Star One: Tycho City Survival (30 page)

If they could
just survive the next few months, there was no doubt in Mase’s mind that they
could have a good life here. However, Mase also knew those months would be critical
ones. The neutron star and black hole would make their closest approach, which
could drastically affect the sun. If it went nova, then it would be over.
Nothing would survive on the Moon or on Earth.

Mase was in
the Control Center, his eyes glued to the main viewscreens. One screen was
focused on Earth and the other on the sun. The neutron star and black hole had
reached the closest point they would come in the solar system, and their
effects upon the Earth and the sun were becoming devastating.

Looking at the
Earth, Mase could see massive super storms moving across the surface. Some of
the remaining weather satellites showed wind speeds in excess of three hundred
miles per hour. But what was even more worrisome was the sun. Massive solar flares
and CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections) were visible, and one of the larger ones was
coming directly toward Earth.

“That solar
flare and CME will significantly raise the temperature on the planet,” Charles
Turner spoke over the com system from Farside. “The Earth’s magnetic field and
the intense cloud cover will give it some protection, but on the side the flare
and CME hits we could see an increase in temperature of over one hundred
degrees, perhaps much more.”

“A lot of the
surviving shelters won’t survive that,” Anthony commented with growing worry in
his eyes. “Should we warn them?”

Over the past
several months, they had located over two hundred and twelve surviving bunkers
and shelters across the planet. Some were large, containing thousands of people,
while others held only a few dozen. They also knew there were probably many
others they had not been able to contact due to the interference prevalent in the
atmosphere.

“The biggest
impact is going to be over the Western Pacific and Asia,” Mase replied as he
studied the data from Farside. “We will warn those we can. If they can close
off their bunkers, particularly their air systems until the temperatures drop
back down, perhaps some of them can survive.”

Anthony
nodded. He had just returned from Farside, and even the surface of the Moon now
looked considerably different. There had been some massive moonquakes and even
more long dormant volcanoes had erupted. Deep fissures marred the surface in many
areas where massive moonquakes had struck.

The Control Cent er shook slightly, but no one paid it any attention. Small tremors were a
normal occurrence and at times seemed to go on for hours. So far, there had
been no additional major moonquakes close to Tycho Crater since the one several
months back. They could only hope that their luck continued to hold.

-

General Young
looked over at Captain Wells with growing concern on his face. He had just
finished talking to Commander Colton and was fearful about what was in store
for the Earth. There had always been a chance that the sun might go nova and
destroy the planet. Now it seemed likely that they would see more major
eruptions from the sun’s surface, particularly solar flares and CMEs like the
one currently headed their way. If they could just get by for another month,
the likelihood of a nova would greatly decrease, or so said the astronomers at
Farside.

The scientists
at Farside felt the approaching solar flare and CME would greatly affect the
weather upon the planet. There would be some drastic temperature extremes, but
the large oceans should rapidly bring the temperature back down as the excess
heat was absorbed into the water.

“Contact all
of the bunkers we are in communication with and inform them what’s about to
happen,” ordered Young, hoping the United States would avoid the worst of what
was coming toward the planet. “We don’t know what the affects here will be, but
I suspect we will see some changes in the weather at a minimum. I want everyone
to be prepared just in case.”

With the help
of Tycho City, they had managed to establish communication with twenty-three
bunkers and shelters in the Eastern United States. He knew that some of them
were just barely getting by. The CME and solar flare would probably knock out
communications for a while.

“This is going
to be rough,” Wells said as he looked over at the communications console where
Corporal Fransen was sitting. “Some of those smaller shelters in those Asian countries
might not survive. We may even lose a few here.”

“I know,”
Young replied with a look of pain in his eyes. “Fortunately we’re going to be
spared the brunt of this one, though Farside believes we will see a temperature
rise and an increase in severe storms.”

All those
months that Senator Farley had refused to believe in the neutron star was now
going to kill even more Americans. If that time had been used to supply and
build better shelters, tens of thousands more could have been saved.

General Young
let out a deep breath; there was not a night that went by that he didn’t wish
that he had acted sooner to remove Senator Farley from power. If so, perhaps
more people would have survived. He knew this regret would haunt him for the
rest of his life.

-

Warren Timmons
looked at the latest estimate from Farside concerning the expected effects of
the oncoming solar flare and CME. He knew that this flare could wipe out the
few surviving shelters and bunkers in the part of the world that was directly
in its path. Every day the number of humans living on Earth decreased as
earthquakes, volcanoes, and floods took their toll. There was currently no way
to estimate how many people were still surviving across the planet.

People in his
bunker were now accustomed to the new type of life they lived. Finishing the
long tunnel and growing more of their food had been a big positive for morale. Work
crews were still busy adding more room to grow food. Two additional tunnels,
similar to the one recently completed, were already being planned.

“Contact Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD and let them know what’s headed our way,” Timmons
ordered Major Burns. “Tycho City will be sending a warning to the bunkers in
the Western Pacific and Asia.”

Both of the
two military command centers had survived and fallen into line once General
Mann had spoken with then. He had signed orders from General Karver placing him
in command of all surviving military facilities and units. The two generals at
the Command Centers had quickly recognized General Mann’s authority.

The command
facilities would also be contacting other bunkers and facilities in the United States that Tycho City had managed to locate. They needed to do everything in their power to
make sure as many humans as possible survived the coming days.

-

Mase was over
at the girl’s apartment in Tycho City taking some much needed time off. The solar
flare and CME were due to hit the Earth early the next morning. Anthony had
taken a quick flight to Farside to deliver some additional supplies to the
forty men and women who had chosen to stay there. Jolene was working late in
her newest habitat trying to get the larger animals settled in.

