Trying out a new novel called “The Gold Standard.” Played around with the idea this morning while trying to get my Google Chrome to work. While GW170817 is quite a distance away, I'll have to research for closer prospects within the Milky Way galaxy.

The prompt was "Where Did This Come From?," and my reply was a very short excerpt of my chosen chore.

Where Did This Come From . . . ?
480 words | By Me

Gravitational wave patterns for the neutron star merger of GW170817 were visible from Earth nearly three hundred years ago, back in August of 2017. Today, August 23, 2310, the research vessel “Seeker” was cruising within the lenticular galaxy NGC 4993, about 140 million lightyears from their homebase, Earth, and in orbit with the GW170817 mini-blackhole. Science officer Ensign Stuart McLean was early, standing at his station on the bridge when the captain entered for the day.

“How’re we lookin’?” Captain Gregory Fischer greeted the command crew.

“All steady, sir,” helmsman Ensign Jack Pritchard replied, eyes remaining on his three screens of data.

“Running through pass-10 now, sir,” McLean informed him. “One through nine were all clean.” He glanced to his captain, just placing his hand on the back of the command chair. “Been focused on a cloud of point nine-nine-nine gold surrounded by a gossamer sheet of platinum, all about a sparkling 100 thousand kilometers across. How’d you like to have that in the bank, sir?”

Captain Fischer nodded his understanding to his geologist. “Oh, I think we’ll be able to pick up a few minor samples, Ensign, but hardly enough to line a single pocket. This entire field is federally staked as classified, do not touch. How’s the rest of it look?”

“A few anomalies here and there, sir. Nothing too over the top. Patches of pure mercury, americium, lead, uranium, astatine, gold—it goes right down the list, sir. A treasure trove of all known minerals—all utterly pure. Even sprinklings of lithium and potassium. …And there’s an interesting blip out toward the Milky Way quad. A very-possible solid chunk.”

“Solid what?”

“Gold-platinum alloy.”

“A nugget of white gold?”

“That’s what it reads. This nugget, though, comes up as about 21,000 metric tons.”

“Ho! That’d look good hangin’ around your neck, wouldn’t it?”

“Well—I could sure give it a try, sir.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Sir? Tracking the trajectory of that monolith of gold and it’s due to cross our path in approximately 10 mikes.”

“Copy that. Do you have a visual?”

“On screen, sir.”

“Thank you…” Staring at the forward display, Captain Fischer stepped absently backwards and sat in his command chair. “What in—blazes…?”

“I see it, sir. This is incredible…”

“Ensign, take us in.”

“Yes sir. We’ll be alongside in two mikes.”

Fischer stood from his chair and approached the display. “Pilot. That is a warship.”

“Yes, sir, destroyer-class,” Pritchard identified.

“All I’m receiving is background noise,” McLean assured. “Nothing emanating from the vessel.”

“…And that’s the bow. Look, here. The USS ‘Standard’.”

“Reported as missing in this vicinity—50 years ago.”

“Look at that.”

“Sir. It’s solid white-gold. It must have cruised directly through the superheated nano-particle debris cloud.”

“Yes. The minerals transposed the carbon composite structure of the ship’s hull—creating this…”

“EVA, sir?”

“Well—s’pose we could see if the doors still work.”

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