Chapter 11
It took a while. Two years had passed before the Onochs found normalcy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dobria’s case became cold and was never completely brought to closure for the family. Sebastian and the boys had set up home on an estate near the first set of mountains. The Onoch Estate was more of a compound. Sebastian hired a full staff, consisting of a full-time nanny, one full-time butler, two gardeners, and tutors for the boys. Sebastian resumed his career as a physicist for the government. The position paid very well even though the work continued to be mundane and uneventful once again. The benefit was that it left Sebastian time to obsess over his passion for quantum physics, astral physics, and the cosmos.
Caleb and Balthazar had everything they could possibly need. They did not have the one thing they wanted most, though, their father’s love. Sebastian had filled his open wound of loss for his beloved wife with his obsession. It left his boys always at arm’s length. Sebastian muted his painful feelings by filling all of his spare time with the possibilities of new discoveries in the cosmos.
While muting these painful feelings, he also muted his compassion and love for his family. Sebastian was fascinated with Einstein’s research on wormholes and the possibilities of multiple worlds being accessible through such portals. Einstein spent years, until his death, researching the possibility that the Bermuda Triangle was a naturally occurring wormhole. The continued and growing obsession of Sebastian’s began to spawn grander concepts and theories. After work, Sebastian would come home, greet the boys, make small talk, and then retreat to his office for continued research on his passion. Sebastian even had a small detached office commissioned so that his experimentation could be performed without the concern of privacy being breached.
The office was built with untraditional materials for the time. Steel-studded walls covered with sheetrock and masonry brickwork was the foundation of his experimental lab. Bulletproof doors and shatterproof windows, these were materials that were not widely known in construction yet. To avoid any breach of the construction of the office, Sebastian acted as foreman and contractor on the project. Sebastian had avenues through which he could get the materials needed. The crew hired was screened personally by Sebastian. Every crew member was well accounted for on the job and in society. Sebastian knew everything about those that he hired.
Sebastian was careful with his work, his journals. He also was very careful to keep the boys clear of this part of his life.
Years passed. Sebastian was researching, exploring, and engineering experiments. Then finally, it happened. Sebastian had a breakthrough. He discovered a way to manipulate negative mass into an object, making the Casmir Effect a sustainable reality. He created the first traverse wormhole through the gravitational waves of negative matter.
* * *
I stop Ezra. “Wait a minute. When was this? 1960’s or something?”
Ezra replies, “Actually, it was 1965. While the world of physics was still a newborn, Sebastian was already years ahead of his time creating wormholes. It is mind boggling, I know.”
I try to collect my thoughts. “So, Sebastian kept all of this a big secret. He didn’t want to spread his theories to the physics world? Why didn’t Sebastian want to bring light to his findings and spread the knowledge to the public? He could have advanced the research of space by decades! Kip Thorne, Stephen Hawking. Sebastian could have been collaborating with them to create great advances in physics!”
Ezra shakes his head. “Yes. He could have. But at what cost? For the greater good of humankind? To explore beyond the edge of our observable universe? To find new life? To find different lives? Aliens? Worlds? How many? Infinite? Jesca, where do you think the line should be drawn for playing God?”
I have no retort. I am intrigued and visibly eager to hear more from Ezra. “So what happened after his discovery? What was this object that Sebastian used to create and harness the negative energy waves to create, let alone, hold open the wormholes?”
Ezra sits back and smiles. “Ah, spoken like a protégé physicist.”
I roll my eyes at his comment.
Ezra continues Sebastian’s story.
* * *
Sebastian coveted his experiments, failures, and successes. Keeping close notes on all the occurrences. He became more reclusive and secretive with his findings. He designed, engineered, and experimented on himself so that his findings remained his own. Sebastian realized that copper was the key to conductivity of electromagnetism.
We have copper in our bodies, but it isn’t enough. He worked to find the link to create electromagnetic radiation with the combination of copper inside and outside of the body through a mechanism, a conduit. This conduit would possess electromagnetic propulsion capabilities with electrons and protons moving at faster than the speed of light to create antigravity. The object as well as the individual conductor would both possess the antigravity needed to create the opening of a wormhole.
This object had to be very portable, which is what took the most time. He created the object, the Copula. The Copula is the size of a half dollar. The exterior is made of shatterproof material. The interior of the Copula has a very tedious design.
The workings inside resembled that of a clock; a copper disc shaped in a concave nature with a stabilized motor smaller than that of a black bean. Atop that is a spinning gear axis with two arms or rods with paddle-like discs the size of a lentil off-shooting the rods. The motion of the arms of the Copula are propelled by electric current from an external force. Once propulsion begins, the arms form a figure-eight motion. This energy synthesizes with the energy within the body due to the copper conductivity between the Copula and that within the body. The exterior force and interior force synchronize and become one large object of antigravity. The catch—synthesis can only happen with the body when it has an external charge. It needs a jump start.
