Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiri Page A
Authors: Housuke Nojiri
Tags: Fiction, sciencefiction
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common space in the habitation module.
Commander Kindersley chuckled. “That’s one hell of a long trip just to end up in another sardine tin. At least it feels homey.”
“Long trip? We haven’t even left orbit to hit the deep sky yet,” Mark chided.
“It feels almost over. After four years of waiting, eleven more months doesn’t seem like much.”
AFTER PRELIMINARY INSPECTIONS , the crewmembers entered the “cocoons,” their ovular private quarters. The cocoons were as small as coffins but contained everything the crew needed for day-to-day living. They could sleep, conduct meetings through the internal comm system, control the ship, and even answer the call of nature from inside their cocoons. Here was where they would spend most of their time. All information systems were operated from the cocoons using data suits and heads-up displays. They would take meals in the crew area, unless mounting tension among crewmembers (a consideration built into the very architecture of the ship) dictated otherwise, but the rest of their time would be spent within their cocoons.
Four hours later, the UNSS Phalanx undocked from the International Space Station on schedule. Aki was surprised that they were leaving on time after all the countless delays, but she was ecstatic to finally be taking off. As the ship left its low orbit, she felt no more movement or acceleration than she would have felt if she were riding an elevator.
“We’re on our own, just the four of us. Let’s do our best to be friendly, but not too friendly,” said Commander Kindersley from his cocoon. Then, clearing his throat, he added, “Mark,” half-jokingly.
AKI SPENT MOST of her time conferring with Per over the comm system. It was their job as the science team to discuss operational plans and review research sent from Central Command.
“Hey, Aki. Did you check that article from CERN about the latest theory on energy transfer from the Ring to the Island?”
His voice bubbled with curiosity, showing no signs of bitterness over the fact that the Ring had rendered his homeland uninhabitable. He tended to view the Ring more as a mechanical device that was causing a nuisance rather than something that had obliterated most of Sweden.
“The article on how energy might be converted to anti-proton beams that pass through narrow tubes? The energy loss would be too much waste. I think it would be too unconventional, even taking into account the creativity we have seen,” Aki responded.
“With a clever conversion equation though. Didn’t the math look pretty at least? It would be more efficient than passing the energy down copper wire that wrapped halfway around the sun. I am interested in running this through the onboard database and downloading more info. When we remove a sample of ring material, let’s do a matter-antimatter annihilation response test so that we can see how much energy it really stores.”
“The omnispectrometer might come in handy. If it is using anti-protons, there must be some built-in mechanism on the Ring that is creating them. If we go on the logic that the Ring behaves like a cellular organism, each unit would contain the fundamental building blocks that provide the basis for its various functions.”
“The cell model is not always the most efficient, you know,” said Per. “One anti-proton plant per square kilometer would be enough. Anti-proton plants could have been overlooked by the probes. Assuming a homogenous structure across the Ring is just the failure mode of that sort of model.”
“Certainly a possibility. The probes saw little.”
Her discussions with Per tended to be business oriented and often ended abruptly. They were not close in the sense of being friendly, but their interaction kept Aki’s mind occupied during the long voyage.
ACT IX: JANUARY 24, 2022
REACHING PERIHELION, THE UNSS Phalanx fired its engines full thrust in order to decelerate. Planet Earth was over a hundred million kilometers
Commander Kindersley chuckled. “That’s one hell of a long trip just to end up in another sardine tin. At least it feels homey.”
“Long trip? We haven’t even left orbit to hit the deep sky yet,” Mark chided.
“It feels almost over. After four years of waiting, eleven more months doesn’t seem like much.”
AFTER PRELIMINARY INSPECTIONS , the crewmembers entered the “cocoons,” their ovular private quarters. The cocoons were as small as coffins but contained everything the crew needed for day-to-day living. They could sleep, conduct meetings through the internal comm system, control the ship, and even answer the call of nature from inside their cocoons. Here was where they would spend most of their time. All information systems were operated from the cocoons using data suits and heads-up displays. They would take meals in the crew area, unless mounting tension among crewmembers (a consideration built into the very architecture of the ship) dictated otherwise, but the rest of their time would be spent within their cocoons.
Four hours later, the UNSS Phalanx undocked from the International Space Station on schedule. Aki was surprised that they were leaving on time after all the countless delays, but she was ecstatic to finally be taking off. As the ship left its low orbit, she felt no more movement or acceleration than she would have felt if she were riding an elevator.
“We’re on our own, just the four of us. Let’s do our best to be friendly, but not too friendly,” said Commander Kindersley from his cocoon. Then, clearing his throat, he added, “Mark,” half-jokingly.
AKI SPENT MOST of her time conferring with Per over the comm system. It was their job as the science team to discuss operational plans and review research sent from Central Command.
“Hey, Aki. Did you check that article from CERN about the latest theory on energy transfer from the Ring to the Island?”
His voice bubbled with curiosity, showing no signs of bitterness over the fact that the Ring had rendered his homeland uninhabitable. He tended to view the Ring more as a mechanical device that was causing a nuisance rather than something that had obliterated most of Sweden.
“The article on how energy might be converted to anti-proton beams that pass through narrow tubes? The energy loss would be too much waste. I think it would be too unconventional, even taking into account the creativity we have seen,” Aki responded.
“With a clever conversion equation though. Didn’t the math look pretty at least? It would be more efficient than passing the energy down copper wire that wrapped halfway around the sun. I am interested in running this through the onboard database and downloading more info. When we remove a sample of ring material, let’s do a matter-antimatter annihilation response test so that we can see how much energy it really stores.”
“The omnispectrometer might come in handy. If it is using anti-protons, there must be some built-in mechanism on the Ring that is creating them. If we go on the logic that the Ring behaves like a cellular organism, each unit would contain the fundamental building blocks that provide the basis for its various functions.”
“The cell model is not always the most efficient, you know,” said Per. “One anti-proton plant per square kilometer would be enough. Anti-proton plants could have been overlooked by the probes. Assuming a homogenous structure across the Ring is just the failure mode of that sort of model.”
“Certainly a possibility. The probes saw little.”
Her discussions with Per tended to be business oriented and often ended abruptly. They were not close in the sense of being friendly, but their interaction kept Aki’s mind occupied during the long voyage.
ACT IX: JANUARY 24, 2022
REACHING PERIHELION, THE UNSS Phalanx fired its engines full thrust in order to decelerate. Planet Earth was over a hundred million kilometers
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