The Trial of Extinction

by Stan C. Smith

  What did Desmond do that actually caused Kitty to decide not to destroy the humans’ home world? Desmond did the unthinkable—he gave the instructions to bridging technology to the city-dwelling lemurs, knowing full well that they would destroy their entire world by constructing and using bridging devices (because he only gave them the instructions, not the key). He did this as a last resort, in complete desperation. Partly because he wanted to prevent Infinity’s death in the arena. That sounds monumentally selfish, doesn’t it? I mean, he was willing to kill billions of intelligent lemurs, including the ring-tails, the innocent species that befriended him and his team. But… it is important to understand that Desmond also believed that this action was exactly what Kitty and her people were hoping for. This action was consistent with the Outlanders’ mission—to eliminate civilizations incapable of deciphering the key hidden in the Outlanders’ instructions. He believed this was the only way to pass their test. It was a big risk, but he decided to take it.

  But wait! Desmond didn’t know that Kitty wasn’t going to allow him to actually hand over the Outlanders’ instructions. So he was still willing to sacrifice this entire lemur world, right? That’s true. Which is a decision that will likely haunt Desmond for the rest of his life. But it was a choice between the lemur world and the human world. Ask yourself, if you had been in the same situation, which choice would you have made?

  Kitty and her people offered to bridge Desmond, Infinity, and several others to a new world, to live out their lives in peace. Why would they offer this? Now that’s a really good question! Why indeed. There must be a very important reason. If you were reading carefully, you know there is another intelligent species living on this new world. Kitty promised that this species was peaceful and would not harm the humans. Was Kitty telling the truth? Is this world the paradise—the neverland—that Infinity and Desmond deserve after all the hell they’ve been through? All will be revealed in Bridgers 6, I promise. Bridgers 6 should be released in November 2019.

  Is Bridgers 6 really going to be the last in the series? Yes, that’s my plan at this time. From the beginning, this was planned as a six-book series. After numerous readers requested that Infinity have her own book, I decided to add INFINITY: A Bridger’s Origin to the series, making a total of seven books. Could I be convinced to write more? Absolutely. But for now, I’m planning a new series, with the first book coming out in early 2020. Don’t worry, the new series will involve amazing creatures, mysterious wilderness areas, and plenty of action. And there will even be just the right amount of romance. After all, love is the tie that binds us, right? No matter how different we are. Even if we aren’t of the same species (oops, I think I let a hint slip out).

  Did Kitty really fix the damage inflicted years ago upon Infinity’s reproductive organs? Honestly, I don’t know, and neither does Infinity. Again, can Kitty be trusted to tell the truth? Perhaps a more important question is, if Infinity could have a baby, would she want to? After all, she and Desmond are bridging for the last time to live the remainder of their lives on a world they know almost nothing about. This world could turn out to be the last place anyone would ever want to raise a child. But then again, it could be a paradise—a neverland (this is the word bridgers use to describe a safe and picture-perfect world, which, ironically, no bridger has ever found). I did notice that Infinity and Desmond had a rather intimate experience on the picnic table in the park in West Plains, and that was after Kitty performed the procedure. Hmm…

  What’s the story on this world where Armando has been living for the last nineteen months? At the beginning of Bridgers 4, Armando and several other humans managed to escape to a version of Earth that had diverged from their own Earth only 21 years before. What is this new version of Earth like? Since it had diverged from Infinity’s version of Earth so recently, the world is very similar. But during the last 21 years, it has been on its own timeline. So you would expect some differences. Different politicians elected to office, for example. One really big event that happened on that world during the last 21 years was a deadly pandemic involving Red Howler Fever (RHF). This pandemic was confined to the United States, but it had a devastating impact on the population and economy. Infinity and Desmond are both older than twenty, so it was possible their other selves could exist on this world. As it turned out, Desmond’s other self had been a victim of RHF. Infinity’s other self, however, is alive and well. As you know, in Bridgers 5, Infinity has the opportunity to talk to her other self, and is surprised to learn that her other self has lived a very different life.

  Is it really possible that the earth could implode? This series is based on the destruction of Infinity and Desmond’s version of Earth. This is a result of humans using seven bridging devices that have been constructed around the world, including the one at SafeTrek. Unbeknownst to humans, the bridging devices have been emitting a previously-unknown particle. This particle is heavy and therefore drifts down through the Earth’s crust and settles at the Earth’s core, the planet’s center of gravity. Unfortunately, these particles have a peculiar property: they make every other particle they touch disappear (actually, the substances get bridged to some unknown alternate universe). The result is that, over a period of time, these particles have reduced the mass of the Earth’s core. More bridging excursions have resulted in more of these particles, which have resulted in more of the Earth’s core disappearing. Eventually, over several years, this began to have an effect on the entire planet. And ultimately, it will result in complete destruction.

  The particles created by the bridging devices are obviously fictional (at least I hope they are). And the effects of diminishing the Earth’s core can only be based upon speculation. But… people much smarter than me actually have speculated about this. If the Earth’s core were somehow diminished, one of the first things you could expect to see is unusual and widespread northern lights (aurora borealis). Under normal circumstances, auroras occur near the north and south poles. This is because when the charged particles in the solar wind approach Earth, they are drawn to the magnetic north and south poles, where they interact with atoms and molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements, resulting in a dazzling display of lights in the sky. But the earth’s magnetic field is created by the swirling molten metals in the earth’s core. If the earth’s core is destroyed, so is the earth’s magnetic field. So you would start to see auroras all over the earth, not just near the poles. That’s why Infinity and Desmond have been seeing auroras even at SafeTrek, which is in Missouri.

