Jump Gate III - RoadMaker

Jump Gate III – RoadMaker is the book that was destined to unite books two (Teleporter) and book four (Jump Gate). And sure to be the most difficult to write. It turned out that this chapter in the Jump Gate story, instead added to our crew, my two now-favourite characters. Brilliant but troubled youngsters who grow into confident adults as they wrestle with their personal and professional problems while, at the same time, take us to the stars.

This tale was intended to be the story of a journey to our closest, possibly habitable planet, orbiting Proxima Centauri. It is four and a half light-years away. There is, of course, an emergency. We needed one to build a story around. One that gives us a scant one hundred years to reach our destination.

Mostly, between here and there are millions and billions of miles of empty space. Potential miles and days, months, years, of very empty, very boring, nothing.

We will need to invent a continuously-accelerating space-going factory that will leave a web of teleporters in its wake to accommodate further exploration or immigration.

There will be the inevitable problem of paying for this extremely expensive program. The kind of costs only government budgets can back. And there is always political resistance and blowback from an opposing party.

The mere idea of leaving our planet and moving some of us to another place inevitably results in increases in fear and resistance. Often, from the ill-informed, those with a hidden agenda, or from the ultra-religious.

Espionage and sabotage, and the costs thereof, can be severe and costly not only in budget but also in the one thing that is most valuable but which we have the least of: time.

But as humans, we like to multitask. Since we are now leaving our solar system to go exploring, what exploring can we do in our local neighbourhood?

Let's take a run at prospecting and mining the asteroid belt. What value may be obtained from this vast resource? Besides the danger, what may be found? Jewels of unimaginable beauty or texture. Gold? Silver? Rare-Earth minerals? Water?

From our factory on the moon, manufacturing space-ready, custom-made spacecraft, to exploring the endless miles of lava tubes on Mars, Teleporter Technology has expanded humankind's possibilities… and multiplied its risks.

Danger and coercion threaten a tale of inspiration, problem-solving, and multiple personal victories.

RoadMaker – our pathway to the stars.