DEEP SPACE - A Short Novel

4. Neighbor

7th Hour, 1746, Houston Time. Around Alpha Centauri. 

I've just taken off the damn nylon straps from me. Well, these seatbelts are... not the only ones that secure us in our 'memory' seats, 'cause, we have this Shoulder Locks and Girdle Pads.. mechanical jargon, but you know how these things work. 

We're on  Stage Three Warp now. You see, there are FIVE different stages for travelling in warp speed. Stage One, which is 'Cruise Speed', it's relatively slow because travel speed is around 4-5 billion miles an hour. At Stage Two, 'Progression' -- this is our current speed -- the travel speed will be 200-250 billion miles an hour. At Stage Three, the 'Intermediate Stage', travcel speed is at 2.2-2.4 light years an hour. We are expecting to pass by the Triple Star, Alpha Centauri any moment now. It's the closest star to our beloved Sun. Next is Stage Four, 'Advanced Speed', where the travel speed is around 40-50 light years an hour. In the final stage, 'Godspeed', the travel speed is 110-150 light years an hour. Colliding into celestial bodies is only a problem during the first two stages, because once a route is set, (and it's always being set during Stage Three) the main computer does all the piloting. Travelling at warp is very... dangerous, so to speak, and a warp vehicle can't simply just go 'Godspeed' immediately. It has to undergo all five stages. 

Given our final speed, and the distance between the Earth and the Andromeda, which is 2.5 MILLION light years, our estimated total travel time is 5-6 years. That's right. Half a decade of cosmic travel. That's IN-credibly fast, really . It's a mere blink-of-an-eye in relation to the distance that will be covered. To put is simple, it's as fast as a mosquito that can travel accross the Pacific in less than 1 millisecond. Or even faster than that. Cosmic proportions. 

Ah. Seems like our Hypersensitive Cams did get a picture of the Tri-star. I must check that out.