Empire of Stars

by D. W. Patterson

  “I think we are in the air,” said Dag.

  Another hour and what seemed to be a reverse of what they had gone through occurred.

  “We've landed somewhere,” said Walker.

  Their carrier started its motion again but only for a very few minutes. Eventually, the motion stopped and the rear of the vehicle began to open. Soldiers waved for the three to leave the vehicle.

  They walked from the transport into what seemed like a tunnel with low lighting. After walking down an incline for almost half an hour they came to a vaulted room where a wallscreen spoke again.

  “Let me welcome you gentlemen to your new lab and home. I am Bud 12-1010, your liaison, I will be responsible for procuring anything you need for your research. As you can see we have prepared what we believe to be a safe place for you to work. Please do not hesitate to contact me for all your needs. Now are there any questions?”

  “Is it really necessary to keep us in the dark as to where we are?” asked Dag.

  “Well Dr. Mach we believe the fewer who know, the better. Your description of how the Dhalkans set up listening links at your last camp has us particularly worried. So we have done our best to make sure no one knows your location except me. No one else knows where you are and since I will be living here with you no one needs to know. That's why I escorted you from the Inn, to have as few involved as possible. None of the other personnel knew who or what they were transporting. Of course I realize as smart as you gentlemen are you will figure it all out eventually, but I think it is a necessary secret for now.”

  Sigmund noticed the formal address.

  “I see,” said Dag. “Then how are you going to get us what we need if no one knows where to ship it?”

  “That's a good question Dr. Mach. You see this base has other uses as well. Any shipment will come to the base and not the project. I will fetch it personally so there really is no need for anyone else to know.”

  “So only you will enter this underground area while the research is ongoing?” asked Sigmund.

  “Well not exactly enter I will deposit any supplies in the cave and you gentlemen can fetch them at your leisure. You won't have to leave the cavern.”

  “Well, there goes my suntan.”

  Bud 12-1010 didn't really know if Sigmund was serious or not.

  Dag, Sigmund and Walker settled in. Their quarters were functional enough. They met back in the main area and proceeded to what the Em had designated as the lab. Not much there yet. Sigmund setup Dag's entanglement detector on the only table in the room.

  “Well the first thing we need to do is make a list of what we think we might need.”

  “Yes Walker that's true. But it would be easier to make a list if we knew how we were going to address the problem assigned to us.”

  “Dag did you notice the Em addressed you formally?”

  “I did Sigmund.”

  “I find that interesting. Usually, they as well as humans, don't recognize such.”

  “That's true Sigmund, but not strictly.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Anyway let's make a preliminary list and I'll radio it to Bud 12-1010.”

  The three spent the next week setting up the equipment shipped in by the Em. It was usually brought to the cavern by a load-walker which was capable of switching between road transport and, when necessary, walk the load to its destination.

  When they had finished the lab room they began to assemble a wormhole drive in the large adjacent area. High ceilings and a huge floor area were ideal for the device. From this room, they could open and close links during their research. Now all they had to do was decide what research they should do to meet the assignment.

  “So how do we defend against or eliminate the possibility of more attacks?”

  The three looked at each other but neither spoke.

  Meanwhile, on a moon of New Adowa, a conversation that would eventually impact the trio was taking place between two astronomers.

  “It was I tell you!”

  “You're crazy.

  “There is no way that a LINER galaxy* became a blazar* in a few months Leavitt, it's just impossible. You know the difference in light and radio output from the two galactic nuclei. LINERs are quiet, nothing, blazars are one of the most powerfully active galactic nuclei in the universe.”

  “Are you doubting my abilities Bell? You think I don't know how to use the equipment?”

  “You know what you are saying? That a low-ionization galaxy nucleus became a blazar almost overnight? You really want to put that in your report?”

  “If you'll back me up, yes.”

  “So I'm supposed to say that this galaxy went from having no UV, no far infrared, no radio, no jets and now has all these attributes. You're going to have to bring me more proof.”

  This conversation was only the first. Soon several more low-ionization galactic nuclei became blazars almost overnight. It seemed to be happening in several places in the Perseus Arm of the galaxy. Astronomers were excited.

  Ten to the twenty-seventh links in a cubic meter of spacetime. Five-hundred ten trillion square meters at the surface of the Earth and more as altitude increases. How could they ever monitor all those connections?

  Dag decided they couldn't.

  “Which leaves us with the only other alternative. That is to figure out the source of this threat and stop it if we can.”

  “That sounds a little dangerous to me Dag.”

  “I know Sigmund, I agree but what else can we do?”

  “I'm for running away.”

  “Me too,” said Walker. “We'll just use the wormhole generator to link us to somewhere else on Earth.”

  “Or we could go back to New Adowa.”

  “Right Sigmund, let's go back to New Adowa, we've been officially pardoned. We can start our company again but stay away from the Crab Nebula. What do you say Dag?”

  “I'll send you two anywhere you want to go but I'm going to Dhalka.”

