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This section covers how George, Marita and Kerstin take a holiday.
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Move To Lagrange Five
George, Marita and Kerstin soon found that Undepoldus had arranged
every part of their journey to Lagrange Five.
Kerstin asked. "What should we pack for the holiday?"
George said. "You do not need to pack anything. All you want
on the journey and at Lagrange Five will be supplied. At Lagrange
Five you will only need a formfit and a helmet. Several of Marita's
size vacuum suits will be available for any jaunts you might want
to make outside. You could take the communicator that Gurprit
gave you. You could then keep in touch with Superintendent Abdullah
and Anita if you want to. Otherwise you do not need to take anything
with you. I will take this vidbook but I have no need to take
anything else."
Marita said. "We will have a health check here before we
leave and another at Mogadishu Spaceport. The two checks are to
make sure that we are not carrying an infection to Lagrange Five."
Kerstin said. "You two take it so casually. You seem to be
treating it as normal as riding on a strip."
George said. "Kerstin, do not worry. I was a bit nervous
of my own first trip into space. The service between Mogadishu
and Lagrange Five is as routine as a sub-orbital flight. I know
that you have been on at least two of those."
Kerstin said. "I can't get out of my mind the pictures I
saw in books when I was small. There were all these rockets loaded
up with hydrogen and oxygen. They made a great deal of noise and
lifted off very slowly."
Marita said. "Mogadishu has a twenty kilometre take-off track.
It takes around forty seconds at two and a half gee to cover twenty
kilometres. Then, after less than a second, acceleration continues
at around 2 gee for eight and a half minutes. Then gravity disappears.
The gravity compensators reduce the take off gee to around one
and a half gee for the passengers and provide one third gee for
the rest of the journey. Altogether it takes around ten hours
from Mogadishu to Lagrange Five. It takes around three hours to
get to Mogadishu from Heathrow by sub-orbital so our travelling
time will be around fifteen hours altogether."
Kerstin asked. "When do we leave?"
George said. "Undepoldus scheduled us to leave here at 14:00
to board the sub-orbital at 15:00. We will have time for a meal
at Mogadishu because our trip to Lagrange Five leaves at 20:00."
Kerstin said. "It is now nearly twelve and we have not had
our medical checks yet. Isn't it all a bit of a rush?"
Marita said. "You will have to get used to our ways a bit
more Kerstin. We are taking the slow route for non-urgent passengers
and goods. The quickest route takes only eight hours. You must
remember that our transport is provided by our own organisation.
Scheduling is normally by the most suitable route on the earliest
available transport. Undepoldus may have invoked Asimovian protection
for us to obtain priority but the Lagrange Five scheduled trips
are seldom full."
Kerstin said. "The Spacers League must have a good reason
for not filling ships to capacity. It must cost a lot in resources
to have empty seats."
George said. "Kerstin, you have learned a little about Marita
and myself and you have seen how talented other Spacers are. The
Spacers League values us much more than ships or bases. Resources
are provided to suit us. We do not have to fit in with what would
be available in an Earthbound organisation. You will see when
you get to Lagrange Five something that most non-Spacers could
not imagine. We have massive factories there that are almost completely
operated by robots. Robots mine the materials we need and other
robots transport the materials to the factories. We can make everything
we need except a habitable planet. Our only costs are in human
time and energy."
Kerstin asked. "Where do you get all your raw materials?"
Marita laughed. She said. "In a sense we have them thrown
at us. There are millions of minor asteroids and rocks floating
around in orbits that intersect the Earth's orbit. We have robots
to locate them and other robots to collect them. Still more robots
sort them and send them to the factories that can use them. Most
rocky asteroids contain a large amount of carbon. It is one of
our favourite elements. We use it to make coatings, fibres and
coins among other things. Your formfit is made of carbon. Undepoldus
House is protected by carbon. All our ships are coated with it."
Kerstin then asked. "What about air and water, how do you
get those?"
George said. "There is plenty of water locked up in comets.
Some of them are almost all water as ice. Water is an excellent
fuel and it provides the oxygen we need. The sun provides us with
all the electrical and heat energy needed to process the raw materials
into useful products."
Marita said. "There are a few things that we cannot make
in Space that we import from Earth. You like coffee and tea. So
do we. You might like a glass of wine or beer or a piece of cheese.
We can grow most things but we cannot duplicate a good claret
or a Belgian fruit beer. We cannot keep cows in space so we have
to buy all our dairy products. We grow our own cereals so we can
make bread and pasta. We also grow all our own vegetables and
a lot of fruit. We could live on what we produce in space but
we would miss Camembert cheese and Parma ham.
