2036 The Proof: A Thrilling Science Fiction Novel

by Speiser, Zvi

  It was now after nine p.m.; it seemed she wouldn’t be calling before tomorrow. That’s good; apparently, they’re not under too much time pressure, which works for me, he thought.

  The assistant rang just as he was sprawling out on the couch, in a comfortable pose somewhere between sitting and lying down.

  “Dr. Lester?” He recognized her voice.

  “Speaking.”

  “This is Gaya. I forgot to tell you during our last meeting that our offer is valid for a few days only. That’s why I’m calling you today. Have you happened to come to a decision on the matter?”

  “I’ve come to a decision not to reject the offer for the time being. In order to move forward, I’ll need to receive a proper, official offer that includes information on the work I’ll be carrying out, my team, the budget, and other such details. Of course, I’ll also be interested in meeting the people onsite.”

  “That’s very understandable. I’ll make sure you’re invited for a meeting, where you can formulate an opinion on the offer and its originators. I have no doubt you’ll be won over and will decide to accept the offer. I want to note that you’re taking the logical course of action.” Despite the flattering words, she made the statement sound like a threat to be reckoned with.

  The quiet, empty house reminded him that he still hadn’t talked to Kate. In fact, as long as he had not come to an agreement with the company making the offer, whose identity was still unknown to him, and signed an agreement that he found satisfactory, nothing was certain. No, the safe location of his loved ones would give him greater freedom and leverage in the negotiations with his potential new employer.

  Chapter 15

  Lia

  California, Monday, July 21, 2036

  In the wee hours of the night, Professor Lia Rosen, exhausted, looked up from a summary of the test results. Her study, usually in immaculate order, now looked almost as it had when she had first moved into her current home. Piles of journals and books were strewn around everywhere. Coffee cups whose contents had dried up long ago and takeout pizza boxes were scattered about chaotically, with no one bothering to pick them up. Cobwebs and the dusty floor also testified to the long neglect the room had suffered.

  However, Lia did not see any of it. Recently, her life had been conducted on an utterly different plane. She was entirely focused on her discovery. In recent months, she had abandoned anything that could be put off and checked the results of her work again and again. Dozens of times, she had tested and retested the data arriving from the James Webb and STA space telescopes, repeatedly verifying the automatic calculations performed by the computer and their results. She didn’t confine herself to her own calculations, but also consulted colleagues specializing in quantum physics and astrophysics. Naturally, she did not expose the reason for her queries, fearing they might condemn her as a believer in gods or miracles, or accuse her of ignoring a key detail that would alter the entire picture. Even worse, they might snatch away her earth-shattering scoop if her discovery did turn out to be valid.

  Each calculation had been verified dozens of times, and the result was always identical: the pale star in the constellation of Virgo, STA331047A and its companion, the white dwarf STA331047B, as well as the binary star STA333654A and its companion, the white dwarf STA333654B. One in the Aquarius constellation, at a distance of 360 light-years, and the other in the Tucana constellation, 290 light-years away. The white dwarfs in both pairs were surely absorbing mass from the large star adjacent to them, and should already have exploded in a massive supernova. That is, unless they were found to rotate around their axes at an unbelievable rate.

  All mass measurements she had carried out for these stars indicated that each had an exact mass of 1.76 solar masses, with a possible measurement error of ±0.07. The measurements showed conclusively that the mass of the two white dwarfs had significantly exceeded the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses, beyond which stars exploded in a massive supernova. Nevertheless, neither of them had exploded.

  Several decades ago, astronomers had worked out the characteristics of such a supernova, called an Ia supernova, which occurred when a pair of stars—a white dwarf and a red giant or a star in its main sequence—orbit each other. The red giant is a star nearing the end of its life, past the main sequence phase. At this stage, it expands to immense dimensions of more than one hundred million kilometers (over sixty million miles).

  The white dwarf is also reaching the end of its lifespan, having already passed the red dwarf phase and contracted into a small, dense star that no longer generates energy. Due to its proximity to the star, the gravitational pull of the white dwarf attracts and absorbs mass from the red giant, gradually increasing its own mass until its increasing gravitation overcomes its electron pressure. At that point, the dwarf explodes, projecting immense amounts of energy into space within a very short time. The luminous intensity of the exploding star is at the same scale as the luminous intensity of an entire galaxy.

  As the explosion takes place, when the mass of the white dwarf reaches a set value, the absolute luminous intensity is also fixed and identical for all Ia supernovas. The only factor known to science that can affect this process is rapid rotation of the white dwarf around its axis, which creates centrifugal force, decreasing the gravitational effect, and therefore the pressure on the star’s core.

