Discovering Alien Technology Part Two
Copyright© 2026 by GMet
Chapter 7
Sunday morning, I extricated myself from Riley’s embrace and went out to the garage for a workout and then into the lake for a long swim. After I got back to shore, I fished for a bit and then cleaned the fish on the outside table and put the fillets in the plastic tubs in the fridge and the rest in freezer bags that went into the freezer. I had a shower out in the garage and was ready when a truck came with material for the smaller land rover. The robots helped lift the larger items from the flatbed as we didn’t have a lift truck at home. Fifteen minutes later, I signed for the load and helped him back up into a spot we had made for large trucks so they could then go forward down the long driveway.
The truck had woken everyone up and I asked for a ride into town to help unload the next truck of supplies at headquarters. Dad volunteered as he had to get to the space port anyway. We grabbed some breakfast in town and he dropped me off at the headquarters just in time to point the arriving semi towards the correct dock. I jumped onto a lift truck and had him unloaded quickly while a bunch of robots moved the material to a newly cleared area to help with the build. Obviously, Base had instructed a few of them to be ready and assigned them to the rover build. After signing for that shipment as well, I helped lay out the full-size frame and the robots and I spend the next couple of hours putting it together on four large steel horses. The individual suspension units and the motors for each wheel went in next and then the AIPS power units, full size for this rover, went into a specially designed and fabricated reinforced box in the bottom of what would become the front cargo area.
Wiring started with conduits being fastened to the frame to protect the bundles and then the bundles were fed through the conduits from the wheel motors to a small control panel, now loosely laid overtop the frame where the cockpit’s front instrument panel would be installed. The power units were wired up to the control panel but not attached yet. Any systems needed, like life support, heating and cooling, various camera and monitors etc. were mounted inside the frame where possible while others were just laid out, waiting for the body and cockpit floor to be installed.
The rover slowly took shape as the floor was put on the frame, with small cutouts to allow access to the various systems, the control panel and wiring junctions in case of emergency. After the floor was secured to the frame in several areas, the body, made separately by other robots, was brought over and hovered over the frame and floor. We checked all the mounting points and then lowered it to sit on the mounts and the floor in some areas. Quick disconnect bolts and nuts were used to fasten it down and we had the makings of a rover.
The robots quickly put on the various body panels and fastened them with easy access and quick disconnect fasteners so they could be removed to get at systems or be replaced. The body panels were not part of the cockpit’s containment of the life support systems. They covered the front small cargo hold, the quarter panels over the wheels, and the rear pickup bed.
Finally, the cockpit was added, with the curved titanium framework already put together on a subfloor with small cutouts with special grommets to allow the wiring to pass through but seal it against loss of air pressure. An instrument panel was brought in and installed at the front of the cockpit and small robots swarmed around it for an hour to wire all the monitors as well as all the electronic connections to the system to the main control panel junction. A middle console to run between both sets of seats was installed and wired with heating units, communications, life support and other emergency systems that needed a warmer temperature to function properly.
Seats were installed and then the clear composite panels for the windshield, top dome and rear window were installed and sealed. Defrost heaters were installed in the instrument panel for all the windows. Speakers were added in case the astronauts had their helmets off and emergency oxygen masks were put into the consoles beside each seat. A small glove compartment in the console held tools that might be needed in the cockpit versus what would be held in the bed’s larger toolbox. Finally, four doors were added to the cockpit body, with impressive hinges at the top so they would open like gullwing sports cars did. There were seals to keep the oxygen in when properly shut. The doors already had the composite windows installed and sealed.
Base and I discussed what could go wrong with the rover and most of it revolved around the seals. If they went while the astronauts weren’t wearing their helmets, it could kill them very quickly. Also, in the extreme cold, doors could freeze and not allow access in or out if seals didn’t do their job. It would be like the doors were welded to the frame. Contraction and expansion of the metal could create openings or bind things together. A rough ride could damage the suspension and could also cause havoc to the various wiring or the systems themselves. We had taken all of that into account but only testing, first here in the workshop and then in extreme conditions, would verify if the design and the first version would hold up to the surface of the moon or Mars. Luckily the first usage would be by robots who would not have an issue getting the doors or windows to open, even if they had to kick them out.
We cautiously attached the power units’ wiring to the control panel and one of the robots sat in the cockpit and flicked the main power switch. The monitors came on as did the air and defrost systems. Those were quickly shut down and then we cycled through each system to do a quick test. I got into the driver’s side and ran through the testing software on the main monitor and then, when everything was green, engaged the overall drive function. All four motors powered up and we had green signals underneath the visual of the four wheels and motors on the auxiliary screen. The main screen was split into six camera views, with the largest showing whichever direction we were heading. The monitor was below the front windshield so I could see for myself but the camera would help in low visibility situations, especially in reverse.
