Beyond Light

Post-Accelerating Leap.

“Oh, c’mon man, you aren’t gonna tell me you feel stirred by those cheesy words. I bet they made some 12 years old kid write that script or something,” Mike mocked, putting off his navy blue baseball cap and drinking from his beer.

Everyone in the bar eagerly watched the transmission, and between clinks of beers and ovations, he was the only one who didn’t seem to be excited about the so-awaited moment.

John knew him; Mike was always on the more cynic side of the scale, and he loved to play the devil’s advocate. For what reason? for fun. That was the only explanation he could find. Mike was a prankster, and getting reactions out of people was one of his strange hobbies.

“Be quiet! the President’s about to speak,” a man whispered. The screen changed to the figure of President Malcolm O’Donnell.

“Meh, that corrupt can come and suck my—” whatever Mike was going to say was interrupted by a strong hush coming from John, putting his index finger on his lips. He looked down like a scolded puppy and then back at the screen above them.

President O’Donnel stared at the camera. Two admirals whose’s names everyone in the navy knew pretty well were at both of his sides. “Hey, there’s that goddamn asshole of Weigh,” whispered Mike with disgust. “I’m sure he—”

“Shhh!” John hit him with his elbow.

“Hey, ain't gotta be so grumpy,” Mike sobbed his arm.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, citizens of the Independent Nations Space Union,” President O’Donnell spoke in a smooth and clear voice that was well worthy of a radio locator. He articulated with his hands as soon as his lips moved. “In the words of our well-respected Royal Admiral William Frost and Master Captain Jay Cortez, today, the era in which we are currently living will be redefined. Today, our goals and get modified to incorporate something bigger than everything we know. We are focused on reaching our best, not only as of the valiant union of prideful, independent nations that was formed in 2151. We are talking about advancing as a whole species. Today, the barriers of human progress shall expand beyond the confined space that is our solar system. Different worlds all across our local neighborhood will soon be at our reach. And then, tomorrow, every remote corner of our galaxy shall become accessible for us.”

He made a short pause. Nobody spoke, grinning enthusiastically. It was hard to not feel proud. John could not help but get infected by the feeling that everyone shared. But even he, who had a soft spot for speeches, knew very well that what the president was stating was too much, or at least too unrealistic and ambitious for that current era.

“At the rate we are progressing,” continued President O’Donnell, “soon other galaxies will also become available. Think about it. Has not anyone dreamed before about what life in Andromeda would be like? I asked that to myself all the time when I was a kid. Soon, these wonders will stop being mere speculations. As we advance, there will be no question that we won’t be able to respond,” he made another short pause.

John crossed looks with Mike. Even if the idea could be alluring in its own way, what the President claimed sounded pulled out from a Sci-Fi movie set 5000 years in the future. But it was a speech made for appealing to the masses, after all. They had to put shared sentiment and emotions on it.

He looked at his surroundings. Everyone simpered at the screen, cheerfully drinking. Were they too drunk to think about it, or were they just too ignorant to know better? Both were valid options.

“But every big race starts with a small step,” the President continued. “and that first step is the one we are about to take. I, Malcolm Jeremiah O’Donnell, 66th General President of the Independent Nations Space Union, authorize and give green light to Master Captain Jay Cortez to take off. You are authorized to put the Eternity of Return’s Engine of Post-Accelerating Leaps on the march, and execute the first manned Post-Accelerated Leap to the Vita Nova system, located in the Perseus Arm at 8096 light-years away.”

A faceless assistant passed him a metallic box with a round, grey button on the top. The President put it on the dais and slammed his hand to press the mechanism. The button shined in color green, making a long beep sound. The figures behind him enthusiastically clapped without breaking their formation.

They broke out from their places shortly after, gripping hands with one another and some trading hugs. Their little celebration in the Valiant Horizons Station gave the spectators a moment to chat and celebrate too.

“Woohoo!” a man at the bottom raised his beer, spilling streams around. Everyone lifted their drinks too and clapped, yelled, and whistled in euphoria their alcoholized joy all over the closed space.

“Congratulations,” Mike sarcastically remarked. “we are soon going to become the master overlords of the universe. Aliens out there,” he made his voice raspy and deep. “Vow below the almighty humanity!”

John and he chuckled, clinking their drinks once again, although not necessarily to celebrate. John didn’t understand why was everyone so hyped about this event. It was a good thing that faster-than-light technology was now a reality, but what excited him the most was the success of Blair.

He opened the premiere beer the Bartender gifted to him and gave it a big gulp. “Blair, this one goes to you, man,” he slammed it against the bar.