  Measuring the luminous intensity reaching Earth enabled a precise calculation of the distance of the star from Earth. Astronomers finally had access to the absolute astronomical gauge, which allowed them to accurately determine the Earth’s distance from faraway galaxies. This understanding paved the way to the groundbreaking discovery that the rate of the universe’s expansion is accelerating, in contrast to any known physical logic, ultimately resulting in a Nobel Prize granted to the scientists who discovered it, Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess, in 2011.

  Something unclear was taking place in those two binary systems. Something that wasn’t in accordance with the known laws of physics, which had been tested on more than a hundred Ia supernovas discovered in the Milky Way and in distant galaxies. The infinitesimal chance that each of the white dwarfs revolved around its axis at precisely the rate that would cause an equal decrease in the pressure of gravitational force, allowing both to reach the exact same mass without exploding, didn’t merit serious consideration.

  Newton’s equations of motion accurately described observations on Earth and in the solar system. Einstein’s theory of relativity predicted different results than Newton’s equations, but only at speeds approaching the speed of light. The predictions of the theory of relativity and its observational verification required sophisticated measuring equipment.

  However, for all intents and purposes, for motion at speeds significantly below the speed of light, Newton’s equations provided plenty of accuracy, and were still in use. Yet they did not seem to apply to the phenomena on STA331047B and STA333654B. The red giants adjacent to these stars were still at their peak, and contained massive amounts of gas, in contrast to the leading theory, which had been verified many times. Such a significant difference should have been discovered long ago, had it been a common phenomenon.

  No, there was no doubt that these stars exhibited unusual phenomena, which were unclear to astrophysicists. Discovering the factor that allowed two relatively close stars to reach the same large mass without exploding might have a significant impact on the entire science of astronomy. She had to measure the rate in which they revolved around their axes, a complex task that would probably cause more than one raised eyebrow among the operators of the STA. Although by now they were probably used to her occasionally odd requests.

  Her investigation had brought her to Professor Avi Tsur from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, who was considered one of the leading experts in the world on the development and death of stars. His youthful appearance and casual way of dressing had surprised
Lia.

  “Have you ever encountered a white dwarf in a binary system whose mass significantly exceeded the Chandrasekhar limit, but that didn’t explode? If so, do you have an explanation for this phenomenon?” Lia chose to read directly from her notes when speaking to Avi, in order not to miss any significant words, and mostly in order not to hint at her discovery.

  Avi’s immediate response hit her like a sledgehammer. “You must mean STA331047B.” Lia nearly collapsed. “I’ve been tracking it for a few months now. I’ve rechecked the observations and the calculations again and again, but I haven’t found any explanation for the phenomenon. The only possible explanation would be an especially high rate of revolving around its axis, which I can’t measure.”

  Lia was stunned. How the hell had Tsur obtained the observations? He wasn’t an American. The STA observations weren’t even being distributed to American astronomers, other than those who worked with the array. Foreign astronomers weren’t even supposed to know the temporary names of the stars the STA had discovered, and certainly did not have access to its observations. She couldn’t hold back.

  “How do you have information about the STA observations? As far as I know, this information still hasn’t been shared with the American astronomy community as a whole, much less with astronomers outside my country?”

  There was no answer from her interlocutor. Thinking the call had been disconnected, she asked, “Are you still on the line?”

  “Yes, of course, and I’ll be happy to collaborate with you on this subject,” he replied, completely ignoring her question.

  Professor Tsur’s open, cooperative approach made her bounce back from her shock quickly. She decided to accept his offer, and leave the question of his sources of information for a later stage in the proceedings.

  “I went through the exact same thing with STA331047B. Did you find any other stars that behaved in the same manner?” she asked.

  “Not at all. The truth is that the results surprised me so much that I’ve dedicated most of my time to exploring the phenomenon. I find it hard to believe that after so many years of observations, which have always revealed similar results, we’ve discovered such a strange star.”

  Lia hesitated briefly. Should she tell Avi about STA333654B, or keep the discovery to herself? No, in light of his openness and willingness to cooperate, and despite his reluctance to expose his sources of information, she could not hide such pertinent information, which he would surely find fascinating.

  “Have you looked into STA333654B?” she asked.

  “No, not at all. Why? What distinguishes it?” he asked.

  “It behaves precisely like STA331047B. Each of them has the same mass, which has significantly surpassed the Chandrasekhar limit, but neither of them is exploding.”

  “I don’t believe I could have missed something like that.” She heard the surprise in Avi’s voice. “I have to check this out thoroughly. Let me get back to you in a few days.”

  How does he have all the information? she wondered. He must have access to the STA observations if he could immediately investigate any star the array had discovered. Although he had concealed the sources of his information from her, she still felt comfortable continuing to collaborate with him. Something about his voice projected trustworthiness. Perhaps she would discover where he was getting his information at some future time.

  “Let me help you. I’m sending you a summary of my work, and will wait for your call once you’ve studied it,” she replied quickly, startled by the speed at which she’d transitioned from suspicion and secrecy to full cooperation.

