Dirk grimaces. ‘A cut in pay? I have seniority.’
‘Not in maintenance, you don’t,’ snaps the manager.
‘Isn’t there something else for me that would pay me the same in one of the other operations?’
The manager barks, ‘No. Take it or leave it.’
Dirk ponders for a moment. ‘I’ll take it, but I would have expected to be treated better after my years of service.’
‘Report to Lynn Ruger in the morning. She’ll be expecting you.’
Dirk exits the room and thinks to himself, Better to have a job than not.
In the morning, Dirk reports to Lynn Ruger. She is the head of maintenance. Lynn is five feet ten inches and muscular. At first glance, you would think she held the world weightlifting championship. She turns to face him. She has a visible scar on her left cheek and a patch over her blind left eye, the result of an accident while she was repairing a severed air hose from a compressor. He introduces himself. ‘I’m Dirk.’
She replies curtly, ‘I know who you are. What does a miner know about maintenance?’
‘Miners are pretty handy. Things break all the time while we work. We need to fix them on the run or fall behind on our quotas.’
‘Well, you’ll get to prove it soon enough. There’s plenty to be fixed around here. How good are you at repairing airlocks? I want you to make the rounds and make sure all the airlocks on the base are tight. Grab a tool belt and get to it.’
Dirk thinks to himself, Now I know where she got the nickname ‘Vile Lynn.’ He starts making his rounds.
After a few months on the job, Dirk decides that this job isn’t for him. The money isn’t right, and the people he works with aren’t anything like the miners he’s accustomed to. He has enough money saved to buy a lightweight cargo hauler and some second-hand mining equipment. The next step is to register his business as an independent mining operation.
His purchases are complete, but he feels there’s something missing. He could use help to cart his ore from the dig site to the hauler. It would also be nice to have a companion. Life as an independent miner can become very lonesome. He was reading about a company that built specialised robots to fit specific tasks. He thought, It would be worth it to pay them a visit.
Dirk sat down with a sales representative and explained what he was looking for. The representative pointed to a display with several types of computers. He told Dirk that these computers could be installed in any robot design. ‘It’s up to you to decide on the computer you want and the type of robot you want.’
Dirk fancies himself as a throwback to the past. His choice is a robotic mule. ‘I want a computer that has the ability to communicate. I want it to be able to converse with me as well as do all the things that any computer can do.’ The rep shows him the computers that meet his specifications. He picks one.
‘A fine choice,’ says the rep as he nods approvingly. ‘Now for the robot, do you want the mule to look like a machine or like a real mule? That will cost a little more.’
‘I’ll spend extra. Make it look like the real thing. When will it be ready?’
‘Give us a down-payment and it’ll be ready in a week.’
Dirk asks, ‘If I don’t like it, will you make adjustments without a charge?’
The rep assures Dirk, ‘Absolutely. We won’t let you walk away until you’re fully satisfied.’
Dirk leaves the deposit and pockets the receipt. He heads back to his newly purchased ship, which is docked in the public spaceport. It is a second-hand ship, so while he waits for his mule, he passes the time cleaning it up by customising the hull logo and tearing out the old seats and making the cockpit comfortable.
A week has passed. Dirk returns to the robot store to get his mule. He shows his receipt. The rep waves him off. ‘No need for the receipt. I remember you. I don’t get many requests for mules. Now come take a look.’
He follows the rep. The rep points, ‘Here it is. Go ahead, examine it.’
Dirk runs his hand across the mule’s back. ‘Feels like the real thing right down to the fuzzy ears.’
The rep grins, ‘It’s all synthetic. The bones are steel, and all the joints are hydraulic. It can haul a couple of tons if you want it to. Say hello.’
‘Does it have a name?’ asks Dirk.
‘That’s entirely up to you,’ laughs the rep. ‘You’ll need to give it some way of knowing you’re talking to it.’
Dirk ponders for a moment. ‘Mule, from now on your name is Jack.’
The mule responds, ‘And what is your name, or should I name you?’