“This one goes for him too. Blair Star, you are a great man,” Mike gave also a big gulp to his beer, finishing it with a smile on his face and bright in his hazel eyes. He took a small moment to talk once again. “By the way, this all sounds too good to be true,” he rested his face on the palm of his hand. “I bet my monthly salary that something’s going to end up bad on the other side”

Even if that was Mike’s typical cynicism, John could not deny that there was some truth in his words. As much as exciting as that event was, it was too ambitious and fast to be as perfect as the government and the navy claimed it to be. John was no engineer, but he could feel the hunch in his chest that something was off.

With alcoholized drinks stopping being spilled, every customer went silent as the focused image of Admiral Frost appeared once again. The yelling and clapping coming from the streets above on New Belfast didn’t stop, nonetheless. John could swear that the ceiling above them trembled and was about to fall.

“C’mon Mikey, be more positive,” said John playfully. “maybe one day they will let you fly a ship with one of those leap engines to another system.”

“Meh, I conform myself to fly from Venus to Pluto,” Mike responded, looking vaguely at his beer. “not further from that. I hate cold with a passion and—”

“Hey, you two imbeciles, shut up!” a drunk, overweight man with sunken eyes and a sweaty forehead sitting at the left of the bar yelled. “the transmission just started!”

Mike slammed the bar with his hand. “Hey moron, don’t tell me what to do or else—”

John put his hand on his arm and pulled him. “It’s not worth it. Let’s keep watching.”

“John, are you going to let this jackass speak like that to us? I say we get up and kick his ass.”

“Mike, he’s right. We should shut up in a moment like this,” John fixated his eyes once again on the screen.

“Meh, whatever,” Mike glared at the sweaty man of rough factions and drank from his beer, looking once again at the transmission.

The image of Captain Cortez was already on screen, speaking with Admiral Frost on the other half. Had they traded some words already? They lost them up with Mike’s small disagreement.

“Captain Cortez,” spoke Admiral Frost. “You’ve heard the president. Make us all proud in the solar system,” he nodded with a small grin on his old lips.

“Aye Aye, sir,” the Captain nodded, his green eyes filled with determination. “Lieutenant,” he turned his head around to his subordinates on the bridge. “make us leap. We are going to Vita Nova!”

“Yes sir, setting a path of continuous leaps,” A male voice in the background responded, and the transmission with the Captain was cut from the image.

Everyone in the bar nodded with fervor to each other. Some whistled and others clapped once again. Before they could say anything, the camera changed to the exteriors of the Eternity of Return, stationed in orbit around Neptune.

The image of Admiral William Frost reduced itself to a small square on the top right corner of the screen. “Now, we will be connecting with the renowned Doctor in Astrophysics and Quantum Engineering Davis Weiber, from the Independent Nations Institute of Science. He will answer some crucial questions for us to comprehend what is going on now in the Eternity of Return.”

Another image appeared on the bottom left corner of the screen, making a diagonal with Admiral Frost’s little square. In the middle, the Eternity of Return's pair of hexagonal propulsors began to shine in a tenous color blue that slowly intensified with each passing second.

An old man of messy white hair and a square face, with a small wart on his left cheek appeared. John could not differentiate if the man was genuinely bothered by something or his expression was just built around his unfriendly stare.

“I think I saw him once in a magazine of science,” whispered Mike. "Mom and dad always wanted me to go to college. But spaceships were always what I liked."

“To everyone who is not aware,” continued Admiral Frost. “the Doctor is the main lead of project: Ad-Infinitum, which has for objective to put people on an extrasolar system. He started working on this project 3 years ago and has been working in the EPAL with the INIS ever since 21 years ago. Doctor, is there anything you want to tell us before we pass to the most commonly asked questions?”

The man took a small to respond. He did with a short yet keen message. “May the Ad-Infinitum project produce the results that the INSU and the INIS have been expecting.”

There was an emotion of frustration in his voice that gave the impression of some cynical desire on it. Admiral Frost made a short pause, expecting him to say more, but the doctor didn’t speak once again.

“Very well, Doctor," he continued. "Now, to start with the questions, there is one that most people make themselves, especially the familiars of those aboard the Eternity of Return: what risks will the crew be facing when they leap? is there the possibility that the EPAL could malfunction and leave them stranded somewhere far away in space?”

The scientist took another small moment to respond. He looked down and squeezed his lips before doing so. John always knew when someone was lying when they did that specific mannerism. “No, Royal Admiral... There is little to no risk of an accident...”