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The Sails of Tau Ceti

A Novel By

Michael McCollum



Sci Fi - Arizona, Inc.

Third Millennium Publishing

A Cooperative of Online Writers and Resources
 PROLOGUE


Faslorn of the Phelan stood on the bridge of the starshipFar Horizons and watched as thick bundles of
gossamer thread poured forth from their storage holds. The shroud lines had been streaming aft through
half a dozen changes of the watch. Now the first phase of the star brakeтАЩs deployment was nearing its
end.

Faslorn let his eyes roam the shipтАЩs instruments as the last fewkel of bundled lines leaped free. His
attention returned to the screens as the star brakeтАЩs millionkel long mass stretched to its full length and
suddenly grew taut.

тАЬSound the alarm,тАЭ Faslorn ordered. тАЬRebound coming.тАЭ

The warning echoed through every corridor of the giant starship. Thousands of crewmembers stopped
what they were doing and anchored themselves. Faslorn wrapped a six-fingered hand around a nearby
stanchion and held on tight. Far out along the star brake, he could see the reflection wave racing toward
Far Horizons .

The rebound wave struck the ship and caused the deck to jump beneath his feet. He barely noticed the
rolling motion as stresses redistributed themselves throughout the starship. All of his attention was taken
up by the screens. His twin hearts beat a little faster as he scanned the giant construct on which depended
his own fate, and that of one hundred thousand crewmates.

тАЬNo damage to brake or ship,тАЭ one of the deployment technicians reported.

Faslorn emitted the Phelan equivalent of a sigh. тАЬVery well. Cut the restraining straps.тАЭ

All along the folded brake, tiny glittering lights illuminated the eternal night of space as the straps that kept
the brake furled were cut. With the restraints gone, centrifugal force took over. There was a vast rippling
as the gossamer fabric of the brake began to unfurl.

It was difficult to observe the progress of the deployment. The furled brake had been a long line that
twisted and turned on its way to the vanishing point. As the mass unfolded, it revealed the reflective film
that made up the bulk of its surface area. There is nothing in space more difficult to see than a one
hundred percent reflective surface. It reflects the blackness of space, while distorting the reflected images
of stars. To an observer, it seems as though the universe has been wrenched into convolutions by some