Space Knights: The Arrival

ships, advances were also being made in rocket engines and jet engines. Better and faster rockets were being designed and built, pushing the speed barriers. The public was never informed exactly how fast the engines could push the ships. The sound barrier was broken and then the goal was twice the speed of sound. Three times, four times, five times the speed of sound became the ongoing goals. The designers were determined to build faster engines to push the global escape ships faster, enabling them to reach their destination faster. The ultimate goal, of course, was to get the escape ships to go the speed of light. For a while, it seemed that this goal might not be realized. The designers were still okay with their progress. They celebrated each achievement. Still they kept trying to get the engines to achieve greater speeds. At last there was an amazing discovery.
A group of scientists made up of members from a number of countries made a very timely discovery. They found that a new element could be used in a nuclear-type engine that could push a ship to greater speeds. The element was named Pomponium since it was discovered beneath the ruins of Pompeii. With further research of the nodules of Pomponium, scientists and archeologists located the true source of this element, Mount Vesuvius. With each test of the nuclear engine the test ship flew faster and faster. In fact, it was on the verge of light speed. And then the day came when they reached the magical goal and remarkably surpassed it. These engines were immediately added to the designs of the global escape ships.
Yet as the ships were being built faster, in numbers approaching the production of bombers for World War II, there was a controversy about the approaching planet. It wasn’t a controversy about politics or social and class divisions, but about religious issues. The controversy started among religious leaders. Some of the Jewish leaders didn’t believe that the Earth was going to be destroyed, insisting that it was against what the Torah said. Many Christian leaders agreed and quoted numerous Biblical scriptures stating that the planet approaching could not destroy the Earth. Other religious leaders around the world agreed and tried to argue that the world was not about to be destroyed. These numerous religious leaders convinced many people that they were perfectly safe, and that the government had made the whole thing up. The religious leaders called it a global conspiracy.
Apart from the religious controversy, there was another problem the UN had to address. There were many smaller countries and groups of people that were hoping that the major nations, their governments, and their populations would leave the Earth so they could take over. A few started plotting ways to take advantage of the situation, and how to conquer and rule the world. In one extremely ambitious group, based in the middle of Europe, was a rather energetic and enigmatic leader named Karlonis Moberly. He was feared to have access to weapons of mass destruction.
The UN did its best to keep law and order with these troublesome countries and groups. In most cases diplomacy ruled, yet for some countries force had to be used. Order had to be maintained while the escape ships were built. Despite these conflicts production of the global escape ships continued. The world leaders at the UN tried their best to keep the peace, while they kept their eyes on the approaching disaster that they were sure was coming.

Chapter 2
Grandfather’s Dream
Despite the religious controversies and the problems with the small countries and groups trying to convince people that the Earth was safe, there were still many families that believed in the coming catastrophe. One family in particular that believed in the disaster was the Sonderson family. Claude had made sure that as many family members as possible were made aware of the coming disaster and convinced them to register as soon as possible. He was a Christian and knew all about the religious controversy. He believed that this might be a test, or maybe the fulfillment of a new Earth, literally. He further believed that if the disaster was indeed real, then God had provided humanity with the ingenuity and intelligence to figure out how to save it.
Late one night, nineteen years before the scheduled global exodus, Claude lay in bed with his wife and thought about the global escape. He thought about his family and hoped that they were all registered. He lay awake thinking about all of them and praying for them. Slowly he slid into sleep and started to dream.
In the dream he was at the nearest launch site. He looked around at the beautiful day and heard the birds singing in the distant trees. The great ships were lined up a short distance away from him. He stopped and watched as a group of people that he’d never seen before filed past him headed for one of the ships. As he looked around, he saw other groups of people going into other ships as well. “So this is what it’s going to be like on that day,” he thought out loud. Then he heard somebody call his name and turned and saw a man approach him.
The man was clean-shaven and had neat brown hair and wore the white outfit of a technician. His face seemed to glow from within. The man’s smile radiated calm and peace. His voice when he spoke was soft and gentle.
“Hello Claude,” said the man in greeting. “Is all your family aboard the ship?”
“Yes, I think so. At least I hope they are all on board one of these ships,” Claude replied, relief showing on his aged face.
“Is your grandson aboard?” the man asked casually yet watching Claude intently.
Claude thought and replied counting his grandsons off on his fingers trying to remember them all. “There’s Billy, Dennis, and James, Martin’s boys. Then there are Gary, Troy, Carl, and Jean, Tony’s boys. And