Paradigm 2045 humanitys.., p.1
Paradigm 2045: Humanity's Promise, page 1
Contents
Series Page
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Author's Note
Author’s Bio
Paradigm 2045
Paradigm 2045:
Humanity's Promise
Robert W. Ross
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 Robert Ross
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in any form, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author or an authorized agent of Spartamac Publishing, LLC. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.
ISBN-13: 979-8707320064
Spartamac Publishing
Atlanta, Georgia
www.spartamac.com
I wish to thank my wonderfully sadistic Alpha readers without whose ruthless critique this book would not be readable. Given their complete lack of social graces, I understand why they wish to remain anonymous.
I would also like to thank all of my Beta readers for their thoughtful insights, suggestions, and corrections. I appreciate you all! Special thanks go out to Keith, Mike, Nick, Pete, and Tim for going above and beyond!
Cover Illustration by George Patsouras
To Rachel, my wife and at-home mom. You are a blessing that can never be measured, an unsung hero deserving of endless praise, and the foundation on which our family rests.
Chapter 1
Prologue
“Charlotte, we have a guest. You’ve been playing up there long enough. Please come down.”
“Coming, mum,” answered the young girl. She stared at her doll a moment, then asked, “Sarah, do you want to come with me?”
The doll blinked as its eyes turned toward the sound of her voice. “Yes, I would like to come with you.”
Charlotte grinned because her doll often preferred to stay alone in her room. She clutched it close to her chest and squeezed.
A moment later she lifted the doll up, and spun in a tight circle causing the hem of her pink patterned dress to float. “I’m so glad you want to come with me, Sarah.” Charlotte opened the door to her room and started toward the stairs. “I wonder who it might be,” she mused mostly to herself.
“It is Doctor Howard,” replied the doll. Charlotte stopped at the top of the stairs. She looked down at Sarah. The doll smiled in its rudimentary mechanical fashion, and winked at her.
Charlotte whispered, “Doctor Howard is here?” Sarah nodded. “Why do you think he’s here?”
Sarah said, “I cannot answer that, Charlotte, but you know he loves you very much. After all, he gave me to you last year for your tenth birthday.”
Charlotte glanced down the stairs, suddenly feeling uneasy. “I don’t remember that at all. Do you think he wants to take you away from me? I’ve seen my other friends’ dolls. None of them are like you. You’re special, Sarah.”
“I am special,” the doll agreed, “but I do not believe Doctor Howard wants to take me away. He loves you very much.” The doll blinked again, then said, “I think he has another present for you, Charlotte. We should go downstairs now.”
The young girl slowly descended the stairs and padded softly on socked feet until she had reached her family’s living room. She crouched down at the doorway and listened. She heard the distinctive sound of tea cups sliding across saucers followed by her mother’s voice.
“But, Damien, I thought you said she wouldn’t remember you?”
A man’s voice with an American accent responded. “Keonah, don’t worry. Charlotte will only remember me while I am here and for a short time after. Once I’m gone, it will be just as before. Trust me, I want her kept safe.” The voice continued a second later. “Speaking of safety, Joseph, I trust the panic room I had installed met with your approval?”
“Yes, Doctor Howard,” said her father in the stiff tone Charlotte immediately recognized. Her father was unhappy. “What I do not understand,” he continued, “is why we need such a thing. You promised us that—”
“Charlotte?” asked the doll, drawing her attention from the living room conversation. “Why have we not gotten any closer to Doctor Howard? I hear his voice. Are you eavesdropping? Eavesdropping is not nice and Doctor Howard loves you very much.”
Charlotte nodded. She rose and turned the corner just as the middle aged man finished answering the question posed by her father, “—assure you it’s just a precaution.” The man looked over, and the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at Charlotte.
Memories flared in the young girl’s mind and she returned the smile. “Uncle Damien!” she yelled and ran into his open arms. “Uncle Damien, Uncle Damien, it is so good to see you.” She held up her doll. “Sarah, isn’t it wonderful?” The doll remained silent for several seconds and Charlotte frowned. “Sarah, don’t be rude. Say hello to Uncle Damien.”
Doctor Howard, smiled down at the doll and gave it a gentle pat on its head. “It’s all right, Charlotte, I think Sarah is just too shy to speak right now.”
The young girl’s frown deepened. “She’s never shy with me, Uncle Damien.”
