The Dark Freeze

by Peter Gregory

  ‘Maybe,’ said Frank, jabbing the headline with his finger, ‘but this is just irresponsible scare-mongering by a tabloid newspaper, not responsible reporting.’

  ‘And when have tabloids ever reported anything responsibly?’ said Viv. ‘They’re all for sensationalism to boost their circulation.’

  ‘Even if it causes a mass panic?’

  ‘Even if it causes a mass panic,’ replied Viv. ‘All they care about is selling as many newspapers as possible.’

  The sound of approaching footsteps made them pause and turn around. It was Myles. A broadsheet was cradled in his arm. ‘I see you already know,’ he said, noticing the paper in Rupert’s hands. ‘At least the broadsheets have been more accurate,’ he continued, displaying the headline, SCIENTISTS DISCOVER STRANGE METEORITES IN ARCTIC: POSSIBLY FROM AN ADVANCED ALIEN CIVILISATION.

  ‘Who do you think has leaked the information?’ asked Liz.

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ replied Viv, ‘and we’ll never know. It could be anybody. A scientist, a government official, one of Carl’s team, even one of us. Whoever it was will be extremely rich.’

  ‘Surely there’s a way to find out,’ said Rupert, infuriated by the leak.

  ‘Possibly,’ said Viv, ‘but now the news is out, we’ve more important things to consider, like finding out more about the meteorites and calming the situation. The Prime Minister will be furious.’

  Viv’s mobile phone rang. He glanced at the display. ‘It’s the Prime Minister.’

  12

  Going Public

  The Prime Minister was indeed furious. ‘Have you seen the papers?’ she yelled. ‘Have you seen the fucking papers?’ What the fucking hell’s going on?’ she ranted.

  ‘I’m as surprised as you are, Prime Minister,’ replied Viv calmly. ‘I’ve only just seen them myself.’

  ‘It’s bloody mayhem here. Pandemonium. My phone’s red hot. It’s never stopped bloody ringing. I’ve had the President of the United States, the German Chancellor, the French Prime Minister, everyone on at me. Every fucking leader in the world wants to know what the hell’s going on!’

  Viv said nothing, just listened to the tirade from Britain’s most senior politician.

  ‘Who the hell’s leaked the information?’ continued the Prime Minister in a calmer but still irritated voice.

  ‘Is it one of your people?’ she asked in an accusatory tone.

  Viv repeated what he’d just told his colleagues. ‘I really have no idea, Prime Minister. It could be anyone. But I’m not surprised. News like this was bound to leak out sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.’

  ‘It’s a pity it’s sooner rather than later,’ barked the Prime Minister, still angry at the leak. ‘Not only is it headline news in every national newspaper, it’s also the lead story on every TV station around the world. People are beginning to panic. We need to do something fast.’

  ‘I understand your concerns, Prime Minister,’ said Viv. ‘I’ll discuss the situation with my colleagues and get back to you.’

  ‘You do that! You fucking well do that!’ spat the Prime Minister. ‘You have one hour. In precisely one hour’s time I want you and Frank in my office at Number 10. Do you understand?’

  ‘Perfectly,’ replied Viv. ‘We’ll be there.’

  ‘Oh, and bring that bloody meteorite with you,’ she said, slamming down the phone.

  Viv looked at his colleagues. ‘The Prime Minister’s given us an hour to decide what to do,’ he said. ‘We need to tell the others immediately and formulate our response.’

  In Downing Street, the Prime Minister was chairing an emergency meeting of the COBRA team on the very same topic.

  As they were meeting, TV stations around the world were broadcasting news of the discovery. It was the top news story at every station. Just like the newspapers, some stations were factual and responsible whilst others went for sensationalism, either because they didn’t have the true facts or because they were simply following the tabloids in order to boost their viewing figures. Audiences were confused. They didn’t know what to believe. Had an alien probe really been discovered or was it one big hoax? If the probe did exist, were the aliens trying to make contact in a friendly, peaceful way, or was it the harbinger for a hostile invasion? People just didn’t know and wanted answers. Answers from the government.

