Tonight we begin Book Two of the Twin Paradox trilogy, starting with Part Five, Celebrities and Pariahs. We now get to find out what happens when the three space twins, Ozzie, Shamiso, and Young-Min Jo attempt to reunite with their identical siblings after, what is for them, twenty-four Earth years. It's not the same for the three space twins of course. Their bodies are that of twenty-four year olds. Not so for their counterparts Praxido, Rudo, and Kwang-Min Jo. All three are in their mid-thirties. Praxido "Ranger" Guerrero is a retired sports legend. Rudo Kachote (aka Rudo Love) is a word-famous pop-star. And finally, Kwang-Min Jo has become a rich business tycoon.
Our focus tonight however will be on the trial of Captain Steinhart Stehter. His failure to execute a linkup with Nautilus during Santa Maria's journey back to Earth has led to yet another official inquiry by Space Programme.
Tonight we begin Book Two of the Twin Paradox trilogy, starting with Part Five, Celebrities and Pariahs. We now get to find out what happens when the three space twins, Ozzie, Shamiso, and Young-Min Jo attempt to reunite with their identical siblings after, what is for them, twenty-four Earth years. It's not the same for the three space twins of course. Their bodies are that of twenty-four year olds. Not so for their counterparts Praxido, Rudo, and Kwang-Min Jo. All three are in their mid-thirties. Praxido "Ranger" Guerrero is a retired sports legend. Rudo Kachote (aka Rudo Love) is a word-famous pop-star. And finally, Kwang-Min Jo has become a rich business tycoon.
Our focus tonight however will be on the trial of Captain Steinhart Stehter. His failure to execute a linkup with Nautilus during Santa Maria's journey back to Earth has led to yet another official inquiry by Space Programme.
Hello, and welcome to Season Two of Twin Paradox. I'm King Everett Medlin and what you're hearing is a SciFi trilogy I wrote four years ago under the pseudonym Purple Hazel. Twin Paradox follows my first podcast series entitled Deathwalker Colony, which is now a full length novel available for purchase on Amazon. Go online and check it out! It's on sale today in E-book format, as well as the first two books in the Rijel 12 Series, The Rise of New Australia and Return of Anarchy.
Tonight we begin Book Two of the Twin Paradox trilogy, starting with Part Five, Celebrities and Pariahs. We now get to find out what happens when the three space twins, Ozzie, Shamiso, and Young-Min Jo attempt to reunite with their identical siblings after, what is for them, twenty-four Earth years. It's not the same for the three space twins of course. Their bodies are that of twenty-four year olds. Not so for their counterparts Praxido, Rudo, and Kwang-Min Jo. All three are in their mid-thirties. Praxido "Ranger" Guerrero is a retired sports legend. Rudo Kachote (aka Rudo Love) is a word-famous pop-star. And finally, Kwang-Min Jo has become a rich business tycoon. Our focus tonight however will be on the trial of Captain Steinhart Stehter. His failure to execute a linkup with Nautilus during Santa Maria's journey back to Earth has led to yet another official inquiry by Space Programme.
Twin Paradox is a SciFi series encompassing three full length novels; all of which will be read in their entirety during the coming weeks. You can go online and download the E-books ... or if you prefer, tune in and listen to me read them to you. So let's continue.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Twin Paradox, Part Five: Celebrities and Pariahs. Chapter Twenty-four, Stay Tuned ....
"Good evening I'm Jorunn Arnesen, and welcome to GBN news. This is today's top story," began the lovely anchorwoman. As she said these words, fast-paced news program music rose for a moment then slowly faded. The broadcaster pivoted in her chair to gaze into a different studio camera as she launched into her nightly report.
"Proceedings began today in Darmstadt, Germany for an official inquiry into circumstances surrounding the galactic voyager Santa Maria. The mysterious vessel, which has for so many years captured the imagination of so many people around the world, has gained fresh notoriety as of late by returning to Earth with all hands safe and sound.”
Upon saying this, the camera view altered slightly by shifting to the right and showing a grainy video transmitted from Mission Control from the Earth’s moon weeks earlier. The Santa Maria was shown landing at a giant military base located on the surface; a base which didn't exist when it departed Earth in the year 2086.
“In the past few weeks, citizens have been riveted to their video screens due to the ship's retrieval by the crew of Nautilus now captained by Space Programme’s first female skipper Anna Shchetinina. But as crewmembers once cryogenically frozen have now been successfully revived … and able to bear the rigors of the witness stand … one by one they've been brought before a board of inquiry charged with investigating the goings-on during its epic 24-year adventure."
She then pivoted once more to face yet another studio camera and said, "Let's now go live to Darmstadt where we have our very own Adina Brindabella reporting from Space Programme Headquarters. Adina … can you hear me? Any news for us?"
