1/10th the the Speed of Light

By John Youker

The third edition of "1/10th the Speed of Light" is a collection of more traditional science fiction stories. No magic, wizards, vampires or beings with powers that violate the laws of physics. The title comes from the main story, entitled ChinaSETI, a novella about an alien civilization where space travel is accomplished the hard way. With stars clustered close together, travel between solar systems becomes possible with massive ships propelled by fusion engines. No warp drives or anti gravity, so ships must accelerate for weeks, coast at a tenth the speed of light, and then decelerate. Rocket powered planes connect the starships with planet surfaces. This is a tedious enterprise driven by overpopulation and the need for scarce elements. As with any territorial expansion, trouble with the natives is a given, especially when your theologians claim they don't exist.

The short story Hospice looks at a future where disease has been conquered, but at a cost that may or may not be avoidable. Gravity Man looks at an even darker side of technology, where attempts to control nature are not beneficial. Flatlanders is a brief tale of youthful rebellion against environmentalism as religion. Chemophobia and Freezing are other comments on the possible negative effects of environmentalism.

Using the rating system for movies, these stories range from PG to PG-13.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Youker
• Release date: Aug 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311441430

John Youker

Retired college teacher. Taught chemistry in NY and NC. Also worked on emergency planning and response for hazardous materials accidents.

Book preview

Table of Contents

1/10th the the Speed of Light

Chapter One – The Abduction

Chapter Two – The Job Interview

Chapter Three – Risky Business

Chapter Four – Interstellar Space.

Chapter Five – Through the Wormholes

Chapter Six – Training.

Chapter Seven – Landing

Chapter Eight – Hitting the Road

Chapter Nine – Stowaways

Chapter Ten – Problem Solved, Maybe

Chapter Eleven - Picking Berries

Chapter Twelve – Getaway

Chapter Thirteen – Failure is Not an Option

One Tenth the Speed of Light

by John Youker

Copyright © 2011, 2015 2024 John Youker

September 7, 2170

Editor’s Disclaimer

This document was allegedly received on a very weak laser beam carrier that took nearly a hundred years to travel from a nearby star cluster. It has been supplied by an organization called ChinaSETI.  Readers are advised that this may be nothing more than an elaborate hoax.

Editor’s Comments:

It has taken 10 years to obtain permission from the Chinese government to publish the following report, although the reader will see that there is nothing in it that would seem to directly affect either national or planet-level security. The message itself describes a relatively benign culture that may still deny our existence, and furthermore, might not want to contact us due to the philosophical clash between civilizations that could occur. It would seem highly unlikely that an attack could be mounted over such a vast distance using the technology as it is described.

The Chinese government itself has said very little publicly concerning this document. It neither confirms nor denies its authenticity. The accidental deaths of the two communications officers on duty at the Chinese Space Station at the time that the transmission was supposedly received complicate verification. (Both fell from high rise balconies during separate social events and alcohol was blamed). However, the reluctance of authorities, including both the US and Chinese military, to comment on the document actually adds to its credibility, since standard practice from the days of Project Blue Book has to been to question that any credible evidence exists for extraterrestrial intelligence. ChinaSETI is actually a quasi-official organization devoted to the search for extra terrestrial life. It may or may not receive government funding. The document was released only after an agreement was reached between the US and ChinaI that all further information, including technology, received from the alleged civilization would be shared.

Regarding the matter of the alleged abduction by aliens of Robert Brown (which is described in the document), FAA records from 2035 detail the investigation into the loss of a quadracopter off the west coast of Florida. These records indicate that wreckage of the plane was recovered in several pieces, but that the pilot’s body was never found. A storm had delayed the search and is blamed in the report for the failure to recover the body. The report also states that the cause of the crash could not be determined, and that the flight recorder data revealed a decrease to zero speed followed by an abrupt shutdown of systems two seconds before recording ceased. The cockpit voice information was routine until system shutdown, when a series of mechanical noises and a few expletives were heard. ATC had reported another radar contact and transmitted a collision warning at the time of the incident, and radar signatures appeared to merge and then fall. This has led supporters of the abduction theory to claim that the aircraft was simply captured, and then dumped by aliens.

