Copyright 1984 Meyer Moldeven
THE UNIVERSE -- or nothing
by Meyer Moldeven
Copyright 1984 Meyer Moldeven This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This work is under a Creative Commons License.
Table Of Contents
THE UNIVERSE -- or nothing Table Of Contents About Meyer Moldeven Also by Meyer Moldeven The Preface The Prologue Chapter ONE Chapter TWO Chapter THREE Chapter FOUR Chapter FIVE Chapter SIX Chapter SEVEN Chapter EIGHT Chapter NINE Chapter TEN Chapter ELEVEN Chapter TWELVE Chapter THIRTEEN Chapter FOURTEEN Chapter FIFTEEN Chapter SIXTEEN Chapter SEVENTEEN Chapter EIGHTEEN Chapter NINETEEN Chapter TWENTY Chapter TWENTY-ONE Chapter TWENTY-TWO Chapter TWENTY-THREE Chapter TWENTY-FOUR Chapter TWENTY-FIVE Chapter TWENTY-SIX Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN Chapter TWENTY-EIGHT Chapter TWENTY-NINE Chapter THIRTY Chapter THIRTY-ONE Chapter THIRTY-TWO Chapter THIRTY-THREE Chapter THIRTY-FOUR Chapter THIRTY-FIVE Chapter THIRTY-SIX Chapter THIRTY-SEVEN Chapter THIRTY-EIGHT Chapter THIRTY-NINE Chapter FORTY Chapter FORTY-ONE Chapter FORTY-TWO Chapter FORTY-THREE Chapter FORTY-FOUR Chapter FORTY-FIVE Chapter FORTY-SIX Epilogue Afterwords Appendix The References Words With(Out) Diacritics Creative Commons License about "zen markup language"
About Meyer Moldeven
Meyer (Mike) Moldeven was a civilian logistics technician with the United States Air Force from 1941 until 1974. He was an aircraft emergency survival equipment specialist in the Pacific Area during World War II and a technical writer for several years afterwards. During the Cold War he transferred to a USAF base in North Africa where he developed logistics plans for USAF-NATO emergency maintenance of disabled aircraft that would land along the North African coast after returning from missions in any future war with the USSR. During the U.S. post-Sputnik initiatives to create a national space program, he critiqued aerospace industries' logistics concepts on future space systems organization, infrastructure and support. Among the studies he critiqued was 'Space Logistics, Operations, Maintenance and Rescue' (Project SLOMAR). During the Viet Nam War, he was the senior civilian in the Inspector General's Office at McClellan Air Force Base, a major logistics installation near Sacramento, California. As part of his 'added' duties during 'Viet Nam' Mike was a hotline volunteer in a suicide prevention center and consequently, an advocate for professionally-staffed 'suicide prevention' capabilities throughout the entire Department of Defense. He compiled documentation, published, and widely distributed copies of his book, "Military-Civilian Teamwork in Suicide Prevention" (1971, 1985 and 1994.) Mike's updated essay on suicide prevention in the U.S. Armed Forces has been included in his collection of memoirs, "Hot War/Cold War -- Back-of-the-Lines Logistics", which is at: http://hometown.aol.com/yarnspinner7191/ myhomepage/military.html
Also by Meyer Moldeven
Military-Civilian Teamwork in Suicide Prevention Write Stories to Me, Grandpa! A Grandpa's Notebook
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: The Universe — or Nothing by Meyer Moldeven
- 2: When the resources have been depleted
- 3: The Extractor selects and draws pre designated elements
- 4: Keyed to transmit status on Spunnel Channel 9212
- 5: You are spunnel psy monitored by Spacetrack Ceres
- 6: Spacetrack Ceres will monitor for survivors
- 7: Space spunnel booster stations
- 8: Selvin said returning his eyes to Camari
- 9: Their intent is to destroy Slingshot
- 10: President Camari raised his hand
- 11: The President's eyes took in his grim advisors
- 12: At ease against the opposite bulkhead
- 13: Inmates include persons convicted of piracy of spacecraft
- 14: Pointed to a hatch further along the passageway
- 15: Zolan leaned against a bulkhead
- 16: Xindral clasped his hands behind his back
- 17: Jabbing a stubby finger at Xindral
- 18: Brad continued to observe Xindral closely
- 19: Your unit commander is Brad Curtin
- 20: Xindral hefted his stool forward
- 21: Slingshot schedules are in their most critical phase
- 22: Despite the billions of citizens in the UIPS
- 23: Whatever the reason and however rehab was to be done
- 24: Zolan is an extremely important asset for your mission
- 25: Your initial field of operations is centered in Coldfield
- 26: But insurance against betrayal will entail a simple psy mod
- 27: Especially through spunnel channels
- 28: Brad nodded at Zolan who acknowledged the tug's instruction
- 29: The owner picked up the sidearm
- 30: And slapped Hodak on the shoulder
- 31: On a lengthy umbilical catwalk
- 32: They squeezed their way to the desk robot
- 33: Hodak bawled across the narrow hall
- 34: Or were they agents of the UIPS
- 35: The Firehouse Red disappeared in a single
- 36: Hodak shot a quick glance at Brad
- 37: Hodak grasped his wrist and elbow
- 38: His eyes darted from the doorway to Hodak to Brad
- 39: He passed Adari and drew alongside Drummer
- 40: Drummer gasped over his shoulder
- 41: Drummer shook his head impatiently
- 42: The station has lots of spacers under lock and key
- 43: Narval laboriously stepped up and sat
