Until the Dawn, page 31
"Agreed," Captain Norris said firmly. "We almost lost the entire ship in the wasteland galaxy, due primarily to a little too much curiosity on my part. Whatever we decide to do in this case, we will take our time and make certain that we do it safely. I also advise everyone on the Council to vote with your intelligence and common sense. Leading with your heart is the surest way to get us into trouble out here." He paused, watching Trey turn off the wall projection and then his laptop. "Anyone who wishes to dissent and debate further may do so now without prejudice."
Everyone sat quietly and watched Trey putting away his equipment. Several people took a moment to jot down a few more notes but no one raised any objections.
"I don't know about the rest of you," Dr. Marcus finally commented, "But I'd like to go back to my Observatory and continue studying this most remarkable find."
"This Council hereby stands in recess," Norris said, chuckling as he stood up and patted Jillian fondly on the shoulder. "You can argue with Greg and Trey as to how close we can get to this thing without damaging the ship. I trust them to stand up to you and speak their minds if they think their equipment will balk at us."
"Thank you, Captain," she said gratefully as everyone began chatting casually and gradually trotted back out into the corridors of the Waywardsman. "So much to explore, so little time…" she mused softly to herself.
Poseidon's Might
UNTIL THE DAWN
Chapter XVII: Poseidon's Might
* * *
Trey thoughtfully reviewed the series of images on the work station in front of him. They showed a small cluster of ten stars and the colorfully illuminated nebulae surrounding them. He smiled and shook his head, then glanced up at Dr. Marcus. "That's really fine work," he said. "Some of the best shots of galactic objects you've come up with yet." Standing behind him near her desk in the Observatory wing, Jillian smiled in agreement.
"Lots of the stellar material that Poseidon's gravity is tugging at is your invisible dark matter," she commented. "But I've been searching relentlessly for rogue stars and the smaller star clusters whose gravity Poseidon inevitably defeats. As they get pulled into his river of gravity their solar radiation is lighting up everything surrounding them."
"Congratulations, Doctor," said Trey sincerely. "We've been at this for two weeks, and this is by far the best spot you've picked."
Jillian held up a piece of paper, both sides of which were covered with transit coordinates. "This is my master list," she said delightedly. "So far we've traveled to about 50 out of 500 possible locations along the gravity river. Most of them were chosen by the computer, and every day it prints me a list of more and more potential viewing sites. I spend a lot of time manually reviewing everything in order to properly prioritize my top choices."
"You could try delegating a little more to your staff," he grinned, watching the frown on her face as he said the words. "Seriously," he said, pointing to one of the images on his computer screen. "You're getting spoiled with our new CAS systems. The width of the gravity river in front of the Waywardsman at this particular location is 127,112,000 light years. That's a lot of territory to observe for a day or so before we continue onward – it would be an entire career for some astronomers back on Earth. Once we choose to move along, you simply pick your next target and we transit directly to it – whether it's five light years away or 500 million. You're absolutely spoiled, I tell you."
"Just you wait," she said. "We've only begun to scratch the surface as far as exploring this phenomenon goes."
"At our last Council meeting we were talking about how some galaxies and star clusters defeat Poseidon's gravity and how some lose the battle and are pulled in." Trey observed as he reviewed a series of new images recently photographed and processed by the ship's telescopes. "At least when we're sitting next to some of the brighter star clusters like these their light lets us see which ones are winning and losing that fight for survival."
"That's only part of the magic here," Dr. Marcus said with enthusiasm. "It's like pouring glitter or colored dye into a glass of water and stirring it. Many members of my staff have received dedicated assignments to closely observe and map Poseidon's gravity based upon the patterns present in this visible matter. We're trying to chart at least part of its length and make a determination as to how predictably or unpredictably its gravitational 'current' changes over the passage of time."
Trey suddenly got a curious expression on his face. He leaned backwards, glancing at the image on her computer. "Hey… you updated the mystery transmission," he noted.
Mystery Transmission (Updated)
"It wasn't all that difficult," the Doctor replied. "I analyzed the file in my quarters last night and discovered that it was compatible with our graphics software." She looked at him with complete disbelief. "Whoever sent this continues to astonish me. They either used our software to draw the original image or they converted their own file to precisely match our compression technique."
"So how do we determine if those other universes on the diagram are really there or not?"
"We have no way that I know of to find out," said Jillian. "Even the dark red gravity waves I added are just a guess… a representation that I'm using to help study the river of matter flowing out of our universe. They're probably there in one form or another, but we have no way to measure or plot them accurately."
"We never did discuss at our last Council meeting just how much damage Poseidon could cause over the long term. Does our discovery here pose a threat?"