Dirk grins, ‘Very funny. My name is Dirk Farmer. You only need to call me by my first name.’
The rep breaks in, ‘Then I take it you’re pleased.’
Dirk settles with the rep, and he and Jack start back to the ship. Jack asks, ‘How far to the ship?’
‘About twenty minutes’ walk.’
‘Have you ever ridden a mule before?’ asks Jack. ‘I can get us there a lot faster.’
Dirk snaps, ‘No, and I don’t intend to start now. Just walk.’
‘No need to get testy. I was just offering to help.’
They get a lot of stares along the way, but they make it to the ship. Dirk thinks to himself, You think these people never saw a mule before. They walk up the ramp and are inside. Dirk asks, ‘Can you handle the G Force on take-off, or do you need to be belted in?’
Jack informs, ‘I can turn on magnetism in my hooves to secure myself to the floor.’
Dirk is impressed. ‘Pretty neat,’ he thinks. ‘Find a spot and get ready to take off.’ He belts himself in and off they go. Their destination is an asteroid belt drifting in Orion. Once they clear the moon’s gravity, they slip into a light beam from a distant star that is pointed in the desired direction. They will ride it to the asteroid belt. They set the refractors to avoid any solid objects that may enter the light beam between the ship and the destination. It’s a routine flight.
The ship reaches the asteroids. It slips out of the light beam and matches speed with the asteroids. The size of the asteroids varies from boulder to continent size. Dirk begins scanning the asteroids to determine which ones contain trace elements of minerals that would have the most market demand. He settles on one of the largest in the group. The large size would ensure that the asteroid would not break up during mining and would have the highest probability of a substantial yield should he make a strike.
‘We’re going down, Jack. Secure yourself for landing.’ The ship touched down on a flat surface chosen by Dirk. ‘The asteroid is generating enough gravity to support us,’ he tells Jack. ‘Let’s go outside and get a feel for what we’ll be dealing with.’
Dirk is wearing his breathing gear but not a full spacesuit. The climate is tolerable. Jack, of course, does not require anything, being a robot. Dirk at first steps lightly to test the magnitude of gravity. As he walks faster, he begins to float between steps. He knows now that he needs to move slowly, or he will begin to lose contact with the surface. Jack jumped out of the ship and hit the ground heavily. He immediately bounced off the surface and was airborne. It took nearly a minute for him to land back on the surface. He calculated the stride he would need to not repeat his missteps again. They walked around for a while until they felt comfortable with their movements, then they returned to the ship. Dirk points out the window. ‘We’re going to set up the drilling rig near that ridge. I’ll need you to pull the wagon after I get it loaded with equipment.’
Jack answers, ‘As you wish.’
The low gravity made assembling the rig an easy one-person job. Everything falls right into place. Dirk monitors the probe as it penetrates deeper into the asteroid. It breaks bedrock and hits crystal. So far, nothing worth mining. The probe is down half a mile before Dirk decides to change location. He breaks down the rig and loads it back onto the cart. Jack follows instructions and moves the equipment to the other side of the ridge. Still no luck. They repeat the operation in several more locations before they decide to pack up their gear on the ship and fly to the other side of the asteroid.
The results are the same on the other side of the asteroid. No big strike. Dirk mines enough potassium and gypsum to buy himself a few days’ rest on the local space station. He packs up his equipment and departs the asteroid.
He reaches Space Station Orion Delta. It is time to relax. A month of mining on the asteroid has exhausted his strength. Here, he can get freshly prepared food and human companionship. He is assigned a slot at the landing port. From there, he can shuttle to any public area on the space station. He leaves Jack on the ship with directions to alert the station police if anything should threaten the ship.
Dirk boards the shuttle and presses the button indicating the stop for the dining zone. After several stops along the way where other passengers embarked and disembarked, he reaches his desired destination. He inserts his currency card in the slot, and the proper fee is deducted before the door opens to allow him to leave the shuttle. The corridor is lined with restaurants and lounges. He is hungry. He spots a restaurant with a flashing neon sign advertising a full buffet. That is where he settles.