I used the controls on the steering wheel to activate the motors in a forward direction while holding my right thumb on what constituted the brake. With my left thumb, I pushed the button which constituted the throttle and eased off the brake. The rover moved slowly forward until I had to stop before hitting the bundle of material. I hit the reverse button and slowly backed it up as far as I could go and braked. A final easing forward to put it back where we originally started and I shut off the motors.
“Jesus, you built it already!” Riley said as the family walked into the area.
“Robots and multiple teams for each component make quick work of things,” I replied as I got out of the driver’s seat. “Come on in and have a look.”
Reece took the driver’s spot, Riley the front passenger seat while mom and dad sat in the back.
“Damn, this looks professionally done Ben,” dad stated after looking around. “This is great work for just a day.”
“Thanks, it needs full testing in normal conditions, then in extreme conditions and then in no atmosphere to ensure it can protect the passengers, robot or human,” I responded. “We may have to wreck this one to see what needs to be improved.”
“Safety is the number one priority,” mom stated.
“I like the controls on the steering wheel,” Reece commented.
“I was thinking that the robots’ and astronauts’ feet and boots would make it hard to hit the pedals and since it’s drive by wire anyway, no need for antiquated controls,” I responded.
“Good thinking,” Riley said as she got out. “So it has life support, heating, defrost, large monitors and cameras, clear windows and individual wheel control. You added in a truck bed in back and is there a cargo hold in front?”
“Yes there is, overtop the AIPS power unit,” I answered. “We’ll have to add various tools into the cockpit glovebox and a full tool box in the back. A spare tire already on it’s wheel with a jack, wrench and spare lug nuts are needed. Maybe a spare power unit and monitor and control panel. Interior and exterior lights and spotlights are needed.”
“How about a cooler for food and a place for water and dried meals?” Rachel asked as she stood beside me watching the others.
“A spare spacesuit and a repair kit with emergency patches and sealant,” Reece added. “We need to get our space suits going as well.”
“Lots of things to think about and make plans for,” I agreed. “I’m hoping our coordinators are making a list?”
“On it,” Riley said as she held her phone in her hand and was typing furiously with both thumbs.
“As fantastic as this is, it’s late and we need to eat and then get to bed early as we have guests coming in early tomorrow,” mom stated as she got out. “Great work on this as always and girls, let’s set up testing as well as lists of items to check on, add and improve.”
Reece nodded as everyone got out. I powered it down and had a word with the robots on a few improvements and add-ons we could do right away. Base and I were sub-vocalizing on several of their ideas as well.
We went to a nearby Chinese place and had their buffet before heading home. It was still light out but the sun was setting when we got home. I had a quick shower and Riley insisted on giving me a massage while telling me about their day with the Stuart ladies.
“You’re getting close with them, aren’t you?” I asked, turning my head to the side to look at Riley.
“Yes, we’ve been close before but we started up again now that we’re back home,” she admitted. “How do you feel about that?”
“I’m okay with it, as long as it’s just you ladies together,” I replied. “They don’t have boyfriends right?”
“That’s correct,” she said as she bent down and kissed me. “That was part of the deal, they couldn’t have guys who might want me, or Reece for that matter, to join them. I’m yours only.”
“Then, I’m okay with it but a little jealous you get a new girl or girls but I don’t,” I said as I relaxed on the bed.
“Teigan wants to be with you but Sage doesn’t and is against Teigan with you so we’re not sure how to handle that,” Riley admitted. “Sage is very protective of her little sister and Teigan doesn’t want to screw up their relationship.”
“Do they spend time together and do you and Reece do as well?” I inquired.
“Yes, and we switch things up between the four of us,” Reece answered. “Sometimes we all get in bed and have a very good time.”
“Sure, tell me that and don’t include me,” I responded. “At least you could get me videos so I have something to watch when you’re with them and I’m all alone.”
“Not a chance,” Riley said, poking my side. “You’re going to have to just use your imagination.”
“You’re not being a very good girlfriend right now,” I told her. “How come you get to have all the fun? Maybe I’ll have to get other girlfriends that I won’t share with you.”
“Only if you want to be castrated in your sleep,” Riley responded, over sweetly.
“You’re such a spoilsport,” I said.
“Poor baby,” she replied, obviously not particularly concerned about my hurt feelings.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep on her for the night, thereby getting a small modicum of revenge.