  “It’s late night your time, but around noon here. I suggest you call me when it’s morning for you, so I’ll have time to go over the material later today.”

  “I’ll call then. Have a good day,” she responded.

  “Have a good night,” Avi replied, ending the call.

  ***

  Despite her extreme fatigue, Lia could not sleep that night. She found herself twisting and turning in bed. Had more astrophysicists discovered the anomaly in these stars? Until very recently, she had been certain that she was the only one. How had Avi Tsur even managed to expose the anomaly without having access to the STA observations, which in the meantime were reserved only for a select group of American astronomers? Was there a leak among the STA scientists? Or perhaps the Israelis, known for their advanced technological capabilities, possessed sophisticated means of observation that were unknown to the rest of the world? That would indeed be like them. But if that was the answer, it was truly illogical that Avi would be using the same names for the stars.

  The more she thought about it, the more she grew convinced that Avi had open access to the STA observations. What would happen if someone beat her to the finish line, and published the results before she did? Up to this point, she had been careful to maintain confidentiality. Even when she turned to her colleagues for assistance, she had made sure not to include too much information. And now others knew of her discovery as well. With a sense that she had no control over the revelations, she fell into a restless sleep.

  Chapter 16

  Goldon and the Structures

  Chicago, Tuesday, July 22, 2036

  Without the usual familial bustle of morning, including breakfast and sandwiches for everyone, Tom found himself leaving for work earlier than usual. That’s great, he thought. Finally, he could work uninterrupted until the first researchers arrived. His commute was also considerably shorter before the masses swarmed the roads.

  To his surprise, he found Lise already so immersed in her work that she didn’t hear him enter the lab. He cleared his throat to alert her to his presence.

  Lise turned to him with a tense glance, blurting out, “I’ll be with you in a second.”

  Unexpectedly, Lise insisted they sit in the small isolated conference room adjacent to the lab. Almost all team meetings were held in the lab itself. Tom tried to maintain a spirit of openness and transparency among everyone at work. Other than personal issues, everyone knew—or at least could know—about everyone else’s work.

  “I’m going to tell you a strange story. Please don’t ask me any questions until I’m done,” Lise began. “This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a murder of someone I knew and respected. Oleg always smiled at me and always asked how I was doing. In the chaos after the murder, I was completely disoriented and couldn’t focus on my work.

  “Once I calmed down at home, I tried to reconstruct the order of the different amylase enzymes I’d added to the petri dishes containing various proteins produced from the long sequence, after adding initiators and terminators to it, and leaving the dishes in the incubator. But I couldn’t remember. I was convinced I’d made a mistake and that I had to rerun the experiment. Yesterday morning, I was about to throw the petri dishes away when suddenly I found myself thinking, I wonder what happened there? And I looked at the results.”

  Lise swallowed heavily, produced several pages from a slim portfolio with the blank side turned up, and continued. “These are single images from the microscope.” She flipped one of the pages over and handed it to Tom.

  Tom was proud of the new quantum microscope, which could capture images of atoms and molecules with high resolution. It was a vital tool in their biological research. At first glance, the images looked exactly like hundreds and thousands of the usual images of strange amorphous proteins. But then he noticed multiple series of symmetrical, three-dimensional geometrical structures. He saw balls, cubes, pyramids, cylinders, and toroids. He swiveled the page around, looking at it intensely as Lise handed him another page. The angle at which the image was taken differed from the first photo, and the structures looked significantly more prominent. His reaction, mouth gaped open in amazement, was apparently exactly what she was expecting as she handed him another image. This one displayed a large matrix comprising numerous structures. The entire com
plex was reminiscent of a portion of a DNA molecule. It was confined by two vertical columns, with what appeared to be horizontal rows of symmetrical structures floating between them.

  As he continued to look, Lise handed him another image, this one zoomed out. It showed an immense maze of similar groups of structures. Apparently, a large portion of the tested sample had transformed into matrixes of geometrical structures.

  “This can’t be happening,” Tom finally managed to spit out. “It can’t be. There’s got to be a biological explanation. We’re familiar with several spatial carbon-based geometrical structures. Maybe what we’ve discovered here are some more kinds of carbon-based organizing principles? On the other hand, this form of arrangement just doesn’t make sense for a biological system. I’m stunned,” Tom concluded, leaning back in his chair and staring out into space.

  “Who else have you shown these results to?” he asked.

  “No one but you. I’m stunned, too, and I don’t know what to do with this.”

  “First, we have to figure out exactly what we did that resulted in these structures. The moment we do that, we’ll continue from there. Although, on second thought, even if we can’t replicate this strange outcome, the very fact that it occurred requires comprehensive investigation. From an operative standpoint, we shouldn’t share this finding with anyone else. We’ll replicate the experiment as accurately as possible, then think about it some more.”