The collision alert stopped suddenly, and the Station Master’s voice came from the commlink. “Attention, HUB citizens! I am pleased to inform you that the debris has been safely cleared - the danger is passed. Please resume your normal schedule. That is all. Thank you.”
Miranda nodded. “That’s good - the satellite should be safely secured. I need to join your Dad now. And you two need to get ready for school.”
Olivia sighed as they looked at the Earth and said, “Do you think we’ll ever live on Earth again, Mom?”
Duncan chimed in, “Olivia, we just moved to the HUB three months ago. Do you miss the Earth that much already?”
Olivia rolled her eyes again. “I meant all of us, everyone on the HUB. Even the colonists on the outer planets could move back to Earth. What do you think, Mom?”
Miranda sighed and said, “That’s what we’re all working for, Olivia. That is why we decided to leave Earth three months ago and move to the HUB, to help research ways to make the Earth more habitable. The HUB and all its inhabitants are dedicated to repopulating Earth.”
“I know all about the repopulation effort, Mom,” Olivia said. “But why us? Why did we have to come here? I was really happy on Earth.”
“Me too,” Duncan chimed in. “Up here, it’s like living in a giant tin can - no fresh air, no trees, no Earth people. Only Spacers.”
Miranda looked sharply at him. “Now Duncan, I’ve asked you not to call them Spacers. The people in the HUB are our friends, and they are residents of the Earth just as much as we are.”
Duncan was embarassed by his comment. “I know Mom - I didn’t mean it. It’s just that, well, it has been so hard to adjust...”
“What Duncan means,” Olivia interrupted, “is that we’re having a hard time fitting into this new environment. A new place to live, a new school, and we’re trying to make new friends. This is the first time we have been off-Earth. That’s a lot of change.”
“I know,” Miranda said, a little sadly. “It has been a difficult transition for you both. I know you miss Earth. I do too, to be honest. But for now, our home is the HUB. In the meantime, you have school and I have to get to work in the Nano-Lab. But we’ll have a proper birthday celebration tonight, after your dad finishes examining the satellite.”
“For now,” Miranda continued, “let’s focus on getting you two off to school.”
SUBSPACE COMMUNICATION #1
INCOMING MESSAGE: Sent by Nano-bot Projection Interface Protocol <Code Name PIP>
MESSAGE TRANSMISSION: To Nano-Bot Deconstruction Earth Valuator <Code Name DEV>: Incoming Message for Dr. Gregory Grey
The following subspace message was intercepted on 6/07/2064, 03:00 hours HUB local time on Guild frequency 7.5. Message sent from unregistered commlink located in cargo bay three. No way to ascertain who transmitted message, although message was signed with code name 'JANUS'. Message was encoded with level 5.1 encryption program, which is used only for top secret communications between high level Guild leaders. Decryption time: 1.11.09 hours. Computing power used in decryption: 1.2 Teraflops.
Message reads as follows:
Magellan satellite recovered today at 08:02:34, 06/07/2064. Satellite is intact, along with data on REE mineral search project. Four additional satellites identified from data as being part of REE project. Dr. Avery Jenkins and Dr. Greg Grey are reviewing data to determine orbital path of each satellite. Initial data suggests satellites were equipped with probes to search for REE's on planet surface. Recommend you initiate search team for probes as soon as possible. Four most likely planets to contain REE's are Mercury and Mars. Additional data on probe locations will follow shortly.
JANUS
Message Reply Intercepted 1.27 hours later. Message reads:
So, the mythical Magellan satellite has finally been found. The legend must be true - there were rumors of a last ditch effort to find Rare Earth Elements, just before the Great Collision. There must be some specific reason why Dr. Greg Grey is interested in this satellite, and in the Rare Earth Elements.
Janus, your next objective is to determine what Dr. Grey and his wife Miranda are researching. What is the name of their current project? What is the scope and purpose of his research? I must know what is happening on the HUB.
It is time to live up to your reputation, Janus. Learn what I need to know and I will reward you with a high position on the Guild Science and technical council.
I will travel to Mercury immediately to handle the search there. Send all further communications to me there.
E.S.
<PIP> Conclusions/ Recommendation: The message confirms our suspicions that there is a Guild spy aboard the HUB. Top Priority Task: determine the identity of Guild spy designated as JANUS, before probe locations are transmitted to Guild agents.
According to Dr. Greg Grey, only three members of the HUB research team know the real purpose of the Mercury expedition. The three members are Dr. Avery Jenkins, Dr. Janice Hubermann, and Dr. Peter Garrity. I suggest that Dr. Grey send individual messages to these three members about JANUS. This information will force JANUS to communicate with the Guild via subspace transmission. MIM and I will track all transmissions from the HUB via the main communications console. Once message is intercepted, we will be able to identify which team member is JANUS.
Transmission End: <PIP>
<DEV> MESSAGE REPLY: I concur with your conclusions and recommendations. I Will inform Nano-Bot Construction Aggregation Module <Code Name CAM> now of your plan. Dr. Grey will awaken at 07:00 hours; CAM will make your recommendation to Dr. Grey at that time.
Request Mineral Integration Module <Code Name MIM> search background profiles of all HUB personnel for reference to ‘JANUS’. Thorough search may reveal identity of Guild spy.
PIP to continue to monitor subspace transmissions and relay decoded text as instructed. Good hunting. END REPLY <DEV>
CHapter 2: The history Lesson
Since there was only one Freshman High School class, Duncan and Olivia were, unfortunately, stuck in the same classroom. Duncan, Olivia, and a dozen other fourteen year olds sat together in the last period of school, hoping that the clock would speed up and release them for the day.
The classroom was round, like most of the rooms in the HUB. Unlike Earth classrooms, where the students faced one wall where the teacher stood, the students in this class faced the center of the room. Their teacher, Peter Garrity, was displaying a three dimensional image of the HUB. Professor Garrity was a tall, lanky man with dark brown skin, curly gray hair and wise brown eyes. His wide brow furrowed as he described how the HUB had been built. The HUB image itself looked like a ladder that had been twisted into a curving shape, where the top and bottom of the ladder were joined.
“The Hub was completed in 2024, almost forty years ago,” Professor Garrity announced. “The structure is a double helix, which is the same structure of DNA, the genetic material that makes us human. The original builders found that this ladder-like structure, with short horizontal rungs attaching two long, vertical rails on either side, was the perfect design for space living. It was formed into a circle to allow the space station to rotate, which creates a low gravity effect equal to one-third Earth Gravity.