CHAPTER 8
It's been hours and the sadness and misery does not abandon us in the NIRMANA 394, sadness flooded every corner. In the other two ships the reaction was the same. All wept, crying. The news was leaked to civilians and it was difficult to control. Many reacted violently. It was understandable that in this situation, almost by accident the ship did not spiral out of control, it is amazing how human beings can respond in certain circumstances. I have not been up to the central control room. I decided to stay down and ensure the peace and stability of the ship. As it was all under control I went to my room, I needed to rest for at least fifteen minutes. I removed my belt and shirt. Sitting by my bed, when I heard the voice of Dr. Jadhav, it got me out of the lethargy in which I was.
- You have deceived you, Brigadier. You lied to me as if I were a little girl.
- No! I never lied to you. I told you what we knew so far. Everything has been was a surprise. Nobody expected it.
- I see you are determined to keep playing with me.
- Listen to me, and please listen carefully. I do not have permission to give out classified information to a civilian, two hours before going to the hospital we knew we were back soon. The allied forces told us they had discovered the nuclear weapons arsenal with more than ten warheads. Ground guess was they thought those were the weapons they were looking for. But it was not. Somewhere in the world there was another arsenal, and was shot in retaliation for finding. the others. I feel bad or worse than you. - She collapsed in my arms I said a few words. I felt my right shoulder moistened with tears. I hugged her body closely. I pressed her against me. I stammered some words of encouragement trying to give the support she needed. The smell of your skin flooded my senses. Without letting go of my hug, she asked
- Will you do something to make sure we will all survive here? Tell me you will do something.
The interruption of the soldier Suraj did not give me time to answer. General Singh urgently demanded my presence in the central control office. I noticed he had not called me on the intercom in my ear. Just this thought made me smile a bit. The old general still preferred the old way of giving direct orders.
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Get there and were several people sitting in the oval table. I sat in a place available and prepared to hear what was being said. A gray-haired man and a white coat opened the meeting.
- Good afternoon, gentlemen. I'm Dr. Akash, after the assassination of Dr. Shetty, I will be in charge of the scientific part of this mission. As you all know, unfortunately, the planet earth has collapsed. 15 warheads exploded at different points, and I'm quite sure that there is nothing left alive on earth at this time. Our enemies were faster. The arsenal was hidden at the North Pole. From there it was easy to shoot them to five continents. The oxygen in the atmosphere is unbreathable. The oceans as we knew are now boiling at over a hundred degrees Celsius. As
I said we are sure that nothing is left alive on earth. In our ships we have oxygen and fuel reserves for at least ninety months. But returning to the planet would not be possible for at least fifteen years. And that is our biggest problem at the moment.
A voice from the left wall screens a young man interrupted the doctor. He was the chief engineer of the Russian ship.
- These ships were designed to integrate each other if needed. I think if we do, we can increase you ninety months by three or four months additional. At least for fuel.
-Excuse me- Another man in a white coat from the Asian ship-added to the dialogue? Dr. Akash, under the conditions that the planet is under now, how long will it take for the north and south poles to disappear?
- Now I cannot give an exact answer without first doing the calculations. But I'm pretty sure that in 30 days maximum all poles have disappeared. The water temperature in the seas are very high.
The man who asked the question again to spoke:
- Each of these ships have in their hangars sixty ships and rescue small ones. If we hurry, we can prepare and enter the planet, collect the ice still left, break it down and convert it into much more fuel. This is precisely why these ships are designed to work with hydrogen. We can also acquire oxygen decomposition and fill our tanks to capacity.
- This is a very good idea.-Dr. Akash regain the conversation. All others were silent-the world's water source is contaminated, but not the ice. General Singh, which until then had been just listening in, stood up and began to give orders.
- Let us prepare to integrate the three ships within the next two hours. Let’s make sure that engineers prepare to enter the Planet in search of ice with a group of small ships. Dr. Akash, prepare the laboratories for the necessary decomposition of the ice. - Then turned to one of the captain of-flight, I need you to organize the best pilots and prepare them in two teams, one for the south pole and the other one to the north pole. We need to bring back as much ice as possible and store it. Then we can go on to the process of disintegrating it takes and into our reserve tanks. I want everything ready in 72 hours. The group of specialists from the three ships need to work together after the integration of the ships. Civilians remain in their places. The tunnels between ships are only for authorized personnel to pass through.
All nodded. We were about to finish that meeting, but
I interrupted with a question:
- Any results in finding another planet where we can settle?
- So far we have nothing concrete, Brigadier. - Said Dr. Akash - We are studying two points that we find interesting. One is in the Magellanic Clouds. A dwarf galaxy planet pretty close. The Large Magellanic Cloud is classified, according to the database of extra- galactic objects from NASA, as a barred spiral galaxy SB ring unstructured non-regulate without bulb. The irregular appearance of the galaxy is probably the result of interactions with both the Milky Way and the Small Magellanic Cloud. For a long time it was considered that the Magellanic Cloud galaxy was flat, like spiral galaxies and could be assumed that it was a single galaxy away from us. However, in 1998, Caldwell and Raman found that caeron in the northeast of the Cloud was closer to the Milky Way caeron in the southwest. More recently, the tilted geometry has been confirmed by observations of caeron. These studies suggest that the LMC has a slope of ~ 35 °, considering that 0 ° it corresponds to a galaxy whose plane is perpendicular to us. In this galaxy there is a young star of only 40 million years.
