Space Industries: Matb
DESTRUCTION OF THE SPACE WHEEL
LOCATION: THE SPACE WHEEL, EARTH-MOON STATIONARY POINTDATE: FEBUARY 17, 2050
Heather McNeil was determined not to screw this moment up. She had been here only one time back in twenty forty-five when the Station had been constructed and then mothballed because the expense was beyond the remaining states of the Union. Economic mismanagement had taken their dream from within. The Space Wheel represented the act of the last President of the United States – an engineer and a dreamer from long Island. It also represented ten trillion dollars that China had retained as an outstanding Debt. A Deep breath. The hatch released and Heather pushed it inside following it in. Immediately behind her the Chinese Astronauts were patently waiting with interest. China...Heather shook her head at the idea...Space Industries now owned America’s Dream lock, stock and barrel. Space Industries had purchased the Space Station, and the Companies thatnowilt it. They had simply offered Americans who held the Intellectual Property shares in Space Industries if they bought in with their Intellectual Property. NASA engineers went private in their hundreds. The Big Contractors knew the good times were over so they bought in as well. Traitors. Heather instantly regretted the word. She had signed on with Space Industries’ Astronaut Core rather than join the cue of American Heroes who now stood in line for a meal. Their pride had made them bitter and left them in the refugee camps with nothing. Heather thought of her friend, fellow Astronaut, and lover, Kaite Walsh, who had chosen not to follow Heather to Space Industries but instead had vanished into the Huddled Masses of New Texas to find a new American Dream. Heather had signed on with Space Industries because they had made the dream their own.
Space Industries were recruiting Astronauts from around the world with wages at ten times what was being offered by the old space faring nations. Space Industries were plundering the Intellectual Talent of the World. Astronauts, Engineers, Scientists. They were signing on at a record rate. Heather nodded to Jun? Was that his name? Oh god...there was going to be a Diplomatic incident because she had suddenly forgotten the name of one of their team engineers. Heather waited until he was in a good position to watch the code entered into the pad and then began pushing the buttons. A – 1 – 1 – 1 – F – R – 6 – 7 –T. The sequence opened the door to the large spacious chamber that looked like a Subway car. Heather waved the Young Engineer in and indicated the remainder of the group forward. Once all were in the Turbo-lift, safe and strapped in despite the microgravity environment, Heather activated the system. The movement was slow at first but as it picked up speed they all seemed to experience the moment like it was some carnival ride. Heather smiled at the ‘fist timers’. Heather contemplated where they would be now if the USA had chosen to rise above bigotry and bought China in on the International Space Station back before she was born. The thought of living on some Space Station made her instantly regret the thought. Sixty Years late and they had built that space station and now? Space Industries were making her dream real. When the Second hatch opened the Turbo-lift had docked with the forever moving Maglev Train that comprised the Habitat component of the Space-wheel and gravity seemed just like earth. They released from their seats and walked onto the only space station with artificial gravity. She turned to her fellow Space Industries Astronauts and smiled.
“Welcome to Space Wheel!” Heather shook Jun’s hand in greeting with a smile. There seemed to be a consensus of excitement at being on board the first ever space station to enjoy artificial gravity The next eight hours involved activation of onboard systems designed to make life better. Unlike the international Space Station before it, the systems made far less noise.
The Space Industries crew were professionals. Tomorrow she would do a spacewalk just to inspect the condition of the solar array and by the end of the week everything would be good to go. Good to go. What had Kaite said on that last day back in twenty forty-five when they had got done building the Space wheel?
Kiss me. Astronaut Sex in Space. Heather smiled. Jun interrupted her flashback.
“Are you OK?” Heather nodded her satisfaction.
“I’m Fine. What’s up?” Jun was smiling. Something was up.
“Would you like some pork ribs?” Heather laughed. She had never had real food in space – not even when they activated the Space-wheel.
“Yes Please.” Heather’s smile lit Jun up. They had installed the one thing lacking on this train ride: a kitchen. The evening was filled with something unexpected – a moment of happiness - and It lasted well into their rest periods. Eventually the evening broke up and everyone settled in to sleep. Heather relaxed in her personal bed cubicle for the evening. If they needed her they would wake her. She needed sleep but it didn’t come. She returned to thought of Kaite. America was done. Kaite had resigned the day the states fragmented.
“I am not going to work for the Chinese.” It wasn’t really the Chinese any more. Space Industries had come out of nowhere. That move had changed everything - Enough that Heather had jumped at the opportunity when they bought the Space-wheel. She knew the systems. Something had rushed her feet. The old headphones communications pack sat at the far end of her bunk. Had someone left it here during primary activation and mothballing? Heather hooked it up with her toes and reached down to grab it. The audio was open and counting down.
“Seventeen – Sixteen – Fifteen – Fourteen...“ There was an alarm of concern in the back of her mind. Where did she know that voice from? Heather’s mind was lethargic with the task of needing to awaken. The moment of recognition made her sick.
“Oh fuck...that Bitch.” Kaite Walsh had been on that last Atlantis mission to the Space Wheel. They had placed a device onboard.
“Three – Two – One...” Nuclear Light blinded her.