  Sigmund and Walker tilted their heads simultaneously.

  The news of the newly born blazars soon broke out of the scientific community into public view, probably because it was sensational and could be linked to the Dhalkans.

  “There She Blows, New-Born Blazars Puzzle Scientists” - The New Gallan Standard

  “Baby Blazars Take Only A Few Months To Hatch” - Today's Headlines

  “Dhalka Aliens Blast the Cosmos” - The Truth Magazine

  Bud 12-1010 radioed the news to the three.

  “I know you three have been out of the loop as far as what's happening in the outside world so I've brought you some news that may impact the direction your research takes.

  “It seems that astronomers have discovered, more than one I might say, nucleus of LINER galaxies turning into blazars in an amount of time that seems ridiculously short. The astronomers are at a loss to explain this phenomenon.”

  “What's a LINER?” asked Sigmund.

  “That stands for Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region Sigmund. It's a kind of galactic nucleus that excites ionized gas and the gas radiates a definite spectrum that identifies the region as a LINER. We used to think that they were quite rare but now it is known that almost one-third of all nearby galaxies are LINERs.”

  “Oh, thanks Dag. So what?”

  “Anything within a few hundred thousand light-years of one of those galaxies is close enough to be in danger Sigmund if the LINER should turn-on, so to speak, should become a blazar and any resulting jet was pointed in their unfortunate direction.”

  “Thanks Walker. So are they close enough to us to be a danger?”

  “No Sigmund. None have been found by astronomers so far within a few hundred thousand light-years of Earth.”

  “But until we can determine if it's a natural phenomenon or not ...”

  “We should suspect the Dhalkans I suppose?” said Sigmund interrupting Bud 12-1010.

  The Em said yes.

  “Oh great,” said Sigmund.

/>   11

  It had been a month since they had decided to go to the source of the attacks, the Dhalka region in the Perseus arm of the galaxy. Only there could they see what they were up against.

  Sigmund had come up with the idea of disguising their spaceship as a small asteroid. Dag had chosen an asteroid for this purpose and by using the spin-two drive had been able to place mining bots on its surface. They had soon hollowed out the portion of the asteroid necessary and other bots had installed the equipment and supplies the three would need for their trip.

  The asteroid was unpowered since Dag had decided to use the spin-two drive not only for vast jumps but also for small jumps that would place the asteroid in the gravitational fields of nearby masses which, with a gravity assist, would give the asteroid the speed and direction required. If the method worked well it might be a new way of using the drive for local propulsion.

  Everything was going well until the project hit a snag. The Em Council had decided that they wanted a continuous link through which they could monitor the three. Dag argued against it since it complicated control of the craft as well as using additional power.

  “But Bud 12-1010 the added complications for such a link are a burden to the mission.”

  “I agree Dag but this came from the very top. I don't have a choice and neither do you. They'll just get someone else if you refuse.”

  “I don't think they can replace me and the others Bud 12-1010. But you are right, it looks like I'll have to make allowances.”

  “When this is over I never want to work with a governmental agency again,” said Sigmund.

  “I understand,” said the Em.

  At over three-hundred feet in radius at its widest and one-thousand feet in length, the asteroid looked a bit like a giant egg. They christened it the Perseus. Dag had decided to spin it around its long axis at just slightly less than two revolutions per minute. This would give an artificial gravity of about four-tenths Earth. Most fusion ship's crew wheels provided the same.

  Dag had to add more banks of isotopics to supply the additional energy drain a permanently open link would cause. To maintain proper balance he placed them carefully around the ring of rooms that circled just under the shell of the asteroid at its widest point.

  This ring of rooms was some fifty feet wide and twenty feet high with the “floor” resting on the reinforced “eggshell” outer layer of asteroid material the mining bots had left from their excavation. The ring was sealed from the rest of the asteroid which had been left relatively untouched.

  The only way in or out of the living space was by link. Dag had spent almost two weeks honing his skills by transporting raw materials and equipment into the ring. He had found that by evacuating the airlock of the Perseus and then linking a package on the surface to the evacuated airlock the package (and air in the room) would be pulled into the asteroid. He had gotten quite good at it actually.

  Anyway, Sigmund hoped so.

  “Now Sigmund I have done this a hundred times in the past two weeks, I assure you, you won't feel a thing.”

  “Ever again,” said Sigmund. “That's what I'm anxious about.”

  “Well Walker can go first and show you it's safe.”

  Walker who was amused at Sigmund's discomfort suddenly looked pained.

  “You ready Walker?”

  “I guess so.”

  Dag linked Walker from the Earth's surface to the asteroid which, after Dag had linked it using gravitational assists, was in an elongated orbit around Earth.

  “Walker are you in there?”

  “Yes Dag I'm here everything is fine. Send Sigmund through, I'm sure he'll enjoy it.”

  “I don't know Walker he seems a little loopy to me. Hold still Sigmund you don't want me to link just part of you through, do you?”

  Sigmund froze and found himself standing beside Walker in the ring.

