Domus Read online

  DOMUS

  D S Lillico

  Copyright 2015 by D. S. Lillico

  Domus

  Prologue – The Seeker Project

  The information below is taken from the notes of Doctor Spielerbürg before the launch of the human Seeker Project.

  These notes, should anyone find them, represent the last breath of humankind. Thus, it is only a short paper, for we are short of breath.

  At the 2010 world summit I opened to the floor with a report from one Doctor Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927). In 1896 this man discovered that fossil fuel combustion may eventually result in enhanced global warming. He proposed a relation between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature.

  It was a warning over one hundred years old…

  In 1970 we created the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the world's leading funder of climate research. Did the research those Doctors produced change the way we humans lived? Did it herald in a period of cleaner living? Did it prompt us to change the way we treat our home planet? The answer is no to all questions.

  In 2001 the third IPCC report states baldly that global warming, unprecedented since end of last ice age, is "very likely," with the possibility of severe surprises. There was a warming observed in the ocean basins that matched with computer models to give a clear signature of greenhouse effect warming. Did we change? No. In 2013 the mean global temperature was 14.6°C, the warmest in thousands of years. Did we listen? No.

  And now I come to the end of my own short paper. The year is 2017 and the planet is dead. She cannot support life any longer. The oceans have risen and swallowed over 50 billion human lives. 20 billion humans crowd what little land there is left on the planet, and we have grown desperate.

  Three days ago the ‘Seeker Project’ was given the green light. It falls on eight marvellous men and women to spread our seeds.

  I started my paper by describing it as short, and it is. This is it. This is the whole project. World powers have funded a last ditch attempt to find a new home. There will be no more entries to the paper from me. The rest of the notes might be scattered through space or they might just find a new home.

  For the rest of us that have stayed, we will never know mankind’s fate. We needed to find a new home. And we have - Domus.

  Good luck, Seekers.

  The Seeker Project

  :/// Command: start, Captain’s log \:

  The year is 2037. The Seeker Project launched from our home planet all the way back in 2017, and we have been sailing space ever since. Our small group left our home planet in search of a new one to inhabit all over again, learning from our last mistakes. We needed to start again.

  I am Captain Adam Reed, Captain of the ship named the Seeker Marauder and leader of the Seeker Project, and it has been too long since I updated this log. When you know that no one is on the other side, it makes writing it feel redundant. I must apologise to anyone who finds this log that the details herein are sparse and thus far limited to major incidents only.

  I only guaranteed I would write a single time. I promised the others back home that I would write at least when I saw her, when I saw Domus. But a feeling came over me this morning that the future human generations that we here will bring into the world will want to read about the moment we first found their home.

  Firstly, I must applaud the human engineering that built the Marauder. I congratulate them on a job well-done. This ship is the greatest, most advanced piece of technology ever created by man. The kite-shaped rig runs on tech known as ‘lightsail,’ propelled by solar radiation and microwaves. She is the only reason we have reached as far as we have.

  You reading this must know that this ship, us, the whole Seeker Project, was mankind’s last roll of the dice.

  The team is now seven strong, including me. We are a mix of marines and scientists and those that fall somewhere between the two. There was a time when there were eight of us. Eight of us left our home to find yours.

  The Seekers were eight strong twenty-somethings on a mission not to save our kind but to preserve it, to keep it going. Only seven of us have made it this far. Our second physician, Doctor Lawson, succumbed to his cancer just three days before we entered this solar system’s orbit. His body now rests with the stars, and his name condemned to any legacy we hope to carve here.

  We will remember our brother, bonded by twenty years of travelling space together. And you, reader, our children, you shall remember him as a forefather.

  It’s a sad story. Sadness was felt on this ship that I cannot truly put into words. But that is the truth of all the Seeker Project. It was never intended to have a happy ending, especially for those we left behind. There was no return journey or more ships to follow in the Marauder’s footsteps. The entire world’s funds had been sucked into this project. The money to get us this far could have saved countless lives back home, but for how long? That is what I ask myself when I think of those lives this project cost. But for how long?

  The question helps to push the thoughts of those back home out of my mind. We are here only for the future of our species, not to save the past. Just eight men and eight women, our only instructions are to land, to live, and to lay; nothing more and nothing less.

  The humans back home will never know if we were successful or not. Maybe you, reader, our future, maybe you will one day decide to go back and see if they are still there. But if you do decide to build your own ships to go there, if there is a there, then you must do so at no expense to your new home.

  Learn from our mistakes. It was our pushing of technology, our burning of recourses, and the destruction of habitat that caused our issues to start with. If this is our new home then we have to learn to care for it. We have to abandon the human desire to excel, to push all boundaries and our own limits. We must simply live and survive, nothing more.

  No more will follow us once we have landed on Domus, landed on our new home, your home. You will be the fruit born, the life created, and our children. The children of the new human race.

  :/// Command: save and end, Captain’s log \:

  “Captain Reed,” a female voice fuzzes over the speaker system and pulls me from the monitor, “it is Doctor Yun. My initial observations were incorrect, Captain. This solar system has eight planets and an additional single dwarf planet that I had missed before. Captain, it is exactly like our own. And like our own, only one planet appears to have the ability to sustain life.

