The Solution

Prologue

 

2011

 

In 2011 the world has been staring at global catastrophe for over a decade. Global warming and climate changes have brought about severe weather patterns such as floods and earth quakes more severe than those in past times. The reduction in precious resources like oil and gas and the inequitable distribution of resources including food and water, added to sectarian and religious conflicts, often fuelled by inequality and political ideology has produced starvation, global terrorism and many local atrocities across the middle and far east. The west has also been struck, most notable 11/11 and 7/7 have taken their toll and increased a global sense of threat and instability that simply fuels the fear of Armageddon. These are problems which when added to the growing world population and changes in the balance of power are not going to be easy to solve.

 

Governments, often lacking inspiration, motivation and insight have seemed to play politics with the situation to short term advantage rather than the long term strategic salvation of humanity. In the UK The Foresight Programme in the UK Government Office for Science, under the direction of the Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government was set up to gather together the different experts who might consider solutions. Its intention is to strengthen strategic policy-making in Government by embedding a futures approach. The 2008 report from the project concluded that:

 

“Life expectancy is projected to grow over the next few decades: by 2071 the number of adults over 65 could double to nearly 21.3 million and those over 80 could more than treble to 9.5 million. Over the same period, our concept of what constitutes “old age” will change, and notions of “career” and retirement” will shift in response to longer working lives. The number of older people will also increase as a proportion of the working population, thereby creating possible tensions within society. [p11]

 

The relentless demands for increased competitiveness will combine with changing family commitments, such as the two-earner family and the increasing need to care for older adults. These demands will have major implications for work-life balance and the wellbeing of workers, and have knock-on effects for their families and communities. Overall, a major challenge will be to square the circle of meeting the demands of increasingly intensive work, whilst preserving and nurturing wellbeing. [p12]

 

However, inequality of opportunity could fuel a cycle of tensions between different cultural and age groups, fragmentation of society, and social exclusion. “ [p12]

 

Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008). Final Project report �" Executive summary. The Government Office for Science, London.

 

“…………….environmental sustainability will become a more powerful rationale than it is now. Governments are likely to be urged to suppress uses of leisure that are (or are believed to be) damaging to health or the environment. In so far as suppression relies on the price mechanism (via taxation) the restrictions will be most severe for the worst-off. Leisure travel could once again become a luxury, as it was before the Second World War.”

 

Haworth, J. and Roberts, K. (2008) Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project. Mental Capital and Wellbeing: Making the most of ourselves in the 21st century State-of-Science Review: SR-C8 Leisure: the Next 25 Years, The Government Office for Science, London.

                               Journey to Departure                              

 

The sun sparkled and flashed as it played along the coachwork of the gleaming Tamara Exclusive heading at a leisurely 112 miles per hour over the main COM way.  It sat in jewelled pools, a million random lights caught in the clear drops of early morning rain.  The sky was now clear blue and as if some heavenly cleansing had occurred, the air felt fresh; with the clean crispness of a clearing summer shower.

 

The COM way, all six northbound channels, were empty for as far as the eye could see. The southbound channels were out of sight immediately below the shimmering light-composite metal plates that stretched out into the distance, suspended from tension cables attached to concrete pillars ranked across the landscape at half mile intervals.

 

The sun would soon be scorching as it gained height above the baked midlands earth. The rows of vineyards and citrus trees below would thrive in its intense glare. It was hard to contemplate that this area had once hosted a temperate climate characterised by cold winters and variable summers. The early morning shower would have provided a much needed drink to the parched orange and lemon groves, but these days rain was an exception. Drought and water shortages often ravaged much of the midlands whereas in years gone past it would have been largely confined to the South East. Only in the north of England and Scotland were drought conditions rare.

 

Despite the wet conditions the vehicle did not alter its pace, there was no need; gone were the days of terms like road traffic accident and multiple motorway pile up. In the age of the wheeled motor car with its rubber radial and cross-ply tyres such wet conditions would sometimes have led to loss of control due to skidding or aquaplaning. With the advent of EMPPV or electro magnetic propulsion production vehicles there was no danger of this. True it had also changed the face of motor sport, with the exception of a small band of wheeled enthusiasts, but the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages. EMPPV coupled with the Radar Evasion Computer Kit or RECK for short, which automatically computed the route and made alterations to avoid slower vehicles or other obstacles, helped to raise the safety of those travelling between populated work and leisure areas. It also ended the need for speed restrictions and only the individual capabilities of the vehicles themselves dictated how fast they could travel. Some of the top models were capable of speeds in excess of 230 Miles an hour and this was being increased steadily year by year.

