Until the Dawn, page 30
"Twisting and turning?" Greg was listening closely, and he prompted them for more information.
"Yeah, because it's competing with the gravity of everything around it, including the immense waves generated by huge super-clusters like Centaurus," Trey said, pausing to shake his head in disbelief. "But sooner or later it wins every battle, vacuuming everything surrounding it directly into its current."
"That's impossible," Aaron stated doubtfully. "If it's a billion light years in diameter then our telescopes back on Earth – or even our exploratory vessels for that matter – would easily be able to find and detect it no matter where it is in our universe." He sat back. "There's no way that we couldn't locate it from any of our home planets… even if it absorbs electromagnetic radiation such as light and is essentially invisible."
Trey smiled and folded his arms while Nell smirked and quietly took another bite from her donut. "I didn't say it was in our universe, Aaron." He continued grinning as complete silence dominated the conference room for a moment or two.
"Whoa…" David said finally.
"Are you saying…?" Melissa trailed off as she watched Trey activate his laptop and project the image from his monitor onto one of the walls. He quickly put up an image of the 'mystery transmission' that had been sent to them from a source still unknown to them.
"The big blue universe bubble in the approximate center of the diagram is obviously ours," he said, walking over to the wall and standing next to it. "Whoever sent the transmission confirmed that to us by using the yellow cube in the lower right of the picture to blow up and enhance the 'local cluster of galaxies' area that we originally began our journey from." He held up his hands and helplessly waved them, uncertain as to how to explain the intent of the sender. "And we correctly interpreted all of the surrounding bubbles as other Big-Bangs in various stages of growth that form other universes. Having no way to verify without visiting them, we're only speculating but pretty certain that they have physical laws very similar to our own. We base that assumption on the fact that they appear to be exactly the same as ours except for the time difference from their initial blast point. Some of them are younger versions of our own, while larger bubbles would be older as each explosion expands over the passage of time." He began typing on his laptop but gestured to the diagram still projected on the wall. "It is a simple image, intended to convey a lot of information in an easy to understand format. But if you look real closely you'll notice that all of the bubbles on this image are exactly the same…"
"…Except for that little red devil in the lower left area just below the outer edge of our universe," Melissa said, turning her head suddenly to gaze at Trey with wonder. "They have it glowing… or something."
"Exactly," confirmed Trey. "Somewhere just beyond the outer edge of our universe is a huge gravity well that measures at least a billion light years in diameter." He shot a quick glance at Norris. "If you asked me to draw you a map of this thing, my sketch would look an awful lot like this picture." He pointed at the image on the wall. "We call it Poseidon, and it has poked a huge arm of gravity into our universe that is directly affecting everything for at least a billion light years inside our universe. Its gradually diminishing effects reach much farther inside, as we noticed in the wasteland galaxy, but weaken very rapidly once it has to compete with the intense gravity of all the galaxies and super-clusters farther inside our bubble."
"A river?" Angela asked cautiously. "Why did you call it a river?"
"A three-dimensional 'river' is the best way to describe it. That's the way our computers model it based on our study so far. Poseidon uses a single 'thin' tendril of highly focused, intense gravity to probe the outer edge of our universe. If it were a standard black hole as we know them then it would instead be a huge swirling whirlpool of gravity absorbing everything surrounding it," Trey commented in reply. "That's why we're hesitant to officially call it a black hole. My guess is that those other bubbles on the diagram representing additional universes – if they truly are in those locations – probably have at least one or two of Poseidon's gravity tendrils poking around inside of them as well." He shrugged and sat back down.
"So everything – stars, galaxies, dark matter, whatever – anything that ends up caught in this huge wave of gravity that you call a river…" Norris said, sounding a bit shocked, "…is headed out of our universe?"
"That's correct," Nell confirmed. "Dr. Marcus is currently down in the Observatory working as quickly as possible to map its size, speed, and course based on the movement of the galactic objects in the area. But that could prove very difficult in the long run because the tendril's length spans so vast an area, eventually leaving the outer edge of our universe. We do have the capability to move the ship closer and get current information more quickly…"
"But the local environment in there might be dangerous enough to threaten the Waywardsman," Norris guessed, sighing heavily.
"Its effects have already interfered with our CAS Drive once," warned Trey. "And we're still pretty damn far from the outer edge of that blue bubble."
"Do we explore farther or don't we?" Norris asked rhetorically. "That's an item we might have to ponder a bit, despite what Dr. Marcus may be thinking."
"So what's the next step?" wondered Colonel Emerson.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to hear more – directly from the source," the Captain decided. "Let's take a twenty minute break. Nell, please contact Dr. Marcus for me and request that she stop what she's currently doing and join us up here. If she gives you any crap, make sure that you point out that this is not a request."
"Aye sir," she acknowledged.
The Captain nodded to the people surrounding him and slowly stood up, stretching his arms as he did so. "This Council stands in recess for twenty minutes," he announced. Everyone acknowledged his agreement and then headed off to quickly check in with their staff.
