History of the Future
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Serial for Thursday 04/03/2008 The Volunteer
History of the Future - Installment 50
The Earthlings: The Volunteer vol. 2
Noise: During Memmel's vocal exercises', the best result he could
get was just noise. The noise was a triumph for effort. For 8 thousand years, he had
no idea that he could command the noise whenever he wanted. For 8000 years, the
noises were strictly involuntary and now he had a small ability to create sound at
will. It was still not articulating speech, but it was a beginning. Memmel would have
to learn speech if he was ever going to properly communicate with these Earthlings.
He found out that the Earthlings were aware of his thought projections but were
unable to put the impressions they received into the correct context. That left him
with only the communicator unless he could get his vocals to articulate speech.
Kray Adams: Memmel relayed to Kray about his newly found ability to
make sound. He expressed to Kray his desire to articulate speech. Kray immediately
recognized the importance of Memmel's determination to learn to use sound as a method
of communicating. Kray would do everything he could to help Memmel with this project.
Kray obtained a 3-D holographic primer that demonstrated the vowels and the
consonants that shaped those sounds. Even though there had to be a barrier between
Kray and Memmel, they worked together very well. Kray genuinely liked this diminutive
and intelligent alien. From the outset of the reversal process, Kray admired the
courage of Memmel to undergo this potentially hazardous procedure. Together, they
created a bond of friendship that would endure.
Ahheeeooouuu: Memmel practiced making the vowel sounds. Cryette even
got in on the act. She was also learning to control her vocals, so together they
practiced. They soon learned how to shape the vowel sounds using consonants. Both
were fast learners. They worked hard at strengthening their vocal chords.
Occasionally, they over stressed the seldom used vocal apparatus and had to just give
it a break. But they persevered and in less than 3 months, they could recite words.
The stress they felt at the beginning was giving way to the realization that they
were going to be able to communicate without those accursed communicators.
Cryptic Symbols: Memmel and Cryette could also read those cryptic
signs that were on the doors and in the halls. The letters had meaning now as they
read what up until then had been just lines and squiggles. They knew now that the
symbols on the doors were numbers, and that they lived in the North Passageway of
Building 6. The signs were everywhere with directions to the laboratory, to the
recreation areas, and sanitary areas. There were caution signs about maintaining
sterility, and even a sign with their names posted on the barrier where they
communicated with the Earthlings. Learning to read the Earthling's language opened up
a new world for Memmel and Cryette.
Stem Cell Victory: Months went by before the scientists concluded
that they had at last devised a set of stem cells that would give Memmel and Cryette
the immunities that they needed to venture away from the confines of their sterile
surroundings. Memmel and Cryette gave one last tissue sample to ensure that they
would not have any adverse reaction to the new white cells that would be
proliferating in their bodies. Cryette insisted that she be a part of the experiment.
Memmel was her life. If the experiment turned out bad for Memmel, then she would
share his fate.
The Big day: Tissue samples indicated no problems with the new stem
cells and their progeny. The time had come to introduce the new stem cells into
Memmel and Cryette. The procedure was not simple. Their new immunity system had to
replace the one they had. The bone marrow had to undergo a transformation for the new
stem cells. But under the watchful eyes of the leading scientists of Earth, the new
stem cells were up and running after their introduction into Memmel and Cryette. All
of Earth was keeping up with the proceedings. They realized the importance of this
experiment. Failure meant postponement of their dreams and aspirations of going into
space.
White Cell Count: It took a several weeks for the new white cell
count to reach the levels needed for immunization from the pathogens of Earth, but
that day soon arrived. Almost a year had passed since the experiment began but the
scientists were confident of the results. The last blood sample taken revealed that
the immune system was working.
First Live Test: Memmel and Cryette were taken to another clean room
and exposed to the Rhinovirus. True to form, they developed a case of the sniffles
but the new immune system kicked in and left Memmel and Cryette healthy and still
standing. It is hard to describe the fear that these two Gabrial people were
experiencing. They knew from tales of bygone times of the terrible deaths that had
occurred to anyone contaminated with microbes or a virus.