In the morning, I got up, hit the gym, hit the road for a long jog and then split a large pile of wood until it was time to get cleaned up. I started the coffee pot after my shower in the garage and then made some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for everyone. I had mine at the counter and put everything to keep warm before working on upgrades to the rover design.
I moved to the design of the space suits, using the new material that was stronger than Kevlar as the outer layer. The middle layer was insulation for the cold and then the next layer was a mix of the new material with the latest wetsuit material to seal the air in and the final inside material was used to wick away moisture. Titanium rings were added at the wrists, ankles and neck to add gloves, boots and a helmet. Each suit would be specially made for each astronaut so there would be stretch and give but not be overly bulky or loose. Gloves would lock into the wrist rings and be made of a couple extra layers of the new material to protect for wear or cuts. Boots would have extremely durable soles with the boot portion crafted from the same material to eliminate any seams. Buckles would tighten up the material after the foot was in and then the attached ring would lock into the ankle rings on the suit.
The helmet would be made of the same clear composite we used on space craft windows molded into a full three-sixty clear bowl with a ring to attach to the neck. Any communications would be by separate ear piece and microphone fastened around the ear. Air would be provided via a thin backpack with a ring coupling to the back of the suit. For now, diapers would be worn but sanitation would be the next item to be designed into version two.
“Have you built it yet?” dad asked when he stood behind me with a coffee cup in his hand.
“No, the material is developed but we’ll have to make them special for each person,” I responded. “Helmets will have to be specially molded from a scan and maybe a mold of each person’s head. I might have to develop a scanner to measure a person and then mold all the material to the scan rather than trying to fit the material around a person. I’ll have to see if all the different materials can be put together first and then somehow make one seam to put the two sides together. That might be the weak point if we can make the rings to material fastening very secure.”
“You might want to see what CSA has for suits to learn how they do it and improve on it,” mom added as she looked over the design. “How durable is the material?”
Two of the four layers are from the new material I’ve developed that is ten times stronger than Kevlar so we won’t have to worry about rips or cuts,” I responded. “You have a layer of insulation inside the outer layer of that material, then a mix of my material and a scuba outfit type of material to hold the air in and then a final material inside to wick away moisture.”
“Sounds reasonable, but let’s check out the current state of affairs to be safe,” she stated.
“Will do,” I said as I saved my work and shut it down.
“Thanks for making breakfast,” dad added.
“No problem, had the time,” I replied.
“I see you got a lot of wood split,” he observed out the window. “Did you swim or run or work out?”
“Worked out and ran,” I answered. “Didn’t want to overdo it before practice or the meetings.”
“Right,” dad said dryly.
I just grinned and packed up. I washed my dishes and went up to change for practice and grab a couple sets of clothes for work in a gym bag. Riley had just finished getting dressed when I entered the bedroom.
“You fell asleep on me,” she said.
“I guess I did,” I agreed as I quickly slipped into some dressy shorts and a collared shirt so I could wear them to work afterwards.
“You mad at me?” she asked.
“No, should I be?” I responded.
“No, but you haven’t done that before,” Riley said.
“Fall asleep?” I asked with a grin. “I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen asleep every night with you.”
“You know what I mean,” she retorted with a frown.
“It was a long day and your massage was just too good at relaxing me,” I told her as I walked to be in front of her. “I love you and I’m sorry if you were expecting more last night. I’ll make it up to you tonight, okay?”
She nodded and I kissed and hugged her, which she happily returned.
“I made breakfast so you better get down there before it gets cold,” I instructed her. “I just have to pack some clothes for work and I’ll be right down.”
“I’ll help and bring it to work so you don’t have to lug them to practice,” Riley offered.
“That sounds like a good plan, thanks,” I replied and let her help me find a set of good dress clothes, another set to putz around in the shop and put them in a gym bag which she carried downstairs.
“Alright, ready to go?” dad asked.
“Yep, all set,” I responded and kissed Riley before heading to put on my shoes. “See everyone at the shop whenever they let me out. Have fun with the CSA team in the meanwhile.”
“Let us know when you’re done and one of us will come get you right away,” mom instructed before dad and I walked out.
I waved my agreement before shutting the door. The drive was quick and dad just told me to have fun when he dropped me off at the arena. I went inside and checked the board for the final team roster, just to be sure. Most of the returning players made the team but there were five new players besides me that made it.
Practice was very structured after we did the normal stretching, skating and shooting warmups. Specific drills were taught for forwards and defencemen and others for passing and then came the zone plays. Five on five drills to practice breakouts against various neutral zone traps or other forechecking methods were the final drills before a structured scrimmage to run more of the plays that they had drawn up and used before. At the end of the practice, they told us to shower and get into the jerseys hanging up in the locker room for initial team photos by the photographer set up in the conference room. Then we would have a film session on the Red Lake Miners, the team we would be facing on the weekend when we traveled by bus for our Saturday evening game. The trip was between two and a half to three hours one way by bus, so it was going to be a long day and night as they said we would be driving back home right after the game.
