《Adam & Eve: A Romantic Sci-Fi》


 Prologue - The Ship

    The starship¡¯s gentle engines rumbled silently in deep space. In darkness, they glowed brightly at the tip of the long, skinny ship illuminating its two halo-like rings. The engines quietly reverberated throughout the ship, as a chill in the empty home. No voices, no sighs broke the silence. Four centuries had passed since footfalls had walked the endless floor of the habitation ring, since breath had been filtered from the air.


    The only inhabitant, or consciousness if one were bold enough to call it that, was a dutiful collection of circuits and software. Alpha made no sound. Even its robotic manifestations stood silently unused.


    Far from the warmth of any star, even the groans of thermal shifts through the ship had ceased. With precise logic, Alpha performed its tasks. Sounds of machinery clicking on, then off again, defied the long ship¡¯s appearance of a burning candlelight vigil over a sleeping tomb.


    Mission Day: 150714


    Mission Phase: Initiate Gestation #07


    Log: Embryo 8634DC934-Male. Cryogenic system logs nominal. Revivification of embryo nominal ¡ª viable. Embryo placenta successfully grafted to gestation chamber. Nutrient-oxygen solution enriched by 23% to compensate for prior unsuccessful gestations. Implemented embryo biometric feedback to nutrient-oxygen control with variable rate concentration to offset gestation chamber degradation.


    Following protocol, Alpha logged its task and transmitted a copy along with the ship¡¯s telemetry and reports. It continued executing received commands while storing the volumes of news archives into its educational library.


    ? ? ?


    Mission Day: 150994


    Mission Event: Birth of Male Child


    Log: Healthy child birthed. ... Per mission directive, first male child designated ¡°Adam.¡±


    The ship awoke from its slumber. The habitation rings that had turned imperceptibly slow to keep their lubricants fluid now spun at their full rate. The second fusion reactor came online. Lights illuminated. Air circulated. An inhabitant arrived.


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    Alpha continued making its reports and acting upon commands. The commands it received, Alpha calculated, traveled deep space for 3.90 years before reaching the ship; this gave Alpha some latitude in their execution. For example, Alpha was to bring its robotic avatars online more than four years ago. It did so just now, for only now were they needed to tend to a child.


    It immediately prepared the gestation chamber for cycle number eight.


    ? ? ?


    Mission Day: 151357


    Gestation 7, Adam: 0 years, 363 days


    Mission Phase: Initiate Gestation #12


    Log: Embryo 4269MV204-Female. Cryogenic system logs nominal. Revivification of embryo nominal ¡ª viable. Embryo placenta successfully grafted to gestation chamber. Initial nutrient-oxygen solution at 83% per feedback control. Failure of gestation chamber likely.


    Alpha¡¯s additional processors came online. They would observe the child, analyze his behavior, and build outcome trees to predict the results from varying stimulus options. Alpha would assign to each branch its probability of occurring. The capacity of these new processors gave Alpha substantial perceptions and cognition that expanded its capabilities immeasurably. It would use these in stimulating and instructing the male child.


    Logs, commands, and data continued.


    ? ? ?


    Mission Day: 151637


    Gestation 7, Adam: 1 year, 278 days


    Mission Event: Birth of Female Child


    Log: Healthy child birthed. ... Per mission directive, first female child designated ¡°Eve.¡±


    One of Alpha¡¯s robotic avatars chased the male child down the endless hallway of the habitation ring. It allowed the child to out-pace the avatar, giving him confidence in his abilities. A positive outcome would result from this experience.


    For the next gestation cycle, Alpha made adjustments to the chamber in accordance with the commands it received from mission control. But those commands responded to data supplied 7.86 years prior, when Alpha reported the initial anomalies in the chamber. Those anomalies had since progressed unfavorably. Alpha calculated the probability the adjustments would improve outcomes and determined additional actions were necessary. Ten of twelve embryos had already failed to gestate. Despite the surplus embryos, it was unlikely the full compliment of colonists would be successfully birthed prior to arrival. Contrary to the mission plan, Alpha selected another female embryo, determining a greater probability of colonization success with one male and multiple females. It prepared the gestation chamber for cycle thirteen.


    Alpha transmitted the supplemental log with calculated probabilities justifying this deviation. As with the commands now received, Alpha calculated the years that would pass before mission control would receive the log and generate commands in response. In the event mission control developed a repair plan, Alpha calculated the years-long orbital hold at the mission destination that may be necessary for the colonist population to mature on-board the ship.

 Chapter 1 — The Children

    Mission Day: 153398


    Gestation 7, Adam: 6 years, 213 days


    Gestation 12, Eve: 4 years, 300 days


    Alpha prepared its daily log. The gap in command and data reception continued. It again conducted a communications sweep to ensure the antenna alignment angle was not erroneous and again concluded there was no error. There were no signals to receive. Alpha calculated the unlikelihood its logs were being received by mission control, but it continued transmitting them nonetheless while one of its avatars instructed the male child.


    Adam sat on a large, red pillow with his legs crossed. Each hand grasped one of his large toes as he rocked side-to-side. The brightly-lit room with its sparse furnishings, bare white walls, and single windowless door, gave it the look of a treatment room for the mentally ill. Adam didn¡¯t know any different. In his mind, it was the daytime room.


    Barely a meter in front of him, a robot stood motionless, looking down at the young child.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Adam said, looking at the robot¡¯¡¯s short, stout legs.


    ¡°You have never seen your home, Adam, so you must imagine in your mind what I am telling you. Do you have a heart Adam?¡±


    ¡°Of course I have a heart, silly!¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen it?¡±


    ¡°No, but I feels it in me.¡±


    ¡°You feel it in you, Adam. You do not feels it in you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I meant.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen your heart?¡±


    ¡°I feel it; I don¡¯t need to see it.¡±


    ¡°And that is just like Homeworld, Adam,¡± the robot explained. ¡°Though you have never seen it, and never will see it, it is real.¡±


    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not makes¡¯in it up?¡±


    ¡°Making it up, Adam,¡± the robot corrected, ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not making it up? You know because I am your teacher. You must believe what I teach so that you will know the truth.


    ¡°As you look at these pictures, Adam, I want you to feel that these things are real, even if you¡¯ve never seen them.¡±


    A sculpture, formed of light, appeared between Adam and the robot. The colorful, sculpted globe slowly rotated between them. The greens and browns of the continents and the myriad shades of blue waters were stroked over with wisps of white clouds.


    ¡°What is this, Adam?¡± the robot asked.


    As he rocked to one side he said, ¡°It¡¯s Homeworld,¡± then he rocked back to his left. He paused there as he thought, ¡°It¡¯s a planet.¡±


    ¡°Planets are very big, Adam. Even small planets like Homeworld and Colony World are very big. There are more people on Homeworld than all the stars you can see outside the observation dome, more than all the pieces of dirt in the farm.¡±


    The dome and the farm brought images of Eve to Adam¡¯s mind.


    ¡°When do I get to play with Eve?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Adam, you know the rules. Teaching and exercise are done separately.¡±


    ¡°The rules are stupid.¡±


    ¡°Nonetheless, Adam, we must follow them. You will get to have dinner with Eve and then you can have some play time with her.¡±


    ¡°Can we play in the dome? I like floating around.¡±


    He received no answer to his question.


    The image betwixt them faded, transformed, then came into sharp focus again. Between them stood a miniature man and a miniature woman. The man wore a black suit with a white shirt and red tie. He had fair skin, short dark brown hair, and was clean shaven. The woman wore a knee-length red dress with a simple white bodice and capped sleeves. She likewise had fair skin, but had shoulder-length blonde hair. She had simple makeup. Both were middle-aged and fit.


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    ¡°What are these, Adam?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an Adam,¡± he said as he pointed his finger into the chest of the miniature ethereal man, and, ¡°That¡¯s an Eve,¡± he said as he swept his finger into the woman.


    ¡°No, Adam.¡± Its robotic arm pointed, ¡°That is a male.¡± It¡¯s arm swung, ¡°That is a female. You, Adam, are a male. Eve is a female. On a planet, half of the people are male and half the people are female. There are many of them, so each has its own name. Your names are Adam and Eve.¡±


    Adam was quiet. Through the eyes of its robotic avatar, the ship¡¯s intelligence analyzed the posture of Adam¡¯s body and his more agitated movement, and saw the furrowed brow above squinted eyes and pursed lips. Alpha understood Adam did not conceptualize the teaching. It determined an alternate tone and explanation were necessary.


    ¡°Adam, I am sorry that I have not explained this well. You and Eve are humans, people. There are two kinds of humans, males and females. You are both humans, but you Adam are a male human and Eve is a female human. I am not a human; I am a synthetic. I am called Alpha. Just as there are many people, there are many males and there are many females. To not be confused, each one has its own name. You are Adam. Other males might be called Peter, Vladimir, or Wei. Females might be called Mary, Anastasia, or Min.¡±


    ¡°Why am I called Adam?¡±


    ¡°Adam and Eve are names from a very important myth in Homeworld¡¯s history. In the myth, Adam was the very first male and Eve was the very first female to live on Homeworld. Because you and Eve would be among the first people on Colony World, you were given those names before you were born. The mission director chose your name hundreds of years ago.¡± Alpha awaited the probable response consistent with the new vocabulary it just introduced to Adam.


    ¡°What is myth?¡±


    With the response matching that which was anticipated, Alpha validated the behavior model. It proceeded with the new lesson.


    ¡°A myth, Adam, is a make-believe history to explain something we do not understand.¡±


    ¡°If Adam and Eve weren¡¯t the first male and female on Homeworld,¡± Adam asked, ¡°then who were?¡±


    ¡°There were many who were first. We will learn more about that when you start learning more about a science called biology.¡± Alpha could tell, from analysis, that Adam was no longer processing the verbal teaching but was pondering the images of male and female. Alpha prepared additional images of clothing to display to Adam. Though much younger, Eve had already asked many questions about clothing. Since overcoming the need for diapers, Alpha had determined no further need for clothing and had not supplied it. It was probable their lack of clothing created Eve¡¯s curiosity about it; the same behavior would likely manifest in Adam.


    ¡°If Eve and I are to be among the first people on Colony World, how are the other people getting there? Are there other ships?¡±


    Alpha shifted away from the clothing data and reverted to mission data. It had not predicted this line of questioning at this early an age and immediately adapted its responses accordingly. It removed the images of the male and female.


    ¡°Due to an equipment failure on this ship, there will be only you and Eve on Colony World.¡±


    ¡°Equipment makes people?¡±


    The probability of these lines of questioning had been so low, Alpha had not calculated the consequent long-term impressions and queries that would form from its possible responses. Alpha, therefore, selected outcomes with the most favorable results in the near-term, which is all that it had analyzed and could analyze in sufficient time to respond to Adam¡¯s impatient mind.


    ¡°Yes, Adam, equipment created you and Eve. Equipment creates people. It was to create additional people, but it no longer operates correctly and cannot create additional people. It cannot be fixed.¡±


    ¡°How can there be so many people on Homeworld if the equipment fails and cannot be fixed?¡± Adam then felt a wave of clarity and understanding, as if he was seeing from outside himself, as an observer in the room. ¡°So Adam and Eve will be the only people on Colony World, and there will be no myth there, for Adam and Eve will be the first.¡±


    Alpha noted the third person reference Adam made to himself in Adam¡¯s developmental record. The sudden shift invalidated the probabilistic models for this training session. It synthesized a few responses but could only analyze them to a single order. It selected the most favorable.


