New Horizon's

Untitled Part 3

                                                                                 Training for what?

The two day wait was agonising. Not for John Blackmore, but for his still undecided wife Ivana. She wanted to speak with her Russian parents but under the Non-Disclosure agreement this was not possible. Her main concern was the children who unlike herself were up for the adventure with Roman in particular being fascinated to get inside the massive space craft. "Do you realise John? she said to her husband. "Nate Bradley, for all his enthusiasm and fancy answers will possibly be in a rest home or even dead before we reach Outreach One, if we are selected? "That could be the silliest observation I think I could ever hear to a really serious issue" he answered, "Nate Bradley is only a small part of an enormous organization which, as New Horizon travels to its destination, including the fact that they will move forward at faster pace than the Human Cargo I would be more than confident in their dedication to the mission knowing that Human life going forward depends on them" In the end it was a simple text message informing the family that they had been moved from Amber to Green and if acceptable report to Orlando Train Station at 11am the following morning to be transported to Gilmore Airforce Facility which was situated 80 miles north of Orlando. "Why do you think we require two years training? Ivana asked her husband. "I have no idea" he replied unreassuringly. "I can only imagine that it is to give us time to fully adjust to our new situation and to form bonds and share ideas with our fellow travellers. After all, and I agree it sounds ridiculous, just after take off we will not see them again for at least thirty five years. Will we even remember or recognize them, who knows. When we arrive dealing with 500 different personalities with many different ideas of why they are there could ultimately be the hardest task that we face" 
Terrence and Lara Cummings had no such hang-ups, being Tech freaks they believed firmly in the additive that Computers do not make mistakes, it is the people using them that ask the wrong questions or feed the wrong information. As far as Terence was concerned they were flying in an oversized warehouse with very few technical components, therefore what could possibly go wrong? They arrived at Gilmore Airforce Base full of enthusiasm and looking forward to being introduced to "Hector". 
The 500 were based in the Camp around five miles from where New Horizon awaited them. One week of settling in and they were off to the Launch site. Twenty one Nationalities were represented from all walks of life an eclectic mixture of brain and braun, male, female and everything in-between. As they gathered in the enormous hall Nate Bradley was the first to speak. "Welcome everyone" he said. "We now have our 500 and it is time for me to set out the reasons why there will be a two year wait to launch. Beside me are Production Manager Clay Barrington and Chief Science Officer Sharon Stennings. After I explain the format they will be only too happy to answer any questions you may have. As from today your home will be Gilmore Airforce Base which for the time being has been abandoned by the Military. When you arrive on Outreach One, you need to hit the ground running, therefore pre-organization is essential. You must select someone from each walk of life to represent you in any decision making. We suggest that fortnightly or monthly meetings be held with ten representatives from each group attending. Any decisions carried forward should require a minimum of 75% agreement to proceed. But there must, as in all Democracies, be a leader. During the first three months this man or woman must be chosen. You will notice that although there are people from many different countries, everyone has an adequate knowledge of the English Language. This was very important as when you arrive you are deemed to be one small Nation. Remember when putting yourself forward for any decision making positions that there will be no remunerations, everyone being equal. As we have previously explained New Horizons will will be equipped with all essentials for starting a new life. Hector is programmed to locate a large area of flat, hopefully pastured land and the rest is up to you. In the interim we will furnish you with mock-up drawings of what we expect the terrain to look like. You must formulate a plan for your arrival. I will now pass you over to our Chief Scientist Sharon Stennings" "Ladies and Gentlemen" she began. "My remit is in Science and Medical. For the first six months of your training you will remain on solid foods with no change. The second six months will see a 50% reduction changing to supplements. And your second year will consist solely of supplements and water. During your last six months you will be medically examined and tested in your survival Pod using water instead of Formaldehyde. We do understand that this individually could be your most stressful time, but you will be given relaxing sedatives to reduce your anxiety. Now we will take your questions" Question one, "We are not for obvious reasons taking any animals in the way of food and further production, therefore are you expecting any wildlife to be present on Outreach One? Nate Bradley, "To be honest, we have no idea. The highest chance of life, would we suspect come from the many Sea's that cover the Planet, but nothing can be ruled out" Second question, "And Vegetation, is this deemed the same? Sharon Stennings. "Once again we do not know. Outreach One is the nearest Planet we could find that is on the same trajectory and distance from its Sun as our Mother Earth, therefore we do expect the landscape to be almost exactly as our own with compatible Seasons, but wildlife is too hard to predict" Question three, "Why do we need a Leader when as you have said, Hector is much more intelligent than any human? "Production Manager Clay Barrington. "Hector is the most sophisticated Computer ever built, but he only answers the questions before him. He cannot determine right from wrong if it is not already loaded into his memory" Do you have an example of this" asked a member of the audience? Clay Barrington thought for a moment, and then. "Patch me into Hector" he told someone on the other end of his phone-line. "Hector" he began, "I have planted my seeds in a field at the base of a two thousand feet high mountain. If the Sun rises in the West tomorrow. How long will it take until it is exactly above my field? "The sun will be at 90 degrees with your field at 14-27 pm" answered Hector. "Hector" he asked again "In the morning I will plough my muddy field, should I wear my undergarments, the new suit I have just purchased or my overalls and wellington boots? "I have no answer for your question" replied Hector. "Now you see that one is an equation, the type of question that Hector is primed for, and the other is a question which requires thought something a Computer is not capable of. I hope this answers your question"