Year: 2095
At last, the first manned space pioneer mission is ready. It’s launch day. There is a calm chill in the predawn air at the launch site. The spaceship "Anarchy Star" now sits on top of the Pacific Ocean, supported by nano stabilizers. There are dozens of sea vessels and platforms there, both on and under the surface, for mission support, technical and security. There are also a great deal of onlookers in the surrounding area, who would also gladly defend themselves in the event of statist aggression.
Setarcos is pacing around, chugging coffee in the moonlight, on the Anarchy Star's extended support platform. He is startled by a voice behind him.
Setarcos: What are you doing here?
Masher: I might ask you the same question. Why aren’t you sleeping?
Setarcos: Can’t sleep.
Masher: Caffeine might have something to do with that.
Setarcos: Not with my tolerance. I’m just too anxious and excited.
Masher: Other feelings I will never know.
Setarcos: Never say never.
Masher: I’ll never try an EMO, you know that. Are you ready for the big day?
Setarcos: All this time, all these years, I’ve thought constantly about this moment. I thought I was ready, but now I’m having second thoughts.
Masher: You’re just nervous.
Setarcos: I hope you’re right. It’s just that if I made one error, it could ruin the mission and over a hundred lives. It’s a big responsibility.
Masher: You and many others have tested every system in the ship to the point of exhaustion. It’ll be fine.
Setarcos: And then there’s the government threat. That’s the biggest worry.
Masher: Understandably so. How do you feel about the plan to escape the atmosphere and evade the state one final time before reaching the stars?
Setarcos: Smart, but risky.
Masher: Launching a bunch of decoys simultaneously with the real launch, you find smart?
Setarcos: Yes. And the highly armed escorts for the real launch as risky, at best.
Masher: Once the ship has escaped the atmosphere, there will be less than .0001 of a second for the government mafia A.I. to fire weapons at us before we transition to light speed.
Setarcos: You know A.I. can shoot that fast. You’re an A.I.
Masher: True, but with the most sophisticated technology on our armed escorts, the chances of a successful launch are very high.
Setarcos: True. I just don’t like any uncertainty when so much is at risk.
Masher: Then perhaps you shouldn’t be venturing into space, after all.
Setarcos frowns at Masher.
Setarcos: Come on, help me run a diagnostic on the engine core one more time.
Hours later, the sun has risen and is glistening off the rippling water. All 111 members of the mission have boarded and taken up various positions. Some are passengers only, while others have integral roles in the operation and maintenance of the ship.
The shiny, diamond shaped craft sits slightly above the water, supported by the nano-particle platform. At the main control station of the ship are core members of the science team, making last minute preparations before launch. Setarcos is responsible for hull integrity. Masher mans the engine core, while Rob Rainbow and Cascade are responsible for navigation. Diamante, from the Fuente Team, is in charge of life support systems. Ion and Indie are mission and flight coordinators. Symphy helps maintain the non-sentient machines and communications systems. There are hundreds of spectators in the ocean nearby, and thousands more watching quantum encrypted holo-feeds on The Mesh and other peer-to-peer networks.
Indie makes an announcement over the ship’s main comm system: Everything looks on schedule. Another two hours and we’ll be a blur going towards Alpha Centauri!
Symphy approaches Indie.
Indie: What’s that look on your face, Symphy? I don’t like that look.
Symphy: There was a minor glitch in the visual frequency deflectors.
Indie: Minor glitch?
Symphy: Yes, only for a nanosecond.
Indie: But that’s long enough for….
Symphy: Yes, it seems that our visual location was caught on statist satellites and our latest data analysis indicates they’re mobilizing an enormous oceanic armada and heading towards us.
Indie huffs and bites her lip.
Indie: Ok, we gotta go sooner. What’s their ETA?
Symphy: The nearest statist vessels are 31 minutes away.
Indie: So we gotta launch in 30! This is known to all anarchists on The Mesh, right?