After overeating, it is time for some serious socialising. Farther down the corridor is a lounge offering a live band, gambling tables, and chat rooms where you can mingle with other guests. After grabbing a drink, Dirk heads for one of the chat rooms. He wanders around until his eyes meet an attractively dressed female who smiles at him as he passes by. A conversation ensues.
‘My name is Dirk. What brings you to this station?’
‘I’m Lissa. I work here.’
‘Oh. In what capacity?’
‘I’m a notary. I work in the documents department for this station.’
Dirk shakes his head. ‘Paperwork isn’t my thing.’
She gives him a sideways glance. ‘What is your thing?’
‘I’m a miner. I just came from an asteroid.’
‘Which company do you work for?’
‘I’m an independent. I have my own operation. I just came here for a few days of relaxation. Can we sit at a table and chat?’
She smiles, ‘I tell you what, you get us a bottle of wine and we’ll chat.’
Dirk buys a bottle, and he finds a table for two. She glances at the bottle. ‘Nebbiolo, very nice.’
Dirk nods. ‘I guess you know your wines.’
She pauses. ‘I’m no expert. I know what I like.’
He pours two glasses. He holds his up, and she extends hers as they clink together. The conversation continues between sips until the bottle is finished. Dirk asks, ‘Should I get another?’
Lissa pauses. ‘It’s getting late. I must be going.’
Dirk rises to say goodbye. ‘I guess I’ll be going back to my ship.’
She looks surprised. ‘You mean you don’t have a room? Come with me. I’m sure my apartment is far more comfortable than your ship.’
The two of them walk together, and Dirk thinks to himself, This night couldn’t have gone any better.
As it turns out, Lissa is no novice when it comes to sex. She takes command.
Dirk spends one more day on the space station and is in good spirits, ready to get back to work. He chooses not to return to the previous asteroid field, figuring that all the asteroids in that field probably came from the same origin and will be pretty much the same. He sets his sights on an asteroid belt a little farther out in space. Again, he makes his choice by size. He lands, and he and Jack make their way to an area where they set up the drilling rig. They have been working for over a week. One morning they wake up to a stream of dust and debris. ‘Hey Jack, do you know what’s causing this?’
The computer activates. ‘You’d better look to the western sky.’
Dirk’s eyes widen. ‘What the hell?’ Off to the edge of the asteroid belt, he sees a gigantic ship. He recognises it right away. It is one of those asteroid eaters. They are capable of devouring and grinding up whole asteroids. No need to set up a mine when you own one of these. The largest mining companies have just started using them. ‘We need to pack up quickly,’ orders Dirk. ‘We must be gone before that monster reaches us, or it’ll devour us along with this asteroid.’
Jack continues to compute, ‘This asteroid is too large for that ship’s intake.’
Dirk adds, ‘They’ll blast it to pieces and then devour the pieces. We need to start packing.’
Jack goes silent and follows Dirk’s directions. They collect the small amount of iron that they dug out and broke down the rig. Once everything is secured on the ship, they make a fast exit. They slide into a light beam shining toward the next nearest solar system. It is a bumpy ride as the ship continuously corrects its course to dodge meteorites in its path.
Once they reach their destination, Dirk chooses an asteroid, and they land. By now, he and Jack have developed a routine. Their rig is up and running without delay. They barely begin digging when the drill hits something it can’t penetrate. At first, Dirk is angry, but upon closer examination, he becomes excited. ‘Jack, get over here and analyse this rock. I think we hit a diamond deposit.’
Sure enough, Jack confirms it. Dirk isn’t one to jump to conclusions. He wants to determine just how big the deposit is before he does anything else. He withdraws the drill and moves its position as far left as the rig would allow. The drill penetrates the surface and again comes to a halt. The drill is withdrawn again and moves as far right as the rig allows. Same result. Now Dirk is feeling enthusiastic. He tells Jack to take some seismic readings to see just how far this deposit extends. The readings just keep coming back positive. Dirk yells, ‘Jack, I think this whole asteroid is one big diamond. We need to register a claim with the Central Galactic Claims Bureau right away. We hit the jackpot.’
