Chapter One

Chapter One

The taste of stale air and the smell of ozone as electrical connections that had been dormant for years snapped to life infiltrating his senses as his mind slowly became aware of his surroundings. Admiral Gavin Chambers’ lungs strained against the freezing chill of the cryostasis pod as the transparent lid slid open with a mechanical whine. The lights in the room blinked into existence, his memories slowly returning to him. He remembered climbing into the cryopod, placing the sensors on his chest, waiting for the sharp invasion of the intravenous needle that would introduce the Glucellizine into his system prior to the freezing process and the dreamless sleep that followed.

Something wasn’t right, something was different. He had been in cryostasis before, this time was different. His heart pounded in his chest, his muscles burned, his mind raced to find the reason it he felt so different this time. Cryostasis was a precise process of controlled cellular suspension in combination with freezing the body. Glucellizine was injected into the body prior to cryosleep as a type of biological anti-freeze to prevent cellular rupture during the re-animation process. Scientists had discovered that as a side effect, Glucellizine protected the only the youngest cells while nanobots coursed through the body and repaired the older cells. The effect of this process effectively reversed the aging process but only if the cycle was completed.

Gavin began to sit up in the cryopod, his extremities stiff and lagging. “ACE,” he said, his voice strained by years of disuse in stasis. “How long have I been out?” He extended and flexed his fingers and toes, forcing the numbness away.

“Six years Admiral,” The computerized but comforting voice of ACE, the Aquarius Computer Entity, the stations artificial super intelligence responded. “Your cycle was interrupted due to circumstances beyond my control.” ACE’s holographic projection snapped to life in the cryo-chamber, his ghostly blue-white appearance flickering to life. “I’ve been alerted to a new pathogen that requires your attention, Admiral.”

Gavin winced, he began trying to caress life back into his extremities as some warmth came trickling back into his body. Having the process of Glucellizine and nanobot assisted regeneration interrupted has consequences. He had restored some of his youth but not as much as he should have. The side effects of early re-animation were beginning to take hold, he felt trapped between two states, fatigued, disoriented and a sledgehammer of a headache. “Cut the bullshit ACE, just tell me, whats the problem?”

ACE calculated his response to portray the dire consequences of the situation. “An unknown pathogen has infected the other orbital stations and possibly Earth. So far I have been unable to detect the pathogen here on the Aquarius orbital station.”

A feeling of deep dread began creeping through Gavin’s chest. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He lurched forward off the edge of the cryopod, his bare feet touching the cold metallic floor. He had been trained to hide his emotions, to push his fear deep below the surface to allow logic and reason to rule his mind. Earth was in danger, his thoughts immediately turned to his wife, Clarissa. He hoped she was still in stasis as well, safe from any possible contagion that could infect the waking world. “How long do we have?” His voice now full of steely determination.

ACE’s holographic projection portrayed dismay. “My calculations estimate complete planet wide contamination within thirty days. Attempts at mitigating the spread of the contagion failed before we knew what we were dealing with.”

Gavin balled his fists, his knuckles aching with the effort. “Why am I just finding out about this now? Why wasn’t I re-animated sooner?” The Glucellizine still felt like fire in his veins, or was it his rising anger at the situation that he was now being thrust into? He knew the answer before ACE even began to give it.

“Protocol and chain of command prevented me from waking you sooner,” ACE responded. “All other options were explored before…”

“I’m aware of the protocols ACE, I wrote the damn things!” Gavin interrupted, silencing ACE’s continued explanation of things he already knew. He drew himself more fully upright, taking a deep breath to calm his anger, feeling the cold of the metallic floor seeping into the soles of his feet like a cooling balm for his agitation. “What are our options?”

Ace’s projection shifted slightly taking on a more stoic posture. “I’m afraid our options are limited Admiral. If the Earth is truly contaminated we must begin the Lockdown Protocol.”

Gavin exhaled slowly, he knew what this meant. A complete quarantine shutting down travel to and from Earth, stopping all space travel, isolating the billions of people who called Earth home. This decision would be a possible death sentence for all of humanity, a last resort in hopes of containing the spread. “And the chance for humanity’s survival?” he asked, holding to the slightest thread of hope.

ACE’s projection shifted to assume a posture of defeat. “Twenty four point three percent chance of success.”

Quiet settled over Gavin as he processed the information. He felt as if the weight of the entire world and all of it’s people was pressing down on his chest. This was no time for inaction, he pushed his thoughts of his wife, his children to the back of his head. A course of action began to form in his mind. “I need to get to the bridge,” he said. “I want all command staff notified and I will need a full report on the progress of the contagion.” He started walking over to the locker that held his uniform, his hips, knees and ankles painfully protesting at the sudden movement. “Notify the commanders of the other orbital stations as well as Chairman Bryson that I am requesting an immediate meeting to determine our best course of action.”

ACE saluted sharply, his projection brightening slightly. “As you wish Admiral. May I say something off the record sir?”

