particles in interstellar space at near the speed of
light. It’ll be like a target in an atom smasher for almost five hundred
years.”
“Lower,” she said.
“That’s not your back.”
“You’re very observant,” she said. “Where are
the windows?”
“There are no windows.”
She moved closer to the picture. “No windows.
How can you see to fly it?”
“Monitors,” he said. “It has twelve sensor
arrays, three on each side, transmitting to monitors in the cabin.”
“But why no windows?”
“The ship will be about the size of six
supertankers. The cabin is in a sphere at the center of the ship,” he said.
“It’s surrounded by storerooms surrounded by fuel tanks surrounded by shields
built into the sides. There’s no place to put an outside window, but with
twelve sensor arrays, it will be like having a dozen windows. You’ll be able to
see clearly in any direction.”
“So we’ll be cooped up in there for three
years?”
“It’s the safest place to be.”
“What if the monitor system fails?”
“Systems: A dozen. Operational redundancies
with spare parts in storage,” he said. “If they all fail, one of us has to sit
in a door open to space with a sextant and a walkie-talkie.”
“Very funny. Why did you quit caressing my
bottom?”
“You moved.”
“No excuse. Your arms are long enough to keep
up. The engines are pointing in four different directions. How’s it going to
get anywhere?”
“Each engine has thirteen nozzles. Working
together, they can accelerate the ship in any direction.
“ Origin will look like a flying pyramid
when it launches, from flat on one side straight up toward the point engine. When
it’s about two thousand feet over the ocean, it will hover and rotate so it
will look like a wedge flying into space with its sharp edge up. Travelling at
high speed in interstellar space, it will fly toward a side and look like a
pyramid flying upside-down.”
“The engines must be extremely powerful to
launch a ship that big with full fuel tanks,” she said.
He shook his head. “They don’t have that much
power. Sometime after the first test flight, Origin will lift an empty
fuel tank into orbit. After that, the ship will launch with all the fuel it can
lift on each test flight and transfer excess fuel to the orbiting tank. Just
before departing for Minor, the starship will dock with the orbiting tank and
fill up.”
“Where did you learn so much about it?”
“I’ve been reading everything I could find
about it since the idea was first proposed.”
“Clever,” she said and kissed him.
Chapter 13
Claire was on duty at Holloman’s base hospital the next Sunday afternoon
when the phone rang. “Medical Duty Officer Captain Archer speaking, sir.”
“This is the county dispatcher, Captain. We have a multiple casualty
train wreck in a mountain pass with helicopter-only access. Your base is the
nearest facility.”
“Yes, ma’am. Hold on a second please while I push the emergency klaxon.”
She pressed the mute button and shouted, “Sergeant Thomas. Wake up! We have an
emergency!”
Claire double-checked the coordinates with the dispatcher and hung up as
a sleepy-eyed sergeant appeared at her door. She briefed him and told him to
wind up the duty helicopter and all the PJs, Pararescue Jumpers, he could find.
Then she said, “After you’re done with that, call the backup medical duty
officer. I’m going.”
The sergeant said, “Yes, ma’am,” started to turn away and then turned
back. “You’re going ma’am?”
She was dialing the phone and without looking up, she said, “That’s
correct, Sergeant.”
Claire left a message on the phone in her and
David’s quarters. He was playing golf, and she did not want to disturb his game
by calling his cellphone.
▼
The helicopter blades started to turn when Claire
arrived with a large bag of medical supplies. She climbed aboard after the supplies
were loaded, handed the pilot the
light. It’ll be like a target in an atom smasher for almost five hundred
years.”
“Lower,” she said.
“That’s not your back.”
“You’re very observant,” she said. “Where are
the windows?”
“There are no windows.”
She moved closer to the picture. “No windows.
How can you see to fly it?”
“Monitors,” he said. “It has twelve sensor
arrays, three on each side, transmitting to monitors in the cabin.”
“But why no windows?”
“The ship will be about the size of six
supertankers. The cabin is in a sphere at the center of the ship,” he said.
“It’s surrounded by storerooms surrounded by fuel tanks surrounded by shields
built into the sides. There’s no place to put an outside window, but with
twelve sensor arrays, it will be like having a dozen windows. You’ll be able to
see clearly in any direction.”
“So we’ll be cooped up in there for three
years?”
“It’s the safest place to be.”
“What if the monitor system fails?”
“Systems: A dozen. Operational redundancies
with spare parts in storage,” he said. “If they all fail, one of us has to sit
in a door open to space with a sextant and a walkie-talkie.”
“Very funny. Why did you quit caressing my
bottom?”
“You moved.”
“No excuse. Your arms are long enough to keep
up. The engines are pointing in four different directions. How’s it going to
get anywhere?”
“Each engine has thirteen nozzles. Working
together, they can accelerate the ship in any direction.
“ Origin will look like a flying pyramid
when it launches, from flat on one side straight up toward the point engine. When
it’s about two thousand feet over the ocean, it will hover and rotate so it
will look like a wedge flying into space with its sharp edge up. Travelling at
high speed in interstellar space, it will fly toward a side and look like a
pyramid flying upside-down.”
“The engines must be extremely powerful to
launch a ship that big with full fuel tanks,” she said.
He shook his head. “They don’t have that much
power. Sometime after the first test flight, Origin will lift an empty
fuel tank into orbit. After that, the ship will launch with all the fuel it can
lift on each test flight and transfer excess fuel to the orbiting tank. Just
before departing for Minor, the starship will dock with the orbiting tank and
fill up.”
“Where did you learn so much about it?”
“I’ve been reading everything I could find
about it since the idea was first proposed.”
“Clever,” she said and kissed him.
Chapter 13
Claire was on duty at Holloman’s base hospital the next Sunday afternoon
when the phone rang. “Medical Duty Officer Captain Archer speaking, sir.”
“This is the county dispatcher, Captain. We have a multiple casualty
train wreck in a mountain pass with helicopter-only access. Your base is the
nearest facility.”
“Yes, ma’am. Hold on a second please while I push the emergency klaxon.”
She pressed the mute button and shouted, “Sergeant Thomas. Wake up! We have an
emergency!”
Claire double-checked the coordinates with the dispatcher and hung up as
a sleepy-eyed sergeant appeared at her door. She briefed him and told him to
wind up the duty helicopter and all the PJs, Pararescue Jumpers, he could find.
Then she said, “After you’re done with that, call the backup medical duty
officer. I’m going.”
The sergeant said, “Yes, ma’am,” started to turn away and then turned
back. “You’re going ma’am?”
She was dialing the phone and without looking up, she said, “That’s
correct, Sergeant.”
Claire left a message on the phone in her and
David’s quarters. He was playing golf, and she did not want to disturb his game
by calling his cellphone.
▼
The helicopter blades started to turn when Claire
arrived with a large bag of medical supplies. She climbed aboard after the supplies
were loaded, handed the pilot the
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