Dark Matter

by S. W. Ahmed

  Sharjam held tightly on to the Roxay, hoping and praying that his brother was doing the same. The ride was rough, with the beast swaying up and down with every flap of its wings. The high winds and flying ice trinkets didn’t exactly make things any easier either. But the wing base was offering him plenty of protection, and he also knew that things would get smoother once the creature had cleared the planet’s atmosphere.

  The Roxay was strong, rising steadily through the storm between the layers of clouds. It eventually cleared the last layer, revealing a deep, blue sky above, a sight Sharjam had not witnessed in over two years.

  At this point, the Roxay began to start its natural engine. This process Sharjam found most interesting, as little as of it as he could actually see from his hiding place. First, he heard and felt a deep rumble coming from inside the Roxay’s body. Then the rear part of the body opened up, revealing a huge exhaust vent through which a plume of fire and smoke blew out. Folding its wings, the Roxay suddenly shot up with tremendous acceleration. The wings were no longer needed, now that it had turned from a flying creature into a rocket.

  Perched tightly between the Roxay’s body and the folded wing, Sharjam tried to settle into a comfortable position, with his head held just high enough to be able to see past the top of the wing. The atmosphere was thinning out, and he now had a clear view of the star-littered space beyond. Afta-Johran, a star of moderate size, shone brightly to the left, showering its light over the ice world of Tibara.

  If only the warm sunlight could penetrate the permanent cloud covers, he thought, the climate on the surface might have been far less unpleasant. To his right, he could see Tibara’s nearest moon, and its other, smaller moon not too far behind. The nearest planet, Ureeba, was a bright speck above. Only 25 million miles away, it shone just a little more brightly than the far more distant stars.

  Sharjam wrapped another layer of his robe around his head and face, and with a brush of his hand magically made the section covering his eyes transparent. Aftarans required very little air in order to sustain basic life functions, and the amount of air trapped in the many layers of his robe would suffice for a number of days through empty space.

  As it reached the edge of the atmosphere, the Roxay folded up its tentacles and covered its mouth. It also sealed all its eyes shut. In space, it would rely only on its radar horn to navigate and communicate with fellow Roxays. It was still accelerating, to an eventual top speed of about 500,000 miles per hour. No other known living creature in the entire galaxy could even fly a hundredth as fast as the Roxay, nor could any other creature fly in space by itself.

  Where was this Roxay heading, Sharjam wondered, along with its two stowaways? It wouldn’t be nearby Ureeba, since that was a green planet with all kinds of plant life. Nor would it be either of Tibara’s moons – they had no volcanoes with hot rocks suitable for consumption. Perhaps some other planet further away.

  All he could do was to keep quiet and wait. If fate favored him and his brother, perhaps they would land on another world before the air in their robes ran out. Hopefully it wouldn’t be infested with surveyors like Tibara was. He doubted it would be. Despite all the precautions they had taken to hide their trail during their escape from Wazilban’s clutches, it seemed Wazilban had somehow figured out that Autamrin and his followers were most likely hiding on or near Tibara. Only that could explain the high concentration of surveyors in this area alone.

  Better yet, maybe they would be picked up by an alien ship that wasn’t Aftaran and therefore wouldn’t hand them over to Wazilban’s authorities. Maybe they could convince the crew to transport them to the Mendoken border.

  Sharjam silently uttered a prayer for his father, as he watched another surveyor make for the surface of Tibara below. He also prayed for the success of their mission. Now that they truly were underway, too much was at stake for failure to even be an option.

  Chapter 14

  Marc spent a few days as a tourist in the Mendoken heartland. While the Mendoken scientists and engineers conducted more tests and equipped the first battleships with consar travel capability, he decided to use the time to see the sights in the Mendo-Zueger star system. It was a very educational and eye-opening experience for him, giving him a much better understanding of the history of the Mendoken civilization and their way of life.

  He visited the planets Lind and Draefarel, followed by a brief tour of Kaurpa and Nees. He was even taken close to the giant Mendo-Zueger sun itself, on board a ship specifically designed to withstand tremendous heat. Different Mendoken accompanied him on the various tours, based on an itinerary put together by an assistant of Osalya’s.

  The most interesting place for him turned out to be the main Museum of Mendoken History on Draefarel. He saw displays providing graphic accounts of the evolution of the Mendoken species, from small, amphibious creatures in Draefarel’s marshes to the highly intelligent, mechanized creatures that they were today. He was also exposed to detailed accounts of the major events in Mendoken history. Some of the highlights included the following:

  The single most important event in history responsible for the existing Mendoken way of life was the Great War of Origins over 2 billion years ago. It was an internal fight, the culmination of a longtime conflict between the two largest nations of Mendoken, at a time when all Mendoken were still living on Draefarel. Not just a military confrontation, it was also a war of words and ideas.

