The starchild compact, p.1
The Starchild Compact, page 1
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Praise for The Starchild Compact
Acknowledgements
Forward
Dedication
Cast of Characters
Part One
Cassini II on an extended tether
Chapter One
Cassini II details
Cassini II layout
Iapetus in Mercator projection
Part Two
Detail of Iapetus equatorial wall
Iapetus landing sites
Chapter Seventeen
Epilog
Post a Review
About Robert G. Williscroft
Other books by Robert G. Williscroft
Connect with Robert G. Williscroft
PRAISE FOR
THE STARCHILD COMPACT
In the not-too-distant future, a spacecraft heads toward Saturn's moon Iapetus to investigate whether it is an artifact, while a terrorist stows away on board hoping to destroy the science that contravenes the tenets of his religion. All this builds up the tension and suspense in this fascinating science fiction novel. Each part of this book solves and unfolds another mystery, making the book incredibly hard to put down. The research and science are impeccable. I marveled at Williscroft's imagination in conjuring up this story. I highly recommend this book!
– Marc Weitz, Past President
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles
THE STARCHILD COMPACT
by
Robert G. Williscroft
THE STARCHILD COMPACT
Copyright 2014 Robert G. Williscroft
Published by Smashwords, Inc.
Illustrated by Gary McCluskey & Robert G. Williscroft
Cover design by Gary McCluskey
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014919993
Williscroft, Robert G.
The Starchild Compact / by Robert G. Williscroft
Illustrated by Gary McCluskey & Robert G. Williscroft
Cover design by Gary McCluskey
Internal photos courtesy NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Keywords: Australia, Caliph, Caliphate, Canada, China, Eber, France, Gas Core Reactor, Germany, Hard Science Fiction, Hard Sf, Houston, Iapetus, India, Islam, Israel, Jihad, Jupiter, L-4, Lagrangian, Launch Loop, Mars, Moon, NASA, Noah, Persia, Persia, Qur’an , Russia, Saturn, Science Fiction, Sf, Spacecraft, Spaceship, Starship, Tether, United States, VASIMR
The Starchild Compact is a work of fiction. It contains real science and engineering, but the author makes no claims for the authenticity or accuracy of these elements. Any reference to individuals, governments, corporations, or entities is purely the result of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or governments, corporations, or entities, past or present, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-3104545-4-7
1. Fiction/Science Fiction/Hard SF. 2. Fiction/Action/Adventure.
Published in the U.S.A.
First Smashwords Edition
December 2014
Acknowledgements
Several people contributed to the creation of this book.
Most significantly, my wonderful wife, Jill, whom I first met when I returned from a year at the South Pole conducting atmospheric research, and who finally consented to marry me nearly thirty years later, pored over each chapter with her discerning engineer's eye. She kept my timeline honest, and made sure that regular readers could understand fully the arcane details of the VASIMR driven Cassini II, and the Founders reactionless space drive.
Jill's daughter, Selena, and twin sons, Arthur and Robert, also read the manuscript, and provided their insights.
Hard Science Fiction author Alastair Mayer reviewed the manuscript and offered his scientific, engineering, and editorial insight.
Marc Weitz identified a couple of problems that I had missed, to the betterment of the book.
A tip of the hat to Gary McCluskey for bringing Cassini II to life with understandable illustrations. He also turned the cover from a sketch and several ideas into the breath-taking scene that graces the front of this book
It goes without saying that any remaining omissions, errors, and mistakes fall directly on my shoulders.
Robert G. Williscroft, PhD
Centennial, Colorado
December, 2014
Forward
The idea for this novel came to me while I was examining NASA photos of the Cassini-Huyges September 10, 2007, flyby of Iapetus. I was struck by the equatorial ridge, which is twenty km high and as wide. I also was struck by what appeared to be regular hexagonal sections on the surface paralleling the equator, and that some of these sections appear to have collapsed. I researched Iapetus further, discovering that its density (1.09 gm/cm3) is way too low for a solid moon consisting of rock. Street wisdom is that it consists mostly of ice, but Iapetus appears to be rocky, very rocky. Could it be hollow? I thought.
I found a website constructed by Richard C. Hoagland: enterprise mission.com. Hoagland conducted a whole series of intricate examinations of the surface of Iapetus. Like myself, he was struck by the oddities he found, including something that appears like a two km high spire. He saw regularity over the entire surface, and pronounces on his website that Iapetus must be an artifact. Hoagland is a true believer, but I couldn't put aside the thought that there might be a derelict starship orbiting Saturn.
As part of my research, I made the fascinating discovery that Homer mentioned Iapetus as the brother of Cronus who ruled the world in the Golden Age. His wife was Clymene, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. One of his sons was Prometheus who brought fire to the people of Earth. Here is the clincher: According to Hesiod and Horace, the sons of Iapetus were the ancestors of mankind.
As far back as the 1980s, I have been writing about Islam. I studied the Qur’an, and learned about the doctrinaire differences between the Sunni and Shi'a. I became concerned that the nature of Islam was such that devout Muslims would be compelled to Jihad, in order to bring the entire World under Shari'ah law. I wrote about the potential danger of an Islamic state, a Caliphate bent upon World domination. Over the years, I have written many articles on this subject.