- 44: But Reen Narval was too much for them
- 45: Narval had to provide for himself
- 46: And all UIPS cargo transports entering Plutonian space
- 47: Narval raised his jeweled hand
- 48: Scarf entered and waited for Narval to notice him
- 49: If Drummer goes to the depot or boards UIPS ships
- 50: So each checklist will have to be tailored
- 51: This is the Plutonian Security Force
- 52: You will cooperate in this inventory
- 53: My responsibility for the safety of UIPS supplies
- 54: The Sandbox guns must be rendered inoperative and
- 55: Brad took the utility around to starboard
- 56: Kumiko took in the overhead dials and lights
- 57: Brad turned and waved Rimov closer
- 58: Rimov flushed with fury as he watched Kumiko work
- 59: The burst hit Rimov between the shoulder blades
- 60: Their lives depended on the catwalk passing close to it
- 61: Brad and Kumiko stumbled forward
- 62: Narval was impressed at our success
- 63: Narval studied the wall monitor behind Brad
- 64: Narval said after studying the monitor
- 65: Attacking and destroying UIPS patrollers in the Zone
- 66: Narval wagged a finger at Drummer
- 67: UIPS perception of danger to Slingshot
- 68: In tank towns throughout the Outer Region and in the UIPS
- 69: And general administrative backup
- 70: But nav robotics have no backups
- 71: Brad leveled a finger at Hodak
- 72: Let the INOR people tour our ship
- 73: Zolan occupied a seat against the bulkhead behind Brad
- 74: Brad paused to preface his next words
- 75: Brad fixed his eyes on Captain Yargoul
- 76: And proposed options on the employment of ships
- 77: Zolan remained where he was for a distance
- 78: Zolan surveyed several nearby utilities
- 79: Zolan saw the guard bending backward
- 80: And from the spunnel comm center
- 81: Zolan wasted no time in preliminaries
- 82: Hanno reports his spunnel transmitter was destroyed
- 83: Personal to President Camari from Ram Xindral
- 84: Personal to President Camari from Ram Xindral
- 85: Narval impatiently bit a fingernail
- 86: Scarf peered closely at the screen
- 87: He's arranging a meeting between Narval and Ram
- 88: Hodak turned casually to observe
- 89: Hodak eased closer to the bend in the tunnel
- 90: Patch switched off his fuser and tapped Swat on the shoulder
- 91: Hodak quickly passed the word and
- 92: That Xindral got away from your team
- 93: Zolan and Adari put their heads together
- 94: Kumiko and Zolan were halfway into theirs
- 95: Kumiko nodded and closed her faceplate
- 96: And his tone solemn and deliberate
- 97: Do not rule out reprisals on your encapsulated communities
- 98: We reject war against any Government within INOR
- 99: Draft a personal message from me to Camari
- 100: Drummer looked straight at Narval
- 101: Narval motioned Drummer and Brad forward
- 102: Zolan tapped at a remote keyboard
- 103: Rework the combined fleet's weapons disposition
- 104: Brad motioned Zolan and Hodak closer
- 105: Send me a spunnel flash after you've done it
- 106: Zolan watched the Revenge enter the spunnel node
- 107: A INOR team entered through another portal
- 108: Did Drummer really support Narval
- 109: We have left the spunnel node nearest the conference site
- 110: Drummer and Brad exchanged glances
- 111: Slingshot had always been real to Brad
- 112: Camari and Narval came face to face
- 113: Chapter FORTY Captain Hyk strode the bridge impatiently
- 114: Hyk glared at Drummer as if the man was out of his mind
- 115: Hyk halted several paces from Drummer
- 116: Those were indeed the orders given to me by Narval
- 117: Hyk drew his weapon and aimed it at Drummer
- 118: Brad motioned Drummer to join Adari
- 119: Kumiko swung the hatch shut and dogged it
- 120: Thrusters or other vitals where disabling is money
- 121: I'll give 'em the nose decomps
- 122: From interfering with Slingshot
- 123: The Windstorm had launched a guided fusion warhead
- 124: The warhead was less than a hundred meters ahead
- 125: Brad squatted beside Hodak and
- 126: Selvin hastily exchanged handshakes with Brad and Myra
- 127: Gunships and fighters careened through space
- 128: Admiral Selvin stared at the tank
- 129: Cruisers ready your particle beamers
- 130: Camari continued in the same tone
- 131: Camari tensed with apprehension
- 132: Formerly an advisor to Reen Narval and
- 133: Discussions among the primary conferees were
- 134: The spunnel communications channels were loaded with traffic
- 135: Capsule V67 The Interstellar Historian
- 136: Spunnels in the public's jargon
- 137: Analyze and report via spunnel on the availability
- 138: Reduces the substance to spunnel teleportable constituents
- 139: Opportunists promoted a multitude of causes
- 140: Without prior consultation with INOR and Planet Pluto
- 141: The OPMT formed the nucleus of upper level managers
- 142: In support of the Charon agricultural mission
- 143: When the United Planetary System dissolved
- 144: Proclaimed the President of the UIPS
- 145: ARTICLE IIAuthority in outer space societies
- 146: Eventually throughout the Interstellar Realm
- 147: And management of UIPS and INOR approved inter regional
- 148: Or authority to repair or dispose of the spacecraft
- 149: Format zen markup language