  One nation ultimately prevailed, the nation known for its focus on justice, discipline and technology. Over time, all the national boundaries on Draefarel fell. A hierarchical, democratic society encompassing the whole planet was founded, and the Universal Charter was written to serve as the fundamental code of life for all Mendoken from that point forward.

  It was only after the creation of this Charter that the Mendoken really progressed into an advanced society. Shortly thereafter, they began traveling into space, exploring and settling on other planets and moons, and meeting other life forms from distant worlds. Within the span of a few hundred thousand years, they developed into the powerful, sophisticated civilization that they now are.

  The original version of the Universal Charter was forever inscribed in stone at the museum. Marc saw it, with several key excerpts translated to him by his tour guide. One particular inscription really touched his heart. It was simple and to the point, in true Mendoken style:

  “Be it known that our goal in life is not to compete or fight with each other, or for some to attain success or prosperity at the expense of others. It is to work together for the greater good of all Mendoken. Every one of us shall be cared for, and every one of us shall have a role to play in the advancement of our civilization.”

  To this day, Marc was told by his tour guide, all Mendoken followed the law of the Charter to the letter. There was no such thing as crime in their society, as nobody ever broke the law.

  Another memorable sight for him was the seat of power on Lind. Endless rows of massive black buildings that rocketed straight up into the sky made up the heart of the governmental city, widely spread across the gray flatlands that the planet was known for. He was taken in a high-speed vehicle that flew very fast at close range between the buildings, giving him a thrill ride similar to that of a roller coaster.

  The Imgoerin’s palace turned out to be a disappointment, nothing more than a simple apartment at the top level of one of the tall buildings. Marc wasn’t even shown inside. The Imgoerin wasn’t there at the time and, according to the tour guide, there was nothing worth seeing anyway. The Mendoken, as Marc learned, really placed no value on luxury or pleasure. Everything was based on function and duty, at every level of the hierarchy.

  Much to his delight, given his own preference for good hygiene, all the places he went to were exceptionally clean and tidy. They weren’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing or pretty to look at, just remarkably well organized and neatly arranged.

  On the fourth day, he was taken to one of the 300 space stations arou
nd Lind. There, he met up with Sibular, who was overseeing the first consar travel preparation of a battleship.

  Standing together on a platform on board the space station, they stared through the transparent walls at the vessel docked outside. Roughly the same shape as the ship that had brought Marc to the Mendo-Zueger system, it was larger and had more extensions around its hull. The extensions gave the ship a somewhat meaner look.

  “What type is it?” Marc asked. “What is the purpose of all those extensions?”

  “It is a Kril-4 battlecruiser,” Sibular replied. “It is designed specifically for large scale battles. The extensions you see house many of the weapons systems this ship carries. The one that brought you here from your planet was a Euma-9, a surveillance vessel.”

  There was a lot of activity on the platform, with many vehicles carrying goods into the vessel through the wide docking ports. There was also a constant flow of Mendoken traveling into and out of the ship.

  “How many of these ships are going?” Marc asked.

  “No more than three, since this is a first attempt.”

  “No planet destroyers, eh?”

  “That will be in a subsequent attack, if this one is successful and the enemy chooses to strike back with increased force. Planet destroyers are only used as an absolute last resort. So you are firm in your decision?”

  “Yes.”

  It had taken a while to reach this tough choice, as tough as the one Marc had taken not to return to Earth. He was now ready to help in the war effort in whatever way he could, fully aware of the consequences to his own home world if the Mendoken were to fail. If something went wrong with the consar mechanism while the ships were in flight, perhaps he would be able to help fix the problem.

  Marc also felt very comfortable around Sibular, finding him to be quite understanding and easy to talk to, more so than any of the other Mendoken he had met. As the de facto leading Mendoken expert on consar travel, Sibular had been chosen to be a part of this mission. That was just one more reason for Marc to tag along.

  Standing on the platform and staring out at the Kril-4 ship they would shortly board, the two of them were soon deeply engaged in a conversation on the creation of the universe.

  “So you Mendoken actually don’t believe in the concept of a big bang?” Marc asked, remembering what his tour guide on Draefarel had mentioned to him.

  “Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it is not that simple, Marc,” Sibular replied. “It is also not a question of belief. We do not really ‘believe’ in things. We acknowledge things based on scientific, proven facts.”

  “Very well, so what exactly are the proven facts?”

  “What your people call the ‘Big Bang’ was not really a big bang. It was more of a little bang.”

  Marc couldn’t help chuckling. “Okay fine, let’s call it the ‘Little Bang!’ But it was a bang, right?”

  “Technically, no. More of a vibration.”

  “Whoa! You’ve lost me now.”

  “It is a hard concept to understand initially, but the entire universe, as you see it around you in its 3 dimensions, is the manifestation of a single, slow and very long vibration.”

  Marc scratched his head. “A vibration that started as a result of what? And does that mean it expands initially, then contracts back to its original state?”