"There's no threat to your immediate safety, if that's what you're asking," Dr. Marcus said. "My estimate as to the number of galaxies in our universe is 100 billion. If you asked me for an additional estimate regarding the total number of stars I would have to say 1 billion trillion. We are stockpiled for the long haul, Trey, so don't worry about that. Poseidon is taking a lot of matter, but I would estimate that well over 99 percent of our universe will remain unaffected over the next 5 billion or so years. Once Poseidon's gravity well collapses and explodes – which will take billions of years – it will simply form a new, expanding bubble. If the diagram sent to us is accurate then it appears the force of its Big-Bang actually pushes away the other bubbles surrounding it."
"So while the gravity well is in the process of forming a new universe it continues to pull other universes closer and closer, stripping them of more and more matter and energy."
"Correct," Jillian agreed. "The closer the universes get to Poseidon, the more quickly it can extract matter from them. I would imagine all of that gravity converging – combined with the eventual collapse of Poseidon – is what will actually trigger its Big Bang."
"If that isn't an Intelligent Design then what is?" Trey asked curiously as he frowned slightly. "Do you suppose any of those universe bubbles floating around ever get close enough to overlap or collide with each other the way some of our galaxies do?" He pointed toward her updated image. "Look at those orange thingies."
"It's an interesting theory, but again we have no way that I know of to prove it," she said, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "That is, unless you want to try something really drastic, such as transiting the Waywardsman out of our universe and into another one."
"I have considered it," Trey said, causing her to raise her eyebrows. "Really," he insisted, noting her doubtful expression. "It would cost us a lot of Canary Probes as we transit them farther and farther out of our universe. The normal physical laws that we know and rely upon here almost certainly wouldn't exist between the bubbles. However, some of the other universes would have to be larger versions of our own and sooner or later one of the probes would emerge inside of one. We could then use the Canary's telemetry to verify its coordinates and that would give us a fixed point of reference to work from when we send future probes."
"Are you even sure the Point-to-Point wormhole technique would be able to traverse the void between universes?" Jillian wondered. "After all, if physical laws don't apply out there then it follows that a PTP transit would never actually complete… your Probes could fail to arrive at their intended destinations without your ever knowing what happened to them."
"That's the part I'm not sure about," Trey admitted, smoothing the hair on his head where she had rubbed it. "Greg and I haven't worked up enough courage to ask the Captain about that one yet. We want to wait until we've found the leading edge of our own universe first before suggesting the option to him."
"Trey… don't be in a hurry," Jillian suggested, waving a hand at the glittering view in the Observatory's windows. "We've got enough here to study for years if we want to. And we do want to. Considering how much time our astronomers have spent trying to find something new and fascinating you could say Poseidon is a remarkable achievement. We're chomping at the bit to be able to study it in more detail, so don't take us too far too fast, okay?"
He studied her reaction thoughtfully. "Well, that's a complete reversal of your attitude at the meeting."
"I've had additional time to think since then."
"I've always thought that staring into a telescope for hours on end is really boring. If that's what you want to do then it's okay with me… I'm just glad that isn't my job," Trey decided as Nell walked over to join them. He smiled warmly at her. "Hi hon," he said casually as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and hugged him. He watched Jillian turn and look at him in amazement as he made the comment.
"You two sure are getting along well," Dr. Marcus decided. "Have you done it yet?"
"Doctor," gasped an astonished Nell. "That's private and you know it!"
"Well, you've always told me everything about your boyfriends before," Jillian laughed, watching Trey' facial expression quickly cycle through a dozen different shades of red. "Are you going to stop giving me all the delightful details now, simply because your main squeeze is our good friend Trey? The two of us were just discussing boring science stuff anyway. Let's hear something more fascinating."
"Yes most assuredly the details will stop," Nell emphasized, glancing reassuringly at Trey. She kissed him chastely on the cheek.
"I'm thinking it might be time for me to go," Trey suggested, starting to get up out of his chair. Nell grabbed his shoulders and forced him back down.
"Don't you let her make you feel uncomfortable," Nell ordered. "The good Doctor as a general rule spends most of her time here in the Observatory, but when she does go back to her quarters you can bet her husband has a good time."
This time Jillian blushed… she picked up the nearest clipboard and gave Nell a quick whack on the shoulder. "I know, I know," she said with a chuckle. "I've confided equal amounts of dirt to you over the years, myself." She carefully placed the clipboard back on her desk. "Perhaps we can agree to respect each other's privacy?"
"I think that would be a great idea, you dirty-minded woman," Nell said cheerfully. She noticed that Trey had his eyes closed tightly as he desperately tried to wish himself instantaneously to another location on board the Waywardsman. His attempt at psychic transportation naturally failed and he opened his eyes, still appearing, for the most part, extremely embarrassed.
A red light on the Comm-link next to Jillian's clipboard flashed red. "Dr. Marcus, this is Jeff Mathison. I'm sitting up here in the Garden wing absolutely stumped at the moment. Trey Rem wouldn't be down there in your Observatory by any chance, would he?"
