APOLLONIUS, Chapter Fourteen, New Beginnings

 
Volume XIX, Issue XVII: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 14: New Beginnings

The Great Northern was home. She was reassigned to her original destination as SS/AC006 and crews came aboard to install the Iron Dome system that would allow her to be a part of the defense against rogue missiles. Abiyah and some of the original crew made a few trips up to ‘hand her off’ but the station now was staffed on a rotation of one month on, one month off by Alaska Space Program regulars. No more would man spend prolonged time in space with its unknown consequences. The only deference to the mission to Mars was the decision to preserve the nursery. It was a welcome touch of home… particularly for some of the women crew members who set up the SKYPE lounge there with the running children in the mural as a backdrop. There they would talk to their own children on Earth and their children felt connection as they saw the playful scene surrounding their parent. The crew now was more like those in merchant service who can count on regular extended time at home when their tours are over. Mars was really the last world nearby that was explorable by humans. The large planets such as Jupiter had dense toxic atmospheres and intensely strong gravity. The service would return to their original plan and build sophisticated probes and rovers designed to survive the harsh conditions. Abiyah and Sarah wound up their report writing and their official assignment was coming to an end. They walked one evening a few houses down in Shalom to the home of Rupert and Pat Zimmerman for dinner, little son in tow. There they engaged in an interesting dialogue with the old engineer.

Well, I think it is safe to say that you two will go down in history as the first humans to set foot on Mars, but I am afraid we will not want to send you back.”

Sarah stifled a chuckle: “I should only want to make that journey once anyway.”

Yes, when our forefathers and mothers set sail for new worlds,” Zimmerman continued, “They did not find empty lifeless wastelands. They found rich lands inhabited by people who could show them the riches to be found there. Squanto was there to teach the Pilgrims how to farm, and Sacajawea was there to guide Lewis and Clark. Though it is disputed today, it is pretty clear that the first men and women crossed the Bering Strait upon a land bridge of some sort. They settled the land little by little and when others came they learned from the ones who went before how to survive there. Sadly, human nature being what it is, there was always conquest, land grabbing and killing… and that went on before the Europeans showed up and engaged in even more of it.”

History shows us that venturing forth into new worlds is never a sure thing. In 1587, John White brought more than 100 men, women and children with him in a small ship in the first attempt to found a permanent English colony in the New World. The group settled on Roanoke Island, one of a chain of barrier islands now known as the Outer Banks, off the coast of North Carolina. Later that year, White headed back to England to bring more supplies, but England’s naval war with Spain would delay his return for nearly three years. When he finally arrived on Roanoke Island, on August 18, 1590, White found the colony abandoned and looted, with no trace of the settlers. Only two clues remained: The word “Croatoan” had been carved on a post and the letters “CRO” scratched into a tree trunk. The settlers of Jamestown and Plymouth almost starved to death.”

So,” Sarah said, “There is no gradual and logical migration of humanity to the planets?”

No. And I was a fool to be taken in so quickly by George Apollonius in thinking that it would happen because we had a new space technology. Mankind needs to gain some real benefit from going out and I’m afraid Apollonius could only spin vain promises of undiscovered riches. His true motive was always to recast society in a way that he could control it. He thought if you could create the best all-powerful centralized government it would usher in a new age for mankind. The problem is that some of the darkest societies in the past century began with the same promise. Unfortunately control of mankind appears to be a poor substitute for actual redemption.”

God rest his soul, he and his fortune perished as the rocket fell back to Mars.”

Well,” said Rupert, “He left a sizable deposit in the bank of Wales to cover unforeseen costs of maintaining the colonies. He was so afraid of issuing bonds and having to answer to stockholders. We have been able to cover our costs from the Mars mission out of that and now there is enough left over to fund a couple of teaching endowments at the school of aerospace engineering.”

But, as you say, isn’t that pretty much a science that has been already pushed to its limits?”

Oh NO,” Replied Zimmerman, “I merely said that manned missions were done with, at least for the time being. Think about all of the old science fiction stories. They’d go to Mars and meet Martians and so space was like a giant world in itself. We’ll not meet anyone else in those hostile worlds we’ve actually seen so far. No Squanto… no Sacajawea! But that does not mean an end to exploration? On the contrary, we now have the ability to expend a reasonable amount of resources and learn incredible things. Who knows, we might even find a reason for mankind to venture out there again, but it shall not be over a challenge received at a dinner at the Reform Club!”

Epilogue: Joshua Adam Cohen-Ben Gurion

It was a bright Summer day a few years later on Big Diomede. Sarah and Abiyah’s son was playing in the attic bedroom of his favorite babysitter. The Greene’s eldest daughter and he played in a closet that Mrs. Greene had painted to look like the wardrobe doorway into Narnia and little Adam was enthralled by it. The boy often stared into the painting’s horizon… looking into another world it seemed. Major Cohen and her husband had settled in the biosphere upon their retirement, taking positions as professors of aerospace engineering at the college. They lived next door to the Greenes and Adam was quite happy with his new sitter! Sarah Cohen had just returned to pick up her son and she stood quietly in the doorway with Kris Greene watching the wonder.

Do you suppose he knows he was born in a most miraculous way?” Sarah Cohen mused.

I would be hard pressed to answer that.” said Kris, “But then, isn’t EVERY child’s birth a miracle… and aren't their little lives a glimpse into that unspoiled world of God’s creative Glory?”

Do you mean by that, Kris, that there is more of a connection to the Divine in this world than we suppose?” Sarah continued, “Could it also be true that our children are more adept at showing us the doorway than we give them credit for?”
THE END (Read JOSIAH)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Thirteen, Road Home

Volume XIX, Issue XVI: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 13: The Long Road Home

A new crater now scarred the Martian surface. The colony was gone! In the shadow of some rock formations there remained some greenhouses and solar panels but it was clear that the missile intended for Great Northern had fallen and detonated so as to kill the colonists instead. Sarah wiped her eyes frequently as she manned scanning equipment. “Had ANYONE survived?” she wondered. But if they did, what would become of them. All of the landing craft appeared to have been destroyed along with the colony and as this was a contingency unforeseen, there was no landing craft left with the Great Northern capable of going to the planet’s surface and returning. If indeed anyone had survived the blast they would be marooned. It would be two years before Great Northern could return and if a smaller craft were readied it would probably take six months to do so. Sarah anxiously scanned the surface each time the ship orbited above. Nothing! No sign of life appeared. No radio call for help ever came. The radiation readings from the planet suggested there would be little chance of survival anyway. Finally, with great regret, Ben-Gurion gave orders to burn the main engine and insert Great Northern into Earth Return Trajectory. It was a lonely feeling as the craft slowly gained escape momentum. Sarah was reminded of a similar moment portrayed in the movie version of an old James Michener novel where an apocryphal Apollo 18’s lunar lander crashed into the lunar surface and the command module pilot returned to Earth alone as James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James” played as background music. In reality the lunar program had ended with Apollo 17 and LEM pilot Gene Cernan, aware of the risky nature of this craft, uttered the last words spoken from the surface of the moon: “Let’s get this mother out of here.”