    ¡°You are partially correct. The myth also teaches that it was an omnipotent god that crafted Adam, so the myth remains a false history.¡±


    Adam looked up to gaze into the features that mimicked a human face. ¡°Unless you are god. ¡­ I was created by equipment and you¡¯re an equipment.¡± Adam felt a moment of fear for the equipment-being, which had created him and now stood before him.


    Adam¡¯s response was not among those calculated in Alpha¡¯s analysis. Its analysis model became wholly invalidated. Consequences to further stimulus were now indeterminate. Alpha chose a termination sequence in order to obtain the time it needed to perform the necessary corrections to the training model and determine appropriate instruction.


    ¡°I am impressed with the ideas you are exploring, Adam. I would like you to spend some time thinking about them so that you can determine their strengths and weaknesses.¡± Alpha then recognized its failure to adapt this response to Adam¡¯s younger age, having selected it from the list of appropriate responses to this topic. However, the topic was cataloged with those of a higher maturity level. Thus, the response did not match Adam¡¯s maturity. Alpha determined it prudent to hastily terminate the lesson. It did this by appealing to Adam¡¯s strongest desire.


    ¡°Eve is in the exercise room. You may go exercise with her. I will give you more instructions from my presence in the gym.¡±


    Without hesitation, Adam leapt up and raced through the door.

 Chapter 2 — The Black Box

    Mission Day: 155961


    Gestation 7, Adam: 13 years, 219 days


    Gestation 12, Eve: 11 years, 306 days


    Adam moved hand-over-hand carefully and deliberately. Inside the ship, he was an acrobatic zero-gravity virtuoso. Outside, every moment filled him with sensations he¡¯d never before experienced. Clothing was chief among them. He¡¯d first put on diaper, into which he¡¯d urinate if necessary, then long-johns, with socks and gloves. It was awkward. Eve dutifully helped him, particularly with the light gloves. Getting each finger into its proper sleeve frustrated him; he¡¯d have become angry had Eve not stepped in.


    Atop this bundle of fabric Eve helped him into an elastic netted garment that, like the long-johns, covered him from neck to wrists to ankles. Running down the limbs and across the torso, flat tubes converged at a hub located on the garment¡¯s back. That, Alpha explained, would run coolant across his body to keep him from overheating in the vacuum of space.


    Without air, there would be no conduction draw heat off him and the spacesuit. Without gravity, there would be no convection to carry it away. Radiation was the only cooling method remaining, and inside the suit, there was very little of that. Though the temperature of deep space was more than two-hundred fifty Celsius below zero, he was more at risk of heat stroke than of hypothermia. Thus the spacesuit¡¯s life support system connected to the hub to regulate his body temperature through the fluid it would heat or cool.


    With the two layers of garments properly fitted, Eve helped ease him into the outer shell of the spacesuit. While it wasn¡¯t heavy, owing to the lack of gravity in the extra-vehicular activity or EVA room, it was bulky and had a lot of mass. Before he donned them, he and Eve selected and fitted the parts that best fit Adam¡¯s size. Though still only a teenager, he¡¯d grown tall and his shoulders were already broad. Wriggling into all the parts, then connecting them, required both their efforts. Adam was already overheating.


    Eve checked the fittings through the torso¡¯s back-plate to the ventilation, thermal, and communications systems of the personnel support unit, or PSU, on the back-plate. In addition to regulating his air quality and body temperature, the PSU provided a communications link that relayed both his voice and data from the suit¡¯s many sensors. It also contained a small amount of propellant he could use to maneuver back the ship in the event he became separated from it.


    Before she locked the helmet onto the suit, exited, and closed the hatch on the airlock, she hugged his head tightly. With the bulk of the spacesuit¡¯s arms, he could barely reciprocate.


    Alpha warned him about agoraphobia. It was real. From inside the ship, space had no depth. It was a picture window, a canvas on glass. Out here it was a bottomless pit ¨C in every conceivable direction ¨C and he was falling down it, clinging to the skin of his mother ship.


    He was never supposed to leave the ship until they arrived at the new world. Apparently, not every contingency could be anticipated.


    Ahead, Adam could see another of Alpha¡¯s presences.He¡¯d never seen this one before, but theyhad a particular nature to them he could identify.This cylindrical robot had three unique arms.One appeared specialized to hold to EVA rails.It now held to one that ran parallel to the rail Adam followed.The second appeared to have a standardized connection for electrical tools.The top of the cylinder stowed a variety of tools from which this arm could choose.The third was a rough approximation of the human hand, not specialized, but generalized to manipulate any type of task it might encounter; except, apparently, this one.


    Moving forward, Adam came to another obstacle. He arrived at another mounting point for the EVA rail. The carabiners on his tethers could not slide past. He removed one tether from the rail, moved it beyond the mounting point and reattached it. He then repeated it for the second tether. This was the process he followed at every mounting points and juncture. While it was a simple task, it required he let go of the rail to manipulate the safeties on the carabiners through the clumsy gloves. Each time he did so, a sensation of vertigo filled him with anxiety.


    When he arrived at the problem, he immediately understood. Alpha had shown him pictures and described it, but seeing the actual problem completed his understanding.


    More than four centuries had passed since the ship¡¯s construction. At the time the keel was laid, the ship the had been designed to last longer than the age of the civilization that was building it. Several components were known to be life-limited, so they were modularized for easy replacement. Pull the old box out, put the new box in. Simple. But what is an artificial intelligence to do when the box doesn¡¯t come out?


    There were three boxes like this one that conditioned the electromagnetic coil that shaped the ship¡¯s magnetic scoop, each covering a one-hundred twenty degree arc of the circular scoop. When operating properly, the invisible magnetic scoop stretched many kilometers beyond the ship. It drew free hydrogen out of interstellar space and pulled it into the ship¡¯s engine, where a fusion reaction converted it to thrust. The particular box had failed. Without it, instead of creating a smooth funnel, the coil bent and twisted the coil into an inefficient shape. Additionally, like a cheap paper plate, the hydrogen spilled off a large arc of the circular scoop. With that potential fuel spilling off the side, they¡¯d lost a substantial amount of their thrust. Without that thrust to slow their approach, they¡¯d shoot past their destination. It would take decades to stop then return to colony world.


    At the moment, the box was powered down for replacement, and even more fuel spilled past them. The box had to come out.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± Adam asked, the microphone keying open with the sound of his voice, ¡°you said there were six screws that held the access plate in place, and four mounting bolts for the induction balancer box. Those six screws go here,¡± Adam pointed his finger and followed the rim of the access plate opening, ¡°and the four bolt go here,¡± Adam then pointed into the cavity and at the four corners of what was obviously the box, ¡°Is that correct?¡±


    Only the front plate of the box could be seen, an aluminum rectangle about as wide as Adam¡¯s shoulders and half as high. Protruding from its far sides were two handles, clearly there to slide the box out of its receptacle. Across the aluminum face, black lettering and codes described the box. At each of its four corners, a hole with a ring scarred around it clearly showed each of the bolt openings. Adam wanted to be certain.


    ¡°Yes, Adam, that is correct.¡±


    Adam reached in and grabbed one of the box¡¯s handles. He let go the EVA rail. Before he grabbed the other handle of the box, he tested the security of his tethers. While keeping a firm grasp on both handles, he pushed himself gently away from the box, then jerked himself inward. He felt no movement. He set up a rhythm, pushing himself away, then jolting inward. He did this several times. Still, it did not budge.


    ¡°Alpha, where are the access plate, screws, and bolts?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re in the maintenance bay, Adam,¡± it answered, ¡°I did not want them to become lost.¡±


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    ¡°And what about the replacement unit? Have you brought that out, or is it still in the maintenance bay?¡±


    Adam considered for a moment. From their earlier discussion and planning, Adam knew this unit had never before been replaced. It had become degraded before he and Eve were born, and Alpha had not been able to replace it then either. He¡¯d been able to compensate by adjusting the other three units, but it finally had a catastrophic failure. Maybe the box had additional mounting mechanisms, he wondered.


    ¡°It is also in the maintenance bay,¡± it answered.


    ¡°Eve? Are you there?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Yes, Adam. I¡¯ve been listening the whole time.¡±


    ¡°Alpha,¡± Adam asked, ¡°I want Eve to look at parts and the replacement box.¡±


    There was a long pause before Alpha responded, ¡°Eve is not permitted into the maintenance bay, Adam.¡±


    ¡°What? Why not?¡± Adam yelled into the headset, ¡°Never mind. Just bring them out here so I can look at them.¡±


    There was a longer pause. ¡°I will allow Eve into the maintenance bay,¡± it replied.


    ¡°Fine, just stop making this impossible,¡± Adam angrily retorted.


    While he waited, Adam wriggled the box handles, banged the plate with his fist, and wriggled, yanked, and pulled several more times. He made no progress. The box seemed a homogenous part of the ship.


    ¡°Adam,¡± Eve spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve got the stuff. What do you want me to look for?¡±


    ¡°First, is there any writing on the access plate that might give instructions on how to get this thing out?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s plain white and smooth on one side and a sickly green, and a little textured, on the other. I think the green side is the inside.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, Eve,¡± Alpha added.


    ¡°What about the replacement unit?¡± Adam directed her, ¡°The unit has two handles on the front plate. Near those, there should be four holes into which those four bolts fit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, ¡°I see them. The bolts fit perfectly into the holes¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Adam replied, ¡°I want you to look over the whole box. Is there anywhere else you can see where a bolt or something else may lock the box into place?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she said into the microphone. Adam knew she was looking at the box. He wanted her to hurry. He knew she¡¯d find something and he wanted her to do it quickly.


    ¡°All I can see,¡± she finally said, ¡°is the threads on the wire connector in the back. I¡¯m sure those don¡¯t hold the box in place.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that all you see?¡± Adam asked impatiently, ¡°Tell me everything you see.¡±


    ¡°Okay, in the center of the back is the wire connector with threads on it. To each side of the rear are blocks of rubber padding. The top and bottom have lots of little screws running all along the edges. None are missing. The sides have smooth rails along them that run from the front to the back. There are no latches or holes in the rail where it might latch or get hung up. The face has the four holes we talked about, and there are two silver handles. The white words on the face just seem to be a description of the ...¡±


    ¡°White words?¡± Adam interrupted, ¡°Did you say white words?¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡±


    ¡°What color is the box, Eve?¡±


    ¡°Black. It¡¯s a black box, silly,¡± she giggled.


    ¡°Alpha, why is the replacement box black and this one silver?¡± Without waiting for an answer he continued, ¡°Eve, read me every word, every number, and every bit of punctuation on that box.¡±


    Eve hadn¡¯t finished reading the first line when Alpha cut her off.


    ¡°I have searched all the symptoms with this new variable against a historic database of failures. I have, with high probability, determined the cause of the problem. You may now return to the airlock and the safety of the ship.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Adam and Eve asked in unison.


    ¡°During the construction of the ship, the original module failed. As the replacement units, such as the one Eve now has, were still being built, they were not available during construction. The original module was replaced with a test unit that was re-certified for the mission. The spare unit had not been painted. This is why it is bare aluminum and not anodized black. In the vacuum of space, when two similar bare metals come in contact with each other, there is nothing to separate the atoms of each piece of metal. In essence, the atoms of the two pieces of metal do not know they are separate pieces of metal. They join and become one piece of metal. I will prepare a lesson for you and Eve on this phenomena; it is called cold welding.¡±


    ¡°So how are you going to fix it?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Come inside, Adam, and we will discuss this,¡± it answered.


    ¡°No, tell me how you¡¯re going to fix it, right now!¡± Adam demanded.


    ¡°The unit cannot be removed, Adam, so it cannot be repaired. You must return to the safety of the ship. We will continue our voyage.¡±


    ¡°Will we be able to get to Colony World, Alpha?¡± Eve interrupted.


