Michael Rising

Chapter 1 Down for the Count When the countdown reached ten, Erik Petros got ready. He wanted to start playing “Rocket Man” in his helmet precisely when the countdown hit zero. If he timed it just right, they should reach outer space, sixty-two miles above sea level, right at the end of the three-minute-fifty-four-second song. This was Erik’s fifth time on a rocket. He had already grown bored of being launched into space and wanted to change up the experience. He wondered if he would ever take off from Earth again. This rocket would dock with the Ark, the $50 billion starship that was waiting for them, already in orbit, circling the Earth. It was estimated that over one million people came to see the launch. It seemed as if the entire world paused to watch two men and one woman try to bring the heavens closer to home. Little did anyone realize how close they would come. The starship was nicknamed the “Ark” after the antimatter engines that Erik had invented failed to ignite. It was thought the Ark might just float around the Earth forever. But Erik solved the problem, and the engines worked fine. As the rocket was taking off, Erik wondered why it didn’t feel like he was leaving home. He was. He was leaving his many houses, his wife, and his kids. He was scheduled to be away from Earth for fourteen years. So why doesn’t it feel like I’m leaving home? he wondered. Commander David Steinhart was also getting ready for the clock to hit zero. He ran through a mental checklist of everything that should happen, in order. His eyes darted around the capsule to the next step, just before each next step occurred. This was his second space flight, and he wanted to make sure every procedure was followed so that they would have the best chance of success. Today was the first day of their mission to the planet Terros, which was orbiting one of the stars nearest to Earth. If everything went as planned, after seven years, they would orbit Terros. If they found it habitable, then they would land on that alien world. After spending a week there, they would begin the scheduled seven-year trip back home. That was the plan, anyway. Evelyn Noelle had never been to space. She had rarely been outside of her home state of North Carolina before she joined the astronaut program. As the ship took off, she was ready for action. She monitored each of the launch systems, poised to react if anything went wrong. And then it did. “We have a starboard shudder,” she yelled into the faceplate of her helmet, her voice echoing oddly. She was not used to yelling inside that confined space. Her voice not carrying across the cabin made her feel powerless. “Dallas, we are starting to roll. Number one engine has failed. We are starting abort procedures,” David said calmly as he reached his hand forward and flipped the switches that would turn off engines two and three. Nothing happened. “Negative. Re-firing engine one,” Evelyn said. Evelyn had not quite thought through what she was doing; she just reacted. “Re-firing again. Re-firing engine one a third time. Engine one has re-ignited.” This time Evelyn felt like her voice was loud enough to break through her visor. Oblivious, Erik sang along to the song blaring in his helmet. His eyes were open, but he was in another world, which was common for him. “Course correction, in three, two, one,” David said as he tapped a screen with corrected course settings. The rocket stabilized. “Erik, what were you doing just now?” Evelyn asked. She could not believe what she thought she heard coming out of Erik’s helmet. “Erik, please tell me you were not listening to “Rocket Man” while we were trying to save this flight.” In reply, Erik sang out loud some of the lyrics about them being gone a long time, as he studied the flight control screens. “We are already back on track,” Erik assured them. “We will make it to Terros. David, you flipping those switches was not going to work. The flight computer has first priority. It can calculate the probabilities in an instant, so good job, Evelyn. You almost beat the computer to the punch, but it would not allow you to re-ignite unless that was the best option. So, unless the flight computer tells us we’re going to crash, I’m just going to keep singing my song. Technology is what’s going to save us on this trip.” “But flight protocols were to first shut down engines two and three, not to restart engine one,” David replied. “The best possible outcome must have been to override the first set of protocols,” Erik answered. “NASA tested the most recent software update. It was the software they insisted on.” Erik turned his head and shoulders toward David and looked directly at him. “I had no choice since they own the other half of my starship. Don’t worry, Commander, you can trust what I’ve created. Once we dock with the Ark, it will get us there.” “I understand that you own half the ship. But NASA made me the Commander of this mission. I don’t like procedures being overridden. I still don’t like the flight computer’s choice. I expect Official AI to do better than that.” The rocket leveled off and started orbiting the Earth. Erik glanced at his screen. “Looks like we’re back on course to rendezvous with the Ark right on schedule.” Calamity was averted that day, and the rocket successfully docked with the Ark 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 6 seconds after launch. Back on Earth, the news led with the story: “Billionaire Erik Petros and his crew were originally scheduled to be the first humans to land on Mars, but Petros lost that race to the crew of his former business partner and long-time nemesis, Jose Besa…