“I won’t need the butler anymore. After all, I now have better company than him,” said Zhenyi. She linked arms with him and they walked back to the shuttle.
Suddenly she tore away and ran from him. He ran after her and managed to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm and swung her around and they fell on the soft grass that was indigenous to the planet. They tangled with each other, play fighting, and then they made love.
Cycle AM1.3, Kepler-1229
“Hello Puppy!”
Zhenyi ran to the butler as soon as she was out of the shuttle. He spread his arms and stoically endured the passionate greeting. Kepler followed more slowly and held out his hand to the butler.
“How are you?” asked Zhenyi.
The butler spread out his hands and turned in a circle.
“What, those are all Herbae?”
“Yes,” said the butler, “they’ve adapted in a remarkably short time. They’ve already managed to spread themselves over about 400 square kilometers. And I have my suspicions that they’re also working underground.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Newton has had to adjust the orbit of this planet several times. Its density distribution appears to be changing and the pull of its neighbors is affecting it differently.”
“That’s interesting,” said Zhenyi.
“Yes. If they continue at this rate, the Herbae will have completely covered the planet in 100 kilocycles.”
“Do you have the feeling they’re... intelligent?” asked Kepler.
“You can see for yourself—they don’t yet have the ability to retreat. I don’t think there are enough individuals yet for a collective intelligence.”
“Do you know why we came here today?” asked Zhenyi.
“To evaluate my work?”
“I trust you completely. No, we want to watch the death of the universe.”
“But it’s not going to collapse, is it?” asked the butler.
“We can’t be completely certain. Whatever happens has already long-since happened. We’re far enough away here not to have been killed by the birth of the quasar. It should appear in the sky today, or...”
“Or?”
“Or we’ll all die today, because the death of the universe will reach us at light speed.”
The three of them sat together on the right tail wing of the shuttle. They had actually wanted to wait for the collapse with a picnic on a nice soft blanket, but they didn’t want to burden the Herbae unnecessarily with their weight. Kepler let his legs swing, supporting himself on his arms.
The last few weeks with Zhenyi had been wonderful. And yet it had seemed like borrowed time, an interlude that would come to an end today.
There would be no pre-warning. He scanned the luminous band of the Milky Way. What he could see there might not even exist anymore. But the light from a long-since irradiated world would keep moving toward them. Until today.
The central star—the yellow sun in the sky—would die before Kepler’s eyes. It would simply be ripped from existence. But its light would still warm Kepler’s skin until the wave of destruction reached him too, at the speed of light.
What was real? Everything was real. There was no room for imagination. The photons that hit his eyes were real, even though the thing that sent them out didn’t exist anymore. He laid an arm around Zhenyi’s shoulders. His girlfriend was real. Her warmth streamed through him. A second arm was placed over his. It was Puppy’s arm, black, because the butler was wearing his jacket as always. It was a bit heavier than his because it wasn’t made of skin and bone. He had still never asked Zhenyi what level AI the butler was. It would be wrong to ask. The butler was no more artificial than he was. And what about Zhenyi? Her body wasn’t born from a woman, and her consciousness—who could say for sure whether that was natural or artificial? But he loved this woman, and that was what mattered. That was the reality.
Kepler saw a dragonfly, Then he realized it was in precisely the spot where the center of the Milky Way was located, ten thousand light-years away. Their fate had been decided long ago, and only now was it reaching them.
For the observers orbiting Kepler-1229, the process had just begun, at that moment.
The black hole had been transformed into something else, something more substantial. But in doing so, it remained itself. Its sheer existence was proof of that—the ‘dragonfly’ that Kepler saw. The Milky Way now had its own quasar. Nothing could be seen of it other than the point of light at its center. It would take millennia for the dragonfly to become a fire-breathing dragon, from which humans could harvest its abundant quasar energy.
Kepler squeezed Zhenyi’s arm, because now they knew. The Herbae had calculated correctly, the black hole had cooperated with the calculations, and their sacrifice hadn’t been in vain.
Otherwise they themselves would no longer exist.
Author's Note
Dear reader,
Thank you so much for following along as Johannes Kepler and Wang Zhenyi—in Chinese the family name goes first—saved the universe. I hope you liked the conclusion.
For me, it was amusing to move into this very distant future that is billions of years ahead of us. Will anyone remain from what we call humanity? Will our descendants really be able to switch their bodies like vessels, and is a form of immortality unavoidable? Living forever has some undeniable advantages, especially if you take the enormous dimensions of the universe into account. One hundred years of flight time to the nearest star? No problem at all. Compared to infinity, this is just a blink of an eye.