Face to Face: It was Kray who showed up one morning without being
behind the barrier that separated him from Memmel and Cryette. Kray had the
suppressed urge to hug these courageous people. He had come to admire them both and
it was a mutual feeling from Memmel and Cryette. Now that they could communicate
vocally, Kray and Memmel chatted endlessly to each other about their different
societies. But today was special. The three of them would actually take a walk
outdoors into the natural world of Earth. Without their immunization, this short
exposure would mean an agonizing death. Memmel and Cryette understood that their
bodies would react to any invasion but it would be short lived because of the
immunities they had.
Outside: Calming themselves, Memmel and Cryette walked with Kray
outside of the building. How they marveled at the smell of fresh air. They had no way
of distinguishing the smells that came and went but it was a positively invigorating
experience. Odors would have to be taught to them in order for them to recognize the
ones that were potentially harmful. Cryette went to one of the many plants planted
along the walkway. She had heard about such life forms but never dreamed she would be
able to behold and touch one. The soft, pliant, delicate leaves were a marvel to her.
She was used to the plant replicas that dotted her world. But the real thing was
special.
More Walks: Memmel and Cryette were intoxicated with the beauty of
the natural world. Oxygen was maintained biologically instead of the drone of the
generators that she was accustomed. The smells were varied. It seemed that everything
had a special odor to it. (A note from Kolor: The Gabrial's olfactory system is more
sensitive than that of the Earthlings.) Everything about the natural biological world
was wondrous to Memmel and Cryette.
Day of Departure: The reversal was successful and the time for
Memmel and Cryette to return to their world arrived. Hugs, tears, and cheers abounded
in the farewell party before they left. Memmel and Cryette had to endure two
decontaminations. The first was by the Earthlings and the second by the Gabrial.
Finally satisfied that they would not be transporting any biological contaminants
back to the Gabrial world, they boarded the ship for home. Memmel and Cryette both
knew that they would someday return for a visit and it would more than likely be on
an Earthling space ship.
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Serial for Sunday 04/13/2008 Memmel
History of the Future - Installment 51
The Gabrial: Memmel Teaches Speech
Gabrial Home World (Tybet): Memmel and Cryette did not arrive on
Tybet alone. Accompanying them was all of the science data and records of how the
earthlings were able to give Memmel and Cryette immunities to Earths many pathogens.
The new information gave the Gabrial enough information on how to make the stem cells
be 'pathogen aware' for use on their seedling planets. Every seedling planet has its
own pathogens. There is not nor will there ever be a 'one size fits all' when it
comes to immunity. DNA evolution on a planet creates the different pathogens.
Although evolved life forms for all seedling planets follow a set pattern, no two
worlds are alike.
Greater Surprise: When the Council debriefed Memmel and Cryette, the
Council was shocked to hear that Memmel and Cryette could both speak and read that
weird communication method used by the Humans. Up until now, they were dependent on
the use of those communicators that almost never got the vocalization out right the
first time. Translating from thought to that weird vocalization tried the patience of
the most stalwart of the diplomatic core.
Debrief Ends: The Council sent Memmel and Cryette to Ayel the
historian to give him a full account of their adventures on Earth. More than most,
Ayel was a victim of the unreliable translations of the communicator. As a historian,
Ayel was tasked with briefing the humans on the history of the Gabrial, and for the
sake of making his job easier, Ayel became the first pupil of vocalized
communication. The Diplomatic core was next.
Ah-aa-ii-oo-uu: The diplomatic core droned these sounds all around
the seat of government grounds. They practiced to both strengthen their vocal chords
and to learn the vowel sounds that make up the Human language. This cacophony went on
for months before Memmel introduced them to the consonants needed for shaping the
vowel sounds. The students were able to make quick work of the alphabet and soon were
able to write short notes in the Human language.
A Note from Kolor: "As I write these happenings to you, please
understand the surprise I felt when Ayel spoke to me using my language via the spoken
word. I was greatly relieved to no longer need that awful communicator."
-Kolor-
The Earth Diet: There was one failure with the conversion, and that
was the administration of the Earth diet. The Gabrial alimentary system was just too
small for the bulky diet of the Earthlings. The efficient food, eaten by the Gabrial,
produces very little waste product. The Earthlings administered a taste test (taste
and expectorate) but Memmel and Cryette thought the taste was 'vile'. So, rather than
pursue a rather agonizing trial, the Earthlings scrapped the Earth diet conversion.
