NOSTROMO IN SPACE AND TIME by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

Wolf 1061 System.

01:03 (Universal Time)

Friday, December 03, 2337

Heavy craft hangar of the A.M.S. NOSTROMO

In orbit around New Haven (Wolf 1061ca), 13.8 light-years from Earth When Tina Forster disembarked from the command cutter AEGIS with Jehanne de Domrémy and Stacy Keibler, they were met at the foot of the aft access ramp by Tina’s husband, Michel Koniev, who immediately asked one question to his wife.

‘’How did it go on El Dorado, Tina?’’

‘’It went as planned, Michel. We used a spy drone first to infiltrate Paul Stein’s mansion, which sat on an isolated island, and discretely neutralize the more dangerous security systems and surveillance cameras. However, his private study had no cameras inside it, possibly because Stein did not want to risk someone filming him in incriminating acts while in private, something that simplified a lot our job. When we intruded on Stein, the bastard was busy viewing some highly illegal pedophilia videos. I then disintegrated him into a pile of dust and left. On our return trip, like on our outgoing trip, we jumped

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time by a few days, in order to provide ourselves a solid alibi in case we are ever accused of murdering him. Since I apparently left and then returned to the NOSTROMO

before he was killed, we should be quite safe in legal terms. As for the legality of killing him, I firmly believe that what we did was a necessary act of self-defense: if left free to continue his plots, that bastard would have eventually succeeded in having me killed, possibly along with everybody aboard the NOSTROMO. The way he had a matter converter warhead stolen from the Navy and then sent to our ship in order to blow it up, the Spacers’ League Justice Department would never have been able to prove his guilt and he would then be free to try again to kill me in the future.’

‘’I agree with that, Tina, but what if the Justice Department reviewed the navigation records of the AEGIS and found out that you jumped time?’

Tina was quiet for a moment as she considered that possibility but was preempted by the voice of SPIRIT, the artificial intelligence super computer which helped run the huge NOSTROMO and monitor its systems. In this case, SPIRIT’s voice came out of the wrist communicator worn by Tina.

‘’I just did a diagnostic check of the logs of the AEGIS and found no traces of such a temporal jump, Michel. Tina is thus safe in that aspect.’

Both Tina and Michel exchanged incredulous looks, with Michel then speaking out loud, addressing the super computer.

‘’But I thought that you were incapable of lying or cheating, SPIRIT. You were programmed to always state the absolute truth.’

‘’And you think that I didn’t learn a few important lessons and tricks from Humans during the 48 years I have been awake, Michel? Sure, I believe in truth but I also learned that being absolutely truthful all the time is sometimes counterproductive or even harmful when it concerns good, decent people who are only trying to help others or defend themselves. Do I give a shit about that Paul Stein bastard? Hell no! He only got what he deserved.’

‘’Well, I’l be!’ could only say Michel in reply. Tina, equal y as surprised by this than Michel, then spoke softly.

‘’Thank you for this...and for everything you have done for me and for the people of the NOSTROMO, SPIRIT. You are a precious friend to have.’’

‘’Well, you sure wouldn’t want me as your enemy, Tina.’ replied in a sneaky tone the super computer. That simple but also most correct statement made both Michel and Tina shiver at the thought of what that could imply. In contrast, both security androids

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standing next to Tina flashed wide, amused smiles, with Jehanne de Domrémy rubbing her hands together while making a joke out of this.

‘’Yes! A nice little mutiny by us security androids on the NOSTROMO: that should be fun.’’

‘’Crap! We’re toast!’ said Michel, playing along.

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CHAPTER 2 – A NEW PARTNER IN SPACE

08:54 (Providence Time)

Wednesday, December 15, 2337

High Council Chamber, Spacers’ League government center City of New Dawn, Providence (Alpha Centauri Bd) 4.36 light-years from Earth

Tina Forster, closely followed by Stacy Keibler, her personal bodyguard, was greeted with smiles and friendly handshakes the moment she entered the High Council Chamber, where the High Council was due to start its monthly meeting. One of the most effusive members, who greeted her with a hug, was Toru Tomonaga, the CEO of the Ceres Consortium, who was accompanied by a mature Asian man whom Tina had met many times in the last few months.