If there is no common calendar, it will also have negative consequences: Humans will separate. They can only share a life with someone else if both people totally synchronize their time. Why, then, not also share a body like the Curies do? And what about our memories? Will we have to outsource them like Kepler? The human brain is enormously powerful, but after billions of years—or maybe much sooner—it might reach a capacity limit in what it can hold. Perhaps we will expand the capacity with artificial storage?
For now, I will keep a few of these ideas to myself. That’s because the death of the universe is not yet circumvented. In the next installment, Kepler and Zhenyi will have to take care of the instability the new quasar has brought into our universe. Could the Curies’ evil plan ultimately succeed? You can pre-order The Death of the Universe: Ghost Kingdom here.
hard-sf.com/links/991276
As always, you can continue with a guide—to the universe, of course. It explains a few of the concepts used in the novel. You will also learn that the version of the universe’s death I used is only one of several possible scenarios. Sometimes, an author has to make a choice. Obviously we haven’t been there yet, so we cannot be certain.
If you liked this book, please tell other potential readers by writing a short review. Just click here:
hard-sf.com/links/835364
It takes only a few minutes and really helps me.
Also by Brandon Q. Morris
The Death of the Universe
For many billions of years, humans—having conquered the curse of aging—spread throughout the entire Milky Way. They are able to live all their dreams, but to their great disappointment, no other intelligent species has ever been encountered. Now, humanity itself is on the brink of extinction because the universe is dying a protracted yet inevitable death.
They have only one hope: The ‘Rescue Project’ was designed to feed the black hole in the center of the galaxy until it becomes a quasar, delivering much-needed energy to humankind during its last breaths. But then something happens that no one ever expected—and humanity is forced to look at itself and its existence in an entirely new way.
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The Death of the Universe: Ghost Kingdom
For many billions of years, humans—having conquered the curse of aging—spread throughout the entire Milky Way. They are able to live all their dreams, but to their great disappointment, no other in
telligent species has ever been encountered. Now, humanity itself is on the brink of extinction because the universe is dying a protracted yet inevitable death.
They have only one hope: The ‘Rescue Project’ was designed to feed the black hole in the center of the galaxy until it becomes a quasar, delivering much-needed energy to humankind during its last breaths. But then something happens that no one ever expected—and humanity is forced to look at itself and its existence in an entirely new way.
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The Enceladus Mission (Ice Moon 1)
In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon.
The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon. If life does indeed exist on Enceladus, it could only be at the bottom of the salty, ice covered ocean, which formed billions of years ago.
However, shortly after takeoff disaster strikes the mission, and the chances of the crew making it to Enceladus, let alone back home, look grim.
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The Titan Probe (Ice Moon 2)
In 2005, the robotic probe “Huygens” lands on Saturn’s moon Titan. 40 years later, a radio telescope receives signals from the far away moon that can only come from the long forgotten lander.
At the same time, an expedition returns from neighbouring moon Enceladus. The crew lands on Titan and finds a dangerous secret that risks their return to Earth. Meanwhile, on Enceladus a deathly race has started that nobody thought was possible. And its outcome can only be decided by the
astronauts that are stuck on Titan.
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The Io Encounter (Ice Moon 3)
Jupiter’s moon Io has an extremely hostile environment. There are hot lava streams, seas of boiling sulfur, and frequent volcanic eruptions straight from Dante’s Inferno, in addition to constant radiation bombardment and a surface temperature hovering at minus 180 degrees Celsius.
Is it really home to a great danger that threatens all of humanity? That’s what a surprise message from the life form discovered on Enceladus seems to indicate.
The crew of ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, finally on their longed-for return to Earth, reluctantly chooses to accept a diversion to Io, only to discover that an enemy from within is about to destroy all their hopes of ever going home.
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Return to Enceladus (Ice Moon 4)
Russian billionaire Nikolai Shostakovitch makes an offer to the former crew of the spaceship ILSE. He will finance a return voyage to the icy moon Enceladus. The offer is too good to refuse—the expedition would give them the unique opportunity to recover the body of their doctor, Dimitri Marchenko.
Everyone on board knows that their benefactor acts out of purely personal motivations… but the true interests of the tycoon and the dangers that he conjures up are beyond anyone’s imagination.