If the truth be known, Abiyah Ben-Gurian must have said something similar as he eased the starship out of orbit. Only his wife knows what he said though. In communication with Earth he was cool and emotionless… but his eyes flowed with the emotion his voice covered. Sarah and Abiyah could read each other’s subtle voice inflections and facial expressions. They mourned together unashamedly.

Although their communications with Earth were crisp and professional, life aboard Great Northern eased into a relaxed sort of waiting. Sarah’s female colleagues surprised her with a baby shower and their inventiveness in creating infant clothing and toys from space supplies knew no boundaries. The good doctor moved out of the crew quarters so a nursery would be created. All would be found out upon return docking anyway so the sparse cabin became a study in pink and blue. Major Johnson even painted a little mural of children running and doing cartwheels under an apple tree as birds flew overhead. The good doctor started experimenting with a concoction of a sort of formula made from space foods should it become necessary. The due date approached as the ship traveled along the free return trajectory. Abiyah and Sarah actually enjoyed the suspense of not knowing the gender of their baby. Then one day Sarah, after a long and difficult labor, laid eyes on her son! The boy was a good nurser and the formula concoction was not needed. The two decisive pilots had discussed names, but now they gave themselves the luxury of time in deciding what to call him. Abiyah even jokingly assigned him a number but his wife ended that with one look. Now the crew flowed in the sequence of tasks necessary to begin braking into the same orbit they had left from. ‘Katherine,” their faithful trajectory computer whirred and spit out instructions to the retro engines. Soon the great mission to Mars would be over. Debriefing was planned to take place at Cape Lisbon and extended debriefing would occur at the town of Shalom inside the biosphere complex at Big Diomede. This would provide the astronauts with some privacy as they tried to make the transition back to Earth life. No doubt, there would be ticker tape parades and tours to be done but that could wait. A fairly curt press release would suffice for now.

After Apollo 11 returned from the moon, the press became bored with space exploration and did not even bother to cover the shuttle missions. They remained in this frame of mind until two shuttles were destroyed in terrible accidents and then they pretty much lobbied the shuttle program out of existence. Cape Lisbon’s linear induction launcher marked the true beginning of regular and safe transfer to orbit even though its Northern location meant that the heavy unmanned payloads and parts of space stations were still delivered by large boosters from launch sites closer to the Equator. Being sequestered on Big Diomede would give the astronauts time to think. Book contacts were already put forth and the crew would be hard at work for the next year to meet them. Sarah wondered to herself about the change. Abiyah would not take well to retirement. She was now taking on motherhood with the same energy she had poured into her work as a pilot and astronaut. What bothered her was the probability that once they stepped out of the biosphere they would be living in a fishbowl.

The Lindberghs could travel in the end and get away from it all for at least a while. Anne was able to raise five children. I just don’t see how though.” Sarah opined.

Ben Gurion thought for a minute: “The only thing left for us really is to somehow find a way to quietly pass along the things we’ve learned. Please note my emphasis on QUIETLY, if you will dearest.”

I sure don’t want to end up in some walled compound full of diplomats!” Sarah answered. “I do think there is a place where we might be useful, but not on public display.”

Sarah was ambivalent, however, about the possibility of assignment to Cape Lisbon, though that was certainly isolated. She had a child now and that changed her desires as to where she would live. Childless, she would probably not have thought twice about herself and her husband joining the ‘Baltimore Gun Club,’[1.] as the linear induction launch team called themselves. This was not a reference to their love of outdoor sports. The name came from Jules Verne’s novel ‘From the Earth to the Moon’[2.] [3.] and it referred to the munitions experts who built the large cannon from which Verne’s fictional spacecraft was launched. The Cape Lisbon team lived in a fairly austere environment. “No place to raise a child,” she mused to herself.

Between the little college with the community church and parsonage and the Zimmerman family compound there were some as yet unoccupied faculty houses for the college. Here the astronauts were to finalize their debriefing and writing. Ben-Gurion and his wife were given the one closest to the college where they would have access to people and resources as they finished their work. Sarah carried her infant son into the garden to calm his crying one afternoon. She was at first startled when a lady filling her hummingbird feeder with clear nectar looked up and saw her from the adjoining yard. “May I try holding the little fellow?” the neighbor asked… “Oh, please excuse the paint on my hands… I assure you it is dry and nursery-safe non-toxic. Mural painting today, if you must know”

And so, the copilot of the Great Northern happily surveyed a little place with very down to earth beauty and simplicity and thought: “I think I might just like it here.”
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Twelve, Failure to Launch

Volume XIX, Issue XV: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 12: Failure to Launch

A warning light and buzzer sounded ominously on the bridge of Great Northern. The warning was from sensors installed as a part of the Iron Dome defense system for SS/AC006 but though the sensors indeed detected and were tracking a launch of a missile who’s trajectory would lead it to Great Northern and though ‘Katherine,’ the computer was plotting an intercept course, there was no Iron dome countermeasure in place. That was part of the agreement for space colonization. The ship was to carry no weapons. But scanners detected a warhead on top of what was supposed to be a signal rocket for use in distress… and the sensors said it was headed right for them! “How could that be?” Wondered Captain Ben-Gurion, as he watched the unusual event unfolding before him. “Evasive maneuvers!” he crisply ordered but the big ship had such a slow response rate to controls he knew that was likely futile. Still, his instincts moved him rapidly as he sought to defend his ship. Changing orbit and velocity he winced as ‘Katherine’ confirmed that the missile was adjusting trajectory to intercept them. “Trapped!” He thought to himself. Apollonius had likely pulled some sleight of hand during loading and this was the result! He could destroy the ship but he still had the landing craft… each of which had a range that could bring it to Earth! “So, what could he gain by destroying Great Northern?” the captain wondered… “Only the ability to bargain with Earth! He likely had more than one warhead and the landing craft could be employed to use them to threaten Earth.”

Ben-Gurion did not have time to engage in any deep emotion, however. Even as he continued to attempt evasive maneuvers, he knew he had twenty minutes at best.

The rocket was visible now, having cleared the launch area at the colony and ascended above the settlement. Then, a most remarkable thing happened. The rocket sputtered and began to succumb to gravity, spiraling back to the red planet and picking up momentum as it fell. It had only risen enough for ‘Katherine’ to track its trajectory but now it fell wildly to the Martian surface. There was a flash of light as the warhead exploded. It appeared to have dropped back almost on top of the colony having lost power and control functions all at once. A vast cloud of dust rose from the Martian surface as Ben-Gurion tried to raise a colony frequency. Nothing! The Great Northern rapidly orbited out of direct line with the colony and there was a long silence before they came in range and Ben Gurion began calling again.