 

The six lanes of the COMway looked rather like electrons under an electro microscope when peak travel occurred and even in London and Birmingham and Manchester there were no longer traffic queues. Computerised travel had put an end to such frustrating scenes, assisted by increased home working and virtual workplaces. The handful of accidents which had occurred were put down to computer failure or were presumed to be the work of hackers getting into the fiercely protected control management system. The worst accident had in fact been due to the collapse of the COMway above the former Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham when 104 people died after a private air hopper crash landed when it hit a flock of seagulls back in the 40s. Since then the only other incident involved a Hybrid Monitor Multiple Person Carrier which careered off the COMway above Staples Corner in London after its Jet Air Breaking System (JABS) had been corrupted by a computer virus. In short the COMway was a safe, efficient communications pathway.

 

In populated leisure and working deployment areas restrictions did apply when off the main COMway and on the gridways. These smaller routes had restrictions of 80 miles per hour in some places. With JABS and Balanced Interior Floatation or BIF, which meant the passenger capsule was suspended from the main body of the vehicle; passengers were protected from extreme deceleration. Vehicles could therefore travel at speed and the on board computer linked to the national vehicle regulator, NVR or ‘big brother’ as it was affectionately know, could stop the vehicle on an old five pence piece.

 

In residential areas Cushioned Air Drive, similar to the old hovercraft propulsion was mandatory. Of course the air was not produced by fans but by the jet air breaking system and the computerised control made these more efficient and there were none of the traditional handling difficulties associated with the old mode of transportation. Maximum speeds of 40 miles per hour were possible under this system. Maintenance of the COM ways, gridways and residential slow-ways was minimal with the loss of friction and surface contact; long gone were the crumbling tarmac, road-works infested, motorways and roads of the early 21^st century.

 

On board the Exclusive, which had begun its journey in London, the atmosphere was tense with excitement. Conversation bubbled and buzzed back and forth between the three adults and two children as the vehicle swept smoothly along the nearside channel. The journey was not long and as it was a Sunday well before 08:00am the COM way was deserted. The only hold up had been around Hyde Park Corner as central London had remained relatively unaltered over the centuries and was a slow-way.

 

In fact London had changed significantly over the years and whereas in the early 21^st century people were being encouraged to use brown-field sites in order not to encroach on the countryside and utilise all the space available in cities and towns, cities and towns were saturated and overspill onto green-belt although vociferously opposed by pressure groups, the opposition and the general population, had been inevitable. The increasing population and the continued influx of people across the free trade borders of the massively expanded European Union, added to the vast asylum entry of middle eastern and Pakistani and Indian refugees following the two major conflicts in which nuclear weapons were used, had seen to that.

 

The first of these was in the conflict between Pakistan and India which had reignited after decades when Kashmir with Pakistan’s support declared independence. Unfortunately, unlike so long ago during World War II, with the advent of smart nuclear weapons, the conflict was not ended by the detonation of nuclear material. This simply escalated matters until the killing fields of the likes of Vietnam paled to insignificance and vast swathes of both countries became uninhabitable for centuries to come.  Iran was next after it attacked the Israeli/Lebanese/Jordanian alliance. Once more swathes of land were rendered unusable and millions left homeless. Of course Iran had been roundly defeated when Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had joined forces under the Treaty of Cairo Alliance and reduced Iran to ashes.

 

The pressure on the rest of the civilized world to absorb the displaced had caused major problems. The only good thing to come out of these catastrophic events was the Global Alliance for Peace which saw the majority of counties join forces and put their faith and secular differences and other disputes behind them in a bid to save the human race from self destruction. The stockpiles of nuclear missiles and nuclear materials had all been transported to storage on the moon before being sent onward, deep into the solar system, for detonation.

 

Never-the-less the knock on effects had caused additional hardship for everyone with food and water shortages, damage to the world economy and severe overcrowding of Australia, The United States and Western Europe. The USA, Great Britain, Western Europe and Australia and New Zealand had been safe zones for decades beneath the protection of the Active Nuclear Shield, an advanced GPS system that could detect a hostile missile launch and dispatch Fire Feather Rapid Reaction Missiles within one minute forty-five seconds. These missiles were tiny compared to the older type Trident missiles and with the advent of more deadly explosives could pack an even greater punch while travelling at twice the speed. Accuracy with a 98% confidence ratio made this system safe for the countries that could afford to hide behind it and were admitted to the club.