THE NEW TEXAS INCIDENT
LOCATION: MEXICO CITY REFUGEE CAMP RED BETA, NEW TEXASDATE: MAY 1, 2050
Kaite Walsh moved warily amongst the populace crowded in the alley with her ten litre Water Bottle. Eyes watched eyes. Kaite stopped to look at the dead snake hanging from a wire.
“How much for the Snake?” the old cartel boss rubbed his chin and looked her up and down and smiled.
“You obviously don’t got money or food stamps. But I take what you are offering.” Kaite’s eyes became mercantile as she inspected his dishevelled body and reached into his rags in search of his manhood.
“Agreed”, ominous thunder sounded from overhead as Kaite pleasured one snake for little more than the payment of another. The thunder on the other hand wasn’t going away. The explosion of the impact ended their commercial transaction and she was thrown from the shelter of his shanty across the alley with nothing left by a piece of flesh in her hands. Kaite woke to find she could not hear the panic about her. The old man had been impaled on a wheel of steel as part of what had fallen from the sky rolled through the camp. In the distance she could see a large mass of metal – burning. Was that the hull of some huge aircraft? The just as engorged corporate logo dominated what was most certainly a freight container along with the remains of a Square Code. The Desperate swarmed past her seeking what they could from the gift from heaven. Kaite turned and ran for her squat. Her worthless belongings had been rummaged again in search of valuables, but she pulled them aside in search of the one valuable she did have. Beneath the dirt and gravel an old ammunition box and within it a makeshift radiation detector revealed itself. A quick turn of the hand generator charged the capacitors and then an adjustment of the frequency just below switch-on of the phosphor low energy globe and she watched as it sparked with light.
The tell tale signs of high energy nuclear particles impacting on the globe. There were a lot of them. It was Hot. The Camp was being bathed in radiation. Kaite looked back over her shoulder at the hell that had befallen them and the tidal swell of people who were going to their deaths. She would need to be amongst them if she was going to save lives. The Ammunition box seemed oddly light in her hand now as she pushed through the crowd.
“It’s Radioactive. Get to the far side of the camp.” her voice began as a whisper and she struggled to get their attention. The Globe flickered as she waved it in front of them. Some turned and walked away, others ignored her.
“For Fuck sake, it is radioactive! Get to the far side of the camp.” Kaite’s voice was loud now. People noticed the flickering globe and dropped what they had been lifting from the wreckage. Kaite could see it now as people began a slow understanding retreat from the death that would claim them. The Wreckage was most defiantly not any aircraft. It had fallen from the sky but it wasn’t an aircraft. A space ship fell from the sky? It wasn’t the cargo block that was radioactive. The wreckage of the ship seemed to have torn open the hull and exposed what could only be the space ship’s nuclear drives. It seemed odd that it all hadn’t gone off like a nuke. Kaite smiled as her makeshift radiation detector died. The prospect of being killed by the space age along with the rest of the refugees in the camp sparked some realization in her. The Future was now and it would not be stopped –certainly not by the failure of one ship – irradiating a refugee camp. The crowd still lingered at a distance they considered safe. They were still hopeful the contents of the giant gift-box from space could be salvaged. Kaite abandoned her examination of the motors and walked toward the super-container. The point of entry wasn’t on any of the sides facing outward. She waved at some of her refugees.
“I need on the roof.” A Pyramid of people formed against the box. Kaite was lifted up with her radiation detector. There it was -The view of a life time. She stood forty feet above the camp and could now see to the edge of the city. A Single hatch revealed itself. Kaite pulled at the mechanism and it opened. Below her a treasure of technology, Parts to some technological wonder, new space suits, Boxes of Rations.
Her radiation detector died – the globe going dark. An adjustment and it became a light bulb with a generator illuminating the world. In here it was shielded against the horrors of failure. Everything she would ever want if she was building a space station. A Release and a very large door opened exposing the contents to the world. This was how they loaded it on the ground. In space it would be the little hatch.
“Get everything out except the space suits and anything that looks like a tool!” Kaite had a plan. If it could keep radiation out, it could also keep it in. Kaite was impressed by the way the container had apparently absorbed the energy of space-fall. There wasn’t any physical damage to anything inside the box. Kaite selected a pair of helpers and helped them climb into space suits. Apparently it was muggy and warm as they walked out into the Sun and the temperature rose quickly. The Ship wreckage was everywhere. They would need to get as much as possible of the radioactive materials into the container. The primary problem was the exposed drives. No one in a space suit could get into the drives. Kaite slipped through the hole. Saving her people called for further sacrifice. The international symbol for radiation marked a single large apparatus. It had to be the Reactor that supplied the Drives with whatever it was they needed. Removing it would hasten her certain death. A spanner fitted the bolts holding the mechanism it its frame. Time she did not have was spent on the wretched bolts but the device was freed and Kaite struggled to drag the device to the hole in the hull.
“Get it into the Box.” Kaite was sick. She could feel it. The two ‘Astronauts’ moved the container, its radioactive contents now obvious to everyone who had remained to watch, into the box that had been thoroughly looted. Kaite struggled to follow them. She checked the radiation of the Drive. It had lessened. The Source was now the reactor being moved into Cargo box. She followed the ‘astronauts’ into the freight box and waited until they had walked out again.
