Per Jonsson raised his hand. Per was an astrophysicist and planetologist. He and his family took refuge in the U.S. about a year earlier when his native country, Sweden, became completely uninhabitable. He looked almost as old as Kindersley. His facial expressions betrayed tiny moments of despair, a trait common among refugees forced to flee the deadly, and spreading, climate changes. Thankfully, when given information to dwell on or put together, a spark of curiosity would light in his eyes.
“I have always wondered why those ships are called ‘strategic,’” Per said.
“The word describes the level of military action the submarine is capable of participating in. The distinctions among the different levels mean different things to different people, but in order from small to large, the levels are combative, tactical, operational, and strategic,” Commander Kindersley said. “A battle on the strategic level would be an all-out conflict large enough to eliminate a country or two.”
“Interesting. So that is how you saw it, commanding on the strategic level, holding the fate of nations in your hands?” Per asked.
The commander smiled indulgently at Per. Aki wondered if her original assessment of how he commanded was incorrect.
“The sub I commanded was nuclear. The greatest enemies for a nuclear sub, because they are usually far from land, are assault submarines. They attack nuclear submarines. It is what they assault.”
“Fascinating. No weapon is ever big enough to prevent people from getting shot at. What is the point then?” Per interrupted. Aki could not tell if Per lacked social skills or if he was just getting frustrated.
“That’s somewhat correct. The job of an assault submarine is to protect ally strategic subs and destroy enemy assaulters. It’s rare to actually bring those beasts into a battle, but we have to be on our toes, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Radio waves and light are distorted underwater. We rely on sonar to find the enemy. Then we close in gradually. We can’t just rev our engines and head toward them at full speed. If the propeller spins quickly, it causes cavitation, turbulence in the water, that exposes your location and eliminates the element of surprise.”
“I understand why you were selected,” Per said. It was as if he were stopping to make it clear that he understood Commander Kindersley’s authority. Aki had seen older men have these roundabouts before. She hoped this particular tussle was coming to an end.
“I’m glad it makes sense. What I’m trying to tell you is that, when she’s done, our spaceship will have more similarities to my subs than our ship will have to any aircraft. Subs and this spaceship are both propelled by nuclear power and require the crew to live in isolation for months on end while tracking the enemy carefully and quietly. Now I’ll have Officer Mark Ridley explain the daily duties on board an assault submarine. He is one of my most outstanding. I’m happy to work with him even if he’s going to seem a little impulsive to you. The floor’s yours, Mark.”
Mark Ridley moved to the front. His dark hair was cropped close to his scalp, and he wore a look of fearless determination. According to the dossier that Aki had been given, he was thirty-one.
“Thank you, Commander. Uh, I’ve been working as the chief engineer on nuclear subs ever since I was originally stationed on an old Ohio-class strategic sub. After that, I was transferred to an assault sub. I’ll be the engineer on this mission. I think the job of an engineer is pretty similar no matter what kind of ship he’s on. I’ll constantly monitor the nuclear reactor and keep it running, and she’ll be my baby, unless somebody cuter comes along.”
“You will be hard at work manning the control rod and keeping an eye on the status meters?” Per wielded his stylus as if it were a control rod as he asked, getting a good laugh from Mark. Aki liked the way his nose crinkled when he chuckled.
“Yes, spaceships and nuclear subs are highly automated, but the nuclear reactors are critical systems and there’s a lot to stay on top of. At the end of the day, an engineer does what his duties require whether he likes it or not.”
Mark glanced around the room and then exhaled. Aki wondered what he was not saying. Then Aki wondered if anyone else could tell that she was feeling slightly flustered by Mark’s presence.
“The reactor doesn’t turn the propeller directly. It works as a generator that powers a steam turbine, and the turbine actually spins the propeller. The reactor also provides the energy needed to run the electronics and circulate the air. On the ship we’ll be using NERVA III engines that will propel her by blasting out what is the equivalent of steam on a nuclear sub. Our reactor will also power the generator for the electronics, just like on a sub.”
Mark looked at Aki. “This making sense to you, Ms. Shiraishi?”
“Yes, it is clear. Thank you.”
“Good. You’ve been quiet. I wanted to make sure you were following.”
“Mark thinks he has a soft spot for Asian women,” Commander Kindersley commented with a grin. “I’m not sure Asian women agree. I remember a pinup of a Korean actress that he kept in a locker with a—”
“Commander,” Mark interrupted, “let’s categorize that as classified information.”
Aki giggled more loudly than she intended.
“She covers her mouth when she laughs. You love that courtly behavior.” The commander looked at Aki. She was glad that her new team was going to be able to laugh together.
“Enough, um, please,” Mark said. He took a breath, then another, and regained his composure before saying to Aki, “You certainly have a nice smile. I hope having all this on the table won’t be a problem during our mission.”
Any reply would sound trite. Aki bowed and shifted in her seat. She was less familiar than most with romance, but she did not mind the attention. Knowing she was Mark’s type made him more interesting. She doubted that his momentary infatuation, or hers for him, would actually amount to anything.
IN ADDITION TO the training, Aki still had to stay on top of the latest research. In between classroom sessions, Aki would retreat to her office to continue studying the Ring, trying to unravel the mystery behind its regenerative systems. She was discouraged by her minimal progress—both her schedule and how little was known were major obstacles—but she continued to make efforts to keep up with the latest findings and conference reports when she could find the time.
Then, without warning, a new phenomenon occurred, creating another mystery for Aki and the world’s scientists. An enormous dark spot appeared on the upper edge of the Ring. It was 130,000 kilometers in diameter—as large as Jupiter—even when the spot first appeared. The contrast of the spot varied at first but stabilized after a year.
For lack of a better name, the spot was christened the “Island.” Relative to its massive diameter, the Island was unbelievably thin. It did not protrude from the inner surface of the Ring and appeared to extend beyond the outer surface by less than three hundred meters. Observations from NASA’s space telescope were unable to discern distinguishing features. It was as if somebody had placed a gigantic gray sticker on the outside of the Ring.
Even though proportionally it was thin, its expansive surface area was likely to create a significant amount of extra mass on that portion of the Ring. Despite this, however, the Island was not falling victim to the sun’s gravitational pull. Later observations showed a weak shower of ions emanating from the inner side of the Ring just behind the Island. Since the ions were traveling at an extraordinarily high speed toward the sun, scientists theorized that the mass of the Island was supported by numerous ion jets. The sun’s pull at that distance is a mere 1/120 of a G, which would not require much force to overcome.