Chapter 12

The citizens of Campinas were planning a celebration as the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Novum Initium would be in a few months. They realized none of them would be alive if it had not been for Robert Callahan. In the meetings they decided to name the day of the founding of Novum Initium Robert Callahan Day, but they would have to keep that quiet or Robert would veto the idea. Not that Robert was such a private person he did not want to be singled out as special, even thought he had powers that very few knew about. The people still wanted to honor the man that had done so much for them. Robert was also teaching people that there was no such thing as credit, as the philosophy was that you can have it when you have the funds to pay for it. The exceptions were the citizens that were in a first home. When a young couple was married they received a choice of a condo or a single family home from the Monarch as a wedding gift. What was surprising was that of all the married couples in the colony, there had been no divorces, not that it had been all a path of roses, there had been a multitude of couples with problems however they seemed to work them out and were stronger for it.

At the university the music department was writing two new compositions, one they hoped would become the Novum Initium National Anthem. The second was a composition that each student and professor had a deep love for, as it was a tribute to their Monarch Robert Callahan. There was not a person working on the two compositions that had not had some personal interaction with Robert. Because of Robert's leadership and willingness to take time to listen to anyone's smallest problems, he was seen as not only the Monarch but a friend to all.

When this adventure began, Robert was twenty-eight years old and a pure computer geek heading a department for a large company in Palo Alto, California. That seemed so long ago and so many things had happened in the succeeding fifty-seven years: The destruction of most of the human race, then finding this location to start the re-population of earth, and facing an alien race that wanted to use humans as food. The technological advances were far greater than Robert had expected at this point in the evolution of time. The first deep space exploration would soon leave for an extended voyage of twenty-five earth years. The crew would be named in a few weeks, along with the scientific team.

Many families had followed Robert's example, and there were very few monogamous marriages and the relationships seemed to work extremely well. As for Robert, he had fourteen wives and, believe it or not, seventy-three children. Three of the children were adopted, as they were Melissa and Selma's daughters whose husbands had died before they met Robert. The three girls were Robert's girls through and through. Of all of his children, Jan Cartridge Callahan was the closest to Robert. All the older kids were married, and Robert Jr. was heading the Earth's environmental research team with special attention on what was happening with the ice in the northern hemisphere and the holes in the ozone layers. Robert thought that the holes in the layers would have closed by now, but Robbie said even though they were considerably smaller they still had a ways to go. Robby and his first wife Zetain had attended school together from grade one through their PhD's in university. Zetain had told Robby that if he was going to marry her, he better learn to read and write Chinese, both Mandarin and Cantonese. Robby took her seriously and had learned both, and surprised Li Woo and Chan Fang when he was at their home for dinner when he carried the entire nights conversation in Mandarin. Chan tried to throw Robby a curve and shifted to Cantonese, but Robby shifted without missing a syllable. Both Li and Zetain both laughed at the look on Chan's face, not knowing where to go next.

The population had grown over the years and was ahead of the original projection of five percent. According to Vicky the population was just over one hundred seventy-six thousand people, with the average age being twenty-five years old, as more and more young people were being born. The older generations would soon become a minority but there were no real concerns. What the younger generation realized was that the wealth of knowledge available to them was infinite. The future of the people of Earth was in space. The earth would always be home, but for many, a spacecraft would be home for many years, and some children born to those on the spacecraft would be in their late teens before they actually saw Earth.

The building of Earth's deep space explorer was underway at the Orbital Facility that was itself still under construction. The dry dock facility had been completed and the spacecraft construction was started. The substructure was underway, and there were from fifteen to twenty construction teams in the assembly area at all times. Annabelle had made it mandatory that every worker had a buddy at all times. Some of the crews were three people and some were five people. The crews became so familiar with each other that they knew what they were doing. The substructure was not going as fast as the construction crews wanted, but they understood they were working in an airless environment, and even a very small tear in the protective equipment would be fatal. The good news was that some new equipment had been designed so that the bucking bar and drive hammer were all one unit. This facilitated the process but did not reduce the required time to complete each joint. The one thing that was good in space was that a two man team could move a guider weighting several hundred kilograms without the aid of a crane operator. Each girder was moved into place by one of the robotic arms and tethered to some part of the substructure or the dry dock. That deemed that the team would have to retrieve and position the girders before riveting them into place. After the girders were in place and riveted, a team of welders would follow and would weld all joints that would then be x-rayed to insure a perfect weld before moving to the next joint. In the bulky suits the work was very tiring, and they allowed each team to work four or five hours per day.

