Episode 46

Chapter 187

Krissy

10:42 am, November 4th, 2006

4:42 am November 5th, 2006 (local time)

"Karl, set up the first PowerPoint."

Karl moved the mouse and clicked it a few times. "Ready when you are."

I started my presentation. I knew Karl would have my back with the tech gear. "As I stated, ion drives are not science fiction. They have not been since 1998. Ion drive though is a bit of a misnomer. Electricity provides the spark to get things started. Yes, just as the spark plugs in your car engines use the electricity to get the gas reactions in your car engines going, so it also is a stage in the operation of the ion engine. In this case the electricity is produced by the ship's solar panels. So whoever was assigned solar power can refer to this as a start. The solar panels produce the electricity that is used to give a positive charge to the atoms in the chamber."

Karl was pointing to various points on the PowerPoint screens as I described them.

"Magnetism then pulls these charged atoms towards the back of the ship and then out the back of the ship. This steady stream of xenon ions produces the thrust that pushes the ship."

Karl switched the picture to one of a Saturn V rocket.

"For reasons which I will explain when we get to the frequently asked questions, NASA used a tried and true chemical rocket to launch Deep Space One. This launch occurred on October 24th 1998."

Karl switched slides.

"And now for a few of the frequency asked questions. The first one is 'What implications does this technology have for space exploration?' The answer is 'Deep Space One' shows that electric propulsion works as well as is expected, there will be many new missions that will take advantage of it. Deep Space 4 is expected to use four ion engines to fly alongside a comet in 2014 so that it can land. Ion propulsion is not of value for missions that require high acceleration, and it often will not be worthwhile for missions that can be done quickly using conventional propulsion systems (such as missions to the moon). But for a wide variety of missions with high energy requirements (such as missions to asteroids and comets, Mercury and the inner solar system, and some to the outer solar system), the low but steady acceleration of ion propulsion wins out over the less efficient bursts from chemical alternatives."

Karl switched slides to the next question.

I read the question aloud. "Why has NASA not used this technology before?" Then I read the answer. "NASA's first ion engine was built by Glenn Research Center in 1960. Since then, there have been many tests of the technology in the laboratory and some limited tests in space. But no mission has really been willing to use the technology as a primary propulsion system because of the possibility that it might not work, which would mean the failure of an expensive mission and the loss of important scientific data. Managers of missions are usually not willing to take on this kind of risk, and tend to use the tried and true system of chemical propulsion. The whole purpose of the New Millennium program, of which Deep Space One is the first flight, is to test whether or not some very important but risky technologies, which can make a big difference in our ability to explore space less expensively and with more capable spacecraft, will work in deep space and around Earth. By taking on the risk, New Millennium flights will help lower the cost and risk to future missions that will use the technologies for the first time for scientific purposes."

Karl switched the slide to the next question.

"Now for the question a lot of you want to ask. 'How does ion propulsion compare with chemical propulsion? Does it make the spacecraft go any faster?' The answer is 'Under the circumstances for which ion propulsion is appropriate, it can push a spacecraft up to about ten times as fast as chemical propulsion. Because the ion propulsion system, although highly efficient, is very gentle in its thrust, it cannot be used for any application in which a rapid acceleration is required. With patience, the ion propulsion system on Deep Space One imparts about 3.6 km/s to the spacecraft. To undertake the same mission with a chemical propulsion system would require a more expensive launch vehicle and a larger spacecraft to accommodate a large tank for the chemical propellants.'"

Again Karl switched slides.

This slide has a couple of interesting questions. "How much time would a spacecraft using ion propulsion take to get to Mars? Can the technology be used for a manned mission to Mars? The answers will depend on choices and goals. Ion propulsion could be used for a manned mission to Mars. The decision on whether that would be the preferred approach would involve many questions such as which technique might get the crew there the fastest (independent of how fuel efficient the trip might be) in order to reduce the radiation exposure and effects of long periods of near weightlessness."

Karl smiled when he saw the question on this screen.