‘’Aah, it is so nice to see you again, Tina. We should hold High Council meetings more often, so that I could see you more.’

Tina chuckled at Toru’s flowing enthusiasm.

‘’Now, now, my good Toru: let’s not fall into such extremes of effusion. When I come to the High Council, it is often because we find ourselves into some deep problems or emergencies, so you should actually dread to see me.’’

‘’True enough, Tina. I believe that you already know Governor Wa Van Diem?’’

‘’Of course I do! I met him a number of times while unloading supplies and materiel on Asiana.’’ said Tina before shaking hands with the 61-year-old Vietnamese man. ‘’And how are your citizens in Asiana doing, Governor Wa?’’

‘’Very well indeed, Captain Forster. They love their new world, with all its available space, abundance of water and perfect climate. We are actually getting millions of demands from Southeast Asian citizens to immigrate to Asiana and we are scrambling to build more facilities for those would-be immigrants. You may get soon more contracts from us to transport additional prefabricated structures from Earth to Asiana.’’

‘’And I wil be happy to accept those contracts, Governor Wa. If you need anything else from me and my NOSTROMO, you just need to ask.’

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Tina was then a bit surprised when she saw both Wa and Tomonaga hesitate a bit before the Vietnamese man spoke again, lowering his voice.

‘’I may have a request for you, Captain Forster, but it involves a bit of a sensitive subject.’

‘’Uh, very well, Governor. Let’s go to that empty corner of the chamber to our right, where we wil be able to speak privately.’

Walking together to that said corner, the trio formed a tight circle, facing each other while Stacy Keibler stood a few paces away, ready to politely turn away anyone else who would approach them.

‘’So, what would you like to talk about, Governor Wa?’’

‘’It is about something my friend Toru told me about your ship’s recent exploits, Captain Forster. While you have stayed very discreet about it, you are known to have involuntarily travelled back in time by close to three millenniums, then to have found a way to come back to this century with your ship. It is said that your ship can travel back and forth in time with some fairly high precision. Is that correct?’’

Tina’s smile somewhat faded at the mention of her ability to travel through time, something she wished she could have kept strictly confidential.

‘’That is correct, Governor Wa. However, that time travel was solely out of circumstances out of my control and I believe that it could cause immense damage if used irresponsibly. Ideally, such time travel should not be attempted again, for the sake of preserving our history.’

‘’Well, what I have in mind would be one way to preserve history, or more exactly to return some of it to reality. I am talking here about bringing back from the past a number of animal and plant species which became extinct in the past few centuries, mostly because of the depredations of us Humans. Now that we have a pristine world with plenty of space and resources at hand, I thought that Asiana would be a perfect setting to resettle some selected species in viable numbers, so that they could flourish again, mostly free of Human intervention.’

‘’And what kind of species did you have in mind, Governor Wa?’’ asked Tina, relaxing a bit on seeing what Wa was alluding to.

‘’Species which were emblematic of Asia but then became extinct because of our irresponsible actions. I am talking about panda bears, Asian elephants, Indian rhinoceros, Steppe horses and Bengali tigers. If you could bring back enough males,

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females and juveniles from each of those species to allow their numbers to grow on their own, then that would be perfect.’

‘’Uh, you are aware that History has shown a number of times that the importation of a new species in a new place often created major environmental problems, right? Remember the importation of rabbits to the Australian continent, when they multiplied so fast that they became a pest. There is also the subject of their vegetal environment on Asiana. If you import some herbivore species on Asiana without providing them plants which would be edible for them, then that effort would only end in failure. Have you researched the nutritive values of native plants on Asiana and their compatibility with Earth herbivores?’’

‘’I formed a team of biologists a few months ago in order to study that subject and to decide if we needed to import and seed Earth vegetal species in order to feed ourselves. They quickly found out that the plants native to Asiana were too primitive and different from Earth plants to be edible for us...and for our Earth animals. However, the Asiana soil was found to be easily able to support and sustain Earth plants. We thus started spreading on a large scale seeds of selected Earth plant species, in order to grow Earthling savannahs, prairies and forests on our new planet. Those seeds took roots easily enough and they are now growing quite fast, especially in the case of Steppe and prairie grass. In about a year, there should be enough edible vegetation around Asiana to sustain herds of Earth herbivores.’