  “You were right to pick this one, sir. This might be it. This might just be our new home.”

  Home. It is a strange word. The Oxford dictionary describes home as a place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household. Our old home was once a household to seventy billion humans until we destroyed her beyond repair. Only twenty billion people remained alive when we left, and their time might have even run out now too.

  I look out at the stars around the Seeker Marauder. They seem to twinkle more and more every time I see them now. We are close, I just know it. The vessel spins, and I shield my eyes with a hand. The solar system’s giant star is a huge glowing ball just like the one we had back home. It is a great ball of life-giving energy.

  The Seeker Marauder moves around more, and I see it clearly now - a great blue and green planet. It’s only a small grape on the periphery of my, but it might be so much more than that - it could be our new home. Doctor Spielerbürg and I chose this planet to sail to. Early investigations showed that it was almost a mirror of our own.

  There were other planets to choose from. The others on the Project believe there to be other choices should this one not bear fruit. There isn’t. This is as far as we will go in our lifetime.

  I hope she was worth the twenty year journey.

  “CETI,�
�� I whisper, “Can you hear me?”

  CETI is the Marauder’s AI. It is the most advanced system created, and she could keep this kite flying even if we all perish. CETI was an abbreviation of Controlled Explorative Technical Intelligence and was the brainchild of the great Doctor Spielerbürg himself. She can detect our heartbeats and vitals instantly, and even warned us of Doctor Lawson’s cancer weeks before any symptoms presented themselves. Unfortunately for us, Doctor Lawson refused any treatment. Twenty years of drifting through space had been enough.

  “I can hear you, Captain Reed,” she responds in her soft, almost sexy voice. I realise in my thoughts that I just described an AI voice sexy. It has been a while; we are under strict orders not to fornicate until a planet has been successfully landed on. To say has been a while since I shared a romantic evening with a female is an understatement. It’s been twenty years. “How can I help you, Captain?”

  “CETI, please gather the Seekers at the bridge. Keep the Marauder under your control, and keep the target planet in view. I want them to see her, CETI. I want them to see how far we have come.”

  “It will be my pleasure, Captain Reed.”

  The bridge is my favourite part of the ship. At the front of the Marauder’s kite shape is a panoramic windscreen like no other in existence. I have spent most of the journey here laughing and joking with our pilot whilst we looked out at the stars, the nebulas, and the planets. Pilot Racker and I have seen sights that no other human may ever experience again.

  I can see the great planet, I can see her seas and clouds and her land masses, and it is hard to turn away from her. Doctor Spielerbürg and I codenamed her ‘Domus,’ derived from the Latin word for home. We all hope so desperately that she will be.

  Not a single member of this crew could take another year of space, even if we had somewhere else to go.

  “CETI, please print me off a Seeker report before the others arrive at the bridge.”

  I have obtained a report before every meeting for the last two decades. It is a printout of vitals for all staff on board the Marauder. It’s CETI’s own observations on both mental and physical health of the entire team. It once included my own until I removed it from the report. There is nothing worse for your mental health than reading about your mental health. And CETI was thorough.

  The other Seekers know nothing about these reports, and it has to stay that way. This journey, the loss of Doctor Lawson, it is fraying the team. Years of black space and nothing to do will strain even the steeliest minds. Seams are slowly starting to snap. CETI can see them, even when none of us can.

  The report prints from the terminal, and I snatch the paper. I skim my eyes down the list in a hurry and drink the information in;

  Adam Reed- Captain, male, American. User requested CETI not to report on the Captain of the Seeker Marauder. The command was issued by Captain Reed and can only be overridden by Doctor Spielerbürg.

  James Racker - Pilot, male, Italian-American. Physically sound. Has gained 6 pounds since the turn of the human year, but still has a good BMI. Has previously shown signs of despair, often feels isolated from the other Seekers. Has been known to display mood swings and will occasionally slip into brief bouts of depression.

  Simon Farrell - Engineer, male, British. Physically sound but has shown signs of anxiousness. Simon spoke to CETI confidentially and has raised concerns about his performance when the time of fornication commences. He covers this up with a brash, cocky attitude and by seeking the approval of all others.

  Mark Lawson- Physician, male, South African. He is the first of the Seeker project with the status of deceased.

  Sarah Moore - Engineer, female, American. Physically sound but is showing severe remorse and regret over accepting the Seeker Project and leaving her family. Mental spikes during her sleep period are indicative of nightmares. Currently suffering from a painful menstrual cycle and has gained three pounds since the turn of the human year.

  Evangeline Nikosa – Physician, female, Russian. Mentally and physically sound. Has maintained a constant weight and has increased her fitness regime since the turn of the human year. Nikosa has shown signs of conflict with Sarah Moore throughout the Project and has a severe distain for her which has been previously reported.

