by Greg Remy
“I made one,” said Zoe.
“Zoe, that’s a bold claim.” He leaned in and a small giddy smile broke across his lips. “Tell me more.”
“Oh, you’ll love this: I used a dirty ethanol base for the vibrational catalyst. Then I synced the two counter-nodes. I hope you don’t mind but I used your working algorithms, along with some additions based off the work of Dr. Brahms. And it worked.”
Professor Kring took a seat next to her and sat in deep thought for nearly a minute. His eyes then rose and shined. “Of course! That would moderate the entropic fluctuations. Oh, you are a true genius Zoe. What happened when the signal loop completed?”
“I don’t know,” responded Zoe. “The experiment failed at 82 percent from attenuation. The computer was unable to construct the final outcome. However, I ran an extrapolation with inputs from your prior work. It was leaning toward a self-folding, resonant circle, tuned just as the theory requires. Could you imagine!? With the right tooling, it may be possible to get it to the 100 percent mark and keep it stable. Then once shrunk down, it would usher in the next generation of travel across the galaxy! Though at some point, you’ll have to explain to me how one slows down once in such a slipstream...”
“Eh, shrunk down?” the Professor inquired.
“Sooo, it was much bigger than I thought. I’m not sure if the theory needs a bit of updating or if my alcohol-base might have had something to do with it, but I’m guestimating the loop would have come full circle at around sixty million kilometers. I was working in space from my ship to keep it cool, but I had limited—”
“You have a ship! My dear girl! Captain, eh?”
“Yes sir.” She smiled back at him. “Made it myself.”
“Ah, Zoe. It’s been too long.”
Zoe pulled out her lightcard. “If you have an NFC interface, I can give you the info from my experiment. I’ve taken it as far as I can. Care to take a look?”
“Yes. Thank you, Zoe.” She could tell he was brimming with excitement, though his professional deportment kept it contained. Dr. Kring pointed to a computer console. Zoe went over to it, synced the data from her card, and returned to the seat next to him. “Zoe, I will be sure to mention your name on any paper that comes from this. This is exhilarating. Young woman, you have made my day.”
“Thank you, Prof, but that’s not actually why I’m here.”
“Oh?”
Zoe set the backpack on the table and opened the zipper. “I need help with this.” She extracted the triangular fragment of Origin-X. Dr. Kring carefully took it up in his hands, bringing it level with his vision. He murmured several things Zoe couldn’t make out. The Professor finally pulled his eyes from it and looked at Zoe.
“Well, I can tell it’s old. The stress marks along here,” he pointed to the exposed trilateral subsystem, “show me that it’s made from die-cast components. He rapped a knuckle on the relic’s flat top. “It does not contain Kapteyn. Let’s see, I would place this piece somewhere around 2100. Besides looking like space garbage, this might just have some value. What is it you are curious about?”
“Are you familiar with Origin-X, Professor?”
“Yes.” He held the piece up high, his eyes remarking its reflectance. “Do you mean to tell me you think this is a fragment of that vessel?” He observed her with that factorial dean’s stare.
“Dr. Kring, it is.”
He set it on the table and now gave her his full attention. “You do know that vessel has never been located? May I enquire as to where you came across this item?”
“In this quadrant, just a few days ago. I… found it just floating in space.”
He lowered his gaze. “I do know you Zoe. So, I’m assuming you’ve performed spectral and sparkler analyses on the object in question?”
“Yes sir.”
“How close were the sparkler approximations?”
“99.999... well it goes on. It’s a match, Prof.”
Dr. Kring’s expression eased and he became animated. “Well, well dear! I did not know you had become a treasure hunter. Congratulations. I see why you’ve come! We will have to confirm everything. Zoe, this may be quite a find we have here. You have come to the right place for such verification.”
“Professor Kring, that’s not really why I’m here either. I’m no treasure hunter, well not until recently, but unintentionally. This fragment... it’s... well, please take a look.” Zoe walked over to the computer console and synced the data from the Sparkler Test. Dr. Kring came over, pulled out a pair of horned-rim spectacles from his shirt pocket and began reviewing the data. Zoe could see his demeanor grow disengaged as he delved through the layers of data. He took up the seat at the computer and slowly scrolled through the plethora of recorded information and calculations.
Twenty minutes passed before the Professor finally sat back and nodded to himself. Without saying anything, he stood up and walked over to the door, locked it, and then flipped a switch, turning all the windows opaque. Dr. Kring resumed his seat and closed his eyes with a hand over his mouth. He seemed calm on the outside, but Zoe knew within him a great storm was churning. She would give him all the time he needed. He sighed, relaxed his shoulders, and placed both palms downward on the desk.
“Zoe. I now understand. Please, take a seat. I have several questions for you.”
Zoe did so. Suddenly, she felt somewhat uneasy and a low nausea crept up. What if… She near panicked for a moment. Could she trust Dr. Kring? What if he was in league with Pantheon Industries? No, Zoe reaffirmed herself. She could trust him.
“I will answer the best I can Prof, but I am at a loss as to what it all means. I take it from your expression, that I didn’t miss something; it is indeed… abnormal.”