  ‘Ah, come and join us,’ the Prime Minister said to Viv and Frank, ushering them into the Cabinet Office Briefing Area (from where the acronym COBRA gets its name) to meet the rest of the COBRA team; the heads of MI5 and MI6, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British armed forces, the Metropolitan Commissioner of Police, the Chief Scientific Advisor to the government and the Home Secretary. After the introductions were over, she addressed the meeting. ‘Like you, we have been discussing our next move. People are confused by the conflicting news reports and are becoming scared. It won’t be long before they start to panic. They need a clear, unequivocal statement of the facts, and reassurance. And they need them quickly. Are these your conclusions too?’

  ‘Broadly, yes,’ said Viv.

  The Prime Minister continued. ‘We need to go public, call a press conference to refute the wild speculations about an alien invasion, and present the true situation to allay public fear. Do you agree?’

  Viv looked at Frank before responding. ‘Yes, but we think the information should be presented in a cautious manner, saying that unusual meteorites have been discovered around the world which COULD be from an advanced alien civilisation, and that scientists are working round the clock to obtain a definitive answer. It’s pretty close to the truth and should help calm the public anxiety. Finally, we think you should conclude by saying there’ll be regular updates on their progress.’

  ‘And how long will that definitive answer take?’ asked the Prime Minister.

  ‘How long is a piece of string?’ replied Viv but, sensing the Prime Minister’s annoyance at his glib answer, added quickly, ‘one, possibly two, weeks.’

  ‘I understood you were pretty certain that the meteorites were of alien origin,’ said the Chief Scientific Advisor, ‘but needed more time to analyse them in detail.’

  Viv looked at Frank. ‘That’s correct,’ said Frank, ‘but I think we should break the news gently, as suggested. We don’t want to cause a mass panic.’

  ‘I agree,’ said the Prime Minister. ‘I’ll call a press conference for 12 noon to disseminate what we’ve discussed, but I’ll need one of you two present to answer any scientific questions,’ she said, looking at Viv and Frank. ‘Oh, and bring the meteorite along. I’m sure everyone’s dying to see it.’

  Back in the lab the experts were well into their analyses. The larger geodesic domes were arranged in an expanding helical pattern at the wide end of the pear-shaped meteorite. ‘It’s like a coiled spring,’ remarked Dr Michio Ohta, a nuclear fusion expert who used to work for Hitachi, a world leader in the design and construction of nuclear power plants. ‘A coiled spring that tapers from approximately six inches in diameter down to a single point.’

  ‘A conical shape like that is very good for producing maximum thrust in jet engines and space rockets,’ said Professor Gerald Numan, an expert in propulsion technology from Oxford University.

  ‘I’m not absolutely sure,’ continued Michio, ‘but I think the basic materials of the geodesic dome are a unique combination of transition metals. An interlocked arrangement of selected transition metals enclosing atomic hydrogen, similar to a nano-sized football filled with hydrogen atoms.’

  ‘But wouldn’t the hydrogen atoms react to form hydrogen molecules?’ said Gerald. ‘Atomic hydrogen is very reactive.’

  ‘That’s true,’ replied Dr Gregg Rutter, a bright young chemist from Manchester University and Liz’s boyfriend, ‘but transition metals like platinum and palladium are catalysts which facilitate chemical reactions. F
or example, by converting molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen. And,’ he continued, ‘maybe the aliens have found a way for them to facilitate nuclear fusion reactions too.’

  Michio’s face lit up. Gregg’s last comment had sparked a Eureka moment. ‘Transition metals like iron are not only catalytic, they’re paramagnetic too, so perhaps the aliens have found a way to generate an intense magnetic field to contain the nuclear fusion reaction, or a matter/antimatter reaction, within the geodesic domes. Such nuclear fusion or matter/antimatter reaction chambers would generate an enormous amount of power for propulsion. Whatever it is,’ he continued, in a less excited voice than his Eureka moment, ‘it’s way beyond our capabilities. But the geodesic domes are definitely of alien origin from a technologically advanced civilisation.’

