The starchild compact, p.38
The Starchild Compact, page 38
As Eber absorbed the worldwide festivities, he wondered how an event like this would have unfolded on Ectaris. Since all he knew was the Arc, he really had no way of knowing. He reviewed some of his contacts on Earth as the clan hop-skipped through Earth's history. People's beliefs were different, of course, and technology was mostly nonexistent. Nevertheless, people have remained substantially the same. When he compared modern Earthmen to his fellow Ectarians when they first arrived here, there were really no significant differences that could not be attributed to growing up inside the Arc as opposed to growing up on Earth's surface.
#
The Starchild in its cradle was moved from its construction location to the nearest launch column.
Eber decided that only he and Jon would take the inaugural flight. The process mirrored launching Merkavah. At this stage, Jon was as familiar as Eber with the controls and the Resident interface. Eber said with a smile, "She's yours, Jon. Take her out!"
Once they were space borne and well above the ecliptic, Eber had Jon bring Starchild to a hover. "Let's check out the little Starchild," Eber said.
They ascended to the top of Starchild and entered the smaller spacecraft through a deck hatch. The controls were identical to Merkavah. Eber grinned at Jon, and moments later they were hovering near the Mirs Complex, the Resident having transited to Earth above the ecliptic and then dropped to the Moon's orbit.
"You take her back!" Eber said.
Twenty minutes later they came to rest at the bottom of the launch column, and the bay door slid up out of sight.
#
Provisioning turned out to be a much bigger deal than Eber had thought it would be. As he reflected on what the task entailed, however, he began to understand the reality of what they were undertaking, Their original return to Ectaris and their hops forward through Earth's developing history had really been like an afternoon stroll in the park compared with what they were now undertaking. He found himself relying a great deal on Jon's expertise, gained on the Mars expedition and then the Cassini II voyage. In real terms, Jon had far more experience in space travel than Eber had, and probably, Eber conceded to himself, should be given command of the Starchild.
Their crew currently consisted of four Founders and four Cassini II crew members, and they were looking for a doctor. As Eber and Jon discussed the situation in Jon's makeshift office, Eber found himself thinking that they really needed more crew members.
"Jon, we're building regular accommodations for fifteen. We all agreed on this, and yet we're eight. How about recruiting another seven people? Right now we have a broad mixture of engineering skills, historians, warriors, an astronomer, and a physician. We really need expertise in physics, chemistry, biology and agronomy, geology, and it probably wouldn't hurt to take a shrink with us as well – perhaps who doubles as the physician."
"We all have eclectic outside interests," Jon said. "Music, art, writing – if we're going to add more people, we need to ensure they are more than their basic resumes, that their breadth matches ours." Jon opened a drawer in his desk and extracted an ancient bottle of Islay scotch whiskey, along with a couple of interestingly fluted glasses. "Do you know scotch?"
Eber shook his head, wondering what kind of treat Jon was offering him. As Jon filled the glasses to the level of the first inward curve, Eber caught a whiff, an aroma that hinted of open steppes, burning moss, and salt sea air. The glass shape obviously was designed to direct the vapors to his nostrils, so he lifted the glass to his lips and inhaled through his nose. This was something Eber had not before experienced. He sipped a small amount of the golden liquid. A smooth wash of fire crossed his tongue, and – for a moment – he thought he might cough or sputter, but the feeling passed and he was left with a pleasant warmth in his mouth and throat, and a heady sense of a simultaneous cacophony and blending of taste and aroma.
"That, my friend, is the nectar of the gods," Jon said quietly as he replaced the bottle in the drawer. They sat silently, savoring.
"I've been giving a lot of thought to something," Jon said a while later. They still had dregs in their glasses, and Eber was still in wonderment over this incredible delicacy. Eber looked at Jon in anticipation.
"We're provisioning for fifteen people – for how long? We can spend several months exploring vast distances – actually, not the distances but the destinations at those distances. The real factor we need to keep in mind is how much time we spend in hyper-vee, compared to how much time we spend exploring. If we spend a year in hyper-vee, we're jumping ahead twenty-six-thousand years. If we return to Earth after twenty-six-thousand years, I don't think we can bridge such a difference.
"On the other hand, if we limit ourselves to a total of three days in hyper-vee, we'll have leapt forward only one hundred eighty-four years. I think everyone can handle that. When I think about the technology we have developed in the last two hundred years, I don't think I can imagine where we might be one hundred eighty-five years from now, but I am relatively confident that we and they can deal with the differences."
"All the more so," Eber added, "if we do an initial jump of only ten or twenty years."
"Don't forget that Rod and his people will be licensing Ectarian technology into Earth's at a steady pace."
"I'm for an initial ten-year jump, and then a more extended one of several hundred years. See what happens in the short-term, and then go for a bigger jump."
"I don't disagree, but I think we should pass it by the current Israeli and U.S. leaders. If they feel they are part of the decision, I think they will be more willing to facilitate the wait for our return." Jon stopped talking, and dropped into deep thought. Eber did not disturb the process. When Jon refocused, Eber let him continue.