The Coalition Meets
Decision Time: The successful immunization of Memmel and Cryette
against all of Earth's viral and other pathogens, gave to the rest of the Coalition a
way to protect themselves from body invaders on their seedling planets. But more
importantly, for their contribution in forwarding the science of DNA, the Coalition
decided that the Earthlings deserved the opportunity to explore space. The Coalition
also realized that even without their approval, that the Humans of Earth would
discover the techniques of zero-time vortex sooner or later. The Earthling Humans
became a full partner in the Coalition that day.
Other Changes: For future meetings of the coalition, there would be
special chambers for the Earthlings instead of having to wear full air suits
everywhere. Also, the Diplomatic Core would provide translators for the speech of
Humans instead of having to use those communicators. Since the war with the Lucerne,
the respect and stature of the Humans had risen exponentially. All of the Coalition
admired the dedication to scientific endeavors by the Humans.
Earth Scientists: For their part, the scientists of Earth were
amazed at the simplicity of the time-zero technology. In fact, they were embarrassed
that they had not discovered it themselves. The star scan and navigation was a
different story. That technology was complicated and had no room for error. Travel
within a Galaxy using a zero-time vortex meant that planets and stars needed mapping
exactly or the consequences could be horrific.
Necessary Improvements: Before the Earthlings would venture forth
into space using the zero-time vortex, they would figure out how to determine if the
destination spot was empty, or if other circumstances were not favorable to making
the teleport. Other circumstances could be a random cold hunk of ice as in the Oort
cloud or a planet's moon. The scientists were amazed that accidents had not already
been a part of space travel utilizing the zero-time vortex. Lady luck can be fickle
at times, but it is certain that the coin will not always land heads-up. They sent a
message to Joel Benton about their concerns.
Joel Replies: It had already occurred to Joel that travelling via
the zero-time vortex could be dangerous. He was also glad to have the Earth
scientists working the problem. Between the two of them, he was sure that they could
solve the problem. The biggest obstacle was the vortex. Joel was unable to establish
two-way communication within a vortex. To get information back to the originator of
the vortex, a new vortex was necessary from the other end. A vortex needed to operate
in both directions for the additional safety system to work.
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Serial for Monday 04/21/2008 The Probe
History of the Future - Installment 52
The Probe: Not Necessarily Complicated
A Check Valve: It just would not work! There had to be a semaphore
on both ends of the zero-time vortex. It was impossible to use a vortex for two-way
communication. Each station had to generate its own vortex, and relay information to
the receiver on the other end of its vortex through communications central. Each
vortex was a transmitter, and there had to be a transmitter on the other end to
transmit any information back to communications central. They would have to find a
practical means of surveying a possible jump site, other than semaphores.
Trag Phillips: Trag was an Earth scientist. He and his fellow
researchers used the new vortex technology to build their prototype. Their vortex
generator was set up in their laboratory, and they used one of their depots on the
moon as a destination point. Joel Benton helped them with the intricacies of
targeting their vortex, and after much trial and error, they had a link that could
deposit small articles from Earth to the moon via the vortex. It soon became evident
that the most complicated part of getting into space with a zero-time vortex was
building the controlling computer for the vortex. The vortex generator had to be
capable of infinitesimal changes to both magnitude and velocity. Trag's computer
would be capable of changing the coordinates incrementally to a precision of eight
decimal places. Such a computer would be more than twice as accurate as the ones in
use by anyone. To Trag, being able to teleport to an area of the moon was not good
enough. He would build a control system that could target a precise location.
Determination: The Earth bound scientists and Joel Benton's team
shared their plans with the rest of the Coalition. The rest of the Coalition could
only marvel at the inventiveness of the Humans. In a short time, the Humans had taken
a technology that was beyond their capabilities, digested it, and was already making
improvements to the new technology. It was evident for all to see that these humans
were going to be the technological leaders of the coalition. It was even speculated
that the weird vocal communication was what gave the humans an edge. Because of this
perception, more and more of the Coalition was learning to vocalize.
A Note from Kolor: "It was later determined that the cause of
technology stagnation by the Gabrial was linked to their decision to not colonize,
and to only renew their population in numbers that would not exceed their death rate.
