by Rob Garnet
The Veiled Universe
The Veiled Universe
Cosmic Tales of Science Fiction
Rob Garnet
The Veiled Universe: Cosmic Tales of Science Fiction
Copyright © 2019 Rob Garnet
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
All characters and events in this book are fictional. Any resemblance of characters to persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
This edition first published in 2019
Edited by Vrinda Baliga ([email protected])
Cover design by Aditi Shah ([email protected])
About the author
Rob is an engineer who has spent years working in various global companies. He is a keen traveller who has so far covered sixteen countries. This helps fulfil his desire to understand the local language and customs, and realise the further we go, the closer we humans come to each other.
He has penned professional articles and is a frequent public speaker on management and human resources. He has also written short stories in science fiction and fantasy, some of which can be read on his website. He believes that the future of humanity is bright; there are many more scientific discoveries yet to be made.
With over two decades of experience working in the fields of science, he understands the anxiety this poses to the general reader who is at risk of getting lost in the jargon. Therefore, his foremost desire is to simplify the concepts of science and present them in the form of narratives that the readers will not find overwhelming. He spends hours thoroughly researching his selected themes and then weaves his tales around them. He hopes that these stories will ignite the imagination of the readers and take them into uncharted realms of science fiction.
You can learn more about him and his books at https://robgarnetauthor.wixsite.com/robg
Follow him on Instagram @robgarnet
Introduction
Our quest for knowledge will never be complete. Scientists work on theories that explain observations. Experiments performed either strengthen or disprove the theories. However, as the name suggests, these are just theories and a new observation may disprove what we have held to be true for hundreds of years. This book is not a scientific or religious treatise. Instead, it picks up some of the common and popular scientific themes and weaves stories around it. You do not need to be a student of science, but you do need to set your imagination free to enjoy them.
These stories will challenge all that you know of the universe and force you to ask the question 'What if…?'
Rob
Contents
Quantum Reality
The Crab Nebula
The Harvest
The Last Heist
The Ninth Planet
Origins
Boötes
Black Death
Aftermath
Black Holes have Hair
The Veiled Universe
Quantum Reality
“This is Trailblazer checking in. Commander Daniel reporting. We are now 1.57 light years from origin. The reactor is recharging. All systems are green. Attaching formal report of day 2257.” Daniel listlessly tapped out the commands on the touch panel to send the message on its way. His work for the day was done.
Life aboard the ship had not been taxing at all, except for the take-off and a brief period navigating through the Oort cloud at the outer edge of the solar system. He had completed more than six years flying the ship, all alone in the darkness with stars and random comets for company. The novelty of the journey had worn out quite quickly, especially since most ship functions were handled by the on-board computer and the artificial intelligence. His main role was limited to ensuring the AI itself was functioning as programmed. Feeding the guard dog, as he liked to put it, though the AI itself had all the personality of a house cat.
For all the hype that had been built around it back on Earth, the whole voyage to find exotic particles and search for extra-terrestrial life had been a big waste. None of the experiments had yielded any results so far. The mysteries of physics remained mysteries.
◆◆◆
Thresto entered the chaos in the control room.
“Talk to me, Xuco,” he ordered the program director. “What was so important that you called me from the board room?”
“Uh, sir… the ship has reached the final boundary. There was a power failure and we are still struggling to restore the program.”
“Impact?”
“The program cannot advance further than this point. We can run limited local scenarios but we cannot add the next full-set till power is restored.”
“Does the human know he cannot proceed further?”
“Can’t tell for sure, sir, but it’s unlikely. However, when his ship hits the boundary and stops moving in… fifteen minutes, then he will know.”
“Are we still broadcasting?” asked Thresto, his eyes running over the control station.
“Yes, we are. Three point five trillion people are tuned in.”
Thresto ran over the alternatives quickly. This was the most popular show ever, having run for over five thousand years. Maybe it was time to kick things up a notch. He had limited choice but there were a couple of people he could trust to play the role he had in mind.
“Is Melou over in the newsroom? Get her over here. Right now. She has to take a trip. Let’s make programming history, guys!”
◆◆◆
“Hello, Daniel.”
Daniel nearly fell off his seat, spilling his morning cuppa.
“What the…?” He looked about the cabin wildly.
The figure, clad in a gold and silver suit, looked so incongruous that he stared at it goggle-eyed for a full minute. A face, dark and classically beautiful, looked back at him from across the control panel. There was a twinkle in her grey eyes.
“Who? Wha..? How…?” He could not get a full word out however much he tried.
“All in good time, Daniel.”
Where did she come from? How does she know my name? He fell silent, trying to regain some part of his composure.