At the research Center in Campinas, a team was designing a new suit for the extra-vehicular activity (EVA) to replace the suits presently being used. The two major problems were the shields for the UV rays, and secondly keeping the pressure in the suit at one atmosphere. With the modification of the UV absorbing chemicals to insure UV C rays were blocked that problem was solved. The pressurizing of the suit while allowing flexibility was the next hurdle.

Milka Callahan, Robert and Injerd's daughter, suggested that they not use humans at all for EVA but use androids controlled by the construction workers themselves as they had the expertise for the task. Milka said that the androids would only require an interface to the human controller, and that interface could be mental not physical. The team shifted their thinking, as an android would not need pressurization, and the chemicals for UV protection could be applied as part of the manufacturing process. The prototype was built and Milka's husband, a construction project manager, was the controller. The controller was made comfortable and several sensors were placed on his head as transmitters. The connection to the android was not smooth at first, but after a while with many redesigns and tweaks the operation became acceptable. Richard Baylor, Milka's husband, felt that the controller's vision from the robot should be the same as if the controller was present. The design team went to work on the visual application.

A few weeks later Richard and Milka were on the Orbital Facility with two androids and the real trial began. Richard asked for a volunteer to be the controller for the second android. There were only two volunteers, and it was decided to use both of them to see how they worked together. As the volunteers relaxed in their chairs and the transmitters were placed in the appropriate places, a blackout mask was used to cover their eyes. The androids were activated and as the hearing and visual applications came alive there was some confusion for the volunteers. They were first told to think about looking around to see and identify everything in the room. It did not take long for the controllers to become proficient with the visual application. The next thing was to begin to walk around the room and to follow the line that began in front of them. The movement application was harder to master, and took almost two days for the controllers to become proficient. The final hurdle was the fine motor skills required to install girders and secure the rivets.

The day arrived that the androids were to try and install girders and rivet them in place. The construction teams were on their way to Campinas for the normal rotation cycle. The two construction controllers were relaxing in their chairs and began their task. They had the androids exit the airlocks, entering the warehouse that was open to space. They went to the stack of girders looking at the numbers first, and then correlated it to the location on the blue print. The girder was then hoisted near the location of its final location. The controllers then took the girder, moved it into place, and drove the rivets home. The other end was placed and the rivets driven home, then the rivets were secured with the bucky bar and drive hammer. After several girders were in place, Richard timed the next placement from the time received from the hoist to the completed securing of the rivets. The average time of the work crews for a girder installation was ninety minutes. The controllers and androids had completed the last one in seventy minutes. The time savings overall would advance the construction and completion two or three months ahead of schedule.

The next challenge was to see if the androids could accomplish the task of welding the joints that could meet the standard for a completed joint. The controllers returned the androids to the warehouse bay and begin to work with the welding equipment. It was soon seen that these controllers would never become proficient welders. The next construction crews returned and were amazed at the ability of the controllers and their androids. When one of the experienced welders saw the attempts at welding, he began to laugh and told the controllers they would never be great welders but were great iron workers. He asked to be connected to one of the androids to see if the machine had the fine motor skills to be a welder. Within a few hours with the skill of the welder and the dexterity of the android the test welds were completed. The test welds were taken to the lab and they x-rayed then cross cut to insure there no air pockets hidden that the x-ray did not pick up. The findings were exceptional, and the cleanup of the weld was significantly reduced as the android would maintain a consistent bead and account for the human movement of the welder.