  ‘That’s it!’ exclaimed Liz excitedly. ‘That’s how the meteorite penetrated through 75 feet of ice to reach the ice cave without making a massive impact crater.’

  Everyone turned to look at her, at the excited young woman who too had just had a Eureka moment. And waited for her to continue.

  ‘Nuclear fusion not only generates enormous amounts of power, it also generates enormous quantities of heat too, right?’ said Liz, looking at Michio.

  ‘It does,’ replied Michio.

  ‘Then the meteorite would have been extremely hot and melted its way through the ice,’ she said triumphantly. ‘It didn’t need to have been travelling at great speed. It explains everything.’

  ‘Not quite everything,’ chimed in Rupert. ‘It doesn’t explain why the second meteorite only penetrated 12 inches into the ice.’

  In her excitement, Liz had forgotten about that. It was Frank who came to her rescue. ‘That could be the reason why the two meteorites are different,’ he said. ‘Perhaps one was designed to penetrate deeply into the ice and the other to remain at or near the surface. Perhaps one got far hotter than the other.’

  ‘It sounds good to me,’ said Viv, having just returned from doing the press conference with the Prime Minister. ‘Well done, Liz. And you too, Frank,’ he added hastily.

  Analysis of the smaller geodesic domes confirmed Liz and Rupert’s first impressions, that they were arranged in clusters near the centre of the meteorite, probably for protection from damaging cosmic rays as it travelled through interstellar space and particularly from the intense heat as the meteorite entered the Earth’s atmosphere. And from the impact as it hit the ice.

  ‘They seem to be some kind of silicon-based semiconductor,’ said Janet Blake, a telecommunications expert from Cambridge University and advisor to British Telecom, ‘but of a type unknown to us.’

  ‘The molecular engineering is incredible,’ said Professor Stephen Gould, a leading expert on the subject from Strathclyde University. ‘It’s far more advanced than anything we have.’

  ‘And the power of the signal is phenomenal for such a small device,’ said Janet. ‘Do you think they’re powered by the nuclear fusion system?’ she asked, looking at Michio.

  ‘It’s possible,’ he replied, ‘but if they are, I don’t know how.’

  ‘The clusters look a bit like chondrules to me,’ said Liz, pleased with herself for remembering part of Myles’s explanation of meteorite types. Her comment elicited smiles from the other scientists.

  ‘Very good, Liz,’ said Myles. ‘At least someone’s remembered something I said.’

  ‘Because of their composition, location and arrangement, there’s absolutely no doubt they’re some kind of transmitting device,’ said Janet.

  ‘Do you think the transmissions happen of their own accord,’ asked Rupert, ‘or are they triggered by the, er, aliens?’

  ‘That’s a good question,’ said Frank. ‘For the aliens to be activating the signals, they’d have to be fairly close. In an astronomical sense,’ he added. ‘And if they are relatively close and sending signals, we should have detected them. But we haven’t. Therefore, I think the meteorites, or should I say probes, are programmed to send back signals at predetermined intervals. If they originate from outside the galaxy, the signals would take tens of millions, even billions, of light years to reach their destination. However, if they originate from within our own Milky Way galaxy, which I think they do, they could take anything from a few light years to a hundred thousand light years. My guess is they’re hundreds, or thousands, of light years away.’

  ‘Why so far?’ queried Janet. ‘I thought the nearest star was only a few light years away?’

  ‘That’s correct,’ replied Frank. ‘The nearest sun-like star, Alpha Centauri, is indeed only four light years away, but it has no planets and, as far as I’m aware, neither have any of the other nearby stars. So, presuming the aliens live on a planet, which I’m sure they do, they must be many hundreds, probably thousands, of light years away.’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ said Rupert. ‘Not if they’ve developed some sort of interstellar space travel. If they’re in some kind of starship, they could be anywhere.’

  ‘Good God’ thought Liz. ‘He’s beginning to sound like me!’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Frank, responding to Rupert’s statement, ‘but as I said earlier, we haven’t detected any incoming signals.’