* * *
They reconvened on time and Dr. Marcus did indeed join them as the unofficial fourteenth member of their meeting. Greg moved to one side and quickly added an extra chair between him and Melissa before motioning for her to sit. She did so, giving him a questioning once over as she noticed an empty donut box sitting on the table in front of her. Setting her notepad next to the box, Jillian glanced at Trey' laptop diagram still projected on the wall.
"So…" she said curiously. "Do you like the baby we found on our doorstep?"
"No riddles, Doctor, just fill us in please," the Captain said firmly.
"I am," she insisted. "It's a baby universe in the process of forming. The gravity well is huge right now because it's busy grabbing whatever matter and energy it can from the neighboring universes surrounding it."
"Then it isn't a black hole…" Jeff queried from his seat across from her.
"Thank God no," Dr. Marcus replied. "If it were it would be draining a lot more of the matter from the universes around it. It's a remarkable discovery… the largest gravity source that we've ever found. It is so huge and so intense that its gravity is forming large fingers that reach out and create huge rivers of matter flowing toward it. With the visible matter lighting it up, we can see exactly what is happening. This 'tendril' actually behaves more like lightning now more so than mere gravity. If it had manifested itself as a standard whirlpool there would be noticeable consequences in our universe within a couple of billion years or so. Using this method is allowing it to steal a little bit from each of the bubbles around it rather than grabbing everything. Truly it is a wonderful design."
"There's your magic, Aaron," Father Dorgan said with a smirk. "Yet another physical law we can file away regarding gravity... one that defines creation itself. Once a gravity well gets large enough its astonishing forces rearrange themselves into lightning-like tendrils rather than a vortex. It's taking just enough matter and energy to form a new universe… that is, if we understand your explanation correctly, Doctor."
"You do," she said, pointing to the image projected on the wall. "Right now the 'baby universe' looks very similar to the other bubbles on that diagram but that's very deceptive. This one is shrinking rather than growing. Once it absorbs enough matter and energy it will condense even further, down to a size smaller than you can possibly imagine. And it will continue to grow both smaller and denser – relentlessly packing itself tighter and tighter until…"
"Boom," Aaron said softly. "A new universe is born."
"Exactly," Jillian Confirmed. "But that will be a long wait in this case. The blessed event won't occur for billions of years, at minimum."
"How close can we get without endangering the Waywardsman?" Dr. Simon asked. "Could we possibly PTP into this river just long enough to study it and then reengage the CAS Drive once we're finished? It would be a remarkable achievement if we did so."
"We'll get as close as we'll need to," replied Jillian to her medical colleague. "I want to chart this phenomenon. All of it."
"Not with this ship you won't," Greg cautioned her. "The outer event horizon of this thing wreaked havoc with our systems and almost cost us our ship."
"The adjustments that you and Trey made have worked perfectly since we left the wasteland galaxy," she commented. "It may be the nature of a machine to malfunction once in a while… but if it does you simply fix it." She looked expectantly at the Captain. "We've traveled millions of light years already since that attack, growing closer and closer to the outer edge of our universe. You can't seriously tell me we're going to stop now."
"The adjustments that Trey and I have continued to make prior to each trip," Greg pointed out, correcting Dr. Marcus firmly. "Nothing is set in stone… it constantly changes… unpredictably."
"We don't have to stop," Norris decided, "But we certainly should at least consider the option of picking a new direction to travel toward. He gestured toward Trey' projected diagram, studying the smaller red dot in particular. "There be dragons that way, Doctor."
"Oh, c'mon Captain," she said. "This is why we built the Waywardsman. It's the unquestionable chance of a lifetime. Surely you're not going to become a member of the 'flat Earth' society now…"
"You can study it from a safe distance," David pointed out from the other end of the table. "We can get close enough so that you can use the Observatory to document your findings without risking the ship."
Next to him, Kayla nodded in agreement. "What about probing outside of our universe?" she said. "That's always been considered and now that we're growing close you're going to have to make a decision on that one, Captain."
"The decision on that one was already made a long time ago, Doctor," William replied. "Unless our Council unanimously agrees, we can send Canary Probes outside the boundary of our universe but there will be no risk to any of our crew by sending manned flights. Using shuttles or the Waywardsman is not an option."
"Right now I'll settle for getting as close to that river of gravity as possible. If it's safe enough, I humbly request that you send a shuttle fully staffed with my scientists – if not this entire ship – into the center of it so we can float along and record our data." Jillian looked firmly at the Captain and then began hastily scribbling on her notepad. "I would like to ride along on that mission."
"Greg, is it safe enough to do what she asks?" Captain Norris asked.