You will see when you get to Lagrange Five that the major difference
between there and here is the gravity."
Kerstin said. "Undepoldus talked about the way the prisoners
love to watch Spacers playing basketball on Lagrange Five. He
said something about a force and variable gee. What was that about?"
George said. "I can tell you what it is but you will have
to experience it yourself. The recreation area is on one of the
big wheels at Lagrange Five. The wheel turns slowly and creates
a sort of gravity so that the outside of the wheel feels downwards.
If you run the same way as the wheel is going round, you will
feel heavier. If you run the other way, you will feel lighter.
If you could run fast enough, you could feel weightless for a
few moments. The basketball court goes round with the wheel so
Spacers running towards one goal feel heavier and those running
the other way feel lighter. In the low apparent gravity, you could
easily jump three or four metres into the air. There is a problem
with this when you are on a wheel in space. Your body is going
around at the same speed as the outer rim of the wheel. When you
jump, you jump towards the centre of the wheel that is effectively
going round slower than you are. If you could jump high enough
you could either land at the other end of the court or out of
the court altogether. The basket ball does funny things too. If
you want to pass it to one of your own team, you have to throw
it differently depending on the direction. If it is with the spin
you must throw high. If it is against the spin you must throw
low."
Kerstin asked. "If you can jump three or four metres, it
would be easier to put the ball into the basket wouldn't it?
Marita answered. "The basket in Spacer basketball is horizontal.
There isn't enough gravity to make the ball fall fast enough through
a conventional ring. We use a hole in the wall at either end of
the court. A weak vacuum pump pulls the ball into the hole if
it is moving slowly enough with the correct trajectory. The hole
is set back from the end of the court to prevent tall people like
you and me just putting the ball into the hole. The Spacers' game
reduces our advantage in height."
The three had no problems with the medical checks and took a floater
to Heathrow as soon as they had had lunch.
The journey to Lagrange Five was routine for Marita and George
but Kerstin treated it as a big adventure. They slept through
most of the journey and woke in time to have breakfast at Lagrange
5.
Kerstin was soon able to experience for herself the strangeness
of the artificial environment. Her injury was healing well and
she was able to undergo the low gravity training that Undepoldus
had referred to. Kerstin was not alone on her course. She was
accompanied by students from the Spacers College. She enjoyed
their company as they went on field trips around the Lagrange
Five complex. The students continually questioned her about her
adventures with Marita, George and Undepoldus. She was amazed
at their knowledge of things that she knew they were only seeing
for themselves for the first time. Although she was familiar with
the easy familiarity of being with George and Marita she was unprepared
for the way she was assisted with personal hygiene. She soon learned
the advantages of mutual assistance at hygiene stations in low
gravity. Kerstin was also able to test her formfit in vacuum and
was able to discover for herself why Spacers wore formfits continually.
Kerstin had begun to accept the massive nature of the Lagrange
Five complex. Some of the field trips had taken her twenty kilometres
away from the main residential wheel. She had seen massive enclosed
factory structures where space ships were built and the enormous
hangars where completed ships were stored. Nevertheless she was
unprepared for her visit to a wheel designated 'Experimental Duplication
of Earth Normality'.
At first she thought that it looked somewhat like many of the
other wheels she had seen but then she realised that it was many
times bigger. It was made up of a lot of concentric wheels. It
was only when the flitter was just about to dock that she could
begin to realise how big it was. One of the students with her
said it was more than seven kilometres in diameter. The transport
from the hub to the rim took several minutes. As it did so Kerstin
felt that she was becoming unbearably heavy. A display showed
the gee force gradually increasing towards one gee. At the rim
Kerstin was able to understand the way Spacers played with acronyms.
The guide said that the protection was extremely secure and the
visitors could discard their formfits for a while. A door opened
to reveal a delightful view. It was a beautiful park. Exquisite
beds of flowers fringed by shrubs made it like a paradise garden.
She then understood why it was called EDEN. Kerstin found herself
to be one Eve among many with a lesser number of Adams. The grass
beneath her feet was short and springy. It was a bit like a bowling
green that needed cutting. As she walked she saw natural looking
ponds with ducks and swans swimming in the water and other ponds
with fountains. The gardens were evidently a favourite spot for
the Spacers who lived and worked at Lagrange Five. Some were walking
along hand in hand and one or two couples were sharing companionship.
