This is the ninth blog where I will be sharing chapters from my next book. Read the previous chapters here.

My second book in the Outbound series follows Virgil since his adventures in book one, Outbound: Islands In The Void. I will be releasing parts of my next science-fiction novel in draft form hoping to get some feedback from interested readers. You are always welcome to offer comments at: richard@richardandersonauthor.com. 

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The ship’s rotation began to slow as the Lightspeed Laser began to power the ion drive. For the rest of the voyage, the two engineers would hardly notice any changes in acceleration at all, even when the Spindizzy began to decelerate. Now, as the Spindizzy gradually accelerated its rotations of 3.86 per minute began to slow. The standard gravity force was split between that produced by linear acceleration and that from angular momentum. The ‘floating’ platforms within the spheres moved on their ball-bearing footings to remain perpendicular to the Force Vector as it changed direction in response to the combined force of linear and angular acceleration. The transitions were smooth, and the two engineers did not sense any change. Linear acceleration feels the same as gravity. However, rotational acceleration produces some anomalies. For example, the ladies had different sensations of weight when they moved in the direction of rotation or in opposition to the direction of rotation on the jogging track. It was sort of like running uphill in one direction, then downhill in the other. However, after a few days, they adjusted to the anomalies and hardly noticed them.

Despite the high velocity of the ion plasma drive, it accelerated the ship slowly compared to the force of a rocket motor. But it the ship would be under continuous acceleration/deceleration for the entire trip to Mars.

“Can you imagine how destructive our ion exhaust is? It’s traveling at a high fraction of the speed of light,” Simone said.

“Yeah, I don’t think we need to worry about tailgaters. They certainly would get fried,” Daria said.

“You did it again. What does that mean?”

“Sorry, just practicing, not important.”

The months dragged on, and the two engineers struggled to keep each day interesting. They tried to do some unique thing every day as a means of differentiating it from all the others. It was a challenge they struggled with. They frequently changed the order of routine tasks and traded work. The gym was a lifesaver that refreshed their minds and bodies. Daria Aquila-Greenly received and sent video messages with Virgil Greenly every evening. They exchanged multiple messages during the daytime hours. Anni, her virtual associate monitored all systems controlling the ship as well as maintained a running calculation of when the ship would need to begin deceleration. That precise moment was essential for the Spindizzy to achieve Martian orbit.

Both Daria and Simone lived in their own stateroom but in the same pod. For offset, their body mass replacements resided in the opposing pod. Perfect balance. They spent their days communicating with friends back at Ellie 5 Zeta, checking ship systems, reading, and exercising in the gym. They dreamed up creative ways they could modify the prepackaged, freeze-dried food to make it more interesting. The results were not always tasty. It took considerable effort to keep from slumping into boredom. They had plenty of material to read and study about the engineering activities happening on Mars. But continuous study could itself lead to the doldrums. When that happened, it was back to the gym to get the juices flowing again. The gym had some simulations that could create excitement. The white-water rafting experience was particularly realistic. The raft pod moved, bounced over virtual rapids, splashed water, and was immersed in a surround of projections that could be easily changed by modifying the program. Simulated tennis was another recreation program. That game was Simone’s favorite, and she frequently outplayed Daria. The set was a holographic projection, but they played with a very real and special racket. When the racket struck the holographic ball, it transmitted an impact sensation to the hand and gave a ‘thunk’ sound as if a real ball had been hit. The tennis ball’s trajectory and distance were calculated from the force and angle of the racket on ‘impact’. The two engineers spent many hours perfecting that program. Each time they were rewarded with a better experience.