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Jake and Kevin sat at the conference table in Michael Konrad's office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The office was large and spacious. Michael's desk was at one end of the office, and the conference table, which could seat about twenty people, was snuggled neatly at the other end. The large bay window behind Michael's desk provided a view of the entire complex.
"This better not be some sick joke," Jake said.
"I don't think they would bring us all the way here to Houston if it was," said Kevin. But Kevin still wondered, Was it possible that Adrian was still alive? Perhaps, Adrian and his crew landed safely on Mars, but were unable to communicate with Earth and somehow survived.
"If your dad did survive, it certainly would be a miracle. They would have had to have found a water supply somewhere and maintained enough energy to support their greenhouse."
Jake turned in his seat and looked at Kevin. "If he did survive, why didn't we get a message earlier?"
"I don't know. Maybe their communications were down. We do know from the probes they sent to Mars after your dad's disappearance that the space station was still there. But there wasn't any evidence of the shuttle anywhere."
Jake hunched over and shook his head. "I don't know what I would do if he's still alive. I've already accepted the fact that my dad is gone, but if he were alive, I ? I just don't know."
Kevin reached over and placed his hand on Jake's left shoulder. "If he is alive, maybe they're planning some sort of rescue mission."
"But I thought after the disappearance, the government cut funding to NASA, and they were forced to just send satellites and probes into space. There hasn't been an astronaut in space since the Mars I crew."
"Maybe Congress approved money for a new mission. Who knows?"
Kevin and Jake both looked up as they saw the door of the conference room open and two men walked in. The first man was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. The man looked about the same age as Kevin, in his early sixties. He was bald and slightly overweight. Kevin immediately recognized him as Michael Konrad - Administrator for NASA.
The second man, Kevin did not recognize. This man looked to be about the same age or a couple years older than Jake, possibly thirty or thirty-one. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a polo shirt with the NASA emblem on the right breast along with khaki dress slacks. He also looked physically fit.
Michael Konrad walked over to where Kevin sat. Kevin stood up. Michael extended his hand and shook Kevin's. "Ah, Mr. Palmer, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's so good to see you. What's it been - over twenty years?"
"Call me 'Kevin.' It's good to see you too, and it's been almost exactly twenty-three years."
Michael chuckled and gave Kevin a friendly hit on the shoulder. "Always the analytical one, weren't you?" Michael then turned his attention to Jake. "And you must be Jake? Wow, you've grown quite a bit. I remember when you were just a kid running around this place. Remember?"
Jake shook Michael's hand and said, "I can't say I can, Mr. Konrad. I don't remember much about this place. I try not to."
"Please, call me 'Mike.' Yes, I understand. But we may have some good news for you today. Oh, but before we go on, I want you to meet Doctor Steven Hendricks."
Both Kevin and Jake extended their hands to shake Dr. Hendricks' hand. Dr. Hendricks said, "Please call me 'Skip.'"
"Skip here is our lead astronomer and physicist and not a bad pilot himself. He's also our resident priest," said Mike, as he and Skip seated themselves at the conference table across from Kevin and Jake.
Jake looked at Skip. "Priest?"
Skip gave Jake a shy smile. "I'm not actually a priest. I went to the University of Notre Dame. At first, I thought that I wanted to become a priest, so I majored in theology. But then I found out that I liked the ladies too much."
Everyone laughed, except for Jake, who only gave Skip a small smile.
Skip continued, "I then decided to go into Archeology with an emphasis in Hebrew studies."
Kevin questioned, "Hebrew studies?"
"Yes, I loved the scriptures so much I decided that I wanted to focus on discovering the truth of the Bible. As a result, I can now speak, read, and write Hebrew and a little bit of Latin, as well as Egyptian hieroglyphs."
Jake whistled and said, "Wow, you've got quite the resume there. And to top it off, you're a physicist too?"
Skip, obviously a little embarrassed, laughed. "Yep, I decided that I didn't like all of that digging, especially in the volatile Middle East, so I changed to my third passion, physics. As you can see, I stuck with it."
Mike turned to Skip. "Are you done bragging now?"
Skip laughed and said, "Yeah, I think that about does it."