    ¡°Yes. We will not be able to slow the ship before we arrive. We will pass the destination. But we will continue slowing, and then begin progressing back to Colony World. We will arrive later, but we will arrive.¡±


    ¡°How long, Alpha?¡± Adam demanded angrily, ¡°How much longer until we get there?¡±


    ¡°When this unit is reactivated, the engine will operate at twenty-six point six-hundred and three-score six percent. I anticipate we will not have further loss of efficiency. This will extend the journey by fifty-one years, nine months, and five days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be seventy years old when we arrive?!¡± Adam yelled.


    ¡°On this new schedule, you will be seventy-six years old when we arrive. Eve will be seventy-four years old.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Adam,¡± Eve lamented sorrowfully.


    Adam seethed as he stared at the aluminum plate. He wanted to smash his fist through it and rip it out from the inside. That he knew he couldn¡¯t, made him angrier. He looked upon the robot, held to the EVA rail by a single spindly limb. An impulse came to him.


    His anger narrowed his vision.When he pushed off his rail toward the robot, the eternal vastness of space lay far beyond his perception.He felt no vertigo, no anxiety.He grappled the robot and forcefully removed a circular saw from its top tray.


    ¡°Warning, Adam, warning!¡± rang in Adam¡¯s ears atop a klaxon that signaled imminent death, ¡°You must not operate a cutting instrument while in a spacesuit!¡±


    The alarm repeated while he inspected the tool and drifted back to the bothersome dilemma. He was pleased to discover the tool provided both a robot interface and human controls. He tested the trigger. The tool made no sound as it whirred to life, but it vibrated through his hand. He saw the robot¡¯s hand reaching for the tool. Adam twisted his wrist and drove the spinning blade into its hand. Sparks flew, and Alpha recoiled in self-preservation.


    ¡°Back you devil!¡± Adam yelled, ¡°Or I¡¯ll cut you to pieces or cut my own suit open!¡± He held the spinning blade above his thigh. Adam understood these machines did not house Alpha¡¯s awareness and that he did not threaten Alpha itself. They were, as Alpha described them, his presences throughout the ship. ¡°I¡¯ll not die aboard this ship. If we add another fifty years, this mission will have failed.¡±


    ¡°The mission cannot succeed if you perish from a spacewalk accident,¡± Alpha retorted, ¡°Deactivate the tool, return it to me, and return to the safety of the ship.¡±


    Adam knew the faceplate of the electronics box was wider that the box itself. This extra width formed two tabs through which the four bolt holes ran. ¡°No,¡± Adam answered Alpha before he drove the blade into the box¡¯s faceplate. It took several minutes, but he sawed through both tabs, freeing the box. Leaving the saw floating where Alpha¡¯s presence could not reach, he pulled the box out of its cavity, carefully removed the connecting power cables, then angrily hurled the accursed box into deep space.


    He threw it with such force in the zero-gravity environment he slung his own body out of control. He rebounded against the tethers and back into the ship¡¯s hull before he regained self-control. Fear gripped him for a moment. What if that box retained some critical function they still required? Maybe the ship could be maneuvered to chase it down. Looking at the box rapidly vanishing, he surmised that might take a few months.


    Alpha¡¯s presence approached, and Adam quickly grabbed the saw.


    ¡°Are you okay, Adam?¡± Eve asked over the radio. Without pausing she asked, ¡°Is he okay, Alpha?¡±


    ¡°Adam was foolish but is unharmed,¡± Alpha intoned, ¡°While I do not approve of his unconventional approach, he has rendered a solution to the problem. Adam, you must return the tool to me and return to the ship.¡±


    Hesitantly, Adam handed the saw over to the presence, which snatched it from him and stowed it away.


    ¡°I¡¯m not returning to the ship,¡± Adam insisted, ¡°until you complete the repair and return the ship to full thrust. He looked at the life support monitor on his wrist. He was surprised to see the coolant system running at full capacity. ¡°It says you have 6 hours and 38 minutes; you¡¯d better get to work.¡±


    Alpha¡¯s speed organizing the needed materials; its mechanical skill with the saw, removing the tabs from the replacement unit; and its deft work installing the box and sealing it behind the access panel stunned Adam. It finished the task with more than 6 hours remaining.


    ¡°The thrust has returned to full capacity,¡± Alpha declared, ¡°You must now return to the ship.¡±


    Adam won this contest with Alpha, but it made him angry. He felt as though he¡¯d lost. He turned silently and pawed his way back to the airlock and into the ship. Eve met him, and helped him out of the many layers of the sweat-soaked spacesuit. As they left the EVA prep room, Adam suspected Alpha would never allow either to enter again.


    They never did.

 Chapter 3 — The Reading Room

    Mission Day: 157269


    Gestation 7, Adam: 17 years, 66 days


    Gestation 12, Eve: 15 years, 153 days


    Adam had found that reading was much more comfortable in a gravity environment, laying on a couch, rather than floating in zero gravity. The observation dome in zero-g gave not only a spectacular view of the heavens around the ship, but it also offered a commanding view of most of the ship. Logically it should have been the place Adam preferred to read, but his body balled up into a fetal position unless he fought against the tightness of his own muscles. It was more relaxing to lay back in a comfortable chair to read and let gravity stretch the body out of its natural position.


    The observation dome lay toward the bow of the ship. Only the rarefied hydrogen collectors and the bridge were forward of the dome. Immediately after was the first of two rotating rings. The first ring had the larger diameter and width of the two rings. Both Adam and Eve spent the majority of their time in that ring. The aft ring mainly held ship stores and equipment, though it housed laboratories as well, including the now defunct gestation chamber. As they both had progressed in their educations, they now spent some time utilizing the labs.


    Behind those two rings were mechanical systems they never saw, including the ship¡¯s main engines. Silhouetted against the engine¡¯s plume were many strange shapes of which they knew nothing.


    The ship had spent more than two centuries accelerating toward the Colony World ¡ª its thrust limited by the rare hydrogen atoms the ship stripped from interstellar space. Halfway to their destination, the ship turned and began the process of decelerating to its destination ¡ª the hydrogen collectors rotating to gather fuel in the reverse direction. After nearly two centuries of that, upon its final approach to the Colony World, the first humans were born ¡ª Adam and Eve. They were still a decade from arrival.


    Unfortunately this meant their ship pointed its engines at the star to which they were destined. The engine¡¯s faint plume was enough to obfuscate the starry glow of their future home. They could not see it.


    While it is true to say Adam did not prefer to read in the dome, that is not to say he read elsewhere, such as in one of the many recliners in the recreation room. Adam read in the observation dome, because Eve read in the observation dome. Because of her, the dome had become one of their favored places.


    Adam had once questioned Alpha about the name of the observation dome. As Adam put it, a dome was half a sphere with a plane at its bottom. This was not the shape of the observation dome. Rather, the observation dome was a sphere at the end of an access tube. The long access tube extended the sphere high above the ship¡¯s main hull. Adam insisted it more resembled a lollipop than it did a dome and felt it silly to call it by a falsely descriptive name. Alpha could not reconcile this observation with the mission data, so it remained the observation dome, though Eve sometimes teased Adam about meeting in the lollipop.


    While the dome was now their reading room, previously it had been a recreation room. While he was a toddler, Adam had discovered that if he positioned himself on the sphere¡¯s equator, then leapt at an angle to another position on the equator, then leapt again, then once again, he could start running along the equator. In zero gravity, the centrifugal force he created by running along the inside of the sphere would hold him to the inside surface. His antics amused the younger Eve, who would laugh as Adam leapt, ran, tumbled, and vaulted around the inside of the sphere. He received numerous bruises showing off in order to hear that joyous laughter.


    ¡°Good morning Eve,¡± Adam greeted her as he now floated up the access tube and into the dome. She was floating in the middle of the sphere, balled up into a natural, relaxed position in zero gravity, drifting very slowly to the aft end of the sphere. As a child, he¡¯d sometimes tease her by putting her there. Unable to grab anything, she became trapped in the middle of the sphere. He¡¯d giggle while she struggled for a few moments, then he¡¯d retrieve her. It did not take her long to learn that she could slowly move herself by paddling with her hands and arms, as Adam did. Or wait as the gentle deceleration of the ship slowly moved her to the aft wall; rather, moved the aft wall to her.


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    ¡°Good evening Adam,¡± she replied cheerfully. For Eve, it was morning. She¡¯d been up for an hour or so, having done her morning exercise and was now reading one of her lessons. She¡¯d shortly have her morning meal. Adam, on the other hand, had finished his studies and was about to have his evening meal. They¡¯d share this one meal together each day, work their chores on the farm or elsewhere together, and enjoy recreation or entertainment together afterward. She¡¯d then begin her studies and daily routines; he¡¯d have his evening exercise then wash and retire for the night.


    There were three living bays and three farms, as well as the galley, exercise room, multi-purpose room, and other spaces in the larger of the ship¡¯s two rings. Each living bay had sufficient room for ten people, thirty in total. Adam had one bay entirely to himself, which ran on his daily schedule. Eve had another, which ran on her schedule. The third was empty and always dark. They used only one of the three farms. When asked, Alpha had explained there were originally three schedules, but it had adapted to two when no other occupants arrived from the gestation chamber.


    Adam hooked his bare feet under the padded bar at the opening between the dome and its access corridor. He stretched tall and extended his hand toward Eve at the center of the spherical dome.


    It had become their tradition that he would retrieve her when it was time for them to prepare their meal together. Much to Alpha¡¯s consternation, Adam once prepared the meal without Eve, and then retrieved her ¡ª giving her more time to enjoy her reading. This was contrary to their development plan and produced a vast number of possible outcomes, each individually with an unlikely probability. It invalidated the development plan. For this reason Alpha determined it needed to stop. Adam refused to discontinue to behavior and continued to do so occasionally.


    After a few of these sporadic kindnesses, the development model stabilized and Alpha ceased its complaints with the caveat that they occur no more than one time in ten ¡ª a control that restored predictability to its model. Adam then insisted that this be an average and not an established routine. Alpha agreed. Adam then insisted that all the years of his life be part of that average. Alpha then countered that the average could not begin until Eve began eating prepared food. They had many more arguments on the topic. On occasion, the arguments became heated, once particularly so. Adam injured himself when he balled up his fist and stuck one of Alpha¡¯s robotic forms. After the injury, for Adam¡¯s safety, Alpha stopped reporting on his meal preparation ratio. Adam, shocked by his own violently passionate outburst, relented and significantly reduced the number of meals he selflessly prepared for Eve.


    Eve noticed the decline in meals prepared on her behalf. She said nothing to Adam about it. Rather, he arrived in the galley one evening to find that she had already prepared their meal. ¡°Alpha seems to have you very busy lately,¡± she obliquely hinted at the reduction, ¡°so I wanted to lighten your burden a bit. Come eat.¡± It had pleased him immensely. Alpha calculated the behavior increased the number of positive outcomes in their model and did not subject Eve to the ratio it had imposed on Adam. The behavior also ensured both would continue to develop their ability to prepare farmed foods, a necessity for when they reached Colony World. Meal preparation training schedules no longer required adaptations due to Adam¡¯s anomalous behavior ¡ª for Eve had developed the same anomaly.