On the surface of Mars, about a half-hour before, #437 and #787 suspected something was happening as they monitored the return craft bays and launch stations. They were supposed to have left duty an hour prior to this time but the two were among the more conscientious members of the team and noticed some calibration issues that they wanted to go ahead and fix if they could. They entered the bunker that contained the trajectory computers and began noting the readings of the various monitoring devices that oversaw the general health of Mars Colony launch systems.“Why is the distress signal being launched?” #437 asked his colleague. #787 replied that she did not know. They stepped quickly to a screen and saw the trajectory information they were not supposed to have noticed. “That shouldn’t be,” said #787. “Likely an error but it’s going to hit the Great Northern! Abort Procedures NOW!!!” And so the two launch operations personnel found themselves inside a shielded bunker running a shutdown sequence on the ascending rocket. The rocket’s engine sputtered. “It should drop slightly clear from the colony. I hate to lose the signal capacity but we had to take it down.”

The rocket sputtered and fell initiating an automatic retro/return to pad sequence that #437 and #439 had neglected to override. They dismissed this, momentarily thankful that they might save the rocket. #437 and #787 felt the dull thud of touchdown, as expected, but were totally surprised by the loud explosion that followed. In the bunker they could not see the bright flash of light, but the ceiling crumbled above them, pelting the two technicians with debris. They fell to the floor among the rubble as the entire room went dark. Power was totally gone. In the darkness, Josiah called out to Allison (for those were the Christian names of #437 and #787). He heard her groan and everything went black.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Eleven, New Life, Old Lies

Volume XIX, Issue XIV, Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 11: New Life, Old Lies

Sarah could not wait to tell Abiyah the blessed news! With the last colonists on Mars to stay, the little crew felt a rush of freedom! Though they certainly pitied the colonists in their authoritarian community, they were glad to be rid of the oppression of George Apollonius themselves. Sarah was practically giddy as she raided the galley for ice cream. Abiyah was coming off the bridge for mandatory rest and the young woman beckoned him to their quarters. “I have something to tell you!” She hoped he would be joyful as well… but she held her breath as the steely captain of the Great Northern wondered at her words. “You are a father!” She saw the light in his eyes. They laughed and cried together. Captain Ben-Gurion was speechless! The veteran space pilot floated through the next ten hours of ‘rest period.’ He returned to the bridge with such a lightness of step that the crew accused him of slowing the gravity ring! He smiled as his closest colleagues teased unmercifully. He light-heartedly ordered them to “Stow it!” and resumed his emotionless stance at the ship’s controls… monitoring the sensors and controls for the least little sign of trouble. He now had one more member of his ‘crew’ to keep safe, and Abiyah took that part of his job very seriously already!

He would not have relaxed even as much as he did had he been able to know what was transpiring on the planet’s surface. Assured that no more ‘visitors’ would crash his settlement, George Apollonius quietly motioned his two most trusted launch operators into a control room.

Last operator shift was over 30 minutes ago,” said #211. #097 nodded agreement. “Is the candle ready for the surprise?” Apollonius asked.

Ready and loaded”

Can I light her?”

Light away!” said George Apollonius.

Apollonius rubbed his hands together. Surely he was pleased with himself for having smuggled five Iranian nuclear devices aboard in spite of Alaska Republic’s tight security. He had been able to, with the help of #097 and #211, create some confusion during the loading of the final shuttles. The scanner crews scanned five containers twice as a result while five were brought aboard unscanned. One of the devices had been installed on what was meant to be a distress signal in the event there was an emergency at the colony and they were unable to raise Earth. It really wouldn’t do much good, but it would at least give them a final means of calling for help. Until there were multiple colonies, however, any help would be slow in coming. The rocket was not supposed to be able to reach Earth return trajectory, however. Whatever Apollonius and his two co-conspirators had in mind would happen close to Mars. He would show the world he had weapons… the man who had insisted that the Great Northern carry none. As most of the colonists set to work to tame the hostile planet, it was now clear that George Apollonius had bigger things in mind.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Ten, Settlement on Mars

Volume XIX, Issue XIII: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 10: Settlement on Mars

Shuttle 001 returned safely to Great Northern three days after it landed on the surface, having established the beginnings of the colony. The final shuttles down to the planet Mars would be piloted by settlers. The shuttles would remain on the planet as ‘lifeboats’ in the event that a speedy return to Earth became necessary. That would allow for emergency evacuation of the entire population if the need arose and they could safely reach Earth orbit and rescue. This required the flight crew to train the landing crew… and hours and hours of simulation. Sarah was the sharpest pilot in the crew according to the astronaut scoring system and she was also gifted as a teacher. Sadly, the settlers were tough students, having been recruited from a part of society that did not necessarily prize high achievement in the sciences. Sarah was especially adept at recasting the lessons for them though and the training kept them too busy for mischief… or at least that is how it seemed. Sarah was not enjoying the hours in zero-gravity necessary to work with the pilots of the craft. You see, though she had never had problems with queasiness or space-sickness before, there was a new reason for her unsettled stomach… one that would have been a happy one had she been safely in a house on Earth, but here approaching an unknown ball of red rock, it was an uncertain one. More than once the seasoned astronaut had to grab the upchuck bag as she taught. It was embarrassing but it was quickly passed off as space-sickness to the unsuspecting students.

Though she had tried to learn the names of the 29 settlers when they came aboard, Cohen found it somewhat distressing that the settlers were of late referring to each other by their badge numbers. “How odd!” she wondered to herself. “Going off to build a new community, new lives and a new civilization and they’re talking to each other like they’re part of some bland Twentieth Century bureaucracy!” If she’d distrusted Apollonius before, she now grew to loath him. “No doubt, this is HIS doing… making them into cogs in his machine. The settlement will take on the personality of Apollonius but suppress the spirit of its occupants.” She longed to confront the billionaire on this but orders were to transport without comment. Besides, she had a new reason to be concerned stirring within her. “Get them delivered, get home. Retire!” She longed for the time the settlers could be deposited safely on Mars and it would be just them again… just the tight little crew of the Great Northern. Then it would be safe to tell Abiyah he was going to be a father!