The construction of the spacecraft was significantly different than that of a seagoing ship, where the keel is laid first and built upon. This spacecraft started at the core of the ship and built out. When the substructure reached the area which would become main engineering, the progress was to build around that area and come back to it later. As construction continued it appeared there were two large cylindrical vacancies in the substructure. The plan was that the propulsion system would be installed after all the decks were installed in a rough-in form and most of the outer skin was in place.

The construction crew had been working on the project two years when it was announced that the following week the propulsion system and life support system would start to arrive, and all crews would be required for the installation of the two systems. The preparation was started with the girders needed placed on each deck that where required. The horizontal cylinder had a number of tubes that originated in main engineering and terminated at the rear bulkhead of the craft. The first system to arrive was the life support system, which was ahead and lower than the main drive system. As the system was placed on site, girders were attached to the system and then to the substructure. The weight of the system was several tons, and the supports not only considered the weight but the vibration that it would generate. The projected vibration was calculated to be almost nil, but there would still be some. There were absorbers between every contact point, and doubled in some areas. As soon as the life support system was secured the overhead girders were put in place and the rough decking installed, and a second set of girders then placed to prevent the propulsion system from dropping into the life support system.

Finally the propulsion systems were loaded. The girders were prepared and attached to the base of the system with cross bracing and additional support. As soon as all the base girders were in place and riveted, the remainder of the girders above main engineering were positioned, riveted, and welded. The tubes that went from engineering to the rear of the ship were placed and connected as specified. The substructure was completed a month ahead of schedule, and the final sheets of exterior sheet metal was installed along with several areas of transparent material.

The next item on the project chart was to initialize the life support system to allow the construction crews to work in the enclosed hull in a safe environment. First was the pressure testing of the hull. The inside pressure was raised to three hundred kg/M³, and was supposed to remain at that exact pressure for fifteen days. The first few days there was a loss of three hundred g/M³. The challenge was to find the leak and repair it. A vapor was introduced into the hull and the hope was to see the vapor escaping through the leaking seam. It took two days to get enough vapors in the hull to finally show as a slight vapor stream. The stream might not have been noticed if an android with its controller had not been watching a window and saw a puff of white vapor escape. At first the controller was not sure if it was the vapor and continued to watch, and later there was another puff of vapor. The controller reported what he saw and a human appeared with a testing device and measured the amount of air escaping. The calculations found the total loss of pressure from this leak was close to the decreased pressure loss seen earlier. The leak was repaired and the test started again. The fifteen days passed with no additional leaks.

The life support system was started and monitored for a week before the passageway from the Orbital Facility to the spacecraft was opened. When the construction crews entered the hull the magnitude of the remaining work was huge. The construction workers decided that they would work under the direction of the trade journeyman, whether it was pulling cables or laying pipes. As the journeyman began to review the building prints they knew they would need all the help they could get. The carrier began to bring reels and reels of cable and pallets of different sizes of tubing. Since there was no artificial gravity, the crews were floating from point to point doing what was necessary.

In the research center the artificial gravity system was being tested and made ready for installation in the spacecraft. Everyone knew that the gravity system could not be put into operation until the main propulsion system was on line. The propulsion engineers were preparing for the transfer of antimatter to the propulsion system and a low power start up. The first attempt was foiled when the magnetic force field power supply failed. The second attempt was successful and provided enough fuel for low power testing. The third transfer was six containers of antimatter containing fifty grams of antimatter. To fully charge the propulsion system only ten grams of antimatter was required, which would operate the system at full power at battle conditions for two years. The plan was to have five kilograms of antimatter in storage systems at the time of departure. The propulsion system had a secondary functional drive of helium 3 if the antimatter ran out. Helium 3 was also something that could be obtained from asteroids as well as planets. One of the main responsibilities of the AI aboard was to ensure that the stored antimatter was protected at all times, and to anticipate any system failures that would cause the stored material to be lost.

