Science fiction. Tragedy of blessings

 

Science fiction. Tragedy of blessings

It is 2075, and space travel is very common. People travel to space with ease and there are many companies that have established their offices in space because their chief business preoccupation is mining asteroids and other celestial bodies for rare metals and earths. 

The world in 2075 presents a picture of extreme and absolute technological advancements where the world is woven into a network of self aware nodes that serve many purposes. Right from communication, health checkups, transportation, computer interface, virtual offices and a lot more. In 2075 everyone is part of the smart network and the smart network knows everything about everybody. The experts in 2075 call it legal and permitted profiling of citizens to offer them easy access to facilities offered by the government e.g. health care, accommodation etc.

It appears to be a world that is modern and super advanced. A world where a new working class has emerged. That of the Risk Takers. They are the ones who land on the asteroids and mine for the rare metals. They are very highly paid because extracting precious metals from asteroids is a very risky job that requires only one qualification: fearlessness!

And today on May 09th, 2075, a company called “Star Titans” is launching a crew of 15 men and women to mine an asteroid that has been spotted by its space probe, and according to their data it bears extremely rare metals worth trillions of dollars. However, there is a problem.

The asteroid is moving at an incredibly high speed, and given its speed and trajectory, it will be impossible for the Star Titans’ spaceship to land on the asteroid. Therefore, the company is left with only one option: To land the team of specialists called “Extreme Risk Takers” on the asteroid. For this assignment each one will be paid 15 million USD. But in lieu of 15 million USD they have pawned their lives to the business mission worth trillions of dollars.

Here is why!

The space ship will gain proximity with the asteroid and then these men and women will be launched on the asteroid via two capsules. And it may happen that the capsules do not land on the asteroid or are hit by the asteroid. And that shall be the end of their story. But to a few this is a thrill worth experiencing. Even if that means risking their lives.

Finally, the spaceship is ready and the men and women are placed in two capsules. The asteroid can be heard thundering in the distance. The spaceship enters its hyperdrive mode and places itself at a spot predetermined by the smart navigation and detection system that is tracking the movement of the asteroid. And in 20 seconds it ejects the capsules, which move at incredible speed and as soon as their sensors detect the solid surface of the asteroid they activate upward thrusters and then land on the asteroid with some shaking and tremors. And from the capsules emerge the “Extreme Risk Takers!” Who are unlike the ordinary Risk Takers. They are elite and considered to be the specialists in their job.

They thrust antennas on the surface of the asteroid and launch aerial drones to generate a 3D map of the asteroid. Then they share the exact coordinates with the mother spaceship. Based on these coordinates, now it can track it, and when the men and women are ready it will launch the equipment needed for digging, extraction and transportation of the rare metals. Along with this it will also lower a buggy like vehicle with a food and oxygen chamber large enough to accommodate 20 people. The mission will last 6 months and during this time the Extreme Risk Takers will be calling this freely moving asteroid their home. 

In the 7th  month it is estimated that the asteroid will head in the direction of another asteroid and when they collide there will be a supernova-like explosion. And that is one reason the men and women have to work fast and 18 hours every day. Well for them it is always night or day, depending upon the trajectory of the asteroid.

The Extreme Risk Takers receive the equipment along with the buggy that will support them in terms of food and shelter. Via their drones they have located the right mining spots where there are maximum deposits of the rare metals. 

They split into three groups and begin mining the asteroid. Everything proceeds as planned for 4 months and the owners of the company are excited about the endless wealth they will gain from this venture. Their future prospects look bright and very promising.

It must have been 05:00 PM on Earth when the headquarters of the company received this correspondence from the space probe, “asteroid collision that was expected in the 7th month can now happen any time. The astray asteroid has for some reason doubled its speed and it will hit our asteroid any time. Please take action!”

Panic sets in the boardrooms of Star Titans, and they call an emergency meeting to initiate urgent evacuation of the Extreme Risk Takers. And the chief engineer of the project disappoints them all when she says it will be impossible to evacuate them because the spaceship capable of carrying such a  mission is under maintenance and will take 5 days to be ready for such a high risk mission.

At this input the boardroom is filled with a deep feeling of helplessness and dismay. Then the chief engineer comes up with a brave solution.

“The digging/excavation equipment, capsules and the buggy have a self lift off mechanism. And they can remain in space without drifting freely in space for 20 days. But the buggy cannot lift off with 15 people onboard. For it to be able to achieve maximum lift off, it should have 10 people onboard.

And the two capsules are also capable of self liftoff, but their oxygen supply will not last more than 6 days.

So, our men and women will have to decide who boards the buggy and who boards the capsule. then our spaceship will rescue the capsule first followed by the buggy.”

The board members relay this communication to the team working on the asteroid. And when they receive the information, none of them panics, infact all of them volunteer to enter the capsule. Then one of them selects the 10 who shall board the buggy and the 5 men and women who will be boarding the capsule, including him.

