed his great endeavor and had the right to enjoy tranquility. The history-making great man had turned back into an ignorant hibernator. All he needed now was protection. With that in mind, she said, “Sir, don’t ask anyone else about the question you just asked. Don’t ask about any of this.”
“Why? Why shouldn’t I ask?”
“It’s dangerous to ask. Besides, you really don’t need to know. Believe me.”
He nodded. “Very well. I won’t ask. Thank you for treating me like an ordinary person. That’s all I’ve been hoping for.”
She said a hurried good-bye, but as she went her own way, she heard the voice of the founder of Starship Earth behind her: “Dongfang, no matter what happens, let things go as they will. Everything will be okay.”
She saw the two vice-captains in the center of the spherical hall. She had chosen to meet them here because the size of the hall made it feel like they were in the wilderness. The three of them floated at the center of a world of pure white, as if the whole universe was empty except for them. It lent a sense of security to their conversation.
Each of them looked in a different direction.
“We have to make things clear,” she said.
“Yes. Every second we delay is dangerous,” Vice-Captain Levine said. Then he and Akira Inoue turned around to face Dongfang Yanxu. His meaning was clear: You are the captain, you speak first.
But she didn’t have the courage.
Whatever happened now, at the second dawn of human civilization, might be the foundation of a new Homeric epic or a Bible. Judas became who he was because he was the first to kiss Jesus, and that made him fundamentally different from the second one to kiss him. It was the same now. The first to speak would mark a milestone in the history of the second civilization. Perhaps he or she would become Judas, or perhaps Jesus, but whatever the possibility, Dongfang Yanxu did not have that courage.
But she had to undertake her own mission, so she made a smart choice. She did not avoid the gaze of her vice-captains. Language was not necessary now. All communication could be accomplished through the eyes. As they stared at each other, their interlocking gazes were like information conduits linking their three souls together and communicating everything at high speed.
Fuel.
Fuel.
Fuel.
The route is still unclear, but at least two clouds of interstellar dust have been found.
Drag.
Of course. After passing through them, the spaceships will drop to 0.03 percent of the speed of light due to drag from the dust.
We’re still more than ten light-years away from NH558J2. We’ll need sixty thousand years to get there.
Then we’ll never arrive.
The ships may arrive, but the life on board won’t. Even hibernation can’t be sustained for that long.
Unless…
Unless speed is maintained through the dust clouds, or we accelerate afterward.
Fuel is insufficient.
Fusion fuel is the only source of energy aboard ship, and it needs to be used in other areas: environmental systems, possible course corrections….
And for deceleration once the target system is reached. NH558J2 is much smaller than the sun. We can’t achieve orbit relying solely on gravity for deceleration. We’ll have to expend large quantities of fuel, or else we’ll fly by the target star system.
All of the fuel on Starship Earth is basically enough for two spacecraft.
But, if we’re careful, it’s enough for just one.
Fuel.
Fuel.
Fuel.
“And then there’s the issue of parts,” Dongfang Yanxu said.
Parts.
Parts.
Parts.
Particularly parts for critical systems: fusion engines, information and control systems, environmental systems.
It may not be as urgent as fuel, but it’s the foundation of long-term survival. NH55J82 doesn’t have a hospitable planet for settlement or establishment of industry, or even the necessary resources to do so. It’s just a place to refuel before heading to the next system, where industry can be established to produce parts.
Natural Selection has only two levels of redundancy for key parts.
Too few.
Too few.
Apart from the fusion engines, most of the key parts on Starship Earth are interoperable.
Engine parts can be used after modification.