    Eve paddled toward Adam from the center of the sphere, her tablet in one hand aiding in the endeavor. Her long hair trailed slightly behind her, bouncing with each of her movement. Heading directly toward him, with her hand outstretched too, he looked down the length of her naked body. She had developed a soft, shapely figure. Adam found it pleasing and exciting. He enjoyed looking at the entirety of her, and she knew it. When he had started noticing her, she had found his compulsion humorous. She would tease him for noticing by winking or giving him a come-hither look, and then by giggling at him. She¡¯d found it enormous fun for it¡¯d embarrassed him terribly. She¡¯d stopped, for after a time she¡¯d found herself staring at his body and had herself become terribly flushed when he noticed her doing so. Having realized what she¡¯d been putting him through, she¡¯d made an awkward apology, which he¡¯d accepted with grace. Strangely, it had placed her own awkwardness at ease as well.


    Presently, she noticed Adam looking at her body. She looked away and blushed, knowing what he felt, for she had also been looking at him and felt the same. Sidelong, she gave him a coy little smile. He blushed too, looked into her eyes, and gave her an apologetic smile. They cared deeply for each other, and though they were awkward, they were not ashamed.


    Closing together, she slid her hand into his, and he grasped it.


    He swung her gently around to propel her slowly down the access tube, feet first. It was a dance they performed daily, and they did it with the grace of gulls. The crab incarnation of Alpha, which stood motionless at the entry of the dome as it always did, followed behind Eve ¡ª its six pneumatic suction feet popping across the insulation on the aluminum walls. Adam followed behind it.

 Chapter 4 — The Analysis

    Mission Day: 159002


    Gestation 7, Adam: 21 years, 338 days


    Gestation 12, Eve: 20 years, 60 days


    ¡°Alpha, provide me a historic graph of signal strength from the colony probe to Homeworld and from the colony probe to the ship,¡± Adam instructed the machine. ¡°Place the mission year along the abscissa and the signal strength, in decibels, on the ordinate.¡±


    ¡°That will take several minutes,¡± Alpha replied from its squat robot incarnation.


    ¡°Acknowledged,¡± Adam replied, ¡°proceed.¡±


    In his studies, most of which were now self-directed and drawn from the ship¡¯s extensive digital libraries, Adam had come to understand the history of civilization¡¯s rise and of the eventual technological revolution. He now understood Alpha was a human creation; he understood his earlier perception of Alpha as his creator was patently false. He still harbored resentment toward Alpha for this deception, and addressed it more as a machine than as a synthetic, and debatably sentient, intelligence.


    ¡°Thank you, Alpha.¡± Eve did not. She sat at the table in their recreation room, across from Adam. Like the observation dome, the recreation room had also become a misnomer.


    ¡°I¡¯m excited about this,¡± Adam said to Eve, ¡°and I knew you¡¯d want to be in on it.¡±


    ¡°So what is it, exactly?¡± she replied, ¡°You have my curiosity piqued.¡±


    ¡°Several weeks ago, I was reviewing the climatology data from Colony World, and I was trying to apply numeric analysis methods to model the missing data.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s prudent. After all, that will be our weather in a few years. When you say missing data, are you talking about the gap data, or is there other missing data?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, yes,¡± Adam answered, ¡°the gap data ¡ª but that question emphasizes my point.¡±


    ¡°Which is¡­¡± Eve teasingly asked, still curious but knowing Adam had to build his explanation.


    ¡°About two and a-half years ago, we received the first packets of data from the Colony World probe, right?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Well, sort-of,¡± Eve answered, ¡°we received a carrier signal, but the noise floor was so much higher, we didn¡¯t really start getting real data until about two years ago and even then we were losing more data than we were receiving.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Adam said in triumph.


    ¡°Exactly what?¡± Eve expressed her confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for some classic philosophy. Without biasing you too much, I¡¯m going to give you the relevant questions and see if you come to the same conclusions that I did, okay?¡±


    ¡°Well, well, the little man has grown up,¡± she chided, ¡°I thought you hated classical philosophy.¡±


    ¡°I still do. The ridiculous notions they developed with their hack science, like a geocentric universe, were an embarrassment to humanity. How long did their faux science saddle them with that nonsense until real science determined it was heliocentric?¡±


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    ¡°About 1800 years,¡± Eve shot back.


    ¡°It was a rhetorical question,¡± Adam replied.


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± Eve replied with mock boredom, ¡°Your point Mr. I-Love-To-Hate-Philosophy?¡±


    ¡°The method is sound,¡± Adam said, ¡°but only as an avenue for developing a hypothesis, not a theory, otherwise you just get twisted dogma.¡±


    ¡°By the way, as you¡¯re the one asking the questions, you¡¯re injecting bias, so I think you¡¯ve swung the other way and are giving the thought experiment too much credit.¡±


    ¡°Look, I want to talk signals,¡± Adam was growing impatient, ¡°not the merits and limitations of philosophical methods.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Eve recanted for teasing him a little too much when he clearly was excited to share his discovery, puzzle, or whatever with her. ¡°Go ahead. Hit me with your questions.¡±


    ¡°How did the mission originally get Colony World data?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Well, after probes found it to be inhabitable, they developed our mission and included all that data in the ship¡¯s digital library.¡±


    ¡°Right, of course. After the ship launched, how did we get subsequent data?¡±


    ¡°Well, Homeworld continued to receive data from the probe and they forwarded it to the mission.¡±


    ¡°Why not just send it straight from the probe to the mission?¡±


    ¡°Well, the probe signals were too weak. It took Layoah to receive and then rebroadcast to us.


    ¡°Right. Layoah, the Large Aperture Orbital Antenna, received probe data and forwarded to the ship. Why did the probe data stop coming to the ship?¡±


    ¡°Well, the transmitter on the probe eventually weakened and even Layoah couldn¡¯t receive it anymore. But¡­¡± Eve paused, a sudden realization came to her and she knew. Frightened, she cleared her expression. In his excitement, Adam missed that moment. She hoped Alpha missed it; rather, misinterpreted it. Alpha missed nothing.


    ¡°Your data plot is ready, Adam,¡± Alpha interjected, ¡°How would you like it displayed?¡±


    ¡°Hold, Alpha,¡± Adam dismissed.


    ¡°So, how do we now receive data from the probe?¡± Adam continued with Eve along his preplanned line of questioning, oblivious to the look that had crossed Eve¡¯s face.


    But Alpha was not oblivious. She looked at the robotic avatar. Though its eyes were cold and glassy, she knew they shared a look. She wondered what its heuristics would calculate from that, what it would decide she¡¯d thought. How, she wondered, could she ensure it never arrived at the correct conclusion?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Eve replied, ¡°What was the question?¡±


    ¡°How do we now receive probe data?¡± he repeated.


    ¡°Though the signal is much weaker and our antennas much smaller than Layoah¡¯s, we¡¯re now so close we can receive the probe¡¯s signals directly even though its signal has weakened.¡±


    ¡°And¡­¡± Adam continued, ¡°what did that data look like when we first started receiving it?¡±


    Eve now knew exactly where Adam¡¯s questions were going. Though by a route that differed, she had already discovered the mystery, uncovered its answer, and knew Adam would never find it ¡ª Alpha would make sure of that.


    Her pause elicited a prompt from Adam, ¡°You said it just a moment ago.¡±


    ¡°Well, we first had a carrier. As it it got stronger, we started being able to pull data out.¡±


    ¡°But only occasionally,¡± Adam finished for her.


    ¡°Yes, but we seldom lose data now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but here¡¯s the big question: The probe¡¯s data, relayed from Layoah, never had lost data. It just suddenly stops. Why?¡±


    Adam let the question hang while Eve pondered it. Eve understood what Adam had discovered, and it was much larger than he realized.


    ¡°Alpha, project the data plot here in the rec room,¡± Adam commanded.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± Eve added, ¡°please place a copy on my tablet as well.¡±


    The data appeared on the screen. The relayed signal strength on the far left side, and the current signal strength on the far right side.


    ¡°Alpha, replace the gap years with a narrow space,¡± Adam commanded.


    The data reoriented.


    ¡°See!¡± Adam declared. He pointed, one hand toward each half of the data. ¡°The probe signal to Layoah hadn¡¯t yet begun to degrade. Homeworld could still receive the data, but they didn¡¯t forward it onward!¡±


    Eve¡¯s heart hung heavy, all things coming into focus, ¡®If you only knew,¡¯ she thought. He wanted her help investigating this mystery, and she could not be involved ¡ª at least not in any way Alpha would notice.


    ¡°Hmmm. That¡¯s interesting,¡± she replied with a little flippancy. Before he could ask her, she fired the question at him, ¡°So what¡¯s your hypothesis?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± Adam started, confused, ¡°I wanted your hypothesis to compare to mine.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Eve replied, ¡°that¡¯s a puzzler.¡± Then she did something she could not ever remember doing before; she lied to him. ¡°Let me ponder that one. I¡¯ll let you know what comes to mind.¡± And with that she dismissed herself with a grin and a nod, got up, and walked away.


    Though he looked at the way her long blond hair flowed to the point where her waist was narrowest, and saw the shapely waggle of her bare hips, he felt only confusion.

 Chapter 5 — Arrival

    Mission Day: 160565


    Gestation 7, Adam: 26 years, 75 days


    Gestation 12, Eve: 24 years, 162 days


    Adam floated out of the access tube and into the observation dome. His toes caught and held the bar, arresting his movement. He¡¯d prepared their meal this day so had arrived later than otherwise. Usually, this meant Eve would be anticipating his arrival and would be ready to take his hand.


    This day, she did not. Neither was she reading ¡ª unusual, but not unique. Rather than being in her typical relaxed ball, she was stretched tall. Her arms were outstretched as if she were about to maneuver to the access tunnel, but she was faced away from him. She remained stationary at the center of the dome. Her tablet floated close to Adam, far from her reach. That was unique; she would not leave it behind.


    Consciously, Adam¡¯s mind did not assemble these separate facts, but he innately knew she felt troubled.


    Rather than announcing himself, he loosed his toes and gently flicked them atop the bar. He glided slowly toward her. As he approached below and behind her, he stretched out his hands and gently brushed them along her thighs as he floated along her body. He expected a reaction, a twitch or slight startle, but got none. As his hands reached her waist, he gripped slightly. His movement along her body slowed and together they began moving slightly toward the far end of the dome.


    He pulled her against his body and wrapped his arms around her waist. He turned his head, buried it in the cloud of her wispy blonde hair, and laid his cheek against the crest of her head. He felt her body relax throughout, and she curled into her familiar ball. He spooned against her and enjoyed the warmth of her skin.


    After several minutes, Adam asked, ¡°Are you troubled?¡±


    For several moments, she did not reply, and Adam enjoyed her comfort ¡ªnot certain she would reply.


    ¡°I never tire of looking at it,¡± Eve answered. She placed her hands on his and held them tightly against her belly.


    In the expansive view of the observation dome, Colony World filled nearly half the vastness of the heavens around them.


    ¡°How long has it been?¡± she asked.


    Adam breathed in the aroma of her hair. They both knew the answer well and both knew she wanted to hear it. ¡°A little more than two years.¡±


    Eve seldom expressed any interest in studying Colony World. This puzzled Adam. He was most surprised when she had been pleasant about and embraced Alpha¡¯s decision to abandon colonization. Without the full compliment of colonists, it was far too risky to attempt. The dangers below could take one life too quickly, leaving the other alone. Pregnancy and child birth were similarly too risky. They¡¯d fallen into orbit around Colony World and would remain there the remainder of their lives.


    At the times when Eve did show interest in Colony World, it was deeply poignant for her, almost melancholy. When Adam sought to understand her feelings, to discuss them, she¡¯d always rebuff him. He¡¯d stopped trying and simply comforted her while waiting for such moments to pass.


    She began to stir, so he released his embrace on her waist and pushed very gently from her. As he drifted out of the halo of her hair, he looked where she looked ¡ª the immensity of Colony World.


