-[  ]-

The hangar was filled with equipment; one side of the great space could be seen with the welding sparks of large sections of rocket casing being constructed. In other parts, electronic parts lay strewn across benches, innumerable wires connecting each piece painstakingly up to a battery of test equipment, countless other parts were immersed in giant steel balls, containing a range of environments, some fractionally above absolute zero, pluming frosted air, others radiating a dull heat of environments far more hostile than life could endure.

Within the center of all this chaos lay a smaller room, its black outside centered in middle of the hangar, a bulky environment processing plant disfigured one side of what would have been a perfect cube. Entry to this inner room required passing a security detail, and a set of double doors, however what lay inside was one of the most sophisticated pieces of machinery ever created by this civilization.

In the middle of the room in a huge specialized trolley suspended in a net of wire was the skeleton of a space probe, unfolded solar arrays splayed from the central body almost touching simultaneously the floor and the ceiling. The center of probe was a mess, countless wires trailed from parts to a nearby bench, where a lab technician operated a toggle switch, which caused one of the lower solar panels to fold inwards, the smooth plane fracturing, and folding inwards like a paper fan.

God’s messenger was the culmination of over a decades work. New technologies and manufacture methods had to be created as this area of their civilization was wholly inadequate to create something as complex as this probe.

Due to inherent uncertainties in the efficiency of the launch vehicles messenger was one of five identical probes being constructed, the hope was that at least one could be successfully launched and fulfill its mission, due to the limitations of their drive technology they had to exploit times when the target planet was closest, they would not have a chance as good as this for nearly a century, if the probe had to be launched at other times, journey length would be greatly increased, and the chance of the probe successfully operating throughout its mission in the harsh environment of space would fall to a less than favorable odds.

However the people had the drive to do this, logistics problems, and resource allocation were not an obstacle, the will of the entire people urged the development of the messenger, the near planet with its luxury of blue and green landmasses only just revealed through the most powerful of telescopes seemed to be a paradise.

The scriptures had promised a new age of bounty, an age where the Mawa-rei would sweep through the heavens spreading beyond the stars, the messenger would bring the confirmation of these writings, and allow for more missions that would allow them to experience the benevolence of their god.

For the moment the only apparent limiting factor to the mission was the races understanding of the technology they were using. However there are two ways to learn, one by hard application of theory, and practice through experimentation, the other one to cheat and copy a solution.