With relatively few mishaps, thirty settlers in ten little craft set down in a precise circle on the Martian plane. They set to work extracting more shelters from the shuttles, more life support modules, more pieces of a colossal puzzle. Apollonius was supposed to be their leader but thankfully Ben Gurion’s crew had trained the settlers well enough that they could assemble the colony quite without him. That is exactly what they did. George Apollonius had something on his mind… but it was not the colony.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Nine, 1st 3 People on Mars

Volume XIX, Issue XII

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 9: The First Three People on Mars

In the long shaft connecting Great Northern’s gravity ring to the engine complex, hundreds of supply pods were stored, ready to be dropped to the plane’s surface. The parts for greenhouses, an initial biosphere and solar panels along with pipe and machinery could be dropped in a fairly low-tech manner, and as the ship slowed into Martian orbit the process of site selection began. “Flat site, easy path to polar ice for initial water line, visibility from Earth so semaphore signals or emergency rocket could be seen…” After a day in orbit several were identified. In conversation with Earth control, it was finally narrowed down to one prime site and Abiyah and Sarah entered returnable shuttle 001 and waited as ‘Katherine’ cast them free. Retros fired and the craft made an arced descent towards the surface. Abiyah was praying his return engine would light. Sarah was praying she wouldn’t lose her lunch. Both were filled with anticipation. The Martian surface rose to meet the descending craft. The computer called out the distance to the surface in 100’ increments now… Retro fire! Slowed descent and a cloud of dust as shuttle 001 gently rested on her landing legs on the Martian surface. “We’re on the surface,” Sarah announced through the microphone. History had been made!

Adding gloves and helmets to their pressure suits, the two astronauts wasted no time in getting to the surface. The first humans to set foot on Mars climbed down the ladder together and stood on the last rung holding hands. Abiyah counted “One, two, three…” and then they jumped… still holding hands to the Martian surface. The athletic Abiyah pulled up his feet at the last possible moment so that Sarah would touch first… by a second. Standing on the surface they said nothing for a few seconds, staring at a vast red world. They had been rendered quite speechless! Then in unison, the two astronauts began in Hebrew: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens…”

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visits him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; though has put all things under his feet.”

Oh Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

As much of the world’s secular media howled in protest, two astronauts mediated on the eighth Psalm and then set down to work.

Ready to release sensitive equipment pod.” Sarah chimed.

Housing Module A10001 deploy.” said Abiyah.

D9 Special Edition Deploy” said Sarah as a very customized bulldozer was ejected from the craft.

Life support/com module deploy.” said Abiyah.

Solar array for initial camp deploy.” said Sarah.

That day the astronauts used the ’special edition’ tractor to position the first house on Mars, its life-support systems, a small folding greenhouse and a construction office/communications center. They spent the night together in the little house and were sure to lay claim to another historic ‘first’ as far as that was concerned. Sarah ached to tell Abiyah her suspicions but she knew that he could afford no distractions now. Reckless intimacy in the crew house on Mars was probably too much as it was, but that was part of who they already were. As for what Sarah suspected was happening inside her, the time was not right to talk about it.
(to be continued)





Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Eight, The False Messiah

Volume XIX, Issue XI: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 8: The False Messiah!

Dr. Kline would not oversee the care of the ship’s most prominent patient, George Apollonius, however. His personal physicians were accompanying the billionaire to the colony and would oversee the healthcare of the settlers. They were two young Russian women and had been caring for the man for some time. Kline wondered if this was a set-up for Apollonius to sire offspring on Mars, but his presumed age made the good doctor forget the thought. Surely Apollonius had wanted thousands of colonists in his original vision. That was simply unrealistic. Even adding fifty settlers a trip, that would take centuries if no ships were added to the fleet and the colonists did not rapidly produce lots of children.This wasn't like the wild places of Earth, where you simply built your dwelling and tried to farm. Survival required a fairly complex biosphere to maintain atmospheric pressure and breathable air. The settlement that would be built would be merely a prototype.

No one knew how old George Apollonius really was. There were rumors that he had been kept alive ‘past his time’ by drugs and secret technology. A photograph of World War II Nazi S. S. officer Oskar Groening once circulated, misidentified as George Apollonius. That had been pretty solidly debunked… Apollonius wasn’t even born then! He had, in fact, accompanied an uncle in his native country of Hungary as he confiscated private property from people considered ‘enemies of the state.’ He said of that time: “I could be on the other side or I could be the one from whom the thing is being taken away. But there was no sense that I shouldn’t be there, because … If I wasn’t doing it, somebody else would – would — would be taking it away anyhow. And it was the — whether I was there or not, I was only a spectator, the property was being taken away. So the — I had no role in taking away that property. So I had no sense of guilt.”

Apollonius had made the bulk of his fortune by manipulating currencies. During one Asian financial crisis, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad accused him of bringing down the nation’s currency through his trading activities, and in Thailand he was called an “economic war criminal.” Known as “The Man who Broke the Bank of England,” Apollonius initiated a British financial crisis by dumping 10 billion sterling, forcing the devaluation of the currency and gaining a billion-dollar profit. These fortunes were used to turn the course of elections in the United States and elsewhere. Much of it was given to media organizations that perpetuated his ideas. He was a globalist and sought to diminish nations such as the United States and Britain through a variety of channels.

He once said: “I admit that I have always harbored an exaggerated view of my self-importance—to put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god... or I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control, otherwise I might end up in the loony bin.” He was, to be sure a megalomaniac, and a very dangerous one! He insisted it was in everyone’s best interest for powers such as the United States to become subservient to international bodies. He sought more power for groups such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, even while saying the U.S. role in the IMF should be “downsized.” Of course, he would find an ever greater role for himself. In 1998, he wrote: “Insofar as there are collective interests that transcend state boundaries, the sovereignty of states must be subordinated to international law and international institutions.”

The establishment of the Alaska Republic accompanied by a renewed vitality of Russia put a wrinkle in his plans. Private property and individual initiative figured too heavily in the fabric of the new Alaska and the North. They, not the globalists, poised themselves as leaders in a new and wonderful economic revolution.

In the end, it was the cook/stewards who be in a position to learn the most about the reclusive billionaire as they were required to serve his meals in his quarters every day. Ben Gurion, Kline and the rest of the crew could only wonder.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APPOLONIUS, Chapter Seven

Volume XIX, Issue Xa: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 7: Setting Course for Mars!

Unlike the Apollo Program, which had been built from the ground up through the Mercury and Gemini flights, The mission to Mars had been assembled in less than a year by using “off the shelf” technology. The Space station was simply attached to a long shaft that in turn was connected to the engine array. Of course, much testing was required to assure the flight worthiness of the combined systems but there were no ‘unknown’ systems being added. The closest thing to ‘unknown’ were the ten re-usable Mars landers. They had originally been created for a lunar mission but in anticipation of Mars flights, they had been ‘over engineered’ as far as power accordingly. The landers were not large. They carried a crew of five to seven people, anticipating that two people would be able to operate it for a return to the mother ship. Since each craft was capable of returning by free trajectory to Earth orbit, they were going to remain on the Martian surface as ‘lifeboats.’ There was also a missile to be delivered to the colony as a sort of ‘last resort’ signal (sort of like a distress flare). Since help was a year away, the flight directors wondered about this, but in the end it was decided that it should be kept.