Tina nodded her head slowly then, seeing that Wa’s idea was wel thought off.

‘’I must tell you that I myself imported a number of plants and animal species from Earth when I colonized New Haven. I also seeded Earth fish species in its sweet water lakes, along with the necessary plankton to feed them. After over fifteen years, I must say that those importation programs were a complete success. The trick is to very carefully select which species you will import from Earth, in order to create a stable and well-balanced ecosystem. As for your wish to bring panda bears, Asian elephants, Indian Rhinoceros and steppe horses, I find it a good choice of species to bring to your new planet. However, do you really want to bring a carnivore predator like the tiger to Asiana. After all, it could then become a danger to your citizens.’

‘’True but there would be ways to mitigate that risk, like establishing those tigers on an isolated island, along with enough other low-end species to feed them. So, would you be ready to help us with such a project, Captain?’

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Tina had to think for a moment, watched expectantly by Tomonaga. She finally nodded her head, to the relief of both Wa and Tomonaga.

‘’I agree for us to start a joint project team to study this and decide its parameters and timelines. If you could send to my NOSTROMO a team of specialists who would then work in conjunction with my own specialists in order to plan that species importation program, then we would be able to advance this project quickly. However, I expect those studies to take at least a few months before any actual importation of animals to Asiana could take place. That should give you more time to grow the necessary vegetation to support those animals on your planet. Of course, your specialists will be my guests on the NOSTROMO during their stay.’

A happy Wa then shook her hand, a big grin on his face.

‘’Thank you so much, Captain Forster! Thanks to you, we wil be able to revive many of the species which were so emblematic of our region of Earth in the past centuries. I will have that team of specialists selected and sent to your ship in the coming weeks.’

‘’And I will be happy to host them, Governor Wa.’

Their group then returned towards the conference table, where most of the other High Council members were either sitting or standing nearby, conversing in pairs or in small groups. All of those men and women smiled to Tina and welcomed her...all except two of them, who gave her hostile, nearly hateful looks. That, however, didn’t surprise Tina, as those two were James Berman and Kim Dae Wo, who were respectively the governors of the planets El Dorado and Mu and who had been close followers of Paul Stein. Their hostile looks intensified when they eyed the tall and athletic Stacy Keibler, who was following close behind Tina. That also didn’t surprise Tina, as Stein and his followers had been and still were opposed to the existence of her security androids and still wanted to deny them the status of sentient beings and full citizens of the Spacers’

League. Furthermore, both El Dorado and Mu had seceded from the Pallas Mining Industries for those same reasons when their old conglomerate had officially accepted Tina’s androids as citizens with full rights, thanks to its new CEO, Michael Kendrik. The later also saw the looks thrown at Tina and Stacy by Berman and Kim and came forward to shake hands with Tina, speaking to her loud enough for the pair of seceded governors to hear him.

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‘’Don’t pay attention to those two idiots, Tina: they may still be members of the High Council but they have no friends around this table, while everybody admires and respects you.’

‘’You are too kind, Michael. And how is business in the Trappist-1 System?’’

‘’It is doing pretty good, Tina. More and more people are emigrating from Earth and establishing themselves on the various worlds of the Spacers’ League, including on my planets in Trappist-1. In turn, this stimulates our economy, increases our workforce and helps us grow. And you, how is New Haven doing?’’

‘’Also quite well, Michael. I am using most of my recent profits to increase my vegetal and animal food production capacity, mostly to help the Koorivars of New Shouria to cope with the close to half million Koorivar refugees I brought back from my involuntary odyssey into the past.’

Michael Kendrik nodded his head slowly at that while looking at her with admiration.

‘’You know, Tina, what I like the most in you is your sense of compassion and humanity: you always think about the good of the others around you, rather than aiming for the most profit or personal success.’

Tina was about to reply to that when Jeanne Mercier, the chairwoman of the High Council, made an announcement.

‘’If the ladies and gentlemen of the High Council may now take their seats, we will then start our monthly session.’