The long lifespan of the Gabrial forced a very slow infusion of youth. That one bad
experience with the Lucerne marked the beginning of their slowdown in technological
achievements." -Kolor-
Vortex Entrance: One of Trag's assistants noticed that objects
inserted into the vortex went into the vortex in a linear fashion. They went into the
vortex starting with the front end of the object and ending with the end of the
object. During the start of the transport stage, part of the object would be on the
moon, and part on the Earth. It was like pushing an item through a doorway. The item
remains intact; it is just spanning distance with no regard for time. The vortex
tunnels through time, reducing time to zero within the vortex.
Finger Experiment: Curiosity got the better of the assistant. He
alerted the moon base to watch the exit point of the vortex and report what they saw.
Then without regard for his safety, he inserted his finger into the vortex, wiggled
it, and then withdrew it. There was no pain, no sensation of difference, nothing. He
might as well have pointed his finger at anyone and wiggled it. The news from the
moon base was that of worry. The technicians on the moon thought that a person was
trying to teleport himself onto the moon and became trapped or worse. All they saw
was a finger start through the vortex start wiggling frantically and then disappear.
Upon hearing of his finger's trip to the moon, the assistant knew that he had found
the answer to the problem. The vortex was a physical tunnel through time.
Camera Experiment: They still needed information about the
properties of the vortex. The scientists attached a video device onto a long pole and
inserted it into the vortex. There was no static on their viewer, just an absolute
clear picture of the moon base. Both Trag and Joel were stunned with the results.
This was an enormous event! A scientific experiment, in an instant, made space flight
obsolete. The project's goal was to find a way to insure a safe landing for a
spacecraft, but instead made spacecraft obsolete.
Exploration Vortex: Trag Phillips and his crew of Earth scientists
set out to build a more powerful zero-time vortex machine. The new machine would have
the range necessary to go beyond the Milky Way into deep space. Their experimental
model was very small and was range limited. The new model, while still small, would
be computer aimed with Trag's new computer system. The new zero-time vortex machine
was equipped with a phalanx of sensors for the acquisition of scientific data as well
as several camera types. They designed the sensors to penetrate the zero-time vortex
suspended from a boom for penetrating the vortex. The Earthlings had visions of
exploring the Universe without ever leaving Earth.
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Serial for Monday 04/28/2008 The New Machine
History of the Future - Installment 53
A New Way of Exploring
The New Computer: Trag Phillips designed his computer to mimic the
traditional ones. But there was one big difference. The coordinates fed into the
computer could have up to eight decimal places each. Such accuracy was not mandatory,
but whenever precise locations were needed, the computer could control the field
strength and rotational speed of the vortex using very minute changes in value. All
sounds easier than it really was however.
Aiming Problems: The system depended on the feedback from the
sensors that peered into the vortex. Nothing in space is static. All bodies are
constantly moving, including the platform Earth. For the vortex to work from earth,
several deflecting satellites kept the vortex on target, even when the Earth rotated
180 degrees away from the target. But the system was too complicated to maintain
position in real time. They soon abandoned this system because it was error prone.
They finally built two main Earth stations, one on the North Pole and one on the
South Pole. These main stations could maintain their stability by remaining
independent of the Earth's rotation. The station resembled a lazy Susan in the middle
of a table with five independent platforms independently controlled.
The Platforms: The five platforms were tiered one on top of the
other with the largest platform on the bottom and the smallest platform making up the
top. The platform accommodated the two motions of Earth. The base moved according to
the wobble of the planets rotation, and the central spire maintained a static
position with regard to the rotation of the Earth. They could aim the vortex
vertically up to 90 degrees. The vortex generators were movable so that they could
setup anywhere on the circular platform. This arrangement gave the generators a
360-degree field of operation.
Exploring: Locking the vortex to a location in space is one thing,
but locking the vortex to a given spot on a planet for extended periods proved to be
impossible. Because of the motion of planets and moons, they could only stay
precisely at any location for only a short period. The short period proved to be good
enough for exploring. The instruments would peer into the vortex and produce a good
visual picture, as well as scientific data from the probes. Samples could be taken
with the robotic arm with ease.
