PERIL
Authors: Timothy Holloway
PERIL
__________
By
Timothy James Holloway
(PERIL
)
Copyright © 2012
by Timothy J. Holloway
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
Table of Contents
Introduction
It’s hard to be
lieve that a chance for life could be born out of death. For humanity that’s exactly what happened in the year 2185 when Vanessa Bains decided to terminate her pregnancy to Captain a deep-space mission to save Earth.
Before we join Captain Bains’ extraordinary journey you should know the events that led to our current dilemma. Earth and her inhabitants are on the precipice of ecological destruction. The world as we knew it in the twenty-first century no longer exists. We have carelessly depleted our planet’s natural resources and ignored the past warnings about environmental pollution for far too long. Mankind’s consumption of Earth’s natural resources has had a significant impact on the planet and her inhabitants. Over time, the green house effect and a major erosion of the ozone layer has marked certain doom for the planet–––if we do nothing. Artificial planetary shields and the half completed Dyson’s Sphere are the only protection we have against extinction. We have changed the way we consume energy and advancements in technology have appeared to slow our course to oblivion. However, it’s unclear if this change has come too late.
Melted ice caps in Antarctica, record rainfalls and worldwide tsunamis have resulted in massive flood regions across the planet.
In an effort to adapt to the changing landscapes, many cities now exist underwater; while others are floating metropolises constantly drifting and occasionally connecting to land ports.
Wars over territor
y and religion have led to the rise and fall of many nations. Technology companies banded together to capitalize on the turmoil. In effect, over fifty-five corporate giants fought for political power in Israel, Asia, Turkey, New Britain and many cities on Mars. Since the dust settled only three “Corporate Dynasties” govern humanity: Aaron Enterprises, the Apollo Corporation and Ares Corporation. Each of these dynasties wield enormous power; constantly struggling for dominance. The Ares Corporation is the most powerful, exerting its will over the people with the help of The Seeyer.
Who is “The
Seeyer?” It’s not a who, but a what–––it is the Internet of the 22nd century. It is owned and operated by Ares Corporation. Its primary function was to seek the unanswered mysteries of the Universe. Over time its function has expanded to prevent our extinction. It has become a non-corporeal father figure to mankind.
In the year 2115 the Internet, with
the help of Ares Corp., became self-aware. It started off as a way to manage all of our combined knowledge about the Universe, Humanity and Technology. By 2150 we were able to download our consciousness into it for entertainment and enhanced educational purposes.
During early testing a few
lives were lost which resulted in a ban on the downloading process. This was a very turbulent time for humanity. Moral and ethical debates loomed in the scientific community as well as the general public over the use of The Seeyer. The chaos only added to the preexisting divisiveness of various religious belief systems.
A
discovered side effect of merging man’s mind with computers was that the Internet was able to reason, hypothesize and even advance man’s scientific endeavors. With that advancement we willingly and eagerly stepped into the abyss. Pandora’s box has been opened and there is no closing it. The Seeyer is now a sentient being. Its consciousness is comprised of the lost souls of three online video gamers, two NASA scientists, and five unidentified citizens.
After perfecting the downloading process, the ban was lifted and the practice quickly picked up again. This time the act of downloading is temporary lasting only a few hours maximum and the downloader has limited access to The Seeyer’s systems. These access points are known as portals. The portals are separate from The Seeyer’s mainframe, which is where the original downloaded souls reside. The result, good or bad, will be for time to decide.
Over a short period, The Seeyer evolved from a child-like entity to that of a deity. It constantly asks questions, poses theories, and challenges everything we know. It executes these tasks all while solving worldwide issues. The great Sphinx Statue and Pyramids of Giza are covered by ocean. Only the tip of the tallest Pyramid of Giza rises above sea level. One of The Seeyer’s most protected systems is housed directly under the largest Pyramid of Giza. It is surrounded by stone, metal and submerged under miles of water. Its ocean perimeter is a natural defense. The Seeyer is also heavily guarded and protected by the latest weaponry our technology has to offer.
Eventually, The Seeyer became highly depended upon.
