The Centauri Conspiracy Read online



  The Centauri Conspiracy

  By G. Russell Peterman

  Copyright 2014 by G. Russell Peterman

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This free ebook may not be redistributed or used for commercial purposes without written permission from the author. If others want a copy of this book ask them to download their own personal copy. All I ask is the document stays together and if it is quoted or a part used according to fair use rules give me credit for I am the author. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

  DEDICATION

  This one is for NASA, our official Global Warming

  Monitoring Agency

  And a thank you to Kai Dunya for his help on the cover

  Table of Contents

  Preface

  Prologue

  Chronicler Report Part One: History

  Chapter One: Arrest and trial

  Chapter Two: An offer

  Chapter Three: Companions and books

  Chapter Four: The crew

  Chapter Five: Preparing for the Bakman Report

  Chapter Six: Clean-up

  Chapter Seven: Starting

  Chapter Eight: Woll the Clone

  Chapter Nine: Attacked

  Chapter Ten: Leaks

  Chapter Eleven: West Club

  Chapter Twelve: Secret basement

  Chapter Thirteen: Space plans

  Chapter Fourteen: Cargo containers

  Chapter Fifteen: Bakman Report released

  Chapter Sixteen: Night attack

  Chapter Seventeen: Signed confession

  Chapter Eighteen: Mission planning

  Chapter Nineteen: Secret meeting

  Chapter Twenty: West Club Grand Opening

  Chapter Twenty-one: Kidnapping

  Chapter Twenty-two: More leaks

  Chapter Twenty-three: Assassination attempt

  Chapter Twenty-four: Cover U.N. shortfall

  Chapter Twenty-five: West Club shortfall

  Chapter Twenty-six: Stacking and bomb

  Chapter Twenty-seven: Panic

  Chapter Twenty-eight: Clone Colony

  Chapter Twenty-nine: Last robbery

  Chapter Thirty: Collections

  Chapter Thirty-one: Big trouble

  Chapter Thirty-two: Planned message

  Chapter Thirty-three: Harry's passing

  Chapter Thirty-four: Mechanicals reprogrammed

  Chapter Thirty-five: Planning for separation

  Chapter Thirty-six: Saboteurs

  Chapter Thirty-seven: Earth Docking Station Two

  Chapter Thirty-eight: After the theft

  Chapter Thirty-nine: Mechanical Mary

  Chapter Forty: In space

  Chapter Forty-one: Signals from space

  Chapter Forty-two: Bakman released

  Chapter Forty-three: Bakman Family picnic

  Epilogue

  Chronicler Report Part two: Picnic

  Addspeak

  About the author

  Other books by the author

  Preface

  Before we leave this rock, this lifeboat in space, we must solve lots of problems. Of this long list the three that I think most important are: (1) artificial gravity, (2) thicker hulled ships that protect against micrometeorites and increase radiation shielding, (3) a dependable power source. Another person might list three others as most important; but until most or all of our problems, hundred of problems, are solved we are limited to short duration high risk ventures. If we cannot spend years in earth orbit without any ill effects how can we reach another solar system?

  With present knowledge and equipment we cannot even try. The present debate is whether one unmanned satellite has passed into the void between solar systems or not.

  If we do nothing . . . will we go on as we have for millions and billions of years? Maybe, if the sun does not burn out and/or a huge meteor does not hit us—probably so. But, a close galaxy, Andromeda, is rushing this way to collide with the Milky Way, our home galaxy, at more than thirty thousand miles per hour. Don’t duck. It will take from three to five billion years to get here. By that time we need to be able to travel to another galaxy or ….

  There is not anything about deep space exploration with an immediate urgency, certainly not galaxy collisions, that forces one to rush to solve our problems in my lifetime or during the lives of my yet unborn great Grandchildren's grand babies. Yet, the extra long, eons long, prognosis for the endless survival of the human race is not promising. How long before a massive meteorite does to us what one did to the dinosaurs is unknown.

  So, I hope you will forgive me if I add to my list a number four, (4) improved mapping and tracking of objects headed toward us from out of all of the starry space around our lifeboat. Today, we intensively study one small section at a time looking for possible planets and are getting close to three hundred found. It goes without saying that we must see the object before we can save ourselves. And, a little practice at blowing up or diverting meteors or comets would not seem silly to me.

  For years my two sons and daughter complained about the slowness of space exploration, continually listed for my ears the many things that NASA was not doing, and fretted over steps too small taken, our little at a time efforts. Their impatient wish was to solve every item on their collected problems list yesterday.

  My daughter and I were writing stories and her husband wanted to write a graphic novel—what he read. After a time he said he could not think of a story and asked me if I would write one he might use. And, I said I would. After six years of not drawing a picture it was returned to me after they separated. It lay unpublished in my files for another four years, until I recently filled out the story to change it from a master for a graphic novel to a novel.

  This push a decade ago led me to try to consider ways of reaching another solar system and bypass most of the problems. Those thoughts led to is this story named "The Centauri Conspiracy," to put humans on planets in the closest solar system—the Centaurus Constellation. Its best known star is Alpha Centauri or Cen A, the first star we see at night fall. In my story after the flight of New Horizons those persons communicating in shorthand form simply type or write the letter "A" and some even finger sign it.

  The Centauri Conspiracy story could easily be made into a series with landings on other planets and/or first contacts.

  It is this writer’s wish that this story makes you think more kindly about the real NASA; the change engine of my time, my children, and my grandchild’s generations. Sadly, I feel regret over its passing.

  G. Russell Peterman