Human Transport: The Earthlings were eager to report on the progress
they had made with their new technology. They prepared all of the scientific data and
instead of using a ship to take them to the Coalition meeting, they were able to
precisely locate their meeting room with their new vortex and step right into it all
the way from Earth. The Coalition members were shocked at this development. They were
surprised to see the Earthlings just appear. This was new technology. The Coalition
greeted the Earthlings with awe. They were also pleased with the non-arrogant
attitude of the Earthlings. The data provided by the Earthlings was complete and its
use would allow all members the ability to explore and seed without having to go away
from home for long periods in a space ship.
One-Way: There was no way around the fact that the time tunnels were
one-way. Once a person extracted himself from the vortex, there was no way to
re-enter it. The probes could withdraw only because they were only partially outside
the vortex. The humans who attended the Coalition meeting had to be transported back
to Earth in a spaceship. Nonetheless, all present at the meeting realized that a
shuttle vortex system between the member's planets was going to be possible.
Human Touch: The computer system and its configuration at the Poles
had been worked out by Trag Phillips on Earth and Joel Benton on Siltus. They had
worked tirelessly on its configuration until they met with success. But the idea of
such a system really belonged to Trag's associate who dared to take a chance on
sticking his finger into the vortex. Among the discoveries they made was in the
retrieval of items from the mechanical arm that peered into the vortex. Once the
mechanical arm grabbed something, the object became a part of the arm and was
therefore retrievable. They could also attach a human to the arm, and insert him into
the target and withdraw him back to the station. The human could return to the
station with the arm as long as the arm was protruding through the vortex. It was as
close to a two-way travel as they could make. Time was the only problem with this
solution. If the human spent more than a few minutes at the location away from the
arm, he would lose his opportunity to return. Again, planet movement and rotation
worked against a traveler using this method.
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Serial for Monday 05/05/2008 A Strange Signal
History of the Future - Installment 54
An Old Satellite
The Aftermath: There was much celebration after the defeat of the
Lucerne. But after peace once again ruled, the Mycelam took their departure and left
for their home in Universe B. Their business was complete and they honestly felt
closer to the Churum than the Coalition in the Home Universe. Although they possessed
the ability to use the time-zero travelling, they used it only for those long
intervals between Galaxies. Their destination was always a Galaxy. After arrival at a
Galaxy, they would drop into normal spaceflight and scan the Galaxy for worlds.
Galactic Maps: The practice of scanning the galaxies that were on
the route that they traveled gave the rest of the known races some of their best
galactic charts. The Mycelam were unique in that they were a permanent space faring
race. They preferred being in space to being planet-bound. They carried their world
with them wherever they traveled. Their flotillas were enormous. The flotillas of the
Mycelam were so large that they attracted 'space debris' because of their mass.
Large Mass: The size of the Mycelam cities became a problem after
they reached a certain size. The accumulated growth of their space cities could
become massive enough to create a weak gravitational field that would start
attracting dust and other debris from space. The answer to this problem was to limit
the size of their cities and found new colonies around new worlds. It was this reason
that the Mycelam scanned all galaxies that they encountered for prospective worlds to
orbit and supply their cities. The scans were for future reference if they needed it
and the scanning helped to identify possible seedling worlds for the different races.
They used their knowledge of the different galaxies for trade with the Churum and now
the Coalition of the Home Universe.
Weak Signals: The Mycelam's return trip routine was normal. They
were scanning a Galaxy in Universe B when they began to receive weak transmissions
that were clearly not the usual background radio noise, but instead, intelligent
transmissions that indicated sentient beings were broadcasting. The first thing that
they did was to contact the Churum and relay the information about the signals and
their approximate location of origin. It was one of the agreements between the
Mycelam and the Churum. The Churum were very intent upon finding any evidence of 'The
One'. When the two races first partnered when the Lucerne was threatening the
Mycelam, one of their agreements was that the Mycelam would help explore Universe B
and search for any evidence of 'The One'.
The Churum: The Churum were puzzled by the signals. They had been to
that Galaxy several times and had never detected any life. Rather than be evidence of
'The One', this was probably a race just getting into space. All indications were
that the signals were coming from a satellite. Still, to make sure, they dispatched a
survey vessel to investigate the signal origin. If there was a new race about to
emerge, they would want to learn as much as possible about them.