"A shuttle, maybe… you have the ultimate say as to what would be an acceptable risk. As you know, the Canary Probes and shuttles use a smaller version of the PTP window that we generate using the CAS Drive," he said, giving the idea very careful consideration. "But they're simply moving through the window we generate, then turning around and coming back through that same opening. If we move the Waywardsman in there…"
"Then we take the CAS systems into the center of a powerful, unpredictable river of gravity that could burn out our electronics – or worse – tear the ship apart," Trey said, sounding more serious than he had in a long time. "I do not recommend that at all, Captain."
"Why?" Jillian asked. "You can send a Canary first."
"Because," Trey said, sounding a little hyper. "CAS stands for Controlled Artificial Singularity. Emphasis should definitely be placed on the word 'controlled' here, Dr. Marcus." He stood up and moved over to the image on the wall. "That's the most unpredictable gravity source we've ever seen – I know because I heard you say it the other day in the Observatory. It's pulling whole galaxies toward it and as they approach their gravity begins to compete with Poseidon's. We have to be able to control the singularity we generate or it could easily turn into a huge bomb. That 'Atomic Nightmare' we found a while back pales in comparison to the scale of this new chaotic object you've discovered. This situation is as simple as letting a small kid play with matches. Don't, or we'll get burned!"
William sat at the head of the table listening to the silence for a moment. Jillian looked very frustrated, but he had anticipated that to be the case and so he was ready for it. "Greg, please describe the CAS technique for us, so that everyone understands what is involved here."
Nodding, Fredericks stood up and softly cleared his throat. "CAS is basically an enhanced version of our Point-to-Point wormhole transit between two far away points," he began. "Everyone knows we have a lengthy metal wand hooked to the bottom of the hangar deck with what looks like a small star burning at its tip, yet most people don't know that the tube is hollow."
"I've always wondered what it uses for fuel," Angela grinned.
"Exactly. You may have noticed that the ship has periodically made a stop here and there at various nebulae as we travel outward," Greg continued. "That's because the nebulae can be found virtually anywhere, and they are usually a massive source of gas and dust used by nature to form new stars and planets. For our purposes they're also basically a galactic fuel station – or unlimited supply of dust particles that we capture and use to power the CAS Drive."
"There are huge storage tanks located under the Lab and Observatory wings," Norris pointed out. "We stockpile the captured particles there and then run them through several filters to separate the radioactive and more dangerous matter from the rest. The stuff that poses a threat to the ship or its crew is spilled right back out into space. The rest is stored until it's needed."
"The CAS Drive is a miniaturized variation of traditional PTP transit," said Greg informatively. "We carefully run particles of matter down through the center of the wand toward a tiny PTP window at its tip. The particles hit this modified field, which we continually monitor and keep perfectly calibrated, and are instantaneously destroyed rather than transported to a new location. The resulting annihilation of the matter creates the brilliant white singularity that everyone has become used to seeing. The result is a totally new form of nuclear fusion… kind of a distant cousin to the traditional reaction we see burning bright in stars everywhere. We are able to then utilize the intense energy produced to generate a large amount of electricity capable of powering the entire ship. Our standard PTP drive is still available, but its liquid fuel-powered systems are shut down. As long as the CAS Drive is on-line, the power for our PTP transits comes directly from the burning singularity on the tip of that wand beneath us and everything is controlled very carefully using the computer systems in our Lab wing.
"So," Melissa said slowly. "If we move the Waywardsman into a chaotic area of space with an unpredictable environment, it may be impossible to keep the singularity under control and useful as a power source."
"Precisely," Greg confirmed. "And that's just a small part of the danger. If we lost control of the PTP-reaction we could also blow up the entire ship… into nice, tiny little glowing bits of debris." He leaned back in his chair and thought very carefully for a moment. "Of course, we could use the CAS Drive to hop in close… to a safe distance. Then we could try using a standard, liquid fuel-powered transit to move us the rest of the way in."
"And just how do we determine what is a safe distance?" William asked, chuckling to himself. "We will move the ship close enough for the Observatory staff to take all the readings and measurements they like. If some of our pilots are brave enough to want to try approaching this thing in a CAS-driven shuttle I might even allow that. But we are not, under any circumstances, going to risk taking the Waywardsman into this giant river of gravity. That option is off the table right this moment, because there are quite simply too many things that could go wrong." He frowned. "We may very well be the last group of humans alive in that big blue bubble," he said, pointing to the wall projection. "Our mission plan defines our duty to explore, but it has also become a critical part of that mission to eventually find a place to settle down and raise kids. I don't know about any of you, but I want that place to be as far away from this Poseidon thing as possible."
"Transiting a shuttle close to or inside of Poseidon would be very dangerous to its crew," Trey commented. "Depending on how strong the gravity is – which we can measure with a Canary Probe – they could get dragged away from the PTP window that we create for them faster than their engines could compensate. We have to be very careful and remember that we're sending these Probes and shuttles a lot farther than they could transit on their own. I'm sure the pilots would appreciate it if we could guarantee their safe return."