“Yes Zoe. First, who knows about this?”
“Myself and my copilot.” Zoe then quickly added, “I also have a secure remote backup capable of self-distribution.” She was not sure why said that last part.
“And your copilot, do you trust him?”
Zoe thought of Darious and it comforted her. “Yes. With my life.”
“Okay. Secondly, and take your time on this one: how did you obtain this fragment?”
Zoe knew she must be careful here. Too much information of Dr. Earl Saknussemm could endanger the Professor as well as make him a cognizant accomplice. There was no doubt the less he knew, the safer he would be. “I have been working on a resonant fractal routine. The purpose was to... test a sort of teleportation concept I’ve been tinkering with. I was experimenting with quantum strings at the exajoule range and trying to elongate their nodes toward infinity. I was not sure what the result would be, but somehow from it, I now seem to be the owner of a genuine piece of Origin-X.” Zoe shifted her gaze to the fragment. “Prior to obtaining it, there was nothing around me. This wasn’t a quantum tunneling effect, as there were no special movements recorded at all. I don’t understand. Like, did I pull it from some parallel universe?”
Professor Kring lowered his glasses and narrowed his vision, apparently chagrined by her last comment. “I strongly feel further analysis must be completed before attempting to hypothesize on the extraordinary nature of this object and whence it came from. Zoe, please remember, we are practitioners of science. Jumping to conclusions too prematurely will lead us to the same pseudoscience phenomenon that plagued the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Thermodynamic laws always hold. Fundamental laws of physics do not break. All of these are filaments of indestructible, golden threads. Surely, we will come to an understanding of the phenomena at work here. Zoe, this wreckage is too important to be subject to preconceived notions, as they could cloud one’s impartiality. Clear your mind. Let cold hard logic guide you.”
Zoe felt slightly embarrassed. The Professor contracted his frown and added, in a mollified tone, “A piece of an ancient craft, lost for millennia, is right here on this table and you are right, the vibrational state of its constituents does not correctly correspond to that of their clas
sical counterparts. Considering the analyses I have reviewed, I can say that indeed something very special has happened to this material.”
“Agreed,” said Zoe.
“Good. We cannot yet determine where it has been or what forces it has been specifically subject to, though we do know this item is indeed significant. Now, let us proceed along the vector of fact. Your Sparkler Test has confirmed it to be from Origin-X. The elementary particles it’s composed of are all showing evidence of vibrating at a previously unknown stable energy state. There is something here like carbon, but it is not classic carbon. There is something here like titanium, but it is also not. I believe this is to the point at which we stand now.” He nodded to himself. “This is all quite intriguing. You were right to bring it here.” Professor Kring thought for a moment. “I’d like to run a few tests, if you don’t mind.”
“By all means Prof.”
“Thank you. I will, of course, seal this lab up. This is an exceedingly cultural and scientific find. Ah, you may have been right all those years ago; space still contains hidden marvels. What was that mantra you always recited?”
Zoe grinned. “‘Verve, nerve, and adventure.’ It’s from an old Earth-1 comic.”
“Indeed? Words to live by.” Professor Kring stared at the ceiling for a moment with a finger in the air. “You know, the last time I was confronted by a conundrum that evinced such curiosity was the Zeta-Prime Incident. Ever hear of it?” Zoe was about to shrug her head, but the Professor was already continuing on. “I didn’t expect so. Come, I will show you.” He got up and opened a door to a side room, within which was his personal office. It was in complete disarray with piles of papers stacked on piles of papers. It looked as if his whole desk was composed of countless wafer-thin layers. He shifted around piles and thumbed through folders. Zoe risibly thought for a moment, this is what my ship must look like to Darious.
“Ah, here we go.” Professor Kring pulled out a yellowed folder and flipped it open on the desk. “Let’s see, it was about 20 years ago. Time flies, as they say. The CF was testing a new experimental craft. Always better and faster.” He scanned through a small leaflet of handwritten notes and put it aside, revealing pages of bound content. “The craft was partially composed of zeta-prime plutonium, so it was exothermally hot, and they had been playing with the resonance of the ship, as a whole, at very large nodes. Sound familiar to your experiment? Anyhow, an incident happened. During a test flight, the ship became completely and utterly unresponsive. Even independent and shielded redundant operations went offline. The pilot died due to life support systems failing.
“A special team was assembled to assess what had happened. I was part of that little group. We knew immediately they were not informing us of everything, by the obvious fact they had called upon harmonics experts, instead of electrical and mechanical engineers. No matter. We were set to receive the ship at a CF dockyard but unfortunately the craft had been destroyed by clerical error.” He smirked at Zoe. “It was instead sent to a salvage yard and vaporized. Nevertheless, our instructions were to go ahead. We modeled countless spatial scenarios, attempting to recreate an event which could account for such a cataclysmic error, but we were never able to generate anything substantial. I believe the program was canceled after that.” The professor flipped over a page, dropping a photo to the floor. Zoe was quick to pick it up and froze upon seeing it. “Yes,” Dr. Kring said, “That was a file picture from just after the incident. The craft was entirely unmarred, save for two small circular ingresses near the port wing. Unfortunate. We presumed that was the flashpoint at which all major electronic systems were severed. It’s the only photo I have; perhaps the only one that still exists.”