 

Peter Hollingsworth’s attention was suddenly taken as his vehicle began to slow. There was no indication of an obstruction and they were still eight miles short of their destination. He looked ahead as the speed dropped steadily to sixty then forty. As they swept round a gentle curve he saw the piercing blue pulse of the police cruiser sitting on the raised platform attached to the side of the COM way. The computer in the police vehicle was by this time completely in control of the Tamara’s onboard functions and the two officers seated in the cruiser were studying the visual display from the Central Vehicle Documentation Department and the scanner that allowed them to identify how many were in the vehicle and scan the interior for weapons.

 

The Tamara pulled off the COMway and drew to a halt in front of the sleek police vehicle, as it settled on the roadway, its functioning systems extinguished, incapacitating it completely.  The police vehicle had closed down the onboard computer and was able to keep control within a one mile radius.

 

Casually the officer on the left slid the gull wing door open and stepped out from the vehicle. He moved slowly towards the right hand driver’s door, his weapon in his hand pointed directly at Peter. As he did so he took readings from the hand held scanner in his gloved left hand. As he approached the door he pressed a key and allowed his personal computer to release the window panel which slid silently down.

 

“Good morning sir” the police officer opened

“Good morning officer” Peter replied.

“Just a routine matter sir, if you wouldn’t mind handing me your identity card” he instructed.

 

He was a tall, broad figure and the clean, crisp uniform and highly polished boots with trousers tucked in gave the impression of a fastidious type. His peaked cap was under his left arm as he accepted the card from Peter and inserted it into the slot on his hand held multipurpose device. Seconds later the screen provided the officer with a wealth of information about the holder, including his driving licence, insurance details, a photograph and a short biography.

 

“Mr Hollingsworth could you please apply your right eye to the eye piece on this console if you wouldn’t mind” he instructed as he held the small rectangular machine towards Peter who obliged without question.

 

The print out display read almost instantly:

 

Identity confirmation-Peter Hollingsworth,

Date of Birth-0/11/2050,

Identity Number- Holl5110009345A, Class 2.

Status-no outstanding matters

 

The policeman closed the hand held screen.

 

“Thank you Mr Hollingsworth; you may now proceed, your destination shown is East Midlands Shuttle Port with three passengers and one departee. Be advised, it is very busy today due to the departure so please use junction fifteen rather than sixteen. Security is tight due to the heightened terrorist threat. Have a good trip sir”. He ended stepping back and raising his hand to his colleague in the police vehicle.

 

The computer terminal in front of Peter flashed into life once again ‘Automatic transit in progress’ blinked at him as the police car computer guided the Tamara down the slipway and back onto the main COMway. Half a mile from the checkpoint the computer message changed to ‘Automatic transit ends’ and the powerful hum of the engine began and the vehicle accelerated to 100mph in milliseconds. Peter leant forward and pressed a blue rectangular button on the console and a route map appeared. He keyed in the course alteration as advised by the policeman and pressed the activate button.

 

“We’ll be there in four minutes”. He advised the occupants as the Tamara picked up speed and the console display read ‘Route alteration accepted’.

 

“Another for the departure?” Constable Squires asked his companion as he slipped back up into the passenger seat.

 

“Yes most definitely; but he checks out.” Replied Sergeant Rolland.

 

Peter watched as the Exclusive began to decelerate as it approached the exit slip road. He knew the on board computer had control but he never quite trusted the technology. There had been few failures but now and again notable disasters happened and some rumours circulated that the state suppressed information on the number of accidents caused by technology failures.

 

The vehicle slowed and moved left into the transit lane for the A50 Shuttle Port approach, another two minutes and they would arrive.

 

Peter turned to his wife Susan.

 

“Not long now darling” he said reassuringly and with affection

“We will see your mother off and then take the kids to Alton Space Experience; That will take our minds off things.” He ended with a modicum of reflection.

Susan squeezed his hand seeking the strength she knew he had and the love she craved from him each day of her life.

 

“Thanks sweetheart” she replied knowing Peter was her tower and her soul mate.

 

In the back of the vehicle Rachel and Jake hugged their grandmother who sat between them.

