Dark Nights

by Christopher A. Gray

  The scientist moved his gaze from the photo, then up to the angry man, then back to the calm man. He was trapped, helpless and felt sick to his stomach.

  “Of course,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “I will help in any way I can.”

  – 12 –

  Morning came too soon for Doug. There was a soft rap at the door, and a woman’s voice. “Dr. Lockwood, I’ll leave your clothes hanging on the doorknob. Please get ready for breakfast at 0700.”

  According to the desk clock, breakfast was only fifteen minutes away. He had to get moving. Doug sat up slowly, inhaling deeply in an attempt to clear his head after barely four hours sleep. He put on the bathrobe and slippers, grabbed his kit, then left the room and headed down the hall for the showers. Several others were already there.

  Doug realized that despite the hours of intense discussion they were no closer to understanding where FLO came from. There were only two plausible theories. The rogue capture, and the inter-dimensional doorway. Both seemed impossible, the rogue obviously slightly less so. So he found himself drawn to the inter-dimensional theory, as if the less understood mechanism somehow made it more plausible. Perhaps Janet could shed some light, though he doubted it for now. Then he thought about their nighttime conversation. He realized he enjoyed her company. Very much.

  Showered and shaved, Doug went back to his room and got dressed quickly. A staffer waiting outside his door escorted him to the dining room. Doug was the third one in. The commissary breakfast buffet smelled great and the place filled up quickly. There were plenty of tired sounding good mornings. Doug was sitting at a table with Dr. Brian Nayar and couple of others. Jack Wilson joined them.

  “Any news from the other shift?” he asked.

  “Nothing so far,” Nayar replied. He was the group’s computer engineering expert. “I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and sat in with them. Observations and more observations. Gigabytes of mute data. Nothing we can target.”

  Doug looked around for Janet and saw her at a table nearby. They exchanged smiles as he sat across from her. The group ate with occasional small talk, but they were eating quickly. They wanted to get back to work.

  Doug was nursing the last of his coffee when Leach entered at a brisk pace. He stood far enough away from the breakfast tables so that he could see everyone as a group. Doug thought Leach looked very tired, but also tense.

  “Doctor Foley asked that I hurry you along. Some high-resolution images are being rendered.”

  The group rose in unison and hurried down the hall into the station room. Foley had an image of FLO on his monitor screen but was standing by a wide format printer a few feet away. Stacey Lau was with him. Some of the group gathered around the monitor while others stood around Foley as he retrieved the printout.

  “Remember everyone,” Foley said as he handed Doug the large print, “this is not a photo of Earth. The satellite was trained on FLO when this image was taken.” Doug felt his skin tingle as he took in the image.

  “No,” Singh said faintly, his eyes locked on the photo.

  “This is Earth!” Nayar exclaimed, shaking his head. “Obviously this is a mistake.”

  Doug remained silent, studying the image. He was looking at what appeared to be Asia, on Earth. Cloud cover was present, but not enough to obscure the general shape of the continent. Foley went back to the printer. There was another image coming out, taken at a slightly different angle to the first.

  “There is no mistake,” Stacey said. “This is FLO.”

  “Looks like Janet gets the blue ribbon for this one,” Doug said, nodding in her direction.

  Doug handed the photo to Singh and walked over to Foley’s monitor, and said, “Recall that yesterday we established FLO’s distance from the sun as one AU, and its diameter at 12,750 kilometers. For all intents and purposes, this is Earth.”

  “How is this possible!” Wilson sounded angry, though Doug knew it was only frustration at being unable to comprehend the evidence in front of them.

  “We don't know,” Doug replied. “The odds of any rocky planet looking exactly like ours is beyond computation. And yet, there it is.”

  “What about inhabitants, are there cities?” Janet asked.

  “This looks like it might be Shanghai,” Doug said as he pointed an area of the image on the monitor.

  “You’re right,” said Singh. “And to the east you can see that lighter area, where land was stripped bare, and a forest further east in the mountains.”

  “And look towards the edge of the photo,” Foley said. “India is just coming out of darkness, you can just make out the lights given off by Bangladesh.”

  “The same continents, the same cities,” Janet said, “And that means the people…”

  “Are human?” Doug finished the sentence. “It is safe to assume at this point, that FLO is identical to Earth in at least some major respects. Huh, I can’t believe what I just said.”

  “What do you mean?” Wilson asked. “Granted, that looks like it could be a city. But those so-called lights of Bangladesh could be nothing more than a forest fire. Are you implying that because the planet looks similar, there is a civilization like ours with the same languages, political systems, and fancy sports cars for people with more money than brains? Why would it be?”

  The room was silent.

  After a moment Janet spoke up.

  “From what we have thus far, I wouldn't be shocked if that were true. It’s suggested in the Many Worlds Theory.”

  From the body language of the group it was clear to Doug that some were comfortable with the concept while others were not. Even if it wasn’t an area of their expertise, most physicists, astronomers, mathematicians, and high-level computer theorists were aware of the likelihood of a multi-dimensional universe. Awareness didn’t make such beyond-the-edge theoretical physics any more believable though.