“I am Melou, and I am here to ask you to return home. There is nothing more for you to discover in deep space.”
Daniel pushed himself up. “Now, look here. Who do you think you are to come on my ship and give me orders?” Really? He mentally chided himself. A beautiful woman appears mysteriously aboard my ship in the middle of deep space and all I can say is this?
“I can’t really explain.” She seemed to be mocking him. “You wouldn’t understand even if I were to tell you everything in minute detail. Your primitive mind will simply disregard it.”
“Yeah?” He dabbed at the tea on his suit. “Try me.”
“All right then, as you primitive humans say. But I warn you again, there is no way you’ll comprehend any of it.”
“Primitive, huh?” Her supercilious attitude was beginning to grate on his nerves. “May I remind you that we humans have reached this far in space.”
“Space,” she smiled in a condescending way he found infuriating. Who did she think she was? Melou walked slowly around the cramped cabin, absent-mindedly touching various objects. “Space does not exist.” She grimaced and shrugged in a very human manner. “Where you are today is the limit beyond which humans cannot be allowed to go. It is the ‘boundary’.”
Daniel gaped at her. He still could not make up his mind if he was dreaming all this.
She stepped up
to him and looked him in the eye. “Everything you see around you is simulated. For millions of years we have nurtured Earth and its inhabitants. You see, I am from a race called Crisceods. We… created… your reality, this reality, piece by piece.”
“Uh-huh?” He could hear her words, but his mind seemed to have turned to mush for all the sense they were making.
“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
He shook his head as if to clear his mind. “You mean besides the fact that you belong to a race of super beings who created us? You really haven’t given me any empirical facts or evidence.” His confidence rose as he spoke. For all he knew, she was some sort of a simulation herself.
“Okay. Tell me, has your mission in space been successful? You came here to examine what you call ‘neutrinos’ in deep space, away from the interference of Earth’s atmosphere, and to look for the next level of particles after the discovery of …what do you call them…‘binary-mesons’? Such quaint names. Have you found the particles you came looking for?”
“No, I haven’t,” he admitted, reluctantly.
“That is because they do not exist, Daniel. None of your famed theoreticians and physicists cared to question why they kept finding new particles every time they split the atom?” She shook her head and laughed. “That Olxu. He was the one who came up with this idea of a never-ending series of particles for your people to split and give funny sounding names to. Yeah, we did have lots of fun with that one. Seriously, who came up with the idea of the up-quark and down-quark?” She paused and became serious. “Anyway, there are no particles. In a way, however, your m-theory was correct. It is all energy. Your reality was created out of pure energy. If humankind had not given up on that theory, you might have discovered us by yourselves. We managed to divert you away from that path.”
“There are no particles for me to find here? But where do the neutrinos come from?”
“Oh, Daniel. Space, the solar system, the galaxies—none of them exist except in the simulation. Why do you think they have all been placed so far apart that humans can never hope to reach them? The speed of light is a real limitation we imposed to keep you from venturing too far.”
“I don’t believe you. You are making this up. Show me some evidence.”
“Evidence? Like in your physics experiments? Sure. Look outside the porthole.”
Daniel turned around and looked out. His eyes widened in total disbelief. He could see San Francisco outside, the Golden Gate Bridge resplendent on a bright summer morning. All of a sudden, the scene changed to a war and he was right in the middle of it. Looking at the uniforms on the fighting men, he vaguely registered that this was the American civil war of the nineteenth century before a bullet grazed his shoulder. He felt the wound, and his hand came away wet with blood. Then the scene changed again, and he stood on the cold surface of a dead planet. Confusion clouded his face as numerous incongruous scenes played out one after another, until finally he closed his eyes, completely disoriented. When he opened them again, he found himself collapsed on the floor of his ship, his chest heaving with emotion, blood dripping from the wound on his arm.
“You see we can transform your reality anyway we want. I have brought you to your ship now, back right where you started.” She waited for a reaction but once more, he found himself speechless with shock. She shook her head again in exasperation. “Anyway, look, I am here to terminate your journey. We have indulged you far enough. I’m afraid you can’t be allowed to go further.”
“Terminate my journey? How? Why?”
“Earth’s development has been one of the longest running dramas on my planet. It was enjoyable especially when especially when binge-watched, but now we need more theatre, or the audience will get bored. It is nothing personal. You turn around, go back to Earth and that’s it.”
“Yeah? And what if I tell them all that I have learned from you?” He knew she would see through his bluff.
“Oh, come on, Daniel. Do you really think they will believe you? They will think this voyage into deep space muddled your brain and put you under… what do you call it… psychiatric evaluation. Now that will be a good episode.”
