Chapter 2

Writers on Earth had characterized the Atlantis saucer section as a multicultural paradise. In truth, it was much closer to a linguistic nightmare. English being a taught language in many nations was a lifesaver in clutch situations, but the non-engineering crewmen were not selected based on their linguistic abilities. Quaternion, a specially made LLM from DARPA, functioned as a personalized translator for each and every crew member. If a broadcast was made in a language, it was received and immediately translated into the native language of the receiver. Moreover, the crew had the (so-called) ‘universal translator’. It was simply a headset which receives nearby audio transmissions, routes them to Quaternion, which then translates and audibly relays the message into the headset. In the early days, people had entire conversations using this technology.

The translation technology did more than relay. It also educated crew members on languages they never learned in school. McAllister didn’t speak Mandarin before boarding the Atlantis, but after several months around Chinese engineers, he was well on his way! Over time, however, English won out as the dominant language on the Atlantis. The translation technology, while effective, was awkward for daily usage.

As this new normal for the Atlantis crew began to take its ultimate form, it entered the Kuiper belt. It was 2:12 PM, several hours after the Daily Briefing for assessing ship issues. Captain Ling observed the ship’s advance on 32-inch 4K monitor in her quarters. She’d had a shot of whiskey the night before with McAllister, and she had a mild headache. She didn’t know what to expect. No one did. The ship was getting faster and faster, still approaching its top speed of 5% light speed. And no human object had ever traveled this fast. “What if the math is all wrong?” she asked herself as she sat at her desk, eyeing what remained in the bottle of whiskey that McAllister, Higgs from Engineering, and a Hardee’s cashier named Billy had previously downed with her the night before. After deliberating for a moment, she poured another shot as she sat on her love seat, taking one last glance at the mapping data of the Kuiper Belt she’d just sent back to Earth.

She started to turn her television on and stream one of the shows from the TV’s archives, but then she felt something. Several somethings. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. That sound. It wasn’t the engines, and it wasn’t the ventilation system. Ling felt several minor vibrations go through the whole of her room. It felt like a massaging chair or perhaps an off-brand N64 Rumble Pak.

Her phone rang. “Captain Ling, this is Higgs. I think we are officially in the Kuiper Belt. Did you feel that?”

“Yes. Micrometeorites? Is the laser system operational?”

“Yes. It’s firing pretty constantly. What we’re feeling is just super-small space dust, but there’s lot of it. There’s no significant damage that we can detect. It’s what the forward shielding is for. It’s not unexpected. It’s just… the beginning of a very bumpy time.” Higgs chuckled into the phone.

“Noted. Keep me informed of any new developments.” Ling wondered. Was that too professional? She’d heard some of her Chinese crewmates characterize her as cold, and she had no idea what most of the American or European Engineers thought of her demeanor, much less the everyday crewmen with which she had far too little experience. With this and the periodic thuds on the forward shielding on her mind, she decided to walk out of her quarters and survey the saucer section.

Grass, shrubbery, sidewalks, homes, and businesses. It was like a circular slice of Earth. Everything was angled slightly to fit on the edge of the rotating saucer section. Engineering techniques from submarines had been deployed for the foundations of the houses. As Ling took it all in, she saw a mass of people standing together shouting. As she approached, “Captain Ling, what’s happening? Are we dying? What’s hitting the ship?”

“It’s nothing. Let me make an address.” Captain Ling pulled out her smartphone, opened the Quaternion app, and after it auto-signed in as ‘Officer’, she tapped the broadcast button. “This is the Captain speaking. Please remain calm. The bumps that are being felt throughout the ship are simply space dust making contact with our vessel. This was accounted for in the Atlantis’ design. There is no cause for alarm.”

Within half an hour, rumors that Ling was lying began to spread through the ship. “They’re hiding something. That’s not just space dust!” one man said to a group of people at the ship’s McDonald’s. “She just doesn’t want us to know because she can’t stop it.” It wasn’t long after this that at least two hundred people were outside of Ling’s quarters shouting, “Turn around! Turn around! Turn around!”

Ling went out into the hallway to address them. It was impossibly crowded, and she couldn’t even see the entire crowd. Speaking her best English, she said loudly, “I explained that there is no cause for concern. Why will you not accept that we are safe?” McAllister walked up to the back of the crowd around this moment in time. He thought about saying something to restore order, but decided to keep quiet. This was Ling’s moment. She continued, “I know that you may have some doubts about this mission, about this ship, and about just why we are out here hurling toward a star that is 140 light-years away. I know that I have, and that I still do.”

The people listened, some nodding, some scared.

“We all know why they sent us out here. To distract people from what’s in the Achilles Documents. And it worked. Now instead of being on trial, they’re sitting up comfortable with the working people’s hard earned wealth.” Ling continued.

“That’s exactly why we’re afraid, Captain. You feel those bumps. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if they rushed it.” a middle-aged woman said with round glasses.

“This ship was made by the best minds and the best methods that our species has to offer. I have no faith in the Achilles Family who connived to have this ship built, but I have every faith in the Atlantis, its hull, its engines, and its crew!” The statement elicited a few claps.

“You heard the lady.” a man shouted from the back. “I’m standing with the Captain!”

Ling recognized the voice from when he’d become intoxicated and explained to her the surprisingly interesting facts of fast food preparation the night before. She’d laughed endlessly after he ended the explanation of life at Hardee’s with, “McDonald’s can’t compete.” pointing at his Hardee’s shirt and saying, “The Star is for Starship.” with a deadpan expression before bursting out laughing. It was Billy Lambert.

Ling appreciated what Billy was trying to do here. McAllister liked him. They were from the same general region of America, from what she inferred. And here Billy was, standing up to a mob for her. “Thank you so much, Billy. Now, if you all can just keep it together for just thirty days, we’ll be out of the Kuiper Belt and into the Oort Cloud. There will be less space dust there, and if anything, life on the Atlantis will be kind of... boring? That’s what I expect. Billy, we’ll have to get more whiskey from McAllister.”

McAllister decided to chime in at this moment, “Captain, to alleviate people’s fears, would it be alright if I led any who wish to do so in prayer?” McAllister was a youth pastor prior to being selected for the mission.

“Very well, but per ship policy, it cannot be seen as an official act from you as First Officer.” Ling explained.

“Right. Come on guys. Heavenly Father, we ask once again that you protect this vessel as it proceeds into unknown territory. Bless it and keep it, and we ask also that you be with our friends and families back on Earth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” McAllister’s words were like a soothing salve for the wounds of uncertainty, and the crowd slowly dispersed and went back to their lives. Bumps became less frequent, and eventually, they became like background noise of the ship.

Two weeks later, a middle school class in Charleston, SC received a photo of Pluto that had “From Atlantis with love!” written on it. Sammy Smith was thrilled.