* * *
Ezra is quiet for a moment.
I am on edge. “What is the jump start?”
“An electric shock. A small contained surge of electric current to set the Copula into motion.”
I sit back, creating a visual of how the scene of this surge would play out in reality.
Ezra sighs, knowing my mind was putting this together. “Beyond that, Sebastian had to will his body to release the energy within himself needed to synthesize with the Copula. This took months and months of study and practice. At that time in history, metaphysics was a practice in Eastern philosophy, so he had to travel to Asia to access a healer that could teach him how to harness his inner energy. He persuaded the coach to travel back to the United States and remain with him as an employee of his estate until their training was complete. The healer was honored and immediately took the offer. The healer and Sebastian trained daily to heal him of the sorrow of his wife’s passing and to combat any physical ailments in his body. Sebastian also trained to gain metaphysical abilities like astral projection and extrasensory projection. All of this training was superficial in the eyes of those around Sebastian. The true intent of the training was for his experimentation with the Copula.
“The object was initially worn by Sebastian in the first generation of experimentation. He created the object to be the size of a half dollar. As the Copula draws energy from the human that wears it and the human increases the release of his inner energy, it creates faster than light propulsion. The speed of the propulsion creates antigravity. In turn, negative matter is formed. That antigravity pierces a whole through this world creating an opening to another for travel, a wormhole.”
My mind is whirling. “He harnessed negative matter? My God.”
I can’t wrap my mind around how long ago Sebastian had pioneered this scientific miracle and how so many have tried and failed since then.
“Okay, so he has one opening. How can it remain open without harming him as he passes through?”
Ezra touches his chest. “The copper naturally within our body combined with our life force being expelle
d. We all have internal energy. That energy force within us is the other half of the equation of keeping the wormhole from pinching closed. We are the necessary ingredient to pass from point A to point B and pierce the fold in space.”
I ask, “And where was that? He didn’t know where he would end up?”
“Leap of faith. Sebastian believed wherever he ended up, his point B, would reveal his greater purpose. And the point B world was not like our world.”
Chapter 12
Sebastian took every precaution to make sure he was well suited for any conditions that he may encounter; extreme environments containing high levels of sulfur among other elements. Gases that our earthly bodies were not accustomed to. Sebastian had planned his travel gear. He needed to make sure his gear was portable. Expedition gear would be a good comparison.
Among the gear were two tanks of oxygen harnessed and attached to his fiberglass and steel protected torso and to the helmet that channeled the oxygen through the interior. Plastic metal materials made up the helmet for the unimaginable conditions that could present themselves in space. Yes, Sebastian was in a space suit, just as if he was ready to board a shuttle for launch. He would be able to breathe clean oxygen for approximately four to six Earth hours. He was aware that being prepared may not matter; he may never need those hours. He may never get to point B alive, and when he got there, he may never be able to come back, suffering a terrible death after the oxygen ran out. The leap of faith was great.
Getting his hands on this gear was a small, undetectable matter of pencil pushing that Sebastian performed regularly, due to his rank and status as an experimental physicist. Test tubes for collection of specimens, camera, composition journal and writing materials. Of course, the Copula, which he wore securely around his neck. Prior to his travel, Sebastian made the arrangements necessary for his boys, his estate, just in case he did not return.
The first time he traveled, he made sure it was in the middle of the night. His detached office on the estate was well suited for withstanding the possible noise and energy that could be emitted from this event.
Sebastian connected the defibrillator to the Copula. Within seconds of the electric charge, the Copula was in motion and Sebastian was experiencing the pull from within. Once the wormhole was open, it felt like every ounce of his being was on pins and needles. It also felt like Sebastian was being pulled. Kind of like the feeling you get when you wake from a good night’s sleep and you stretch to wake the partially atrophied muscles and tendons.
The travel time was quick, a few blinks of the eye. Piercing point A was a pull. Entry to point B was like a rebound effect. The entrance was such a powerful rebound, Sebastian blacked out upon landing in the world.
He didn’t know how long he had been out. The sound of wind whistling through a tunnel woke him. It might have been a reflection of traveling through the wormhole; he wasn’t sure, though. He looked around for the after burn of the wormhole, but there was nothing. The environment was only dust and gravel. The atmosphere’s air appeared dense and heavy. Sebastian looked up to find a source of light. A sun and moon were almost invisible in the atmosphere.
He had charted constellations for decades. He was familiar with the charted galaxies and moons that existed in our universe. His eyes traveled the atmosphere above, looking for any familiar constellations. The space above was whirling with a yellow-tinged gas just thick enough to hide any noticeable design of stars.
The temperature readings, well below freezing, would not support life on this hard, barren, tundra-like terrain.
* * *
I interrupt, “So it was a lifeless planet. No alien life?”
Ezra questions me. “Aliens? What makes an alien? Just that if the traveler is the foreign being? We are all alien in that respect.”