 

“Gran?” asked Rachel “How long will you be away?”

“Oh it’s only a long holiday, three months or so I believe. My doctor signed me up for this and he thinks it will do me good to get away from all the pollution for a while”

“Aren’t you excited Gran?” asked Jake in awe

“Yes Jake darling I love travel. Always have done.” She said reassuringly patting his head.

The two children hugged their grandmother and settled down to enjoy a comfortable silence for the rest of the journey.

 

East Midlands, always seen as a poor relation to the old London Airports of Stanstead, Gatwick and Heathrow, had taken on a special significance over the decades as demand for travel increased, despite concern about global warming. In particular when space tourism became a reality in 2035 it came into it’s own as Heathrow could not be expanded enough to take shuttles whereas this particular part of the Midlands countryside was expendable after token public inquiries fell in favour of the needs of the planet and to commercial expedience.

 

The Tamara Exclusive glided into the vehicle docking bay and the engine cut off automatically as the vehicle was cradled by a mechanical basket which held it suspended until the registered holder used their retinal recognition fob to release it on departure. The occupants emptied from the vehicle while two droids took the two suitcases from the under chassis storage and set it into the induction transportation loop to be swiftly sent to the appropriate shuttle in a matter of seconds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Midlands Shuttle Port

 

The five walked the few yards to the nearest eliport stations. Peter inserted his key ticket into the slot of an unoccupied booth and the periglass panel slid silently open. “Welcome Mr Hollingsworth” chimed a silky female robotic voice. “You are accompanying one passenger for shuttle flight DSE10 and have four non travelling persons in your party. Please step into the cubicle.”

 

Peter helped his mother-in-law into the oblong booth that could seat twelve in two parallel rows and strapped her into the second seat on the left side of the car. Susan ushered Rachel and Jake to the two seats behind and sat herself immediately opposite her mother. Peter sat in the seat in front of Susan so that he could access the control console. He inserted his key card into the console and the dashboard lit up as the robotic voice once more offered information. “Flight DSE10 will depart from access gantry BB17 at 11:44WST. All passengers should report to departure pod BB at 11:30WST. Prepare for onward transportation to pre depart holding in ten seconds.”

 

A countdown beeper began to mark the seconds and at ten seconds the car began to ascend smoothly upwards stopping after clearing the frame in which it had sat. From the gloom of the underground car park suddenly the car was bathed in the brilliant yellow glow of the mid morning sun. The car now sat upon a flat gleaming steel landscape that stretched as far as the eye could see. All across the plane cars were darting to and fro as they moved smoothly and swiftly from the entry points to the departure holding areas and returned those leaving the shuttle port. Suddenly the car shot forward at an incredible speed. The occupants inside cushioned from the ‘G’ forces by an even more sophisticated BIF system.

 

Within twenty seconds the car had travelled fifteen hundred metres then it slowed and stopped before descending below the steal terrain into the monstrous structure that covered three square miles of the countryside. As the car came to a halt the Plexiglas door slid silently open again and the robotic voice announced arrival at holding area BB.

 

The four Hollingsworth’s and Peter’s mother-in law disembarked into a bright and airy ultra modern warehouse. Arranged around the vast space were various areas for eating and entertainment including a spa complex, cinema complex and an air soccer arena. Peter and his party went the short distance to the nearest ‘Transplate’ station where they all mounted individual transport platforms designed to whisk them around the complex.

 

“Ok Rachel, Jake you can go to the Holocade at C4 while your mother and I take Gran to F5 for refreshments. Meet us there in forty minutes for lunch before Gran’s flight.” Peter instructed.

 

“And don’t spend too much time on the Gauntlet or Gladiator Jake.” His mother warned.

 

“Ok Mum.” Jake said with resignation.

 

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t Mum.” offered Rachel with authority.

 

“You stay out of it bossy.” Snapped Jake.

 

“Now you two….” Peter said with clear warning in his voice. “…….no bickering or I will have you transported back and you can spend the time with us adults instead.”

 

“Alright dad.” Agreed Jake reluctantly as Rachel nodded her consent.

 

They keyed in the C4 location instruction and their Transplates turned 180° and moved smoothly away across the concourse. Peter keyed in F5 to his mother-in-law’s Transplate before setting his own and pressing the green command activate buttons. The three moved off in the direction of one of the rest areas with their state sponsored eateries where a variety of nutritious and low pollution, ecologically approved foods were available.

