BEYOND THE EVENT HORIZON
episode one
by
Albert Sartison
Copyright 2015 Albert Sartison
1.01
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ALSO BY ALBERT SARTISON
The Contact
Fundamental Force
*
The Storm
*
Entangled
Contents
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The events of this book continue the story begun in "THE CONTACT" and follow on immediately from the end of the previous book. "BEYOND THE EVENT HORIZON" can be read as a stand-alone story, although certain nuances of the plot will not be understood if you do not know the preceding events.
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Nature creates ability; luck provides it with opportunity.
Fran?ois de La Rochefoucauld
Prologue
In 2177, close to the Solar System, scientists discover a source of disturbance to the space-time continuum: radiating gravity waves that did not appear to have the signature of those caused by natural processes.
On the basis of the approximate distance to the source and the intensity of the waves generated, its mass ought to be compatible with the size of a binary star and exert a strong influence on the movement of the planets in the Solar System. However, such a system of heavenly bodies is not known to exist.
Attempts to detect the mysterious object with the aid of Earth-based observatories and orbital telescopes are unsuccessful, but astronomers succeed in determining the location of the anomaly. Its distance from the Sun is estimated to be six light hours, which is within the range of high-speed spacecraft. A research expedition is being equipped to go to its location...
1
By the evening of the day of departure, the weather was already beginning to deteriorate. When Steve left the house and got into a taxi, the sky was shrouded in a light mist, changing its colour from dark blue to milky. When he reached the spaceport an hour later, bundled his things together and walked towards the terminal entrance, there were sparse rain clouds overhead.
All those taking part in the expedition were sitting in their seats in a small private conference hall. As he entered, Steve saw dozens of faces turn towards the sound of the door opening. Since working on the 'Dawn' project, he had got more used to such situations and had become more relaxed about facing people he didn't know. Dozens of pairs of unfamiliar eyes directed towards him no longer brought on wobbly knees and a dry mouth as they had done before.
Also, he had now taken his finals. As soon as Shelby had finished checking and marking his work, Steve would no longer be a student, but a fully-fledged adult. An astrophysics specialist. Since the assessment was no more than a formality, it was time to conduct himself accordingly and not look up to his more senior colleagues from below, but consider them his equals.
Steve nodded to them in greeting and looked round for an empty seat. He started by looking along the back rows, but after thinking about it for a second, looked further forward, closer to the podium. The closer to the speaker, the easier it was to take in what was said. Steve knew this from his experience of lectures at university.
Under the gaze of those present, he stepped forward and sat in the front row. It was better that way. He looked to either side. On his right was a gloomy-looking elderly man working away on his tablet. When Steve had approached the seat next to him, he hadn't even given him a glance, but just took his coat off the seat irritably. To his left, a little further away, was a group of people, clearly scientists, who obviously already knew each other. They were quietly discussing something. Clive was sitting a little further along the same row. They looked at each other, and Steve acknowledged him with a brief nod.
A voice suddenly rang out from the stage. "Greetings, team!"
Everyone stopped talking and turned their heads to the front. Once satisfied that he had the attention of his audience, the speaker continued.
"Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Kimble, and I have the honour of being the captain of our expedition ship."
Compared to the others, Steve, as a former participant in the 'Dawn' project, knew more about the expedition, so he already knew the captain's name. But this was the first time he had seen him in the flesh. The captain's appearance radiated the confidence typical of all ships' captains.
"Our route takes us beyond the limits of assimilated space," continued Kimble in a confident voice. "This makes our expedition the first of its kind, taking us far beyond the orbits of the planets."
The captain switched on the screen behind him to show images of the Solar System.
"If you look from the Earth's viewpoint, our target is roughly in the direction of Mars, but at an angle to the plane of the ecliptic. This will mean that after only a few days of travel, we shall be far away from our entire space transport infrastructure, and should unforeseen circumstances arise, we will have no-one to rely on but ourselves.
"I am not saying this to arouse fear. But each member of the team must realise that the expedition has to be taken seriously; we can't expect help from anyone. And now please proceed to the exit. We will be taking off immediately, and the shuttle is already waiting for us. I'll tell you the rest of the details on board the ship."
Steve, who had just made himself comfortable in expectation of a long and detailed explanation, looked surprised as he had to stand up and make his way to the exit with the others. That was probably the shortest briefing he had ever attended. It was clear that the captain was no lover of long speeches.
On his way out, Steve slowed down. When Clive caught up with him, he again nodded in greeting.
"Well, how did you find the briefing?"
Clive looked discontented.
"I don't understand why we had to assemble in the hall. We all know where we're going anyway."
"Perhaps just so that everyone knows who their captain is."
"It's all the same to me," said Clive in a loud voice, not in the least concerned that the captain himself might hear him.
Steve just smiled. Clive was being his usual self. Previously, Clive's awkward socialising skills used to irritate him, but he found them rather amusing now. Perhaps Steve was beginning to grow up...
Outside, the weather had finally broken. The spaceport field greeted them with pouring rain, lightning and deafening thunder. A strong wind blew cold spray into their faces, and although the bus was waiting for them under a small shelter, giving some protection to the face, it meant their feet got wet through almost instantly.
The bus closed its doors with a hissing noise and set off immediately. The sound of its powerful electric motor was barely audible against the noise of the rain beating down on the roof. With every gust of wind, water lashed against the windows as if someone was amusing himself by spraying the bus with a hose, its valve fully open.
It was clearly not flying weather, and Steve looked around him in alarm. The dense rain prevented him seeing very far, but as far as he could make out, there was no other movement in the spaceport. The bus, rocked by the strong wind, passed long rows of parked tankers, their ligh
ts off.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, the bus left the field in front of the terminal and was now passing between launch pads. They were weakly illuminated, and it seemed that most flights had been cancelled. Those ships that had not managed to land before the onset of the bad weather were awaiting the end of the storm in orbit. Nor were any launches taking place.
The wind was so strong that even the space elevator was not running. As they passed, its cables stretching up into the sky were barely visible in the glare of the floodlights. They were rocking considerably, despite being thick and under strong tension.
Steve got up from his seat to talk to the captain. The bus was going at quite a speed, so it wasn't easy to keep his balance. He staggered up to the front where Kimble was sitting, busy with his tablet.
"Sir, why are we in such a hurry? I thought lift-off was scheduled for five in the morning," said Steve, raising his voice to make himself heard over the sound of the wind and rain outside. Gusts of cold air were blowing into the bus through a slightly-open hatch in the ceiling. The larger drops were trapped by filters, but fine spray still found its way in. Jets of wet air were beating right into the captain's face, but he seemed to be enjoying it.
"The plans have changed. I'll explain everything on board the ship," he answered curtly, making it known by his manner that he had no desire to discuss the subject with every member of the team individually.
Steve said nothing, but looked out through the windscreen. Nothing could be seen apart from the cat's eyes