Adina Brindabella was an Australian journalist of Aboriginal descent who'd made her way through journalism school idolizing news pioneers like Coraline "Cory" Redmann. Covering this story for the Global Broadcasting Network was like a dream come true and a major break for her career. Now appeared a screen image of a gorgeous young woman standing out front of a darkened office building. There was a momentary pause before she answered.
"Good evening Jorunn. Yes it was a dramatic scene today at Space Programme headquarters as both sides delivered their opening arguments. Of course it's quiet now here in the streets of the city. Families of the returning crew and reporters from news affiliates have traveled to this little town just south of Frankfurt to witness the spectacle. Few were allowed inside the courtroom naturally, despite the prosecution boasting of a legion of witnesses who could be brought to the stand to support their case. Not surprisingly the defense team representing the two captains Thomas Berwick and Steinhart Stehter had plenty to say about that when it came their turn to present opening arguments. Jorunn?"
To this Jorunn Arnesen, sitting in her London broadcast studio clarified, "Thanks Adina. Are you able to tell us anything about what all was said ... that is, are you allowed to?" At this point the view changed to a split screen with Jorunn on the left and the beautiful Adina Brindabella on the right.
"Yes I can Jorunn," she replied. "Plenty of fireworks today as the prosecution leveled charges of incompetence and dereliction of duty (she paused as she spoke and looked down at an electronic notepad which she quoted from occasionally) leading to the failure of the Santa Maria to link up with Nautilus back in 2106 when it was scheduled for rendezvous with the massive supply vessel. This, as you may recall, delayed the return of Nautilus and the prosecution was quick to point out how this endangered her crew as well as the overall success of the mission. The prosecution also raised the issue of crew behavior and lack of discipline - accusing the two captains of lax authority and oversight in maintaining a professional environment which (she again looked down at her notes) adhered to ... perhaps I should say failed to adhere to ... military etiquette. Jorunn?"
Ms. Arnesen nodded patiently, maintaining her cool demeanor which viewers had become so accustomed to. She'd been anchoring the GBN news for several years and delighted in how the format had reverted to that of a small market local news show, complete with sports and even human interest stories intermingled with details of international events. This story in particular had gripped the public's attention for weeks, ever since the Nautilus had returned with the once "lost ship" tucked inside its cargo bay.
"Good heavens ... and just how did the defense respond during their opening remarks, Adina?" asked Jorunn; eyebrows furrowing with concern.
"Quite vociferously, it would turn out, Jorunn,” replied Adina Brindabella with eyes widening, "Once they got their turn to speak that is." There was no humor in her face; somehow concealing the thrill she was feeling at getting to cover this story on international Ultravision for the entire English-speaking world to see.
"The defense team attacked the prosecution's case vigorously in fact, pointing out how Space Programme already had in its possession substantial proof that Santa Maria's crew and captain had done all they could to warn Nautilus … had done all they could to alert the ship's captain of a new rendezvous point, and had notified Mission Control of all they'd discovered and attempted to do in rectifying the situation. The defense also emphasized that Nautilus's captain had blatantly chosen to ignore messages left behind for them to find, and proceeded to Earth without attempting to search for them. This, claimed the defense team, had already been documented over a year prior when Nautilus arrived with all its crew and colonists - but sadly with no knowledge of the Santa Maria's whereabouts. Jorunn?"
"Good gracious," commented Ms. Arnesen. She was shaking her head with dismay. "Then how does it look, Adina? Any predictions you'd be willing to make regarding the eventual outcome; given what you saw today?" When she said this she grinned slightly. Adina rolled her eyes.
"It's anyone's guess at this point. Obviously the authorities have all the evidence they need since captain's logs will detail almost exactly what transpired on the ship. There's little the defense or the prosecution can do to refute any of that. So it's really just a matter of how the board will choose to perceive it. For instance, Santa Maria had its own team of astronomers on board assigned with determining what caused the missing matter device to disappear back in 2106; and what's more they reported this to Mission Control. Obviously, the prosecution must know something they're not telling us quite yet. We can only hope that perhaps it will be revealed over the next few days of testimony. Jorunnn?"
"Indeed!" quipped Ms. Arnesen. She sat back in her chair and rolled her eyes. Then she thanked Adina Brindabella for her hard work in covering the case. "Thanks Adina. Keep us posted on what transpires next, will you?" Adina nodded and smiled pleasantly. After that the view returned to normal as Jorunn Arnesen continued her report.
“So, for our viewers tuning in tonight, let’s recap what we think we know regarding this fascinating story which spans twenty-four years going back to the year 2086,” continued the anchorwoman, and when she said this the screen view switched to a picture of the old Santa Maria with a bullet point outline superimposed over it. The image of the Santa Maria was an old artist’s rendering of the craft provided by Space Programme a quarter of a century ago – since at the time there was no feasible way to photograph such a large vessel from up in orbit. The information on screen now gave a timeline of events that had transpired since it was sent off into space.