  You would also expect to experience widespread violent storms (like the super tornadoes in Bridgers 4) and widespread earthquakes. As the Earth’s core gets smaller and smaller, these would become more common and more severe. Eventually, due to the pull of gravity, you would experience the mother of all earthquakes (as seen in chapter 1 of Bridgers 5) as the earth’s crust collapses and falls inward to fill the empty space left behind by the missing core. As you can imagine, no living things would survive this.

  Why did Infinity and Desmond’s original version of Earth implode while other versions didn’t? The humans on Infinity’s version of Earth discovered the radio signal from the extraterrestrial civilization known as the Outlanders, which included instructions for constructing bridging devices. The Outlanders at some point in the distant past decided that only certain civilizations should be allowed to exist. Specifically, those civilizations capable of figuring out that the radio signal included a hidden “key” to bridging technology. If a civilization is capable of finding the key, that civilization can then use their bridging devices without destroying their own planet. Without this key, the resulting bridging devices would create the planet-killing particle. Any civilization that discovers the radio signal but not the key would be tempted to construct and use bridging devices, resulting in the death of their civilization. Any civilization that discovers the signal and the key is deemed by the Outlanders to be worthy of existing.

  There are infinite alternate uni
verses. In some of these universes, the Outlanders don’t even exist. In others, the Outlanders exist but never did send out their signal. In others, the Outlanders exist and did send out their signal, but the humans on Earth have not yet discovered the signal. On some versions of Earth, the humans discovered the signal but wisely chose not to construct bridging devices. And on some versions of Earth, humans never even evolved in the first place, and therefore they didn’t get the opportunity to discover the signal. With infinite universes, every scenario is possible.

  What about other civilizations besides those on various versions of Earth? The Outlanders did not specifically target the Earth. They intended for the signal to go out to other civilizations in their universe, to destroy all civilizations that were becoming highly advanced but did not have a specific ability—the ability to decipher the hidden key. For whatever reason, the Outlanders believed that the ability to decipher this key was a good criterion for being allowed to exist. There is no way to know how many other civilizations, if any, have been destroyed, or will be destroyed in the future, by this cruel plan for “thinning the herd.”

  The following question has been answered in the Author’s Notes in all the other Bridgers books, but I consider it worth including again:

  Okay, what about the rather mind-bending concept of the possible existence of infinite parallel universes? While there are certainly cosmologists who are skeptical of the concept, it is important to point out that multiple parallel universes is not a theory. Scientists did not simply come up with the idea using their imaginations. Instead, the concept is a mathematical consequence of our current theories in physics, particularly quantum mechanics and string theory.

  If we assume that quantum mechanics and string theory are not completely wrong, then it is important for scientists to examine all of the mathematical consequences of those theories. Even if those consequences (such as parallel universes) seem strange to us. This is often how science moves forward.

  There are at least five plausible scientific theories that suggest the existence of multiple universes (the “multiverse”). My favorite of these is the concept of “daughter universes” suggested by the theory of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics describes things in terms of probabilities, rather than definite outcomes. The mathematics of quantum mechanics suggest that every possible outcome of every situation actually occurs—in its own separate universe.

  Everything is made up of tiny particles, and what this “daughter universes” concept boils down to is that there could be infinite parallel universes, each of them differing by the position of only one particle.

  The concept boggles the mind. But it certainly makes for a fun story.

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  Acknowledgments

  I am not capable of creating a book such as this on my own. I have the following people, among others, to thank for their assistance.

  When it comes to editing, my son Micheal Smith is extremely talented, and his tireless and meticulous suggestions are invaluable. If you find a sentence or detail in the book that doesn’t seem right, it is likely because I failed to implement one of his suggestions.

  My wife Trish is always the first to read my work, and therefore she has the burden of seeing my stories in their roughest form. Thankfully, she kindly points out where things are a mess. Her suggestions are what get the editing process started. She also helps with various promotional efforts. And finally, she not only tolerates my obsession with writing, she actually encourages it.

  I also owe thanks to those on my Advance Reviewer team. They were able to point out numerous typos and inconsistencies.

  Finally, I am thankful to all the independent freelance designers out there who provide quality work for independent authors such as myself. Jake Caleb Clark (www.jcalebdesign.com) created the awesome cover for Bridgers 5: The Trial of Extinction.

  About the Author

  Stan Smith has lived most of his life in the Midwest United States and currently resides in Warrensburg, Missouri. He writes adventure novels and short stories that have a generous sprinkling of science fiction. His novels and stories are about regular people who find themselves caught up in highly unusual situations. They are designed to stimulate your sense of wonder, get your heart pounding, and keep you reading late into the night, with minimal risk of exposure to spelling and punctuation errors. His books are for anyone who loves adventure, discovery, and mind-bending surprises.

  Stan’s Author Website

  http://www.stancsmith.com

  Feel free to email Stan at: stan@stancsmith.com

  He loves hearing from readers and will answer every email.

  Also by Stan C. Smith

  The DIFFUSION series

  Diffusion

  Infusion

  Profusion

  Savage

  Blue Arrow

  Diffusion Box Set

  The BRIDGERS series

  Bridgers 1: The Lure of Infinity

  Bridgers 2: The Cost of Survival

  Bridgers 3: The Voice of Reason

  Bridgers 4: The Mind of Many

  Bridgers 5: The Trial of Extinction

  INFINITY: A Bridger’s Origin

  Bridgers 1-3 Box Set

  Stand-alone Stories

  Parthenium’s Year