The Earthrise Trilogy Part 33

This signified ten million miles per hour. The sub light speed had been calibrated in millions, and the system was programmed to call out increases of ten. The light speed system was essentially the same, but the 'Mak' calls would be in terms of light speed, and programmed to call out each increase of one. No one really knew if they would ever hear that system call, but they would find out soon enough.

"I'm going to turn in early guys," Steve announced, "see you in the morning." He left the room followed by Clare.

"Don't stay up too late you two," she said, closing the door behind her.

Tris took Hope into the c.o.c.kpit, they sat in the pilot's chairs looking out the front ports at the stars.

"Funny," Hope said, "even at this speed, you can't see any movement."

"No," Tris responded, "and we probably won't throughout the whole trip."

The gauge hit Mak 1.5 and kept climbing steadily.

"I'm sleepy," Hope said, "see you in the morning." She leaned over and kissed his cheek and left the c.o.c.kpit. Tris took one last look at the stars before turning in himself. It had been a big day.

Teatime at the Eves' house was a little later than usual. Something to do with the newcomers getting into things they were not designed for, and making messes in places that were not suited to the purpose. Both Malcolm and Dorothy were worn out by mid evening, and the said new comers, were fast asleep in new baskets in the kitchen.

"I wonder where they are now Malcy, and what they are doing?"

"A very long way away, and breaking the speed limit," he answered with a wry smile. "I guess, we all have new routines to get used to, and new challenges to face. We've got to get these pups house trained, and they've got to learn to use that new fangled bathroom. I'm not sure which of us has the easier job! Come on Dot, let's go to bed, I'm bushed."

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Chapter 5.

Light Speed and Farming The daily trip to the farm was becoming second nature to Danny. He could easily do it in ten minutes, and much faster if he needed to. Unlike most of the other kids in Eden, Danny had taken the berries, quite a few of them in fact, and he was therefore much more capable than they were. It didn't really show of course, and wouldn't until a situation arose that required something special. Danny's dad had talked to him about showing off, and Danny understood the implications of what he could do that the others couldn't. He wasn't to go walking on the water, for instance, while other kids were around. In a way, the farm was the perfect place for Danny, out here he could do what he liked, and no one would be any the wiser. He had decided to try to hone his skills as best he could, especially jumping...He liked jumping.

Most days started the same way, with Danny arriving at the farm to be greeted by Seth. The two would climb onto the tractor and head off to wherever Seth had decided to work that day. Danny was very much a novice and so needed to be supervised quite closely. He showed great apt.i.tude for the work, and Seth was very pleased with his progress. Danny, like most kids, had an ability to learn and remember, that most older folks can only dream about. He was picking the job up at an amazing rate, probably due to the berries, but he really liked the work too, which helped. "If you keep on at this rate Dan, I'll be able to retire soon." Seth said. He was pleased to have Danny around, he was good company, as well as a tireless worker.

Morning came on board Discovery, well, the alarm went off which is the only way they could tell. Clare was up first, having undone the straps which held her in. To her surprise, she didn't float up off the bed; she felt very light, and a little off balance, but she stayed down.

"Hun," she called at Steve who was still in snooze mode, "Something's up...Erm, well actually...Down."

"What's that?" Steve said, still in a daze.

Rather than try to explain it to him in that state, she simply stood there with her hands on her hips. Steve saw it and immediately thought he was in trouble.

"Why...What did I do?" He protested.

"Nothing silly...Look at me." He looked but didn't make the connection.

"New nightie?"

"No!" She hollered, "Look at my feet!"

Steve looked down mumbling to himself "a lot of fuss over new slippers..." Then the penny dropped...

"You're not floating off the floor...How come?"

"Search me," she said, "you're the brains around here."

Just then, Hope came in complaining about the noise.

"Hops, you're walking."

"Yes, daddy, I've been doing it since I was a year old."

Then she realised what he meant.

"How come I'm not floating daddy?"

"I don't know, must be something to do with our speed. Is Tris awake?"

Steve got out of bed and headed for the c.o.c.kpit. The gauge said Mak 6. Steve went back through into the living quarters.

"We've topped 60 million," he announced, to all. "Perhaps the speed is creating gravity, or maybe it's static, like we used in the Moon base. I don't see how travelling through a vacuum can create static, but hey, this is new territory for mankind."

Tris made an appearance looking a little the worse for wear.

"Rough night?" Clare asked him.

"You could say that," he answered, "but I'll get used to it before long."

"Mak 7." The intercom announced.

"Wow, we're still accelerating," Tris said, starting to come to life, "I wonder where we are."

"A day like any other...I think not." Roland said. He was missing Tris already. "I wonder where they are. Well, here's to ya," he said, raising his coffee cup in salute, "may your journey be peaceful."

"Hear hear," Kay said, having just arrived for the last bit of the ceremony. "And how are you this fine morning Roly?"

"All the better for seeing you marm." This was his usual reply at such times, but today, it was a comfort to them both.

Roland started by saying, "I've been working on the sub, and I think we'll need batteries. I'd hate to be suddenly caught in a dark spot and lose power. I'll fit both systems though, as the underwater bit is only a part of what this machine will do."

Roland went on to explain to Kay that he had converted a Keracraft into a sub by making a new top section for it, with water- tight hatches. An air supply with recycle and filtration systems had been added too, but basically, it was a Keracraft, and would do all the things a normal Keracraft would do.

"I call it 007," he said, pulling the covers off his new creation, "but you can call it what you like!" Kay was really impressed with the new craft, it looked every bit like a submarine should, except it was made from Kerasite, so it was s.h.i.+ny, like gla.s.s, well, apart from the solar panels.

