Pandora Project.

[Cyan]

CHAPTER 1


It was a cold and still night. No clouds at all to mask the stars. Not even any light pollution, though Mauna Kea was far away and tall enough to avoid most of that. With all things considered, it was every astronomer’s ideal. Of course, the cold wasn’t, ideal but you couldn’t avoid that. Heat would be bad for the performance of the forty-meter telescope and the adaptive optics. And of course, it would be a shame to have the new facility operating poorly. It had been completed in 2042, just last year. Of course, it had been slated to open in 2034, but budget cuts and delays were inevitable in anything related to space. The first year had been straight forward testing, and they’d only just begun the mission: to search for extra-solar planets.

And that was Walter McKinley’s job. Fresh out of UCLA with a Master’s Degree, he’d been tapped to serve on the team. Getting the request one year earlier had been the greatest experience in his life. And he’d been living the dream in Hawaii for a year. What might have surprised the casual stargazer was how infrequently they actually used the telescope. He’d only had the chance to operate it a dozen times. So, it was still special to be there tonight staring up at the stars.

He sipped a mug of hot coffee, and then set it down gingerly on the nearby table. The warming liquid helped him concentrate too. He looked at the display and was amazed as always, the adaptive optics made the already-impressive image far better. It made the early telescopes like the Hubble or the Starfire Optical Range look like toys.

“Hey, Walter!” A voice interrupted Walter McKinley’s thoughts. “Um, what?” He said.

Jennifer Tomlin sighed, despite being brilliant Walter could be absent minded. “We need to select and record our starting observations…. The recommendation is to examine Wolf 359.”

Walter nodded. “Yes, but haven’t you ever just wanted to do something different once in a while? Maybe just look up and see what there is?” He paused long enough to notice Jenny staring at him. “Its not against the rules to do something different, come on Jenny. I’ll buy you a drink,” he offered, almost as an afterthought.

Jenny sighed again, but this time obviously with acceptance. “The things I do for you Walter…”

Walter grinned. “Thanks Jenny!” He looked at a star chart for inspiration. Epsilon Eridani? No, maybe, maybe, Alpha Centauri. “Alpha Centauri,” he declared as he keyed it into the telescope. The telescope turned and the platform shifted somewhat. Then the images started to appear and solidify.

“Look,” he pointed at the screen. “There’s A and there’s B.” The binary stars were clearly visible, and the telescope wasn’t even at its maximum magnification. “Let’s zoom in some on Alpha.” The image grew larger and more details came. The star sat there in the center of the screen, like an exotic diamond. And around it, in the habitable zone was… “Hey, is that a planet?” Walter zoomed in at the maximum. A large blue planet filled the screen. “Wow! We’ve got a big one!” His voice was giddy, and he was shaking with excitement. Jenny came up and stood by him. “Wow! Look at that, bands like Jupiter…” Walter nodded excitedly. “And an anti-cyclonic storm, like the Great Red Spot!” An idea suddenly came to him. “It looks just like an eye. Let’s call it Polyphemus, after the Cyclops. “ Jenny nodded her head vigorously.

They both stared intently at blue gas giant. They were both speechless now. Minutes passed before Walter finally spoke again. “Look! See that?” He practically shouted. Jenny leaned in. “See what?” Walter’s voice was a passionate whisper now. “Moons… Polyphemus has moons.” He pointed to a single large dot, his finger almost obscuring it. “Pandora…”

- Shatnerpossum