They initiate the lift off mode in the digging equipment and the spare capsule as well. And make sure they have attained sufficient lift off and are safe. Then they shake hands and enter the buggy and 5 of them enter the capsule. They achieve the required lift off and then retain it in stationary mode. 

The Extreme Risk Takers dislike waiting, and here they are now, caught in the uncertainty of waiting and watching the endless universe.

Then one of them realises the blunder committed by them. The men and women in the capsule had forgotten to carry any food with them. 

On learning this, all 10 members in the buggy look a little sadder and now certainly concerned about their team members. And as they were caught in this sadness, they received a message from the men and women in the capsule, “Do not worry about the food. We have Humpty with us. The compulsive food stealer. He had stacked some energy bars in his backpack and that shall be enough for 6 days. So relax and do not worry! And in future trips, we shall always let Humpty steal food and eat extra. Haa haaa!”

I think this message explains why they are called the Extreme Risk Takers. Because managing to smile in this extreme crisis is a talent that everyone does not possess. Although, people on Earth say that these men and women have just one qualification; that of being fearless. The fact is, they are more qualified than a lot of them, because being patient and using one's mind to its maximum capacity without panicking in a situation like this requires more than fearlessness. It takes a real Man and a real Woman to achieve this sort of equanimity!

But there is only one thing they cannot control, and in the Universe its potency is overwhelming. The factors popularly known as, “Mood of the universe” in the space exploration industry. It is very unpredictable and there is no known mathematics or formula to guess it right always!”

And this is what appears to be working against them as of now. The following message confirms it, “Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. There is a huge asteroid hurtling your way and there are 98% chances it will hit you in a few minutes. We are helpless as of now and we can only hope for the best. But that is what makes you and us: The Extreme Risk Takers!”

They receive the trajectory coordinates of the hurtling asteroid and then one of them from the capsule proposes to switch off the lift off stationary mode and allow the free fall to move away from the trajectory of the advancing asteroid. And the rest shall be managed once the asteroid has passed. But the question that seems to worry them is  the fuel left to achieve navigation with the rendezvous point post the free fall. But obeying the tradition of true Extreme Risk Takers, they agree to decide on that part later.

And in a few seconds they are many miles away from their rendezvous points. And they can hear and see the asteroid whizz past them. And its size and speed caused the tremors in space that shook the buggy and capsule for almost a minute. But luckily without causing any damage to the engines.

As far as the buggy was concerned it had enough fuel to realign with the rendezvous point. But if the capsule uses the fuel to place itself at the rendezvous point, it will lose one day worth of fuel to stay in lift off stationary mode at the rendezvous point. And that might be too risky!

They run some calculations and then they communicate with the men and women on board the buggy. They ask them to activate their magnetic pulse mode and focus it on the capsule where the magnetic pulse reception plate will already be activate. And via the magnetic pull generated by the buggy’s magnetic pulse emitter, they can then reach the rendezvous point without using fuel. And with weightlessness in the space it shall be possible. They readily accept the instruction and roughly in 30 minutes both are at the rendezvous point.

It must have been their 3rd day when they received this communication, “Be ready for evacuation, we have achieved the necessary fine tuning in the spaceship and we are coming to get you home. We will be at the capsule’s rendezvous point in 2 minutes. 

In two minutes, the spaceship arrives, and using its lower duct-like projection, it lifts the capsule and then aligns it with its entry point. And secures all 5 men and women.

It returns to the 2nd rendezvous point in 2 hours and passes on instructions to set the buggy in autopilot mode with destination set as mother ship. Then it descends on the top of the buggy, almost like two dragonflies in love embrace. And the remaining Extreme Risk Takers too are flown back to the mothership. The moment they enter the mother ship, the two asteroids collide and there is a huge explosion. So powerful that its vibrations could be felt 500 miles across. 

But the Extreme Risk Takers had extracted rare metals worth 15 trillion USD and they had every reason to be happy and alive, because the company had decided to pay each one of them a bonus of 5 million USD, and transport them back to Earth on the same day to unite them with their loved ones. The waiting ones. That is a more appropriate phrase for 2075. The waiting ones!

Seeking inspiration from the Extreme Risk Takers, I also wrote a science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075. Which is about 2075, but there are no Extreme Risk Takers.

It is an intense romance science fiction, where the world in 2075 is facing a different kind of crisis. In 2075 they call it psychological and emotional breathlessness, and it is destroying the social structure and native human feelings. Because as humans interact more and more with self aware machines, they have lost the ability to feel and love like a true and real human. In 2075, there are a lot of men and women who emote and act like machines, because they cannot tell the difference. And in the midst of this, the male protagonist falls in love with the female protagonist of this science fiction, and the romantic plot unfolds. 

It is a very different kind of romance, because the female feels and emotes more like machines, and this is an emotional struggle for the male lover who loves her a lot and wants her to feel human. Because she is a human!

To discover the romantic excitement that would define 2075, read the science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075!