Ben Gurion and his crew ran through the required test procedures for Great Northern and the landers. It was decided that he and Sarah would take the first lander down and so ‘fine tune’ the approach sequence. They would indeed set foot on the planet and deliver the first round of more delicate supplies. Less critical components would have already been parachuted down in one-way craft to a ‘drop zone’ outside the camp. This would allow the rapid deployment of a lot of construction supplies from the orbiting mother ship. On the mother ship was the master navigation computer, dubbed ‘Katherine’ in honor of NASA’s Katherine Goebbels Johnson, a very human ‘computer’ who in the 1960’s had calculated the paths of Apollo missions. One must remember that you can’t simply jump into a space ship and steer for the coordinates of your destination and then travel straight until you reach it. Everything in space is moving in elliptical orbits and to move from one place to another involves taking that into consideration. You must calculate an elliptical path between two objects moving in elliptical paths. You need to be aiming for the place your objective will be when you arrive.

That is why so many space dramas are simply unbelievable. You can’t pilot a spaceship looking out the window, so to speak. In the end it was decided that after the initial visit and return by Ben-Gurion and Cohen, the colonists would be ferried down in the landing craft under control from Great Northern and ‘Katherine.’ All ten would remain as escape vehicles should evacuation of the colony become necessary. They would fire the distress rocket, then begin the complete evacuation of the settlement. A medical emergency might be handled by the return of a single craft and it was probable that an Earth craft could depart with needed resources to join them in free return trajectory. The procedures and redundancy were all taken from work done in the preceding Century. Werner Von Braun had written a novel: Project Mars’ in 1952 which pretty much detailed the physics that would carry Ben-Gurion’s mission to the planet. Edgar Rice Burroughs had written A Princess on Mars and somewhat predicted the ‘atmosphere factory’ that would make it possible for men to live on Mars.


Contrary to the 'point and shoot' idea, an actual trip to mars looks very round a bout as the figure above shows for a typical 'minimum cost' trajectory. This, by the way, is called a Hoeman Transfer Orbit, and is the main stay of interplanetary space travel. It depends on the details of the orbit you take between the Earth and Mars. The typical time during Mars's closest approach to the Earth every 1.6 years is about 260 days. Again, the details depend on the rocket velocity and the closeness of the planets, but 260 days is the number I hear most often give or take 10 days. Some high-speed transfer orbits could make the trip in as little as 130 days. NASA Website

Though Arthur C. Clark and Kim Stanley Robinson predicted the terraforming of the entire planet, it was clear that only greenhouse/biosphere habitation could be made fit for humans to live in. The solar wind continually stripped the lean Martian CO2 atmosphere and scientists had pretty much disproved the global effect of manufacturing ‘greenhouse gasses.’ Planets, they had discovered, tend to balance themselves out in equations produced by a much larger equilibrium. Indeed, human pollution could create harmful inversions in Los Angeles and the Katmandu Valley, but the vastness of planet oceans and atmospheres tended to mitigate the effects on a global scale. George Apollonius had insisted that equipment be carried on the mission to test the theories that Mars could be terraformed, but at Cape Lisbon, scientists shook their heads knowing that even if it WAS possible it would require Centuries to accomplish.

The research they were anxious to see, on the other hand, was that of Dr. Stanley Kline, the flight surgeon. The observations of men and women in prolonged space environments was still very incomplete. Long-term exposure to cosmic radiation, lowered gravity and many aspects of life away from Earth were simply not well-enough known. Dr. Kline was the only unmarried member of the crew but he was a bit of a solitary melancholy fellow and seemed to thrive on his somewhat hermit-like existence. He had excelled in medical studies and had pioneered a lot of advances, but it had come at a cost. He had started medical school with a young wife and children but sacrificed them as he was driven by an unrelenting drive to be the best of the best. Finally the man who many thought was a machine started breaking down. He took the opportunity with the space program and moved out of his high-pressure world just in time to avoid the inevitable break-down. Somehow he felt the two-year voyage would take him back to the simplicity of his days working with white mice at Bowman Gray Medical Center. Astronauts tended to be a healthy lot, and the trip should provide little in the way of drama.

Dr. Kline looked forward to logging a rather mundane report, useful for future ventures into space, to be sure, but not at all Earth-shattering. He looked forward to Skype time with his sons, who would likely take some pride in their father’s accomplishment. Still, two years of their young lives would pass without human touch. Sometimes he thought about that and felt a twinge of remorse. The remainder of the crew were two more couples who were also pilots, but who had unique scientific or engineering backgrounds, deepening the crew. Finally there were the stewards, chief cook Maria Giuliano and her husband Salvador. Final supplying of the ship took place and with very little fanfare, the Great Northern’s engines began pushing her out of Earth orbit toward her rendezvous with Mars. The actual departure was governed by the orbits of the planets and was timed to allow for the shortest possible trip. Still, it was about nine month's journey nonetheless. Economy was important due to the sheer magnitude of the journey and Zimmerman’s setting of a pretty austere budget.

Cape Lisbon Command kept constant communication with the crew. Flight director Joseph West had worked with Ben-Gurion and his wife long enough that they could pick up much information beyond their spoken words in voice inflection and hesitation or pauses. “Cleared for Mars transit insertion,” West blandly stated. “Hold course 1129 as directed by ‘Katherine.’ Dorothy/Mary confirm. Inform command of all corrective burns/maneuvers en route.”

The computer was essentially flying the ship. Human monitoring was a redundancy but in an unknown environment it was a most necessary redundancy.

Ground computers received ‘Katherine’s’ calculated trajectory numbers and continually verified them. Should the computer on Great Northern fail, there was a backup named ‘Dorothy.’ On the ground they were backed up by ‘Mary.’ Since it was impossible to fly the ship without continual input from the computers, this was essential redundancy. The three computers would be in constant communication except for those minutes where the spacecraft was orbiting the far side of Mars. Then ‘Mary’ would have to catch the position and trajectory of the starship and account for any discrepancy.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Six

Volume XIX, Issue IX: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 6: The Mad Monk Squadron

Abiyah Ben Gurion seemed most at home in the cockpit of an F17, at least that is how it seemed to Sarah Cohen as she first tried to understand the man who commanded her squadron. He said little. He gave few clues. Most of the men and women in his command knew that he had studied engineering at MIT, but returned home to Israel determined to make as much difference as he could to his tiny country. As a boy, he’d had a fascination with flying and had his pilot’s license as a teenager. He must have had some wild adventures, but he never spoke of any. Outside of command, he rarely spoke unless spoken to. If you met him on the street, his short stature made you miss the fact that he was lean and muscular. He avoided showing that off too. Though there were rumors that he could drink bigger men under the table, he was only actually known to enjoy a polite drink at beer-call with his colleagues and go home early. Serving under him, as a strong pilot in her own right, Cohen began to see inside the man.