Kerstin then became aware of bees buzzing and the chirping of
crickets. Several species of birds added their songs and calls
to the idyllic atmosphere. Then, quietly a broadcast sound system
announced. 'Will all the visitors on tour three please return
to the hub. ' Kerstin and her companions reluctantly took
a last look around the gardens before making their way back. Kerstin
wondered how she could fit in to the marvellous community that
the Spacers had created for themselves. No ruler had ever achieved
such wealth as the Spacers could display. Some of the students
assisted her with her formfit as she prepared for the return to
the hub. One of them, Makkura, noticed Kerstin's tears.
She asked. "What is the matter, Kerstin?"
Kerstin answered. "I am not a real Spacer but I have been
treated like one because I look like Marita Andersson. I know
that she will not always need a bodyguard so I wonder what I will
do when I need to find another role for myself. After seeing the
paradise here, I wonder how I can fit in with all the talented
people who make up the Spacer community."
Makkura said. "Do not worry Kerstin, all of us feel like
that when we first realise what it means to be a Spacer. Here
at Lagrange Five the extent of the complex is overpowering if
you are not prepared for it. You have to remember that Spacers
are just ordinary people who have learned skills. You are young
so there is plenty of time for you to learn a new skill that is
useful to all of us. We have had lectures by your friend Boku
Adedeyo. She showed us by example that anyone of us can learn
a new skill after becoming a Spacer. The skills that you already
have are useful anyway. Your knowledge of laws and your ability
to deal with people are an essential requirement in a police force.
You have already shown that you accept duty as a fundamental aspect
of your work as a policewoman and as a bodyguard. I am sure that
the Spacers League could use your existing skills in handling
non-Spacer relations. Most of us are graduates from universities
who have not had a full time non-Spacer job. None of my year would
know where to start with police work. What you have told us about
your work with Marita Andersson, George McFigg and Undepoldus
shows that you can deal with being a policewoman and a Spacer
as a routine. When a man pointed a gun at you on the strip you
did not say that you cried out or burst into tears even though
you were not wearing your formfit. You waited, trusting that there
would be a time when you might be able to do something. That takes
a lot of self control. Your police training probably helped you
then. You are here because you confronted another man with a gun
and he shot you. Then you overpowered him and carried him to the
police station. You do not have to worry about being a proper
Spacer. You have already proved that you deserve the rank of Lieutenant
Commander."
Kerstin's tears flowed even more freely now. She was overwhelmed by Marukka's comforting words. She hugged Marukka because she had no better way to express her gratitude. Marukka's classmates showed their approval of her speech with remarks like "Well said Marukka," and "Hear hear."
Another student, Antar, said. "Marita Andersson must know you pretty well by now. You said that she treats you like an equal partner. You must know that Marita is regarded as one of our best Spacer role models. You must be exceptional if she treats you as her equal. One day, when your job as bodyguard is over, you will no longer be in Marita's shadow. You will shine as Kerstin Broberg, the Spacer who has a double called Marita Andersson. In a year's time you will contact me and tell me I was right."
Kerstin had recovered enough to answer Antar's comment.
She said. "Thank you Antar and Marukka. You have both made me feel much better. I would like you to meet Marita and George later. We are on British summer time. We will have dinner at 19:00 British summer time when Spacers on Pacific daylight saving time are having lunch. We will be in the recreational space next to the dining room at 20:00 British summer time."
Kerstin's spirits were also lifted as she and the students returned to zero gee at EDEN's hub.
Later, George and Marita were happy to agree to meet the students from the College. Kerstin recounted her impressions of EDEN and asked if George and Marita had visited it. George had but Marita had not. It was built while Marita was out of the solar system. Marita suggested to Kerstin that she might like to do a bit of light sailing while George visited some of his friends.
The three found that time passed quickly as they sampled the facilities available. One day was taken up with a trip to the moon. Kerstin tried her hand at Spacer basketball and found that she had a lot to learn about variable gravity. She tried to call Superintendent Abdullah several times to get news of progress but was unable to make a connection. When she tried to find out what had happened to the prisoners she was told that they had been moved to Moonbase Three. Kerstin found that she was becoming increasingly desperate for news of the investigations but each avenue she tried provided no answers.
When the three had been at Lagrange Five for a week they were surprised to see a familiar face approach them at breakfast. It was Gail, one of Marita's students.
Gail said. "Hello. I trust that you have had a relaxing time here. We have just arrived. We are a bit tired because we travelled through what would have been our day. Shortly you will meet your friend who shows no signs of tiredness. He will tell you all that has happened during the last week. Isn't low gee wonderful? It makes me want to jump for joy. We will see you later."
Gail did not wait for a reply. Her presence alone told its own story.
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The next section covers a reunion of
friends.
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