rate of forty-two percent was projected to decline to thirty-percent within the next star cycle. The report presented several solutions, but the only one that showed any likelihood of slowing the problem was chemically induced forced clutching. The normal cycle for most species on the Universe Explorer was to lay a clutch every two to four-star cycles. Three clutches was the norm in an adult’s life span. Drugs could alter that, and add one or perhaps two additional clutches per lifespan, but the strain on the female’s body would be heavy and many wouldn’t make it through a fourth or fifth cycle.
Saigg deactivated the reportpad and returned it to where his mother had placed it. Continuing on to the food area, he pressed actiplates to dispense a cup of sweet drink and a cake of green crumble.
The food dispenser began streaming sweet drink into the rapidly growing disposacup. A sphincter opened, and a green, loosely packed cake of vegetable matter landed on a disposaplate beside the filled cup.
He took his food and sat at the table near the food dispenser. Since I stopped eating in my bedroom, the skinks have moved on to more productive scavenging grounds. Davvie’s room?
Saigg slumped in a chair, contemplating the future and the ramifications of the fertility report. Without aluminum to go into orbit around Treterra, the ship could just continue on through the solar system and disappear forever in the void between galaxies, dying out, species by species. On the other hand, if they were lucky, they would impact Treterra or Treterra’s moon and die quickly.
The fertility problem is actually the more serious. We can solve the fuel problem by cutting off the ship’s engines early and coasting. Rather than eight-star cycles to reach Treterra, we could coast for an additional hundred-star cycles and arrive with the fuel we need to achieve a stable orbit.
In one hundred-star cycles with an ever-declining fertility rate, we’d be down to a crew of less than two hundred, and some species would possibly even cease to exist. The other downside to coasting for an extended period is that it adds an equal amount of time to our return to the colony. That time could mean the difference between the colony’s survival or failure.
Saigg watched as his mother opened the door to her bedroom and crossed to the desk. She opened the right hand bottom drawer and removed a similarly colored stack of report pads. His mother then picked up the fertility report, put it in the drawer, and piled the other reports on top. She kneed the drawer closed and, head down, slowly shuffled from the cabin, mumbling, “I can’t add this to his problems. The additional stress could kill him.”
Chapter-6
Socorro, New Mexico: Transjump plus 0 years, 60 days:
Wilkins made good on his threat to schedule eighteen-hour shifts.
Beldon seldom saw his dad, and when he did come home, the toll the extended hours were taking on him was apparent. Beldon noticed his dad had lost at least twenty pounds, and his easy-going, fun-loving attitude had eroded into despondency.
His mother no longer brought home extra work. Now the problem was lack of work. She told him rumors had started that temporary layoffs would be happening as the analysts’ workload decreased. The NRAO Director could save a huge amount of money by furloughing idled workers until the upgrades were complete.
On Monday, the long-rumored furloughs went into effect, and his mother received her layoff notice. On the plus side, Beldon stumbled on a way to tell which antennas had the upgrades completed and were operational but unused.
“With this new series of VLA resources, I can expand my search operation and sweep larger volumes of space without detection. The only ones working at the VLA are the maintenance crews and they’re working on antennas miles from the ones I’ll be using,” Beldon muttered as he pulled his hair in frustration at his family’s crumbling circumstances.
With his
Saigg deactivated the reportpad and returned it to where his mother had placed it. Continuing on to the food area, he pressed actiplates to dispense a cup of sweet drink and a cake of green crumble.
The food dispenser began streaming sweet drink into the rapidly growing disposacup. A sphincter opened, and a green, loosely packed cake of vegetable matter landed on a disposaplate beside the filled cup.
He took his food and sat at the table near the food dispenser. Since I stopped eating in my bedroom, the skinks have moved on to more productive scavenging grounds. Davvie’s room?
Saigg slumped in a chair, contemplating the future and the ramifications of the fertility report. Without aluminum to go into orbit around Treterra, the ship could just continue on through the solar system and disappear forever in the void between galaxies, dying out, species by species. On the other hand, if they were lucky, they would impact Treterra or Treterra’s moon and die quickly.
The fertility problem is actually the more serious. We can solve the fuel problem by cutting off the ship’s engines early and coasting. Rather than eight-star cycles to reach Treterra, we could coast for an additional hundred-star cycles and arrive with the fuel we need to achieve a stable orbit.
In one hundred-star cycles with an ever-declining fertility rate, we’d be down to a crew of less than two hundred, and some species would possibly even cease to exist. The other downside to coasting for an extended period is that it adds an equal amount of time to our return to the colony. That time could mean the difference between the colony’s survival or failure.
Saigg watched as his mother opened the door to her bedroom and crossed to the desk. She opened the right hand bottom drawer and removed a similarly colored stack of report pads. His mother then picked up the fertility report, put it in the drawer, and piled the other reports on top. She kneed the drawer closed and, head down, slowly shuffled from the cabin, mumbling, “I can’t add this to his problems. The additional stress could kill him.”
Chapter-6
Socorro, New Mexico: Transjump plus 0 years, 60 days:
Wilkins made good on his threat to schedule eighteen-hour shifts.
Beldon seldom saw his dad, and when he did come home, the toll the extended hours were taking on him was apparent. Beldon noticed his dad had lost at least twenty pounds, and his easy-going, fun-loving attitude had eroded into despondency.
His mother no longer brought home extra work. Now the problem was lack of work. She told him rumors had started that temporary layoffs would be happening as the analysts’ workload decreased. The NRAO Director could save a huge amount of money by furloughing idled workers until the upgrades were complete.
On Monday, the long-rumored furloughs went into effect, and his mother received her layoff notice. On the plus side, Beldon stumbled on a way to tell which antennas had the upgrades completed and were operational but unused.
“With this new series of VLA resources, I can expand my search operation and sweep larger volumes of space without detection. The only ones working at the VLA are the maintenance crews and they’re working on antennas miles from the ones I’ll be using,” Beldon muttered as he pulled his hair in frustration at his family’s crumbling circumstances.
With his
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