Steve’s shorts: Dr. Carlos and the Ship of Sleepers, Part One…
[Note from Steve: This sci-fi story is in four parts. Enjoy.]
Dr. Carlos and the Ship of Sleepers
Copyright 2020, Steven M. Moore
Carlos Obregon’s tenure in the Space Exploration Bureau (SEB) was filled with many new and interesting events, but some of the most interesting weren’t experienced on E-type planets already listed in catalogs. Revisiting those listed to check or make a more complete study to ensure they were still suitable for colonization could be boring routine.
Most intelligent species in the Interstellar Trade Union of Independent Planets (ITUIP, pronounced “eye-tweep”), for which SEB was a Union-wide agency, preferred E-type planets and wanted real estate for colonies. That final SEB step, which consisted of a complete mapping, lists of available natural resources, more studies of flora and fauna, and rules for a gentle remodeling to meet colonists’ needs with minimal damage to the environment—what used to be called terraforming—was a necessary one but rarely presented problems for Obregon and his medical staff.
No, he always found it more interesting to make the initial discovery of a new E-type planet and study it only enough to include it in the catalog. Some E-type planets were detectable using extensions of techniques dating all the way back to Earth’s twentieth century but remained unvisited until the starship Brendan visited the solar system; others were in solar systems obscured by galactic debris, requiring a visit, making the initial E and what it stood for in SEB more appropriate.
***
Many systems had E-sized planets, not gas giants but stony worlds like the planets corresponding to the three original Earth colonies, Novo Mondo, Sanctuary, and New Haven, along with Venus, Earth, and Mars in the Sol system. But just Venus and Mars offered evidence that E-sized didn’t necessarily imply livable, at least not without domes, like on Mars. “Livable” in the sense of Earth’s habitat required satisfying the multi-dimensional version of the Goldilocks Principle: Everything had to be just right. Obregon was one of the few on Brendan who knew the origins of the term Goldilocks Principle because of his interest in Earth history, although anyone could ask the ship’s AI for that information.
So Obregon was interested in the solar system they were entering, one never visited before by any SEB starship. The combined knowledge database of several intelligent species—Humans, Rangers, Tali, Usks, and others—contained references only to the G-type star, its gravity well forcing the AI to take the starship back into normal space long before reaching the star’s farthest planet.
Even then, the news was good. There were three E-sized planets with orbits in that zone where liquid water might be found. There were only two gas giants, each with multiple moons, and numerous asteroids between the third E-sized planet and the first gas giant.
They would visit them all. Moons of gas giants sometimes were habitable, and pure science always justified a short visit, if only to collect data.
***
The two gas giants had a lot of moons, but none were E-sized or habitable. They had their share of their massive planet’s gas, mostly frozen methane. Brendan moved on to the third planet after a week in orbit around each gas giant.
That third E-type planet was bigger than Mars, but its sands were dirty yellow from the sulfur, not red. There were polar caps of frozen, unpotable water loaded with chemicals. It was possible to live on such an inhospitable planet—Sanctuary was an example of how to do it—but the atmosphere was just as toxic as Sanctuary’s.
Not choice real estate, thought Obregon when he heard the news. After five weeks in orbit, Brendan moved on the second E-type planet, a blue-like jewel mostly covered by water like New Haven. It looked perfect. There was a problem, though.
***
Comments are always welcome.
Dr. Carlos, Starship Brendan’s Medical Officer. Want more Dr. Carlos stories? He has had many adventures cruising around different star systems in near-Earth space. I’ve collected earlier ones in this free PDF download. For the complete list of free PDFs, see the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page at this website. And please check out my other sci-fi offerings. I write them to entertain you. That’s especially important in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone is staying at home and trying to keep from getting bored.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