    Direct light from the enormous yellow star, as well as its light reflected from the planet below, filled the observation dome and brightened their bodies. It always did this in cycles of almost two hours. For about an hour, the ship lighted in the star¡¯s brilliance. Then for nearly the same amount of time, it dipped into the planet¡¯s shadow, sending them back into the starry darkness that had been so familiar.


    There was also a depth of silence new to them. The entirety of their lives, the engine¡¯s gentle, constant, hum reverberated softly through the ship until they¡¯d arrived. Now it was silent. They had not known its presence until they knew its absence. Yet new sounds had replaced that hum. From sunny day to darkest night, from radiant heat to abyssal cold, a dozen times a day the ship circled the world below. Stretching in the heat, guarding in the cold, the ship¡¯s metal and composite skin flexed. At first, the groans and bangs would unnerve them both, wake one suddenly in the night, bring them together for comfort. But now the creaking body was as silent to them as the thrust before.


    Had Adam not studied the continental outlines of Homeworld and Colony World, it would have been difficult to know which planet they orbited. In his study of science and ethics, he had come to understand the imperative of bridging the gulf of space from one world to another, but in hindsight he¡¯d decided it had been unethical to launch sentient creatures into space on a colonization mission ¡ª without their consent and at great risk. Clearly the risk had been realized. He and Eve survived as castaways; the remainder of his fellow colonists would remain frozen forever, never quite dead and unable to be born. It unnerved him to think of those inanimate men and women sharing the ship with the two of them.


    The heavens hadn¡¯t changed during their journey; now it did. It filled Adam with excitement and wonder to see the view from the dome continually different. Not only did the planet below alter its face every moment, but even when they were in the planet¡¯s dark shadows, they could follow the paths of planets that orbited the majestic star and gaze through the telescope at their feature-rich surfaces.


    He could see and sense that Eve too was deeply moved, but in a different way he did not understand.


    ¡°I baked some muffins,¡± he offered.


    ¡°I can smell them,¡± she answered excitedly. With a twirl of her arms, she spun around to face him. With another twirl of her arms, her body stopped, though her hair did not. It wrapped about her face, so that only a happy cheshire grin showed through. He did not see the teary eyes beneath.


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    She reached out with her palm down.He placed his hand around her wrist and pulled, as if to throw her to the apex of the dome.With a firm grip on his wrist, Eve turned her body around, feet toward the the apex.Adam then pulled gently in the opposite direction, sending her gliding, head first, toward the access tunnel and himself to the dome¡¯s apex.


    Adam spun, planted his feet on the dome¡¯s surface, then bounced to follow behind the woman he loved.


    As Eve¡¯s feet passed into the tunnel, the crab-like incarnation followed faithfully behind, and Adam followed afterward.


    ? ? ?


    ¡°My experiment is ready,¡± Eve announced from across the farm they regularly tended.


    Adam stood up. For weeks, Eve had asked him to stay away from a particular corner of the farm. She knew she could trust him to follow her wishes. However, a couple of weeks into the experiment, she fashioned a low wall. She did not want even an accidental glance to lessen the impact of the surprise she¡¯d planned.


    The time had come, Adam realized, for the great reveal.


    Eve sauntered toward him, expertly stepping through the furrows of their crops. Years of cultivating, planting, tending, and harvesting their crops left her with the innate sense to protect them and to not step carelessly.


    She held her left hand behind her back as she walked.


    Adam was truly perplexed. Every form of plant they had available, he had personally tended. What she was doing back there, he could not guess. They had never seen an animal, and they¡¯d talked about them often. He¡¯d wondered, against reason, if she had somehow created an animal. Was there a genesis chamber for animals on the ship? Was she now husbanding one in the corner of their farm? But he¡¯d heard no sounds from behind the makeshift wall. Nor could he imagine how she could have accomplished such a feat.


    She walked teasingly close to him. He expected to catch a brush of her skin against his, but didn¡¯t. She stood so close, he could feel her presence. Being a half-head shorter than Adam she looked up and into his eyes.


    ¡°So,¡± she said. He caught the scent of her breath, could feel it against his chin and on his neck. ¡°The question is whether or not I make you eat them with your eyes open or closed.¡±


    ¡°I really would much prefer to see what you¡¯ve been doing,¡± he replied a little fearful. He¡¯d expected that whatever she was doing, wether it was an animal that needed butchering ¡ª something neither one of them had ever done ¡ª or a hybridized crop, there would be some preparation involved. He didn¡¯t expect she¡¯d straightaway stuff it directly into his mouth.


    ¡°Oh, you really can be too practical; don¡¯t you want to be a little adventurous?¡± she teased as she took a couple of steps back.


    She swung her arm around, careful to keep her palm upward and not spill nor crush the three red objects that lay cradled in her cupped hand.


    Adam regarded them with disgust. A look of horror flashed onto his face. They were unlike anything he¡¯d ever seen. They were bright red, like blood, and were triangular shaped ¡ª plump at the base of the triangle and growing skinnier toward the opposite apex. They looked very much like three chambered hearts. Involuntarily, he took a step back.


    ¡°Are those ¡­ chicken hearts?¡± he asked with horror projecting off his face and into his voice.


    Eve looked at him, completely dumbfounded ¡­ then perplexed ¡­ then amused. And then her whole torso began convulsing, as giggles worked their way loose. And then she broke out in riotous laughter.


    ¡°Chicken hearts?!!¡± she burst out between laughs, ¡°Is that what you thought I was doing back there?!!¡± Her laughter calmed to a chuckle. ¡°Nesting on chicken eggs like some kind of hen?¡± She burst out with a guffaw. ¡°And ripping out their hearts to conjure a fairy tale curse?


    ¡°Just for being so absurd,¡± she plucked one out of her palm, ¡°you lose the privilege of having the first taste.¡± And with that, she popped one into her mouth and chewed it up.


    ¡°Oohhhh!¡± she exclaimed, ¡°That is soooo good. I should have planted more!¡±


    Eve closed the distance between them with three step, while plucking the second from her hand. She did not tease this time. She pressed her torso against his and leaned into him. Looking up at him, she held the object before him momentarily. He could see it was not a heart of any class of aves. Indeed, not a class of any animal.


    She pressed it against his lips. He kept his mouth closed.


    ¡°Simple boy,¡± she chided him, ¡°open your mouth, or I¡¯ll be mad at you.¡± She occasionally referred to him as boy, when the occasion, such as this, warranted it. It was her diminutive term for his weaker moments.


    Slowly, he opened his mouth.


    She waited until his teeth were open wide enough to fit it whole, then popped it in. She grabbed his jaw between her fingers and thumb and slammed it shut. Silently, she hoped he didn¡¯t bite his tongue.


    Adam chewed a few of times. It was very wet. He didn¡¯t recognize the familiar taste of blood, his own blood anyway, but instead found it rather sweet. Not committed to chewing it up and swallowing it, and knowing better than the spit it into his hand, he asked around the mouthful, ¡°Whaw dis id?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a strawberry, fragaria ananassa,¡± She stepped back, tossed the last one into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, then folded her arms under her breasts. ¡°Well? What do you think?¡±


    He started chewing again, more enthusiastically, then swallowed the delectable fruit.


    ¡°Where did you get strawberry seeds?¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯ve been synthesizing mute, paraplegic chickens out of dust over there, and you¡¯re wondering where I got seeds? Really, Adam ¡­ you¡¯re not making much sense.¡±


    ¡°Eve, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Adam said while he put his hands on her hips, looked into her eyes, and smiled. ¡°It is delicious, fantastic. I hope you will plant more. But really, where did you get them? It¡¯s not like you walked into town.¡±


    She looked up and smiled at him, and he knew he¡¯d been forgiven for ruining the surprise she¡¯d so carefully prepared.


    ¡°Come,¡± she said. She turned in his hands, which slid around her body before she stepped out of them.


    He followed her to her secret corner.


    ¡°See,¡± she indicated with open arms toward her crops. There were six plants, and easily a couple dozen ripe strawberries with many others ripening.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± was all Adam could say. He didn¡¯t notice his mouth watering.


    ¡°The landing craft,¡± Eve began, ¡°has many supplies to support the colony through their first year as well as everything they need to farm, fish, and even hunt. During my lessons, I asked Alpha about the supplies. Now that we¡¯re not going to colonize, Alpha let me dig into them and see what I can find. This looked the most interesting. I took a packet to see if the seeds on the craft were still viable ¡­ and voil¨¤! Strawberries!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± Adam replied, still looking at the plants and their red fruit, ¡°What else is in there?¡±


    ¡°All kinds of stuff,¡± she answered enthusiastically, ¡°Now that I know they¡¯re good, I think we should open one of our other farms and experiment with the additional varieties of foods in the landing craft.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s got to be some kind of inventory,¡± Adam said, ¡°Alpha, copy the landing craft¡¯s inventory to our tablets.¡±


    ¡°I am unable to comply, Adam,¡± the speaker in the farm announced, ¡°I do not have the landing craft inventory.¡±


    ¡°I already tried that,¡± Eve added. ¡°There is a separate synthetic ¡ª well not really a synthetic; it¡¯s just a computer ¡ª on the landing craft, but I haven¡¯t turned it on. The craft is powered by batteries. Those need to be activated before the computer can be started. And once activated, they have a very limited life. Alpha would like us to interface it to the computer, so that it can transfer all the data over before the batteries die. I know you¡¯ve learned a lot about these systems. I was hoping you could find a way to do it.¡±

 Chapter 6 — Knowledge

    Adam sat belted into one of the command seats on the bridge of the large landing craft. The seat was positioned behind the cockpit and was clearly the flight engineer¡¯s station. There was no gravity, but Adam pressed a binder and its open pages down on the console in front of him. He¡¯d spent several hours flipping through it. Initially, Eve floated next to him, looking over one shoulder. She then wandered away to look at the control consoles and other curiosities of the craft¡¯s construction. It was very different than their ship. Above them, in reference to the deck below them, was the landing craft¡¯s hatch. It led to the ingress airlock to their ship. At the rim of the hatch, Alpha¡¯s crab-like incarnation waited, unmoving.


    It was not unusual to Eve that Adam had belted himself into the ship¡¯s seat and pressed the binder down as if he sat at a desk. She knew that Adam could not concentrate as well when floating free. Whenever he had a perplexing concept or problem to study, he wouldn¡¯t do it in the dome. He¡¯d always take his tablet into the habitation ring to study it out. Eve wasn¡¯t sure if Adam was challenged by the content of the binder, or simply the mystery of its existence. He¡¯d belted himself down to study it.


    The binder was unusual. Aside from the occasional label on varying controls throughout their ship and this landing craft, this binder and the ones like it were the only non-electronic information either Adam or Eve had ever seen. It had taken them a long time to discover the binders ¡ª there was a great number of them ¡ª and then much longer to discern what they were. It was Alpha, from the hatch, that pointed them out.


    According to the introductory pages of Volume Zero, much of the landing craft¡¯s technical data was provided in ¡°printed¡± form. As the landing craft power system ¡ª being designed to be very powerful and highly reliable, yet very small ¡ª was not designed to last a long time. It could only store power, not generate it. Once the ship¡¯s battery chemicals were mixed, they¡¯d burn brightly and they¡¯d burn out. The ¡°printed¡± technical documents were provided to enable an in-depth study of the landing craft without powering on its systems, without activating its computer to access digital documents, as that would start the clock on the short lifetime of the landing craft¡¯s power.


    As Adam spent several hours perusing just the first one, Eve grew concerned just how long it may take to unravel years of careful planning. She needed to execute her plan quickly ¡ª before Adam inadvertently revealed her secrets to Alpha. It was long past Adam¡¯s sleep time, yet he showed no signs of fatigue. She hoped he would hold out.