I grinned at Karl's reaction. Typical guy's attraction to speed. "The next question will be interesting for those racing addicts among you. 'How fast can Deep Space One go using ion propulsion and how long will it take for it to reach maximum speed? How does the amount of fuel required by an ion engine compare with the amount required by a chemical engine?' The answer is 'The ultimate speed of a spacecraft using ion thrust depends upon how much propellant it carries; indeed, the same principle applies to chemical propulsion systems, although they are much less efficient. The ion propulsion system on Deep Space One carries about 81.5 kilograms of xenon propellant, and it takes about 20 months of thrusting to use it all. It increases the speed of the spacecraft by about 4.5 kilometers per second, or about 10,000 miles per hour. If we had the same amount of chemical propellant, it would provide only one tenth as much velocity increment. If Deep Space One carried a larger solar array, it certainly would have a slightly higher acceleration, and if it carried more Xenon propellant it could reach a much higher final velocity by simply thrusting longer. But Deep Space One is testing ion propulsion solely to find out if it works as well as predicted. Future missions that use it likely will carry more propellant to achieve still higher speeds.'"

Karl switched slides several more times as his Program partner pointed out other interesting points about Deep Space One's mission.

"To conclude this presentation, I will reveal one thing to confirm that this is all not just a discussion of something that never really got off the ground." I paused to let Karl pass out some handouts. "Deep Space One successfully tested all its systems and new technologies when it flew past the asteroid Braille in July 1999."

Most of class applauded politely.

Except Laura. She just glared.

I guess she wasn't happy that she failed to make me fail.

"That was excellent." Mr. Dimple told us.

Karl shut things down and returned to his seat.

"Excuse me, Mr. Dimple, can I go to the bathroom?"

"Sure."

Chapter 188

Reggie

10:57 am, November 4th, 2006

4:57 am November 5th, 2006 (local time)

I saw Krissy show a note to the hall monitor.

The hall monitor nodded and waved her to the bathroom.

She went into the boy's bathroom.

There were days when I thanked god for the Program.

I waited for the monitor to look back at his paperwork. Finally I was able to sneak past him and back to the boy's bathroom.

Guess who I encountered as I came in?

Yes.

You guessed right.

It was that bitch Krissy.

I closed the door quietly behind me as she finished washing her hands. Then I quietly opened the janitor's closet. Otherwise known around the school as make out space number three.

Krissy turned around. "Reggie! I thought I ordered you to stay away from me."

"Like you have the right to do that. I know what you want. Sex. Well I'm going to give it to you. Often and hard."

"Not from you I don't."

I lunged and pushed her into the closet. I pulled the door shut behind us. "You're lying. You'll take sex from anybody." I started undoing my pants. "Otherwise you would not have volunteered for the program. Now it's my turn."

Krissy was muttering to herself. "Who told?? Never mind. Looks like I have my fool."

"Tell you what. Give it up now and I won't bruise you up too much for making me wait. Just bend over the sink there and spread your legs. I'm sure you have enough experience to know how to do that right."

Chapter 189

Krissy

11:05 am, November 4th, 2006

5:05 am November 5th, 2006 (local time)

I was cooking in rage. If somebody chose that moment to throw a large bucket of ice water on me, it would all be converted to steam in just under a second.

"No. I will not." I deceptively eased into a fighting position. For good measure I put a very wicked grin on my face. "You were right about just two things. I did volunteer for the Program. And now it is my turn."

"Your turn? What the fuck are you talking about?" Reggie started backing away.

I think my grin unnerved him.

Too late.

I started with a back kick that broke the door off its hinges.

The door flew a few feet before hitting the bathroom floor.

Reggie knew this because Krissy grabbed him, and then used the force of her motion to throw him past the door.

Reggie struggled to his feet as shouts were heard in the hallway. "You won't get away with this."

I didn't dispute that point. Things are going to get messy from here.

Chapter 190

The hall monitor

11:09 am, November 4th, 2006

5:09 am November 5th, 2006 (local time)

There was a loud crash.

I spun around to see somebody fly out of the men's bathroom.

No sooner had that person practically bounced off the wall when Krissy came running after him.

"I am so going to beat the shit out of you. In fact, you'll be lucky to be in any condition to shit when I get done with you."

Oh no. This is what we feared ever since we learned Krissy was put in the Program.

Krissy slammed her foot into the guy's left hand.