Our story thus far: the starship Hawking, having arrived at the nearest classical black hole to Earth, about 2800 light years away, the scientists and their assistants are deep in the research, to where some occasionally forget to eat or sleep. The last episode is at https://mrw.5-cent.us/?p=415 , while the series of posts begins at https://mrw.5-cent.us/?p=387
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Chapter 2
INTIMATIONS OF TROUBLE
Several days after the incident, Lassiter came up to where Jessup was sitting in the lounge, drinking coffee, and wearing mesh glasses. “Hi, Jessup,” he said, looking at the sandy-haired man.
The Texan looked up, pushing the glasses up on his forehead and looked at the slender, dark haired younger man. “Hey, Lassiter. What’s up?”
“Well… mind if I join you?” Jessup waved his hand, and Lassiter sat. “I heard about the argument you had the other day. Was he really that anti-religious?”
Jessup looked at him with a look of mild disdain. “Didn’t know you were a believer.”
“I’m not, really, but my folks died in a fishing accident, and I grew up with my aunt and uncle, and they were. My uncle was a deacon in the local Methodist church.”
“Given how you carry yourself, and the babe you room with, I’m a little surprised.”
“It’s not like it’s a choice I made, how I lean. And Saixa thinks I’m her big brother.” He paused. “What about the woman you’re rooming with?”
“My girl?” He shrugged. “She’s okay. Thinks well of herself, though.”Lassiter was slightly put off by the stocky Texan’s comment. Then he took in the mesh eyewear – virtual displays with mesh connection – that Jessup had taken off, thought of his annoyance that he hadn’t been able to mesh Jessup, looked him up and down, and put it all together. “Are you from Old Conservative people?”
“Why, because of my build? And me using mesh glasses? Yeah, we don’t hold with gene tweaking for looks, or artificial crap in my blood, just for fixing medical problems.”
“You’re lucky you’ve got good genes. My folks got me tweaked, or I’d be heavy, and my hair would be thin.”
Jessup shook his head. “Back home, they argue about whether some people should be fat. Lotta folks at A&M like me.”
Lassiter rolled his eyes. “Hey Aggie, I’m went to Rice, and we beat you a bunch of times.”
“Yeah, not in American football.”
“Did too….”
“What, about twenty-eight years ago? I heard about that – we’d just had the best of the team graduate, and some gene tweaks had just been allowed.” He smiled fiercely. “Bashed you since then, when we get to play.”
“Yeah, well, we do it because it’s not easy….” They both chuckled.
“Hey, we’re in break mode, while the intensive probes are making their orbits. Why don’t you and…Sasha?”
“Saixa.”
“Come on over after dinner. Janey’s taking a break, too, and I’ve got some ‘shine I made.” At Lassiter’s look, he added, “Vacuum still.”
“I’ll see if she’d like to.” He looked aside for a minute, into the mesh. “Oops, I need to get back. Maybe see you later.” He jumped up and walked off, quickly.
Watching him go, Jessup shook his head, muttering, “Damn meshheads.”
That evening Lassiter and Saixa came to Jessup’s cabin. She was wearing a traditional white and gold Chinese jacket over her blue shipsuit, while he had an oversize t-shirt over his. Walking in, it was like theirs: a common area, with a couple of desks that could double as a table, some chairs, a small couch, and a door to a bathroom, with doors to small sleeping rooms on either side. Though it smelled as though cleanerbots had been through, it seemed full of Jessup’s things, with little space for Jane. She was an attractive, well-built blond woman, in tight pants and a t-shirt, draped over a chair, and sounding as though she’d already had some drinks. “Hey, y’all all, find you’self a seat.” She waved at another chair and the couch.
Lassiter glanced at Jessup, and did a double-take. “Those actual blue jeans you’re wearing?”
“Yeah. Old Believers’ have our own clothing suppliers, like the Amish.”
Saixa looked around, and came to sit by Jane. “I brought some Chinese wine that I’ve had in my things, to celebrate our arrival,” she said, putting a bottle on the table.
“Oh, nice, thank’ou.” She looked over at Jessup. “’Ey, Jessie, you gotta have a corkscrew.”
“Yeah, lemme get my knife.” He’d clearly been drinking, too. “Here we go, wow, fancy wine, a bottle with a cork….” He opened it and took a swig from the bottle, not seeing Saixa’s face at this. He made a face. “Sour.”
Jane took the bottle from him, and took a sniff. “Hey, that smells nice. S’cuse him, he ain’t got no manners. Lemme get some glasses….” She brought out three clean glasses, pushing aside the used glass in front of her, saying to Jessup, “Y’don’ want none anyway.” He made a face, and took a drink from the glass he’d been holding, looked at it, and reached over to refill it from a lab flask.
Lassiter took a sniff of the flask, and got a harsh smell of alcohol. “Whooeee, reminds me of the garbage punch we used to make in the dorms.”
“We did the same. Good stuff, good times.”
Jane looked up and said, “Hey, ain’t these good times? Lookit where we are!”
“Yeah, too many folks full of ’emselves. An’ too many meshheads.”
Jane looked over. “You just say that ’cause your folks keep you from getting the whatsitcytes.” Jessup made a face at that, and took another drink. “So,” she said, turning to Saixa, “how’sh your work goin’?” Listening to herself, she made a face. “Gotta slow down on the booze.”
“Very well. The gravity maps we’re building are giving us a fascinating picture of spacetime right outside the event horizon, and we may be getting hints, by implication, of just inside.”
“Wow. We been seein’ whole ionized molecules being created out of nothing, just outsh… outside” Jane said, with an effort. “Where the particles and photons are created in that area, and just outside of it.”
The two women got into a technical discussion of the implications of gravity and zero point energy.
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