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Ice Moon – The Boxset
All four bestselling books of the Ice Moon series are now offered as a set, available only in e-book format.
The Enceladus Mission: Is there really life on Saturn's moon Enceladus? ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, makes its way to the icy world where an underground ocean is suspected to be home to primitive life forms.
The Titan Probe: An old robotic NASA probe mysteriously awakens on the methane moon of Titan. The ILSE crew tries to solve the riddle—and discovers a dangerous secret.
The Io Encounter: Finally bound for Earth, ILSE makes it as far as Jupiter when the crew receives a startling message. The volcanic moon Io may harbor a looming threat that could wipe out Earth as we know it.
Return to Enceladus: The crew gets an offer to go back to Enceladus. Their mission—to recover the body of Dr. Marchenko, left for dead on the original expedition. Not everyone is working toward the same goal. Could it be their unwanted crew member?
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Proxima Rising
Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth’s space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away. The unusual crew faces a Herculean task—should they survive the journey. No one knows what to expect from this alien planet.
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Proxima Dying
An intelligent robot and two young people explore Proxima Centauri b, the planet orbiting our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Their ideas about the mission quickly prove grossly naive as they venture about on this planet of extremes.
Where are the senders of the call for help that lured them here? They find no one and no traces on the daylight side, so they place their hopes upon an expedition into the eternal ice on Proxima b's dark side. They not only face everlasting night, the team encounters grave dangers. A fateful decision will change the planet forever.
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Proxima Dreaming
Alone and desperate, Eve sits in the control center of an alien structure. She has lost the other members of the team sent to explore exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. By mistake she has triggered a disastrous process that threatens to obliterate the planet. Just as Eve fears her best option may be a quick death, a nearby alien life form awakens from a very long sleep. It has only one task: to find and neutralize the destructive intruder from a faraway place.
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The Hole
A mysterious object threatens to destroy our solar system. The survival of humankind is at risk, but nobody takes the warning of young astrophysicist Maribel Pedreira seriously. At the same time, an exiled crew of outcasts mines for rare minerals on a lone asteroid.
When other scientists finally acknowledge Pedreira’s alarming discovery, it becomes clear that these outcasts are the only ones who may be able to save our world, knowing that The Hole hurtles inexorably toward the sun.
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Silent Sun
Is our sun behaving differently from other stars? When an amateur astronomer discovers something strange on telescopic solar pictures, an explanation must be found. Is it merely artefact? Or has he found something totally unexpected?
An expert international crew is hastily assembled, a spaceship is speedily repurposed, and the foursome is sent on the ride of their lives. What challenges will they face on this spur-of-the-moment mission to our central star?
What awaits all of them is critical, not only for understanding the past, but even more so for the future of life on Earth.
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The Rift
There is a huge, bold black streak in the sky. Branches appear out of nowhere over North America, Southern Europe, and Central Africa. People who live beneath The Rift can see it. But scientists worldwide are distressed—their equipment cannot pick up any type of signal from it.
The rift appears to consist of nothing. Literally. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Most people are curious but not overly concerned. The phenomenon seems to pose no danger. It is just there.
Then something jolts the most hardened naysayers, and surpasses the worst nightmares of the world’s greatest scientists—and rocks their understanding of the universe.
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Mar
s Nation 1
NASA finally made it. The very first human has just set foot on the surface of our neighbor planet. This is the start of a long research expedition that sent four scientists into space.
But the four astronauts of the NASA crew are not the only ones with this destination. The privately financed ‘Mars for Everyone’ initiative has also targeted the Red Planet. Twenty men and women have been selected to live there and establish the first extraterrestrial settlement.
Challenges arise even before they reach Mars orbit. The MfE spaceship Santa Maria is damaged along the way. Only the four NASA astronauts can intervene and try to save their lives.
No one anticipates the impending catastrophe that threatens their very existence—not to speak of the daily hurdles that an extended stay on an alien planet sets before them. On Mars, a struggle begins for limited resources, human cooperation, and just plain survival.
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Mars Nation 2
A woman presumed dead fights her way through the hostile deserts of Mars. With her help, the NASA astronauts orphaned on the Red Planet hope to be able to solve their very worst problem. But their hopes are shattered when an unexpected menace arises and threatens to destroy everything the remnant of humanity has built on the planet. They need a miracle—or a ghost from the past whose true intentions are unknown.
The Death of the Universe: Hard Science Fiction (Big Rip Book 1) Page 25