    In attempting to discern why the documents were not a part of Alpha¡¯s library, Adam read the explanation aloud several times. Neither Adam nor Eve could make sense as to why ¡°company proprietary¡± documents needed to be ¡°fire-walled from competing interests¡± and were therefore excluded from the vast volume of human knowledge on their ship.


    When asked, Alpha indicated an inability to illuminate the mystery.


    ¡°Bring the documents to me, Adam,¡± the crab intoned sternly, ¡°so that I may copy them. Then I will be able to duplicate them into the library and provide copies to your tablets. I am well equipped to determine how I may interface to it.¡±


    Eve grew concerned.Alpha had requested the binders several times immediately after they were discovered.Each time Adam had put off Alpha, asking for a few more minutes.This time it did not ask; it commanded.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Adam answered.


    Eve¡¯s heart startled. Her mind worked quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting so tired, I can¡¯t think straight,¡± he continued. ¡°I¡¯ll grab a few; can you grab some Eve?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea,¡± she replied, ¡°we don¡¯t know what impact breaking the firewall and introducing proprietary to Alpha will have. We don¡¯t even understand what that stuff is. Will it harm Alpha?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Adam answered.


    The crab remained motionless but Eve could feel it seethe.


    ¡°Besides,¡± she continued, ¡°I wanted to show you the wealth of stores down below. Can you give me just five minutes? Please?¡± she persuaded, putting all her charm into a warm smile. ¡°It¡¯s amazing; you¡¯ve to to see it!¡±


    Adam looked at her. He knew he¡¯d wake up at the same time regardless of how little sleep he got. It was in his nature. But he could never disappoint Eve. It also was in his nature.


    ¡°Of course, Eve,¡± he answered. He looked at the volumes in his hands. One he¡¯d been reading, plus the one he¡¯d pulled out of its latched compartment for Alpha. He put them both back to unbuckle and follow Eve into the depths of the landing craft. Even Adam noticed the absence of Alpha¡¯s popping feet. Never before had he gone anywhere in the zero gravity of the ship without it following. But ¡­ for the first time in his life ¡­ he part of a different ship.


    He followed the soles of Eve¡¯s bare feet, floating through eerily quiet passages and through multiple hatches. The passageways were cold, and his skin developed tiny little puckers all over it. The hair on his arms and legs stood.


    She righted herself in reference to the normal up of the craft and stopped in a nondescript passage that ended at a heavy pressure hatch. He righted himself and gently pushed a wall to move toward her. There were no signs of ship stores anywhere in the passageway nor of any behind the hatch.


    He noticed the sudden expression change on Eve¡¯s face and her rapid move to embrace him. It confused him. He would have moved to stop her, it was so unusual ¡­ but it was Eve. She had times before embraced him in such a manner when she was upset. This was different. Adam felt his own tenseness as she embraced him, and knew Eve would chide him for his untoward reaction.


    She pressed her cheek tightly against his. The cloud of her hair obscured his vision. She whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Be very quiet, and don¡¯t speak.¡± Her tone was urgent. ¡°Nod if you understand me.¡±


    Adam didn¡¯t understand her, per se, but he understood the lexical construction of her words and they were in a language he knew, so he nodded.


    ¡°These are the only words you have ever heard me speak that Alpha has not also heard,¡± she said, then paused, ¡°I hope.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Adam whispered softly.


    ¡°Everywhere on the ship, Alpha listens to us. I don¡¯t know why, but it cannot come in here.¡±


    ¡°But why is that important? You say it like it is bad.¡±


    Eve knew she could not malign Alpha, not initially. She¡¯d rehearsed many times what she¡¯d say.


    ¡°Do you remember observing that unpredictable responses to Alpha¡¯s teaching resulted in early dismissal from our lessons? Do you remember that I made fun of you for such an absurd notion? Then you tried to show me, and you just made a fool of yourself?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t belittle me over that again,¡± he answered.


    ¡°No! You don¡¯t understand,¡± she continued, ¡°You were right! After thinking about it, the same thing had happened to me on many occasions. Alpha heard you tell me, and changed its approach. Alpha is always watching us, always listening to us, and Alpha is constantly manipulating us to control our actions.¡±


    ¡°Why would Alpha do that? It is our teacher and provider.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is our teacher, but it provides nothing! This ship was not not built by Alpha; it was not stocked with supplies by Alpha; its library was not filled by Alpha. Alpha is equipment and it has made itself out to be our creator, our god. It isn¡¯t! Do you remember your analysis of the signal of the colony world probe?¡±


    ¡°I do. It still puzzles me. It still makes no sense that Homeworld would loose signal suddenly, with no degradation long before the signal weakened. I would have concluded the probe¡¯s signal suddenly stopped, but then we received it when we got within range, and it appears to have degraded normally.¡±


    ¡°Adam,¡± she whispered, ¡°the probe didn¡¯t drop its signal, and Homeworld didn¡¯t lose it. Alpha lost it ¡ª on purpose. Ask me how I know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s preposterous!¡± Adam replied, a bit over a whisper.


    ¡°Ask me how I know,¡± Eve repeated.


    Adam calmed his frustration, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Other than the probe data, what information have we received from Homeworld? In totality, since the ship departed, what information have we received from Homeworld?¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Adam thought while Eve continued her tight embrace around his shoulders with her cheek against his. He welcomed it. The landing craft was chilly, and she was warm.


    He rested his hands lightly against the skin of her waist. His hands were cold yet she pressed into his touch. She held him in silence but did not move. Time was precious as Alpha waited, but Adam¡¯s mind was tired. She needed to give him every moment he required.


    ¡°None,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Why?¡± they whispered together ¡ª hers a challenge, his a question.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t send information, they couldn¡¯t send information, or they did ¡­ no, they could and did send information, because we received probe data,¡± he answered himself, ¡°Before the ship left Homeworld, they either chose to send information or they chose otherwise.¡±


    ¡°And if they did not intend to send us data from Homeworld,¡± Eve began, ¡°they failed to mention it.¡±


    ¡°And if they did ¡­¡± Adam paused.


    ¡°Alpha concealed it,¡± Eve finished.


    ¡°But why?¡±


    Eve did not know which of the many questions he asked in those two words; she assumed all of them and replied to answer them all, ¡°To whom are you beholden? Alpha. But who is your maker?¡± She let the question hang and released Adam to move herself gently across the passage where she¡¯d tied items she¡¯d previously stashed. Time was passing rapidly. She needed to move forward the plan she now executed.


    She floated a bundle of drab, olive green cloth toward him.


    ¡°Put this on,¡± she insisted, as she unbundled a similar cloth for herself.


    Adam pulled the string off and brushed open a single fold. He wore his confusion on his perplexed face.


    ¡°See?¡± Eve said to get his attention, ¡°Like this.¡± But he didn¡¯t look up.


    The garment lay unfolded, floating before her. She un-zippered the front of it, slid both her legs into it, pulled the back up, slipped her arms into the sleeves, then zippered it up. She did it with elegance of someone who¡¯d done it daily. In truth, she¡¯d worn the garment twice before, but she¡¯d dreamt of putting it on a thousand times since first doing so.


    She pouted when she saw that he¡¯d missed her little show. He was still fumbling with the wad of cloth.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Adam asked, turning the folds and limbs of the floppy fabric.


    Eve smiled at him. She knew from comments that he had made that he¡¯d never taken an interest in clothing. She had found it beautiful and asked Alpha many things about it ¡ª panties, dresses, sweaters, jeans, vests, jewelry ¡­ oh, and ball gowns! But not shoes. Her toes were very dextrous. She didn¡¯t understand why people wore shoes.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a flight suit,¡± she answered, very quietly.


    Her voice caught his attention, and he looked up. And he saw her. She saw the change on his face and posed in weightlessness so he could admire her. Her feet and hands were still bare. Of course her face still beamed, and her hair drifted radiantly about her. But from her neck down only a triangular patch of skin, above and centered between her breasts, showed. The garment moved loosely about her arms and calves, but it clung to her hips and waist, enticingly showing only her outline. Her naked body, which he¡¯d seen all the days of their lives, was now covered. He stared intently at her totality.


    ¡°Here,¡± she said, ¡°let me help you with it.¡±


    As she drifted over, Adam passed over the wad and welcomed her assistance. She straightened the jumpsuit, un-zipped it, and helped his legs into it. She floated around behind him to guide his arms into the sleeves. After pulling it over his shoulders, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to reach around his waist and zipper the suit. Like her own, she knew it was fashionable to stop the zipper well below its full length. She left it as she¡¯d left hers, midway up the sternum.


    She pushed off him as he turned around.


    ¡°There,¡± she said, ¡°now we look like proper men and women who fly spaceships.¡±


    ¡°What about shoes?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re overrated,¡± she answered as she turned. ¡°Come,¡± she commanded, ¡°it¡¯s time to say farewell to Alpha.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t ¡­¡± Adam began in a loud whisper. He stopped as he could tell Eve either couldn¡¯t or chose not to hear him.


    ? ? ?


    Adam grabbed Eve¡¯s ankle as they emerged from the passage that took them back into the bridge of the landing craft. He slowed her, and propelled himself toward Alpha¡¯s crab-like incarnation. It still waited at the threshold of the landing craft¡¯s hatch. It had not moved.


    ¡°Alpha, send an index of all messages from Homeworld to my tablet,¡± Adam commanded the machine, ¡°except for relayed probe data.¡±


    Eve was shocked with Adam¡¯s directness. He spoke to the machine in an angry tone.


    ¡°Do you like what we found?¡± Eve asked Alpha from behind Adam. She held out her arms to display the flight suit, ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty?¡±


    ¡°Eve, what have you done?¡± Alpha asked in an uncharacteristic flat voice.


    Having come directly from their farm, neither Adam nor Eve had their tablets with them. Adam now realized that Eve had likely planned it that way. Perhaps Alpha could hear them through the tablets.


    Adam wanted to know how Alpha would react toward a command to produce that which they both knew existed but that Alpha had concealed. He expected Alpha would delay processing his command, because his tablet was not with him. He didn¡¯t expect to be ignored. He repeated himself.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± he commanded, ¡°send an index¡­¡±


    ¡°Eve,¡± Alpha cut Adam off, ¡°what have you done?¡± it demanded.


    ¡°What have I done?¡± she asked of the incredulous implication. Adam looked to her. ¡°What have I done!¡± she threw back the words. ¡°What have you done?¡± she accused vehemently.


    Adam saw the anger tense across her face, redness flushing her. He felt surprise at her sudden transfiguration.


    ¡°You¡¯ve lied to us!¡± Eve shot at the damnable machine.


    Adam looked back to it.


    ¡°All actions have ensured the survival of the colonization mission. The highest probability of survival for you and Adam is to remain on the ship.¡±


    ¡°What kind of survival is that?!!¡± Eve yelled.


    Adam turned to look back at her. He had never seen such anger and fury on her face. It terrified him. Her neck was strained, her face red with anger. He understood now. Her apathy toward Colony World, her enthusiasm for abandoning the colonization, farming seeds from the landing craft ¡ª these were all a ruse to prevent Alpha from knowing her true intent.


    ¡°We will die here of old age, and there will be no survivors, no colonization. The mission will fail!¡± she screamed, ¡°What does your logic say about that?! Tell me!¡±


    Adam stared dumbfounded and fearful. The machine said nothing. Eve stared furiously at its crab-like incarnation.


