Read Online Visions of the Future by Joe Haldeman, David Brin, Greg Bear, Kevin J. Anderson, Ben Bova, Hugh Howey, Robert Sawyer, Ray Kurzweil, Martin Rees - Free Book Online
Authors: Joe Haldeman, David Brin, Greg Bear, Kevin J. Anderson, Ben Bova, Hugh Howey, Robert Sawyer, Ray Kurzweil, Martin Rees
Tags: Science-Fiction
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Kelric said. “Systems look good here.”
“I read the same,” Tyrson said over the audiocom.
“Good.” Kelric grinned. “I’m going to give it a kick.”
Captain , the Glint thought. I don’t think kicking me will serve any purpose.
Kelric chuckled. Don’t worry. It’s just another idiom . He fired the rockets, breathing in grunts to keep from blacking out from the g-forces. Mach 8, 16, 32. He hit escape velocity and kept going. On his screens, Diesha changed from a flat landscape to curved globe studded with ruby deserts.
“She’s beautiful,” he murmured.
Tyrson chuckled. “Is that someone you see up there or are you thinking about your last date?”
“Lady Diesha,” Kelric said. Beautiful sorceress, he thought. Hold me in your arms until the pain stops.
We’ve cleared the planet, the Glint announced. Do you want to start the inversion engine?
Let’s give it a go. Kelric fired the photon thrusters—and went into quasis.
Without quantum stasis, more commonly known as quasis, he would have died. A starship engine could accelerate a craft up to thousands of times the force of gravity, which would have smeared him all over his seat if he hadn’t had protection. The waveform modulators in the quasis coil worked on an atomic level, keeping the quantum wavefunction of the ship from changing state. During quasis, nothing could alter the configuration of particles in the plane or anything it carried, including him; on a macroscopic level, the craft became a rigid solid that no force could deform. Only the atomic clock that limited their quasis time was unaffected. Kelric felt nothing; the only way he knew he hadn’t been conscious the entire time was by the sudden jump in speed on his display.
Tyrson’s voice burst out of the audiocom. “Captain, she’s working like a dream!”
“You bet,” Kelric said. Thanks, Zaub, he thought. He fired the thrusters again and his speed suddenly read three thousand kilometers per second.
“Glint Control,” Kelric said. “I’m at one percent of light speed,”
“We read you smooth as silk,” Tyrson said. “It’s beautiful.”
An unwelcome thought came to his mind. No, it’s empty. Everything is empty. He pushed the thought away and spoke into the audiocom. “I’m going to crank it up again.”
Another voice came on the com. “Captain, this is General Schuldman. Your systems are operating well, better than predicted. The decision to exceed this speed is yours, but if you do so you will be going against the advice of the team that installed your engine. Do you understand?”
Kelric knew Schuldman wanted him to push the Glint’s limit. He also knew the general meant to make sure he knew the risks. “Understood, sir.”
He fired the photon thrusters. A vibration shook through the ship, a gentle shaking but one that didn’t feel right.
“Captain!” Static crackled in Tyrson’s voice. “I’m reading you at ten percent of light speed.”
“Captain Valdoria.” Schuldman’s voice came through the static. “That’s fast enou—”
Kelric fired the thrusters before the general finished; that way, he wasn’t disobeying orders. The display jumped to one hundred thousand kilometers per second. He hit the thrusters again and the number doubled. He was going at two-thirds the speed of light.
A voice on his audiocom drawled. “Are you recei… return to base…” The words faded away.
For a moment Kelric had no idea who had spoken. Then he realized it was Schuldman. Glint, he thought. What’s wrong with the audiocom?
It can’t cope with the time dilation.
Interesting. Starship audiocoms easily compensated for the effect of relativistic speeds on radio waves, but the Glint had no reason to carry one. He wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere near this fast.
How long does Control think we’ve been gone? Kelric asked.
Thirty-three minutes, the Glint answered. My clock says thirty minutes have passed for us.
How about that? We jumped
“I read the same,” Tyrson said over the audiocom.
“Good.” Kelric grinned. “I’m going to give it a kick.”
Captain , the Glint thought. I don’t think kicking me will serve any purpose.
Kelric chuckled. Don’t worry. It’s just another idiom . He fired the rockets, breathing in grunts to keep from blacking out from the g-forces. Mach 8, 16, 32. He hit escape velocity and kept going. On his screens, Diesha changed from a flat landscape to curved globe studded with ruby deserts.
“She’s beautiful,” he murmured.
Tyrson chuckled. “Is that someone you see up there or are you thinking about your last date?”
“Lady Diesha,” Kelric said. Beautiful sorceress, he thought. Hold me in your arms until the pain stops.
We’ve cleared the planet, the Glint announced. Do you want to start the inversion engine?
Let’s give it a go. Kelric fired the photon thrusters—and went into quasis.
Without quantum stasis, more commonly known as quasis, he would have died. A starship engine could accelerate a craft up to thousands of times the force of gravity, which would have smeared him all over his seat if he hadn’t had protection. The waveform modulators in the quasis coil worked on an atomic level, keeping the quantum wavefunction of the ship from changing state. During quasis, nothing could alter the configuration of particles in the plane or anything it carried, including him; on a macroscopic level, the craft became a rigid solid that no force could deform. Only the atomic clock that limited their quasis time was unaffected. Kelric felt nothing; the only way he knew he hadn’t been conscious the entire time was by the sudden jump in speed on his display.
Tyrson’s voice burst out of the audiocom. “Captain, she’s working like a dream!”
“You bet,” Kelric said. Thanks, Zaub, he thought. He fired the thrusters again and his speed suddenly read three thousand kilometers per second.
“Glint Control,” Kelric said. “I’m at one percent of light speed,”
“We read you smooth as silk,” Tyrson said. “It’s beautiful.”
An unwelcome thought came to his mind. No, it’s empty. Everything is empty. He pushed the thought away and spoke into the audiocom. “I’m going to crank it up again.”
Another voice came on the com. “Captain, this is General Schuldman. Your systems are operating well, better than predicted. The decision to exceed this speed is yours, but if you do so you will be going against the advice of the team that installed your engine. Do you understand?”
Kelric knew Schuldman wanted him to push the Glint’s limit. He also knew the general meant to make sure he knew the risks. “Understood, sir.”
He fired the photon thrusters. A vibration shook through the ship, a gentle shaking but one that didn’t feel right.
“Captain!” Static crackled in Tyrson’s voice. “I’m reading you at ten percent of light speed.”
“Captain Valdoria.” Schuldman’s voice came through the static. “That’s fast enou—”
Kelric fired the thrusters before the general finished; that way, he wasn’t disobeying orders. The display jumped to one hundred thousand kilometers per second. He hit the thrusters again and the number doubled. He was going at two-thirds the speed of light.
A voice on his audiocom drawled. “Are you recei… return to base…” The words faded away.
For a moment Kelric had no idea who had spoken. Then he realized it was Schuldman. Glint, he thought. What’s wrong with the audiocom?
It can’t cope with the time dilation.
Interesting. Starship audiocoms easily compensated for the effect of relativistic speeds on radio waves, but the Glint had no reason to carry one. He wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere near this fast.
How long does Control think we’ve been gone? Kelric asked.
Thirty-three minutes, the Glint answered. My clock says thirty minutes have passed for us.
How about that? We jumped
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