He shifted Charlotte’s weight as she sat on his lap so her legs dangled freely over his thighs. She slowly kicked them back and forth while staring at her doll. Damien caught her parent’s eyes. In each, he saw a mixture of confusion and concern. He mussed Charlotte’s mop of unruly black hair and laughed. “I think she only talks with you, Charlotte. That’s how it is with some best friends. Take my friend, Coleman for instance. Well, he never talks to anyone but me, just like Sarah only talks with you.”
That seemed to placate both parents and child. Damien nudged Charlotte from his lap. She scurried to sit between her parents, then smiled up at Damien with hopeful anticipation. “So, what’s my present this time, Uncle Damien?”
“Charlotte,” said her father, his voice thick with disapproval.
The girl’s shoulders sagged a moment, then she looked up at her father contritely. “But, papa, he always brings me presents. Wouldn’t it be disingenuous of me to pretend that I wasn’t excited about it?”
Joseph couldn’t hide the smile in his voice as he said, “Disingenuous? That’s quite the word. Did Sarah teach you that?” Charlotte opened her mouth to respond, but Joseph continued on. “Very well, my little angel, I think you have me. It would be disingenuous.” Charlotte grinned, but her father softly tapped her nose with a finger and added, “Still, one should never ask for a gift…especially when one knows it is forthcoming.”
Charlotte lowered her eyes. “Yes, papa.” A heartbeat later she pointed to Doctor Howard’s right, “but isn’t that it, right there? I see a box with colored wrapping on it sticking out from beside the chair.”
Keonah snickered, then pretended to cough when Joseph eyed her. He saw Keonah’s barely contained laughter, then threw up his hands in mock frustration. “Very well, you win, and it would be disingenuous for me to even pretend I could ever win an argument between the two ladies of my house.” He gestured to Dami en. “Doctor Howard, I believe you have come bearing gifts.”
Charlotte tore at the bright paper with abandon. She paused when the first glint of polished metal peaked through the wrapping. The young girl’s eyes went wide with recognition. She stared at Damien, then her parents. “Is it…” she asked. Both her parents gave slight shrugs and Charlotte focused on the older man.
“I have no idea what it might be,” chuckled Damien. “Perhaps you should finish unwrapping it and find out.”
Charlotte’s hands blurred as she ripped the remaining paper free, then sucked in a breath. “Oh, it’s beautiful and it’s here. It’s really here.”
Doctor Howard slipped out of his chair to join Charlotte on the silk area rug. “Miss Omandi, I hear that your parents are worried you will fall from the roof outside your window.”
Charlotte lowered her gaze. She knew Doctor Howard only called her Miss Omandi when her parents had tattled on her. “I’m very careful and I never go out when it’s raining.” Her voice lowered to more of a mumble, “can’t see anything when it’s raining.”
“Well, I think you will see much more with this from your yard than you ever did with binoculars from your roof,” said Doctor Howard.
“Will you help me set it up, Uncle Damien?” asked Charlotte hopefully.
“Well, that’s up to your parents. I believe they have some constraints.” He smiled at them. “Isn’t that right?”
“We do indeed,” said Joseph. “No more roof, Lottie.”
“And no stargazing after we’ve gone to bed,” added her mother. Charlotte blinked as her face smoothed into one of absolute innocence. Her mother pointed. “No, don’t try that look on me, young lady. We know you’ve been sneaking out to stare at…” she waved a hand, “whatever you stare at. There are security cameras, Lottie. Just yesterday you were on that God blessed roof at four in the morning.”
“It was three, mum, and there was a conjunction. I couldn’t very well have asked the solar system to alter its orbits in order to accommodate my bedtime.” She snorted and looked to Doctor Howard for support.
He shook his head. “I’m with them, and always will be, Miss Omandi. If you cannot accept your parent’s very reasonable rules, I’m afraid I will need to take back the—”
“No!” shouted Charlotte and she curled her arms around the telescope protectively. “I promise. No roof, and no viewing after bedtime.” Her parents nodded, but Charlotte held up a finger, “Unless, I get permission first. Papa, sometimes there will be celestial events that simply cannot be missed. I could write a short position paper describing why I would need to stay up on such nights if it would make you feel better?”
Joseph sighed. “I’m sure you could, Lottie. We’ll handle those nights as exceptions, okay?” The girl nodded, then looked eagerly from one parent to the other.
“Go on then,” laughed her mother, “I’m sure you are anxious to set it up. Just don’t point it at the sun, dear. It could hurt your eyes.”