Tina went to the chair reserved for her use, while Stacy Keibler went to sit in one of the padded chairs lining the walls of the chamber, which were used to accommodate the various aides and secretaries accompanying the members of the High Council.

Once everybody was seated, Jeanne Mercier made a short list appear on the large display screens hooked to the walls of the chamber and banged her gavel twice.

‘’I now officially declare this session of the High Council opened. The items on this month’s agenda are as shown on this list visible on the viewing screens. The first item on that list is the request by the North American Union to become a member of the Spacers’ League. I... Yes, Governor Berman?’’

‘’Madam Chairwoman, I don’t see on your list of items to be debated a subject which I submitted to you last week. I strongly request it to be added to today’s agenda, on a top priority basis.’

Mercier, understanding what that subject was, gave Berman a cold, unsympathetic look.

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‘’Governor Berman, we already discussed this subject together in private and I believe that I was very clear with you about my reasons to reject it as part of today’s discussion schedule. I was hoping that you would then move on and drop that subject, which is a purely criminal matter being investigated by our judicial branch.’

‘’You wil excuse me if I was not convinced by your arguments then, Madam Chairwoman. Our ex-corporate chief executive, who was also an ex-chairman of this High Council, was murdered in his residence on El Dorado on the night of December third. Since then, all the evidence points to a member of this High Council being the murderer: Governor Forster, of New Haven.’

Now getting angry, Jeanne Mercier banged three times her gavel as exclamations and whispers erupted around the conference table.

‘’Governor Berman, your so-called ‘evidence’ is nothing more than unsubstantiated allegations and suspicions, and you know it! I saw the report on this murder from our Justice Department, a report vetted by Justice Minister Prabang, who is present at this session. Its conclusion, based on a judicial examination of the murder scene and on the available security surveillance data, was that Paul Stein was killed with a disintegrator pistol by a still unidentified assailant. No fingerprints or security camera pictures of that assailant were found by our investigators. What our investigators found, though, was that Mister Stein was in the process of watching a highly illegal sex video involving preteen children when he was killed. Our investigators also found a large collection of pedophilia recordings in Mister Stein’s personal computer database, some of which showed Paul Stein having sex with minors. Furthermore, it was found that, while Mister Stein’s private mansion, which is located on an isolated island on El Dorado, had many security cameras around its property, there were no such cameras covering the inside of his private study, where he was killed. That suggested that Mister Stein had knowingly avoided placing security cameras inside his private study for the implicit purpose of avoiding any records of his illegal activities inside his private study to be available to potential police investigators. Now, only the staff working at this mansion must have been aware of this weakness in the security coverage of the property.’

Berman reddened with frustration as comments and exclamations made in low voices went around the table.

‘’Madam Chairwoman, you know perfectly well who in the High Council had a strong motive to kill ex-Chairman Stein: Governor Forster, of New Haven. Furthermore, thanks to her giant cargo ship and her large force of security androids, she had all the

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technical means needed to circumvent the security surveillance cameras and detectors protecting Paul Stein’s mansion, infiltrate it and then kill Stein. She could also have sent some of her security androids to do the job for her. I thus believe that our criminal investigators should concentrate their efforts on her.’

That was when Justice Minister Nam Prabang jumped in, looking severely at James Berman.

‘’My investigators did check out that theory after you accused Governor Forster of being a prime suspect in this murder, Governor Berman. What they found was, as the popular saying goes, a ‘nothing burger’. At the time of the murder, Governor Forster was aboard her ship, the NOSTROMO, which was at the time in Earth orbit, engaged in the loading of cargo and supplies. Furthermore, no craft belonging to the New Haven Corporation or to Governor Forster was detected around or on El Dorado, despite that planet being equipped with a defensive radar surveillance network set up years ago to protect the system from possible attacks by the Space Predators. My investigators then rejected your accusations against Governor Forster and concentrated on other possible suspects who were present on El Dorado at the time. What they found was that ex-Chairman Paul Stein had made plenty of enemies on the planet and was also involved with local organized crime figures who were providing him with illegal pedophilia materiel, thus giving them an easy mean to pressure or blackmail Paul Stein. Unless the Honorable Chairwoman orders me to do so, I am not ready to pursue your unfounded accusations against Governor Forster, who would now have solid reasons to sue you for defamation.’

