Read Exodus (The Exodus Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

working on.
    As the walkthrough of the estimates for how Devastator would behave in the coming years drew to a close, Havelar again took charge, and repeated the question they were all pondering.
    “ So where do we go?” He looked at each and every one of them, and let the question linger for a moment before he continued.
    “ A viable Mars settlement was always the goal, and for all practical purposes the final destination for most of our space endeavors, at least before we disbanded NASA. After that … well, it was irrelevant. But now that Mars is gone, what options do we have?” One of the former NASA people, Dr. Jacob Grant, a gray-haired man who now worked in the civilian satellite business, spoke first.
    “ Let’s look at it this way. First, we need to explore the possibilities within the solar system. I mean, that’s obvious. With current technology, anything else is a pipe dream. Second, further out, the stars. Of course, we’re not able to do that today or tomorrow, but let’s consider it anyhow. We’re sort of brainstorming here, folks, we should look at every option, realistic or not. And besides, they didn’t have the technology to send people to the moon in 1961 either. But they did it.” One of the business leaders, looking rather puzzled, interrupted him.
    “ I don’t know what you’re thinking here, but I just don’t get it. The solar system? Where? With Mars out of the equation now, I can’t see where that would be.” Grant smiled and nodded slowly.
    “ Actually, you have a point. It may not be possible to live anywhere else in the solar system. What I said was that we need to explore the possibilities, then take care of the obstacles, or rule out the reckless and the impossible.” He sipped his water while the business leader quieted down.
    “ So, the solar system.” Grant continued. “First off, we will need some way of harvesting resources, since supplies from Earth will not be an option. That makes Earth orbit a bad choice. The moon could be a possibility. It has encrusted oxygen, and minerals, all of which could be mined. The problem is that the moon has no atmosphere and very little water. Those are critical factors when it comes to long-term survival.” Ramon looked over at Havelar, who seemed disinterested and a little annoyed at this point. Grant though, was clearly unaffected, and from the looks of the other scientists, his opinions seemed to carry a lot of weight.
    “ We could also imagine something like a space station, in orbit somewhere further out, or some kind of free-flying settlement in space.” Eric Sloan, one of the engineers from JPL, shook his head while waving a finger back and forth, almost admonishing. A crinkle in the corners of his eyes, though, let anyone who bothered to look see that he was simply following Grant’s line of thought.
    “ Let’s not go down that road, Dr. Grant,” said Sloan. “We could barely maintain the orbital stations, and we still had the luxury of ground supplies … We are simply not capable of building lasting, closed life-support systems. There will always be losses, and faults, and unforeseen contingencies. Eventually it will break down. What we need to aim for is something that will last long enough to get us somewhere.” At that point Isabella surprised her husband by speaking.
    “ So, we need supplies, resources. That means planets, right?” That was Isabella Solis; quick to draw the conclusions, and not wasting time on further discussion when the outcome seemed obvious. The president’s science advisor cut her off though.
    “ Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, people. We have other options, so please let Dr. Grant continue.” Grant smiled at Isabella before he continued.
    “ Oh, I think both Dr. Sloan and Mrs. Solis make good points. So no space habitats; we need to be able to replenish our resources at some point. The planets are an option, so are some of the moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter. NASA found evidence