“The Santa Maria was launched from Earth’s orbit using antiquated Star Shot technology,” she explained; then as she moved onto the next bullet point, the next one automatically highlighted in bold yellow-gold letters. “She travelled for over fourteen Earth years to Kapteyn B, before landing on the planet’s surface in May 2101, establishing and then developing the first alien planetary colony.” The next bullet point then highlighted yellow-gold as the previous one returned to white lettering.
“After a year of building up the colony and constructing an indoor farming facility to feed colonists, Santa Maria blasted off into space and began its return voyage to Earth,” said Jorunn Arnesen, pausing for a moment to allow the screen to advance to the next important date.
“At light year 4, or roughly the equivalent of September 2106, the Santa Maria was supposed to rendezvous with the new ship Nautilus during her return voyage from resupplying the planetary colony and relieving the original colonists there. Unfortunately, Nautilus was unable to locate Santa Maria's whereabouts and found herself essentially marooned in deep space for the next two and a half years. Finally, in 2110, that very same Nautilus, now re-fitted and manned by a fresh crew captained by Anna Shchetinina, successfully located and intercepted the missing space vessel … securing the lost ship in her cargo bay for the journey back to Earth. This was accomplished a little over a month ago, leading to the amazing events of today when the two captains of the Santa Maria were brought before a board of inquiry in Darmstadt.”
After that, the screen changed back to a studio view of Jorunn Arnesen sitting at her desk, looking up from a video screen she was viewing. She was holding an electronic drawing pen which she’d apparently been using to touch the screen to highlight each bullet point. Looking into the camera she then previewed the next screen graphic.
“Now let us show you from where the controversy stems in this bizarre case where seasoned ship captains are telling vastly different stories regarding what really happened four years ago.”
The screen switched to a new picture of the Santa Maria setting down for the first time on the surface of the moon where her crew were relieved of duty and those remaining cryogenically frozen were eventually revived and rehabilitated. This grainy photograph, taken from a lunar surface rover, then faded to black and white while a new graphic was displayed showing two columns of fresh information. One column was titled “What the Nautilus Claims” and the second was titled “What the Santa Maria Claims”. Each column was filled with several bullet points, then a horizontal line extended across the screen below the two columns, under which was typed “What really happened”. Below those words were typed four large question marks. Jorunn tapped the screen on the left causing the letters in that area to turn shimmering yellow. She began reading them off to viewers.
“According to Captain Yermak Timofeyevich, now retired, Nautilus came out of warp roughly one quarter of a light year short of her interception point with Santa Maria. She then travelled on auxiliary propulsion, one tenth of light speed, for two and half years before she finally reacquired the next matter device necessary for reactivating her ADM drive. Not finding the Santa Maria awaiting her there, the captain chose to journey home to Earth, arriving in 2109.”
She then touched the point of her electronic marker to the other column and highlighted the right side of the screen.
“By way of comparison - according to the crew of the Santa Maria - including the now infamous Steinhart Stehter - Santa Maria’s crew discovered to their dismay in early 2106 that one of the matter conversion devices in the long string of pods running all the way back to Earth was missing and … allegedly … had vanished completely from view. This was reported to Space Programme months later by way of a message pod sent back to Earth. Armed with a team of astronomers assigned to the original mission, they determined that a space anomaly was the culprit; and this – whether it be a rogue asteroid, comet, or just random space debris – must have been the cause of the missing link in the long chain of matter devices floating out in deep space. Returning to Earth in 2110, Captain Stehter now confirms that he and his crew devised a new potential rendezvous point several years earlier and provided this same information to the Nautilus by leaving a second message pod floating in space for them to retrieve. This was either missed or simply ignored - depending on who you’re talking to.”
After that she highlighted the bottom section of the screen with the question marks and added, “Who’s telling the truth? We’ll soon find out I’m sure. So stay tuned, as they used to say. We’ll be following this story closely and keep you well-informed as the drama in Darmstadt continues.”
After she said that, the screen returned to a view of Jorunn Arnesen, this time smiling brightly. She added one more kind comment, then moved on.
“What we do know for sure is that all the crew have safely returned to Earth and been reunited with their families after over two decades in space. Despite the unfolding scandal surrounding this inquiry into the alleged incompetence of ship captains, it’s certainly good to know that all hands have finally come home. When we return, we’ll recap this weekend’s sports news with Riley Nugent. Stay with us, won’t you?”
The camera view then pulled away as fast-paced news show music faded in before switching to a litany of consumer product advertisements.