“My name is Kaite Walsh.” Her voice now frail, Kaite sealed the door from the inside. She was done with being a hero.
THE FALL
Location: Halifax exploration site five, the Moon.Date: 2061, October 10.
"steady as she goes Lisa." the young astronaut smiled at the voice over the comms.
"all good here Susan." that wasnt entirely true. Being lowered into a cave in a space suit on the moon and suddenly finding the darkness to be cold was a disturbing sensation.
The drone carry-all activated its headlights and the million year old tunnel lit up. It went on forever.
"wow!" Lisa laughed at the thrill of discovery.
"yeah, we see it Lisa. Its pretty awesome. A drone engine ruptured a seal and Lisa was jerked forward into the tunnel. The sensation lasted a moment. The drone exploded above her and Lisa cooms, youngest of space industries astronaut core was hurled into darkness.
"Lisa!" Susan caufield had seen the drone carry-all explode. Her urge to reach out caused her to step forward, towards the edge.
"oh god. Halifax station! Do you read?" Susan continued looking down into the the dark for some sign of survival.
"we saw the feed cut out Susan. What happened?" calm yourself. Slow your breathing.
"drone carry-all exploded during descent. Lisa! Can you read me?" nothing.
"its no good Halifax. Comms lost." Susan turned away and the edge of the hole collapsed.
"wall collapse. Wall collapse." shit. Susan caufield descended with several thousand ton of moon down an eight hundred metre pit. Susan screamed with the unexpected horror of certain death before she remembered something. She pushed a button on her wrist pad. A pack inflated with considerable haste trapping the sensation of embarrassment with Susan in a crash bubble. Susan cleared her throat.
"sorry for that Halifax station. Crash bubble activated." Susan wondered if Halifax station had caught her transmission. A substantial portion of lunar surface reached bottom. The crash bubble absorbed the impact, and Susan caufield found herself face down. Susan wondered if Lisa was now buried beneath a mountain of rock. First off detatch pack. Susan struggled to manoeuvre her arm against her suit until she reached the spoiled pack. A pin release and the crash bubble was separated. Susan breathed heavily with exertion rolling to sit. She waited a moment until the distress had passed.
"Halifax station, do you read me?" signal damn you. Susan ground her teeth.
"we hear you Susan. How is your status?" relief washed over her.
"i'm good Halifax. Crash bubble worked."
"glad to hear it Susan. That was a close call." Susan activated the thrust pack and it lifted her to her feet.
"lift assistance thruster functioning." helmet LED's illuminated her surroundings.
"yeah Halifax, i'm definatly in a hole." Susan tightened her right hand into a fist for a moment as she made a slow three hundred and sixty degree turn. There was something not realy experienced from the surface: a sea of carbon dioxide. It flowed along the bottom of the tunnel like a river of thick mist. And now the island of subsidence that had dropped from above pretty much blocked its path. It had become a dam causing the river to rise. Light flickered in the distance and susan's mind raced.
"oh god! I see a light up a tunnel. I think its Lisa." Susan moved less than cautiously across the rocky surface. If it was Lisa she might be up to five hundred metres away. Mist obscured everything and it was only getting thicker as it built up behind the new dam. The distant light switched to red.
"Halifax, do you read? Lisa's LEDs just switched over to red. I'm working my way up the tunnel." Susan struggled blindly in the mist. The distant red glow was her only point of reference.
"Lisa do you hear me? I'm comming. Help is on the way."
"Susan, Halifax here. Carry-all is two minutes from your location."
"copy that Halifax." two damn minutes. The uneven surface and sea of mist meant this could take an hour. The red glow was so tantalizing. Susan reached out and swatted at the mist, hoping to part it and reveal Lisa to be within her reach. Nothing.
"Halifax! How are we comming on that drone?" Susan was drowning in a river of carbon dioxide. There was no way they could see her.
"minute-thirty from your location Susan." Susan halted.
"switching over to red LEDs so you can see me." lisa's red glow became part of the background. Breath.
"I need a lift Halifax. Terrain is becomming problematic."
"we have your location Susan. Carry-all closing." the engines of the carry-all cleared the mist around her as it positioned overhead. Harness straps danced around Susan and she reached out to gather them and direct them towards anchor points on her suit.
"hooked in Halifax. Take me up." the carry-all lifted.
"okay Lisa. We are minutes away." Susan switched her LEDs to white. The distant glow of lisa's red LEDs once again became aparrent.
"Halifax! It looks like she is a hundred metres ahead." close.
"closing Susan." the drone parted the mist around the red Led glow. It wasnt comming from the helmet LEDs. Susan stared down at the space suit, its helmet shattered. Something was moving about the exposed face, a great many small somethings, and they were feeding off her blood. Susan understood.
"lower me down Halifax." Susan touched surface and retrieved a soil sample tube. Bending down to capture one of the feeding predators, a red glow in the tube and she screwed down the lid.
"take me home." they had found life on the moon.
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