Part 50
DATE:FC+202

As Becky had breakfast, the radio was on. An update about her company caught her ear.

Jim Workman:
Now, in our regular slot "Today in Tomorrow's Future", there's news this morning that Star Bright has entered into a major agreement with four aircraft manufacturers.

The companies haven't been named, but it's understood that two will be developing vessels intended to replace conventional commercial aircraft, one will focus on space‑exploration craft, and another on platforms designed for asteroid‑mining.

Scott Hardwicke:
Setting aside the space‑going projects for a moment, do we know any more about what some are already calling "planetary hoppers"?

Jean White:
Only in outline at this stage. Because travel using Star Bright's technology is effectively instantaneous, these hoppers are expected to be significantly smaller than today's aircraft.

Industry sources suggest hops between London and New York every thirty minutes, allowing business travellers to move when it suits them rather than adhering to fixed schedules. And without the need for runways, smaller regional transport centres may finally become viable.

It could even make routes such as Shetland to Australia practical without routing through London. Many analysts are describing this as the final blow to the traditional hub‑and‑spoke model of air travel.

Scott Hardwicke:
Although, of course, while the journey itself may take a second, passengers are still likely to spend up to an hour clearing customs. Some things, it seems, never change.

Jim Workman:
Beyond faster and more frequent journeys, what wider changes are we likely to see?

Jean White:
It will take months for manufacturers to begin constructing fleets, but preparations are already under way. The International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN body responsible for setting global standards for air traffic and airport systems, has begun work on standards for what it's calling "transport hubs".

For example, if a hopper is arriving at Heathrow, it would be assigned a landing pad rather than a runway. Because these craft carry fewer passengers, turnaround times could be as little as five to ten minutes. Much of that process would need to be automated, both to manage the volume of traffic and to ensure safety.

Scott Hardwicke:
So, Heathrow survives?

Jean White:
Initially, yes, but perhaps not in the long term. These craft don't require runways and produce very little noise, removing the need for airports to be located far from city centres.

In the UK, Victoria Coach Station has already submitted planning permission to convert three of its stands for planetary hopper use. In New York, the former CBS building on 57th Street is set to be redeveloped as an international transport hub.

The idea, quite simply, is that people will arrive much closer to where they actually want to be.

* * *

"Rebecca Head and Henry Potter from Star Bright," introduced Becky to the receptionist at Beyond Satellite in Manchester.

"Of course," she said, her eyes wide. She recognised Becky, and she felt awed. She recovered enough to stammer, "Once you've scanned in, I'll get Kevin. Can you confirm the third person with you?"

"Ade Olatunji," Ade said, introducing himself.

The receptionist consulted the printed sheet containing the days expected visitors, and also her computer. That matched the agreed people attending. The printed version wasn't susceptible to last minute tampering by a hacker.

"Has the CAA Inspector arrived?" Becky asked, as she scanned her finger for identity verification.

"Not yet. He's due in the next twenty minutes. I've got his details. There won't be a repeat of last time."

"This is a new company. There's always a learning curve," Becky reassured. "Last time was a test satellite. This time it's the real thing."

She gulped, trying not to think about the value of the launch. It wasn't just the replacement price of the satellite, but the reputational cost to Beyond Satellite and the cost to humanity. They'd been entrusted with fitting out the communication link between the human race and the aliens.

Kevin arrived and took them through security and into the building. Becky loved the place. It was such a mixture of themes. There was still the feel of the old mill, yet inside it was ultra-modern. She thought of it as an historic building that was still making history.

When they reached the window looking into the cleanroom, it was a totally different sight from when Earth-1 was delivered. Then the cleanroom was empty. Now there were four different satellites at various stages of build. Earth-1 and Jupiter-1 stood next to each other. The major difference was Earth-1 had the plastic panels around it, ready for deployment.

"That looks busier than my last visit," Becky stated, pointing to the window with her head.

"Things are picking up," Kevin admitted. And then added quickly, "Only our staff are allowed in there unless escorted."

Becky didn't respond to that, but just continued, "Can Henry go in and add the tunnel box?"