"I suspect that when we return after ten years, most people will presume that we have experienced the ten years just as they have. Only a very small percentage of Earth's population will comprehend that our trip lasted only a few minutes for us. But our return will be a big deal. By the time we return the second time, however, I suspect our existence will have shifted into a quasi-legendary status. I think we will be anticipated by only two groups." Jon paused.
"Don't keep me in suspense…whom are you referring to?"
"The descendants of Rod's enclave will keep the knowledge of us alive, although we may well achieve legendary status even with these scientists. Legendary will not be an issue with the second group. We – you Founders, actually – already have legendary status with the Raëlians. They will mark their calendars and restructure their religious rites so that our return will be a worldwide event for them. You Founders awakened a sleeping giant when you made your appearance. The Raëlians have been with us in one form or another for a long time, but always as a fringe religion. I predict that after our short-term jump, they will become the dominant religious faith on Earth, displacing Christianity, Islam, and all the others."
"That would not have happened on Ectaris," Eber said. "At the time Ectarians commenced preparations to leave, there were virtually no organized religions."
"I can see that. Ectaris had one common faith: Survival! That trumped everything."
"Remember, Jon, by then we had fifty thousand years of recorded history. As a people, we had pretty much come to grips with the real world."
"Well," Jon quipped, "prepare to be a god to the common people."
#
For the thousandth time, Jon went over his departure checklist. They were provisioned for a full year for fifteen, even though they had not yet filled their complement. Furthermore, they could supply food indefinitely with the hybrid hydroponics system coupled with the automated manufacturing system. They had loaded several cases of the Earth's finest rare liquors. Their electronic library held the sum total of everything in the Founder and Earth databases – a feat that could not have been accomplished with Earth's current technology, but was easy with the installed Founder computer system. Included with these data were formulas for manufacturing virtually all of the Earth's wines, beers, and distilled beverages, formulas generated at the molecular level by the Founders' sophisticated analysis equipment; formulas that should – in principle – allow the manufacturing facility to recreate any of these beverages so that they would be indistinguishable from the original. Jon doubted that, which was why he made sure that they carried a limited supply of the originals.
All that was left was selecting the remaining crew members, putting Saeed to pasture somewhere on Earth where he could do no more harm, and establishing the Iapetus Federation with its licensing arrangement for the Founder technology. Jon left the crew recruiting effort in Rod's & Ginger's capable hands. The final selections would be ready in a month, including a physician with broad expertise in psychology. He and Rod had discussed the implications of fifteen people cooped up in a relatively small starship. Social and sexual dynamics were fully complicated enough on a planet-wide basis. How would this distill down to a small group of highly talented individuals isolated not only by distance from everyone else, but as time passed, by time itself as they inexorably moved away from their common timeline with Earth?
From his personal perspective as an acknowledged alpha-male, Jon knew that he wanted the women in his limited universe to be easy on the eyes. It wasn't that simple, however. In the final analysis, comeliness was a two-way street. After discussing the matter privately with Rod, Jon decided to bring Ginger into the decision-making process. Together they decided that additional crew members would be highly capable in more than one discipline, with broadly eclectic interests, and a sense of group that went beyond their individual proclivities; and they would be comely, as judged by Ginger and Rod – Jon had pulled himself out of that equation.
After all that had happened, no one connected with Cassini II, Merkavah, or Starchild wanted to make a further issue of the little terrorist, Saeed Esmail. What Jon finally did was to turn Saeed over to American military escorts at L-4, with instructions to return him to Earth the way he had come via the Earhart Slingshot in the equatorial Pacific, and to drop him off without ceremony of any kind anywhere in the old Persian Caliphate. The escort released Saeed in an empty alley in a run-down section of old Dubai. They gave him 200 riyals, the officially reevaluated coin of the realm, worth about $50 in U.S. currency. In seconds, Saeed scampered around a corner and disappeared into the rabbit warren of ancient buildings bordering narrow alleyways that was that ancient city.
Jon worked closely with Rod and Eber on Iapetus, creating what they officially dubbed the Starchild Institute. The Institute's charter, called the Starchild Compact, was to keep alive and viable in the minds of the people of Earth the existence, and eventual return, of the Starchild and its crew.
The Starchild Institute was to be funded from royalties generated by licensing Founder technology through the Founders Corporation Jon set up with Rod. All that really remained was to establish the Iapetus Federation.
#
Rod was ushered into the Oval Office by a White House staffer. His thinning hair was combed back, and he was feeling a bit self-conscious in the business attire that he never wore on the job. The President rose from his deep leather chair and walked around his expansive mahogany desk with hand outstretched.
"Good to meet you in person, finally!"
"Thank you, Mr. President. It is my honor – I really mean that." Rod was having considerable difficulty coming to grips with the fact that he was alone in the Oval Office with the most powerful man on the planet.
The President grinned at Rod and gestured to one of two couches facing each other across an ornate coffee table. "Please have a seat. May I offer you a cup of coffee? It's pure Kona – the best there is, in my opinion." A wave of his hand dismissed the uniformed Navy Steward who was at parade rest by the door.