  Liu Yun - Scientist, female, Chinese. I am concerned with her physical and mental well-being. She has shown deep grieving over Doctor Lawson that has escalated. Yun is currently showing the early signs of painkiller dependency that may escalate further. CETI has restricted her usage stating shortages as the reason, and I have limited Doctor Nikosa’s access on behalf of Doctor Yun, as she may potentially fake illness for prescription drugs.

  Ximena Barros - Scientist, female, Spanish. Barros is mentally and physically sound. She has shown affection towards both Captain Reed and also Doctor Liu Yun. Her sexual preferences were not revealed to Doctor Spielerbürg at the Seeker Project selection process.

  I fold the paper and slip it into my uniform pocket. If I do not know the team then I cannot lead them to the best of our ability. Some would call it spying, invading their privacy, or even voyeurism. I would call it a necessary evil. This is our last chance.

  The Seekers enter the bridge one by one. Their ice blue-silver uniforms are pressed and well presented, their name badges are clear and display their first initials and surnames; J. Racker, S. Moore, L. Yun, E. Nikosa, X. Barros, and S. Farrell.

  They all look eager except for Sarah and Doctor Yun, both of whom have red eyes and pale faces. I shall have to watch their progress. The success of this whole operation depends on the success of each individual, and we have already lost one physician. A weak link could not only cause the Seeker Project to fail, but it could kill us all.

  The team line up in front of me. I can feel their gaze and awe at the blue planet in view at my back. I can see Domus reflected picture-perfect in their eyes and feel the relief in the room. This moment has been twenty long years coming.

  “Seekers,” I address them, “this is it. When we set out on the Seeker Project twenty years ago all of us were the better side of twenty five. We have lost along the way, but we have endured; such is the nature of humans to hold fast in the face of adversity.

  “The journey has been a treacherous one. It has been a trip of unparalleled mental anguish for all of us, but we have stood up, and we have succeeded.

  “We are here now. We are almost home. CETI, please report on Domus.”

  “With pleasure, Captain Reed. Planet Domus is composed mostly of iron at 32.1%, oxygen at 30.1%, silicon at 15.1%, magnesium at 13.9%, sulphur at 2.9%, nickel at 1.8%, calcium at 1.5%, and aluminium at 1.4%. The remaining 1.2% consists of trace amounts of other elements.

  “Domus has an average orbital speed of 29.78 kilometres per second and a mean radius of 6371.0 kilometres. Domus also has a circumference of 40075.017 km equatorially and 40007.86 km meridionally.

  “Early probes have indicated a gravitation pull of 9.807 metres per second squared, and she has one natural satellite that is incapable of supporting life.”

  I cannot contain or disguise my smile. “Did you hear that, Seekers? She is exactly the same as home. Domus is exactly the same right down to the gravitational pull and the satellite that circles her. This is it, ladies and gentlemen. This is what we left our families and friends for. This is why we joined the Seeker Project.”

  “When do we land, Cap?” asks Ximena in her usual up-front Hispanic tone. Her olive skin and bright green eyes are clear indicators of her Mediterranean heritage. She is my ‘chosen one,’ meaning the two of us were put together to breed by the Project. We all have our own chosen ones, except for Doctor Yun, who lost hers to cancer.

  Ximena flicks her dark hair out of her face and places a hand on her toned hips. I could kiss old Doctor Spielerbürg for the pairing. I lucked out on the chosen one programme.

  “We land tomorrow, Doctor Barros. Now, Simon, I need you to prepare the Dweller. Make sure that all the wings are fully secured and that
she has plenty of reserved oxygen for the landing. Make sure there is a constant relay to CETI. Oh, and Simon - make sure the weapons are ready.

  “Sarah, I need you to prepare and launch two landing drones immediately. Aim them for the centre of our chosen land mass - CETI has the coordinates loaded. Speak to the Doctors and make sure the drones are optimised for Domus’ atmosphere. We will not land on this planet blind, and we will aim the Dweller for the best possible site.”

  Simon Farrell is a huge man, a beast of a man. He was a rugby player back home, and his pea-head looks strange on his barrel body. Still, the females have thrown themselves at him for twenty years now. I’m jealous, but he is the best engineer I have ever met, and I need to keep him on side. He nods and leaves the bridge.

  Sarah follows him. She is just as large as he is with only a slightly more feminine face, and long, blonde hair scraped into a ponytail. She’s a real tomboy, and it’s no surprise that those two were chosen for each other, chosen to create life together.

  We must hope that Sarah can push away her homesickness and focus on the task - those drones are the most important part of this landing. They will be checking that the atmosphere is breathable and hospitable.

  I turn to the others. “Doctor Barros and Doctor Yun, ready your equipment. I need reports as soon as Sarah has those probes on the surface. If that air isn’t breathable, or if there are any poisonous spores or clouds then we have already failed. I need CETI to run those reports as soon as you have them.”

  Doctor Yun nods, and her tight bun bobs. She has taken Doctor Lawson’s passing the hardest - he was her chosen one after all. But I know she has grit like a Chinese dragon. She will conquer her problems, I’m sure. Doctor Barros follows Yun out of the room, and I watch my chosen’s hips snake until they disappear from the bridge.