That was true. No one would believe him.
“Okay look. I will offer you a choice—turn back now and face whatever happens on Earth, or we destroy your ship here and now and no one will ever know what happened to you. Either way, the show will go on.”
◆◆◆
“Audience poll! Now, Xuco! How many viewers think he will take the second choice? Offer them a live visit to Earth as the prize.”
◆◆◆
“Wait! Wait! Give me some time to think!” Daniel was panicking. Insanity or death—these were hardly choices at all! “One last question. How do I know I am not a simulation?”
“You really don’t but honestly we needed real emotions not programmed. We did not create you,” answered Melou.
The ship lurched as it banged against an invisible barrier. Daniel fell to the floor, but Melou stood there looking at him with pity.
“I am sorry, Daniel. We are out of time. Make a choice.”
Daniel looked up at her. There really was no choice. Six years of work had gone down the drain… but what difference did it make? What difference did any of it make? He believed Melou. There was no reality. His life was a lie. Every human who was alive or had ever lived and even those not yet born—all their lives were a lie. Science was a lie. Even God was a lie. Maybe one-day humans would figure out the truth anyway. He imagined eight billion human beings discovering that that there was nothing more to life than being part of a galactic soap opera.
If I go back, everyone will think I am a liar, or worse, a coward. There was no choice.
◆◆◆
“Don’t you ever spring this on me again!” Melou screamed at Thresto. “I am a journalist. Your best journalist, not some dumb starlet in your goddamn show.”
“Relax, Melou. We have everything in control. Trailblazer is history. In a few years, when the humans back on Earth hear nothing more from Commander Daniels, it will be yet another big mystery for which they will have no answers. In the meantime, this gives us time to clean out the glitches. More importantly, we have a winner from Vaotis who is eager for their trip to Earth. You will be the first to interview him. I don’t have to tell you, your work on the ship was brilliant. And remember, human lives are inconsequential. It is the show which is important.”
◆◆◆
Kul sat back in his chair, laughing heartily. He could not believe how well the entire episode had played out. These Crisceods were as gullible as the Earthlings were. Creating the power failure had been a stroke of genius. The ratings for the show would have jumped. Maybe next time Kul could create a big bang event. Let’s see how the Crisceods respond to that, he thought chuckling.
It all made for good theatre.
◆◆◆
The Crab Nebula
“Okay, folks, look through your telescopes or binoculars,” I said, gloomily. I desperately wanted to avoid this particular lesson, but I did not have a choice. Once every year I was forced to face my darkest memories. “Your instruments have been focused just above Orion near Beta and Zeta Centauri,” I continued, keeping my voice level. “That is where you will find the oblong object called the Crab Nebula.”
The students dutifully looked through their telescopes. Jamie, as usual, had forgotten his, and I cast a reprimanding eye at him as I walked around helping the others until I was satisfied they had succeeded in their quest.
“Good. Now who will tell me about its history? Anyone?”
I was pleased to see Anita lift her eyes from the telescope and raise her hand.
“Crab Nebula got its name because the first drawing of it resembled a crab,” she said. “It is located 6500 light years away and was first observed more than a thousand years ago as part of a supernova explosion.”
Supernova. Yes. Death and destruction.
“That is correct,”
I said. “It is believed to be the remnant of a massive explosion which took place approximately 7500 Earth years ago. The central star exploded and destroyed the entire system. It also formed a neutron star in its place which gives off massive amounts of radio energy.” I glanced at Anita who had raised her hand again. “Yes?”
“You said it destroyed the entire system, but I read that no one really knows if there actually was an explosion or what happened during the purported explosion or even if there were any planets in the system. Isn’t it true that we can only guess the size of the star and may never know what actually happened?”
She was smart, that girl. I forced a smile. “You’re right, of course, Anita. However, we have enough information to draw conjectures, and who knows, we might be correct.” I turned back to the class. “That’s it for today. Assemble your photographs and submit your paper on the structure and status of the Crab Nebula by the end of this week. Dismissed.”
◆◆◆
I sat at my desk trying to focus on grading the papers. A knock on the door interrupted me. I looked up to see Anita at the door.
“Yes, Anita? What can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry sir, but I had a question?”
I waved her to a chair. “Go on then.”
“Back in the class, you sounded pretty convinced about the star system being destroyed in the supernova. And…”
I stiffened. “And?”
“And you seemed somehow emotionally affected by it. Sir, do you know something the books and astronomers and Wikipedia does not?”
I stared at her. Her question was direct and she met my eyes unflinchingly. I averted my gaze and shuffled the papers on my desk. She did not budge.