Free Star One: Tycho City Survival by Raymond L. Weil

thorn in
their sides, from hearing their private conversations.
    However, these
communications lines weren’t capable of handling the type of data that Mase now
needed to transmit to Steve. It might be necessary, in the near future, to set
up such a line.
    Once the
encryption protocol was activated, Mase began explaining to Steve what Farside
had discovered. Mase could tell from the silence on the other end that his
counterpart on Star One was finding it difficult to believe what he had just
heard.
    “A neutron
star,” Steve finally replied in a stunned voice. “LaRann and the other
scientists are positive of this?”
    “Yes,” replied
Mase, evenly. “It has been confirmed by both the array and the Albertson
reflector. We ran the information through our computers at Farside as well as
the main core computer on Star one. There can be no doubt. A neutron star is
going to invade our solar system. It will intersect our solar system somewhere just
outside the orbit of Uranus. From our initial computer simulations, the entire solar
system will be adversely affected, including Earth.”
    Mase waited,
knowing that Steve was trying to comprehend the ramifications of what he just
been told. Mase knew that Steve had worked for years getting the massive Star
One space complex built. It was home to over 2,000 people. Some day soon, it
would be the launching point for all deep space missions. A mission to Jupiter
was already in the works, with the Jupiter probe ship being constructed on the
Space Platform next to Star One.
    “I need to
talk to several of my people plus review the data you ran through our computer.
I assume we want to keep this on a need-to-know basis for the time being until
we are certain of the ramifications of this discovery?”
    “Yes,” replied
Mase relieved that Steve understood the need to keep everything quiet in the
short term. “I am sending you a packet with all the information we have
discovered. As soon as we’re sure of what’s going to happen we need to notify
Tim McPhryson on Earth so he can brief the president.”
    “This isn’t
going to be good, Mase,” Steve commented in a lower voice. “We need to look
very carefully at how Star One and Tycho City will be affected. I don’t want to
evacuate either, but we may have no choice.”
    “I know,” responded
Mase, knowing that Steve and he were thinking along the same lines. He looked
over at the picture of the massif on the wall, recalling all the hard work that
had been done to get Tycho City up and running. There was no way he was going
to abandon the city unless there was absolutely no other choice. He felt sure
Steve felt the same way about Star One.
    “I wish Teela
was functioning properly,” Steve continued. “She could be a great help in
this.”
    “Still having
problems with your AI?”
    “Yes,” Steve
replied with a hint of aggravation creeping into his voice. “She has become
very irrational with some of her behavior recently. I’ve been looking for a
specialist from Earth that I could recruit to come up and solve this problem. I
located one young woman, a Jennifer Stone that is supposed to be an up and
coming genius in the AI field. We may need Teela if this neutron star turns out
to be a significant threat.”
    “I agree,”
Mase responded. He knew that Teela was unlike any AI on Earth.
    He had spoken
with her several times in the past, and she was quite remarkable. Talking to
Teela was almost like talking to a real person.
    “As soon as I
have time to study the data you’re sending and can get with Commander Jones and
Lieutenant Commander Williams, I will get back with you. Between the two of us,
we will get a report ready for Tim on Earth. As soon as we’re certain of the
trajectory of this neutron star and what type of threat it’s going to be to the
solar system, we need to notify Tim. He can then explain the ramifications of
Farside’s discover to President Kateland.”
    “I wouldn’t
want to be in Tim’s