"Sure," Kevin responded. They walked to the antechamber, where a member of the staff stood waiting to accompany Henry in, once attired in the correct protective clothing.

It would take Henry at least ten minutes to hook things up, so Kevin took Becky on to the control room and showed her to a desk she could setup her equipment. Once inside, Ade took a position near Becky, but against the far wall. It gave him a vantage point where he could watch the room without interfering. Leaving her to get setup, Kevin went back to reception to await the CAA inspector.

Manreet Singh, the communications person at Beyond Satellite came across. "We are on channel one. You should have a private channel back to your office and another to HILLSAT."

"Great." Becky donned her headset and chose the Star Bright closed channel. "Star Bright, I'm online."

"What's your status?" Evan asked.

"Henry is in the cleanroom, adding his box of tricks. We are still awaiting the CAA inspector."

There were two large screens on the wall, one showing the current status of the launch, and the other a feed of the cleanroom. She saw Henry and the Beyond Satellite member of staff in there.

"I've done a last feed test from HILLSAT," Liam said from HILLSAT office in Cornwall. "Looking good. Paul and Sharon are on the main loop listening in."

"Satellite subsystems are as expected," Jessica said from her office in America. "All tamper sensors in place. Nobody has touched it since it was sealed."

Henry was escorted in, followed soon after by Kevin and a young man beside him. Becky went across to introduce herself while Henry set up.

Kevin introduced them, "Ronald Smyth, this is Becky Head, co-founder of Star Bright."

"Pleased to meet you," Ronald said, giving her an appraising look.

"Sorry to ask, but have you confirmed him?" Becky asked Kevin.

Kevin almost blushed. "Yes. And I checked with the CAA office. We have a real CAA inspector here this time."

Ronald didn't seem to mind. "I understand the need to check. I'm glad I made it this time. Beats being tied up. I'm just here to observe. Carry on."

"Device is in place, and clean room is sealed," Henry said over the loop.

Kevin took his position and checked the board. "Let's get things rolling. Lock the building and take us to launch ready."

The status board updated as the room was locked, the building entrance locked and finally the gates. This wasn't as slow and drawn out like when they did the test satellite. Beyond Satellite had been through their data and refined the process.

"We are at Launch Ready," Dhru Patel said, his heart racing. Building satellites was one thing, but he'd found out that launching them was his passion. It meant they'd done their job and it was going to be used.

"Excellent. HILLSAT, how is tracking? "

"Tracking is green," Paul from HILLSAT responded.

"Star Bright?"

"Satellite is good," Evan responded.

"Launch authorised," Kevin announced, and the final status on the screen went green.

As soon as the status went authorised, the launch button unlocked on Henry's screen. He clicked it. "Launched."

Becky had been watching the video feed of the cleanroom. Earth-1 disappeared, and two seconds later, the control box that Henry had installed also disappeared.

The seconds ticked by, as they waited for the signal from Earth-1. The operators in Manchester, Cornwall, Gloucester and America waited.

"Interdimensional signal received," Sharon from HILLSAT stated. "Awaiting confirmation via the dish. This will take at least thirty minutes."

There was a huge cheer in Beyond Satellite office.

"Unlock," Kevin ordered.

"Impressive," Ronald said. "I need to get confirmation of location though."

"Of course," Kevin nodded.

Becky was looking at her tablet. The location data was coming in via the tunnel. It was where they promised. That wasn't enough though. They would wait for confirmation the traditional way. It made the officials happy.

"I've managed to ping data via Earth-1 to the East and West coast sites," Sharon said, amazed that it was live so quickly. Normally satellites took weeks to slowly commission. They would need to first acquire signal, position the satellite into the correct orbit if it wasn't already there, and then start the live situation.

Becky shrugged. They'd done a lot of the commissioning work while Earth-1 was still in the cleanroom. The only difference, once it was in space, was where the tunnel needed to open. There was no packaging the satellite for launch. Solar panels didn't need to unfurl. What was in space was what had been on the ground.

Waiting always made time appear to drag. There was nothing else they could do. The launch had gone smoothly. The satellite hadn't disintegrated with the thermal shock. Data flowed.

"The Beacon has advertised itself and we have confirmation back," Jessica stated.

Tears started flowing from Becky's eyes. All that work. All the test scripts and they had connected. Shakily she asked, "How many beacons?"

"Twenty-seven."

Henry patted Becky gently on her back. "Well done."

Manreet, the communications engineer at Beyond Satellite walked briskly across. He was still on his headset, so he didn't need to come across. "It just connected to twenty-seven beacons?"

Henry responded, "The Rohastin Council will be one, and twenty-six different species."

A few in the room gaped. They knew they were creating a new communications satellite, and that it would connect to the alien council. What they didn't expect was the twenty-six others. Manreet didn't faint but did stagger back in shock. Henry kindly provided his chair.

While Becky waited, she sent an email to Eric Hartman, area director of IESG on Beyond Earth Integration. She thought he should know that Earth-1 was launched. Perhaps it would help to keep him focused on the work needed updating Internet standards.

Yet they still waited for confirmation of location. Thirty minutes past. Thirty-five minutes. Silence.

"We have it," Paul said, relief in his voice. "Tracking has it exactly where they promised."

"And that concludes my duties," Ronald said. "This has been most enlightening. Satellite launches are never going to be the same. But that might not be a bad thing." He shook Becky's hand and then Kevin's.

"Kevin, we have one more thing to do. Do you mind if we do it from here? Your guys are welcome to listen in."

"By all means," Kevin said, unsure what else was to be done.

Becky turned her headset back on. "Jessica, is everything ready?"

"We're ready. We have two FAA inspectors and NASA deputy administrator with us. Sam has already done the installation and our cleanroom is locked."

The people at Beyond Satellite gasped. They understood what was happening but didn't know what.

"Then launch Mars-1," Becky instructed, putting the feed she had onto the main screen.

Everybody in the room swivelled to watch. Ronald had put away his book and was just a spectator. Two launches within an hour. Wow. This had only become possible because the American Government had realised that not cooperating would hurt them.

They followed a similar procedure to what Beyond Satellite had. Sam's voice was clear over the net. "Launched."

"Where around Mars have you positioned it?" Dhru asked Becky.

"Areostationary orbit. That way it is close to existing assets for them to use it as a relay."

"Earth-1 has acquired it," Evan said. "Mars-1 has broadcast itself to the Mars Sample Return Orbiter."

"Awaiting on JPL to confirm via the Deep Space Network," came the voice of Edward Summerfield, NASA deputy.

Becky leaned back in her chair and waited. Even though Earth and Mars were in a good position, it would still take time. The good news, it was a relay statement to Earth via the Deep Space Network, not a return. So perhaps ten minutes wait.

"Why didn't you put Earth-1 in geostationary orbit?" Kevin enquired.

"It needed to be in a good position for the galactic relay, not for rovers. Mars-1 has a totally different purpose."

"Ah, that makes sense," Kevin agreed, realising how much thought had gone into this plan. I doubt a fraction of Earth will care though."

Becky shrugged. "Good. I didn't do this for fame. This is a quiet upgrade. People will still get up in the morning and go to work as usual. They might see some websites load faster and it will become the new normal. In a few months, some might notice they can sign up for a galactic email address which will be just in Hytuna. Most probably won't care. Life goes on."

"I think it impacts me."

"Of course it does," Becky smiled. "Deploying satellites is now a lot simpler. It's going to impact some industries, but that always happens. NASA and ESA will be excited for a few weeks, and then it will just become standard. They will expect to be able to talk to a rover in real time. Wait until someone goes exploring and they decide to populate a planet in another star system. Then Earth-1 will have a new meaning. A way for humanity to stay connected over distances only a year ago was unimaginable."

Her computer pinged and she glanced at it. The ping wasn't her normal email, but the program she'd written to view galactic messages. It was a techie's program, showing all the routing detail. She saw it had been delivered via Earth-1. The first message via the new beacon. It was only then that she saw it was from Shinara, one of the elite diplomatic doctors.

The world fell away. All she could do was stare at the short note. They had a plan to help her, and could she visit.