"Herald" 2028

"Herald" 2028

     During another hyperjump, "Celestia" pierced through the dark space, leaving behind blurred trails of light. The navigation screens trembled with the energy that shone from hyperspace like a magnificent light show. Meanwhile, analysis of the substance Bob discovered revealed that it did indeed contain elements that closely resembled the blood components of marine mammals on Earth. This discovery aroused the interest of the whole team. Perhaps it will be possible to understand why the galactic robbers hunt them. While Bob Martin and Zlata Kovalenko remained in the laboratory, in one of the windows of the command module, Alice Lee noticed a pale glow that did not match the known imprints of stars. She turned to the team and said:

• Something is wrong. It's not a star.

Dave Smith, used a coordinate database to locate the object.

• It is not a satellite or a star. The map is empty! - said Dave, almost without losing his eyebrows from surprise.
• What do you mean? - asked Ram Brandon.
• That's what I have - it's empty.

Had to make an unplanned hyperjump stop. It was this decision that helped avoid the disaster. Flying into an unknown object at such a speed would put an end to the expedition. "Celestia" stopped a few meters away from the unknown cruiser.

     After turning the ship around, Ram asked Alice to get as close as possible and activate combat mode. From a closer distance, the shuttle looked alarming. He resembled a fragment of the past, standing as if on the border of two worlds - the unknown and the known. The ship was covered with a layer of dust and ice. The appearance indicated that numerous turbulences and radiation storms had been experienced. His space travels are even hard to imagine. Only one wing remained, and it was deformed and cut, probably from a large-scale battle. The metal coating was devoid of luster, and in places it was completely missing. The wide transparent windows that once let in the light now seemed to reflect their own sense of ruthless space. In some places, the glass was shattered by meteorites, leaving a fragile trace of its former wonder. Something seemed to be preserved on the left stern. On the distorted panel, you could make out letters that appeared to have been carved by hand with great attention to detail. Although part of the inscription was worn away by time and tanned, one word was still visible - "Herald". This was the name of the last starship with a group of expeditioners on board, which set out in 2028 to naively conquer space.

     The cruiser caused a sense of unease with his unusual aura, mesmerizing the "Celestia" crew and leaving them with questions. Dave and Brandon once again ventured into outer space to catch the phantom shuttle. They turned their attention to a hole in the hull that led inside the Herald, a mysterious artifact.

     Having crossed the "threshold", they found themselves in a dark, narrow space. It was a camera that was combined with an engine. Some extraneous force simply snatched the driver from this place. Having reached the central part of the boat, the boys saw the walls covered with incomprehensible symbols. Remains of tools and personal belongings of the crew, once used for repairs and other purposes, flew freely in space, due to the lack of artificial gravity.

     It seemed as if time had stopped here, leaving everything as it was in the distant past. In the middle of the space stretched a huge dome-shaped structure that resembled a planetarium. Probably intended for projections of the starry sky, videos and plans, building an impressive image of the history of space exploration.

Above the main console was the only intelligible inscription:

“THE UNIVERSE IS OUR HOMELAND,

WE ARE GOING TO MEET THE OLD AND THE NEW.

HOPING ON THE DAWN TO SHOW US THE WAY

WE LEAVE YOU THE LIGHT AND YOU KEEP OUR HEARTS.

ON SPACE PATHS, WHERE DESTINY AWAITS US,

TOGETHER WE MUST OVERCOME SLEEPLESSNESS.

AND LET THE LIGHT BECOME A NET OF HOPE,

THE UNIVERSE IS OUR HOME, OF INEXHAUSTABLE, STRANGE DREAMS…”

     After reading these lines, Ram plunged into the thoughts of his subconscious. He decided not to report the find, but his mask broadcast everything he saw to Celestia's screens. Dave, meanwhile, was rummaging through things in hopes of finding some clue to explain this disaster, Brandon finally turned his attention to the main control panel. His fingers touched all the tumblers and buttons that were whole without result.

• Is there anything? - Dave asked.
• No. The only thing that still works is the beacon. I'll remove it, and you take all diskettes3 with on-board data. - Ram answered, pulling off the transmitter.

Note 3: A successful book uses this concept as a designation of an information carrier that was widely used in computers during the 30s of the 21st century. In the future, the floppy disk is a powerful memory block weighing 3 kilograms enclosed in a metal case. The standard version has a volume of several petabytes.