Once they were on leave in Jerusalem and as they walked in the old city, a suicide bomber/active shooter situation developed around them. After the initial blast, a sniper was attempting to inflict more casualties on the first-responders. There was a little Arab boy standing dazed in the street and before Sarah could articulate it in a sentence, Ben-Gurion had pushed her into a doorway, rushed out to grab the kid and ducking erratically, managed to return with the frightened child to the safety of the doorway. One of Ben-Gurion’s fellow flyers saw where the shooter was and ended the terror with a well-placed shot from her sidearm. Abiyah was concentrating on comforting the boy and it seemed like he was oblivious to the greater events playing out around him… until he congratulated his colleague: “Nice shot, Rachel.” “He must have some incredible peripheral vision!” Cohen thought to herself. The fact is they both scored exceptionally in that area at about the same level.

His only recreations seemed to be reading and nature photography. That was something he and Sarah shared. Gradually the two pilots found themselves sharing their hobby. Abiyah loved to photograph flowers and often visited the commercial nurseries where thousands grew. His stunning macros actually became quite sought after as he marketed them under a pseudonym. He had just recently become more serious in reading and studying Torah, his mind opened to the possibility of worlds unseen. Sarah was the product of a good Liberal home and initially listened politely as Abiyah shared his personal journey. The fact is the two were drawn to each other and it would be only a matter of time before Sarah thought feelings might be expressed. Abiyah seemed to have one great dream… he wanted to see the desert “blossom like a rose.” Then there came an unprecedented rain and the opportunity for leave. “Sarah,” he said, “I have wanted to see this. I’ve secured a pass for both of us. Would you come with me to see the blooms in the desert?”

Yes, Abiyah!” Sarah spoke before thinking.

They drove to a little hotel by the Sea of Galilee and checked in. From there it was a short drive to the desert where the recent rain had unleashed a vibrant display of wildflowers.

If the truth be known, the two had become quite good friends. They were probably already considered a ‘couple’ by their colleagues but the taciturn Abiyah seemed to take their friendship for granted. “Did he have family?” Sarah wondered. Sarah had learned, however, that there was substance behind the silence. She trusted that as she gave herself to him in her mind.

The two set into photographing desert flowers but Abiyah seemed to have something on his mind. Pilots learn to read cues from one another and Sarah said “Penny for your thoughts?” absently.

Oh, Sarah, I was just thinking…” an exceptionally vivid desert rose seemed to distract him for a moment, “…about you… and, er… us!”

Abiyah Ben-Gurion obviously was pretty lame when it came to pick-up lines. “What about us?” Sarah returned.

I don’t want to live without you.” Abiyah blurted out. “I was just wondering how you felt about me?”

Well, most of our colleagues think we’re already pretty intimate.”

Do they?” Ben-Gurion asked, not so incredulously. “Is it that obvious in my eyes?”

Sarah said nothing.

Even though I am an uncommunicative old goat, you can still see the love that I have for you Sarah?”

I can.”

“…and what do you think of that, dear Sarah? I see your affection for me, but is it love of the same fervor as mine for you?”

I love you, I love you, I love you; Abiyah Ben Gurion.” She replied through tears. “There, does three times make it clear?”

Quite!” he said, as they lost themselves in embrace.

I want you in the worst way,” Ben-Gurion continued after they had walked blissfully through the desert wonderland for some time.

I am yours.” the woman responded, kissing him passionately. “Have me!”

I mean..” the man stammered, “I want you before God! Under a chupah! …and I do want you! Body, Soul and Spirit!" Sarah blushed. In the complex and convoluted world of modern ‘romance,’ such directness caught her off her guard, but in truth, she desired the same and nodded her approval.

The Chupah, and a few friends hastily gathered by the Sea of Galilee witnessed the marriage of Sarah and Abiyah. “We’ll make it public when we can,” Ben Gurion said, “But today we’ve made it forever.”

Someday I want to live in a place that’s called ’Shalom’ and make mad love to you until we fill our house with children.” Abiyah said as they slipped off to consummate their marriage.

Aliyah Ben Gurion would only lay claim to one virtue, that being gratitude. In the time that followed their whirlwind marriage, Sarah would learn that her husband began life as an orphan in London. His early years were wretched ones. His kind adoptive parents gave him a name that would command respect by its mere mention in their home country… and a name that carried with it a great hope and a future!

They indulged his passion for aviation, taught him Hebrew and encouraged his nobler dreams. The boy was filled with wonder at the new world that opened up to him when his parents immigrated to Israel and sent him to university in America. While many young people take their good fortune for granted and often treat their parents and home country with distain, Ben Gurion never got over the wonder.

He was a wild, tough youth of course. But he ultimately channeled that wildness to give something back to everyone who had blessed him… and that is what led him to love Torah. He read the history of his new adopted country. “Was this the work simply of a great people,” he wondered, “or is my land’s miraculous history truly from the hand of the Divine?”

His gratitude found a new focus as he read the Holy Texts. Like most young people he suffered through a series of awkward attempts at romance. When young and beautiful Sarah became part of his life, his gentleness toward her sprang from the most fervent gratitude to the Lord almighty!
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Five

Volume XIII, Issue VIII: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2017, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 5: Sarah Cohen Ben-Gurion

Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone. The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer, to work out his thoughts; the musician, to compose; the saint, to pray [and] women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.” -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

In fact, Sarah Cohen was no stranger to the business of jumping into new worlds. As a girl she was always looking for new adventure. She crawled at six months and never stopped after that. She played for hours in the woods behind her house and most of her playmates were boys. Summertime allowed day-long adventures with them. At night, she was drawn to read Narnia, Tolkien and J. K. Rowling. She took up horseback riding and scared the wits out of her dear mother, it is said. For Sarah, the collaboration of man and beast opened up new worlds of speed and sensation. Once she’d learned to gallop a horse, she only stopped in kindness to the animal.

Her girlhood in suburban New Jersey probably wouldn’t count as being all that extraordinary. It was those quiet lazy afternoons in the Summer woods that fueled her imagination. Camping out in the Pine Barrens with her family and in the wild mountains of Western North Carolina, she was first drawn to the stars. One exceptionally clear night she lay in the open on a mountain roan as the rest of her family slept soundly and looked up at the Milky Way. “How many stars are out there?” She mused. “What wonders lie out there that I cannot see?”

Then came the day she announced to her surprised family that she was going to Israel. She was going to serve in the IDF! Well, somehow along the way she took a test for pilot skills, aced it, and the rest is history. No doubts her confidence as an aviator was first forged on the back of a strong horse! She flew F-17’s and that is how she came under the command of her husband when she joined his squadron.