 

The eatery was a plush comfortable area with wide leather seating set in private booths. The three Transplates located an available booth large enough for three and set down next to it. Peter, Susan and her mother stepped off the devices and entered the booth, sitting themselves around the suspended glass table. Peter accessed the console set into the table top in front of him and automatically the menu page appeared on the screen.

 

The computer co-ordinated Transplates returned themselves to the nearest transport access point.

 

“Ok, Susan, Mum, what do you fancy?” They chose their meals, ordered automatically through the tablebot and in a matter of a minute it was delivered by a droid.  

 

“You know Susan” Peter said with reflection looking at his chosen meal, “I cannot imagine how less than a century ago people were eating such unhealthy and polluting foods.”

 

“No me neither. They even let their children eat it and all the health problems that caused with obesity and cost to the state health services.” Susan replied.

 

“Yes not to mention the effects on global warming. At least we don’t have to worry about what we order and buy anymore. Can you believe they used to go along to warehouses called supermarkets and had to check each product to see what it contained? And no real control over the way it might be causing planetary pollution.” Peter said with passion. “People were so primitive in their understanding of these things; if only they knew then what we know today.” He ended.

 

“I really don’t know how they had time to go shopping.” observed Susan, “It’s so easy now just to order via ‘Statemesh’.

 

“I suppose they did have much more variety and choice in those days. Look at the leisure opportunities they had……people would just take one of those jet aircraft and go off for a few days or a week or two with no real thought to the effect on their environment. It was like it wasn’t their fault; it was something someone else was responsible for.” Peter said with incredulity.

 

“Just check on the kids will you Peter” Susan asked.

 

Peter leaned forward and accessed the table console again. He waved his key card across the screen and automatically a video feed of Jake and Rachel appeared. He pressed a key.

 

“You two Ok? He asked.

 

Both children on different games responded immediately to the same question.

 

“Ok, another twenty minutes guys”. Peter instructed.

 

“Right dad”. Came the reply.

 

“So mum what was it like in your teens?” Asked Susan.

 

“Well dear we had lots more choice and more freedom to travel but we were worried about global warming. It was just so difficult to know what to do. You know there was just so much going on. I guess we tried where we could to choose options that were, what we called ‘fair trade’ or were ethically sourced and low polluting.”

 

“What do you mean Mum?” Peter asked curiously.

 

“Well with all the very quick advances in the internet and communication we were just sort of swept along.  We were driven even more by consumerism and demand because on the net everything was just a click away as they used to say…….my parents, your grandparents Susan,  had it worse because they felt privileged to be able to use all the new communication and technology but they never felt in control of it. They just sort of accepted it. Well most did.” She ended reflectively.

 

“Yes ignorance is bliss and look where it took us.” Peter observed.

 

“So Mum, are you set for your trip.” Susan asked, changing tack.

 

“Oh yes dear. I was saying to the kids that I am looking forward to a few months away for all this.” She replied.

 

“Yes.” Peter said quietly to himself.

 

The table console in front of Peter lit up and a computer generated voice announced

 

“Flight DSE10 will depart from access gantry BB17 at 11:44WST. All passengers should report to departure pod BB at 11:30WST. Fifty minutes till depart pod deadline”.

 

Peter finished listening and looked up.

 

“Well after all the conflict over resources and environmental sustainability and the futile attempts to destroy one another with bloody hydrogen bombs I just hope we have now learned the lessons that have been staring us all in the face for centuries. Yet we still close our eyes and look the other way. Politics has changed, and rightly so, but it still dictates our lives.” Peter said ruefully.

 

“Well when the World Environmental Protocol was agreed in 2048 and they started taxing ordinary folk out of their package holidays and other leisure pursuits we thought there would be a revolution. The rising of the ‘Sun readers’ was predicted but it never happened. The governments acted in accord and also came down on those who were suspected of having the potential to be dissidents. We thought fascism had returned but in retrospect it was the first real attempt to take a grown up unselfish approach to the threat to all of civilisation.”  Susan’s mother said sagely.

 

Just then Rachel and Jake arrived, excited and talkative. Relating tales of their holographic exploits in the Holocade.

 

“OK just calm down you two.” Said Susan with a laugh before turning to Peter. “We need to order lunch before its time to be heading to the Departure Pod darling.” She advised.

 

After lunch the five left the booth, remounting the now returned Transplates.