  “You there Sigmund?”

  “Yeah, no problems.”

  Walker then brought up the spin-two drive installed in the asteroid and linked through Dag.

  “Okay that's it, all aboard and we are off,” said Dag.

  As Dag and Walker busied themselves with finding the link they wanted Sigmund spoke up.

  “I still don't see why we have to go so far. We can view anything we need to see through a link.”

  “We have to go Sigmund because of link mechanics. The longer the link the more its end vibrates. The more it vibrates the harder it is to get a clear picture of the other side of the link. The links from here to Dhalka are so long that it is only with the greatest difficulty that we have been able to monitor them. We are getting closer so that we can get a clear picture of the Dhalkans and the technology they have been using against us.”

  “If you had shown up at the tech briefings which we gave at the company you would know this Sigmund.”

  “I had more important things to do Walker like rounding up customers who paid so you and Dag could continue your research.”

  “We know Sigmund and we appreciate it,” said Dag. That seemed to end the discussion.

  “How close will we be getting Dag?” asked Walker.

  “No closer than we have to. A few light-years away should be sufficient and give us some anonymity.”

  They came out of the other side of the nonlocal link and Dag immediately opened a short local link to allow them to view what was outside. With the scope and other equipment online, Dag asked Walker if he saw the star.

  “Yes I have its coordinates.”

  “Okay, I'm going to link us into orbit.”

  By choosing a link that was at the proper distance and oriented correctly the asteroid came out of the far end and was captured in an orbit around the star.

  “Excellent Dag almost circular,” said Walker.

  “Alright let's get a look at what we came here to see.”

  “Walker have you found any energy signatures yet?”

  “Yes Dag but it's strange.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The energy signature is huge and it's coming from an orbit closer to this star.”

  “This star?”

  “Yes and not only that there are other strong energy signals further out, two to be exact.”

  “Okay let me get this straight. We have one large energy source closer to the star from than us and two farther out?”

  “That's right.”

  “How much energy are you talking about?”

  “There's a source close to the star with a power signature greater than ten to the sixteenth that of Earth's sun.”

  “You're talking about ten-thousand trillion times the power of the Sun Walker.”

  “Yes I know.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “Yes, and at this distance, it's essentially a point source.”

  “How about the other two?”

  “Their energy signatures are smaller and more spread out, about a hundred million times that of the Sun.”

  “We shouldn't be here,” said Sigmund.

  Walker looked at Sigmund and said, “You make a lot of sense Sigmund.”

  After arguing for some time with Sigmund wanting to leave and Dag and Walker wanting to stay Dag finally said, “This is obviously an engineered phenomenon created by the Dhalkans. We are essentially inside this machine, whatever it is, they have built. What better place to hide while we observe them.”

  This calmed Sigmund and he agreed to stay. Meanwhile, Walker had gone back to observing the energy sources through the local links.

  “Okay the inner source orbits at about the distance Mercury orbits the Sun and the outer sources orbit slightly farther out. They are on opposite sides of that orbit. Wait . . .”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “What Walker?”

  “The inner source pulses every few seconds. It's transmitting energy in the form of microwaves. The beam appears to be aimed at the outer source on this side of the star.”

  “Microwave can be used to beam powe
r over such a distance,” said Dag. “That might mean that the inner source is a power plant of some kind.”

  “What kind of power plant could have an output of ten trillion suns?”

  “The only object in the universe that has the potential to extract such energies would be a black hole as part of a super-radiant power plant*.”

  “That's right Walker. A rotating black hole and better known as a black hole bomb.”

  “Gentlemen,” said Sigmund. “I could use a break.” The others agreed. Walker left the equipment monitoring the energy signatures.

  “Now Dag,” said Sigmund as he sat down in what they deemed the crew lounge. “You were saying we are looking at a black hole driven power plant?”

  “That's right. It's the only thing I can imagine that could develop that kind of power output in such a small volume.”

  “You see,” said Walker picking up the explanation. “A rotating black hole called a Kerr black hole by physicists, can serve as a power amplifier. If you surround the black hole with a spherical mirror and then inject a small amount of radiant energy from a star at just the right angle to the rotating black hole that energy will skim the surface of the hole's event horizon.”

  “And,” said Dag taking over from Walker. “If done properly the radiant energy will be 'dragged' by the frame-dragging effect of the black hole's immense gravity around the hole and emerge amplified. The radiant energy is essentially extracting energy from the black hole. Do this several times and you can amplify the energy from an ordinary star to the levels we are seeing.”

  “But how does the energy get in and out of the sphere. Didn't you say the mirror completely surrounds the black hole?”

  “That's true,” said Walker. “But remember that the radiant energy is injected at a certain frequency and the resultant amplification shifts that frequency. Always remembering that as the energy increases the frequency of a photon of electromagnetic energy also increases.”

  “And Sigmund,” said Dag. “Just as radio waves can travel through certain materials while being reflected by others the mirror appears reflective at some frequencies and transparent at others.”