New Hope: Book 1

EPILOG

In the secret installation on the Moon, Dr. Yeager was having a video chat with her superiors back on Earth. They weren’t too pleased, to say the least, with the way things went on the surface of Earth’s natural satellite. They had been financing the whole expedition for years, hoping it would, sooner or later, pay off in the form of elaborate alien technologies, modern energy sources, and perhaps some weapons. The only thing they did not expect was finding living owners and creators of these technologies, and joining a potential interplanetary conflict with an alien race that has not only been prowling the Galaxy for tens of thousands of years but also has an enormous advantage over humanity in absolutely every possible regard. People’s curiosity and short-sightedness could have exposed their species to very serious consequences, and now, also the secrecy of the installation on the Moon. To have any chance of surviving the plight to come, humanity must not only unite in an unprecedented gesture of brotherhood, cooperation across divisions, and global peace but also stop lying and keeping secrets of this kind from wider society. The decision-makers were not thrilled by this, as it meant weakening their position and ending the hegemony of a small group of people.

“Yes, Madam President,” Dr. Yeager replied to the image of a woman in her forties on the holographic display, “We have the situation under control now. Ellie Johnson and Lieutenant Lassiter contacted me and assured me that a representative of the alien race would work with us and help us prepare for any eventuality.”

“What about those... Sarassians? How real is this threat?” asked President Avrisomala. “Is it certain that they’ll come here?” she added worriedly.

“I’m afraid, Madam President, that this is a great unknown. According to the information from Aurora, a representative of the Protagonists, the signal that was sent from Earth was short but strong enough to reach the region of the galaxy where the Sarassians were historically located. We don’t know if they’ll manage to decode it and locate its exact source, but we must be prepared for such an eventuality. However, failing to prepare for it could be disastrous,” replied Dr. Yeager.

“What time horizon are we talking about here? When can we expect the aliens’ visit?” asked Avrisomala.

“Well, when it comes to the mechanics of hyperspace, all these concepts are quite new to our scientists - they are just learning to work with them. According to the Protagonist, the signal itself travels in hyperspace hundreds of times faster than physical objects, so we can expect that it will be received in a distant region of the galaxy soon... 3 months at most,” said the director of the lunar complex gloomily. “After this time, assuming the Sarassians understand the transmission and locate its source, we’re talking about at least 50 years of hyperspace flight. Maybe a little more, depending on where the Sarassian forces are located.”

“Do we know what we can expect when that happens? What’s the size of the forces that could be sent against us?”

“Unfortunately, Madam President, we can only speculate here. According to Aurora, we can most likely expect a small fleet, maybe a few scout ships, and possibly smaller combat ships. Reconnaissance forces will probably be sent to determine who sent the transmission and why. If they find us…” she trailed off. “We will most likely have a conflict on our hands, although tens of thousands of years have passed since the last contact of the Protagonists and the Sarassians, so we cannot be sure of anything. If the response of this race could be determined by the attitude of their representative trapped in the Protagonists’ lunar installation, then we should prepare for the worst.”

“Yes, and this Elrael... How much of a threat is he? Can we somehow neutralize him? Can we destroy the Protagonists’ lunar complex to eliminate him?” asked the President.

“Unfortunately, we do not know what he is doing now. But we do know he’s capable of almost anything. It’s not just an AI, but a digital clone of a living Sarassian. We also know that he has no way of sending any signal or making contact with other Protagonist installations on Earth. Aurora has effectively cut them off using the appropriate firewalls,” replied Dr. Yeager. “As for the possibility of neutralization... Well, I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The materials this complex is built from are currently beyond our ability to damage them. Even octanitrocubane can’t break through this shell, and the whole complex is protected by various types of security systems: from high radiation, which will kill anyone who tries to get close to the facility and damage the electronics of every missile that we can create today and send there, all the way to energy fields that can cancel out the energy of even the fastest kinetic projectile we could send towards the installation,” she said. “In a word: we’re not able to do anything at present. The only consolation is that the Sarassian can only wait.”

“In that case, is he a threat right now?” asked the President.

“No, we do not think it poses any threat right now. Of course, we are monitoring the situation, and we have designated several satellites for this purpose that regularly fly over the complex. They don’t only photograph the entire area but also examine all kinds of radiation, including hyperspace transmissions, thanks to the help of our Protagonist friends,” replied Dr. Yeager. “If he’s up to something, we’ll be the first to know,” assured the director of the lunar complex.

“All right, Director. The cat’s out of the bag and we can’t undo what has already happened. We have to deal with the consequences of these events,” said President Avrisomala. “Moving on… Interstellar travel. Where are we on this topic? You’ve been working on the Moon on solutions in this regard for over 50 years. So far, you’ve made progress in virtually every aspect, except for high-speed travel. How does the Protagonist technology change this?”

Dr. Yeager’s eyes lit up at the possibilities this new technology would create“

“Madam President, this technology is groundbreaking!” she blurted out enthusiastically. “The superluminal cores will help us send the first human vehicle to the stars very soon. Unmanned for now, of course. It’s still a new technology for us and we have to investigate whether and how it affects humans, but if what Aurora told us about it also applies to people - and this is what the Protagonist says - then we should be able to send the first vehicle to Proxima Centauri in the next 3 to 5 years, and then to Tau Ceti. After consulting the maps of our immediate stellar neighborhood, it turned out that the last Protagonists were planning to go to Tau Ceti, almost 12 light-years from Earth. The last ones, aside from those who are still in hibernation in closed facilities on our planet, of course,” she added. “Either way, this technology will let us take off to the stars soon. If all goes well, we should have the first human colony outside our solar system within the next 10 years! Maybe even less!” the director of the lunar center added with undisguised joy.

“Excellent, Director. This was one of the goals that guided us from the very beginning when your initiative was created. Transferring alien technology is one thing, but traveling to the stars and minimizing risks for all of humanity is the overriding goal,” replied the President.

President Avrisomala took a deeper breath and said,

“I suppose this whole mishap with the activation of the Protagonists’ terrestrial installation and the transmission of the signal would have happened regardless of who was in charge of your facility at any given time. The supervisory board concluded that you had no negative impact on how matters progressed. On the contrary,” said the President, “if it weren’t for your swift and decisive reaction in many situations, we might not have discovered the destiny of the lunar artifacts, and we wouldn’t be talking now about the first flight at superluminal speeds,” she added. “Nonetheless, I cannot ignore the negative aspect of the whole situation: the Sarassians. As a species, we are completely unprepared for any confrontation with them, and there is no question about the participation of your people in informing this race about our presence...” she added. “Having said that, I must say, I cannot see any fault on your part. It would have happened sooner or later, and it is very likely that if it did happen later, things might not have been as optimistic as they are today. So, I have recommended that you remain in the lunar installation’s top management. If that’s what you want, of course?” asked President Avrisomala.

Dr. Yeager’s eyes glazed slightly. She was expecting to be demoted and thrown out of office. Praise and reassurance of confidence for her continued command of this most important facility were the last things she expected to hear from the earthly politicians.

“Madam President, you do not even know how much your warm words mean to me. I have always acted only for the good of my nation, but also for all of humanity. I am immensely grateful to you for this recommendation. I am exhilarated and honored to accept your offer to continue commanding this facility.”

“In that case, Director Yeager, it’s settled,” said President Avrisomala with a broad smile.

***

A few months after the events on Earth, nearly 60,000 light-years from mankind’s home planet, in a remote part of the Milky Way, the Ruling Triad of the Sarassian Empire was holding another regular management meeting. Not much usually happened during these boring meetings. Decisions were made about the directions of the Empire’s expansion, the advancements of the fleet’s admirals, or the races to be annihilated, making room on their planets for the future colonization of Sarassian settlers.

But today’s meeting was different. The Triad Chair and Grand Marshal of the Sarassian Empire, Greon Ke’flomzula, rose from the table and pounded his fist with all his might on the tabletop.

“I do not agree to stop expanding our Empire!” he roared. “For 30 thousand years we have been enlarging our territory and no one has ever threatened our plans. No race is more intelligent than us, no race can match us!” he continued. “No way, we’re not going stop expanding our borders just because our fleet has encountered some resistance from a puny race with only 20 star systems,” he hissed furiously. “We inhabit over 10,000 planetary systems, including planets, moons, and artificial habitats. So let’s send additional forces to pacify and clean out the planets of this race. A thousand additional ships should be more than enough!” he thundered.

“As you wish, Grand Marshal,’ replied Jusrzuc V’klepjos, second in the ruling triad. “We’ll do as you wish. 1000 additional ships shouldn’t have any problems with shattering the meager defense fleet of this meaningless race.”

“What’s this race called?” asked Grencit Vuled, the last of the three co-rulers.

“The Hakrins,” replied Jusrzuc. “They’re a small race of two-legged beings that began their expansion in their part of the stellar cloud several hundred years ago.”

“I think you wanted to say our parts of the stellar cloud,” said Greon.

“Yes, of course, Master,” corrected Jusrzuc. “This race has put up some resistance to our forces until now and they’ve succeeded in stopping our invasion fleets from landing on their planets in recent weeks,” he explained. “But if we increase the fleet size, I’m convinced it’s only a matter of time before we take over the planets of these worthless worms.”

“Excellent,” replied Greon. “In the future, I don’t want to hear about any failures. We have the strongest and most modern fleet in the known Universe. We have tens of thousands of ships docked, so we should be able to destroy any force that opposes us,” he replied ominously, looking at everyone present.

“Master, one more thing...” Grencit began.

“Yes? What else is left to be discussed? This meeting is starting to bore me and I want to go relax,” replied Greon.

“We picked up a hyperspace signal at the borders of our territories,” announced Grencit. “The signal itself did not contain anything special. It was actually a guidance signal,” he replied.

“So?” asked the Triad Marshal. “What does it matter? Another meaningless race has discovered hyperspace communication. Sooner or later, we’ll get there anyway, be it a hundred or a hundred thousand years. We are timeless, the Sarassians are eternal,” he replied wearily.

“Yes, of course, but…” Grencit paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and continued. “The point is, this signal was aimed right at the center of our Empire. As if someone knew exactly where to send it.”

This bold and unexpected statement aroused the Marshal’s interest.

“Go on...” he said.

“As I mentioned, the signal itself didn’t contain any message, except for some damaged coordinates of its source. Our scientists haven’t been able to establish the exact origin of this transmission, but they do know which direction it came from. Based on its degradation, they can estimate the relative distance of the source from where the transmission was received,” he continued. “The signal came from an area nearly 20,000 light-years away from the Sarassian Empire’s border, somewhere at the edge of the galaxy,” he added. “We didn’t think life could develop in such distant outskirts of our galaxy due to the very low density of stellar matter. The formation of advanced life would be very difficult, but maybe we were wrong,” he said.

“So, what are you going to do with this transmission?” asked Greon irritably.

“I’d like your permission to send a small fleet, which will be able to reach the region of interest more quickly and investigate the planetary system by system there. It will take a long time, maybe decades or hundreds of years, but that way we could check out the area thoroughly and see who or what tried to contact us.”

“Contact? Do you assume this is an intelligent attempt to contact us?” asked the Marshal in surprise. “Who in that region of the galaxy would even know about our existence?” he added.

“Tens of thousands of years ago, we sent digitized copies of one of our greatest commander’s mind in various directions of our galaxy. Elrael Edooriahut could have survived in his digital form to this day and tried to contact us. If it was him, I believe his contact attempt might suggest he found something important enough to let us know,” explained Grencit.

“Hmm…” Greon wondered calmly. “Send the fleet you were thinking about. If it’s a random transmission, we won’t lose anything. But if someone has something to say to us, we will know it early enough to be able to react.”

“Yes, Master,” the second in the Triad nodded obediently, then left the meeting to give the appropriate instructions.

“There can only be Sarassians…” said the Triad Marshal, who was echoed by a member of the ruling group who remained in the room.

***

6 months after the events in the polar circle

Ellie Johnson and John Lassiter, who had agreed that the best solution for them would be to return to the Moon and contribute, however they can, to the work on developing the technology provided by Aurora, stood at the railing in the main lobby of the complex, enjoying the view provided by the transparent dome covering the entire installation.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this view,” Ellie sighed, touching the lieutenant’s hand.

“Me neither. Even though I’ve been working here much longer than you,” he said with a warm smile, looking Ellie directly in the eyes. “I will never get tired of this view, either,” he added, winking at her.

Ellie squeezed John’s hand tighter and moved closer to him, feeling the warmth of his body.

“It’s interesting how things turned out, huh?” she said. “Until a few months ago, not only did I know nothing about the fact that people have been living on the Moon for years, not to mention alien technology, but no way would I have dreamed about meeting a living and breathing alien. Or that I would be part of an extensive plan to send people to the stars,” she said dreamily.

“And now we both work with Aurora and dozens of other Protagonists, who live on our own planet unseen,” added John. “They might not leave their underground complex, but I’m not surprised. The place is so amazing!” said the lieutenant. “Did you see what they did recently?” he asked.

“You mean the river that now passes through the center of their underground dome?” she said with a glimmer in her eye. “Yeah, I did. It’s amazing, isn’t it? The technology and knowledge the Protagonists want to share with us make me optimistic about the future. Though I’m aware it will not always be so rosy…” she added with a touch of concern.

“We don’t know if the Sarassians picked up Elrael’s signal. But if they did, we’ll be ready,” the lieutenant assured Ellie. “Speaking of security, how’s Julius? I heard that since he decided to stay on Earth in the Protagonist complex, he doesn’t let the alien tenants out of sight? They must be very overjoyed that the phrase shadowing someone has gained a new meaning thanks to Julius?” he laughed.

Ellie also laughed, remembering that just 9 months ago Julius was not only her commander but also her mentor and friend. Today, Captain Cousteau worked hand in hand with the Protagonists developing an effective and safe way of transferring their technologies to everyday use on Earth, making sure not to accidentally destroy the global economy by flooding it too quickly with breakthrough technologies. Humanity had to take an enormous step to catch up with its creators technologically, but it could not do it too quickly as that would endanger the entire species. The process had to be spread over the years, and Julius pledged to lead the process on the human side, working hand in hand with Aurora and the other Protagonists to ensure the safety of the entire procedure.

“I’m sure Julius is doing what he was made to do,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want to deal with technologies that even science-fiction authors never dreamed of? I reckon Julius feels like a kid in a candy store, with no shopping limit and free access to all the candy display windows,” she added joyfully.

Ellie and John stood by the railing a moment longer, staring at the blackness of the cosmos peeking over the dome that protected the center from the void of outer space.

“So what happens now?” asked Ellie, deep in thought.

“Hmm…” the lieutenant sighed. “Have you considered Aurora’s proposal? Because I have and I’d like to see what the future holds,” he replied.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, sure,” said Ellie. “It’s not an easy decision. To hibernate for the next several dozen years and sleep through the entire period of our species’ rapid development? We were literally offered a journey into the future!” Dr. Johnson blurted out. “I’m still considering whether to agree to it. On the one hand, I’d like to see how things progress. On the other, it means I’ll never see anyone I know again...”

“You’ll see me...” said John, squeezing Ellie’s hand tighter, “I want to fall asleep now, so I can wake up in the future when people have more to say about space travel.” I want to help out with a potential fight against the Sarassians, and there’s no chance of that today. Such a journey in time is the perfect solution,” he said. “Besides, everyone on Earth thinks we’re dead anyway,” said John, allowing himself to smuggle in a sad joke.

“Ha, ha...” replied Ellie gloomily, not even taking her eyes off the stars hanging above the lobby. “I think I need a little more time to get used to this concept. But if it matters, if I decide to do it, the fact that you will be there will certainly have affected my decision,” she added smiling shyly.

“Ah, right, I almost forgot,” said the lieutenant. “Remember, today’s the day the first human probe with superluminal propulsion is going to be sent out?” he asked.

“That’s today? Gosh, I had so much on my mind that it completely escaped my mind,” she said. “Where are they sending it to? Proxima Centauri, right?”

“They changed their mind. At Aurora’s persuasions, Dr. Yeager decided to give in and send the probe straight to Tau Ceti,” he said. “Everyone wants to know as soon as possible whether anything awaits us there and what it might be. We need to know if the Protagonists who left our solar system survived and founded the colony they planned, or if they were met by a different fate,” he explained.

“As you know, the Protagonists’ individual hibernation chambers are being opened gradually, but the process takes a long time. Many of the chambers are located in areas that are now inhabited and densely populated. Did you know that one of the larger chambers is located in what is now Manhattan?’ he asked.

“What?! Manhattan, like New York?!” asked Ellie in disbelief.

“One and the same. Once upon a time, Manhattan was just an island and seemed to be the perfect location to create a center like that. The Protagonists didn’t expect people to develop so quickly and annex the areas, making it the center of their financial world with dense buildings and skyscrapers,” John replied.

“So how do they want to get to those chambers that are located in large population centers?” asked Ellie. “I mean they can’t conduct open excavations, people can’t find out about aliens yet. According to the plans, this step is being spread out for years ahead!” said Dr. Johnson.

“Well, in Manhattan, they’re doing it under the guise of building a new skyscraper,” said John.

“Of course,” said Ellie.

“The chamber is buried nearly 300 meters deep, so deep enough that no outsider will accidentally find it, but shallow enough that we can get to it quite safely and quickly using the Protagonists’ special technologies. And under the foundations of a newly constructed building.”

“It’s amazing, from today’s perspective, the strange locations hiding these chambers. In Manhattan, at Stonehenge, at the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, in the Turkish mountains, or under the Aztec cities in South America! All the myths and stories about ancient aliens on Earth, especially in these places, have turned out to have a grain of truth in them!” said Ellie impressed.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” the lieutenant smiled.

“What do you think we’ll find at Tau Ceti?” asked Ellie after a moment, still pensive in thought.

“I don’t know, Ellie, but I suspect that what we find there will change a lot, for many, many years...”

***

The first human interstellar superluminal probe has just emerged from the Alcubierre bubble on the outskirts of the Tau Ceti system. The probe, equipped with advanced artificial intelligence, which is a hybrid between human technology and the knowledge of the Protagonists, after carrying out basic self-control tests and determining that all components were functioning properly, focused its attention on the immediate surroundings and looked at the planetary system it was currently in.

The probe, named New Hope, in honor of the primitive human spacecraft that crashed on the surface of the Moon, Earth’s natural satellite more than a year ago, triggered passive sensors so as not to arouse unnecessary curiosity, and activated its impulse drive to gain a distance from where it came out of the space-time bubble. After a short flight of 1.5 million kilometers, the probe acknowledged that even if someone saw it, now it would be impossible to find it in the void of space.

The preliminary data from the passive sensors showed that, in contrast to previous knowledge, the planetary system doesn’t have only four planets but as many as twelve, three of which are in the so-called habitable zone, where water might exist in a liquid state.

New Hope decided to take a closer look at the three planets in the sphere that could sustain life, especially since on all three of the planets in the system, traces of life-giving oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide were visible. In other words: air.

The probe briefly activated its impulse drive and with the force of short momentum traveled the distance of several dozen astronomical units separating it from the nearest planet. The journey took only 12 hours, which was a sky-high speed compared to the old New Hope many months ago.

When the probe was in the vicinity of the planet, it began a more detailed analysis of the immediate surroundings. The absence of any electromagnetic emissions in the radio spectrum did not deter it at all. There are also other traces of advanced life on the planet. One such indicator was methane, which is a product of the metabolism of most carbon-based living organisms, such as humans and Protagonists. A quick spectrum analysis of the atmosphere confirmed the presence of methane and several dozen other organic compounds that could indicate the existence of multicellular life.

At this stage, New Hope decided it was time to look closely at the planet’s surface, but also to inspect its orbit. Advanced civilization has certainly placed some artificial objects, satellites, stations, or vehicles in it.

However, to the probe’s surprise, no traces of active and bustling settlements or cities, or technology in general, either on the planet’s surface or in its orbit, could be found. At the same time, several larger impact craters were visible, fairly fresh when viewed on a geological scale. They were a few thousand years old, at most, and any dust that the meteorites causing these many-kilometers-long craters had settled long ago.

What would have disturbed the probe even more, if it were only guided by human emotions, was the presence of rubble in orbit. Not garbage in the ordinary sense but metal fragments that suggested artificial origin. It was as if the fragments of satellites and a larger, long inactive space station, were still in orbit.

The probe decided to approach the wreckage of the station and try deducing what could have happened in this planetary system. Evidently, a few thousand years ago it was inhabited by quite a technologically advanced civilization, although now the only traces of its former existence were traces of destruction.

New Hope approached the thousand-foot-long wreckage. When it activated its active scanners, though many times stronger than passive ones, they left an easy-to-trace footprint, making it possible to find their source in space. The probe acknowledged that greater rewards come from greater risks.

The active scan allowed the probe to locate a terminal with residual power onboard the station, with which it had managed to interact. The terminal was programmed in a language resembling the speech of the Protagonists, hence the probe was relatively quickly able to find a common key for both languages and decode the content stored on it.

If only the probe could feel what a human would feel at the sight of the message it had managed to retrieve from the damaged memory banks, it would surely high-tail it out of there as far as possible. However, since the probe had no emotions, it decided to pack up all the gathered information and send it back to Earth in a neat hyperspace package.

Moments after confirming the transmission, a high-energy beam hit the probe, which erased the brief existence of this artificial creation and turned it into a ball of dense, hot plasma. The last thought that passed through its mind was a kind of regret that it would not be able to show people more. And there was much to see...

THE END