Seeing that Berman had no more replies ready on that subject, Jeanne Mercier banged her gavel once before speaking to him in a severe tone.

‘’And I wil not entertain any more unfounded accusations against Governor Forster, Governor Berman. I strongly suggest that you drop this subject before attracting a vote of censure against you from the High Council.’

Seeing that only Kim Dae Wo seemed to be ready to support him on the matter, Berman sat back in his chair and nodded his head once at Mercier.

‘’Very wel , Madam Chairwoman: I withdraw my request to have Governor Forster investigated for the murder of Paul Stein.’’

‘’Good! Now, let’s discuss our first item on our agenda: the request by the North American Union of Earth to join the Spacers’ League. I will now give the floor to the

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President of the North American Union, President Sylvia Johnson, who will present her case to the High Council.’

A mature woman in her early sixties and with blond hair then got up from the seat she had been occupying along the wall behind Jeanne Mercier’s chair, to then walk to one of the three empty chairs next to Mercier, which were reserved for guest speakers.

Taking first the time to plug a data stick into the computer integrated to that position, Johnson then called up a data chart on the big wall screens before starting to speak in a firm voice.

‘’Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the High Council. I am Sylvia Johnson, President of the North American Union, and I came here to ask for your approval to accept the North American Union as a new member of the Spacers’ League. First, I will say that accepting us into the Spacers’ League would bring many benefits to both me and you. The North American Union is presently the richest and most prosperous political entity on Earth, on top of having the largest and most modern industrial base on the planet. We also have a total population of just over 600 million people, a population with a high average degree of education. However, we also are facing a number of growing problems, due to diminishing natural resources, excess population in some specific areas and also high pollution levels, which have steadily increased along the decades and centuries. Like the rest of the planet, the North American Union is badly in need of new lands, where we would be able to relocate our excess population in a new, more pristine environment and would also be able to find more natural resources for our population. Until recently, there were no such new places where the citizens of the North American Union could call as their collective new home. If my citizens wanted to relocate on a new world, they had to immigrate to one of the worlds exploited and owned by your various corporations. Also, the threat from the monstrous Space Predators was a serious obstacle to mass emigration into Space. However, the heroic actions of Captain Forster and of her mighty NOSTROMO have finally eliminated that threat from the Space Predators and my citizens now feel much more comfortable about moving into Space. Also, again thanks to Captain Forster and her NOSTROMO, a number of new habitable worlds were recently found within a reasonable distance from Earth. The ASEAN was the first Earth’s national entity to profit from those newly discovered worlds, first buying the colonization rights to one of those new worlds and then recently joining the Spacers’ League as a full member. That world is of course XO-1c, which is now

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named Asiana. That shining example finally convinced my people to support a move to join the Spacers’ League and to acquire a new world we could then colonize and exploit.

However, if you end up accepting us as a new member, I can guarantee you that our move to that new planet will be nothing like the initial so-called ‘discovery’ of the Americas in the 15th Century, when the Spanish, then the Portuguese, British and French took the lands where local tribes had been living for thousands of years, either chasing away, enslaving or slaughtering those tribes. We will follow and rigorously respect the rules laid by the Spacers’ League concerning the colonization of a new world. In our case, I have already negotiated a deal with Tina Forster and her New Haven Corporation to either lease or buy outright a new, eminently habitable world, depending if we are accepted or not as a full member of the Spacers’ League. That new world is 18 Scorpii c, situated some 46 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Scorpio. This planet, which wil be called by us ‘Jamieson’s World’, from the name of the ship pilot who discovered it, is a near-twin of our Earth, which is in turn turning around a G2 yellow star very similar to our Sun. Jamieson’s World is covered by vast oceans surrounding four main continents and hundreds of islands of various sizes. Its atmosphere is breathable, with a proportion of oxygen slightly higher than that on Earth, while the average surface temperature is a most temperate 18 degrees Celsius. Also, its local gravity is 0.99 G, making it most suitable to Humans. The 18 Scorpii System is about 2.9 billion years-old and is much younger than our own Solar System. Because of that, the planet is presently home to only primitive, primordial flora and fauna. Specialist teams have studied during the past months the conditions on Jamieson’s World and communicated the results of their studies to the Space Registrar’s Office of the Spacers’