"It should be ready for testing some time tomorrow."

"Wonderful Roly, well done, it looks great."

"Are you going to go down in her on her maiden-voyage boss?"

"Hmm, I don't know about that," she said, "we'll see."

Kay left him to carry on and went to pay a visit to the Eves. She wanted to get to know them better, as did most folk in Eden, so she thought she'd make a special effort, having seen how they were when the s.h.i.+p left.

She knocked on their door and was greeted by wails of, "just a minute, Malcy get hold of James!" The door opened and a somewhat hara.s.sed Dorothy Eves said, "h.e.l.lo Kay, do come in, just mind where you step, they're not house trained yet and we've found mess in places you wouldn't believe."

Kay was forced to smile at the way she said it. "I've never had a pet, Dorothy, so I don't know what it's like."

"Neither had we until Malcy went goggle eyed over these two, now we're having a crash course...Do sit down."

Malcy appeared at the kitchen door, "It's Ok Dot, they're in their baskets. I think they're worn out from all the running around we're doing!" He flopped into a chair and smiled at Kay. "It's all right, we like a challenge."

Kay laughed, she had warmed to them both already.

"Cup of tea dear?" Dorothy asked, smiling.

Having dressed and breakfasted, Steve announced that they would have morning prayers. "I don't know about the rest of you," he said, "but I feel the need to keep my attendance card up to date. We're really out on a limb, now that Earth has disappeared, and it won't be long before we lose sight of the sun."

He pointed to the rear view screen where the sun was just a tiny dot, a little bit brighter than all the other tiny dots. Prayers were said, and meant, and the day was off to a good start.

Looking up, and grinning from ear to ear, Steve said, "Well guys, I guess it's time to push the big b.u.t.ton."

Tris swallowed hard and said, "I'm game...If you are."

They strapped the dogs in and went into the c.o.c.kpit.

"Right," Steve said, taking command, "we have no idea what will happen so brace yourselves."

He pushed the b.u.t.ton. There was an increase in the level of vibration for a second and then the s.h.i.+p lurched forward pus.h.i.+ng everyone back into their seats. A high-pitched wine became audible, and grew in intensity and pitch until it became inaudible to the human ear, but both dogs yowled tunefully to it. The backward pressure remained fairly constant as the s.h.i.+p accelerated, but the stars began to change into tiny streaks, as though distorted by a faulty mirror. The streaks grew longer as the speed increased.

"Mak 1." Came out of the speaker, and the gauge kept going up.

At the rear of the s.h.i.+p, the Trion wave had split neatly into two, the two waves recombining in perfect phase to double their power. What the occupants of the s.h.i.+p did not know, was that the Trion wave would split and recombine in this manner at every Mak call, thus increasing the power by a factor of two each time.

The stars were now more like strings, reaching out towards them, and turning blue as they did so. Movement could be seen, like the slow advance of water droplets on a windscreen.

"Mak 2."

The stars were now longer streaks of light and visibly moving towards them. Steve took a deep breath and hit the engine kill b.u.t.ton. Within seconds, the pressure was gone and they could all move normally again. The s.h.i.+p stopped accelerating, but Mak 2 was being maintained, the gauge was holding steady. Steve flipped on the rear viewer, it was black.

"What's up daddy is it broken?" Hope asked.

"No Sweetie, it's working fine. It's just that the light from the stars behind us can't keep up with us so we're not seeing them."

Tris had been very quiet since the b.u.t.ton had been pushed, and even now, he was not saying anything.

"Are you all right Tris?" Steve asked. He was looking a little on the green side.

"I think I left my stomach back there somewhere," he answered, "I need to go and lie down for a while."

He got up, and was surprised at how difficult it was to walk, they all were.

"That solves that puzzle then," Steve said to Clare, "it is the speed that is generating gravity."

Hope went with Tris to make sure he was all right. "I'll be fine, just give me a minute to rest." He flopped into a chair and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

"I guess he did have a bad night." Clare said, on seeing what had happened. "He may be homesick, it is his first time away from his parents. You'll need to treat him gently Hops, at least till he gets over it."

Steve entered the living quarters at this point. "I've just run a diagnostic on the s.h.i.+ps systems Hun, and it seems that every time we increase Mak speed by one, power goes up by two."

"Beats me," she replied, "we'll ask Einstein when he wakes up."

"Poor kid," Steve said, looking at Tris' rather slight form flopped in the chair. "He may be brilliant, but he's no football player!"

The following day, Roland was as good as his word and rolled out the new sub. Kay, Bill and Eric were there to help. Roly uncovered the craft and led Kay around to the side. He'd painted a name on it, it read, 'K-Sub.'

"It's short for Kerasub," he said, "but I thought I should name it after you, hence the K. is that OK boss?"

Kay smiled at him, "You're just a big softy Roly. Right," she continued a little more seriously, "who's going to take her for her first spin?" Eric pushed Bill forward, so Bill dragged Eric with him.

"In that case," Kay said, "I want two volunteers, you and you, go test this thing."

"Aye aye cap'n," Eric said, saluting.

They both jumped in and closed the hatches. Once inside, they became more serious. "Check the seals Bill while I check the air systems."

All seemed as it should be, so Eric took control and the craft lifted up off the ground half a meter. The controls were just the same as a normal Keracraft, with the exception that the height control had a negative setting too.

"That's the clever bit," Eric said, "we can use magnetism to pull us down below the water's surface. That way, we don't need any ballast, neat huh?"

Bill nodded, he was none to sure about going under water, but wasn't going to let Eric see it. "Lets. .h.i.t the road," he said, and Eric drove off.