********
Yes, there was quite an uproar in the media - for several weeks in fact - as the proceedings saw a veritable parade of witnesses called to the stand. To be sure, the prosecution came out with guns blazing and went right for the jugular with its claims that “controlled substances” had been in use by the crew - with the full acquiescence of the Santa Maria’s commanders, no less. They had no problem producing eye witnesses to corroborate this claim.
Retired former colonists, now living off government pensions, with otherwise no incentive to turn state's evidence? Surprisingly enough there were more than a few who braved the long journey to Darmstadt to provide testimony about marijuana use on the Santa Maria. And what of those crewmembers from the Nautilus who could vouch for the original Captain Timofeyevich’s contention that the object floating in space in the vicinity of the matter conversion device looked like debris left over from the Santa Maria colliding with the missing matter pod? A couple of those emerged as well. There were even a few from the Return Team who were subpoenaed by the prosecution to provide testimony against their former captain!
This wasn’t at all necessary of course. Space Programme had verified these facts long before the proceedings began. Blood samples were easy to fetch from crewmembers who’d been frozen in stasis by simply thawing out their frozen plasma during the reanimation process and detecting traces of THC in their blood cells. When consuming Tetrahydrocannibinol, the human body stores it inside fat cells. Tissue samples from revived crewmen and women would bear this out quite easily if any of them had consumed cannabis within 10 days of going into stasis.
Yet the prosecution’s case was based primarily on the suspicion that many among the crew were actually “high” during the establishment of the colony, as well as during the long voyage to the alien planet. Upon proving this, prosecutors felt this would imply the crew might have been under the influence of the drug and therefore impaired during their voyage home as well. Allowing such behavior onboard a galactic space vessel could only serve to incriminate the captain and anyone else in charge of ship discipline. But that was only the beginning of their attacks on Captain Stehter and his staff. There were other points of interest they wanted to establish.
“Are you certain this behavior was both condoned and allowed onboard the Santa Maria during both the voyage to Kapteyn B as well as the journey home?” asked the prosecutor of one particular witness; a woman who was technically now in her forties (though looking much younger) and more than willing to cooperate with the investigation. The prosecution wasn’t referring to marijuana use this time though. They were trying to determine if fraternization amongst crewmembers was present during the mission and the captain of the ship was cognizant of this. It was key to their case. Establishing an image of ship’s discipline deteriorating into outright hedonism would only serve to condemn her captain as being negligent.
"Yes, sir," replied the gal.
This proved to be a rather dubious tactic. Practically everyone was guilty of “indiscretions” in some form or another. Happened all the time! This was widely known, though rarely discussed openly. Even Commander Cadorna, the once respected commandant of the colony and internationally famous “pioneer” who’d led the establishment of the settlement there, had engaged in this {officially} forbidden conduct. For that matter, board members would have been only vaguely interested in such mischief. Who could have blamed them in such circumstances - with the threat of death lurking and years to be spent onboard the vessel after the colony was completed? However, prosecutors sincerely believed in what they were doing. They wanted to paint a picture of flagrant abuse and the flaunting of military etiquette while under the watchful eye of a captain who simply looked the other way.
“And at some point, did the captain ever take steps to suppress such wanton behavior?” he further asked.
“No sir,” she replied. “He had his own girlfriend and they were regulars at the Virtual Reality Chamber as well. Saw 'em there all the time together.”
B.J., who was sitting in the courtroom audience, suppressed a snicker when the woman said that.
“Shit - now I’m gonna be famous too ... whenever them ‘ole reporters get around to figuring out it was me fuckin’ the captain.”
The woman then added, “People finished their duty shifts and stripped out of their uniforms only to go fornicate with one another wherever they felt like it. The VRC. The gymnasium. Sleeping births. Wherever they could find a spot to get it on. Even the cargo bay sometimes, I heard. It was everywhere. People walking around in their underwear or sometimes nothing at all. Both sexes. It was out of control.” She ended up providing some of the most scintillating evidence during the prosecution’s case, and the media ate it up with a spoon. Became a celebrity overnight!
But by far and away, the star witness for the team of prosecutors was to be none other than Luigi Cadorna; and this disputatious individual they saved for the very last. He was finally called up to the witness stand and … by that point, folks in the news media were already having a field day with the growing scandal.
This concludes tonight's podcast of Chapter Twenty-Four: Stay Tuned. I hope you enjoyed it. Watch for Chapter Twenty-Five, which I'll be posting very soon.
Also, and don't forget, my latest full-length novel ... Deathwalker Colony ... is available right now in E-book format and can be downloaded today on Amazon.com ... along with the first two books in the Rijel 12 Series, The Rise of New Australia and Return of Anarchy. A link to these can be found in the transcript for this episode. Go online and check 'em out!
I'm King Everett Medlin. Thanks for tuning in.
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