"Good," Mike said, giving Skip a small smile. "Well, gentlemen, why don't we get down to business? I'm sure my phone call shocked you last night, Kevin?"
"To say the least. Are you serious about receiving a message from my brother?"
"Yes, I am. About a year ago, NASA received a strange signal. The mes-"
Jake held up his hand to cut Michael off. "You mean to tell us you had a message from my dad for over a year and you're just telling us now?"
Kevin gave Jake a stern look. "Jake, don't interrupt Mike. Let him explain."
Jake turned and glared at his uncle. "I didn't mean to. But if they had a message from my dad and your brother, I just thought that the first people that should know would be his family, not a year after they had received it."
Mike interjected, "We would have told you, but we had to be sure it was your dad and not some hoax. We've been analyzing the message for a year, trying to get rid of the choppy video that came with it and to decipher what Adrian is saying."
"What do you mean, 'decipher'?" Kevin asked.
"When we got the message, it came without any sound. It ? well, why don't we just show you the original message? Computer ?"
"Yes, Mr. Konrad," replied the computer.
"Retrieve video-file one, five, six, nine."
"This file is encrypted and classified. It requires your security authorization code."
Mike pulled his pocket computer from his suit pocket and punched in his authorization code.
"Thank you, Mr. Konrad."
Kevin looked around the room for the computer. Out of the corner of his eye and to his right, two cabinet doors slowly opened and a computer screen about forty-two inches in diameter extended. Kevin let out a small gasp as he saw the frozen image of his brother's face on the screen. Adrian had a gash on his forehead and was bleeding. The plasma screen of the landing craft, NightHawk, located behind Adrian's image revealed a green field of grass and beyond that, a forest grove of trees.
Kevin glanced at Jake. Jake stared at his father's image like a robot. He just gazed at the screen with a cold, icy stare. "Where is he?" Kevin asked.
Mike glanced at Kevin and then back at the screen. "That's what we have been trying to determine. There's no way that's Mars. We've also digitally enhanced the video to make sure that person you see there is Adrian. And from what we have gathered, it is Adrian. We believe this message is authentic and not some sort of hoax."
Kevin turned and looked at Jake. Jake just continued to stare at the screen. He could tell that Jake was trying to keep his composure. "Are you okay, Jake?"
Jake seemed to jump as if awakened from a long sleep. "What ? oh yeah, sorry. It's just that ? he looks like I remember him."
"Computer play video-file one, five, six, nine," said Mike.
"Yes, Mr. Konrad," answered the computer.
Kevin watched in amazement as the video played. There was no sound, but Adrian was speaking. Every five seconds or so, the video was interrupted.
When the playback finished, Jake asked, "Is that it? Do you guys know what he was saying?"
Mike turned to look at Jake. "That was the original video, the way we received it from wherever your dad is. It arrived without a
ny sound attached to it."
Kevin could tell that Jake was growing impatient. "What do you mean, it didn't arrive with any sound?"
Skip answered before Mike could reply. "That's just it. The message arrived without sound, which leads me to believe, and the other physicists as well, that this message didn't come from Mars. ? It came from somewhere else."
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, with impatience growing in his voice.
Skip explained. "Well, Jake. ? Can I call you 'Jake'?"
Jake nodded.
"Well, we received this message just last year, and as you know, the speed of light travels about 186,000 miles per second."
"Yeah. So?"
"So, if your dad had sent this message from Mars, we would have received the video portion of the message between nine and twenty minutes, depending on the orbit of Mars and Earth. But, as you know, NASA didn't get the message then. It came twenty-two years later."
Kevin interjected, "Wait a minute. So, what you are telling us is that my brother may still be alive, but on a different planet outside of our solar system?"
"It's possible, Mr. Palmer."
Kevin glanced at Jake. Jake shook his head and said, "I don't believe it."
Skip leaned on the table and looked directly into Jake's eyes. "C'mon, Jake. You're intelligent. Think about it. It makes logical sense. You know we measure the distance to other stars and planets outside our solar system in light years."
Jake looked up and met Skip's eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. If a planet is one light year away and if I were to travel at the speed of light, I would get to that planet in one year."
