Space Knights: The Arrival

suitable planet in our galaxy, we may have to search the Andromeda galaxy for our new home planet,” answered Dr. Sonderson.
“Do you realize how long it will take to get us to another planet in our galaxy let alone to another galaxy? How will we get there as we are, or will it be our successors, many generations from now that will arrive there?” asked a concerned delegate.
“We have discussed this problem and we do have a possible solution. As you may or may not know, Dr. Carlton has started experimenting with a process that will put a person in a state of suspended animation deeper than a coma. He is also working on a process to revive the person. We think we need to put all of our energies into building a rocket or spacecraft that can be equipped with Dr. Carlton’s deep sleep chambers, when they’re perfected of course, that will transport us to our new home.” Dr. Sonderson spoke with deep concern.
“Dr. Sonderson, how will we decide who goes and who stays here on Earth?” asked the delegate from the Soviet Union.
“That’s a very good question Mr. Jargaf. The answer is quite simple, it will be optional to everyone and we plan to take every person that desires to go. We also need to take everything that we can. We should plan to take samples of every plant, animal, and insect. This even means animals and plants from the sea,” answered Dr. Sonderson calmly.
“Have you thought about the cost of this plan? It will cost billions or even trillions to get this project going,” said the British delegate.
A great debate broke out on the floor of the UN. Some delegates wanted the rich and powerful to be the first on the global escape ships. Others argued for the poor. There were yet others that wanted to know how much the project would cost and who was going to pay for it. They argued and argued for hours. They also realized that this information could not be released to the media; therefore the decision was made to continue the talks the following day.
The next day came and went and still no decisions were made. It was many weeks before they finally agreed on anything. The UN delegates finally decided on the global escape plan. Bids would be discretely and privately made and without public knowledge. Meanwhile the decision was made to give Dr. Carlton all the time and resources necessary to develop and perfect the deep sleep chambers. The year was 1953.
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As the years went by, many developments were made in space travel. The Soviet Union was the first to put a satellite in orbit and the first animal, man, and woman in space. However, the United States put the first man on the moon. In fact it was not just one man but two men on that historic day, July 20, 1969. A number of other missions to the moon were made, proving that men and women could survive a trip through space and live on another planet.
More space missions were attempted. The Apollo missions and the Saturn missions both proved that space travel was possible. Most of the missions were very successful; however a few ended in tragedy. Saturn 204, also known as Apollo 1, was the first when a fire broke out in the capsule on the ground and killed three astronauts. There was a near disaster of Apollo 13, and then the tragedy of the Challenger shuttle disaster on January 28, 1986.
Faster and better space ships and rockets were built. Plans were made for an international space station to further prove that people could live and work in space. The Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1 in 1971. Salyut 2 was launched in 1973, but an engine exploded and the station crashed after only being in space two weeks. Despite these setbacks more reliable stations were constructed. Of the successes were Skylab, Mir, and the International Space Station.
Developments in telescope technology were made to help find a suitable world for mankind’s escape. The biggest and best telescopes were used to search the galaxy for a planet close by, but with no success. Astronomers decided to search the nearest galaxy, Andromeda, to perhaps locate a star that could be the sun for a solar system that had a planet that could sustain life. The Hubble telescope was designed and developed to search for just the right star and planet.
Finally, Dr. Sonderson’s son, Claude, found a planet that might work. It was a tragic and triumphant day. Claude Sonderson, with the help of his own adult son Evan, found a star and planetary system that they thought would be appropriate. It was situated a fourth of the way into one of the spiral arms of the Andromeda galaxy. They quickly made their discovery known to the United Nations committee in charge of the escape plan. The course to this system would be worked out by another group of astronomers and scientists. Two hours later the call came that Samuel Sonderson had passed away.
Dr. Carlton, his assistant Dr. Heckard and their team continued to work tirelessly to perfect the deep sleep chambers. However, Dr. Carlton was killed in a gas station robbery, so it would be his assistant Dr. Heckard who would make the deep sleep chambers a working reality. The success of the deep sleep chambers consummated what was needed for the global escape ships. The space ships were nearing design completion and were only waiting for final approval so that the Crick Aeronautics Company could start production on the prototype. Patrick Crick, the president and CEO of Crick Aeronautics, gave a rather bold and audacious bid that won the contract to build the Global Escape ships. The bid was so comprehensive that they would build all of the ships for every country around the world.
Within months, the plans for the global escape ships were completed, approved, and given the go-ahead for production.