Survey Vessel: The survey vessel sent by the Churum linked up with
the Mycelam where they poured over all recorded transmissions that the Mycelam had
saved. The transmissions were familiar and at the same time alien to the Churum. What
really got their attention was the word Mysalin appeared as one of the translated
words in the transmission. All of the Churum knew what Mysalin was; Mysalin was the
name of the first Churum world lost in a magnetic sun storm ages ago. The survey crew
wasted no time in homing in on the transmission.
The Satellite: The survey crew looked at the satellite and marveled
that it still had the ability to transmit. Dust and debris covered the satellite. The
antennas had sustained a lot of damage, and the solar collectors shredded with what
they assumed to be thousands of collisions with micrometeorites. The satellite was
also strange. It resembled a train more than a single satellite. Instinctively, the
Churum knew that this was a very old satellite and they loaded the entire thing into
their ship and took it back to their home world for analysis.
On Lasdi: They transported the strange satellite into a building at
their great university. There, a team of scholars and scientists began the task to
determine the origin of the satellite and try to unravel its mysterious
transmissions. The transmissions were about 5 minutes long and then repeated
repeatedly. What they could discern about the transmission was that a certain Captain
Rutayel of the Gabrial Fleet Serilis had made the Satellite and was requesting that
the finder if not Gabrial, send the enclosed platinum record to the Gabrial. There
was no way that the Churum were going to decipher the inscriptions on those platinum
plates. So they loaded the satellite back onto a spaceship and set off for the
Gabrial home world.
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Serial for Tuesday 05/13/2008 Revelations
History of the Future - Installment 55
Races in Awe
The Gabrial: At a time when the Gabrial were just getting used to
the idea of space travel without ships, along came the Churum with the most
astonishing find imaginable.
A Message from the Past: There could be no doubt. The platinum
plates brought over by the Churum were in the compressed format used by the 'Hall of
Records' to preserve their past. Although the plates had minor damage from collisions
with micrometeorites, they were duplicates of each other. Captain Rutayel had thought
of possible damage by the ravages of time and had placed them in the protective
capsule at right angles to one another so that a flaw in one plate was readable from
the other. So, by altering the two plates, the complete story unfolded as the
dumbfounded scientists, historians, and Churum looked on.
Divulgence: The Gabrial told the Churum the story about their failed
experiment with their compound projector. They told them about Commander Spamel, the
fleet Serilis and his second in command, Captain Rutayel. Both the Churum and the
Gabrial were stunned to learn of the DNA work done on the old home planet by Captain
Rutayel and his crew. It was clear that the Gabrial and Churum would not be here if
not for the scientists who crewed with Captain Rutayel on his fateful voyage to set
up beacons for any who might come looking for them. Just dumb, blind luck was
responsible for their existence.
The 'One': The Churum had their answer about 'The One'. They had
been searching since their beginning for answers about their roots. The only
remaining mystery was how life started on the old home world. The Earthlings would
solve the answer to that question later, but for now, the platinum plates solved the
mystery about their beginnings. The Churum then asked for and received a
full-uncompressed version of the platinum plates, and a copy of the personnel records
of both Captain Rutayel and Commander Spamel. These items would be enshrined in their
historical archives for all to see.
Commander Spamel Descendents: The Gabrial and the Churum agreed to
work on a joint venture to communicate or visit with the descendents of the Serilis
in Universe A. Those descendents were surely an advanced society by now and could
contribute much to science. Toward that end they agreed upon a joint settlement close
to the boundary with Universe A. The Gabrial would locate a suitable planet and build
a settlement. The Churum would bring in their scientific staff and equipment. Between
the two races, they would work until they found a solution to penetrating the
Universe wall.
The Earthlings: The Earthlings were managing to improve their
time-tunnels, as they preferred to call them. Resolving the location of stars was
among the hardest of the tasks. The stars observed from Earth were not where they
appeared because light from those stars takes so long to arrive at Earth. Some of the
stars seen at night are no longer there. The Gabrial solved the problem with
semaphores scattered around the Universe so that they could record the real time
movements of the heavenly bodies. The Earth scientists approach was along the same
line as that of the Gabrial, but differed in the information returned by the
semaphores.
Siltus Scientists: The scientists from Siltus chosen to work on the
new semaphore system first had to undergo the Earthling treatment for immunization to
be able to be around the Earthlings without catastrophic illness. The process takes
almost a year but calculated to be worth it. Even while they were in the isolation
system, they were still able to work on the semaphores of the future.
