World Gas Miners of Venus / Venus Platform One / VePO

[Double Plus Ungood]

The Gas Miners of Venus / Venus Platform One.

Prologue​

2126 C.E

Humankind, or rather the more powerful and forward-thinking rats on the sinking ship called "Earth", the more wealthy governments and mega-corporations, knew that the continuation of their wealth and power depended on mankind's survival, came to the realization that their race's only hope for survival was in expansion into their solar system and beyond.

The planet Mars was an obvious step in the right direction for expansion. The red planet's atmosphere of carbon dioxide was not ideal, nor was the cold planetary core and lack of a sufficiently strong magnetic field helpful. Mars' gravity was approximately thirty-eight percent of normal earth gravity. But these were not insurmountable problems.

The carbon dioxide atmosphere could be separated into oxygen and carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide could further be molecularly split into carbon atoms and oxygen atoms. This oxygen would sustain life in sealed underground habitations and city sized domes. The crust of Mars and the dome materials would protect humans from the radiation of the Sun's solar wind. The low gravity would simply have to be endured, for now. It should be quite easy for the first colonists to acclimate themselves to, but over time their descendants would become helpless if they ever ventured onto heavier worlds. But that was a problem for the future human Martians. It was a small price to pay to avoid a universe without any humans, whether they be Martian or Terran.

Mankind was making similar plans for Earth's moon, the moons of Jupiter, the moons of Saturn and the asteroids Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea.

Current thinking for colonizing beyond the solar system was along the lines of cold-sleep arks and generation ships. Faster-than-light travel and hypothesized super-stable wormholes from the Sol system leading to distant star systems had not, so far, been discovered.

But all these projects required materials. Ores were relatively simple to obtain. Both the rocky planets of Earth, its moon and Mars would do well to get things started. After that, the asteroid belt had ores already floating about in small "chunks". Getting the gasses, however, required a bit more work.

Gaseous hydrogen and helium were abundant in the atmospheres beyond the asteroid belt. The gravity of each of the outer planets and the fact that hydrogen and helium are the lightest known gases required small spacecraft to 'skim' the surface of the planet's atmosphere at a speed where the craft would be able to resist the pull of the gas giant's gravity. From the skimmer ship, the gases would require minimal processing to remove possible contamination at a refinery space station at, for example, Jupiter's L1 Lagrange Point.

Mars needed all of its own carbon dioxide, so mankind had to look elsewhere for the denser gas. They did not have to look far, because over ninety-six percent of the atmosphere of the planet Venus is carbon dioxide. Also, because the carbon dioxide was heavier than hydrogen or helium, these lighter gases could be used to float a carbon dioxide collection and refining platform in the Venusian atmosphere, above the planet surface. The design of the platform would allow continual around-the-clock collection, processing and packaging, so long as the platform didn't run out of gas storage cans.

Before any of the extraterrestrial mining and colonization plans could be acted upon, the question of building these ships and structures needed answering. The hydrogen skimming ships needed to be aerodynamic, but should they make numerous smaller craft or fewer medium or larger skimmers? Smaller craft could be manufactured on planet while the plans for mid-sized and larger skimmers would be more efficiently assembled in Earth orbit. Likewise, the processing platforms would be quite massive and would need to be assembled in space. There was hardly any deliberation, the creation of Space Yard was the first step.


2132 C.E.

Space Yard, located at Earth-Moon Lagrange Point Four, was constructed in just over five years. One portion of the yard was dedicated to assembling the ASC (atmospheric skimmer craft) units. A second section built the TaT (Tug and Transport) ships, which would drag the CaPP (collection and processing platform) stations to their designated locations and then become the means for supplying the stations and getting the desired gases back to planet Earth. The third and fourth sections would construct the CaPPs, JuPO (Jupiter Platform One) and VePO (Venus Platform One).

Because the VePO would require a massive amount of lighter-than-air gases, the priority was first given to the JuPO project. The CaPP and its support craft departed the Space Yard in 2138 and took station at Jupiter-Sun Lagrange Point One to begin operations in 2144. The first gas shipments from Jupiter arrived in 2154.