I nod once, acknowledging his reasoning. “Point taken. So, there was no sign of life?”
“Like I said, on the surface there was no sign of life. Subterranean life existed, though. Sebastian found burrows an hour into his expedition.
“The burrows were wide enough for a grown man to climb down. In the burrows, about fifty yards below the hard ground, there were open caves and caverns with springs. Sebastian steered clear of contact with the springs, unsure of the liquid’s composition and elements. Among the edges of these springs, Sebastian found plant life and fungal spores. They were exotic in appearance, a deep shade of purple and luminescent blue. Life existed in the springs as well. Below the crystal clear surface were iridescent green fishlike organisms.”
Ezra looks at me. “Can you imagine being somewhere that you want to learn so much about, but your time is limited? Sebastian was running out of time quickly. His oxygen level in his suit was already low, reading forty-five minutes remaining.
“Sebastian needed to move quickly. He collected specimens and documented his findings. Sebastian also brought supplies to construct a grander scale Copula to attach to this world.
“The Copula would be the tag, a homing device, for this world for future travel. The Copula around his neck and the Copula on this world would always be linked, a union with their own unique coding. All that remained for this expedition was the naming of this world. He looked at his left hand. Still encircling his ring finger was the gold band signifying his wife and his union. He named the world Dobria.”
Chapter 13
I take a sip of my diet Dr. Pepper. “Did he get back?”
“Yes. But he could not wait for his return to Dobria. After the first expedition, Sebastian spent days researching where in this universe he could have ended up. How far was he from our galaxy? What galaxy was he in?
“After analyzing the crystal-clear liquid the organisms in Dobria were swimming in, which turned out to be H20, Sebastian knew it had to be a world with earthlike qualities and elements. This only made him want to travel to Dobria again to discover other similarities.
“His return travels to Dobria were more methodical and calculated. With the programming of the Copula, he was able to determine the coordinates of the galaxy that contained Dobria, the Andromeda galaxy. He had programmed a link between the Copula in Dobria and the Copula he wore so that the wormhole would be controlled for consistent travel. Sebastian spent days at a time in the new world. Days in Dobria were weeks on Earth; properties of time differed so radically. Consequently, Sebastian’s body began to adapt to the alteration of time. The more frequently he traveled to Dobria, the longer the stays, the less he would age. Other alterations began to take hold. Along with the new environment he was studying and the multiple organisms that were being discovered on Dobria, Sebastian was experiencing physical and metaphysical alterations within himself.”
I interrupt with a snicker. “Like what? Could he levitate and read minds?”
Ezra chuckles. “Yes, among other capabilities.”
My sly smile turns stiff quickly, remembering my own recently acquired capabilities.
Ezra continues, “His physical strength increased as well. This prompted Sebastian to start testing his blood after every travel to and from Dobria. The level of copper in his blood was increasing after every trip. The rising level was not toxic. It did explain the advantageous capabilities that Sebastian was gaining as the level of copper increased within his body.”
For a moment, I consider my experiences of speed and strength while running in the woods last week.
Why would my levels be heightened, though?
I put that thought in the far corner of my mind. I don’t know if I did it out of pure denial or overwhelming fear.
I question Ezra, “How was he getting increased levels of copper in his bloodstream?”
Ezra replies, “Sebastian discovered that the more connected his body became to the Copula, the more smooth the entrance and exit from the wormhole. He decided that a second generation Copula needed to be engineered as an implant. A battery would be inaccessible and unnecessary upon implantation.”
Ezra blows out his lower lip and tousles h
is hair; a small idiosyncrasy that clued me in that his stress level was increasing.
Ezra knows my question before I ask.
How would he use the defibrillator to start the Copula then?
I suck in my breath, realizing what Sebastian was doing.
Oh!
“He electrocuted himself!”
Ezra leans forward in his seat. “Well, yes and no. Think of the second generation Copula in terms of a modern-day pacemaker that needs to be charged at times. All of his vitals were monitored as a safety precaution. The charge initiated the electromagnetic propulsion in the Copula. His body only reacted to the Copula, not the charge. The Copula’s release and synthesis with Sebastian’s body was much greater with this generation. It also increased the Copula’s release of copper residue into Sebastian’s body after each travel, thus the increase of copper within him.”
Ezra leans back in his seat. “Sebastian knew he needed more minds to filter through the immense amount of discoveries he had encountered up to this point. He handpicked close and trusted colleagues and associates he had known for years to begin traveling with him. These colleagues needed to have respect for the necessary balance of science, humanity, spirituality and nature.
“Sebastian wanted a variety of associates to explore, discover, analyze, and develop Dobria. The list included biologists, botanists, geologists, and scientific engineers just to name a few of the credentials. He also made sure the people he had chosen were agreeable to the inevitable plan, which was to eventually live, develop, and fully experience the superior capabilities and advantages that came with living there. Only those that agreed to the plan were implanted with the Copula.”
Piercing The Fold Page 6