‘The tachyon beam,’ she whispered. Tears threatened to emerge, but then she was so emotional right now.
‘As it passes through this moment in spacetime, yes,’ Immanueel confirmed.
‘Can you determine its direction?’
‘We have. It is not quite what we expected.’
‘Oh?’ She turned to them, frowning. ‘Then where does it come from?’
‘The origin point is in orbit around this galaxy, inclined eighty degrees to the ecliptic.’
‘Close,’ she said.
‘Yes. And, genesis human, the message was sent from sixty thousand years in the future.’
‘That’s not the end of time. Not even close.’
‘No.’
‘Okay then.’ She grinned in malicious anticipation at the enigmatic glimmer of Cherenkov radiation. ‘Let’s go kill us a god.’
Salvation timeline
1901
Guglielmo Marconi transmits radio message across the Atlantic Ocean.
1945
First nuclear explosion (above ground).
1963
Limited Test Ban Treaty signed, prohibiting atmospheric nuclear bomb tests.
2002
Neána cluster, near 31 Aquilae, detects electromagnetic pulse(s) from atomic bomb explosions on Earth.
2005
Neána launch sublight mission to Earth.
2041
First commercial laser fusion plant opens in Texas.
2045
First commercial food printers introduced.
2047
The US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency reveals artificial atomic bonding generator – the so-called force field.
2049
US Congress passes act to create Homeland Shield Department, charged with building force fields around every city.
2050
China forms Red Army’s City Protection Regiment, begins construction of Beijing shield.
2050
Saudi kingdom installs mass food-print factories. Twenty per cent of the kingdom’s remaining crude oil allocated for food printing.
2050
Russia starts National People’s Defence Force; its shield generator project starts with Moscow.
2052
European Federation creates UDA (Urban Defence Agency) – builds force fields over major European cities.
2062
November
Kellan Rindstrom demonstrates quantum spatial entanglement (QSE) at CERN.
2063
January
Ainsley Baldunio Zangari founds Connexion.
2063
April
Connexion twins portal doors between Los Angeles and New York, charges ten dollars to go between cities.
2063
Global stock market crash, car companies lose up to ninety per cent of their share value. Shipping, rail and airline stocks fall. Aerospace stocks rally as space entrepreneur companies announce ambitious asteroid development plans.
2063
November
Space-X flies a QSE portal into LEO on a Falcon-10, providing open orbit access. Commencement of large-scale commercial space development.
2066–2073
Thirty-nine national and commercial colony/development missions to asteroids (the Second California Rush – so called because of the number of American tech company CEOs involved). Large number of World Court injunctions filed by developing nations and left-wing groups against exploitation of exo-resources by for-profit companies.
2066
Astro-X Corporation’s mission to Vesta. Establishment of Vesta colony.
2066
Connexion Corp merges with emergent European, Japanese and Australian public transit portal companies to form conglomerate. Major cities now portal networked. Non-commercial vehicle use declining rapidly.
2067
Globally, thirty cities now protected by shields, two hundred more under construction. Start of decline of conventional military forces. Phased Air Force and Navy Reduction Treaty signed at UN by majority of governments. Armies reconfigured as counter-insurgency paramilitary regiments – numbers cut substantially.
2068
Seven corporations established at Vesta. Astro-X completes its Libertyville habitat colony, housing three thousand people.
2069
First solar powerwell portal dropped into sun by China National Sunpower Corporation. Five-kilometre-long magnetohydrodynamics chambers built at Vesta, positioned on large asteroids, outside Neptune orbit.
2070
Armstrong resort dome assembled on Moon. Similar resorts under construction on Mars, Ganymede, and Titan.
2071
All major cities on Earth linked by Connexion stations – except North Korea.
2071
UN treaty forbidding non-equitable exo-resource exploitation. Any asteroid or planetary minerals mined for use by commercial companies must be equally distributed among all nations on Earth. US, China and Russia refuse to sign. European Federation awards treaty Principal Acknowledgement status; starts to draw up its own non-exploitation regulations, where ‘excess profits’ of asteroid development companies will be channelled into Federation foreign aid agencies. Commercial asteroid development companies reregister in non-signatory countries.
2075
Seventeen self-sustaining habitats built in asteroid belt. Construction of Newholm starts at Vesta (by Libertyville) – fifty kilometres long, fifteen kilometres in diameter. Takes three years to form, two years to complete biosphere.
2075
Fifty-five per cent of Earth’s energy now comes from solar powerwells. Decommissioning of nuclear power stations begins, radioactive material flung into trans-Neptune space via portals.
2076
Increasing number of asteroid developments become self-sustaining and Earth-exclusionary. Start of habitat independence movement.
2077
Interstellar-X launches first starship,
Orion,
propelled by QSE portal solar plasma rocket. Destination Alpha Centauri. Achieves point seven-two lightspeed.
2078
March
Global tax agreement signed by all governments on Earth, abolishing tax havens.
2078
August
Nine space habitats declare themselves low-tax societies.
2078
November
First Progressive Conclave gathers at Nuzima habitat; fifteen billionaires sign Utopial pact to bring post-scarcity civilization to humanity. Each launches asteroid colony expansion, with an economy based on AI-managed self-replication industrial base.
2079
China National Interstellar Administration launches starship
Yang Liwei
. Destination: Trappist 1. Achieves point eight-two lightspeed.
2081
All Earth’s energy supplied by solar powerwells. Connexion largest energy customer.
2082–2100
Twenty-five portal-rocket starships launched from Sol to nearby stars.
2082
Major national currencies now backed by kilowatt hours. Global de facto currency is wattdollar.
2082
Interstellar-X-led General Starflight Accord signed between all starfaring organizations (capable of building starships) and governments, ensuring open access to new stars and no duplicated star missions.
2083
Orion
arrives at Alpha Centauri. Psychroplanet discovered two point eight AU from star, named Zagreus. Too expensive/difficult to terraform. Eleven government missions transfer into Centauri system and establish asteroid manufacturing bases, along with eight independent asteroid companies. Construction of multiple portal starships at Centauri system begins.
2084–2085
Twenty-three starships launched from Centauri.
2084
Last car factory on Earth (in China) shuts down. Connexion hub network serves ninety-two per cent of human population, including space habitats.
2085
Utopials launch starship
Elysium
.
2086
Alpha Centauri asteroid manufacturing stations abandoned. Small joint-venture solar rocket plasma monitoring station maintained in orbit around the star, providing drive plasma for the starships.
2096
Chinese starship
Tranage
arrives Tau Ceti, exoplanet discovered.
2099
Chinese begin terraforming of Tau Ceti exoplanet, named Mao.
2107
US starship
Discovery
arrives Eta Cassiopeiae. Exoplanet discovered.
2110
US begins terraforming Eta Cassiopeiae exoplanet, named New Washington.
2111
European Federation