The Alaska Space Program opened up the possibility of a childhood fantasy coming true for both her and her husband, as they both admired the American astronauts of the nineteen-sixties and the seventies who had taken man to the moon. Sarah also admired Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who, together with her husband, had pioneered the establishment of air service around the world. Anne and Charles had in fact flown together in a relationship very similar to hers and Abiyah’s. Anne married Charles in 1929 and got her glider pilot’s license a year later. She served as Lindbergh’s navigatior, radio operator and copilot as the famous aviator worked to lay out the routes for modern air travel. Their travels together took them to Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.

A true Renaissance person, Anne Lindbergh became a writer as well. Inspired by Anne's stories, Sarah kept a detailed diary of life aboard the Great Northern and in her spare moments took thousands of photographs as she planned to create a permanent record of their own historic adventure. She shuddered at the thought of the terrible kidnapping of Anne’s first child and wondered how she and Abiyah might drop out of the public eye and find some anonymity when they had their own children. Sarah Cohen was a dreamer, a visionary, and she was driven on in her present task by the knowledge that most of all one must give their children dreams and vision.
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved


Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh traveled the world in airplanes such as this as they charted the routes for intercontinental air service. She acted as his copilot, radio operator and navigator.

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Four

Volume XIX, Issue VII: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2017, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 4: Apollonius Takes Charge

In the endless light of the midnight sun the supplying of Great Northern from linear induction shuttles proceeded round the clock. Soon the voyage would begin. Cohen and Ben Gurion shuttled down to meet with Zimmerman. A plan was laid out for command of the Great Northern and oversight of the colonists on board. Once shuttled to the Martian surface, the colony would be administered by the Alaska Autonimous Republic and Israel, but there would be no official presence of either nation there. Because AAR/Israel operated the only ship capable of supplying the colony, this would be enforceable from Earth. Should the colony divert from the agreed upon mission and somehow challenge this chain of command, supply by Great Northern could be suspended. If, as Apollonius had hinted, there were great resources to be found beneath the planet’s surface, the mining off them might finance additional long-distance ships and allow for annual and then twice-yearly visits and departures. George Apollonius might have detested the added oversight over the mission but he was gracious as he nodded to it. Soon the craft would be underway and he would be pretty much in charge of everything anyway. The crew would be busied by the operation of the ship and the colonists would be under his leadership as they traveled outward. Finally, Apollonius came aboard on the last Earth shuttle. He and 29 colonists made up the passenger manifest as the Zimmerman Organization had exercised no hesitation in disqualifying those it felt it needed to. That number could be shuttled down to the Martian surface in the ten Mars shuttles she carried. These craft would remain on the planet. Should an emergency force evacuation of the planet, all the colonists could take off in these craft and with emergency rationing in place, make it back to Earth orbit if need be. Future missions would add more ‘lifeboat’ craft to the colony.

George Apollonius took up residence in the VIP suite, the only quarters that came close to being spacious on the craft. The other 29 colonists were still crowded, though there were empty bunks. The chief surgeon and the engineers for the colony had slightly larger quarters but the cramped nature of the compartments brought to mind ocean voyages in sailing ships. The nine crewmen who would remain on Great Northern had slightly larger cabins than the higher ranking colonists. Due to the staggering of hours on duty, each crew member occupied a single cabin but because all but one were married, the couples enjoyed the luxury of a two-room suite apiece. There were ten crew cabins and a wardroom where the crew would take their meals, watch movies, read and enjoy large-screen Skype conversation with family and friends on Earth. Exercise could be had on some equipment there as well and all of the crew used the gravity ring as a sort of perpetual track for running. Apollonius rarely left his cabin. He was the oldest person on board but the colonists knew that he would be governor of the new settlement and pretty much deferred to his commands.

The settlers were a rather raggedy lot, some prisoners taking up the offer of land and a future in a new world, some were adventure seekers who possessed skills needed for the venture. Others seemed to be of a quiet mysterious sort. They had skills, of course, but they seemed to fit some profile set by Apollonius himself. The selection process in the end rather resembled final jury selection for a drug trial. Zimmerman and Apollonius faced off like prosecution attorney and defense attorney and took turns questioning the final pool of applicants. Elizabeth O’Malley and Hannah were always at Rupert’s side. He requested that, knowing that in the combined pool of their insight he probably would have not agreed so readily to the mission in the first place. In the name of ‘diversity’ or in claims of potential ineptitude, team Zimmerman was able to reduce substantially the number of people suspected of being Apollonius stooges. Still, in the end there was a small group that they noted Cohen and Ben Gurion should watch closely. Twenty-nine men and women and Apollonius would initially man the Mars station. Though they could have sent fifty cramped in the initial voyage, it was remembered that the Great Lake freighters could be operated quite smoothly with a crew of thirty or less. Crewmen would perform varied functions as needed and could be trained to do other functions en route. When cabin fever rose to a head, a crew this size could blow off steam with a few fights and life would settle down again. Full-blown mutiny was unlikely.

Zimmerman and Ben Gurion did not fail to consider the possibility, however, that Apollonius might have some reason in his mind to take over the ship. He was a smooth persuader as he had been on Earth, using his fortune to influence the leadership of the world. It was clear to everyone that this was ‘his’ colony on Mars. The Federalism of AAR and Israel would not quibble with that. All of the colonists were duly warned/informed of this. Apollonius’s Billions were funding the venture so essentially the creepy old billionaire was ‘buying’ the first house on Mars. The Zimmermans doubted it would ever become a colony of 40,000 souls, however, and Cohen and Ben Gurion would still have the honor of first setting foot on the Martian surface. They would lay no claim, rather the colony would be like the bases of exploration in Antarctica… operated by their respective countries but on soil that was considered open to all mankind. Research would be done, resources would be sought. It was like the beginning of a new Century of exploration but the reality was that Sixteenth Century explorers had found ready access to the new world’s treasure. Mars would not likely offer such opportunities. Cohen and Ben Gurion, once they had established that it was safe, would return to Great Northern and the colonists themselves, who would train en route, would monitor their one-way descent to the ‘new colony.’

Abiyah told Sarah that she should go down the ladder first and be like Neil Armstrong in the history books. “It’s not likely you’ll meet a bear or anything down there, and you’ll have one whale of a story to tell the grandkids someday!”

You are too modest, Abiyah!” She responded, recounting many of the heroic man’s past achievements and victories.

Yes, but in the realm of great exploits,” Ben Gurion continued, “You need to catch up with me.”

Alright then, we’ll jump down together.” Sarah said dreamily. “That would be so romantic. History would say we touched a new world together, husband and wife!”