 

“OK,” Peter said waving his key card across the card reading device on his Transplate. “We are off to departure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight DSE10

 

 

The transplates swiftly conveyed the party to the nearest eliport station where they entered the vacant eliport car. Peter again accessed the main command console and with a wave of his key card the on-board computer programmed the car and instructed it to travel to departure pod BB.

Departure pod BB was some two miles distant but the trip took only forty three seconds. As they sped to the pod the huge shuttle take off platform loomed up to their right as the car began to decelerate. Upon this huge structure lay the shuttle which was three times the size of the original vehicles that dominated space travel throughout the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Although in design it had a largely similar structure, it stood some forty metres high, eighty metres in length with a wing span of fifty-two metres. Take off was no longer vertical but mirrored the ski-jump mechanism employed in aircraft carriers throughout the seventies, eighties, nineties and the early part of the twentieth centuries. The problem with conventional aeroplanes at the turn of the century was that their wings contained very little fuel, but they were heavy due to having a large surface area. This surface area allowed them to generate lift in the atmosphere so that it used much less propellant in the first part of its trajectory. But that wasn’t enough of an advantage to overcome their weight problem and it was not until new fuels were discovered and new engines developed that this problem was overcome without using two stage mechanisms.

In the old days at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida there were two shuttle launch pads. Pads 39-A and 39-B were virtually identical and roughly octagonal in shape. The distance between them was 2,657 meters, whereas now, here at East Midlands it was 5,000 metres.

 

The height of the Fixed Service Structure, or FSS, for the old shuttle was 105.7 meters to the top of the lightning mast, compared to the modern shuttle structure with its horizontal take off system of 62 metres. Gone was the need for the Rotating Service Structure, or RSS, which was used to manipulate the old shuttle orientation for easier access to the payload doors as loading was as for any standard aircraft.  

 

The eliport car slowed then descended once more out of the brilliant Midlands sun into the artificial light of underground pod BB. The pod was in fact like an old airport lounge with a separate pod area for each of the three shuttles located on this vast expanse of scorched Midlands earth.  Pod BB was specifically allocated to flight DSE10 or deep space excursion 10. This shuttle was only used for these flights with the remaining two shuttles carrying out a variety of ‘positions’ including some space tourism.

 

The eliport car came to rest in its station and the on-board computer announced,

 

“Flight DSE10 will depart from gate BB in fifteen minutes. All passengers should check in at the gate immediately.”

 

“This is it Mother.” Peter said “literally time to fly”.

 

“I am so excited now.” His mother-in-law replied. “I have only been on one other space trip twenty years ago when Bill was alive.”

“Yes that must have been a few years after the development of Rocket-Based-Combined-Cycle propulsion systems made space transportation safe and affordable for ordinary people.” Peter stated.

“We did the Moon and Venus. It was spectacular. To see Earths sister planet was a real thrill.” His mother-in-law added.

“Yes but remember the Earth promotion campaign the World Council launched ten years ago. They were using Venus as an example. The dense atmosphere of Venus produces a ‘run-away’ greenhouse effect that raises Venus' surface temperature to a degree sufficiently hot to melt lead.” recalled Peter.

“Well Peter when we did out tour they told us that Venus probably once had large amounts of water like Earth but it all boiled away. Venus is now quite dry. They said Earth would have suffered the same fate had it been just a little closer to the Sun. Now things have changed and Earth seems to be suffering a similar fate.” His mother-in-law warned.

“Enough of all this doom and gloom please.” interjected Susan “We just want you to have a good time Mum”.

 

“But mum is right. We are under threat” Peter stated. “We now have the ability to find permanent solutions in other solar systems. You know our great grandparents could never conceive of the advances we have made in technology and the levels of space travel possible. I remember reading in history class that in the early twenty-first century, the NASA space shuttle threatened the very existence of the rockets, as they saved a lot of money on rocket boosters. Scientists were desperately trying to design rockets to propel supplies to Earth’s Mars colony. At that time the rocket technology that could someday propel a human mission to the red planet in as little as 40 days was though to already exist. Look at us now. Gone is the electric powered magnetic super heated plasma engine. Even nuclear powered engines look prehistoric against our Ziton powered ones”

 

“Hey enough of the science lesson already.” laughed Susan. “I remember on my degree course doing fission and enrichment of the U-235 atom and the release of gamma radiation. Even though powerful enough to make space travel easier it was so unstable we were threatening the very existence of the planet, so lets hear it for Ziton.” She punched “Now let’s get Gran off on her expedition”.

