A Leisurely Cruise

My wife and I enjoyed a short cruise for our honeymoon.  On that same cruise were two groups that had gathered for reunions.  Ever since then, I had liked the idea of a sea cruise as a location for a class reunion.  The only hindrance is a lack of funds to organize such an expensive gathering of good friends and relations.  This doesn't prevent me from mulling over the idea of a cruise and what else may happen while the ship is on the water.  For this story, I thought I would present it in the format of a journal written by one of the passengers.

Day 1:  The ship left the dock this afternoon after everyone was told what to do in case of an emergency.  I still can't believe that someone arranged for our graduating class to have this cruise all to ourselves.  Sure, it's not a very large ship, but we weren't a very large class.  Even with many of my fellow classmates having families now, there is still enough room to get around and I don't feel crowded.  Not even with all the kids on the pool deck.  It seems some of my former classmates have been very fertile in the last couple of decades.  Now to take a few minutes and finish getting myself settled in my cabin.

Day 3:  The food here is fantastic.  I ate so much yesterday, I spent most of my time in a food coma.  The easy access to so many tropical mixed drinks didn't help my desire to sleep much.  The supply of food seems to be endless.  Each time I made a trip to the buffet line, anything that seemed to be nearly out was quickly replenished.  It didn't matter if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there was always plenty of steaming hot dishes ready.  There are more formal meals planned for other nights of the cruise.  I can't wait to see what those menus offer.

Day 6:  I spent the last couple of days catching up with some of my old friends.  We shared memories of our times together and told stories of what happened to each of us in the years since.  As a group, we then checked out the nightlife the ship had to offer.  None of us was too interested in the casino, so we participated in a few rounds of karaoke.  Our questionable singing skills were enhanced by a few too many drinks.  Nothing like some new stories to share at the next reunion.  I enjoyed the company of one person in particular.  I couldn't help but wonder what may have happened if I'd had the bravery back in school that I had at the end of the night.  I'm sure that kiss goodnight will lead to almost as much gossip now as it would have back in school.

Day 7:  Something isn't quite right.  I don't think any of the other passengers have noticed.  Too many of them paying attention to their families I guess.  The crew, however, all seem distracted.  The captain's voice didn't seem to be its bright and cheerful self during his morning announcements and list of scheduled events.  I also don't think the ship is where its supposed to be.  According to the itinerary, we should be headed back towards port.  The GPS on my phone shows we are still far out to sea and getting further from land.  Did someone hijack our reunion cruise?  Are we all in danger?  Is the captain stealing the ship for some reason?  What is going on?  It will be expensive, but maybe I can call someone on land with my cell.

Day 8:  I couldn't get anyone to answer my calls.  It was almost like nobody was even there.  The captain made an announcement this evening that explained it all.  Something has happened on the mainland.  He wasn't quite clear about what it was that happened.  All he did say was that hundreds of thousands of people are dead.  Communications are very spotty if they are there at all.  It seems like our cruise ship, and a few others like it, are now the lifeboats for humanity itself.

Day 9:  The attitude all over the ship has changed.  Parents are still letting their kids play, but the laughter seems muted and distant.  Meal times are much more restricted as some rationing is now in place to extend our food supplies.  It seems the alcohol isn't being rationed.  Some of my classmates now seem to be drunk all the time.  I'll take the fact not everyone is getting plastered as a good sign for humanity.  What's left of it anyway.

I may continue more of this story later on.  I may not.  I'm not sure yet.  While I decide, what kind of tragedy do you think the cruise ship passengers avoided?  A viral outbreak?  Some kind of massive EMP?  National riots and a breakdown of society itself?  Let me know in the comments.

A Day In The Mines

The curses of the Real World imposed themselves and prevented me from posting my last regular blog.  For that, I apologize.  I am adjusting many of my usual routines and patterns to accommodate a shift in my employment.

For today's post, I have been considering those that have entered the mining profession.  They risk their lives to work deep under the surface of the Earth and collect the metals and minerals we take for granted on a daily basis.  Silver, copper, and even salt all must be extracted from the dirt by people that spend long stretches of time away from the light of the sun.

In recent years, many people have discussed a secondary source for many of these minerals.  It would still require the risks and skill of miners.  However, reaching this source comes with a new set of challenges.  After all, it takes more than a pick and shovel to mine an asteroid.

The locator beacon was transmitting its signal loud and clear.  The survey crew had marked a very promising rock.  Their preliminary scans and tests seemed to indicate the presence of iron and copper ores along with some other trace minerals.  As the only miner close enough to reach it without exhausting too much fuel, Jackson would be the one luck enough to make a claim on the asteroid.  If he survived the excursion, this haul would make him a very tidy profit.  There might even be enough funds left over to upgrade some of the systems in his craft.  A larger cargo pod would mean larger future hauls for even more profit.  That would have to wait until Jackson had a chance to see exactly how much he could extract from this rock.

The beacon was about 5 degrees to his left and about 20 degrees under his feet.  A couple of short bursts from his maneuvering thrusters would place the beacon directly in front of him.  A brief burn of his main engine would start narrowing the 50 kilometer distance.  He could close the gap more quickly with a longer burn of his engine, but that would cost more fuel now and again when it came time to slow down and approach the asteroid itself.  Besides, the longer travel time would give Jackson more time to power up and run diagnostics on his mining equipment and space suit.

Some time later, Jackson is standing on a large barren rock.  The ticking of his landing thrusters as they cool unheard behind him.  His helmet keeping him alive and and blocking out any slight sounds that might make their way through the emptiness around him and the asteroid.  The only things Jackson could sense were the sounds of his suit's air recycler and the pressure of the suit itself on his body.  The lamps on his helmet don't brighten the omnipresent darkness much more than a few feet in front of him.

Jackson sticks the probe in his left hand deep into the powdery soil clinging to the surface of the asteroid.  He extracts the probe and places the sample in its tip into the machine he had been dragging behind him for testing.  As he waits for the results, he is momentarily envious of the tales of his great-grandfather and grandfather and their years mining.  It was said they could both swing a pick into the ground and pull it out.  They would then lick the dirt that stuck to the tip.  They each had the legendary ability to taste whether or not the ground had enough profitable ores to stake a claim.  Jackson had been tempted more than once with the urge to test his own sense of taste and its affinity for minerals.  It was the need to maintain a seal on his helmet that kept him from doing so.

Jackson had traveled about half the distance between his landing spot and the survey team's beacon.  He had collected enough samples to know the powdery "soil" had enough trace minerals to make it worth collecting.  It would require deeper probes into the harder core material of the asteroid to determine how much profit, if any, there would actually be.

If it were possible right now, would you want to be a part of a team surveying asteroids for possible minerals?  Or would you prefer the solitary existence of a miner itself?  While mining asteroids is still firmly planted in science fiction, much of the technology to do it does exist today.