Dr. Peter Bowman awoke from a nightmare in his quarters on one of three space stations orbiting the planet Mercury. He was sweating in spite of his climate control setting of sixty eight degrees Fahrenheit. He sat up on the side of his bed.
"Computer, start blowing some air in here."
A sound chirped from the computers' speakers, indicating that the command was received and executed. Peter then heard air quietly moving through the vents before feeling the relieving air blowing on him.
"Computer, what time is it?"
Another chirp came from the speakers, followed by a voice saying "It is oh-three twelve hours, Interplanetary Standard Time."
After a pause, Peter said out loud, "Another night with almost no sleep."
He then stood and said to the computer, "Computer, start a cup of chamomile tea, and start playing the playlist 'Favorites' from Dr. Bowman's directory."
Peter then heard the sound of liquid falling into a cup, and his favorite song playing over the speakers, an old song performed by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.
You've got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the
negative,
Latch on to the affirmative,
Don't mess with Mister
In-Between.
Peter stood from his bed and walked across the concave floor of his quarters. After retrieving his tea from the dispenser, he walked to the window and pressed a button which opened the mechanical blinds so that he could see the sun before him. At this distance, the sun took up most of his view, but because of the thin layer of synthesized gold covering the window, his eyes and skin were unharmed.
The artificial gravity on the space station was achieved by centrifugal force, and for that reason it appeared as though the sun was traveling aimlessly in circles in front of him. It was actually the station that was spinning because of its typical design. From a distance it would look like wheels rotating on an axle.
Peter looked closely at the computerized drones working on a project of his own design, the Dyson Sphere Project. They worked virtually nonstop to complete the structure that, over the course of the next few hundred years, would fill two great circles of a sphere surrounding the sun. These two great circles were made of nodes that connected to each other, and the nodes would begin harvesting energy from the sun long before the great circles themselves were completed. Within two decades, stored solar energy would be transported from the harvester nodes to Earth and Venus, while more harvester nodes were being assembled. This was Peter's life's work.
Peter continued to look at the drones, his head turning to adjust to his rotating position.
When the first song finished, he pushed the button again, and with a soft mechanical whir, the shutters closed.
"Computer, bring lights up one level."
Another chirp from the computer, and the brightness of the room was slightly increased. Peter walked to a chair, put his feet up on a footrest, and his tea on a side table. There, he sat listening to music until he eventually fell asleep again.