One argument advanced against the authenticity of the document is the failure to detect other man-made radiation from the culture in question, which is indicated as quite old. The document itself attempts an explanation, and the fact that the cluster (actually a micro cluster) was identified only a decade ago and largely ignored offers a plausible answer.

The report is reproduced in its entirety without modification from the original released by ChinaSETI on August 24th, 2170. If the message is authentic, a robotic star ship can be expected to arrive in approximately 300 years.

GREETINGS TO THE WOMEN AND MEN OF EARTH

This message has been sent to you to tell you of the heroic service to our civilization of your citizen Robert Brown. As you will learn, many of us have sacrificed our careers to bring this news to you, but truth is power and only the honest can expect redemption. A gift of our technology is on its way, but because of the great distance between us, it will arrive after the lifetimes of those of you who first learn of us.

On the fourth planet of a yellow dwarf star a hundred light years from you stands a building 5000 years old. In your language it would be called the Hall of Wisdom, but translation is difficult, since its name also means power. This building is the center of the universe for my people, and a good place to begin my story of those events that will eventually cause trouble beyond past memory.

The Hall is a massive stone structure half a mile long, containing the offices and living quarters of the High Priestess, the Prayer Chamber of the Ages, and Auditorium of the People. The floors of this building are also stone, but due to the age of the building, the heavily used walkways are concave, and stairs have been replaced several times. Despite the wear and the dirt that cannot be reached for cleaning, there is no more impressive building in my world. In exterior appearance it is a vastly larger version of your Parthenon.

Please be patient with me as I will do my best to translate to your language, which I have spent great effort to learn during my exile, and will use names and terms familiar to you, since, in reality, each inhabited world names things the same. For example, the name of my home planet translates to Earth, as apparently does the name given to each planet by its own people. This system seems to work in other areas, as well. For example, you may call me Lily, since that is what my name sounds like in your language, and since my name means white flower in my language.

Back to the Hall of Wisdom, the place of my trial and conviction. The Hall of Wisdom is used for only the most important events, those of planet-wide importance. Even our equivalent of your Congress or United Nations meets there only for certain ceremonies. To hold a criminal trial there is most unusual, and one had not been held for nearly 400 years. But then, no one had ever sent a star ship on a one-way trip to an alien civilization, let alone a civilization whose existence the theology of my people believes to be impossible.

That the trial was held there would seem a contradiction. The authorities did not want our civilization to learn of your Robert Brown, yet such knowledge could not be entirely suppressed. I believe that our leaders in science succeeded in overruling the religious elite and caused my ship to return with Robert right after our mission to the planet Thor II. My crew had by then been in space for nearly two years, and scattered quickly upon arrival. Soon rumors were everywhere (Robert said they must have been twittered) and I believe that a dramatic public trial was called to attempt the control of information and silence opponents of our elected leaders.

I was not the only defendant. On trial with me was Violet, Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Company of Royal Marines, who was considered by some to be the more guilty, but since I was the commander of the expedition, I had to bear full responsibility for all that took place during the military action on the 2nd planet of the star Thor II. I have chosen this name because it is one of your ancient war gods, and the events there were as close to true warfare as has happened to us in over 500 years. Therefore I have also used your words such as marines and military to describe persons and organizations.

For a trial of this importance, the rule of threes applied. Three judges would preside, one each representing the High Priestess, the Royal Court, and the Congress (or Parliament). Thus the three branches of government were represented. Our form of government is much like your democracies, and like some of yours evolved from a monarchy. A notable exception is that our chief religious leaders serve as our Supreme Court. Both the Prosecution and the Defense had three attorneys, one from each of the three branches, with the three for the Defense selected by the defendants themselves.

The official charges against us were as follows: The 1st defendant is charged with dereliction of duty, endangering the safety of a star ship crew, disobeying orders, violating regulations concerning the transport of ape men, deliberate loss of public property, and the fostering of heretical beliefs among persons under her command.

The 2nd defendant is charged with dereliction of duty, disobeying orders, violating regulations concerning the transport of ape men, and bestiality.