"Yes, I am most definitely here," Trey piped up loudly, instantly straightening in his chair. "Anything you need me to do just ask Jeff. I'll be up there before you can blink twice."
"Well it's nothing serious at the moment but it is puzzling," Jeff continued. "We're trying to put the 'B' side of the Garden wing into Autumn mode, but for some reason I can't fathom the 'cooler weather' subroutine isn't kicking in to adjust the environmental controls."
"It's the same software that's used to control the temperature on the 'B' side of the Livestock wing, isn't it?" queried Trey.
"That's the puzzling part," pointed out Jeff. "The Livestock wing switched automatically into 'autumn' mode early this morning – just like it was supposed to. There's no reason we can find why the Garden wing shouldn't have done the same thing. Could you please stop up for a moment and take a look at it? I was hoping to get out of here a little early this evening."
"Give me ten minutes," Trey requested, grinning triumphantly at Dr. Marcus. "I'll have your problem fixed in no time."
"Thanks… thanks a lot Trey," Jeff said gratefully. He signed off and the Comm-link's red light dimmed back to normal.
"Can I come with you?" Nell asked curiously. "I haven't been up there in a while and we can go for a romantic walk after you're done."
"Sure," Trey said, offering her his arm. "Come on along then. I'll buy you an apple." Every day brought at least half a dozen similar situations, all of which he would quickly rectify and earn a pat on the back from the folks that he helped. Either this wouldn't work or that wouldn't initialize or something wouldn't start up properly. He had been typing on computers since middle school and learned his trade well – computers were his specialty. That was why he expected to find Jeff waiting for the two of them in the Garden wing…
* * *
…and was totally astonished to find almost the entire crew complement of the Waywardsman there. Hundreds of people – practically all of the passengers along with everyone not currently on duty – were standing in a large half circle in the 'dance' area where their Fourth of July celebration had been held.
"What the hell?" Trey asked, stepping forward onto the gravel walking path with Nell right behind him. At the center of the semi-circle of people was a small stage area and podium behind which stood Captain Norris. As the two of them approached the entire crowd turned and began applauding. Nell grinned gleefully as Trey again began blushing.
"This will be a brief ceremony," William said into his microphone as the applause and cheering subsided, "but a very important one. We have traveled far since leaving our home galaxy and endured much in the aftermath of the attack on Earth. That is why the command staff and I have decided to take a moment to honor two people who have sacrificed quite a bit in order for the rest of us to survive."
Standing next to him, Melissa stepped forward. "We would all very much appreciate it if Greg Fredericks and Trey Rem would please join us up here," she said, clapping as she took a step backward. A new round of applause filled the area.
"What's going on?" Trey asked, turning curiously to look at Nell.
She shrugged and let go of his hand. "Why don't you go up there and find out?" she suggested, laughing with her perfect voice as she leaned over to kiss him. The applause increased substantially as she did so, and Trey distinctly heard some familiar voices hooting and hollering in the background. He silently made a mental note to have a 'chat' with those people later. In the meantime he took his girlfriend in his arms and dipped her as he continued kissing her deeply. Then he searched the faces in the crowd until he found Greg – they both looked at each other and shook their heads in complete disbelief.
Accepting the inevitable, both he and Greg casually made their way through the cheering crowd and stepped up onto the platform. Trey stared at Greg, completely astonished, and he could tell by his mentor's expression that he too had not expected the reception. From the expression on Melissa's face it was perfectly clear that he had also been fooled by his fiancé.
"Captain…" Trey started to say, but William held up a hand. The crowd quieted as he turned his attention back to them.
"It is very safe to say that we would not be here if these two men had not motivated their staff and gotten our CAS Drive working while we were trapped in our home galaxy." He gave them a quick salute. "But our recent encounter in the wasteland area tested them once again to the extreme by forcing both civilian scientists to temporarily function as soldiers in our military so that we could successfully repel our enemies. There's no other way to acknowledge their effort other than to thank them very sincerely for saving our lives and the Waywardsman – not once, but on two occasions." He saluted them again, more firmly this time and the entire crowd began applauding and cheering again. Trey looked around at all the happy faces in disbelief as he stood next to Greg. Aaron was standing at the front of the crowd with a noticeably pregnant Liane at his side. Both of them looked happier than he had ever seen them.
"For your commitment to excellence and bravery during combat conditions, both of you are today receiving a Silver Star," Melissa said cheerfully. She stepped forward and placed a pure white ribbon around both of their necks as they bowed their heads – both men glanced at each other, still flabbergasted. Trey looked down at his chest, noting that the medallion hanging at the bottom of his ribbon was highly detailed and all around cool-looking. He turned the metal star over and over in his hand, admiring the simple weight and feel of it. Together he and Greg stood there amidst the applause and cheering for several minutes, until Norris finally stepped up to the microphone once more and motioned for silence.