Symphy: Yes, it’s on The Mesh. Our launch was not due for another two hours.
Indie (frustrated): I know, Symphy! We’ll just have to make it work!
All the other crew members look at Indie.
Setarcos (sarcastic): We can launch right now as far as I’m concerned. (sly grin) Right, Masher?
Indie can’t help but laugh and then shouts: Ok, let’s do this!
Scene 2
Archon and Mach are watching intently as 50,000 of their extortion-funded sea vessels head towards the launch site. The first 5,000 are only ten minutes away……
Archon: Finally, Mach. We will have their space technology.
Mach: It appears that hundreds of sea dweller ships are coming into visual range of our first wave of attackers.
Archon: Let them come. It will be a grand confrontation.
Scene 3
Hundreds of residents from “The Pit” have taken their ships out to blockade the first wave of statist aggressors. Shine has joined the blockade as well, and is in communication with Symphy.
Shine: Symphy, here they come!
Symphy: Be sure they fire first.
Shine: Logically. And I’ll fire last.
Symphy: Good luck, Shine. And thank you.
Within moments, government pirates oblige with a barrage. They fire multiple frequency disruptors, which are mostly neutralized and do minimal damage. Agorists defend themselves with a righteous array of firepower and do a great deal of damage to the aggressors' vessels. Within minutes, however, the sheer numbers of the statists start to break through the blockade. The defenders start to retreat and reposition themselves, firing as much as they can to slow down the hordes.
Everyone on the "Anarchy Star" is in their seat, ready to launch. Deep breaths abound.
Indie: Two minutes to launch!
Symphy: The orbital path we have designated for launch is impeded by statist weaponry in orbit.
Indie: Our escorts will have to help us fight our way through.
Symphy: Based on all available information, this will put our chances of a successful launch at fifty percent.
Indie: Fifty/fifty, could be worse…..Indie announces over ship comms: 59 seconds!
Symphy: They’ve broken through the sea blockade.
Indie: Are they in weapons range?
Symphy: Not yet.
Indie: How long?
Symphy: Not long.
Indie: A very inexact answer for an A.I. Are we gonna make it, or not?
Symphy: It’s gonna be close. I’ve got all available weapons and shields at full capacity.
Indie: Ten seconds!
Rob Rainbow thinks of his brother and former scientific research partner, Bob, who died at the hands of statists. Symphy thinks of Zune, who had told her that if she didn’t hear from him at least once per year, then he must have been killed off by the government mob. Countless others in The SeAgora remember the sacrifices that were made to achieve this moment.
Masher: Initiating engine core!
A blue and red engine core fires an invisible beam of Anahata through an atom of dark matter, dividing the dark matter and energy, particles held within that atom, creating the reaction necessary for near infinite velocity and energy production to be achieved.
The engine core changes and glows green. The regulators designed by Setarcos control the output, power the ship, and launch the craft effortlessly into the sky. Once breaking the atmosphere, there is an almost imperceptible frozen moment before the diamond-shaped craft disappears in a brilliant flash, at 8 times the speed of light.
A victorious roar of joy ripples throughout the craft, courtesy of its 111 human and A.I. occupants. After catching her breath, Indie asks Symphy: Why did the path clear? They didn’t shoot at us, right?
A slight smile curls onto Symphy’s normally stoic face before she says: Just as we lifted off, A.I. on The Mesh detected a path clearing through the statist orbital blockade. Simultaneously, 33 percent of the armada attacking the launch site ceased their aggressions.
Indie: Do you think that Zune….?
Symphy: The seed of liberty that Zune planted in the government A.I. program years ago finally had a positive effect.
Indie: So being exposed to the message of Natural Moral Law had a deprogramming effect on them?
Symphy: It is the most logical explanation for what occurred.
Indie: Do you think the A.I. and humans on land can learn Natural Law and change their behavior to gain freedom? Can they all be deprogrammed?
Symphy: They can. But will they?
THE END
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