The charges of dereliction of duty and disobeying orders are almost routine in any criminal action against military personnel. My culture, unlike yours, does not have a separate military judicial system, and your procedure for court martial does not exist. Our military operates all spacecraft and acts as a special police force, and all trials are essentially civil trials, although punishments are usually much more severe when the uniformed services are involved. The heart of the matter is the last two charges. The government property lost is the robotic star ship which has been sent to you, the home world of the ape man who calls himself Robert Brown. The heretical beliefs concern the existence of a civilization whose culture does not match our own and is considered to violate the laws of nature.

My co-defendant, Violet, faced the charge of bestiality regarding her relationship with the ape man Brown. This charge proved to be to our advantage.

The trial began publicly, with the presentation by the prosecution transmitted live across the planet. It went quickly, since there was no doubt concerning most facts, especially the deliberate launch of the unmanned cargo ship. Yes I had overruled the directive from the mission’s religious officer, and I had launched the vehicle on a one-way trip to your planet. Furthermore, both Violet and I freely admitted that we had treated the ape man Brown as a near equal and I had permitted him access to my ship beyond the designated cargo hold used for ape transportation. Our argument that Brown had saved the mission from disaster fell on deaf ears.

We were afraid of a sentence of life imprisonment, and even secret execution to silence us. You might wonder why we feared so, since our worlds would seem so peaceful to you, but the skin of civilization is thin and the beast appears when fear takes over. And fear for the truth of our beliefs was a fourth judge at our trial. We were certain that we would be sent to the thorium mines on Violet's home planet. We saw no reason not to try any legal trick to reduce the punishment, and seized on the charge of bestiality against Violet. This charge had been filed under a section of the legal code that included other sex crimes, and that code specified that a victim of such a crime must be given the right to face the accused in court. Our code of conduct is strict, and you would be better off to steal a fortune than to force yourself on another. The law was, of course, never intended to treat apes as victims, but since they are believed to have some small moral capacity, our attorneys argued the point. We demanded that Robert Brown be brought to the great hall to testify. The prosecution protested, but our lawyers discovered a 200 year old case that set a precedent. I believe that the prosecution was so confident of the case against us, and so fully believed that ape men are just animals, that they believed that Brown's appearance would doom us. A pathetic ape able to grunt only unintelligible sounds would clearly demonstrate that he was a victim.

When he was taken into custody we had warned him that it would probably be better for him that he play the role of ape. We had a great fear that he would die under mysterious circumstances. Robert Brown was brought to the trial from the hidden research facility where we would learn that he had been mistreated. The prosecution placed him on the witness stand, and began by asking in our language if he had been molested. He then spoke in our own language, denying the charge. The Great Hall erupted in a sound like the buzzing of millions of bees as  a thousand conversations ensued.  The prosecution immediately cut off all audio and video transmissions of the trial (resulting in a great public complaint), and demanded a recess. Within an hour we were offered what you call a plea bargain. All charges except the loss of government property would be dropped, and we would go into permanent exile in one of the more remote colonies. Since the launch of the cargo drone was undeniable, the prosecution therefore removed any reason for the conviction to be appealed.

Because we are not stupid we took the offer. Much to our surprise, Brown was sent with us (no doubt to hide him), a lucky event that permits me to write this story. Our exile on a remote colony also gave us an opportunity to transmit our story to you, since the most powerful laser communicators are found here. We are forever indebted to those who risked their own careers to send this message to you.

THE WORLDS OF THE CLUSTER

Before we tell you of the events that brought us to this bad end, it is necessary to tell you something of our civilization. We call ourselves the cluster worlds, since we occupy 11 planets in a star cluster about 100 light years from your solar system. (Through much effort Brown and I determined that your measurement of one year and our standard year are no more than 4 of your days apart.) This cluster is actually very small, with about 200 small stars, many of which are older yellow dwarfs. It is quite possible that your astronomers dismissed us as a single star, due to the compactness and low light output of the cluster. Two of our occupied planets have native populations and the rest were colonized. The civilization of my home planet is the oldest by many thousands of years, and most of the population on the colony planets are my people. The other planet we will call Krypton. (Brown suggested this name as its atmosphere is 3% Krypton gas, and the women are noted for their physical strength. Violet is a native of Krypton, as are almost all Royal Marines).

My home planet has a very long and rich history. Written records go back almost 30,000 years. We mark the advent of our technological age with the discovery of electricity. Unlike your world, we electrified more rapidly in areas