Free Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1) by John Thornton Page B

the success of faster than light communications over the last 5 years, and the newest breakthrough which has allowed development of the Piloted Faster Than Light (PFTL) scout ships,  information is now being shared about the Old World colony ship program.  Research and Development still has not been able to get past the weight and mass restrictions, so PFTL missions will only be able to accommodate two human pilots.
     
    As you are aware, information released to our dome’s general public - regarding the colony ship program - has been minimal.   The surprising lack of interest in the colony ship program by the general public has been expected.
     
    Generally speaking, the view is that the Old World’s colony ship program was a total failure.  This memorandum is to inform you about the newest finding of our reassessment of the colony ship program.  The public is unaware of these issues, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.  The PFTL missions have the real potential to directly assess what remains of the colony ships.  What the general public needs to know will be reassessed after the PFTL missions are completed.  Robotic FTL probes are ready to be dispatched to those colony ships deemed best available to re-contact.  PFLT scouts could be ready in the near future.
     
    According to the old world records, a total of seven colony ships were manufactured.  Two major factors led the leaders of the Old World to think the colony ship program possible:  modern permalloy and gravity manipulation.  Major manufacturing was from a spun material called modern permalloy.  Not to be confused with the nickel and iron alloys made about one hundred and seventy years previously, modern permalloy is still the hardest substance known to humanity.  Breakthroughs of technology in the Old World showed that, because of the strength and other qualities of modern permalloy, the colony ship projects were possible.  Combined with the gravity manipulation technology the ships were assembled in orbit over a thirteen-year period.  These ships were then inhabited with various ecological zones’ flora and fauna, rescued from preserves on earth and established in homeostasis in suitable habitats.   
     
    Each colony ship had eight separate and unique habitats populated by a thousand generational humans.  These people lived in the habitats with the full knowledge that they would spend their entire lives there. Estimates of transit time from Earth to target world were from three to eight generations.  Ship operations were overseen by one thousand humans of the ship’s active crew, and various artificial intelligences.  The crew positions were in dynastic successions to the subsequent generation.   An additional 144,000 humans were kept in suspended animation capsules in storage bays, to be awakened upon arrival at the target world.
     
    Vanguard CS 1:
    Latest assessment: 23% into voyage, when an incident occurred.  Last known message received stated a mutiny had occurred and captain of ship had been assassinated by unknown crew members.  Reporting officer was J.  Baldwin, Pilot 3rd class.  No further reports.  Ship considered lost.  Trajectory plotted and potential of robotic FTL contact, 48%. 
     
    Marathon CS 2:
    Latest assessment: 19% into voyage when incident occurred.  No human contact, but distress signal sent from secondary Artificial Intelligence, Lenore, reports that the ship has been attacked by hostile aliens.  This date is the first contact with any alien race.  AI also reported that counter attack had begun, but message was garbled and when decrypted also contained contamination from other Artificial Intelligences.  Ship considered lost.  Trajectory plotting attempted repeatedly using all three methods of colony ship tracking.  Marginal success on plotting of course, Estimated robotic FTL contact at less than 5%.  
     
    Warren  CS 3:
    Latest assessment: 31% into mission when incident occurred.