In The Starchild Compact I bring together these three ideas in a logical concatenation that I will not pursue further here, so as not to give the entire plot away.
This is a hard science fiction novel. It contains a lot of meticulously researched science. The numbers are real, and all the elements that make up an interplanetary voyage are consistent and true to physics and engineering as we know it today. For the Earth-based technology, everything is either possible today, or will be possible in the near future, based upon a narrow extrapolation of current science and technology.
The Founder's technology is more speculative. It is extrapolated from the leading edge of modern physics, related to black holes, particle physics, and the frontiers of astrophysics and cosmology.
The Cassini II spacecraft is the unifying element of Part One. Its design is intricate and detailed, although I didn't dump all that detail into the body of the story. Several drawings and some descriptive text follow Part One. Those of you who wish to understand exactly how Cassini II is put together will find that information in this section. Referring to these illustrations will help you follow the crew's onboard actions, and should make Part One more enjoyable.
I included a Cast of Characters to help you sort out the thirty individuals who have more than a passing role in the story.
Historical elements are accurate within the scope of literary license. I have characterized the behavior of various ethnic and social groups based upon their historical roles in recent Earth history. My intent was not to disparage any particular group, but to describe how these groups might actually behave when confronted with the events that unfold in The Starchild Compact.
In the final analysis, however, The Starchild Compact is a work of fiction, a story of how things might have been, and what could happen in the near future, especially should my speculations about Iapetus carry some validity. You be the judge!
Robert G. Williscroft, PhD
Centennial, Colorado
December, 2014
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my step kids – the twins, Arthur and Robert, and their older sister Selena, and to their dad who entrusted them to me. They have made me feel years younger, and I found a friend in their father.
Cast of Characters
CASSINI II Crew
Jon Stock – Captain; 50; American veteran of the first manned Mars expedition; educated at U.S. Naval Academy (Navy Captain); Cal Tech PhD Systems Engineering. (Later, Captain of Starchild.)
Demitri Gagarin – First Officer and Astrogator/Systems Engineer; 40; Russian with ties to the first human in space; educated at Peter the Great SRF Military Academy (Colonel in the Russian Air Corps); Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. (Later, retired to private life as a Hero of the Russian Federation.)
Ginger Steele – Second Officer and Communications Officer/Astrogator; 31; Australia – Hobart, Tasmania. Zulu heritage, blue-black skin. Facial features are classically Arian with the striking dark overcast; educated at University of Melbourne – Electrical engineering and astronomy; Stanford – MSc Electrical engineering/communications technology; PhD Planetary astronomy. (Later, crew member of Starchild.)
Ari Rawlston – Mission Specialist and Chief VASIMR Engineer/Computer Engineer; 41; Israeli; educated at Technion Institute of Technology. (Later, crew member of Starchild.)
Noel Goddard – Mission Specialist and Space Structural Engineer/ Backup VASIMR Engineer; 45; Family ties to the famed early 20th century rocket scientist, carrying on the family tradition as a rocket engineer – Canadian branch of the family; educated at Princeton Univ. MSc Engineering. (Later, retired to private research at his personal lab in Canada.)
Michele deBois – Mission Specialist and Biologist/Botanist; 35; French; Sorbonne graduate in biology; PhD fm Berkley in Biology. (Later, the First Lady of France.)
Chen Lee-Fong – Mission Specialist and Systems Engineer/Backup VASIMR Engineer; 40; Chinese; educated at University of Science and Technology of China in Beijing – engineering; MSc rocket design – MIT. (Later, retired to private life as a celebrated Chinese Peoples Hero.)
Carmen Bhuta –Medical Officer and Language Specialist/ Botanist; 32; Indian from an old wealth family; educated at University of Delhi; Harvard Medical School. (Later, India's Minister of Health.)
Elke Gratz – Mission Specialist and Historian/Computer Engineer; 33; German; Technische Universität Darmstadt. (Later, crew member of Starchild.)
Saeed Esmail – Stowaway; 30; From the Persian Caliphate; Fanatical Shia.
MISSION CONTROL
Rod Zakes – Mission Director; later Iapetus Federation Ambassador to Earth; even later President of the Iapetus Federation; 47; Served on the 1st Mars mission with Jon Stock; educated at Duke University, Aerospace Engineering.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Marc Bowles – American President; later Director of the Starchild Institute; 55; Navy Seal; Medal of Honor recipient for heroic actions in the war on terror; educated at Ohio State (NROTC); Harvard Law school (following military service).
PERSIAN CALIPHATE
Ayatollah Khomeini – Caliph of the Persian Caliphate
Eskandar Ali Jinnah (Alex) – Ismaili sleeper, a Nizari Hashashiyyin
Ismail Suleiman – Senior Caliphate General
MOSSAD HQ
Daniel Ben-Gurion – Head of Mossad
THE FOUNDERS
Noah – Founder Patriarch (remained on Earth circa 11th Century BCE)
Vesta – Founder Matriarch; Physician/Surgeon (remained on Earth in the present time)
Shem (h) – Son of Noah (remained on Earth circa 11th Century BCE with Persia)
Persia (w) – Artist & Poet
Sons of Shem:
Eber (h) –Founder Leader (later, crew member of Starchild).