Charlotte had already begun opening tabs on the telescope box when her mother spoke. The girl stopped and sighed. “Mother, don’t be silly. If I stared at the sun with a telescope this powerful, I would burn out my retinas and be blind.” She pulled out a small box. “These are filters. There’s one for the moon and one for the sun. Once I attach them properly I can view both safely.” Charlotte’s voice trailed off slightly. “I think the sunspots are supposed to be in an active cycle right now.” Several seconds later she turned to Damien with a puzzled expression.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Is this the Celestron EdgeHD 2800 XLT? It looks like it, but—”
“I had some folks at my work make a few adjustments, Charlotte,” chuckled Damien. “That’s why it looks a bit different. I think you’ll like the enhancements.”
“But where’s the manual?” she asked.
“You wouldn’t have read it, now would you?” asked Damien dryly.
She grinned. “Probably not, but that’s because I know all about the 2800. This one—”
Doctor Howard handed her a card. “Follow the link on the back,” he said. “You’ll find everything you need to know right there.”
She accepted the card. “What is it?”
“A private cloud library run by my company, Howard Technologies,” he replied. “You’ll find the manual to your telescope there along with a plethora of books and films that I’ve purchased for you and your family.” Damien saw her eyes light up and shook his head. “Now, Miss Omandi, do not try hacking through the library’s security. I have given your parents a complete list and they have locked some titles away for when you are older.”
Charlotte gave her parents a sour look. “So all I get to watch are children’s movies?”
“You are a child, dear,” said her mother.
“But I’m an exceptional child,” sniffed Charlotte. “I think that should count for something.”
“It counts for you getting a three thousand dollar telescope,” grumbled her father.
Charlotte furrowed her brow. “Papa, I think it has to be at least eight thousand, and that’s before Uncle Damien’s enhancements. What enhancements did you make, Uncle Damien?”
“Oh, just a tweak here and there,” he replied. “We adjusted the housing, enlarged the primary mirror, and my team added some natural language processing to the servos.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Will Sarah be able to help me with positioning the telescope?”
Doctor Howard saw how both parents smiled indulgently as their eyes rested on Charlotte’s doll. He nodded to Charlotte. “Yes, I think you and Sarah are going to have many great adventures with that telescope.”
“I know we will,” said Charlotte. “Maybe I’ll be the first one to detect extraterrestrial life. Do you know about the Drake equation, Uncle Damien?”
The older man nodded. “I do believe I’ve heard something about it.”
“Well, Drake thinks there are more than fifteen million planets with sentient life on them.” She paused, “Or there were, some probably destroyed themselves or were destroyed by AI, that stands for Artificial Intelligence.” She stood and spun around with her hands in the air. “But fifteen million. That’s a lot. Sarah and I are going to find them, just you wait and see.”
Chapter 2
Dreams of Days Long Past
Charlotte woke with a start. She felt the sheen of sweat begin to evaporate as the recirculated air blew gently across her face and neck. A second later, Coleman materialized beside her bed.
“Captain, your heart and respiration rates are elevated. This is the third time in as many days that your sleep has been interrupted by adverse dreams. Would you like a sedative?”
Omandi took several deep breaths, then slowly let each one out in turn. She felt her heart rate slow to a reasonable level, then rubbed her eyes several times. Charlotte slipped out from beneath the sheets and comforter, then padded to her food and beverage dispenser. Being Captain of Earth’s first, and only, starship did have a few advantages. The Bladerunner was equipped with dozens of such dispensers but only Omandi and her first officer, Chao Keung, had units that could print edibles in addition to dispensing water. She tapped the display and said, “Black coffee, strong.”
Coleman shook his head. “Captain, it is 5:37 am Bladerunner local time. You have been sleeping for only five hours and eleven minutes. Even for you, that is insufficient.”
The dispenser panel opened to reveal a resin printed mug. She removed it and inhaled the wisps of steam that rose from its dark surface. She spared a quick glance at Coleman, then said, “It’s not insufficient.”
“That is a double negative,” countered the AI. “For one night, I would agree, but this is night three. I suspect your synaptic responses have been slowed by at least five percent.”
“Stop mothering me, Coleman,” grumbled Charlotte, then added, “Screen on.” A flat panel of her bedroom immediately illuminated to display a half dozen windows, each conveying different aspects of her ship’s operations. She felt the AI’s non corporeal eyes on her. “I’m fine. Go away.”
“If you would allow Doctor Carpenter to inject you with a small number of diagnostic nanites, I would most happily go away, Captain. However, as it stands I feel compelled to—”