I quickly grabbed a shower and changed back into shorts and my collared shirt and put the jersey on overtop. I was one of the first ones upstairs so quickly had my picture taken just standing in front of our logo and then holding a stick in both hands and finally leaning on the stick. It took a half hour to get everyone through the line and then we had an hour of video of the Red Lake Miners from last year’s season. The coaches broke down their various offensive, defensive and neutral zone plays and pointed out some of the players to watch out for. We were finally let go after lunch with the return set for two-thirty for the three o’clock afternoon practice. I texted mom at the start of lunch and wolfed it down so I could meet her outside in ten minutes.
“How goes the morning?” I asked after getting into her new SUV.
“Good for the most part,” mom answered. “Jean Giguere came along and explained that one of the initial members had to be detained after they got an anonymous email that he was actually a Captain in the US Space Force. It was Diane Abbott’s new boyfriend so Jean thought it best that he brief us on the issue and let us decide if we wanted her on the team.”
“That’s interesting and annoying, but not unexpected by the US,” I responded. “What did you decide?”
“Rachel and I talked to her and she seemed very angry at the man and assured us that she had no plans to steal anything from us or help him by seducing teenagers,” mom responded. “In the end, we’ll have to keep an eye on her but we decided to let her stay. Whatever you do, don’t be alone with her and keep all the technical stuff away from her.”
“Understood,” I agreed.
“Other than that, everyone signed NDFs and we explained that there would be harsh penalties individually and against the CSA if there was a breech,” mom continued. “After that, Riley explained our plan and our schedule of events, which no one had any issues with. Riley and Reece got them situated in one of the bigger rooms with some cubicles for each of them. They have their access codes to our guest network that you set up and the girls have put all the information on it that they need for now. Riley said you’ve got monitoring software watching their every move.”
“Yes, no one gets anywhere or does anything on our system without the software watching, recording and informing me of it,” I assured her. “We’ll give them access to the tracking software for the AMDS probes as an instance so they can track and then see what information each AMDS probe is sending back. They won’t have access to the actual tracking software, just the information.”
“Good, keep it tight for now until we know we can trust them and then we can pass on monitoring when they become a partner for the AMIS portion of the system,” mom directed.
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
“Finally, the military man, a Colonel Metcalfe, stayed in Ottawa to assess the issue with the US Space Force, but will be here tomorrow afternoon instead,” she informed me.
“Okay,” I responded.
The drive was only a couple of minutes and she led me to main conference room then had everyone come in from both teams, except for dad who was out at the airport.
When everyone was in and sitting mom spoke up, “Everyone, I wanted a brief meeting with the whole team now the Ben is here. Let’s go around and have everyone introduce themselves. I’m Moira Addler, CFO of Addler Enterprises.”
She indicated I was to go next so I said, “Hello everyone, I’m Ben Addler, inventor and President for Addler Enterprises.”
“I’m Riley Owens, test coordinator for Addler Enterprises,” Riley said.
“And I’m Reece Owens, media coordinator and point contact between Addler Enterprises and all of the various companies and agencies,” Reece finished.
Mom pointed to Jean next.
“Jean Giguere, Director of the CSA,” was his quick introduction.
“Diane Abbott, computer systems engineer for CSA,” the very good-looking blonde was next.
“Ryan Hammond, assigned to be lead for the monitoring partnership between CSA and Addler,” an older gentleman stated.
“Vassily Sarsgaard, vice lead and off shift supervisor for the monitoring partnership,” an obviously Swedish born man in his early thirties stated.
“Trent Mason, flight control engineer for off world launches and systems,” was the final man, probably in his mid to late twenties.
“Alright, everyone has our plan of operations, our schedule of testing and the status of the probe builds,” mom stated. “I’m going to bow out of this meeting and leave it to our coordinators to interface with your team. Ben will be in and out of this building and meetings unless something of a more technical bent is being discussed. I suggest you ask your questions for him now and then go through Reece and Riley afterwards. The trip to the mine for the probe launches leaves Sunday morning as Ben will be otherwise occupied all day and part of the night on Saturday. Before I go, any questions for me?”
Everyone looked around but they shook their heads no.
“Good; have a productive afternoon,” mom stated before leaving the room.
“Alright, I’d like to welcome everyone to our current headquarters here in Dryden, and I hope you find the office space adequate for now while we build new headquarters for us as well as a new building for the CSA out at the new spaceport,” I started.