Azurad (w) – Research Physician /Biologist (remained on Earth in the present time)
Asshur (h) –Physics/Communications (remained on Earth in the present time).
Ishtar (w) – Writer/Historian (later, crew member of Starchild).
Aram (h) –Electronics (remained on Earth in the present time).
Sarai (w) – Civil Engineer/Explorer (killed in an accident during 1st Earth sojourn).
Arpachshad (h) –Engineer/Warrior/Weapons specialist (later, crew member of Starchild).
Rasu'eja (w) – Warrior/Weapons specialist (later, crew member of Starchild).
Lud (h) – Physician/Surgeon/Biologist (remained on Earth in the present time).
Shakbah (w) – Biologist (remained on Earth in the present time).
PART ONE
On the wings of eagles…
Chapter 1
Saeed Esmail prostrated himself toward Earth, nearly 400 million kilometers back in the direction of the Sun. He felt his stomach heave, and vomited blood on his prayer mat, and wondered aloud why Allah had abandoned him. At that moment he was hit with massive weight, several gees at least, and a twisting, wrenching, totally disorienting surge that made no mental or physical sense. In his weakened state, all Saeed could do was let his body be tossed from wall to wall inside his tent, and hope that he would not tear the airtight fabric. He heard somebody screaming, and then his stomach heaved again, and bloody vomit filled the space around him, flying this way and that, finally collecting on the tent walls. The lights went out, and someone still was screaming, but as the wild gyrations began to settle into a repeating pattern, Saeed realized that he was the one screaming…and he couldn't stop. He reached for his head, pulling out fistfuls of hair…and he screamed again. He retched, but his stomach was empty, and only a little bit of blood mixed with spittle left his mouth, flying at an odd angle to the tent wall…and he screamed, but quieter now, and screamed some more, but quieter still, until his screams morphed into a frightened whimper as he curled into a tight ball on his prayer mat.
#
A subdued bong captured Saeed's attention. A comforting female voice announced, "In five minutes we will pitch over and commence our arrival burn at El-four. Please make sure you are securely strapped into your seat, and that you have stowed any loose items you might have been using during the transit. Remain securely fastened in your seat until the arrival announcement tells you it is safe to unbuckle and move about."
Saeed checked his harness, and curiously looked out the port. He saw nothing but stars, more stars than he had ever seen, and off to the rear, the beautiful blue marble that the earth had become – praise be to Allah. Then the star field began to rotate, accompanied by a slightly higher pitch from the gyros that penetrated into Saeed's conscious perception. The blue marble moved with the star-studded sky until it was positioned above the capsule's port bow. While this happened, Saeed felt no movement. His only sense was that the sky had rotated, as if Allah had reached out and rotated the heavenly backdrop with His mighty hand. Weight returned with a popping hiss as the kick thruster ignited for a few seconds burn. As his weight vanished again, the gyros whined, and the sky began to move from right to left. In short order Saeed could see the Moon through the ports on the other side of the capsule. It appeared no larger than it did from the Earth, but the left side was one that Saeed had only seen before in holographs. He could not see the Mirs Complex, although he knew it had to lie off the starboard quarter. Weight returned again for about a minute as the restartable kick thruster slowed their velocity to match the orbital velocity of the Russian Federation built Mirs Complex as it circled the Earth in the Moon's orbit, 385,000 kilometers ahead of the Moon.
Several clanks and surges later, Saeed felt his normal weight gradually return as the capsule nestled into its berth in the capsule arrival bay of the main Mirs Ring, and picked up its rotational speed.
Bong. "Welcome to the Mirs Ring," a bright female voice announced. "It is now safe for you to unstrap and move about. You may disembark to the left side of the capsule. Lavatory facilities are located immediately to the left of the passageway. Your personal belongings will be available in fifteen minutes at the baggage handling dock down the passageway to the right. We know you have choices when traveling off-planet. We thank you for using Slingshot, and hope you had a pleasant trip, and that you will think of us the next time you leave Planet Earth."
Saeed stepped out of the capsule and hurried to the men's room. Although the passengers had been warned about not drinking before the flight, and all the passengers had been issued absorbent diapers an hour before leaving Baker just in case, Saeed, as a faithful Muslim, abhorred fouling himself, and had held off, by the grace of Allah, until arrival.
While awaiting the baggage, Saeed checked the construction schedule for Cassini II, and then perused the poster-size diagram of the spaceship. Cassini II was a sixty-six meter long twelve-meter wide cylinder, divided into three modules – a twenty meter long crew module, called the Pullman, a twenty-three meter long equipment module, called the Box, and the twenty-three meter long power module and engine cluster, called the Caboose. The large Iapetus-bound spaceship had been constructed entirely at Mirs, about a hundred kilometers away on the opposite side of the main L-4 complex. All three modules had been built in place.