The PEGASIS 42. Depending on its composition may have developed a kind of atmosphere similar to Earth. Due to its proximity we mainly focus on this star.
According to our calculations through a single black hole or worm and atomic teleportation we could get to it fast enough. We are also studying a second. This a little bit further. Is the Riddle galaxy. A giant spiral galaxy. At 2.5 million years. The Riddle Galaxy is a spiral Sb-type supergiant with a luminosity that is, apparently, somewhat larger than our galaxy. He turned towards us so that its principal plane is a 17-degree angle with the line of sight, that is, almost edge. The angular dimensions of the
Riddle galaxy Hubble measures are at a distance of kiloparsecs of 20 for 5 kiloparsecs. However, I must say that the concept of dimensions of the galaxy, are not fully determined, since galaxies do not have sharp boundaries. Within this galaxy we have found the PEGASIS V42 a planet similar in size and composition to ours. We do not have the results of the gases that make up its atmosphere. But the density of it is quite similar to that of the planet earth. So we believe that it can contain high percentages of oxygen. To reach it we would have cross three black holes or worms, which makes it harder to travel and even higher risk. We would take nearly two months with our transportation to get to the system. But if nothing else is found, we would have no alternative.
To embark on an adventure or journey of this kind with three ships is crazy. Then the best thing to do would be send a small ships to confirm the studies and our results. Only after should the large ships travel. We are working day and night. Until we have something firm solid, we will not inform the military leadership of this mission.
I thanked the Dr. for his response and wished him luck in his work and his findings. From his research depended the fate of all human beings who were in all three ships. Everyone left, but with a signal, general Singh let me know to stay at my post. The General opened his computer files and made a comment:
- Minutes before the earth’s misfortune, agent Barton managed to send me this file. Yesterday in Mumbai they found a decomposed body in the bottom of the bay of Biscayne in Mumbai. The characteristics match that of Jamal Ahmed. However the DNA tests performed on the body of the person who tried to kill Miss Aditi Mane, does not match. This confirms your suspicion of supplanted identities inside the ship.
This file also contains the names of all the bodies found in the entire nation. I ordered for a specialist you can trust to do the comparison of these files and the ones of the civilians on the ship, you may well find other stolen identities. It will be a good way to catch the murderers of Dr. Shetty. I'll call Shiva, RAW agent. I will put this file in your hands and see what we can find out from here.
- Ok. Do what’s necessary.
- I can see you are tired general, why don’t you get some sleep?
The tone of his voice betrayed this man, it showed pain inside. This time the answer was by a friend, a man. Not the career military man of many years.
- My wife died three years ago. I always wanted to rest beside her. I never thought this would happen one day, I left behind two daughters and three grandchildren, now they are dead. All for what I once fought, is destroyed. I wonder if it was worth it. I’m a man with more combat wounds medals, and finishing a tired old man, I'm alive inside the ship. And all my family and friends, were all killed by a madman who could not stop. If you would have asked me or someone had told me this would happen, I never would have come on board this ship. I would rather die a thousand times with them, then feel this pain.
This uncertainty of not knowing what will happen with the rest of us. If there is a God why did this happened, Brigadier. Whenever I went to church with my family, I always trusted what God taught me.
Why did God punish me this way today. Letting me live and taking everyone and everything I ever wanted.
- Have you read the Bible, general? I asked.
- Yes. I've read it.
The man answered while pulling his old red worn up by time bible.
- I? I said as I stretched my hand trying to reach for it.
I began flipping through its pages without saying a word. The man in front of me sat on his chair, eyes staring at the floor. His hair seemed greyer, it seemed older. His broad shoulders seemed reduced by the weight of his thoughts and pain. His hands looked thinner while he passed them through his hair.
Finally I found what I wanted and began to read:
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and fearing God, and eschewed evil. And there were born seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheeps, three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred asses, and a very great household that this man was the greatest of all the Orientals. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, everyone his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, having gone on duty the day of the banquet, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. Job said: Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. And one day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, between Satan also came with them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence cometh thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, from roaming through the earth and walking around on it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and all that he has on every side? The work of his hands you have blessed and his substance is increased in the land. But the forth hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand: only do not lay your hand on him. So Satan went forth from before the Lord. And one day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, And there came a messenger unto Job, and said: The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them, They rushed and took, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword: I alone have escaped to tell thee. While he was still speaking, another came and said: The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them only for escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell. upon the camels, and took, and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, And here came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and fell upon the young men, and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell to the earth and worshiped, and said,
Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away: as the name of the Lord be praised. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
I closed my Bible in my hands. I was silent. The man was still there. Sitting with his hands on his head. As I stood next to the table and left the Old Testament there, I noticed on the floor, right under the eyes of the general , tears of pain fell of a man whose faith had been broken.
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