"Bingo," Skip said. "And we got this message twenty-two years after your dad's disappearance, so that tells us that he may very well be on a planet that is twenty-two light years away from Earth."
Kevin was stunned. "Not possible. Einstein proved through his Theory of Relativity that nothing with a mass could travel faster than the speed of light."
Mike cut in. "True. Skip has a theory on that very issue that he can explain to you later, Kevin. But first, I want you two to watch the enhanced version of the video that we have put together. For nearly a year, our guys have been trying to piece together what Adrian is saying by reading his lips and entering their conclusions into the computer. What you are about to hear is the computer's voice in sync with Adrian. We also edited out the video interference, so overall we got about a thirty-second video. Computer ?"
"Yes, Mr. Konrad."
"Play video-file one, five, six, nine dash two."
"Your security clearance code is required, Mr. Konrad."
Mike typed in his security clearance code again on his pocket computer.
Kevin watched the screen as Adrian's image from the original message reappeared. He just sat and listened to the computer in astonishment. Could this all be true?
Adrian began to speak, but with the computer's voice-over. "Houston, this is Mars I ? I repea ? oria's dead. We have crash landed on anoth ? anet ? has atmosphere conducive to our ? Cooper thinks that we may have gone through a w ? we know this isn't Earth ? tell my brother and son that I lo ?"
Kevin couldn't help the tears that swelled in his eyes. He knew the last phrase that Adrian was saying was that he loved him and Jake. Kevin turned to see Jake's reaction. Jake had a tear rolling out of his left eye while he tried to sustain his tough-guy, pilot bravado.
Mike spoke, "Well, Kevin and Jake, there you have it. From what we have concluded from this message, Gloria Jackson is dead, the crew crash landed on another planet with an atmosphere similar to our own, and they may have gone through a wormhole."
Kevin glanced at Jake, whose jaw was now taut as he continued to gape at the frozen image of his father on the computer screen. Kevin then turned his attention to Mike. "A wormhole? How is that possible? No one's ever seen a wormhole before. So, how do we know they exist?"
Mike smiled and said, "That's where Skip's theory comes in." Mike turned to Skip. "Skip, you have the floor."
Skip stood up and walked to the head of the conference table. "Computer ? retrieve computer program 'Wormhole Theory,' authorization code eight, four, three."
"Yes, Mr. Hendricks."
Kevin watched as his brother's image disappeared and a new image of the solar system came into view.
"I know that both of you are familiar with physics and Einstein's Theory of Relativity, so I'll be brief. I don't want to bore you with the details." Skip touched the computer screen and an image of the Sun appeared with the Earth and other planets in the solar system rotating around it. "As you know, Einstein established that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but he also believed that we live in a four-dimensional, space-time continuum. Three of those dimensions are space, and one is time."
Skip continued as the computer displayed a model of four-dimensional space. "You see this cluster of bright dots in the upper left of the model? This is our galaxy. Now, Einstein theorized that any fold, distortion, or expanse in this four-dimensional space continuum could shorten the distance it takes to travel to other planets and stars. He also claimed that anything that distorts this space continuum has to have a mass."
Jake finally spoke, "Like planets and stars."
"Exactly," Skip said. He touched the computer screen again. An image of the Sun appeared with the planets rotating around it. The planets looked to be spinning on something similar to a flexible sheet of fabric.
Skip continued. "Even though Einstein believed that we live in a four-dimensional, space-time continuum, our human senses have a difficult time imagining a four-dimensional model. So instead, imagine space as a sheet of fabric. And this sheet is made of a stretchy material like a trampoline. If you take a look at this model of our solar system, the Sun is in the middle of the sheet. Since the Sun has the largest mass, it creates the deepest depression in the sheet. As a result, the smaller planets spin around this depression. The depression that the Sun creates in space causes the planets to stay in their current orbits."
Skip touched the computer screen again. The model changed to a long sheet with several solar systems in various places along the sheet. "Now, imagine every solar system in our galaxy or universe on this same stretchy space material. Einstein theorized that only an object in space with a large mass could create a depression that would in turn create a wormhole."