Zoe stood up. “I have to go.”
“Oh? You seem startled my dear.”
“I have to go now.” She went back to lab room and slung the open backpack over her shoulder.
“My dear,” said the Professor, following her. “What is it?”
“I will leave the remnant here.” she eyed the piece of Origin-X for a moment and then looked at the Professor. “I have seen those markings before. Recently.”
A look of concern spread over his face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I need to get Darious and then I need to go.”
“Okay. Okay. Please, be safe my dear. I will update you the moment I get results in. May I assume your contact information has remained the same?”
Zoe pulled out her lightcard and typed in a couple quick commands. “I just sent my new info to your computer.” She gave the Professor a hug.
“Technology these days. Okay, thank you, Zoe.” Dr. Kring adjusted his overcoat and gave her a short smile as she turned to go. “Be safe” he said as she exited the lab.
“Farewell,” she said in a hushed voice. Zoe quickly made her way through the auxiliary hallway and into the main corridor. Her mind was racing. The holes in Captain Henry’s ship; they were exactly the same. What was going on? She thought of the fragment from Origin-X. Somehow, it was hiding within it some clue, some truth that was at the center of this cosmic quandary. She then thought of Darious, that epitome of humanity. She had to collect him and find Henry.
Opening the door to the auditorium, Zoe peered in, scanning for Darious. There were only a few students within and the tactful voice of a lecturer filling the great room.
“...a syzygy is the spatial alignment of two celestial objects around a central one. For all these...” he spoke on.
Zoe looked around, realizing it was the wrong room. She carefully closed the door and saw she was one lecture hall early. At the next one, Zoe quickly opened its door and saw the class had been dismissed and the lighting had been turned back up. Ha! she thought, spotting Darious at the base of the auditorium, speaking with the professor. The professor was sketching things on the board. Zoe made her way down the steps toward them. Indeed, a true epitome of humanity; curiosity and all. The instructor was explaining the finer points of theoretical wormholes and Darious was producing question after question.
“Good afternoon,” said Zoe.
Darious paused his query, smiling at her with sparkles in his eyes.
“Ah Zoe! Dr. Thane here,” he motioned to the professor who shook Zoe’s hand, “was just enlightening me on Einstein-Rosen Bridges. Can you believe the concept has not been touched in fifteen hundred years!? There is so much we could look into with the tools of today!”
“Interesting,” said Zoe quickly. “I am sorry to cut the party short, but we need to go.”
“Okay, may I—”
“Darious, please. Now.”
He evidently sensed her urgency and nodded.
“It was a pleasure, Dr. Thane,” he said, shaking the professor’s hand.
“Likewise. It is refreshing to see such an enthusiastic student. Come by my office anytime. Do you know where it is?”
“I am actually not a student here,” said Darious, a bit abashed.
“Oh? Well, I must insist that you do join us.”
“Thank you. Thank you,” said Darious, very graciously.
He shook the professor’s hand again and was still bowing as Zoe took his arm, pulling his livened soul up the steps. They exited out onto the Interstellar Mall, the dry heat now fully saturating the campus and instantly making Zoe perspire. She did not notice, no longer saw the verdant blossoms, or the passing, cordial students; her mind was laser focused on the task at hand. Zoe’s thoughts were already within her ship, establishing action items to force contact with Captain Henry.
Onboard her craft, Zoe straightaway took her seat, sealed the aperture, and began prepping for takeoff. She shifted in her chair, realizing she still wore the empty backpack and put it on the floor. Darious took his seat.
“Captain, what is it?”
“We need to locate and contact a ‘Captain Henry.’ In lieu of contact, as I’m supposing he does not leave his communication lines open, considering his hauls, we will need to locate him and rendezvous as soon
as possible. Darious, finish the preflight set-up.” Zoe tossed her screens over to his dashboard and pulled up her saved files of Henry’s damaged semi. She centered in on the image of the two holes on his craft and zoomed in. Exactly the same. Zoe diminished the screen and pulled up internal files from the semi. While synced with the ship during repairs, she had downloaded most of its digital innards. She scanned for any documents or calendars pertaining to the Captain’s future engagements. Bingo. To her luck, he had an upcoming meeting scheduled not far from them. They could be there within a day, hopefully in time to catch up to him.
“Zoe?” spoke Darious from behind her.
“Yes?” she said, reconstituting the most likely route Captain Henry would be following.
“I… I am very grateful for your companionship, for the places we have seen and the experiences we have shared. I would never exchange any of it, ever.”
She paused her work and turned toward Darious. He was already looking at her and wore the most beholden expression she had ever seen. It was heart melting.
“Darious,” Zoe said with manifest tenderness, “Anytime.” Turning back, she added, “Sounds like you already got a recommendation for enrollment next semester.” She could just picture the smile on his face.
As they left the planet’s ionosphere, Zoe pinged the communication satellites enroute to the planetary region where Captain Henry should be. A few moments after, she got a hit.