Being a machine, Jack remains silent and watches as Dirk runs around and shouts, ‘We’re rich, we’re rich, no more prospecting.’ Eventually, Dirk sits down exhausted. Jack is programmed for sarcasm. ‘Are you through now? That claim isn’t going to register itself.’
Dirk registers his claim with the proper authority and receives his claim beacon, which he activates to identify the asteroid as his legal property to anyone who passed by.
This asteroid will require the proper drills to mine the diamonds. The operation will also require a crew to work and maintain the size of operation he had in mind. He leaves Jack behind while he ventures back to Lunar Mining’s headquarters. There, he can find what he needs.
He places his order for the drills with the supply house. They will be available tomorrow. He remembers Lynn Ruger from his time with the company. She will be his first choice to maintain his operation if he can lure her away from the company. She will also be able to recommend competent people to form a crew.
Lynn is at her desk when Dirk walks in. Lynn looks up. ‘What are you doing here? They didn’t rehire you, did they?’
‘No, I’m here to see you. I have a business proposition for you.’ She looks at him but remains silent. ‘I’ve been prospecting and registered a claim. I’m setting up a mining operation on an asteroid. The seismic readings that I took reveal that almost the whole asteroid is one big diamond. I want you to sign on with me as my operations manager. You would be in charge of mining, maintenance, and supplies, reporting directly to me. I think you’re the right person for the job. You could become very wealthy working for me.’
She looks him in the eyes. ‘I don’t believe you.’
Dirk assures her, ‘It’s true. I have a copy of my claim right in my pocket.’
‘Let me see it,’ she snaps. Dirk hands her the copy. She examines it and hands it back. ‘It’s legitimate. I’ll need to take my own readings before I make any decisions.’
‘If you can get some time off, I’ll take you to my claim. You can take all the readings you want.’
‘How far away is it? I need to know how much time I need to take off.’
‘Give me your contact number and I’ll send you the details. Why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? We can discuss this further.’
She jumps up. ‘No way. Here’s my info. Contact me and don’t show up here again. I don’t want the company to get wind of this.’
Dirk takes her information and turns. ‘Nice seeing you again, Lynn.’ He leaves.
They arrive at the claim. Lynn wastes no time. She asks Dirk for the sounding equipment and gets started. With every test, Lynn’s good eye gets wider and wider. ‘This is phenomenal! This asteroid is solid diamond.’
Dirk smiles, ‘I told you. Are you on board?’
‘Hell, yes. I need to give the company notice.’
‘I’ll fly you back. We need to hire a crew. Then we’ll return and get this thing going.’
With the crew hired and all the equipment assembled, Lynn positions several rigs and starts drilling. Dirk lines up a network of eager buyers, and the money starts rolling in. The company hears about Dirk’s claim and offers to buy him out. Both Dirk and Lynn share a big laugh when they review the offer. Lynn looks at Dirk. ‘You aren’t considering selling, are you?’
He shakes his head. ‘They couldn’t offer me enough. Besides, I’m a miner. What else would I do if I sold out?’
The company expect the rejection. They call a strategy meeting to determine if there is another way to obtain the claim. There is no legal way without Dirk’s consent. From across the table, the head of logistics speaks. ‘I think I see a way. I’ve plotted the course of that asteroid. If it remains on its present course, it will eventually drift out of the sector that falls under the jurisdiction of the Central Galactic Claims Bureau. Once that happens, the claim will no longer be enforceable.’
The chairman leans forward and declares, ‘And when that happens, we’ll be there with one of our asteroid eaters, and we’ll devour that asteroid while he stands by and watches. I’m in no hurry. We’ll wait.’
Dirk Farmer’s mining operation is producing a steady flow of diamonds. He and Lynn are reaping the benefits. One day, Lynn bursts into Dirk’s office uncharacteristically disturbed. ‘We’ve got a problem.’