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Serial for Tuesday 05/24/2008 The New Semaphores
History of the Future - Installment 56
The New Semaphores
The Idea: The new semaphores would have fantastic abilities. Their
sensory capabilities would be beyond anything built until this generation of
semaphores. One of the toughest obstacles was to give the semaphore the ability to
ascertain its location. Unlike the semaphores that had to have their locations
programmed, the new class would be able to ascertain its location and establish
communications with the humans regardless of where it was located.
3-D Model: Location was to be determined with a 3-D model of the
Universe. Theoretically, the semaphore could survey its surroundings and let the
onboard computer match the survey against the 3-D model. The computer would
manipulate the model until it found a match with the survey scan. It was determined
that three successive scanning surveys would give the semaphore its location. The
Gabrial supplied the scientists with the latest digitized maps of their Universe from
which they constructed a workable 3-D model.
Motion: Nothing in the Universe is motionless. Mass at rest becomes
the property of the nearest Larger mass and if the motion of the object does not have
sufficient speed when it nears a larger mass, the larger mass will likely capture it.
Throwing a rock is an example of this principle. For this reason, they programmed
each semaphore to insert itself into a stable orbit around the nearest planet. That
meant there had to be a method of propulsion built into the semaphores.
Power Generator: The fuel used by the semaphores would last about
100 years before needing a replacement power module. The ionic propulsion units were
sufficient to attain the necessary orbit.
Sensing Apparatus: Each semaphore would have time-tunneling
generators for exploration. The scientists gave each semaphore sensors that they
could insert and withdraw into a time-tunnel. It was much easier to use the semaphore
to lock in on a precise location than to have to continually tweak the apparatus on
Earth. On the more distant reaches of the Universe, even with the ability to tune the
time-tunnel to within eight decimal places, it does not allow for enough accuracy for
exploration of the remote areas of the Universe.
Construction: It took the better part of 5 years to finally get all
of the bugs from the semaphores. They built 12 semaphores initially. The twelve were
designed especially to be deployed at the perimeter of the Universe at the locations
in close proximity to the areas where the Home Universe interacted with the 12
surrounding Universes. With these twelve, the scientists could monitor the activity
of the interactions with the other Universes.
Semaphore Placement: They placed all of the semaphores at their
destinations with the large time tunneling machines at the poles of Earth. They
placed them in the outer areas of Galaxies that were closest to the Universe
boundaries. Each semaphore used its on-board devices to seek out and orbit one of the
nearest systems of that Galaxy.
Function Test: Function testing of the semaphores was the next step.
The main function was to have the semaphore establish a time-tunnel to the location
where the openings occurred between the Universes. Once the time-tunnel was
established, insert the sensor package into the time tunnel to get real-time data
about the openings. The semaphore computers were to set their coordinates for the
time-tunnel based on the scan made to establish location. The semaphore would be the
zero position and everything else would be in relation to the semaphore. This was
different from the universal coordinate system which used a theoretical universe
center for its zero. But using the universal coordinate system was not feasible for
doing precise work at these remote locations.
Surprise: It just so happened that during one of the test procedures
on the semaphore for Universe H portal, that the portal was open. Unable to resist
the opportunity to look inside Universe H, they extended the time tunnel through the
portal. The scientists were elated with this opportunity. However, fate has a way of
helping with discoveries. The portal closed while they were watching, but the image
remained of the external Universe H. This could only mean one thing, the time tunnels
had the ability to work through the Universe wall! The implication of this discovery
was immense. Maybe it would be possible to learn the fate of Fleet Serilis using
their time-tunnels.
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Latest Installment
Serial for Saturday 06/14/2008 The Proposal
History of the Future - Installment 57
The Proposal
Report: There was fevered excitement among the humans. The humans
had once again demonstrated their prowess when it came to technical achievement. This
latest discovery was perhaps the greatest of them all. Not only did it give them a
chance to find out the fate of Fleet Serilis, but the opportunity to explore the
other twelve surrounding Universes. The Humans requested a meeting of the Coalition
to offer their report and share the breakthrough technology with the other Coalition
members.
