Paul Westfield had left for the longest mission in NASA history, Magellan, the first manned mission past the orbit of Saturn and his son Casey was only ten years old. A mission long enough that internment into stasis was necessary. Shortly after the wake up call the Magellan mission went MIA, and Casey would be wondering what actually happened to his dad and that mission for a long time to come. Now Casey has become an astronaut himself and thanks to the discovery of a chamber inside the face on Mars, he has been chosen by the United World Space Agency to go on the most prolific mission in human history. 80,000 light years to the other side of the galaxy, to visit a society that predates humans by well over a billion years. With a tour guide to help, he has to remember as much as he can because it's a one time offer to exist in a completely alien world, and then return with all his experiences and information. Then an opportunity arises and Casey feels he should roll the dice. Everything is not quite what it seems though, and Casey must survive the court appearance of a lifetime, along with making a decision that could reduce the human race to a footnote in the galactic history log.
2 AT THE DOME
Black BoxBy Dylan BeckermanAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Dylan Beckerman
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4567-0163-5Contents
Chapter 1 Casey Is Born......................................1Chapter 2 Paul Westfield Leaves..............................7Chapter 3 The Test At Cydonia................................15Chapter 4 Trouble For Magellan...............................29Chapter 5 Casey Is Selected..................................45Chapter 6 Casey Arrives In Tralik System.....................67Chapter 7 Tul Begins The Story...............................81Chapter 8 The Tralik System..................................87Chapter 9 The Dome Flyover...................................117Chapter 10 Casey The Tourist.................................139Chapter 11 Casey Comes Home..................................171Chapter 12 The Decision......................................189
Chapter One
CASEY IS BORN
Casey Paul Westfield was born on February 19, 2014, to Meredith and Paul Westfield. They had been trying to have a baby since they married and settled in Cocoa Florida 4 years previous. The doctors had been adamant that there were no physical reasons why they had not been successful and to just be patient. It was difficult for Meredith to see other young mothers who didn't seem to have to try hard at getting pregnant. However the patience paid off and they had a son.
They chose the names Casey and Paul with the help of both sets of parents. Paul's parents Joe and Sara Westfield, and Meredith's parents Fred and Rose Duncan. Everyone agreed that Casey looked like his dad did when he was a child, and if he followed suit he would probably end up around 6 foot 2 like his dad. Paul has the tall somewhat lean look with black curly hair, hazel eyes and a distinct jawbone. While Meredith is 5 foot 6, has dirty blonde hair and is slender with a more rounded face. Casey would inevitably end up displaying varying features and traits of both parents.
Thinking back, Meredith was a little apprehensive about having a husband in the space program, after all it wasn't exactly the safest way to make a living. She also realized that Paul was in line for the next major mission, something that people in and around NASA get used to. How people seemed to be groomed for certain things, by the powers that be, and given enough time they usually happen.
It was the first marriage for both Meredith and Paul, something of a rare thing in these times but they were both kind of old fashion so neither of them had jumped at the first offer to come along, and now they both felt it had paid off. Although Paul was a little more reserved in his emotions about being a dad, such was not the case with Meredith.
Her joy was evident every time she looked at young Casey. No matter what happens down the road she will always cherish the times she was enjoying at that moment. She never did conceive again but that was ok with her and Paul since they had Casey, although Meredith could foresee at least one dark cloud on the distant horizon. That being the scenario where Casey would follow in his fathers footsteps, it was a thought she tried not to have too often though.
Casey grew up like most kids, with bumps and bruises and the various assortment of learning experiences. However he did realize shortly after turning four and starting preschool, that not every kid has an astronaut for a dad. He had been exposed to kids in the neighborhood whose dads did not have high profile jobs and even at that young age there was some animosity. But Casey's dad had always told him that the way you feel comes from inside you, and not from the conversation of the moment or your surroundings.
Paul Westfield had been exposed to a little of this himself at the neighborhood barbeques. Not that it was ever continuous or downright mean but it was obvious that there were some people who seemed in need of pointing out different 'social standings' as far as jobs were concerned. Paul didn't like it but put up with it in the interest of peaceful relations with the neighbors, since most often the person objecting to unreasonable statements is usually made out to be the bad guy.
So when Paul felt Casey was old enough to understand he started helping him build self confidence with the knowledge that your disposition is entirely up to you. He felt that this would be Casey's best defense against what he knew his son would inevitably run into sooner or later. He also noticed that Casey seemed to be very logical, left brain oriented, not prone to emotionally based mood swings, a trait that helps make a good astronaut.
Paul was also trying in an off hand way to prepare Casey for a day that he wasn't sure would ever come, when Paul would be assigned to leave on a mission of significant duration. Meredith had caught on to what Paul was helping Casey with, and had encouraged Paul to continue while doing the same herself. Because Meredith knew, if nothing else, having Casey be strong in light of his father leaving would be a good thing. Neither of them realized just how prophetic this would be.
BUILDING OFF WORLD BASES
While Casey was growing up a lot happened in the space business. The United Off World Agency had been developed in 2020, and its headquarters was located in Iceland, called Genesis. It was quickly become one of the busiest places on Earth. There was a continuous media presence along with endless meetings among numerous professionals from a multitude of different countries. The future of human exploration in the solar system was being decided in this place.
Man had gone back to the moon and established several manned bases there in 2022. The main administrative base was called Armstrong. It was located in the Sea of Tranquility, just south of the old Apollo 17 landing site. There were several buildings for various logistical purposes, 3 landing pads, 2 launch pads, a solar power station, and a control tower. There was a science building with garden domes and an observatory as well as a communications facility, isolation units, decontamination units, emergency services, recycling center, security offices, a vehicle garage and many other offices and shops. The average population was about 2400 people of all different nationalities and disciplines.
There was another smaller base that had been built to the south near the old Apollo 11 landing site. This one was called Aldren and it was a scaled down version of Armstrong, but it was as important since there must always be a back up in case the primary base should need to be evacuated. This base had about 740 people. There was regular vehicle traffic between the 2 bases and friendly sports competitions as well. There were many small satellite bases, some manned, some not, and some manned only when there was a need as in the case of a special science study or communications experiments.
All the knowledge and experience gained from building the moon bases allowed for an accelerated schedule for building the bases on Mars and also provided a launch platform that significantly cut down on the lead time for flights. Ironically, the terrorism at the turn of the 21ST century had actually acted as a catalyst for space travel. The powers that be reasoned that if there was a terrorist attack, the likes of which had never been seen before, it could theoretically trigger a nuclear war. Hence even the hardened bunkers and survival locations of the world's elite would not be enough to survive the worst case scenario....