  “Janet,” Doug said, “we need some perspective here. Try to put this in some kind of context for us if that’s possible.” Janet nodded at him then took a good look at everyone, trying to gauge their mood and their skepticism.

  “In broad terms,” she said after a moment, “the Many Worlds Theory postulates the existence of a multiverse. It’s an infinite number of universes, some very different from ours, some similar, and some identical.

  “There are several explanations for the existence of the multiverse. One theory has its basis in quantum mechanics, where every possible outcome to an event happens in a series of universes. Another is M-theory, an extension of string theory. There’s Inflationary theory, where the Big Bang was not a unique event, but only part of a network of infinite Big Bangs happening on a continuous basis.”

  “I think most of us may agree at this point,” Doug said to her, “that a multiverse is at least a possibility. Assuming the concept is sound, the problem is, as Mr. Singh said yesterday, there should be no way one universe could interact with another. FLO should not be visible to us.”

  “It is very unlikely that one universe could interact with another, but we simply don’t have enough understanding to rule it out. This could be a rare natural phenomena,” Janet said emphatically.

  Jack Wilson was again getting emotional.

  “That’s pure conjecture, an assertion only, just as Doug said. There is no conclusive evidence, no evidence of any kind whatsoever—”

  Doug placed a hand on Wilson’s shoulder and walked him a few feet away from the group as the others continued to study the photographs.

  “Jack, I’m not exactly comfortable with the theory myself. But it’s all we have at the moment. We need to study the data, get more data, study the new data. You know how it goes. What’s your take on Singh’s observation that there is a forested area?”

  Wilson exhaled and relaxed. He was confident Blair’s theory would soon be ruled out.

  “I’ll get a copy of the photo and start work on the topography.” Wilson thought for a moment. “If the resolution is high enough we may even get a visual e
stablishment of ocean currents. That would lend evidence one way or the other about Blair’s multiverse theory.” Doug stared intently at Wilson for a moment, but detected nothing except sincerity.

  Wilson went to his workstation as Doug returned to the printer. Additional images were being produced but they looked almost identical to the first few. Images of other areas and continents would come in as FLO’s rotation gave the space telescopes a different view.

  – 13 –

  A few hours later they had better images of the Indian Ocean. Doug, Janet and Singh were taking a five minute break in the lounge when Wilson joined them.

  “There’s the beginnings of a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal. Or rather, the Bay of Bengal on FLO. Counterclockwise wind flow of course, as you’d also find in the Northern hemisphere on Earth. FLO is rotating about its axis in the same direction as us, another point for Janet’s identical multiverse theory.”

  Wilson’s demeanor had changed, almost to the point of becoming sardonic. Each new bit of information confirmed more similarities between the two planets, and while the scientific discoveries were fascinating, the situation was also unnerving. The strong visual evidence of cities was not backed up by any detected radio transmissions.

  Despite learning more about the planet itself, almost nothing was known about any inhabitants who might be present. Everyone was extremely curious about a possible civilization. Platforms such as the Hubble space telescope had more than enough resolution to answer the question but their sensitive optics were designed for deep field observations and collecting light at great distances. If deep field telescopes were pointed anywhere near the sun their sensors would be damaged. The group was bound by the observational limits of what was available to them.

  The situation led them all to develop a feeling of inexorable, creeping discomfort. Every so often someone in the lab couldn’t stand the tension anymore and would simply exclaim, loudly, “None of this is possible!” and immediately go back to what they were doing. Even Doug and Janet had blurted it out once or twice, quietly, almost to themselves, but aloud nonetheless.

  The other shift had spent hours confirming they weren’t all being enmeshed in some elaborate and absurdly expensive hoax. All that Dr. Mitchell, his face grey with pallor and anxiety, had reported to Doug was two words. “It’s real.” Two words, nothing more. Mitchell had needed help from one of the security agents to walk back to his room. Their scientific skills, their knowledge and their professional credulity were being stretched to the breaking point.

  “The resolution of the images is not high enough to determine if there are aircraft contrails in the atmosphere, or wakes from large ocean-going vessels,” Doug said.

  “Would we detect normal broadcasts, if they have radio or television? They may be going about their business, unaware that we exist,” Janet said

  “If their normal transmissions are anything like ours, we’d pick something up,” Singh replied. “UHF signals can travel great distances through space, and the distance between Earth and FLO is not significant. Right now it’s a silent, mysterious world, at least until we send a specialized probe to obtain better images.”

  “If there was a civilization on FLO, it may be extinct,” Wilson said.

  Leach walked into the lounge and looked around for a moment.

  “Shouldn’t you all be working?” he said, looking in Jack Wilson’s direction, “or monitoring at your workstations?”

  Everyone who heard it turned to stare silently at the man from the White House, but Jack Wilson boiled over.

  “What the hell do you think we’ve been doing, Arthur? I’ve been glued to my seat, analyzing shore topography and ocean currents of what appears to be the Indian ocean on a doppelganger planet for five hours without a washroom break! Despite drinking a gallon of your cheap coffee!” He took a step closer to Leach, who started to look nervous.

