We walked behind the Communications Building where we had been the day before. There we entered a hydroplane which had been reserved for us. Almost one hour later we landed at the base where the Spaceship stood ready for departure.
«It doesn’t look much like the Spaceships we used in my time» I observed.
«We use far more advanced propulsion systems now, and therefore we are no longer restricted to a certain type of design. For this we can thank our friends from Space. They have recently given us the opportunity to utilize a form of technology that we earlier could only dream about. You will be joining a small group of people who will be sightseeing at the Space Station. There the guide will explain and help you.» Natalie accompanied me over to the Spaceship, spoke briefly with some persons there and said goodbye. I entered, feeling both excited and full of expectations.
After a while the Spaceship took off, rising vertically in the air and rapidly accelerating. Strangely enough I didn’t feel the strong pressure against my body that I had expected. Perhaps the advanced technology Natalia had mentioned compensated for gravity? The Spaceship had windows, and to watch the Earth from so high up was very beautiful! Over the loud speaking system we were soon informed that we would shortly arrive. And indeed, in the distance I noticed something that looked like a tiny speck. The small speck turned out to be quite large as we got closer. It was oval, with a larger circumference in the middle. The Spaceship dived and we entered the Space Station where we were received by the guide.
«Hi, and welcome! My name is Adrian, and I shall be your guide while you are here. No special precautions are required, the air here is the same as on Earth. We have artificial gravitation, so you can move in the normal way. We have a special room without gravity where you may enjoy yourselves for a little while later if you wish. You will then receive some instructions before entering.»
«How many persons stay here on a regular basis?» someone asked.
«As a total there are around 250 persons who live here and have specific duties, some for quite a long time, while others are here for shorter periods. It is a very multicultural group. We also have quite a few guestrooms that are in use all the time, for instance when important meetings are taking place. We’ll go now to our largest room, where these meetings are conducted» Adrian said and led us through a hallway towards a door. He smiled at us as the sliding doors opened automatically. We entered, and I was struck by the fantastic view of Earth through the large curved panorama window in the meeting room.
«Sit down for a bit» Adrian said and showed us to comfortable chairs in the room which resembled some kind of auditorium. In front of the curved panorama window was a large round table. «As you see, we have an incredibly wonderful view of our Earth from here. This is no coincidence. Here we conduct regular meetings which lead to decisions that are important for humanity, such as those between world leaders and between the largest religions of the world, science and the new spiritual worldview which has by now become the largest. On some rare occasions we have meetings with our extraterrestrial friends.
This gives a quite fantastic setting for the participants at the meetings. From here they look straight at Earth, our beautiful blue planet. We are not so very far from the planet, so the view is overwhelmingly wonderful. This view does something to those who are here, many astronauts have experienced that. It creates a very special atmosphere, a stronger sense of community, a feeling of oneness. From here we see no national borders. The whole gives one a sense that we are together in the effort to take care of each other and of Earth. To be here can be described as being in a numinous place, and one perceives an elevated ambience.»
«It is so quiet and peaceful here» someone said.
«Yes, that is the intention. The colors and the neutral decorations are meant to emphasize the view and a peaceful atmosphere, and in addition the room has been sound proofed» Adrian explained. «You will now get to watch a holographic movie. It will show you something of the history of this room, a bit more about what it is used for, and what it has achieved of different breakthroughs during the last years.»
The room got dark and the holographic movie started.
After it had ended we all remained seated, quietly digesting what we had seen. Towards the end of the movie we had been shown an absolutely beautiful filming of the Earth, oceans and landscapes with all the fantastic life that inhabits it, including human beings. Together with the music in the movie, it had put us in a very special frame of mind. It was akin to a meditation where one’s mind is brought into a different level of consciousness.
After a while Adrian got up and the rest of us followed suit.
«What about those who either don’t dare or for some reason can’t come up here with a Space ship, but who would like to be included in these meetings?» one person asked as we moved towards the entrance.
«Space travels are very safe these days, but for those who for one reason or another can’t meet up in person, we have quite lifelike holograms which enable the persons to participate virtually even if they are not physically present here.
We shall now continue to the largest room in the entire Space Station, namely our Recreation Room where people spend most of their time when they are off duty.»
We went out, and the sliding doors of the meeting room quietly closed behind us.
Adrian took us further into the Space Station. We soon arrived at a large open area. I suddenly realized that I had seen this before, in Natalia’s house the previous evening as she demonstrated the multidimensional projector like hologram gadget, or whatever they were called. Here was the small beach and the water! It was wonderful to see this oasis in reality, and a very special experience to see the green plants, trees and flowers in the small park when one had huge plates of glass in the ceiling which enabled one to see stars, parts of Earth and the Moon at the same time.
«Right here, with a view of the park, is the Space Station’s restaurant where we are going to eat after we have made a short walk around the area» Adrian lead us, pointing and explaining. He showed us among other things an area where food was grown. He explained that in principle they could be self-sufficient here at the Space Station, but as they were located fairly close to Earth, they received a lot of supplies from there. After a while we walked back in order to have something to eat.
«Do you know whether there is a Space Station established on Mars»? I asked my table neighbor during the meal. Suddenly I realized that he did not know that I came from the past. He looked a bit oddly at me before answering. «Yes, we have had that for a long time, obviously. It is not as large as this one, as we here can much more easily get supplies from Earth. But there they are entirely self-sufficient and have been so for several decades. Once a year they get a visit from Earth, where some of the staff is exchanged and supplies are delivered.»
«I suppose it was robots that built this Space Station? I envisage huge robot arms in action just outside here,» I said, perhaps mostly to show that I was not completely blank.
It didn’t quite hit the mark, and my neighbor again looked at me rather strangely. «The Space Station was built in modules on Earth, as it is rather more complicated to build in Space. But other than that you are right, it was mostly built by robots.»
Adrian rose. «The time is now almost 16:15, which means we have 45 minutes before you are going back to Earth. Those of you who wish to, may play for a while in the zero gravity room. Come with me, those of you who want to try it. The others may remain seated here or move around in the park, but all have to be back exactly here at 17:00 o’clock.»
I obviously went with Adrian, as did most of the others as well. This was something I wanted to experience! The closest I had ever come to a condition of weightlessness had been while swimming, There had been a hint of it in the Spaceship on the way up here, but then we had been strapped down and unable to move.
We arrived at the rom and were told by Adrian that we should avoid making too abrupt movements. We all sat down on some chairs and put on some kind of belt buckle. Adrian pressed a button and the sliding doors opened. The chairs we were sitting on moved into the room and the doors closed behind us. The room was relatively large, and the walls and ceiling were padded so that we should not be harmed if we were unfortunate and the speed got too high. Adrian removed his buckle, kicked cautiously against the floor, and began to float towards the ceiling. The others followed, some towards the ceiling and some towards the wall on the other side of the room. A woman beside me gave me a little shove while she laughed.
«No abrupt movements!» I heard myself say, but then I too began to laugh. I was also unable to stop moving, so I bumped into the person beside me, and a small chain collision took place. Other people were also bumping into each other, and there was a lot of laughter. Quite chaotic and comical. It really was great fun, I felt I was a kid again. One person did a somersault, which perhaps was not such a good idea, as another tried to stop him, which meant that he began to rotate. This weightlessness was not so simple to handle, but it definitely was great fun!
The amusing half hour passed quickly, and we got back to the others. Adrian took us to the Space shuttle which was ready for departure. We thanked him for the visit and everyone gave him a hug. «Live long and prosper!» one person said to Adrian as we entered the shuttle. I don’t think many understood why he said it. As this was some time into the future, it was evident that not everybody had heard of Star Trek...