Star One: Tycho City Survival (13 page)

“If
a massive solar flare or CME strikes the Earth, temperatures could drastically
increase,” pausing, Timmons nodded, and another picture appeared on the
viewscreen. It showed massive shifts in the orbits of the planets. “When the
neutron star leaves our solar system, the Earth’s orbit will extend out close
to the current orbit of Mars and inward almost to the orbit of Venus. Life on
our planet will have ceased to exist, except possibly in the deepest of
underground shelters.”

The
room was so silent you could hear a pin drop as everyone digested the
information. Each person in the room except Mase and Steve had already been
briefed on this. However, hearing it again only reinforced the reality of the
dismal future they all faced.

“What
are you going to do?” asked Mase, looking at the president. “Can enough
shelters be built deep enough underground to allow some people to survive?”

“Naturally,
deep shelters will be built, but the massive earthquakes we’re expecting make
their survival very questionable,” President Kateland responded quietly with a
haunted look in her eyes.

“Then
what are we going to do?” asked Steve, gazing at the president. “There has to
be something.”

“Ms.
Kinsey feels, and I agree, that our best hope of people surviving will be in
deep manmade caverns on the Moon and on Star One,” President Kateland answered,
looking at Mase and Steve.

“Deep
caverns on the Moon at Tycho City should be nearly impervious to quakes,” Jane
Kinsey added. “As everyone knows, Tycho City was built in a large meteorite
crater. The impact crater itself should cushion any devastating moonquakes, and
of course, since there is no atmosphere on the Moon, volcanic activity will be
less severely felt. There will be no severe storms on the Moon like here on
Earth.”

“What
we would like to do is begin a rapid expansion of Tycho City and move as many
people as possible to the Moon,” President Kateland said in a tired voice,
looking at Mase. “I believe you are already looking into this, and Isaac
Anderson and Steffan Darrow have already come up with a preliminary design for
a larger and safer Tycho City.”

“Yes,
Madam President,” Mase replied with a nod of his head. “Our engineers are
working up a final design, which should be ready for my review in a few more
days.”

 President
Kateland nodded pleased that Mase and his people were thinking along the same
lines as the people here in this room. “We would like for you to begin
screening your people on the Moon to weed out any undesirables. Those that
might not be productive or of benefit in a survival situation need to be
returned to Earth.”

Continuing
to look at Mase, she added. “We will submit for your review people on Earth who
we have screened and accepted as possible colonization candidates. You will
have the final say so on who may or may not be admitted to the Moon.” Stopping,
she looked briefly at some notes lying on the table in front of her. “These
people will be the Earth’s best and brightest.”

“Star
One has a good chance of survival also,” she continued, looking over at Steve.
“Being in space, there will be no threats from earthquakes or volcanoes. With
the new layer of Luxen that you are installing on its surface areas, it will
also be immune from all projected levels of increased solar activity from the sun.”

“We
are making arrangements to ship up to Star One any parts or equipment that we
can think of that you might need,” Jane Kinsey added, studying a report in
front of her. “I have a special team already formed that is looking into what
might be needed for a long term stay in space.”

“Once
again, we need to weed out any undesirables on the station and look at what
type of people the station could best use to increase its chances of survival,”
President Kateland said. “We estimate, from the information you have furnished
that Star One could easily accommodate another one thousand people. We believe
that by intensifying our efforts, we can end up with three thousand people on
Star One and nearly ten thousand on the Moon.”

Mase
and Steve stared at each other in shock. This news was far worse than anything
they had discussed in their communications the last several weeks. They had
expected the Earth to be affected, but nowhere near to this extent. They were
talking about the possibility of only thirteen thousand survivors!

“Is
there any chance the data could be incorrect?” asked Steve, looking at the
president. “There are still a lot of anomalies we can’t explain.”

“Thirteen
thousand survivors isn’t a lot of people to start over with,” Mase said,
glancing at Steve with wide eyes. Surely, there was someway to save more!

President
Kateland, looking weary, responded. “That’s one reason why the FarQuest mission
is so important. We have to know if there are any other potential threats out
there we must prepare for. However, the data we already have is indisputable.
Life on Earth will most probably come to an abrupt end very soon. The only
survivors may well be those we can get up to Star One and Tycho City.”

“What
about here on Earth?” asked Steve, refusing to believe that everyone on Earth
was destined to die. “Is there not anywhere underground shelters can be built
to save some people?”

“We
have two locations in the United States that might have a slim chance of
survival,” replied Tim McPhryson, glancing at some notes in front of him. “We
have already begun construction of deep underground bunkers at both sites. If
we are successful, we should be able to put between four to six thousand people
in each one. We are making them totally self-sustaining. They should be able to
survive for ten years without contact with the surface.”

“We
will also be building survival bunkers in some of the deep cave systems, as
well as other areas across the country,” President Kateland added. “However, it
is very doubtful that these will be able to survive the earth movements the
Crays have projected. However, we have to try. We will put as many people as we
can in deep shelters and hope for the best.”

“The
problem will be Earth’s new orbit,” Jane Kinsey added. “The Earth will almost
reach the orbit of Venus and experience extremely hot temperatures, perhaps
above the boiling point of water. Then, out near the orbit of Mars, intense
cold will set in. It will take years, but eventually the Earth will begin to
lose its protective atmosphere and become completely uninhabitable.”

“How
long before the atmosphere becomes unfit to breathe? Mase asked. It was hard to
believe that the Earth may someday look like Mars.