  “Think of this universe as one of many. These different universes oscillate against each other, some expanding as the others contract. Right now ours is expanding – it has been for the past 13 billion years. According to our current calculations, it will begin contracting in another 8 billion years. Depending on the expansion of its neighboring universes, it may contract all the way down to the size of a single atom, or it may just contract to the size it is at right now. Although we can fairly accurately predict the length of time a universe expands or contracts, the amount of expansion and contraction appears to be completely random. Even our most sophisticated computers have not been able to devise an algorithm which models the behavior correctly.”

  “What proof do you have that this is true?”

  “There is plenty of theoretical and practical evidence. Here is a simple one to begin with. According to your people, how old is the universe?”

  “About 13 billion years – what you said the time of expansion has been.”

  “That would lead to the conclusion that no particle in the universe is older than 13 billion years, correct? Whereas the universe is filled with plenty of matter that is older than 400 billion years.”

  Marc whistled in surprise. He decided not to ask what mechanism the Mendoken used to date matter, since he wasn’t sure he would even understand the explanation. Not that it mattered anyway. Whatever mechanism they used, it was unlikely to be so hugely inaccurate that it couldn’t distinguish between 13 billion and 400 billion years.

  Sibular went on. “What your scientists think was the ‘Big Bang’ was actually the beginning of the current expansion. In the previous oscillation, it had contracted all the way to the size of a single collection of infinitely dense particles.” He paused for a moment. “Another proof of multiple universes oscillating against each other is that matter consistently travels between them when one contracts and the other expands.”

  Marc raised his eyebrows. “Really? You mean you can travel into other universes?”

  “We cannot – we do not have the technology yet to travel fast enough to reach the edge of this universe within any reasonable amount of time. Although perhaps consar travel will change that, if it is legalized after the war is over. But we do observe matter at the outer edges of our universe flowing in and out of its boundaries, mostly flowing in as it is currently expanding.”

  “Amazing! You can actually see as far as the edge of the universe? What does the boundary look like?”

  “It looks like nothing, as if there is nothing but empty space beyond the boundary. But we know there is something, because only at the boundary do entire galaxies, quasars and other objects suddenly appear and disappear. That happens nowhere else within the universe.”

  “It’s not another silupsal filter, is it?” Marc said jokingly. He thought it would indeed be ironic if some other, larger civilization had placed the entire universe within a filter of its own. It would prevent all within, including the Mendoken, from seeing what really was outside.

  “Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. That is amusing, Marc.”

  “How many universes are there anyway?” Marc asked, his curiosity growing more by the second. “And how long have these oscillations been going on? 400 billion years?”

  “400 billion years is the age of our universe. New universes appear to be born all the time, while old ones eventually wither away to extinction after many oscillations. Our estimates indicate there to currently be at least 5.3 billion universes similar to ours. Those are only the universes that are in the same 3 dimensions as ours. Then there are universes in other dimensions. Those universes appear to have their own oscillation patterns as well. We do not know much about them, though, since studying other dimensions is forbidden along with consar travel.”

  “Does matter flow between our universe and those universes in other dimensions too?”

  “Matter cannot freely flow between different dimensions, because matter in our 3 dimensions actually exists in all those different dimensions at the same time.”

  Marc stroked his chin, trying to remember all he knew about string theory and higher dimensions. Now what he was hearing took that whole concept a step further. “You’re saying that everything in our universe exists in other dimensions too? In other universes?”

  “Yes, but those universes may not look anything like ours. All the particles in your body, for example, are represented in other dimensions. But in those other dimensions, they will not necessarily combine to form a replica of you. In those other dimensions, your individual particles may be spread across millions of miles of space, belonging to other, separate life forms or objects altogether.

 
“That is why it is so difficult for anybody to attempt to travel into other dimensions, because, in a sense, that individual already exists in the other dimensions.”

  “But just not in the way he or she would like, eh?” Marc grinned. “How many other dimensions are there? I think current string theory on Earth indicates there are a total of 11 dimensions.”

  “There are many more, actually. We do not even know of a finite limit. If we were allowed to do more research in this area, perhaps we would find one.” Sibular paused. “But this is what makes consar travel so unique and revolutionary, because it allows for matter in our 3 dimensions to travel through other dimensions in other universes, and arrive again completely intact at a different point within our 3 dimensional universe. It does so by maintaining a tunnel of our 3 dimensions throughout its path, never once directly exposing the traveling matter to the other dimensions.”

  Marc nodded, taking a moment to grasp everything he had just heard. Were there galaxies of universes like there were galaxies of stars, he wondered, and were there clusters of those galaxies and superclusters of those clusters? Not to mention all the other universes in the uncountable number of other dimensions. He wondered if there was ever any end, any final boundary. From everything Sibular had just told him, it seemed the Mendoken didn’t know the answer to that question either.

  So he decided to ask another question, one he hoped Sibular might have the answer for. “When did this all begin?”

  “When did what begin?”

  “All these universes, these oscillations, these dimensions? You said our universe is 400 billion years old. But how old is the oldest universe? When was the first universe formed?”