Gavin paused, half dressed in his uniform. “What is it ACE?”

“Something isn’t right, sir. There are inconsistencies in the data sets I have been reviewing.” the ASI said, his projection dimming again. “I believe there is someone intentionally corrupting some of the data files, like they are trying to hide something.”

Gavin didn’t reply immediately, he considered what ACE had just told him. Who would be attempting to cover their tracks? What would they need to hide? “See if you can clean up those files ACE, try to figure out who or what is trying to corrupt the data and get back to me as soon as you’ve made any progress.” He said a little more quietly, “Only talk to me about this ACE. If someone is trying to hide something we don’t need to tip them off.”

“Yes sir,” replied ACE. “I will report back to you, and only you the moment I have any answers.” ACE’s holographic projection winked out as he went to process the commands he had been given leaving the room in an eerie silence.

Gavin finished dressing in his uniform, a slate gray standard issue Galactic Space Authority flight suit with his rank embossed on the collar and the emblem of the GSA stitched over heart. He stopped to look in the mirror before exiting the cryo-chamber. His reflection looked back at him. A full beard of brown laced with strands of gray, eyes the color of slate, nose slightly ajar to the left from so many fractures earned in his younger years. His dirty blonde hair a slightly tussled mess which he sorted out with a comb from his pocket.

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He didn’t know what his wife saw in him, hopefully it was more than what he saw in himself. He felt a sudden pang in his heart, wondering if she was safe, if she would survive. Hoping that his children were safe as well, wondering if he would ever see any of them again. He knew what he had to do. He understood that the fate of humanity would be decided in the next few hours. Admiral Gavin Chambers strode from the cryo-chamber steeling his resolve, preparing for what was to come.

“Attention on deck! Admiral on the Bridge!” shouted the first officer Captain Devin Fletcher as all the command staff rose from their seats and saluted. Admiral Chambers returned the salute and announced, “As you were.” The officers turned and resumed working at their duty stations. Captain Fletcher approached with a slight smile on his face. “Glad to see you up and about sir. I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Gavin gave Captain Fletcher a nod and said, “Glad to see you too Captain, I hope we can get this figured out soon. I know you are worried about your family as much as I am,” he said with a more serious look on his face. “Are the other members of the Council ready?” he asked.

“Yes sir, they are gathering as we speak,” Devin replied. “The neural link has been established and is waiting for your command.” With that Captain Fletcher turned on his heel and returned to his duty station watching over the Bridge.

Gavin strode over to the command chair and took his seat. He placed the neural link helmet on his head and placed his right index finger over the button that would initiate the connection. He sat up straight in his seat, assuming a posture of command as he pushed the button. His view of the Bridge was suddenly replaced with a panoramic view of the southern Caribbean Sea as seen from Aruba. He could feel the constant warm breeze produced by the trade winds that were welcomed into the room from the open walled terrace to his right. The room was rich with extravagant detail and luxurious furniture. Exquisite paintings from around the world adorned the three remaining walls spaced perfectly between picture windows. A large horseshoe shaped mahogany conference table stood in the center surrounded by leather upholstered chairs.

The other eleven commanding officers from the orbital space stations already occupied their seats. The simulation appeared so real it was if they were all actually in the room together. Gavin took his seat at the other end of the table. At the other end sat Chairman Connor Bryson, the highest ranking member of the Galactic Space Authority, and his best friend from the Academy. His appearance was slightly disheveled, gray hair in need of a comb, small brown eyes that were somewhat weasel like. His face in need of a shave from a few days growth, uniform in need of some ironing. Connor’s present state of disregard for his outright appearance demonstrated the level of stress he must be under. They rose through the ranks together and shared a lifetime of dedication and devotion to the GSA. Their friendship had grown through the years to the point where each of them thought of the other as a member of their family. They kept no secrets from one another and trusted each other implicitly.

Chairman Bryson sighed deeply, looking straight into Gavin’s eyes he said, “We’ve got a problem Gav, and I need your help to get this resolved. I don’t know how much you’ve been told, but here’s the inside scoop.” Connor pushed a button on the console in front of him which brought up a holographic projection of the planet Mars. He toggled another switch and the projection zoomed in to the equator of the red planet. Connor resumed speaking, “The expeditionary science team on Mars discovered a dense return on ground scan sonar in a dry lake bed near the equator.” Connor pushed another button that brought up a separate projection of the sonar results. “The science team believed the return could be a concentration of liquid water deep below the surface where the ground temperature was high enough to support it.”

“They requested permission to begin boring down to the site and of course we granted it.” Connor’s tone turned positive for a moment as he said, “We were all excited about the magnitude of a discovery like this and the implications it represented if there was truly liquid water below the surface of Mars.” The Chairman’s face took on a grim expression as he continued his report. “We followed every rule of containment, every sample extracted was hermetically sealed, and analyzed under level 5 protocols. Everything was fine until the symptoms began.”

