The Story
Earth, the Moon, Pluto and Gliese 581G · 2170 to 2212
Preface
A romantic and scientific story set 150 years in the future, on Earth and on several distant interstellar planets no more than 35 light years from Earth. No intelligent life has been found in the Universe, and few interstellar planets can harbor life, much less humans. Earth is looking like a miracle oasis, and mankind is slowly destroying it through climate change and overpopulation.
Terra Nova Corporation is the world’s richest company, headed by the enigmatic and shrewd Doctor Sri Srinivansan, who took over the world’s economy by producing the first Fusion Reactors and the first robotic interstellar Fusion Drive Galaxy Cruisers. Now Terra Nova wants to build Prometheus, the first interstellar vessel capable of light speed, using the scientific papers of Doctor Maria Maravilla.
The world of 2170
World War III, fought between India, Pakistan and China and started by terrorism, killed over one billion people. Afterwards the world’s governments made drastic changes so it could never happen again. Money is now a single electronic currency, the credit, and every purchase is checked by the World Monetary Bank. Everyone must wear a gWatch that streams their location and vital signs to the World Population Control Center, the WPCC.
To curb a population of 15 billion, the right to have a child is reserved for married couples who both hold a PhD in a field that helps mankind survive, such as physics, medicine or agriculture. Science has become the most valuable thing a person can offer the world.
Three journeys
Part one · 2170 – 2171
Earth and the Moon
Maria is a 27-year-old full professor of physics at Princeton. On the dark side of the Moon, John’s team can’t make the Quantum Pinch Magnet work, and only Maria understands the physics behind it. Princeton balls, a Nobel Prize, a visit to Compu Quanti in Florence and a run to Pluto follow, and then a time of sorrow.
Part two · Ship date 2172
The voyage to Gliese
Prometheus carries John and Maria 20 light years at 3 Niner to resupply the colonists on Gliese 581G. On the way John begins to have visions of the future, and he finds he can understand any language. When they arrive at Gliese, their plans suddenly change.
Part three · Earth date 2212
Welcome home
Because of time dilation, a few months aboard ship are decades on Earth. Maria returns to a Princeton she has been away from for 41 years. Weapons contracts, old enemies and a trip home to Peru lead to Contact, eminent peril and a proposal that could bring peace.