Karen and
Linda had prepared a simple meal of fresh salad and chicken and some homemade
bread.

“We’re lucky
Karen learned how to make bread from Mom,” Linda said as she sat down and
reached for the salad. We have plenty of flour and yeast, so that should last a
while.”

“I enjoy
baking,” Karen spoke with a pleased smile. She used to spend hours in the
kitchen with her mother, watching her cook.

The three
didn’t speak of the girl’s parents often anymore. They all knew the odds of them
still surviving in Kansas City were almost nil.

“How soon
before the effects of the neutron star go away?” Karen asked as she buttered a
roll and took a big bite.

“Four more
months and things will begin to calm down,” responded Mase, recalling the
latest reports and simulations from Farside. “We will be on the far side of the
sun, and the effects will be much less noticeable. As we swing back around, we
will know more about our new orbit.”

“I heard
Jolene say that the Moon has already been pulled farther away from the Earth.
We’re not going to go drifting off into space are we?”

“No,” replied Mase,
reassuring Karen. This had concerned him also and he had spent several hours
talking to Charles Turner and Adam Strong about this very issue. “We will be in
a more distant orbit around Earth, but we will stay in orbit.”

The three
continued to eat and discuss what was going on in Tycho City as well as on
Earth. After the meal, Karen volunteered to do the dishes while Linda and Mase
went off into the small living room.

The two sat
down on the comfortable couch, and Linda turned on the video screen. She
selected some soft music and then turned to face Mase. “Are we going to survive
this?” she asked. She had been afraid to ask this question in front of Karen. “I
mean, when the neutron star is gone, will we still be here?”

Mase was
silent for a moment. He did spend some time each day thinking about the future
that was in store for them. “I think so,” he responded, his eyes focusing on
Linda. “We have the two nuclear fusion power plants plus a huge supply of solar
panels if we ever need them. We can grow our own food, and we are recycling our
air and water. We can get more water ice from the poles if necessary. It won’t
be easy, and there will be problems, but I think we will do just fine.”

Linda nodded, and
then a serious look crossed her face. “But what kind of life will this be for
our children, to live underground from now on? Is there any way we will ever be
able to return to Earth?”

“It will be a
good life here,” promised Mase, sliding his arm around Linda’s shoulder. “I’ve
lived in Tycho City for years, and it has been a good home. This new Tycho City is much larger and will have so many more options. We have the ability and
knowledge to build almost anything we need. As for Earth, our new orbit will
almost definitely prevent us from returning to the planet. There will only be
about six months out of the year where it will even be safe to venture out of a
shelter onto its surface.”

“So the Moon
will have to be our permanent home,” Linda said in a soft voice. It was hard to
imagine never going back to Earth again. It was difficult to accept that she
would never again to be able to see the snow covered mountains, the lakes, or
swim in the ocean.

Karen came into
the living room and, after glancing at Mase and her sister, decided that she
needed to go to her bedroom. She figured the two could use some privacy.

-

Jolene opened
the door to the apartment and her face immediately flushed. Mase and Linda were
wrapped up in each other on the couch.

“Take it to
the bedroom,” she commented as she closed the door behind her.

Linda
instantly untwined from Mase with an embarrassed blush on her face and began smoothing
down her blouse. “Hi Jolene; did you get the animals settled in?”

“Yes, they’re
doing nicely,” she replied, going over and sitting in a plush and comfortable
chair across from them. “We will be planting the hay and feed crops over the
next few days. Steffan had some of his people run the nutrient lines in the
hayfield for us earlier today. We should get a full cutting of hay every four
to five weeks. If we have figured it correctly, we can increase our cattle herd
up to twenty head.”

“Twenty head,”
mused Mase as he thought about how expensive those steaks would be. Anthony was
going to have a hard time adjusting.

“I spoke to
Isaac about creating two more caverns,” continued Jolene, raising her eyebrows.
“Another for general fruits and vegetables, and a larger one for more cattle
and pigs. He is supposed to run it past you in a few days to see if it’s
practical.”

“If we do as
you suggest, what will it mean?” Mase asked. Food production would be essential
if they wanted to expand Tycho City in the future. Also, more variety in their
meals would highly improve morale.

“It will give
us a surplus of fruits and vegetables, as well as allow us to expand the cattle
heard to nearly sixty animals and the pigs to over two hundred.”

Mase nodded.
People were used to certain foods; a variety in their diet would be nice. After
all, people would eventually get tired of eating chicken and fish all the time.

“I will speak
to Isaac about it,” Mase promised. “Keep in mind though, that we are still in
the process of strengthening the roof in the original Tycho City cavern, I’m not sure what resources we can spare at the moment.”

“Perhaps when
Phillip awakens we can have everything done,” Jolene spoke.

Phillip was
Mase’s brother, and he and his family had gone into deep sleep. Phillip had not
wanted to subject his family to the stress of going through the approach of the
neutron star and black hole. Jolene knew it had been hard on Mase to see his
brother make this decision, but he had understood it.

“That would be
great if we can manage it,” Mase responded. He missed speaking to Phillip, but
he understood why his brother and his family had requested deep sleep.

“It would be
nice to have your brother and his family around,” spoke Linda, knowing that
Mase missed his brother.

She knew that
Mase was under a lot of stress, and it would be good for him if his family were
around to talk to particularly his older brother. Unfortunately, that was
probably going to be another few months at least.

“I need to be
going,” Mase said as he stood up. He leaned over, kissed Linda on the lips, and
then headed for the door. He knew he would have a long day ahead of him
tomorrow as the solar flare and CME struck Earth.