“It
may take a few hundred years or even longer,” replied Tim, carefully. “There
are a lot of unknowns in those calculations. It depends a great deal on how the
Earth’s oceans react to the wide swing in temperatures. Even among our experts
there is a lot of disagreement over this. However, the wide variance in
temperatures will also have a diverse affect on the planet’s climate. There
will be excessive droughts, unusually hot and cold temperatures, massive
snowfalls in some areas, and even flooding in others.”

“So
if anyone does survive, the harsh climate the planet will be going through will
ensure they can’t survive for long,” President Kateland said.

Turning
to Avery Karver, the Pentagon man, she continued. “Avery, we must ensure that
the launch facilities at the cape are protected against any conceivable threat.
I want you to be personally responsible for setting up whatever is needed to
make the cape impregnable. We will need to secure a large area around the
complex since all of our people can’t be expected to live permanently at the
launch site.”

“I
can handle that,” Karver replied with a crisp nod. “We can secure a large area
of Florida around the cape with several marine divisions. We can also reinforce
the marines with mechanized armor to respond rapidly to any type of situation.
I can guarantee that we can protect the cape for as long as necessary.”

“Fine,”
responded President Kateland, looking around the group and weighing what she
was about to say. “When I go on the air tomorrow night, I will declare a state
of national emergency and impose martial law.”

Everyone
in the room looked uncomfortable with this. Martial law would be serious and
extremely unpopular with the public. However, once the news about the neutron
star was out, all hell would probably break loose. Many people would realize
that their lives had suddenly become considerably shortened.

“We
will tell the people that the neutron star will adversely affect the Earth and
that we will build new cities for the people deep in the bowels of the Earth,”
President Kateland spoke with a look of sadness in her eyes. She knew it would
be a false hope she would be offering.

“Even
using all the major cave systems and building as many deep bunkers as possible,
we can only hope to put several hundred thousand people in those shelters,”
commented Vice President Edwards, shaking his head. “At some point, the people
will realize that there are no shelters being built for most of them.”

“We
will show shelters being built on the media channels; hopefully this will buy
us some time,” President Kateland added. “Even so, we don’t feel that we can
keep the entire secret more than six months.”

“All
U.S. military units across the globe will be recalled immediately,” General
Karver said. “Reserve and National Guard units will be activated and used to
secure their home regions. We can expect massive desertions as the situation
gets worse. Military personnel will want to be with their families toward the
end.”

“Our
ability to control the country will eventually escape our grasp,” President
Kateland spoke with a growing sadness in her eyes. “We will be looking at food
shortages, power problems, and possibly diseases from the adverse living
conditions as the neutron star nears. We will reach a point where we can’t cope
with it.”

“Once
people realize what is going to happen, we can expect massive riots and
possible human wave assaults on every installation on Earth that could mean
survival,” General Karver continued in a serious tone. “Initially, the people
will not want to believe that there is no hope; many will probably have a hard
time believing the threat to begin with. At some point in time, most people
will finally realize what is happening and what the future holds. We will end
up having to defend our launch installations and underground facilities from
attacks from our own people!”

“What
about other countries?” Steve asked, still hoping others could survive. “Will
they be building underground shelters also?”

“Some
will,” Tim McPhryson replied. “Those that have the resources and the ability to
build and protect them will undoubtedly try to construct what they can. Very
few shelters will have a chance of survival. The earthquakes, tidal waves, and
volcanic eruptions will destroy most, if not all of them.”

“What
about Senator Farley?” asked Mase, looking at the president. “How are you going
to handle him? I doubt that he is going to accept all of this.” Mase strongly
suspected Senator Farley was going to be a major problem.

“I
will personally meet with the senator after the news conference; perhaps he can
be persuaded not to resist us. If not, then we will just have to wait and see,”
President Kateland responded with a heavy sigh of resignation. “Nothing must
stand in our way of saving what we can of the human race!”

“That’s
why we wanted both of you to come to Earth now,” Vice President Edwards said,
looking over at Mase and Steve. “Once the two of you return to your respective
commands, you are not to return to Earth under any circumstances!”

“You
expect it to get that bad?” asked Steve, looking at President Kateland.

“Yes,”
President Kateland replied, her eyes focusing intently on the two of them.
“Probably not at first, but it will later. Effective immediately, you two are
now the permanent commanders of your respective facilities. No one may remove
you from command. Do you both understand that?”

“Yes,”
Steve and Mase answered in unison.

“There
undoubtedly will be attempts to do just that,” Vice President Edwards spoke,
his eyes looking at Mase and then at Steve. “You are not to allow that to
happen. You are to do whatever is necessary to secure and defend your
respective commands.”

“I
will ensure you have what you will need to protect your commands from attack,”
General Karver added. “I will be getting back with both of you later on those
details.”

The
group was silent, lost in thought. Hearing the words spoken only reinforced the
gravity of the situation. Tim McPhryson rose and handed Steve and Mase several
small cases containing computer disks.

“These
disks contain in detail what we think is going to happen. The predicted
stresses that the Earth will face and the consequences are there, as well as
what the Moon and Star One can expect as the neutron star comes closer. They
also contain several courses of action obtained through the Super Crays. You
both need to go over this data with your people and prepare accordingly.
Anything you need will be furnished, if possible. The entire shuttle fleet will
be at your disposal for the duration of this emergency. Any supplies or
equipment you think you may need, we will see that you get them.”