“Definitely more than adequate and the ladies have done a fine job getting us settled in Ben,” Jean replied.
“That’s good to hear,” I responded. “You have the schedule of events for this week and the plan for the launches on Sunday and Monday. Any questions on those?”
Ryan, their project lead, spoke up, “None, everything is laid out in good detail and we’re working with that to partner with the Ministry of Transport to inform all airlines and various countries of the launch schedules on Sunday and Monday.”
“Excellent,” I responded. “Any comments or issues on the proposed positioning of the first wave of the AMDS probes?”
Vassily took that one, “We think it’s the best solution with the amount of probes and the distances involved. As you just said, this is the first wave of probes so that will lead us to predict another wave of probes to either fill in the spaces of the spherical net you are setting up past Jupiter’s orbit or extend the sphere out farther.”
“Yes, the next launch would be to expand the sphere of observation to past Pluto’s orbit in the months ahead,” I told them. “A sphere out that far will need a huge amount of probes to cover every sector of the solar system. It will also need refueling ships to provide Addlerium to each probe, probably every couple of years. It’s a very big undertaking and it will keep a large team busy for many years until we build bases out that far to monitor traffic.”
“I’d say it’s a huge undertaking,” Jean agreed.
“Yes it is, but needed,” I replied.
“I’m interested in the interceptor probes and how you’ll control them,” Trent said.
“You’ll see that next week after the launch on Monday morning,” I replied. “The software will take the information from the AMDS probes and feed it to the AMIS probes and once we set a target, it will fly directly to the asteroid in the belt. Then we’ll test the rail gun and the lasers on the target and even one of the weighted probes. We’ll do that first probably so we can use the momentum of the probe rather then start it up from a stopped position.”
“Yes, but how do we control the probes?” he asked.
“You don’t, that is done by the software system after a decision is made by the upper echelon of the partnership on what to intercept and how,” I replied. “For now, Addler makes the final decisions while we test out the probes and the systems.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a partnership?” he complained, looking at Jean.
“It is Terry, but it’s very lopsided as Addler is footing all the expenses, making the probes, the technology and the software systems,” Jean explained. “We want to be involved so we’re here to learn, participate as much as we can and manage the system for the long haul. Ben isn’t going to hand over technology that could be used in nefarious ways if it got into the wrong hands. If this system works, it could save the world from meteors, asteroids or even our own countries attacking each other here on earth.”
Terry was miffed and I sub-vocalized to Base to research him in more detail and also hack his personal devices to see if he was aligned with someone or had aspirations of a dubious nature.
“Does that go for the systems’ software?” Diane asked.
“To a certain extent,” I answered. “We need to prove them out and then restrict access to the use of the systems and to the code itself until a few people can be trusted. Everyone will be able to see the system working on our monitors and as things are proved out, we will have a couple people trained to use the system under our watch and guidance. Slow but steady on all of this. We’re talking some serious firepower here and more than a few countries and corporations would love to get their hands on this stuff.
“Understood,” she responded.
When no more questions came up, we showed them some of the information that would come back from the probes in encrypted burst transmissions that the software would translate and then put into information that the system could use. It would also put it into a form that humans could understand. The system and the probes were complex and I soon overwhelmed them, which is what I wanted to happen. They needed to know that they couldn’t begin to manage the entire system, the code or the information from the probes by themselves.
“Jesus, there is so much to this,” Diane exclaimed. “How did you develop the probes, let alone the systems for all of this?”
“I sleep a lot less than most so have a few more hours to work on things,” I told her. “The probes came from needing to get through the mess in near orbit with a ship. The systems are just programming and I have a talent for that, if you know anything about me and my games.”
“Add in the fact that’s he’s a freaking genius,” Riley added. “He decided to work on a new rover design this Saturday and now we have the first one built on our shop floor on Monday. His robots can build anything he wants quicker than any factory could. Probes are being built on an assembly line here at the rate of one per minute and have no defects that a human worker would make because he or she gets tired. And you know we can’t have defects on a probe that could save the world or explode prematurely.”
Everyone looked at me like I was a super nerd. I looked over at Jean who nodded and spoke up.
“So, can the four of you work with Ben’s team to learn what it takes to monitor the systems and perhaps in time be involved in bigger decisions while learning the ins and outs of a very complex system designed to protect the planet and everyone on it?” Jean asked the room, looking at his subordinates.
“Definitely,” Diane said firmly.
“Absolutely,” Ryan added as Vassily nodded.
Everyone looked at Trent who was frowning.
“Trent, you don’t look convinced,” Jean observed.
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