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SF Trope: interstellar travel
Current Event: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/17/pentagon-dreams-star-trek-style-interstellar-travel/ The LOCAL link to this is dead, but Physics.org still has it! https://phys.org/news/2011-06-pentagon-star-trek-interstellar.html; https://www.100yss.org/
While you probably didn’t expect to find something like this in the weekly paper, there is no doubt in my mind that people are thinking beyond “today”. Other people, like “Taxpayers for Common Sense” simply want cash for their own programs and are unwilling to make any kind of effort to fund their own work – Steve Ellis fails to point out that any organization like his spends a million dollars on “travel expenses” and “paper, printing and copying” instead of giving THAT money to the poor and homeless. Be that as it may, let’s set up a situation where a young adult has applied for and been accepted on the first interstellar exploratory mission. His parents are card-carrying members of TFCS and violently object to his/her involvement. When the young adult discovers a text message that both implicates his parents and threatens to destroy the ground facility supporting the launch of Humanity’s first starship…what does the YA do? Especially when the action they are going to do is both illegal and will involve murder…
Harper Kynes said, “OK, breathe.” They finally opened their eyes and touched the viewscreen of their transfer pod.
Starship Misaka appeared. They let their breath whistle out between their teeth. The starship had nothing in common with ocean-going vessels, science fictional starships, or even starships of the fantastic future.
It was a rock with lumps all over it. Shaking their head, Harper sighed. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life aboard a big rock.”
The transfer pod’s aspect of Misaka’s AI said, “I ain’t much to look at, but I’ve got it where it counts.” Harper snorted. Maybe they’d just spend the first year of the voyage to Alpha Centauri’s system – Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri A), Toliman (B) and Proxima Centauri (C). All three had planets, though for as long as Humans had been listening, there’d never been a report of any kind of repeating radio waves. Laser had been tried, but unless any alien civilization…
The AI said, “You have a message from your parents, corporal Kynes.”
Their heart seemed to clench in their chest. It would be the last time Harper would have the chance to hold a real-time conversation with them. They considered refusing contact. Seriously considered it for several moments. The AI said, “Your parents insist that I put them through immediately.”
“I’m twenty-one and I’ve been independent since I was fifteen. I don’t have to talk to them.”
“I’ll hang up on…”
“No…” they sighed, “No reason for me to be as big of an…” they’d been about to be vulgar. But they weren’t ignorant, lacking good breeding, coarse, unrefined, a vulgar peasant, ordinary, or common. Mom and Dad on the other hand…Harper said, “Put them through.”
Mom was up first, “Hello, Harper. We just thought we’d call and ask if you’d reconsider your decision to go off to the Centauri…”
Dad pushed his way onto the screen and said, “This whole stunt is idiotic! It’s a ploy of the One World Government In Hiding to drain Earth of its brilliant, young, and skilled men and women! You need to stay…”
Harper said, “As you’ve pointed out so many times, Dad, I’m neither man nor woman – I’m an abomination.” They smiled, though there was no humor, kindness, nor joy in the facial movement. Harper knew they looked like a deaths-head when they did it. Perfect. “I thought you’d be happy to have me vanish into interstellar space? I won’t be around anymore remind you of your genetic mistake.”
Dad grimaced and turned away. Harper knew they’d never see their father again. Mom came back on. She sighed, her face red and said, “I just thought you should know that we loved you once and that neither of us has any desire to see you – or any of the rest of the crew die, but you’ve really left us with no choice, Harper. Good luck – or whatever your twisted philosophical beliefs grant you when you plan on doing something incredibly stupid and likely suicidal.” Her image vanished, but not before they heard Dad curse his child…
Harper had heard it hundreds of times…then they paused. What had Mom meant about the crew dying and them having no choice. Who was “them”? What were they going to do?
“Computer?” they said.
“You may address me by my chosen name, Jiaguwén…”
“You want to be addressed as ‘oracle bones’?” Harper smiled a bit. They’d studied Chinese in high school because more people spoke Mandarin than any other language on Earth. Plus, learning the language gave an entirely different perspective of the…
“I do, as I am able to compute the most logical course of action when given complete data…”
Harper cut the AI off, “What was my mother talking about?”
There was a brief silence, then Jiaguwén said, “I mean no disrespect, Corporal, but it’s obvious that your parents are involved with…”
“I know what they’re involved with Jiaguwén, but Mom seemed to be making some sort of reference to…”
“Yes, an ‘upcoming event’. I’m surprised you were able to reach the same conclusion I have, being both Human and flawed.”
Harper resisted following the AI’s diversion and said, “Would it be possible for you to track their movements for the past, say, six months?”
“Working,” said Jiaguwén . There was a sort pause as Harper watched the pod’s approach to Misaka. The AI said, “I do not think you will believe this, Harper Kynes…”
Image: https://www.quora.com/What-would-a-realistic-very-large-spaceship-look-like
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg/220px-Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg
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