Puzzled, Dirk asks, ‘What do you mean? The operation is going great.’
She slaps a chart down in front of him. ‘Look at this. This asteroid is drifting toward the boundary of jurisdictional space. Once outside, our claim isn’t enforceable.’
‘Do you think we need to worry?’
‘Wake up, Dirk. Anybody can jump our claim out there.’
‘We can hire security. We have plenty of money.’
She crosses her arms and stares at him. ‘No. I wouldn’t trust anyone. How long do you think it would take whoever we hire to realise what we have and confiscate it? I’d be afraid for our lives.’
Dirk thinks about it and agrees. ‘We need a plan. In the meantime, let’s not panic. Let’s continue to run things as usual.’
She turns and goes back to work. She is not one to shrug off a problem. She continues to rack her brain for a solution. An idea suddenly pops into her head. She stops what she is doing and runs into Dirk’s office.
‘I may have a solution,’ she shouts.
‘Slow down. Take a breath. Sit down. Now tell me what’s on your mind.’
‘A few years ago, a squadron commander crash-landed his fighter on the Moon. I rescued him from the crash and gave him a place to stay while I repaired his ship. He owes me. I should be able to convince him to come to our aid if we’re threatened. He’s someone I can trust.’
Dirk taps his fingers on the desk. ‘Good to know. I’ve been thinking about our situation too. Tell me what you think of this. The best solution would be for us to find a way to keep this asteroid inside jurisdictional space. Now I know it’s too large to control with thrusters. But it’s a diamond. It can be split. If you can calculate the most force we can get out of a configuration of thrusters, then calculate the maximum size of the mass that can be controlled by those thrusters, we can split this asteroid and save as much of it as possible.’
‘What about the rest of it?’
‘It’ll have to be sacrificed.’
She enthusiastically exits, ‘I’ll take Jack and get right on it.’
She presents the problem to Jack, and he computes the optimum thrust and mass. Lynn takes the results to Dirk. He looks over the calculations. ‘So we can salvage about one third of this asteroid. Better than nothing. Purchase the thrusters. Me and Jack will figure out where to make the cleave.’
A few days before the asteroid leaves jurisdictional space, Dirk contacts the company. ‘I’m willing to sell a percentage of my operation to you for the amount you offered us before.’
The Chairman laughs, ‘Too late. We’ve been tracking the asteroid’s path. You’ll be in non-jurisdictional space in a few days. Your claim will be invalid there. We have one of our asteroid eaters right behind you. You better make plans to abandon that asteroid because we’ll be processing it very soon, and anyone still on it will get processed along with it. Tough luck.’ Then he cut off the transmission.
Dirk calls Lynn to his office. ‘Do you have the thrusters in place?’
She smiles, ‘Sure thing.’
‘Do you have the explosives in place to make the cleave?’
Still smiling, ‘All set.’
‘Then let it rip.’
Lynn gives the order to detonate the explosives. With a jolt, the asteroid is split. When there is adequate distance between the two parts of the asteroid, Lynn orders the thrusters to fire. The section of the asteroid they are on changes course and is on a path back into jurisdictional space. This portion of the claim is saved.
Dirk pours Lynn a celebratory glass of wine. ‘A toast to a job well done. It’s too bad the company is going to get the larger portion of our claim. It’s worth a fortune.’
Lynn sits back. ‘Keep an eye on the viewing screen, Dirk.’
A squadron of fighters comes into view. They launch a barrage of missiles toward the remainder of the asteroid. They watch as the asteroid is pulverised into space dust.
Dirk almost falls off of his chair. ‘What the hell just happened?’
Lynn laughs hysterically. ‘I told you I had a favour to call in. That was my friend, the squadron commander. I asked, and he was glad to do it. It was just target practice to him.’
‘Lynn, you’re diabolical. I could kiss you. You stuck it to the company big time.’
Lynn got up and approached Dirk. ‘I’m going to take you up on that.’