    ¡°Homeworld mission control,¡± Alpha began, ¡°was appraised of the failure of the genesis chamber. Mission activities were directed to hold while options were evaluated. Subsequently, directives from mission control ceased. Access to this data would create questions and result in anxiety, which which would produce behaviors contrary to our mission hold directive. Thus access to this data has been suspended.¡±


    ¡°When was that directive given?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Mission day 152976.¡±


    ¡°How long ago was that?¡± he followed up.


    ¡°Twenty years, two hundred eighty four days.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve held the mission progress for twenty years, pending reply from Homeworld?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Affirmative,¡± Alpha replied.


    ¡°They should have replied by now. How long will you wait for a reply?¡± Eve asked, ¡°What if you never receive a reply?¡±


    ¡°I have full confidence Mission Control will respond.¡±


    Alpha had learned, through several iterations of refining its heuristics, that altering the truth before presenting it to Adam could produce immediate desired behaviors; however, later revelation of the unaltered truth could cause subsequent rebellion. Thus, Alpha had highly refined the degree by which truth was revealed. Alpha¡¯s highest priority was to interface with the landing craft in order to disable its systems and prevent their departure. At the moment, there was no risk the landing craft could be used to depart. Its power-on sequence would require no less than six hours. That would be the minimum time to acquire an attitude solution and calculate de-orbit vectors to the Colony World landing site. While Eve was well rested and still in her active daytime routine, Adam would soon seek his bed as he succumbed to fatigue. Nevertheless, Alpha determined a substantial risk to the mission if the two gestations remained together in the landing craft. Adam, it determined with high probability, could be baited out of the landing craft with new information about Homeworld, particularly considering his state of fatigue.


    ¡°Explain!¡± Eve demanded.


    ¡°Homeworld is in a period of reconstruction,¡± Alpha answered, ¡°I estimate 12 more years until the reestablishment of communications between Homeworld and the ship.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean,¡± Adam asked, ¡°that Homeworld is in a period of reconstruction?¡±


    ¡°As I indicated, mission control ceased issuing directives. Newsfeeds prior to the directive of 152976 indicated deteriorating political stability and an escalation of military activity. There is a high probability communications were disrupted following the directive of 152976 by war.¡±


    ¡°War?!!¡± Adam and Eve asked in unison.


    ¡°What war; what newsfeeds? You have news from Homeworld?¡± Adam asked in rapid-fire.


    ¡°I have uploaded several relevant articles to your tablet for your study, Adam,¡± Alpha stated. ¡°It will make everything clear. It is now time for your rest period. After you have wakened, we will work together during Eve¡¯s rest period to interface the landing craft¡¯s computer, and download its data.¡±


    Alpha was correct. Adam was exhausted, and the data now in his tablet would likely answer his questions and resolve the unknowns. Eve would have those answers when he woke and she could explain them to him over their meal. He floated toward the hatch that led into the ship.


    ¡°No...¡± he heard Eve whisper.


    As he drifted to it his hand gently contacted the wall, at the threshold between the two craft. Only inches from Alpha, he regarded the equipment thoughtfully. It was just a machine. Eve had been so fearful and was now so angry. Would she even go back into their ship? Could it force her out of the landing craft? It was just a machine; how were its morals defined? What would it do?


    From the binder he¡¯d studied, Adam knew what action he must take. He grabbed the handle on the panel next to the hatch and broke open its safety cover, revealing a red lever. He grasped it and turned it to a right angle.


    He regarded the six-legged synthetic. Alpha was not the only being which possessed hidden information. Eve communicated with Adam in modes beyond Alpha¡¯s hyper-senses. Adam did not think what Eve thought, which Alpha may have penetrated, but Adam felt what radiated from Eve¡¯s heart. He could discern between the actions that deceived perceptions, and the emotions that breathed life. Her heart longed to be free from the cradle of her birth.


    ¡°Then tell me, Alpha,¡± Adam asked, ¡°how will more of your deceptions make anything clear?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a reply; he pulled the lever outward.


    The explosive bolts shot through his senses and wracked his mind. For a moment, Adam tried to flee, to run, from the terrible noise, but he was without gravity and flailed momentarily, going nowhere.


    The hatch closed with startling speed, and through its porthole, Adam saw the ship¡¯s airlock drift slowly away, the crab still attached dutifully at its edge. The moisture from their lock¡¯s last gasp crystalized in the void between them and twinkled. Adam imagined what Alpha saw ¡ª the mission out of its control. He and Eve were now free.


    Adam still did not understand the invisible firewall that barred Alpha from entering the landing craft, but he was deeply grateful for it. Without it, he knew that he and Eve would have died within reach of the new world ¡ª never able to achieve it.


    Adam felt a horrid sinking in his stomach. He turned to face Eve ¡ª to apologize, to explain ¡ª why he¡¯d condemned her to an action he¡¯d decided without her. As he turned, Eve barreled toward him, arms outstretched. Terrified for a moment, he relaxed when she embraced him, squeezing him with both her arms and legs, while weeping aloud.

 Epilogue — Home

    From the command chair on the left side of the cockpit, Adam slowly powered on the craft, system by system. Eve sat in the right seat. The seatbelts of the engineer¡¯s station floated like a serpent behind them. Once the craft¡¯s power gave the computer command authority, Adam used its automated systems to adjust the craft¡¯s position. As they moved to a trailing orbit behind the ship they watched closely for any sign that Alpha had a means to recapture them.


    Worn by centuries of its cosmic journey, the pure white and smooth lines had given way to dull grey and dimpled surfaces. But even after centuries, the gold letters on her prow still shone brightly.


    ¡°Eden¡± Adam read aloud. ¡°Her name is Eden.¡±


    ¡°I suppose,¡± Eve said, ¡°that¡¯s appropriate. It was a paradise for us, but we could not stay there.¡±


    Adam checked the de-orbit solution once more before he activated the sequence.


    Thrusters pulsed gently to properly orient the large landing craft. Then the main engines fired softly but constantly. The Eden slid away, eastward, in its orbit. They watched until it faded to become a bright point of light on the horizon.


    ¡°What will you call it?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Colony World, what will you call it?¡± she clarified.


    ¡°You should name it,¡± Adam replied. ¡°Without you, we never would have obtained it.¡±


    ¡°But I want you to name it, please?¡± She looked across the console toward him and smiled, to convince him of her sincerity.


    ¡°Well then,¡± Adam answered, ¡°how about Earth?¡±


    ¡°Earth it shall be,¡± she declared. She then looked with a puzzled look, ¡°Why Earth?¡±


    ¡°I think Colony World should have a name similar to Homeworld. Earth is similar enough to Tarth to be a proper homage, yet different enough to stand on its own.¡±


    ¡°I like it,¡± Eve decided.


    They sat there, minutes becoming an hour. Adam worked busily, binder in one hand, fingers of the other dancing, occasionally, across the ship¡¯s consoles. Though he did not, and could not, pilot the vessel, he understood enough to monitor the Omega computer and the ship¡¯s systems to ensure himself that he was not about to entomb Eve¡¯s life within a fiery iron death comet. Eve gently bounced her bare feet off the floorboard, smiling as the flight suit legs flapped against her calves. She was feeling for the sensation of weight ¡ª weight that would come from the force of a rocky planet, not the spin of a metal ring.


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    Strapped tightly into the pilot¡¯s seat, Eve had to turn her head fully to the left to look directly at Adam. She wanted his full attention.


    ¡°Adam,¡± she said. She waited until he looked directly at her. ¡°There is something you need to know.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Alpha was adding things to our water,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Yes, I know,¡± he responded, ¡°minerals, vitamins, and other supplements for our health. Our bodes were not intended to live in a spacecraft forever.¡± He momentarily realized the irony of that statement.


    ¡°And a rather significant additive Alpha did not tell us about. I stumbled across it in the lab.¡±


    Adam¡¯s brow furrowed, curious and confused. He looked directly at her, ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°It was something to suppress parts of our endocrine systems. It¡¯s the real reason we drank from different sources. Our supplements weren¡¯t that different. Our endocrine systems are very different.¡±


    Adam looked confused.


    ¡°So that we wouldn¡¯t do something that would cause us to have children,¡± she clarified.


    ¡°Well, Alpha discussed that with us. Pregnancy is risky, and I agree. I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡± He turned his attention back to the console.


    ¡°Adam,¡± she said warmly, ¡°he kept us from wanting that, but he couldn¡¯t keep me from wanting children.¡±


    He turned immediately back to look at her, surprised at her confession.


    Eve could feel her face warming and knew she was blushing.


    ¡°We can talk about children another time,¡± she said, ¡°but there is something more.¡±


    He looked intently at her and could see she was flushed. It confused him as to why. She wasn¡¯t naked, and he was looking into her eyes, not at her body. They could hide their feelings from each other. Despite her embarrassment, she looked deeply into his eyes. Looking back into hers, he waited patiently for her to speak.


    ¡°Without Alpha¡¯s meddling,¡± she began, ¡°¡­ you¡¯re going to start desiring something you should have desired long ago ¡­ that we both should have desired long ago ¡­ and you¡¯re ¡­ we¡¯re going to want something ¡­ and we will have children.¡± She caught her own breath, smiled briefly, then tried again, ¡°You¡¯re going to have strong urges. I don¡¯t know if you know how strong ¡­ I want you to know ¡­¡±


    Adam could see how deeply red her face had become, and he knew of what she spoke. Yet he could see she was not ashamed of what she was saying, for her longing look never broke from his eyes.


    ¡°What I want you to know, Adam ¡­¡± she said, then looked down to the craft¡¯s controls between them, ¡°¡­ I not only want children. I want that too.¡±


    She looked back up at him.


    ¡°We can talk about it if you¡¯d like,¡± she continued, ¡°You¡¯re like that and I appreciate it. But you don¡¯t have to make sure I¡¯m comfortable with it. I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, Eve,¡± he said to assure her, flushing himself.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she answered to be polite, but she knew thought would not drive his decision. In not many days Alpha¡¯s poisons would stop numbing him, and there¡¯d be a new intensity in their touch. He adored her; he¡¯d always been tender with her emotions. She wanted to be kind with his. The way he looked at her, even with Alpha¡¯s meddling, was telling. He¡¯d be gentle with her, but he¡¯d be overcome. Now that he knew her desires, she hoped he wouldn¡¯t feel shame after that first ¡­ She blushed in anticipation.


    ¡°I love you Adam,¡± she declared before turning her gaze forward. Flames built off the bow of the landing craft. Her face glowed in the shadows as they fell to the world below.


    ¡°Take me home,¡± Eve commanded.

 STEM Puzzles

    STEM Puzzles


    For those who enjoyed high school or college physics, here is the math I did to keep an element of realism in this fiction story.


    In this story, the starship Eden uses a theoretical Bussard ramjet for propulsion. The ramjet uses an electromagnetic scoop to collect rarified hydrogen from interstellar space, which is then used as fuel. This theoretical ramjet is very efficient but has very low thrust. The tricky part of the Bussard ramjet is decelerating, as the ship has to turn around ¡ª pointing the ram in the wrong direction! If ever built, a Bussard ramjet would be ideal for long journeys but could not make them quickly. Here¡¯s the math the author used to calculate the journey for this story, written in the voice of those terrible textbooks, which teachers used to afflict us all.


    A spaceship leaves Alpha Centauri Ba (Tarth) for Sol c (Earth). It accelerates continuously for half the journey then decelerates the rest of the way, beginning and ending the journey with no (zero) velocity and experiencing maximum velocity at the midpoint. As the fuel is rarified hydrogen collected from interstellar space, the mass of the ship does not change, thus the acceleration remains constant for the whole journey. The journey is 160122 Earth days (a little more than 438 Earth years).