If I don’t push you first!”
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Three

Volume XIX, Issue VIe: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 3: Major Cohen

Not surprisingly, the hand-picked crew was Israeli. The first mate was Major Sarah Cohen, who had been in service with Ben Gurion before. Ben Gurion made it clear that the Major was his first choice for the position and that without her selection, he was not interested in the command. In simulator flight practice you could see the crisp performance of the two veteran flyers as they worked together. In fact, no one would suspect the great secret they had in common… they were husband and wife! They had stood under a chuppah by the Sea of Galilee with a few friends who were sworn to secrecy. When Abiyah’s crew was finalized, you must know that the bulk of his crew were secret couples as well. Since the crew’s quarters were in a sealed off area near the lift to the bridge, this would not present a problem… unless Apollonius insisted on occupying the crew’s quarters as well. Fortunately he could not resist the offer of the more luxurious VIP quarters in another sector and so as far as he knew he simply had the best flying team in Israel handling his starship.

In fact, the crew were pretty much unopposed by any serious competition for their assignment. A few reckless adventurers and such vied for the positions but Ben Gurion’s little group outperformed them all. They occupied the Great Northern as simulated flight situations were run through her cockpit… practicing over and over for the journey to Mars. Most of them had enjoyed remarkable careers in the IAF and this two-year mission would be a wonderful transition into civilian retirement. Sarah Cohen was young and ambitious, but she wanted a legacy most of all. Retirement might be difficult for Abiyah, if not downright impossible, but they both dreamed of children. That would have to wait until they were safely back on Earth.

Apollonius makes me nervous.” Sarah confided to her husband. “He seems to have more than colonization on his mind. Trust me, I can sense it.”

We’ll have him on our backs for less than a year, then we’ll coast home. We’ve been in tighter places before. The Divine is our Hope and Protector.”

You read PSALMS a lot, husband. I am glad they give you hope and comfort, but this Apollonius… I think we all underestimate him, ESPECIALLY Rupert Zimmerman. That may just prove to be our undoing.”

In Wales, AK, at the headquarters of the Zimmerman organization, a similar conversation was ongoing between Elizabeth Zimmerman O’Malley and Rupert’s assistant Hannah.

The numbers all add up, Hannah, but I just don’t see something here and I can feel that I don’t see something!”

I know.” Hannah replied. “Its like Rupert forgets to ask the really tough questions. Usually he’s the one to ferret it out when there is something not quite right. But, as you say, the numbers make sense and the use of SS/AC006 virtually eliminates the unknowns as far as risk. So far as the mission itself, It’s textbook except that we weren’t going to do a MANNED mission and no one saw any benefit to colonization. We sell space on linear induction launches all the time. The people going out to the colony are volunteers and we’ve kept the process rigorous so they have plenty of time to rethink. The crew flying Great Northern is the best we have… and loyal to a fault. Apollonius himself, well, he’s one smooth operator and he seems to deftly answer any questions. But there its like he’s TOO scripted… TOO ready with the explanation. Do you know what I mean?”

I know. Really, it’s his connection to the One World Government Movement that troubles me the most. AAR and Israel will get the credit for the mission all right, but is he pushing something else that we can’t see here that will further his statist designs?”

He’s out of the picture until he returns for the launch.” said Elizabeth. “In the meantime, I will work with Mr. Zimmerman to assure we have the proper oversight in place for the mission.”
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

APOLLONIUS, Chapter Two

Volume XIX, Issue Ve: Special Book Section

Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved

Chapter 2: The Great Northern

The Starship Great Northern rode in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit at Space Station/Assembly Center 005 of the Alaska Autonimous Republic. Indeed the crafty Apollonius had spun a tale of potential benefits to mankind. Also, he had invoked an odd chapter in England’s history where convicts and other undesirables were sent to colonize the remote island sub-continent of Australia and there they established a great nation. From 1788 to 1868, about 160,000 convicts were sent to penal colonies there. It was the unforeseen second chance that gave many Australians a hope and a future. Zimmerman, for his part was always willing to listen to any alternative to incarceration. His own incarceration in a U.S. Federal Prison weighed heavy upon him… that and the notion that Theodor Herzl had put forth that there could indeed be a society without prisons! Apollonius had opened his checkbook and the project had been accomplished in record time to build an interplanetary star ship. Cape Lisbon International Spaceport, for its part, provided new and unheard of economy and reliability putting men and materials in orbit. And so the ship, capable of carrying fifty souls on the nine month journey to mars orbited ‘at anchor’ at SSAC005. The ship was being stocked with 3D printers and plans for much of the space colony’s needed machinery, which would be created on the planet’s surface. The unmanned probe had already been sent and would confirm the resources were there to construct what the colonists required. The plan was to expand from the initial living pods out into a full-scale biosphere, much resembling the one on Big Diomede, to protect the colonists from the effects of Mars’s thin atmosphere which was mainly CO2. In the Zimmerman Organization offices in Wales, greenhouse designs originally created for the tundra were being reconfigured for use on Mars. The parts were also being redesigned for ‘printing’ in factories on the planet itself. Botanists were collecting and cultivating plants that would refresh the atmosphere even as they provided food for the settlers. “Eventually we’ll need to establish a colony of 40,000 people in order to allow for a healthy and diverse stock.” Apollonius had said. Still, the initial mission was defined by the limitations of budget and practicality.

The Great Northern had a forward section with a rotating centrifugal ring to create the sensation of gravity for the passengers and crew. It was compact but comfortable. Portholes in the compartments offset the claustrophobic compactness. The ship had been assembled from components destined for platform SS/AC006, the next orbital station to be built, and fitted with a fusion engine to become a large space-going vessel. The fusion engine was at the end of a long tube to the rear of the configuration and the bridge sat directly in front of the gravity ring section. At the helm was Captain Abiyah Ben Gurion, a veteran of the Israeli Air Force. A thoughtful man who spoke little, he had been at the top of his class in astronaut training and was given the opportunity to pilot the first mission to Mars. There was to be no forced assignment to this mission by Zimmerman’s decree. Even the ’settlers’ were to be volunteers. On this point he had won over Apollonius’s insistence that the crew be chosen by George himself and ordered on the mission. The result was a tight group of hard-core military personnel as crew and an odd mix of adventure seekers and condemned men and women who did not fit into society in the potential pool of settlers. Zimmerman and Apollonius would oversee the final selection. Captain Ben Gurion was typical of the crewmen, a silent loner who kept to himself but was known for his devotion to his fellow airmen. He was not unlike those seamen of old who captained oceangoing vessels under sail. His passion was music and he earned the nickname ’Nemo’ from the fact that he had a little midi keyboard in his cabin and the strains of his music often spilled out into the passageways. The crew loved it and almost never addressed him as anything but.

Nemo would be a man without a country for the duration of the two-year voyage. It would take about nine months to get there and then require about six months of orbiting the planet in a support capacity to the colony. After that, there would be the long return trip. The plan was to rotate crews each trip but Nemo secretly wished he could stay on for longer. “Not to worry,” he thought to himself. “Distinguish yourself in command and there won’t be many who seek to take it from you.”
(to be continued)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
[click to read ]
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved