The begin of the end
Carefully the man floated of the rear part into the cockpit of the shuttle. He did not want to wake up anybody, because he was not alone on board. The others, three women and two men, slept in the rear part of the shuttle. On board you could direct feel the peace. Everything was calm; the ship, the crew and that, where they was on the way to somewhere. In front of the cockpit windows dirty white to greenish resplendent streaks pulled themselves. Otherwise nothing else was to be seen.
Will Tompkins sat down on the pilot seat, fastened himself firmly and examined the instruments.
"Well," he said to himself, "seems to be everything correct."
He stared into the strange environment, the ship continued to wrap and thought about how they had actually ended up in the whole messes. His thoughts slid back to the events to have it led. Isolated pictures flashed up in his internal eye. The space station ISS on which he and his colleagues had worked; was the beginning to be looked for there? , No, ' he thought, �at that time was everything of already running. When did it really begin?' He thought further back, until it came finally to a conclusion, which satisfied him more. Actually began the whole, strange, history with the prevented peace between Israel and Palestine in the spring 2001. Both countries could agree or did not want a durable peace. The Palestinians committed continuously acts of violence on Israelis, who answered again with counter measures. Until then, in the year 2002 the second Jom Kippur war began around Israel. First it was only a military argument between Israel and Palestine. But then Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia intervened. The Iraq used his chance to conquer Kuwait again, while Iran prepared for the attack on the Iraq. The whole Arab world was pulled with in and sank in a slaughterer�s chaos. America that saw itself for the guardian of the world peace was helpless in view of this chaos. It came to attacks and suicide commands on American ships, bases and embassies, so that the Americans had to abandon from the Gulf region. The consequence was that the price for fuel rose in the immeasurable and the industrial nations had to look around to find alternative energies. There were many good beginnings, like bio Diesels or hydrogen cars, but no correct break-through. Also the governments don�t want to miss the finance tax, since they were not allowed to put an oil tax on these fuels. They researched everywhere, where it was even possible. In the laboratories which one had established in the desert, in the jungle and under water. Even the space station ISS, standing in enterprise since year end 2000, was busy with the development of a new, pollution free fuel. But also new possibilities of the Terraformingprozesses should be developed. Mars had to move in range, there those, by the war caused, environmental pollution continued to increase. Experts computed an annual heating up of the climate over ~ 0,6�C. It was necessary that somewhat happened soon.
But also that was not the complete at the beginning of the debacle. That was past still some months. In the autumn of the year 2000 sank the Russian atom submarine "Kursk", and in October the cargo ship "Ievoli Sun" followed him in the English Channel. It was loads fully with poisonous chemicals and threatened into a ditch, with illegal disposes radioactive poison garbage, to slip. The naval units hurried here for salvage had to again leave unfinished things, the containers were leaking and poisonous, corrosive steams ascended. An arising storm drove then also the ship into the ditch where it pushed on the radioactive waste barrels. This dangerous mixture began to mutate then also to the end of the year and in the English Channel broke off a dreadful epidemic. Nearly all fish existence suffered from it. In the autumn 2001 millions fish died were totally exterminated, so that high sea-fishing was global forbidden.
At that time the world had the first time the chance to really cooperate. And in view of such a large disaster, the own borders were no longer important. America and Europe created with Russia and China the European - American - Asiatic - union, short EAAU. But also America had to jump over a large shade. In the year 2001, the president of America, decided that America was not bound at climatic contracts of Kyoto. That had the consequence that the world-wide climatic heating up went many faster than meant.
Will Tompkins did not knew to what extent that applied to himself, but for him personally all of it began six months before the current date. Except if he saw on the on-board watch.
At that time he had worked still on earth, in a research lab of the space station in Baikonur. Pascal Lion, who was also on board, had arrived only one month before their takeoff. Will had met him in the space travel training centre and they got friends. But they had to leave the widths Kasachi quilt, when they were shifted on the ISS. Due to the rising air pollution airplanes hardly could start and land. Storms from never existing violence swept over the earth. Each start of a rocket had become a nearly uncalculable risk.
The poison garbage disaster in the North Sea had, in the year 2023, when Will came to ISS, still larger effects than foreseen. Great Britain, Ireland, the north of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the north of Germany, as well as Denmark had to be evacuated. The life expectancy in the contaminated areas sank on maximally forty to fifty years, so that the government of the EAAU arranged the total evacuation of the inhabitants. The government went even so far and expropriated great land owners, to find place for the refugees. The poisonous mixture came more than one hundred fifty kilometres inland. Many created there new live into the "new homeland", but large parts of Northern Europe were irreparably lost. And also the Russian tundra was everything but an inviting area.
Looking back his stationing at ISS had been a proper stroke of luck. Except if he looked down to the earth. The clouds became ever darker and the cyclone eyes more frequent.
Since the disaster on earth, humans were anxious to settle new country in the universe. The, at that time most modern space station ISS developed and already in the year 2021 it was twice as large it was at the begin. But always enough money for a complete crew was missing, so that the station was mostly often meagrely occupied. So also, when had the small crew under the direction of Leon King their first acquaintance with a new thing.
Pascal Lion was in the laboratory and worked around at one, for his colleague Will Tompkins, incomprehensible, mixture, when a short circuit paralyzed the entire laboratory range. Will was at that time responsible for the computers and current supply, when Pascal called him over Intercom. "Condemned, Will, come to the laboratory. We 'ave 'ere a total Blackout! Can you come and look at that?" his French dialect was not to be over-heard.
Will made himself on the way to the Destiny, since he was responsible for electronics also, touched down the head lighting took its emergency suit-case and floated from the central module to the laboratory. But its trip there was abruptly stopped by the locked door.
"Will, where do you remain?" Pascal announced itself again. "I 'nocked twice my head against something. My retorts need also the light." "I�m already at the door, Pascal," Will calm down, while he removed the wall lining to the distributor. "I must apply only the bolting device."
Short time later, the door came up quietly hissing and Pascal floated to him.
"It was really time, Will. You know, like much I �ate darkness."
"Nothing bad passed, Pascal. The safety device broke. You had hang on again too much of your toys on the distributors?"
"That are no toys," he answered huffy. "I am a very interesting thing on the trace. Come in." It signed Will into its realm, floated at the central computers by and hooked himself firmly at the retort banks.
"Look at it, Will," he pointed enthusiastically to small tanks, which gleamed under bluish light.
"And which should be?"
"That, my dear Will, will revolutionize space travel," he radiated over the whole face. �I �ope at least. This power failure could �ave destroyed everything. I will immediately examine." And he was already dipped into his small realm. Except an occasional "Hmmm," "Yes," "Strange," he did not let anything hear.
Finally he meant: "Will, we should make a drone clear for take off. I want to try that." "Moment, Pascal. The drone may be made only personally ready to be launched by the commander. You may not go around the regulations."
"Oh, who cares on the regulations? That is science. Science does not worry about regulations."
Clamoured Pascal slid past on Will and made himself on the way to the docking station. Will made himself on the way to inform the commander.
"Leon," he called in the Intercom. "Come to the landing bay. Pascal Will to try something the drone."
"Not again!" Leon returned, "I don't know whether the space authority approves us a further drone."
Short time later he arrived also in the landing bay. "What the hell you�re going to make there again?" he asked Pascal.
"I have to try something out," answered Pascal only. "The drone flies only a small piece, than we can bring it back again."
"You bag my pardon, but wasn't there an explosion the last time right after the start?" "Oh, those are small relapse with that we must live."
"Your small relapse cost the NASA a new docking damper."
"Commander, please," begged Pascal finally, "only a small and short trip."
It wasn�t to be expected differently, but Leon gave him the opportunity and Pascal got his trip with the drone. He loaded it with a further tank, in which a strangely fluorescent liquid was. He set it on the firing carriage and went on the command bridge. They sat all strained there and waited what should come. But it exceeded theirs expectations by far.
The drone floated slowly with the conventional drive from the landing bay and held only as it was about a kilometre distant. Then Pascal ignited the extra tank. At first not much was going on. The liquid flowed out of the nozzle, shone easily green and the drone began to remove itself further. Suddenly the output changed. It began so strongly glowing that they had to collude the screens. The drone became ever longer - at least it looks like that - then it disappeared, with dreadfully bright lightning, simply in the distance.
"Gosh darn it, Pascal!" Leon proclaimed. "What you made with my drone?"
"To be over honest," he answered with innocent eye impact, "I 'ave no idea."
"Hang it all! How should I explain that to the NASA?"
But that should not be their problem. The centre had recorded the strange phenomenon already for and puzzled about it. The usual tardiness of the bureaucracy took time also, because already at the next day came an urgent inquiry at the bug proof line.
"I do not know, if I should congratulate you or not," the bald headed three-star general with slight stomach meant at the other end of the line. "We observed your start with the drone and had largest trouble it to follow. She is yet, "he spoke very long," meanwhile disappeared of our screens. Do you have a notion, where the drone flew?"
That should be actually only a rhetorical question, but Pascal was so convinced of himself that he stepped out and babbled. "I turned the drone before. Toward to Epsilon Eridiani. To act on the assumption I think that it is on the way to there."
"Well, Mr. Lion, then I may congratulate you," the bald head smirked devious. "You will be the first with your colleagues, who will see Epsilon Eridiani."
It knocks them for a loop. Leon regained it as the first. "Why you think that you can send us straight to Epsilon Eridiani?"
"Sirs,� the voice of the chap became sugar sweet, "you expect with the next starting window supply at personnel." That was correct. NASA wanted to send up there wives, who worked also in the research. "Your wives will be, same as you ,passengers '. The actual reinforcement will consist of Dr. Fjodor Uljanow development specialist for chemistry components, Dr. Kim Chu He Chinese genius in the computer development and Dr. Daniel Freudenberg of his indication the best astrophysicist of Europe. They will supervise your flight and will accompany you on your journey there."
The three were flabbergasted. None of them knew a suitable answer, so that the general simply turned the line off.
"Sacrebleu! They cannot simply... "Began Pascal, but Leon snap up the word.
"And how good they can," he hissed. "Did you ever read in the contract of employment the paragraph four? Therein it is called, I quotes: if the persons concerned on board the research station obtain a successful break-through in space travel have the honour to belong to the first command to the stars."
Pascal�s face lost appreciably at colour. "�owever we 'ave nevertheless nobody, who have astronautic experience," he meant.
"Pascal, perhaps I should say you that five years ago, I participate in a program for depth flights in the space port of Baikonur," answered Will. Pascal lost still more colour: "I think I must puke!" and he flow away.
Leon regarded Will. "My wife will not be straight inspired, when she hears that." Will could probe that to him well. His wife Jessica and he had bought themselves a small house in south Spain before their service start on ISS. Now they had to leave it on the way into a more uncertain future.
For good Pascal, it gave enough to do to in the next two weeks. They adjust the same conditions for every day as on the day of the power failure, but they didn't was successful. None of the liquids had the same composition as the tested. It was for despairing.
"I must! I must! I must!" Pascal howled of one evening. He was at the edge of a mental break down. Leon decided to give him a tranquilizer, so that he could sleep. Will and Leon brought him into his sleeping bay, fastened him firmly and went then sleeping.
When they woke again up on the next morning, Pascal was not longer there. Panic spread out. Leon and Will flew from the sleep module to the laboratory range. Pascal napped peacefully like a baby in a pitch-dark room. He did not know no more, how he had come there. But they had received the first litre of there charm drink.
"Perhaps you should always sleep at work," meant Will joking. "Then you would have more success and we didn't see you anymore."
"If you mean," answered Pascal, "then you can also without me. I am �anging anyway more on this planet than you."
"Now don't be moping, Pascal." Leon tried to defuse the situation. "You had success nevertheless. We need to regard only the recording, to reconstruct the computer attitudes and to the mass production can begin. You will be a rich man, if we return!"
"If I still can enjoy it then," he answered morbid and flew from the laboratory.
The following week all three were only busy to manufacture more from strange green liquid. Altogether they could brew over hundred fifty litres. It stank appalling, so that Leon saw himself forced to strengthen the filters of the oxygen treatment plant. It helped a little bit, but they could sleep at least without headache.
Then the day came as shuttle with their wives and the second crew started. The weather was - against expecting - well the wind held itself within limits. Even the sun shone on Central Europe and the southern areas Americas. The shuttle came floated, like a shining fish, by the universe. A majestic sight, which Will remember again and again, how small humans are. The docking manoeuvre was excellent, not even the sensitive equipment in Pascal�s laboratory was vibrated in disorder.
Leon, Pascal and Will floated full of expectation in the docking bay, while the hose was directed to the shuttle. Leon�s manoeuvre was as from the text book.
"I should have recorded that," joked Will. "On earth they could need it well."
When the pressure balance was created, they already saw, how the passengers moved by the hose. Their shade was thrown over supernatural to the hose wall. As the first their came, replaces '. The beginning made Daniel Freudenberg, a angular chap with scanty hairs. Him followed Fjodor Uljanow a Siberian as it in beech stands. Firmly, hard with flashing eyes and dark hair he was. In the end Kim Chu He, rather small tender Chinese with the typical round eyeglasses came. Then their wives followed. Pascal was glad, even if he had something fear before that, what his wife would say to the event. Catherine was a good hearted woman.
"Where this mad inventor is," they heard from the hose. Pascal became more pale than he already was.
"Well, then we will leave you for the moment," said Freudenberg during he and his colleagues departed, after they had heard that. "Your Ladies are pissed. We furnish ourselves first. Discussion will be later."
They were hardly disappeared, the women already cane from the tube. Forward Catherine Pascal�s woman. Their tender shape saw lost in that much to large space suit. "What you actually imagined," she welcomed herself to Pascal, what provoked him to a ducked retreat. "Now don't run away, you giant baby." Chastised him Catherine again, "I don't eat you." She slid to it over to him. During she left the docking area with a depressed Pascal Leons woman Nathalie came and Will Tompkins woman Jessica. Nathalie came, elegantly as always, floated, say a welcome at Will and floated away with Leon. Jessica looked at Will with her dark eyes. "Hey, you," she meant only. "Looks like, that our vacation at the Spanish coast probably becomes nothing." Then she embraced him and gave him a kiss.
"Sorry, my love but if Pascal�s miracle liquid is so good, as it looks like, then we will be back again in the summer."
"Well, then it looks probably in such a way that I hastily locked the contract with the regional government."
"Which contract?" Will was confused.
"A contract, that the possession remains on us, no matter how for a long time we will be away. Finally we are now famous. The whole world looks on us. You cannot imagine yourself, how obliging the officials can be, if you says to them that you are married with Will Tompkins."
,Well, ' thought Will, ,that was at least a good message.' The house remained for them in any case. Because there was no longer enough habitable country in Europe, the government saw itself forced to make large properties smaller. Partly it came also to total expropriations. Will was sure, that Jessica had drawn all legal registers around to prepare the contract. Finally she had learned the lawyers' tricks, before she changed in space physics and astronautic. They departed from the docking bay and floated first toward the sleeping module. Jessica had to furnish herself, as the others also, before they could come to the substantial.
"How you actually call the miracle drug?" she asked Will on the way there.
"Pascal still gave it no name."
"Perhaps then Pascalin would be fitting."
Will had to laugh. "Sounds like penicillin," he meant. "Perhaps it helps also against any illness."
Will and Jessica laughed still, when they came into the sleep module. Catherine had forgiven Pascal obviously, because they hung in an intimate embrace in the area. Jessica prodded Will. "I think, I will furnish myself later," she whispered to him. "I put my things only into the bunk."
One hour after the arrival of the new crew, they met themselves in the fair of the ISS to a first discussion. Freudenberg, the current executive chief of the station, opened the meeting as informed them all about the research flight.
�One day before your take off, comes a further crew on board the ISS. That will be mainly military and astronautic observers. They will supervise your flight with us and if it should be necessary help from here."
"I don't know," answered Leon, "whether the military or you can help here on the station at all. If I compute the speed, with which the drone disappeared, correctly, we become faster, than possibly a signal."
"That is the reason why further crews will come here. One tinkers already at a transmitting plant, which is strong enough, to bridge the distance fast enough."
"Should that mean, you would control our course, from here?"
"Well, if it should be necessary, yes."
"That would be a total blind flight. Why do you need then still a crew?"
"We probably cannot see, what you will see," answered Uljanow. His Russian accent sounded still heavier as if Will had assumed.
"Actually how you designate your invention?" Dr. Kim, who had held itself up to now in the background, announced himself to word. They saw all strained to Pascal.
"I, aeh, now," he stuttered. "Actually I �ave still made no thoughts about something like names."
"How it would be with Hyperflux?" Leon meant smiling.
"Sounds good. The name accurately related it."
"Good, after we discussed everything for the moment, let�s come to the subject health," Dr. Freudenberg took the discussion again into the hand. "How it looks with your physical training?"
"If you mean our suction bell," answered Will, "those we use every three days. Everyone may do one day training. The training hours were always supervised by the earth."
"I have to prepare you for the fact that you get also well over the flight. We know neither if you are exposed at all to pressure forces nor if you will be still weightless. The shuttle was particularly equipped. It contains safety nets, which will protect you, in the case of a too large pressure, against this. Safety-relevant the newest what exist on the market, easily, extremely flexibly, organically degradable and body-compatibly."
"Are you sure that the nets will not cut us into pieces? I would not like to arrive filleted."
"I can calm you down, Dr. Lion. The nets were submitted intensive tests, before somebody remembered to use them in space travel."
"How these tests was looking? Nevertheless we will be the first one reaching such speed."
"By your Hyperflux, if we let the designation, you will actually achieve an undreamt speed. But these nets do not only stretch the length, they adapt also the width. They are, like we say, intelligently."
"And that I have to believe you?"
"You could even carry a pudding forward, Dr. Lion. But now I must go to your new training units with you. That means plain-talking, you, Mr. Lion, will work together with Mr. Uljanow and Mrs. King on the Hyperflux. The training units you will complete by your sides. You Lieutenant Tompkins, and Commander King, are introduced by Mr. Kim and me into the technology of the shuttle. You, Mrs. Tompkins are given first schooling to with Mr. Kim and Mrs. Lion at the newest navigation computer. They will convey during the flight constantly data at us, thus we can follow you."
"Well," Catherine meant, whereby a light mockery slunk into her voice, "it becomes obviously not boring."
That, nobody could maintain. The technology was the newest, which human brains could invent. Complicated, for re-entering as Will, occasionally illogical and, like Leon said, completely brain-cracked. But Jessica and Catherine were God praise not better too. Kim lost himself often so much in details that they nearly fell asleep. The really interesting were the stored star maps. You could change them interactively, depending upon which and where someone was straight. The computer summed the takeoff data up with the speed, looked on the star constellation at present the takeoff, measured the change of the stars to it and connected it with the put back distance. So you had a current picture, with the stored star names. In addition you could store possibly existing planets, which could be investigated with later space flights. It was a hell job. But not only them, also Uljanow did not have it easily. Pascal, which was always a somewhat scatterbrained scientific, brought him already on the first day to the incandescence. Will had to admit that he often cannot follow its thought jumps. But with Uljanow he accumulated formally to the maximum form.
"I do not understand that a human like he have an academic degree," grumbled Uljanow when he flew quickly in rage out from the laboratory module. "It has simply no notion what he makes."
Pascal checked it only flabbergasted, shaking his head and continue to pass on his explanations at Nathalie.
One week later all was at the end with the nerves. The most ideal starting window approached and none came on the necessary values. Leon and Will could not control the control mechanism, Catherine and Jessica had problems with the navigation computer and Uljanow had daily rage outbreaks with Pascal.
On one day they supplied themselves a screaming match that they had to accommodate both in different sections of the station. Will believed, they would have otherwise struck themselves. Uljanow pulled itself with a bottle of Wodka, which he had smuggled up into the fair module back. Late in the night also Pascal came into the fair. He told later that it also desire had something to drink. At least they found them both peacefully united on the next morning. They slept both, hooked in the chairs.
If Will would had been there he would have bet on the fact that they begin to argue again. But that was a completely unexpected picture.
"I hope, now we can return again to the normal agenda," meant Freudenberg as he saw them. Catherine shot a memory photo before they finally awaked.
From this day on everything went in such a way, as it had been supposed already before. It became easier without the continuing quarrels. Uljanow, or Fjodor, how he had offered the other ones, hung around all day long with Pascal in the laboratory. That had as consequence that Pascal became somewhat more properly and Fjodor somewhat more scatterbrained. Nathalie got along from the beginning with Pascal, since she had already worked on earth with him. Leon and Will got along also better with Kim and his computers and also Catherine and Jessica got the navigation computer into the grasp.
The day of the departure came closer. Now the team was only pained with the suction bell. Every day more sport was on the program. They ran, until they could not run anymore.
"Slowly I believe we should make a marathon race at Epsilon Eridiani," niggled Pascal.
But Freudenberg answered this vehement in the negative. "It is only sake for your health," he answered. "You want to be fit when you are back again."
For the health of the team really nothing was too expensive for the space agency. Even such a suction bell was present in the shuttle.
But it was ensured also for alternation during the sport. That their muscles could feel the accustomed normal force of gravity again they were allowed to go back on earth the last week before the start.
The clouds, those the American continent veiled were at present not so strong, so that one could land relatively safely. While the tiles of the shuttle, coloured themselves red, with their re-entrance, Will could see that over the entire European mainland a thick, brown white, cloud cover was laying ,Not already again flood,� he thought. But it was as well as sure that the clouds would inundate once again the country. However over the American continent not one cloud was to be seen and the population groaned under the burden.
The, relative, fresh air and the force of gravity, which they could enjoy in the Russian taiga, was the last they remembered for the next months on board the Explorer 1. They enjoyed these one week in full. The entire crew went hiking and refuelled energy and peace. But the week passed too fast. When they sat in the airplane for Baikonur, Jessica sighed: "I hope that we find soon something."
"What you mean?" asked Will.
"Doesn�t depend, either the fact that we really reach Epsilon Eridiani and the planet is to settle or that we can make something against this climate."
"I believe, your last desire into fulfilment will not go."
"Then at least still the other one remains for us."
Finally the day was coming. On the ISS was noticeable a hectic driving. The station was full as never before. The ship was loaded with a supply of food for a half year and the team settled right after the arrival the inside of the shuttle. They had to make place before the next team arrived. Initial frightening, before their takeoff gave way to an expectant happiness. Now it became excitingly, because in two days, after the arriving of the military crew they departed.
After they left the ISS by routine, checked the systems and had mentally prepared, they brought the ship to align, so that the extra tank with Hyperflux could be ignited.
They hung themselves correctly into the catching rope, fastened everything which could fly around could and began with that Countdown.
Leon counted down and when he arrived at zero, Will ignited the Hyperflux. It was the same, as with the drone. First it flowed unimpressive from the drive, began then to glow, while the earth with before it the floating ISS became ever longer. Finally terribly sharp lightning tore the universe and they disappeared in an indefinable environment.
The message from ISS over their flight came ever more distorted into shuttle. It seems to Will, as if the sound tried to come in by soundproofed walls. The sound had only partly success. The tiles of their shuttle began to glow light orange, and it became ever warmer in the cockpit. Nothing more was to recognize from the environment except the glowing of the tiles and the shining of the instruments, they were surrounded by an impenetrable, milky green veil.
The time passed slowly and the noise increased from minute to minute. Soon they had to shout at themselves, so that they could inform themselves. "If I would have known that they want to grill us here, I would simply have invented a large baking-oven," called Pascal. Then acceleration tore off suddenly.
So suddenly, as they had dived into this strange environment and the inferno around the shuttle had begun, suddenly everything became silent again. The noise left, likewise the glowing of the tiles. The first tank was empty, and shuttle floated in this strange area. The radio messages didn�t come any longer up to the ship and they could only guess where the messages could have set off. But the silence was the worst. It was so absolutely, so impenetrable. And the uncertainty in that the team were. The on-board stop watches measured the time, the hours passed by, with best accuracy. But on the third day Jessica was noticing something, which all quite worried.
"Say me, Will," she turned to him. "Which day do we have today actually?"
"Can�t you read the clock anymore?" he answered tauntingly.
"No, I�m serious."
"We departed at Wednesday. That was three days ago. Why do you ask?"
�Which date was there?"
"12 August 2023." Will slowly felt provoked. "Why do you ask?"
"Because on the onboard watch appears the 13 August 2025."
At this time one could have heard even a feather impact. The silence hole itself up proverbially in the last slot.
"However, that cannot be!" Leon and Pascal proclaimed it together. "you the checked the computer already?" "Are the systems all working correct?" "Had you really checked everything?"
Suddenly all were in a fever of excitement. The entire crew pushed themselves around the central computer. Everything was going to be checked, all systems examined nevertheless they couldn�t find anything.
"If the computer has quite right, then we would have been travelling each day a whole year," said Nathalie. "Nevertheless, that cannot be possible correct."
"Nevertheless, we �ave examined everything."
"The only explanation, which I can offer, is that this strange milky mass there distorts the time outside. But we cannot be safe, which date we to actually have. We do not know whether the central computer, or whether our internal clock has right."
But that was not the worst, what should happen on this journey. They were apparently still in the acceleration phase, because the time passed from day to day faster. All computers and system check ran positively. Only the on-board watches indicated always faster day and turns of the year.