By this time, construction of VePO and the Venus-Sun Lagrange Point Two station had been completed. As soon as the hydrogen tanks could be filled, The CaPP was towed from Earth orbit to a position above the Venusian north pole, where the continual polar vortex of wind rotated only once every three Earth days. At 1200 hours GMT Earth time, on January eighteenth, twenty-one fifty-five, Venus Platform One was inserted into the Venusian atmosphere.

VePO began its controlled descent on "disposable" rockets, which would be jettisoned near the end of insertion maneuver. At seventy kilometers above the Venusian pole the hydrogen cells were activated, the armor protecting the gas cells detached and the inflation rings began expanding, rising above VePO's "gondola". VePO's descent was slowed to practically nothing and then came to a complete stop with the discarding of the braking rockets, sixty kilometers above the planet's surface.

Arrival.

Eighty-four new replacement personnel: the managers, the engineers, the miners, the operators and the servers were led to the mining platform's main mess hall. The main mess had seating for a hundred people. There was the sound of boots on the deck and a susurrus of low volume talking between those people that had gotten acquainted just before or during the voyage between the planets. The sounds of the boots disappeared as the men and women took their seats and turned in them to face the one end of the room where a podium had been placed.

The room became quieter as a man in a black suit, in his early to mid-fifties, walked in from a side of the room and took a position at the lectern. He looked to be an inch or two shorter than six feet tall. His build might best be described as looking 'solid', as it was neither obviously slender nor rounded. Maybe there was some fat on him somewhere, but his mustached face seemed somewhat on the lean side. His complexion was fair and light peach, clear but with some age lines becoming more noticeable. The graying brown hair on his head was cut in a 'caesar' or 'roman' fashion. His mustache was trimmed in a style called 'regent'. The man's deep set eyes seemed light at a distance, perhaps blue or maybe green, but did not seem dark. The nose was not much remarkable, the mouth seemed small but full lipped and the chin was strong.

The man in the black suit tapped the surface of the podium and connected the microphone on the lapel of his jacket to the mess room's hidden speakers. He raised his right hand, palm forward, to get the attention of the room. He then shaped that hand into a knife-edge and made small 'cutting' gesture, signaling everyone else to be quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Danyon Miles, the Chief Station Executive, and I am your new boss", began Danyon Miles, in his orientation lecture to the new personnel. "Welcome to Venus Processor One, also known as 'VePO'. I'm sure that you all know what you signed up for when you applied for this job, however, allow me to convey the importance of what is being done here, once more."

"There's simply a practical limit on how much of Earth's biosphere can be used to support human life in non-biosphere environments. Our main mission here is to gather Carbon Dioxide and separate the oxygen from the carbon for export. The oxygen that we mine here supports life in life hostile environments. Moons, asteroids, Lagrange stations and spaceships have come to depend on the oxygen that we provide. Also, in conjunction with the atmosphere processing taking place at the Jupiter Processor, humankind is now capable of making more water. Water for life between the worlds and water for human colonizing projects."

"Our platform floats on a level of the Venusian atmosphere, designed to be like a balloon in the air or a cork on water. The hull of our platform is protected by a combination of passive defenses such as ceramics and active electronic defenses against corrosion and particles. While there is a back-up fusion reactor on this platform, the vast bulk of electrical power is created by advanced thermocouple technology and the ambient heat of Venus. In case of the direst emergency, there are more than enough lifeboats, twenty boats each capable of carrying twenty people. That's four hundred seats for our crew of three hundred seventy-seven people to get up to the space station at the Lagrange two point."

"The company psychiatrists were given a fair amount of say on what a group of humans needed to be able to work in such a place, both efficiently and avoiding undue mental fatigue. The company bean-counters nearly went into seizures, but calmed down when the amenities were compared to the costs of therapy and the possible loss of the platform. The shrinks also screened each one of you for your temperament and ability to live in a somewhat confined space for long periods of time. All in all, you shouldn't leave this place any crazier than when you came here."

"The organization here is corporate, not military. You have your civil and human rights. However, as Venus is a very dangerous environment outside of this platform, there are some commonsense laws that are zealously enforced. You will all be provided with a copy of 'The Rules' that you are expected to live by, here at VePO, and the possible consequences of breaking those rules."