The Meeting: The Humans laid out to the other races in a
matter-of-fact way that was devoid of braggadocio, a detailed summary of their
discovery. The other races were very appreciative of learning how to penetrate the
Universe wall. The other races could already imagine ways to exploit this technology,
but the first order of business was to locate and establish communication with any of
the descendents of Fleet Serilis. They knew that Fleet Serilis was sent so far back
in time that none of the original crewmembers would be alive. But Commander Spamel
had been well trained and would have established a historical account of their
exploits.
Meeting discussions: The Humans volunteered that their semaphore did
not have the necessary power to do a detailed search in Universe A. It was clear that
they needed a more powerful time tunneling machine to peer into Universe A, and it
should be located as near as possible to the portal site for Universe A. Closer
placement was better because sensor penetration and placement would be more accurate.
After locating a suitable world in Universe A, they could insert more teams and other
time tunneling machines into that Universe. Given enough time, thousands of time
tunneling machines could be distributed in that Universe to facilitate the search.
The Plan: Their discussions yielded a plan that included all races,
including the Churum, Mycelam, and the Lucerne. Whatever they found in Universe A was
sure to add to everyone's overall knowledge. There was still a lingering curiosity
about the beginnings of life. Somewhere in the cosmos, there was a Creator. Every
person just knew that life was not the spontaneous result of circumstances. Just the
thought of such a discovery excited the Churum who had been seeking the 'One' ever
since their founding by Captain Rutayel. This was truly a massive undertaking by the
Coalition. It would all start on planet Siltus. Earth would have been the more
logical location, but the members just couldn't take the chance of exposure to the
bio-mass that was still on the planet.
On Siltus: The scientists of the Coalition converged on Siltus to
hear and learn what the Humans knew about time tunneling, inserting, and retrieving
objects using their techniques. The Earthlings participated, but had to stay in
sterilized surroundings and work behind barriers that filtered out all microbial and
viral contaminants. The visiting scientists had to construct a time tunneling machine
and demonstrate that it worked before they could complete the seminar. In the end,
each team of scientists from each race built a working model of a time tunneling
machine and actually sent and retrieved objects with it. None of the teams of
scientists left Siltus until they had mastered the techniques for sending and
retrieval of objects, and the navigation skills to aim their time tunnels.
Benefit: There was also a great benefit to sharing discoveries
within the Coalition. Other ideas were bound to filter in and these new ideas
invigorate the process and give us progress. Every person has a perspective that
other persons do not have. It is these different perspectives that yield progress.
Humans and the Churum: Progress can be elusive without new ideas.
The Gabrial, for all of their strong points had one weakness. They chose to replicate
only their death rate, and would not allow colonization and population growth.
Contrasted with the Churum whose colonization models enabled a diversity of ideas
that resulted in technological advances. The Humans offered the same type of
environment. They were still growing as a population. In the case of the Earthlings,
their short life spans enabled population diversity. There is an old saying that
stresses, "Too many cooks spoil the broth." Another interpretation is that, "Too many
Cooks will concoct a variety of broths." Meaning sure, if you are just looking to
perpetuate one certain broth, then more than one cook would be too many. However, if
you want a variety of flavors and new tastes, then there is no such thing as too many
cooks. New ideas are the tools of progress.
From the Author: This is the last of the installments for now. I
am building new quarters for me and my wife and my time is too limited at this time
to devote the necessary effort to writing. There are plans for the future and I hope
that they will be as warmly received as this has been.
In the future we will learn that Universe A is shrinking and counting down to the
'Big Crunch'. A massive rescue effort will be employed to save the remnants of the
Fleet Serilis. Time will be critical so make the trip with me through the perilous
rescue attempts. Many surprises await us in some of the other Universes surrounding
the Home Universe. Other being are encountered that have shed their physical bodies
for an ethereal one that only becomes a physical entity during mating rituals.
Another race found by our intrepid explorations will be the time kings. These
beings are able to move backwards and forward through time with ease. Their saga will
have you wondering about the possibilities of time travel.
Visit this site periodically for the resumption of the History of the
Future.
Thanks, Robert Gross
To be continued --- some time in the future.
Story Beginning: New to this saga? Read from the beginning at ---
- Link to Serial
Beginning -
Robert welcomes your comments. Comment Here Thanks,
Robert Gross Top
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