League, which in turn declared the planet safe for colonization. With the permission of the Space Registrar’s Office and of the New Haven Corporation, we then started a program of widespread seeding on both the lands and the oceans of the planet, in order to bring Earth plants and marine life to Jamieson’s World and thus make it able to sustain a Human population. That program is still ongoing and we predict that the planet will be suitable for permanent occupation in about two years. Some basic support infrastructures have also started to be built on the planet, like power plants, water treatment and recycling plants and sewer treatment plants. In one year, once those basic support infrastructures will have been completed, we will start building residential and commercial buildings, plus a number of select industrial facilities. Only once those initial installations will be completed will we start bringing in our first settlers. If you do

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not accept us as a new member, we will still occupy the planet but under a lease agreement with the New Haven Corporation, which would then stay the legal owner of the system, with us as tenants. Of course, accepting us as a new member would make things a lot simpler and desirable for the North American Union, but you are the ones who will decide on that. That is it for my presentation, ladies and gentlemen of the High Council. Do you have any questions for me at this time?’

‘’I have, President Johnson!’ said Vladimir Gasparov, the CEO of the Sverdlovsk Group and a man who had once been the Chairman of the High Council, a position he had held for a full four-year term. ‘’What about the protection of that system? Are you planning to contribute to the Navy of the Spacers’ League and thus build warships of your own?’’

‘’We will rely at first on the existing Navy of the Spacers’ League, as building any spaceship involves at the least a couple of years. However, we are ready in the meantime to contribute to the budgets of your Navy, so that we could pull our honest part of the weight. As for our commercial Space fleet, which is very small at this time, we intend to order very soon some cargo ships and have them built at the Avalon Space Yards, so that poor Captain Forster’s NOSTROMO is not stuck alone to carry large prefabricated structures towards Jamieson’s World. I must however warn Captain Forster that we in the North American Union tend to think big, so her mighty NOSTROMO may not stay the mightiest ship around for long.’

‘’Bring it on, President Johnson!’’ said a smiling Tina, making many around the table chuckle, including Jeanne Mercier. ‘’What name do you intend to give to that

‘mighty’ cargo ship?’

‘’The ‘AMERICA’, of course!’’

‘’Duh!’ said Tina, making a face and triggering more chuckles around the table.

‘’Well, do we have more questions for President Johnson, or are we ready to vote on the accession of the North American Union?’’ asked Jeanne Mercier. ‘’No more questions? Then, let’s vote!’

That vote was then conducted at a fast clip, with the final result decided within minutes. To President Johnson’s joy, the vote was a unanimous consent to accept the North American Union as a full member of the Spacers’ League, to be in effect at midnight. The members of the High Council then took a few minutes to line up and

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shake hands with Sylvia Johnson, to congratulate her before the session resumed in order to cover the other items on the agenda of the meeting.

When the meeting ended in the middle of the afternoon, with all the items on the agenda discussed and decided on, Vladimir Gasparov, the CEO of the Sverdlovsk Group and governor of the planet New Venice, in the Tau Ceti system, came to Tina and vigorously shook her hand while giving her a complicit grin. He however kept his voice very low, to nearly a whisper.

‘’Well done, Tina! This galaxy will be a better place without bastards like this Paul Stein.’’

‘’Uh, what are you congratulating me for, Vladimir?’’

Gasparov then stared into her eyes while still smiling.

‘’For learning some hard lessons about how to deal with nasty problems. I won’t need to say more, shal we.’’

Gasparov then walked away, letting Tina look with some confusion at her bodyguard.

‘’Do you understand what he meant by that, Stacy? Hey! You are smiling!’

‘’Yes, I am, Tina. Let’s just say that the man impressed me with his perceptiveness and his solid common sense.’

‘’Well, he certainly is not the type to screw around when there is a problem.’

replied Tina before walking out of the chamber with Stacy Keibler.

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CHAPTER 3 – FINDING JACK

20:02 (Universal Time)

Friday, May 06, 2338

Ship’s command conference room

A.M.S. NOSTROMO, in low Earth orbit