The main propulsion system, with two backups, was transferred to the Orbital Facility, but was so large they had to be secured to the outside of the facility. All nonessential personnel were given time in Campinas while the propulsion and antigravity were installed. Because of the planning by Annabelle and Martha, the actual transfer almost became a nonevent. The two systems were transferred by the androids to the ship and all mountings were perfectly aligned. All connections were made and those that required pressure testing were ready for power. Electrical power was in place to the main distribution boards and the bus bars to the anti-gravity system in place. The tedious part came next, and that was charging the system with antimatter. The ship's engineering department had decided they wanted to charge the system, as they felt the experience was needed for charging the system in the future. The system was finally ready to be put online, and have the ship on internal power. The ships power came online, was stable for a bit and then went down. The panic on the faces of the power engineers could be seen even in the emergency lighting. Annabelle walked over to the main console and began typing. It was not long before ship's power came back on line. She looked at the department head and said "oops". She had forgotten to remove the stabilization and shut down software they had used when testing before bringing the power plant to the ship. The crew breathed a sigh of relief when the system came online. Annabelle said that she wanted a full five days of testing the propulsion plant with at least fifty percent load before they put the artificial gravity online.

Finally the day came to test the artificial gravity system. The system was such that each area would have its own sensors and would have to be adjusted accordingly. There was one short passageway where the gravity system was an area unto itself. That passage way led to the entrance to the compartment where the AI would physically exist. The gravity in that passage way would be five hundred times greater than at sea level on earth, or about 11,330,000 kg/ M². That would stop almost any living organism. Once again the construction crew was to have a rest day in the Orbital Facility while the gravity system was brought on line. The engineers that would bring the system on line belted themselves into anchored chairs to prevent injury. When the indicators registered 1.03 kg/C M^2, Annabelle released her belt and tried to stand but found herself floating. When she reached for the overhead she would have fallen on her butt had she not grabbed a handhold. The group around her was initially shocked and then began to laugh as they realized that it took time for the artificial gravity system to take full effect.

Robert came strolling into the temporary command center looking at Annabelle hanging from the ceiling. He looked at her with a questioning look, not understanding the situation. As Annabelle dropped to the floor she started laughing, trying to explain that she did not understand that the artificial gravity would not activate as soon as it was turned on, and when she released her chair restraint she rose to the ceiling and then felt the gravity taking effect and she grabbed a support to keep from falling on her butt. As she told the story her face begin to turn red from her embarrassment. Everyone including Robert was laughing so hard they had to sit down to recover.

Annabelle and Robert went to the Orbital Facility where the construction office was located to review the progress and plan for the remainder of the project. The conclusion was that there was nine month's worth of work in a best case situation, but more than likely a little better than a year. Robert could see that Annabelle was pushing hard for the nine month completion, and the construction superintendents were beginning to show strain. As they talked Robert began to nudge Annabelle to the idea that the test flights should begin in about fourteen to sixteen months. As she was taking what Robert was suggesting, she wondered why he wanted to push the initial flight and launch out an additional six to nine months. One thing she knew is that Robert had a reason for pushing the departure date out, she would accept his recommendation.

A Communications Officer gave Robert a message from Robert Jr. wanting him to return to Campinas as soon as possible. There was major seismic activity in both Europe and Asia. Robert showed the message to Annabelle, who said that a cargo shuttle would be leaving as soon as he could get there.

Robert was met at the shuttle terminal and taken to the university and the school for earth sciences. Robert Jr., Drs Floyd and Freida Lycomb, and several geophysicists were studying several seismic charts that even to Robert's untrained eye looked very wild. Floyd Lycomb introduced Dr. Andrew Ward, the head of the Department of Geophysics. Robert asked Dr. Ward if his father was Michael Ward, originally from Australia. Andrew confirmed that Michael was indeed his father. Andrew then proceeded to explain the seismic reading had indicated that there had been several major events in Europe, Russia, and Southern Asia. They had satellites take pictures of the Southern Asia area where the Himalaya Mountain Range should be, and there seems to be no mountains but huge craters where the mountains had been.