  “I step in here for two minutes to discuss my findings with my colleagues and you stand there smugly reading us the riot act? You’re counting beans!”

  Wilson threw his metal coffee cup at the garbage bin. It bounced off the side and clattered along the floor. He strode out of the lounge, walking briskly down the hall. Singh followed him. Janet finished replenishing her water bottle at the cooler and went back to the station room. Doug stood by Leach.

  “Wilson will cool off soon. Don’t push him.”

  “Are you sure he’s up to the job?”

  “Arthur,” Doug said reasonably, “you just blithely confronted someone who has been working very hard to try and assemble the reality of what we’re observing into all of the scientific pigeonholes available to us. It’s not going well. Long held scientific facts are dying hard, left, right, and center. Yesterday the many worlds theory was discussed more in science fiction than in academic circles. Now it has more traction than the new tires you put on your wife’s car. Jack is dedicated, at the top of his field, and he knows his work. What he and the rest of us don’t need is a micromanager looking at his watch and tapping his foot if we happen to leave our desks. We’re trying to figure out something never before observed in all of recorded history. Something so implausible that its apparent reality is hammering the foundations of all our knowledge and beliefs. We’re doing what’s being asked of us and then some. Understood?”

  Leach hesitated a moment but nodded slightly and walked out.

  Doug returned to the station room. A new planet is discovered and we still have to deal with petty managerial bullshit, he thought. Unbelievable.

  – 14 –

  Five minutes later everyone, including Jack Wilson, was back at their desks. FLO’s rotation had provided satellite images of the Middle East and parts of Africa and Eastern Europe. Though the resolution left much to be desired, the visuals again showed evidence of cities, again in positions identical to those on Earth.

  Bahrain stood out from the Persian Gulf to the East and the light tones of the desert to the West, as did the upper Nile river and the wider slash of the Red Sea a bit further east. Wilson once more mused that what seemed to be the cities could be ghost towns, eerie reminders of a civilization long passed.

  The group was busy cataloging surface features when a loud warning klaxon sounded, startling everyone with its volume.

  “Transmission from FLO!” Foley announced. For a moment, there was stunned silence as everyone looked in his direction.

  “The equipment is working properly,” Foley said with a quaver in his voice, answering the question they were all thinking. “I’ve checked. It’s coming from FLO.”

  The data was being displayed on Foley’s monitor and on a large flat screen at the front of the room. Foley had the screen divided into application windows, each for a different data source. One window displayed a waveform, while another window rapidly scrolled through some alpha numeric characters.

  “My God,” Janet said. “Look at the code – it’s almost the same character set you’d find on any Unix system!”

  Singh slowly paced the aisle between desks. Doug momentarily felt light-headed. The situation kept getting more and more incredible. A signal. Composed of recognizable characters as its base.

  Brian Nayar spoke up. “This is fantastic! It’s a complex pattern. Can we tell if the signal is directed at us?”

  “Signal ended after twelve seconds. I’m sending the file to the room,” Foley said.

  “Can we tell what it says?” asked Wilson.

  “Not yet,” Doug said loudly. “It’s a digital signal, and it looks to be compressed. Dr. Nayar should be of help here.”

  Nayar was already opening the file for examination on his workstation.

  Doug turned to Foley. “No repeat?”

  “No repeat. Not so far,” Foley replied. “Just a twelve second burst, not unlike the first signal I detected three days ago. Only this time it appears to be stronger and more coherent.”

  After a few minutes Nayar swiveled his seat to face the group. “The signal was a binary cod
e in the ultra high frequency range. It was similar to our own digital radio broadcasts, although the code is an unknown design. We’ll need some time to decipher it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Wilson said sharply. “You’re implying the signal was artificial? As in, sent by intelligent beings?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re sure the signal is from the planet?” Janet asked, turning towards Foley. “Not from another country’s satellite, or from one of our own?”

  Doug turned to face her. “Stan said it’s from FLO, Janet, and he can’t be fooled about something like that. The software is designed to filter out any normal ground-based or orbiting transmitters. For this signal to be recognized it had to have come from outside.”

  “Yes,” said Nayar. “We have a high degree of confidence that the signal came from FLO. I concur with Dr. Foley. No question about it.”

  “Okay,” Janet said, “but why would they send a signal in code, and not repeat it? It doesn’t sound like their intent was to contact us.”

  “Unknown at this point,” Foley answered, “and I don’t even want to think about who, uh, they might actually be.”

  Leach had been standing by the door. He spoke with an agent, who nodded and quickly left the room.

  Wilson loosened his collar and looked over at Leach. “Shouldn’t you inform the President? What’s he doing while this is going on?”

  “I just sent word to the President. At this moment he is conferring with other international leaders. It has come to light that some countries, such as Japan and Russia, are aware of FLO. It has been decided that there will be as much sharing of information as possible between friendly nations.”

  The group hardly heard him. Stacey entered the room and spoke briefly with Leach.

  “Despite the character similarity,” Nayar said, “the arrangement isn’t familiar. The compression method is unknown.”

  Wilson leaned forward, looking at the spectrograph and binary code on Foley’s computer screen.