Connor then assumed a much more depressed tone of voice. “At first the symptoms appeared to be flu like, mild fever, muscle aches, coughing and fatigue. Nothing too unusual. After a few days, every member of the extraction team was dead. Autopsy revealed that they had drowned on their own blood as the pathogen had liquefied the musculature in their necks and throats. It attacked them in a way that prevented the body from even trying to mount a defense, they couldn’t cough or swallow. They just drowned in silence on their own bodily fluids.”

Gavin’s head swam with the possibilities. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone pondered the ramifications of this news. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, pressing his hands palm down on the table as if the sturdiness of the wood surface could give him the support he needed. He looked directly into Connor’s eyes, his friend, his brother in arms. Then he saw it, the look of something more, something unspoken, a look of resignation, of not wanting to say what came next. In that moment he knew. He understood what Connor didn’t say, what he feared to say. Gavin exhaled knowingly, he asked with great sadness in his voice, “When was it first detected on Earth?”

Connor looked down at the table refusing to look his friend in the eyes any longer and said, “About four hours ago.” The other officers in the room looked stunned at this revelation. They obviously had no idea until now that the pathogen had in fact made it to Earth. They all began speaking over one another, panic stealing the moment from reason and logic. Connor stood from his chair and shouted, “Enough!” The officers of the other orbital space stations stopped their useless squabbling and looked at the Chairman, some with looks of shock, others with fear in their eyes. Connor had regained the look of authority and seriousness, his posture straightening. “This isn’t going to help anyone. Let’s act like the responsible leaders we are supposed to be and figure out what we need to do next.”

Gavin’s clenched his hands into fists and relaxed them again as he looked around the room, scanning the faces of the other officers. They were all looking to him, expecting some sort of brilliant solution, some miracle they expected him to just pull out of his ass like he had so many times before. He thought through the possibilities, the choices were limited in this scenario. He remembered what ACE had told him about the potential spread of the contagion. Complete planet wide contamination in 30 days. There was no containment protocol that would be effective against a pathogen that could spread that fast. The answer was self evident, he bowed his head as he said, “We initiate Lockdown Protocol Omega. It’s our only option at this point.”

The gravity of the statement Gavin had just made weighed on the rest of the officers and Connor as they realized exactly what that meant. Lockdown Protocol Omega was the last resort. Total and complete planetary isolation, in response a biological extinction level event that would result in the complete loss of all human life in the solar system. Space buoys would begin sending repeating warnings to any approaching vessels that Earth has been contaminated and to stay away. There were a few deep space missions that were due to return to earth in a few years time. They will return to a dead planet, not suitable for habitation for the foreseen future. At least they wouldn’t be exposed to the contagion, able to live out the rest of their days free from this horrible fate that awaits the rest of the world.

Connor finally responded, a look of acceptance in his eyes. “Obviously, we have no choice. As of right now, only the Aquarius is free of the contagion. The rest of us are compromised.” He looked at Gavin once again, a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Where do we stand with Project Genesis? How soon will the Arks be ready Admiral?” The mention of the top secret project brought everyone’s attention back to Gavin, eyes widening with promise.

Project Genesis, the first attempt at terraforming and then colonizing a newly discovered planet in a different solar system. Two massive star ships, the first carrying the genetic information for all life on planet Earth, a modern day Noah’s Ark capable of faster than light travel. It also contains the equipment needed to terraform the planet into something habitable for humans as well as the supplies needed once the colonists arrive. The second, an equally massive star ship capable of carrying tens of thousands of colonists to the new world while the terraforming process is underway. Moving at sub-light speeds, with all passengers in cryo-sleep to allow for the time needed to finish the terraforming process. This ensures that once the colonists arrive the planet will be ready for them.

Gavin stood from his chair, his posture straightening. “The first ark ship has been completed and is awaiting it’s final destination. As you know, it wasn’t designed to carry a crew due to the speed at which it will be traveling. The colony ship is about a year from completion, about the time I was due to be re-animated.” He looked around the room again, meeting the eyes of all the other officers. “As long as the Aquarius remains isolated we should have enough supplies to last us until construction of the colony ship is completed. The ark ship hasn’t had a soul on board since it’s cargo was delivered and secured while I was in cryo-sleep.”

Connor’s expression changed slightly at the report, almost imperceptibly, he recovered quickly. Gavin was the only one to catch the slight oddity, passing it off as a quirk, most likely due to the sheer enormity of the situation. Chairman Bryson said, “Project Genesis may be the last bastion of hope for our race. Earth is now beyond saving, we have to hope that this mission will preserve our species, our history, our way of life. Hopefully, we can learn from our past, and care for this new world like the precious gift that it is.” The room remained silent, the entire weight of the world, the future of humanity in their hands. Connor took one last long look around the room, his gaze finally settling on Gavin, “There is a lot of work to be done, let’s hope we have the time to finish it.”