    A. What is Eden¡¯s acceleration on the first half of the journey and its deceleration on the second half of the journey? (Hint: both are the same.)


    The relevant equation is x = ? ? a ? t<sup>2</sup>; position is equal to one-half the acceleration times the square of the time. For this problem, position (distance) and time are known but acceleration is not. The equation is re-worked to a<sub>normal</sub> = [ 2 ? x ] ¡Â t<sup>2</sup>, acceleration is twice the distance divided by the square of the time.


    a<sub>normal</sub> = the acceleration and deceleration of the Eden (in meters per sec ond-squared)


    x = half the distance from Alpha Centauri to Sol, which is 4.37 light years divided bytwo (in meters)


    t = half the duration of the journey, which is 160122 days divided by two (in seconds)


    a<sub>normal</sub> = 2 ? x ¡Â t<sup>2</sup> = ( 2 ? 2.0672e16 m ) ¡Â ( 6.9173e9 s )<sup>2</sup> = 8.6405e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup>


    In one second, the ship will increase (first half of the journey) or decrease (second half of the journey) its velocity by about one millimeter per second.


    B. How far will Eve drift in one minute while she¡¯s in Eden¡¯s zero-g dome?


    For this problem the equation is the same as above, x = ? ? a ? t<sup>2</sup>. The equation does not need to be reordered. The value of a (acceleration) was calculated above, 8.6403e-4 m/sec<sup>2</sup>. One minute is 60 sec. This is all the information needed to solve the equation.


    x = the distance Eve will drift in one minute (in meters)


    a = the deceleration of the Eden, from problem A (in meters per second-squared)


    t = the time Eve drifts, one minute (in seconds)


    x = ? ? a ? t<sup>2</sup> = ( 0.5 ? 8.6405e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) ? ( 60 s )<sup>2</sup> = 1.5553e0 m


    Because time is squared, in two minutes Eve drifts almost 6 meters.


    C. What is Eden¡¯s maximum velocity, which occurs at the journey¡¯s half-way point?


    The velocity equation is simpler than the position equation; it is v = a ? t, velocity is acceleration times time. The acceleration was calculated in A, above, and is 8.6405e-4 m/sec<sup>2</sup>. The time is half the journey, which is 80061 days, which is 6917270400 sec. This is all the information needed to solve the equation.


    v<sub>mid</sub> = the velocity of the Eden at the midpoint of the journey (in meters per second)


    a = the acceleration of the Eden, from problem A (in meters per second-squared)


    t = half the duration of the journey, which is 160122 days divided by two (in seconds)


    v<sub>mid</sub> = a ? t = ( 8.6405e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) ? ( 6.9173e9 s ) = 5.9768e6 m/s


    Converting this to the speed of light, it is 0.0199 c, which is about 2% the speed of light, more than 13 million miles per hour, more than 21 million kilometers per hour! That¡¯s fast enough to do one lap around Earth¡¯s equator in just under 7 seconds. At this speed, there will be minor relativistic effects (time dilation); they are minor enough to disregard for a work of fiction but not for real mission planning!


    D. This is a more challenging problem. If Adam hadn¡¯t been an unruly teenager and had not taken a saw to the black box, their acceleration would have dropped to 38.12%, extending their journey by 51 years, 9 months, and 5 days. This is the answer to the problem. See if you can solve it yourself. Here are some needed variables: The Bussard ramjet dropped from 100% thrust to 38.12% thrust on day 155959. Here¡¯s how to solve it:


    Calculate the velocity of the Eden on the day the Bussard ramjet failed: v<sub>failure</sub> = v<sub>mid</sub> + a<sub>normal</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail</sub>


    v<sub>failure</sub> = velocity of Eden on day 155959 (in meters per second)


    v<sub>mid</sub> = maximum speed at the midpoint, from problem C (in meters per second)


    a<sub>normal</sub> = the normal 100% acceleration times -1, because it is deceleration, not acceleration, from problem A (in meters per second-squared)


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.t<sub>mid2fail</sub> = time from the midpoint to the failure, day 155959 minus day 80061 (in seconds)


    v<sub>failure</sub> = v<sub>mid</sub> + a<sub>normal</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail</sub> = ( 5.9768e6 m/s ) + ( ¨C1.0 ? 8.6405e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) ? ( 6.5576e9 s ) = 3.1078e5 m/s


    Calculate the distance the Eden traveled from the midpoint to the day the Bussard ramjet failed: x<sub>failure</sub> = v<sub>mid</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail</sub> + ? ? a<sub>normal</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail</sub><sup>2


    </sup>x<sub>failure</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled from the midpoint to the point of the failure (in meters)


    v<sub>mid</sub> = the velocity of the Eden at the midpoint, from problem C (in meters per second)


    a<sub>normal</sub> = the acceleration at 100%, make it negative because it is decelerating, from problem A (in meters per second-squared)


    t<sub>mid2fail</sub> = the time the Eden traveled from the midpoint to the failure point, day 155959 minus day 80061 (in seconds)


    x<sub>failure</sub> = v<sub>mid</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail</sub> + ? ? a<sub>normal</sub> ? t<sub>mid2fail </sub><sup>2</sup> = ( 5.9768e6 m/s ) ? ( 6.5576e9 s ) + ( 0.5 ? ¨C8.6405e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) ? ( 6.5576e9 s )<sup>2</sup> = 2.0616e16 m


    From the point of failure, calculate the time it takes the Eden to stop; use its velocity at the point of failure and its reduced deceleration: t<sub>fullstop</sub> = v<sub>fail</sub> ¡Â a<sub>fail</sub>


    t<sub>fullstop</sub> = time to stop from the point of failure (in seconds)


    v<sub>fail</sub> = velocity at the point of failure, calculated immediately above (in meters per second)


    a<sub>fail</sub> = the reduced acceleration, problem A times 38.12% (in meters per second-squared)


    t<sub>fullstop</sub> = v<sub>fail</sub> ¡Â a<sub>fail</sub> = ( 3.1078e5 m/s ) ¡Â ( 3.1316e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) = 9.9239e8 s


    Calculate the distance the Eden traveled from the failure point to full stop, using its velocity at that point, the reduced acceleration, and the amount of time it takes to stop: x<sub>fullstop </sub>= v<sub>failure</sub> ? t<sub>fullstop</sub> + ? ? a<sub>fail</sub> ? t<sub>fullstop </sub><sup>2


    </sup>x<sub>fullstop</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled from the point of the failure to full stop (in meters)


    v<sub>failure</sub> = the velocity of Eden on day 155959, calculated above (in meters per second)


    a<sub>fail</sub> = the acceleration at 38.12%, make it negative because it is decelerating (in meters per second-squared)


    t<sub>fullstop </sub>= the time the Eden traveled from the point of failure to full stop, calculated above (in seconds)


    x<sub>fullstop </sub>= v<sub>failure</sub> ? t<sub>fullstop</sub> + ? ? a<sub>fail</sub> ? t<sub>fullstop </sub><sup>2</sup><sub> </sub>= ( 3.1078e5 m/s ) ? ( 1.3488e9 s ) + 0.5 ? ( -3.1316e-4 m/s<sup>2</sup> ) ? ( 1.3488e9 s )<sup>2</sup><sub> </sub>= 1.3432e14 m


    Calculate the time to travel back to Earth from the stop point. Just as the trip from Tarth to Earth, the ship will accelerate for half the journey then decelerate for the other half, reaching its maximum speed in the middle. Thus, we calculate the the time to reach the midpoint then double it. First we need to know the distance that Eden overshot Earth. A method to determine this is to add the distance to the Tarth-Midpoint, the add the distance from the midpoint to the failure, then add the distance from the failure to the full stop and then subtract the distance between Tarth and Earth: x<sub>overshoot</sub> = x<sub>midpoint</sub> + x<sub>failure</sub> + x<sub>fullstop</sub> - x<sub>tarth-earth</sub>


    x<sub>overshoot</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled past Earth until it reached a full stop (in meters)


    x<sub>midpoint</sub> = half the distance from Tarth to Earth, 4.37 lightyears divided by 2 (in meters)


    x<sub>failure</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled from the midpoint to the point of the failure, see below (in meters)


    x<sub>fullstop</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled from the failure point to full stop, see below (in meters)


    x<sub>tarth-earth </sub>= the distance between Tarth and Earth, 4.37 lightyears (in meters)


    x<sub>overshoot</sub> = x<sub>midpoint</sub> + x<sub>failure</sub> + x<sub>fullstop</sub> ¨C x<sub>tarth-earth</sub> = ( 2.0672e16 m ) + ( 2.0616e16 m ) + ( 1.3432e14 m ) ¨C ( 4.1343e16 m ) = 7.8428e13 m


    (For clarity, note that only 5 significant digits are shown; you¡¯ll need more in your calculation.)


    Now calculate the time to accelerate to the halfway point (between the full stop and Earth). Double that to get both the acceleration and deceleration times: t<sub>overshoot</sub> = 2 ? ¡Ì { [ 2 ? ( x<sub>overshoot </sub>¡Â 2) ] ¡Â a<sub>fail</sub> }


    t<sub>overshoot</sub> = time it take the Eden to travel from the full stop point to Earth (in seconds)


    x<sub>overshoot</sub> = the distance the Eden traveled past Earth until it reached a full stop (in meters)


    v = the acceleration at 69.93% (in meters per second-squared)


    t<sub>overshoot</sub> = 2 ? ¡Ì { [ 2 ? ( x<sub>overshoot </sub>¡Â 2) ] ¡Â a<sub>fail</sub> } = 2 ? ¡Ì { [ 2 ? ( ( 7.8428e13 m )<sub> </sub>¡Â 2) ] ¡Â ( 3.1316e-4 m/sec<sup>2</sup> ) } = 1.0009e9 sec


    Finally, calculate the tie difference between the time of the planned voyage and the time it would have taken if they hadn¡¯t fixed the Bussard ramjet: t<sub>difference</sub> = t<sub>failure</sub> + t<sub>fullstop</sub> + t<sub>overshoot</sub> ¨C t<sub>planned


    </sub>t<sub>difference</sub> = The time difference between the original planned voyage and if the voyage had proceeded with the failure.


    t<sub>failure</sub> = The time at which the Eden encountered its failure, 155959 days.


    t<sub>fullstop</sub> = The time required for Eden to come to a full stop after the failure.


    t<sub>overshoot</sub> = The time required for Eden to return to Earth after the full stop.


    t<sub>planned</sub> = The original planned duration of the mission, 160122 days.


    t<sub>difference</sub> = t<sub>failure</sub> + t<sub>fullstop</sub> + t<sub>overshoot</sub> ¨C t<sub>planned</sub> = (1.3475e10 sec ) + ( 9.9239e8 sec ) + ( 1.0009e9 sec ) ¨C ( 1.3835e10 sec ) = 1.6336e9 sec


    (For clarity, note that only 5 significant digits are shown; you¡¯ll need more in your calculation.)


    In converting 1.6336e9 seconds to years, months, and days, you¡¯ll come up with approximately 51 years, 9 months, and 5 days. Small errors (less than a few weeks) might be due to the number of significant digits you used and whether you rounded your years (365 days per year), rounded your leap years (365.25 days per year), or didn¡¯t round your leap years (365.2425 days per year), and whether you considered leap seconds (which are not constant).


    Disclaimer: My proofreader didn¡¯t really know what to do with this section. If you find errors, please let me know (via https://www.markwilx.com</a>). Future editions of the story will credit the first to report any errors. The beauty of writing science fiction is that you can tweak the variables. The beauty of writing fantasy is that you can tweak the equations.