 

The family disembarked the Eliport vehicle and walked a few metres to the transplate marked with their flight number which conveyed them to the departure gate where the computerised check in identified them  and performed an automatic body scan before authorising one passenger now on a programmed departure transplate and four accompanying persons to continue to the gate. The departure transplate stopped briefly at the gate for the family to say their goodbyes before smoothly entering the steel screened boarding ramp for its onward journey to the belly of the waiting shuttle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Launch

 

Captain Louis Moody pulled his visor down and spoke with a gentle Scottish Boarders lilt into his com “Ok Mark confirm with all cabins we are secured for take off please.”

 

“Will do Lou” replied the short stocky figure of Mark Cooper, Flight Lieutenant, in the Cobra space suit to his left. The suits were a new model developed to allow astronauts maximum mobility and were far advanced compared to what was on offer at the turn of the century.  In 2010 new suits were being designed that gave added mobility and flexibility on the lunar surface while still protecting crews from the unforgiving environment. The suit was also able to sustain life for up to 150 hours and even had a computer that linked directly back to Earth. With it, astronauts could work outside of the International Space Station and it was suitable for longer trips, to Mars for example. Today’s suits were far lighter than in the past and as flexible as the old licra used for sports wear in the late 20^th and early 21^st century. They could sustain life for three months if needs be and could be used on re-entry as well as in space and on extravehicular activity on a planet’s surface. Astronauts had reliable built in ‘coms’ systems that allowed them to communicate with Earth base quickly and with clarity. The helmets had thought stimulation systems software (TSSS) which allowed wearers to manipulate any system within their authorised sphere of control simply by thinking about it.

Angela Shaw, Space Stewardess First Class watched the passengers slide smoothly up the automatic departure gangway. On reaching the top they were directed towards one of four entryways into the belly of the giant craft. Angela watched as her three stewardesses and one steward each manning an entryway welcomed the passengers aboard.  She had worked with each of them since they graduated from East Midlands flight school and she had supervised, cajoled and moulded them until they were good enough for shuttle duties. She was proud of the four she observed as all had made the grade and she felt a pang of emotion stab at her to see them operate so well individually and as a team. She rarely had to intervene following the two month induction and six month probationary periods had ended. Angela was thirty-five and a career stewardess. She had left college after studying catering and applied for the aircrew course at East Midlands close to her Derbyshire home of Ashborne. She had passed with ‘flying’ colours and had been posted around the globe for the next decade on the universal carrier Enterprise Star Airlines. There were only two independent companies left, Enterprise which covered the Americas, Europe and the Middle East and Virgin Global which covered the Far East and Australia.

Angela watched as Helen Swift and three hundred and forty-nine fellow passengers made their way from the departure area onto the plush interior of the shuttle. She ensured that her cabin crew shepherded the passengers to their seats and offered them every comfort. There was no hurry as there was no take off slot to occupy as happened with the frenetic domestic flights of yesteryear. Today flight was restricted and fuel was rationed. People mainly enjoyed virtual holidays with air travel restricted to politicians, top brass forces personnel and businessmen who had been authorised for reasons of Earth furtherance to do so.

Angela picked up the cabin Com and heard Flight Lieutenant Mark Cooper ask for confirmation that all doors were secured and all cabin security checks complete. Angela confirmed that both were and that the shuttle was ready for take off.

Helen Swift moved along the gang way to seat 336 as allocated on her electronic wristlet which had to be worn by all passengers on public transportation systems. These were a legacy from past and present terrorist activity and were designed to ensure that the origin and destination along with biometrics of all travellers was known as well as their GPS position. This had virtually eradicated all but suicide terror incidents. Even suicide bombing was virtually impossible on public transport. Only virtually due to the new generation of explosives that was difficult to detect and only required minute amounts to cause massive destruction. Most terrorist attacks these days were restricted to destruction of property or infrastructure and the assassination of politicians, key figures and police and army personnel. Individuals, other than presidents, prime ministers and other very senior people were difficult to protect for prolonged periods.

Helen took her comfortable reclining seat with plenty of all round space next to two fellow passengers. She was slightly sad at waving goodbye to the family and always missed her grandchildren. Her doctor had signed her up for the flight after her seventy-fifth birthday. These shuttles were as luxurious as the old cruise liners that plied the oceans of Earth decades ago. They had every comfort for their size and the trip would be indulgent with good food, entertainment and plenty of rest. In total the outward and return trip would take three months to complete. Helen introduced herself to her two nearest travelling companions.

The shuttles had been recently upgraded to accommodate tourists on long haul deep space flights after the World Parliament agreed to put health measures into place to ease the burden on the staining health services. Space flight was deemed to be beneficial now that some of the negative effects of weightlessness had been countered. Being away from the pollution for a sabbatical that included healthy eating, rest and exercise for three months would lessen the need for health interventions and save much valuable Earth resources in the longer term.

The shuttles were the highest tech environments with everything automated. There was no need for the stewards and stewardesses. They were simply there as reassurance; the human face. Sophisticated drones served the passengers while fully automated, computerised systems ran every aspect of the ship.

Captain Louis Moody sat back in his seat as Flight Lieutenant Cooper switched the shuttle to automatic pilot.

“Well that is the work done till re-entry, our role now is to keep the passengers occupied and content” he advised. “The powers that be will be watching with interest, this being the inaugural flight”

“Yes Lou, I am sure it will go well with all the preparation and training we have all undergone.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deep Space

 

“Mark, we are now at reposition Alpha. It is important that we maintain passenger comfort and ensure security of the highest order.”

“Ok Lou. We are seven weeks into the flight and we have excellent health reports from Dr Swift telemetry.”

“It is time to free the passenger pod for the next phase of the journey. Can you alert the crew that separation will take place in thirty minutes please.

Mark Cooper looked at Captain Moody.

“Affirmative Captain” he said in reflex to the order before activating the intercom to the senior stewardess.

Angela Shaw took the instruction from the flight deck. She activated her thought transference communicator device and a message was sent to all of her crew via a small unobtrusive ear piece. The well trained crew immediately began to withdraw in a leisurely fashion from the main passenger ferry. As they did several things happened simultaneously. Droids appeared ready to service the passengers if required and the scheduled pre-ordered midday meals began being circulated to each passenger row via a system of conduits along the sides of the capsule which fed into an overhead aqueduct system, dropping down to serve each individual passenger. This system operated 24 hours a day and delivered whatever each passenger ordered, including drinks, snacks, clean towels and blankets. Built into each passenger pod was a state of the art entertainment system, although there were also several entertainment centres on the shuttle where holographic entertainment was shown. The other thing that happened was each passenger received their daily dose of vitamins and an anxiolytic prescribed as a standard measure to assist any in-flight nerves. 

It was usual for the crew to withdraw when the droids were operating so the passengers were relaxed and in good spirits. The crew withdrew from the passenger pod into the flight chamber where they prepared themselves for separation by strapping themselves into special thermal seat-suits in case there were any problems with separation that breached the skin of the capsule.

One of Angela’s key and trusted senior flight deck crew turned to her and asked

“What happens next Ms Shaw?”

“Well the tourists have another five months orbiting Parsious IV and will be reconciled with the next shuttle which releases its tourists to independent deep space and we collect them on the next flight.” She replied “didn’t you cover this in basic briefing?”

Captain Moody threw a switch and the bay doors opened slowly. When fully open he flipped up the Perspex cover of a switch marked ‘separation eject’. He glanced at Mark Cooper before throwing the switch. The pod began to rise out of the body of the shuttle. When clear, Moody told Mark Cooper to initiate thrust. Cooper pressed another button on his console and the pod began to gather speed heading into orbit round the satellite moon of Copernicus.

“Ok Mark set co-ordinates for home.”

“Aye, aye Captain” came the traditional response as Mark Cooper keyed in the command by thought to the computer.

“Can’t wait to get back….” He continued, “….these lucky beggars get to float about in luxury for months, could do with some of that myself.”

Captain Moody sat impassively as he recalled his top secret briefing. The first test flight was over and the political fall out was for the politicians to worry about. Only he among the crew knew that the anxiolitic level had been quadrupled and the oxygen in the tourist pod was only enough for three hours flight. After which the passengers, all fully asleep, would perish to save the planet.

 

Reviews

[Claire Twinn]

Brave New World brought bang up to date! I love your visions of the future and the way the charcters reflect on the environmental follies of the past (i.e. us). Great stuff!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Claire.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You read me!