"You were all given a list of what clothing is practical and preferred for work at VePO. You have also received lightweight color-coded jackets. For the benefit of those with some knowledge in 'entertainment history', none of the jackets are red. The company prefers you to wear these jackets during your shifts. Engineers wear orange jackets. Miners wear tan jackets. Operators wear light blue jackets. Servers wear green jackets. An Assistant Manager's jacket has one white sleeve. A Manager's jacket has one gray sleeve. An Executive's jacket has one black sleeve. The jackets of the Platform Senior Assistant Executive and myself are just black."

"The last items that I have to share in this orientation regards 'intimate sexual activities'. You will engage in no such activities during your work shifts, period. Also, I will be very concerned if I learn that anyone is attempting to 'sleep their way up the corporate ladder', as such things are not good for the morale on this platform. Finally, you have all had complete physicals and fertility blocking drugs have been made available to you, so I hope that pregnancies can be avoided."

X.X.X.X.X.

Venus Processor One (VePO) Organization

Executives = 6.
Managers = 16.
Assistant Managers = 64.
Team Members = 256.
Scientific Team = 29
Total Crew = 377

Chief Station Executive, Mr. Danyon Miles.

Senior Assistant Station Executive.

Executive of Engineering, Ms. Anna Trayson.
Executive of Mining Operations.
Executive of Platform Operations.
Executive of Support Services (including Galley).

Engineering Manager Shift One.
1st​ Assistant Engineering Manager Shift One + four Engineers.
2nd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift One + four Engineers.
3rd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift One + four Engineers.
4th Assistant Engineering Manager Shift One + four Engineers.

Engineering Manager Shift Two.
1st Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Two + four Engineers.
2nd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Two + four Engineers.
3rd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Two + four Engineers.
4th Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Two + four Engineers.

Engineering Manager Shift Three. David Hefboom
1st Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Three + four Engineers.
2nd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Three + four Engineers.
3rd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Three + four Engineers.
4th Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Three + four Engineers.

Engineering Manager Shift Four.
1st Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Four + four Engineers.
2nd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Four + four Engineers.
3rd Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Four + four Engineers.
4th Assistant Engineering Manager Shift Four + four Engineers.

Mining Operations Manager Shift One.
1st​ Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift One + four Miners.
2nd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift One + four Miners.
3rd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift One + four Miners.
4th Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift One + four Miners.

Mining Operations Manager Shift Two.
1st Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Two + four Miners.
2nd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Two + four Miners.
3rd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Two + four Miners.
4th Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Two + four Miners.

Mining Operations Manager Shift Three.
1st Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Three + four Miners.
2nd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Three + four Miners.
3rd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Three + four Miners.
4th Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Three + four Miners.

Mining Operations Manager Shift Four.
1st Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Four + four Miners.
2nd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Four + four Miners.
3rd Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Four + four Miners.
4th Assistant Mining Operations Manager Shift Four + four Miners.

Platform Operations Manager Shift One.
1st​ Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift One + four Operators.
2nd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift One + four Operators.
3rd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift One + four Operators.
4th Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift One + four Operators.

Platform Operations Manager Shift Two.
1st Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Two + four Operators.
2nd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Two + four Operators.
3rd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Two + four Operators.
4th Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Two + four Operators.

Platform Operations Manager Shift Three.
1st Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Three + four Operators.
2nd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Three + four Operators.
3rd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Three + four Operators.
4th Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Three + four Operators.

Platform Operations Manager Shift Four.
1st Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Four + four Operators.
2nd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Four + four Operators.
3rd Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Four + four Operators.
4th Assistant Platform Operations Manager Shift Four + four Operators.

Support Services Manager Shift One.
1st Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift One + four Servers.
2nd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift One + four Servers.
3rd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift One + four Servers.
4th Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift One + four Servers.

Support Services Manager Shift Two.
1st Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Two + four Servers.
2nd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Two + four Servers.
3rd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Two + four Servers.
4th Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Two + four Servers.

Support Services Manager Shift Three.
1st Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Three + four Servers.
2nd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Three + four Servers.
3rd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Three + four Servers.
4th Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Three + four Servers.

Support Services Manager Shift Four.
1st Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Four + four Servers.
2nd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Four + four Servers.
3rd Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Four + four Servers.
4th Assistant Support Services. Manager Shift Four + four Servers.

Planetology Mission
Lead Scientist (1)
Associate Scientists (4)
Technicians (16)
Small Landing Craft (2)
Small Craft Pilots (4)
Small Craft Flight Engineers (4)