  ‘No, but they could still be receiving the signals from the meteorites,’ said Rupert.

  Before Frank could reply, Liz changed the topic.

  ‘Can we glean any clues as to their origin,’ she asked. ‘From their compositions, I mean,’ she continued, looking at Myles.

  ‘Yes, we can,’ replied Myles, ‘up to a point. By studying the chemical composition of a meteorite, it’s possible to determine from which part of the solar system it came, how long its been in space and its age since formation. However, with meteorites from beyond our solar system, it becomes much more difficult, because we have no reference points to compare them to.’

  ‘So you’re saying we can’t tell where these meteorites came from?’ said Rupert.

  ‘Well, we won’t be able to pinpoint a precise location, no,’ continued Myles, ‘but it might be possible to place them from a particular region of the galaxy. But we’ll have to wait and see what the analyses throw up.

  ‘What I can say with absolute certainty,’ he continued, ‘is that they aren’t from our solar system.’

  ‘Are we any further forward in decoding the signals,’ asked Liz, hoping for a positive response.

  Janet’s answer was short and sweet. ‘No, we’re not.’

  ‘Bloody great,’ thought Liz. ‘We don’t know why they were sent, where they’re from or who sent them. What the hell do we know.’

  In the USA, Carl Ryan’s team faced the same dilemma. If the meteorites originated from a remote corner of the Milky Way, it would take tens of thousands of light years for them to reach Earth. That meant any interactive communication was out of the question. It would take tens of thousands of years for them to receive a reply and a further tens of thousands of years for us to receive their response. If, however, they originated from a star system much closer to home, or a starship, why hadn’t they detected any signals? It was a conundrum. The meteorites definitely came from somewhere. BUT WHERE?

  13

  Religion Refuted

  The analyses and discussions continued apace. There was much debate about the origin of the meteorites – were they from a remote corner of the galaxy tens of thousands of light years away, or from somewhere closer? – and about the information contained in the signals. The possibility that the aliens might even have discovered a way to transcend the speed of light, for example, by discovering wormholes to dramatically shorten the time to send and receive signals across the galaxy, was discussed and dismissed. Such a feat would not only require vast amounts of energy and unimaginable technology, it would also cause such a massive distortion of spacetime that they couldn’t have failed to detect it. The most likely scenario, they concluded, was mor
e mundane. The meteorites probably originated from somewhere much closer, either from an obscure star cluster a few light years away, or from a starship. Despite intensive efforts from both the UK and the USA, no such star cluster or alien spaceship was found. Also, as to their origin, analysis of the meteorites suggested they came from the far reaches of the galaxy many tens of thousands of light years away. As to which region, well, they were still working on that. It was baffling.

  The press conference by the Prime Minister and Viv calmed the general populace, but only temporarily. As promised, the Prime Minister provided regular updates on the work of the scientists, including the fact that the meteorites were indeed from a technically advanced, alien civilisation. This pronouncement caused, if not outright panic, then great anxiety amongst most of the population. However, for some, it generated great excitement. The promise of a better life. An end to starvation. Cures for every disease. Unlimited supplies of green energy. And an end to all wars. But not everyone was either anxious or excited. Some were devastated, their lifelong beliefs shattered. The discovery of intelligent, alien life elsewhere in the Universe threw the world’s religions into total chaos.

  The discovery threatened to destroy their fundamental beliefs; to undermine them; to cast doubt on the two sacred tenets, that man was created in the image of God and that the whole Universe was created for the sole benefit of mankind. Neither could be the case if other intelligent beings existed. And, if one form of intelligent, alien life had been discovered, it was almost certain that others existed. Countless others in the vastness of the Cosmos, the 100 billion galaxies each with 200 billion stars. Approximately 20 billion trillion (2x1022) stars in the observable Universe. Even a chance as low as one in a trillion (1 in 1012) would mean there are 20 billion possible sites for life to have evolved.

  Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jews were in despair. Ordinary people were questioning the fundamental foundations of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism and found them wanting. If two of their staunchest pillars had been demolished, what did that say about the rest?