Skip touched the computer screen and the model of the different solar system was turned vertical. One side of the model hung like a bedspread on a clothesline on the left side of the screen. The other side of the model hung on the right side of the screen.
"If you take a look at this model," said Skip, pointing to the computer screen, "space is like a huge blanket hanging on a clothesline. Our solar system is on the left side of this model."
Skip touched the left side of the computer screen. The model magnified, and an image of Mars appeared. Skip then touched the right side of the model, and another spinning planet magnified.
"Now remember, Einstein said that only objects with a mass can create depressions large enough to create wormholes," Skip reiterated.
Kevin watched with extreme curiosity as the side of the model with Mars began to sink in, and the other side of the model with the other planet sank in as well. Each planet created a deep enough depression in space that the two depressions touched each other.
Skip continued, "As you can see by the model, gentlemen, planets on each side of the space sheet may create deep enough depressions in space that we may be able to travel through them in an instant to other worlds."
Jake interrupted before Skip could go on. "Wait a minute. Are you telling us every planet in the galaxy or the universe, for that matter, may be able to create a depression deep enough to reach a planet on the other side of the galaxy or universe?"
Skip smiled and touched the computer screen again. Every planet on the model created its own depression. The depressions on each side of the sheet touched each other. "What I'm saying, Jake, is
that your father may have accidentally discovered the secret to deep-space travel."
Jake slapped his forehead and was about to curse.
Kevin cut Jake off before he could finish his curse word. "So you're telling us that it's possible that every planet in the galaxy or the universe can create a depression deep enough to reach another planet? That's what you're telling us, right?"
Mike laughed. "That's exactly what he's saying, Kevin. And you've got to admit, it makes perfect sense."
Kevin leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. "Wow!"
Skip continued. "We here at NASA now believe that wormholes are present near every planet in the solar system. Earth may even have its own wormhole. We just haven't found it yet."
"But how can you be sure? I mean ? where is the actual proof?" Jake questioned.
Skip and Mike looked at each other and gave one another a knowing smile. Mike spoke, "We were hoping you would ask that, Jake. Skip, do you want to show them the video?"
"It will be my pleasure. Computer ?"
"Yes, Mr. Hendricks."
"Retrieve video-file two, eight, six, seven, three, authorization code eight, four, three."
Kevin watched the screen as Skip's model of the wormhole theory disappeared and an actual image of Mars appeared.
Skip continued. "Three months after we received the message from your brother, we sent a probe to Mars. Using the technology that your company," Skip nodded in Kevin's direction, "has developed, we were able to remotely activate the satellite that the Mars I crew placed into orbit twenty-three years ago. As a result, we had feedback from the probe. Now, watch. Computer play video-file two, eight, six, seven, three."
"Yes, Mr. Hendricks."
Kevin watched as the video played.
Skip narrated the playback of the video. "Watch. ? After the probe activated the satellite, we were able to see through the probe's eyes. Now watch, as the probe starts its orbit around Mars. We edited some of the video for time. After a while, the probe stops. Look," Skip said as he pointed to the screen.
Kevin leaned forward to get a better look. The probe had stopped in front of what looked like some sort of ripple in space with a bright white, light radiating from its center.
"It reminds me of when you throw a rock into a pond and water ripples out from the center," Jake said.
"Yes," Skip said. "But keep watching. The probe stopped to examine this phenomenon, and then it started to accelerate toward the ripple, and then ?"
Kevin watched anxiously as the probe accelerated toward the distortion. The ripple grew larger and larger. And then, the video stopped. "What happened?"
Skip looked at Kevin and then at Jake. "That's it. We believe the probe got sucked into the wormhole," he said as he walked back to his chair and sat.
Mike looked at Kevin and Jake. "I know this is a lot to give you, but we have had our best scientists on this for a year and have come to the conclusion that the Mars I crew didn't disappear. They were, in fact, sucked into a wormhole, and may very well be alive on another planet on the other side of our galaxy."
Jake looked down and shook his head, trying to control his emotions. "But ?" He sighed, trying to hold back the tears. "But ? how can you be one hundred percent sure?"
Mike leaned on the table and spoke softly to Kevin and Jake. "That's where you two come in."
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 12