Rod nodded without speaking, his throat dry from tension. The President filled a thick-walled mug with the steaming black liquid. "How do you like it?"
"Black, Sir."
"Black it is," The President set Rod's mug on a cork coaster on the coffee table and poured himself a mug. Rod examined his mug. One side of the mug displayed the presidential seal, but the other side surprised him – the SEAL Team Six crest. That explains a few things, Rod thought.
The President sat opposite Rod and crossed his legs while sipping the steaming brew. "I am grateful for the job you've done working with the Founders. I'm not sure we would be this far along without your presence." The President smiled graciously. "But you didn't come here to hear my compliments. What's so important that you had to see me personally – and alone?"
For the next few minutes, Rod outlined for the President how the Founders were structuring the Starchild Institute. He explained the nature of the Founders Corporation and how it planned to license Founder technology to paying customers. He gave the President a copy of the Starchild Compact, explaining its purpose, reminding the President of just how much a culture's technologically can advance in several hundred years.
The President sat quietly, sipping his coffee and listening, his handsome features focused on Rod's words. "You didn't have to see me personally to tell me this," he said when Rod paused. "There's something more…"
"Yes, Sir." Rod laid out the details of the Iapetus Federation. "The Federation will need immediate recognition of its nation status from the United States, and from as many of the U.S. allies as can be brought to the table," he said in conclusion. By this time, Rod had overcome his nervousness, and was feeling his stride. "I am to be the official Iapetus Foundation Ambassador to Earth…"
The President raised his right eyebrow. "The Federation is still too small to send a representative to each Earth nation," Rod said with a smile. "Until we reach critical mass, we will need a good friend." He lifted his mug in a toast. "That has to be the United States."
The President sat for a while, apparently thinking about what he had just heard. "That's quite a concept," he said finally. "And I can see the implications – asteroid colonies, settlements on other gas giant moons, maybe even Mars and our own Moon…El Four, even…The implications are staggering. So, when does all this happen?"
Rod was prepared for this question. "We have our constitution and basic set of laws. The Starchild Institute is a fact, as is the Founders Corporation. I guess you could say we're ready to go."
"How do you see things developing?"
"We structured our constitution after the U.S. version, but we intend to remain much closer to the concept than America obviously has. All of us who put this together believe very strongly that he who governs least, governs best. Ours will be an open society with minimum controls only where absolutely necessary."
"Can you protect yourselves from those who would take what you have?"
"You've seen what we can do with improvised weapons, Mr. President. Just imagine what we can do if we are forced to defend ourselves." Rod did not want the President to feel threatened, but he wanted to make sure that the U.S. President and all those with whom he would shortly speak, would have no illusions about what the Iapetus Federation could do, and what it would do if threatened.
The President rose to his feet and reached out to shake Rod's hand. "I like the concept – I'll give you my decision by noon tomorrow."
Chapter 34
Jon gazed out the expansive window of the Great Room in the L-4 ring complex, the same window he had gazed through when he first met the Cassini II crew members what seemed so very long ago. The Cassini II was, of course, long gone, and would probably never return from her close orbit around Iapetus. When he first saw her, the Cassini II had been located about a hundred kilometers from the ring complex on the opposite of L-4, but now Jon's view was filled with the image of the Starchild, floating about a thousand meters in front of the window. Because the Starchild was a flattened spheroid about twenty meters high and fifty meters wide, she appeared much larger than Cassini II, but looks in space were deceiving, and Jon knew that the Cassini II was really about three times the vertical length of the Starchild. One-third of Cassini II was taken up with the VASIMR drive and fuel tanks, whereas a much smaller percentage of the Starchild was core and propulsion. Because of its wide girth, it was much easier to move about inside the Starchild; furthermore, its artificial gravity eliminated many of the routine problems that characterized the Cassini II.
Starchild was ready to go. The new crew members had been selected, and all fifteen had trained together for two weeks of intensive training on Iapetus, and in actual maneuvers in the vicinity of the Solar System. Ginger had calculated that they had all gained about a day on their Earth compatriots during this training. Even though their first ten-year jump would take them only about four hours subjective time, they all were straining at the bit to get underway.
To Jon's unexpected surprise, Eber asked him to captain Starchild. When Jon objected, Eber told him, "You have vastly more experience piloting ships through space than I. You've been tested by fire several times. So far as I'm concerned, you have more than proven that you have what it takes to keep all of us safe. I will be absolutely delighted to hand over the cloak of command to you, and to serve under your leadership."
The next day, Eber had made the official announcement, and they walked through a formal change-of-command ceremony, following the guidelines Jon had given Eber from his own Navy background.
"I, Eber of the Founder Clan, hereby relinquish my command of the starship Starchild, and transfer to you, Captain Jon Stock, the full responsibility for the safety of the ship and crew." Eber turned to face Jon.
"I relieve you, Sir!" Jon's words rang out across the artificial Iapetus meadow filled with the assembled starship crew and virtually every other person on Iapetus.
"I stand relieved!"
The two men, ancient ancestor and modern descendant, saluted each other and then shook hands. Cheers went up from the assembled crowd, and across the World as their words and images were transmitted around the planet.