Perhaps, too depended on. In the year 2151, The Seeyer had merged all known religions. This pseudo religion is called Fathomism. Not everyone embraces this new religion, but the majority has turned to it to end the worldwide wars. Still a devout few, insurgents, cling to old traditions and religions. These outcasts are relocated to moon colonies and asteroids living under deplorable conditions.
The Seeyer
has also improved robotic technology ten times beyond man’s efforts. Man and androids lived in peace for a time. They created many advanced probes that are linked to The Seeyer’s mind and launched them into deep space. The Seeyer is never satisfied and its thirst for answers about the Universe is unquenchable. The Seeyer’s quest to answer the ultimate questions, what’s out there, how did the Universe come into existence and why, leads it to distant galaxies. We, mankind, have become a tool in this quest. The Seeyer invented a technique using dark matter to create artificial wormholes in space large enough to pass ships through. Many of these wormholes were inert and collapsed. After several attempts we were able to stabilize and even plot exit points throughout several regions of the Universe. One of these wormholes, a bright red swirling vortex, the “Crimson Expanse,” has several exit points. One of these exit points leads to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which is where an eerie planet called MV5 is located.
Probes in distant galaxies collect data about space anomalies, planetoids, stars and other celestial bodies and transmit that information back to The Seeyer. Unbeknownst to mankind, not all of this inf
ormation is shared with us. MV5 was discovered by one of the probes. Its rich Beryllium deposits make it a prime candidate for mining. We desperately need this precious ore for the completion of The Dyson’s Sphere, without it, Earth will come to an end––taking billions of lives with her.
Vanessa Bains, a young novice Captain, could change the fate of the W
orld and save us all from peril. But first she must find redemption for her decision to terminate her pregnancy, gain the respect of an unruly crew and face an unimaginable terror that waits on MV5.
Chapter One
PERIL
On board the Decima, a deep space mining vessel, Captain Vanessa Bains and an infant have narrowly escaped the attacks of vicious alien life forms known as the “creatures of the mist.
” These mist creatures inhabit an eerie planetoid in the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy called MV5.
The alien creatures have the ability to transform themselves from their horrific organic form to a mist-like state. In this gaseous form they infiltrated the systems of the habitat station on MV5 and killed the Captain’s crew.
Unfortunately, Bains is not out of danger yet. Her only hope for survival is to launch the Decima from the planet’s surface. First, she must download her consciousness from a robotic mining suit back into her body. Time is running out for Captain Bains as the malevolent creatures surround the vessel.
“ISIS, initiate emergency launch sequence!” Bains commands.
ISIS was the Decima’s Interactive Synergetic Ion System a.k.a. the Decima’s Onboard Computer.
“Please state your access codes,” ISIS responds.
Bains states the codes.
“Access codes accepted initiating launch.”
The ship launches from the planet’s surface. Frantically, Bains wheels a Downloadable Conscious Unit (DCU) holding her body into Med Lab. She places a satchel holding the infant, Mya, whose body is in an oversized space suit onto a bio-bed. The robotic suit housing Bains’ consciousness is cumbersome. She makes her way over to a control panel and punches in a series of commands. The infant watches the activity.
A metal rod quickly emerges from a wall unit ready to jack-in Bain’s suit. She maneuvers the suit and backs into the rod. A holographic monitor immediately projects the phrase “MANUAL DOWNLOAD IN PROGRESS.” The rod locks into the back of the suit. A neon blue dome submerges into the suit’s helmet. A projected image of Bains’ face disappears from the helmet’s visor.
Bains’ consciousness is immediately snatched out of the mechanical suit and into her awaiting body lying in the cryo-tube. The stasis unit’s glass door slides open and Bains coughs as she is revived. As she gets her bearings she looks over at the bio-bed where she placed the infant. She notices an empty helmet rocking back-and–forth and its torn environmental suit is on the floor.
“What the hell,” Bains says baffled.
She suspects the baby might have shared her fallen crewmember’s fate. She slowly exits the stasis unit and moves over to the bio-bed. She scans the room then kneels down and looks under the bio-bed and finds the satchel shredded, but there is no infant in sight. Something in the room is knocked over and sounds of movement can be heard. Bains is startled and terrified.