Читать книгу Star Map - Fabienne Gschwind - Страница 5

Everyone had gotten used to the boredom. After all, it was no one's first mapping trip. The Abhysal was the best and most expensive subspace mapping ship ever built. It was said that it could still hear an alien fart three light-years away, so accurate were its sensors. This marvel of sensor technology has been built for the longest mission ever. The Abhysal broke the 45’000 light-years mark last week, and the crew was the farthest from Earth.

Typically, mapping missions lasted 10 to 15 years, and the crew received a substantial pension so they could enjoy their retirement without ever having to work again.

There was no proper training to become a subspace cartographer; everyone was a lateral hire, from physicists, computer scientists, technicians, engineers, pilots, even cooks, hairdressers or opera singers could be found on the ships.

The training was simple: spend two years on a training mapping ship and then sign on for 10 to 15 years on a real mission. Brain scans showed whether candidates could handle the isolation and each followed psychological counseling. But those who survived the two-year training flight knew for themselves whether they were made for another ten years of isolation.

Essentially, this meant that Star Map was desperate for personnel.

For the Abhysal mission, it was even more difficult; no newcomers could be placed on such an expensive ship, only experienced cartographers. It so happened that each member of the Abhysal crew had a very special reason for signing on for at least 20 more years after an already completed first mission. That's how long the trip was planned to last. The Abhysal itself had enough power and spare parts to last half a century. Water and food were not a problem, and it depended on the mood of the crew how long the mission would last. In fact, they were now in their 14th year, and no one in this particular crew seemed interested in returning.