by Kevin Brown
Dutan, the director of The Institute of Military Science called for a meeting and asked the leadership to gather at the institute early the next morning in regards to yesterday’s incident. He mentioned there was a serious issue to disclose.
This was Taehan’s first visit to the institute, and as he approached, the rain began to let up and he was able to see the assortment of buildings on the campus. He immediately identified the building to the right of the institute as his destination based on the brief description he’d been given. It looked like a half-buried, tilted egg.
Taehan turned the vehicle smoothly onto the grounds of the institute and pulled up beside the egg-shaped building. His watch indicated he’d arrived early, so he walked leisurely up to the door and went inside. At the end of the corridor many of his colleagues were already seated in a laboratory-type setting. He also could see several researchers seated in a group near the window. Taehan moved to the back and found a vacant seat.
When the room was nearly full of researchers and Taehan’s colleagues, Dutan came through the front door and as he walked to the head of the room, faced the attendees saying to Daekhan, “Do we have all necessary members of the leadership?”
“Yes, I’ve checked to make sure everyone I contacted is here,” Daekhan answered.
“I am so sorry to call a meeting on such short notice, but I could not delay the delivery of today’s announcement since it is in regards to the appearance of Taebakun fighters yesterday.” Dutan’s fascial expression indicated that whatever he was about to reveal was significant.
“The institute has been privately studying how and why various aircraft from diverse universes appear in the sky over Hoon from time to time. The Taebakun fighters yesterday have not been the only aircraft to appear.”
Taehan shook his head, stunned at what Dutan was saying even though he recalled hearing rumors of unidentified aircraft appearing somewhere over Hoon. He looked at Dutan as the man began speaking again.
“There have been many aircraft in Hoon’s airspace from other universes that include Hanbau and Koman. Usually they were one or two, but occasionally they were more than three or four. They appeared and disappeared all of a sudden without a trace. While the public reported these occurrences on occasion, Hoon’s air force noted the appearances in the majority of cases.”
Dutan looked at all the participants. “The institute has tracked and studied the phenomenon for a long time. We have made remarkable progress in some aspects, and believe that the appearance of Taebakun fighters is no different than these other appearances. The number of fighters visible yesterday was considerably higher than at other times, but we believe it was because there were many fighters flying in the air of Taebakun. What was happening in the airspace on Taebakun became an observable phenomenon here on Hoon. The fighters were related to the war movements on Taebakun.”
Taehan felt suddenly dizzy.
Fighters in the air of Taebakun?
How are they related to the fighters in the air of Hoon?
Taehan wasn’t sure he understood what Dutan was saying, and as he looked around the room he knew he wasn’t the only one that was puzzled.
“I do not understand,” Taehan said. “Would you elaborate on how the fighters in the air of Taebakun are related to yesterday’s incident here on Hoon?”
“The bottom line is that all other universes we know overlap with Hoon’s universe,” Dutan answered briefly. Everyone in the room stirred, looking around at each other in puzzled amazement at Dutan’s explanation.
“Other universes such as Hanbau, Taebakun, Koman, and Kubaisen do not exist vast distances away,” Dutan continued. “They coexist here in our space, superimposed upon Hoon’s universe. They stand on their land, breathe their air, and recognize their objects. The fighters of Taebakun yesterday appeared in our airspace because of some superposition.”
Dutan looked at the bewildered faces of the people before him and then said, “Therefore, the aircraft we saw temporarily yesterday belonged to another world. Sometimes the atmospheric conditions are just right and a phenomenon appears in our sky that cannot normally be seen.”
“To understand this phenomenon, consider the atom, which is the fundamental particle of matter. I believe that you all know that the atom is the minimum unit of material, but internally, it is comprised of smaller particles and various forces.” Dutan looked out over the group to make sure people understood what he was saying before going on. “Depending on how these particles and forces combine, an atom can become diverse elements such as oxygen, copper, carbon, hydrogen, and iron. It is a well-known fact to the scientific community.”
It was a familiar fact to the majority of people in the room.
“The institute has found that atoms have various states that are not intuitively perceived by people. For instance, the same copper atom can exist in different states, but we only recognize one state because the other states do not exist to us.”
Do not exist?
Taehan kept his eyes on Dutan, curious about what he would say next to explain this.
“The institute manipulated the particles that a copper atom is composed of and observed that it disappeared by accident. This astonished our researchers, so we replicated the same process on many different kinds of atoms. The result was the same. We developed numerous hypotheses and assumptions; then, we repeated the experiments. In the end, we concluded that one of the many hypotheses is true.”
Everyone’s eyes were on Dutan, waiting for him to continue.
“The atom disappeared when it was manipulated because its state changed - not because it actually disappeared. We perceive it as no longer there because we only see atoms that exist in the same state as the atoms our body is composed of. The institute has been able to go one step further. We found that all atoms have various states. Atoms recognize and react to other atoms only if they are in the same state. “If we cannot recognize an atom it poses no danger; it is unimportant, for it exists in a different state – it does not exist to us.”
“Precisely!” Santan said. “The various states of the atom can only be distinguished in the upper dimension.”
Dutan responded quickly, as if this line of reasoning was expected.
“Dimension?” Dutan said. “The institute has studied this topic for a long time and concluded that the world we live in is one dimension higher than the world we perceive. Other people live in other worlds composed of atoms in different states. These worlds are all superimposed on one another, but we do not recognize each other. Each world steps on its land and breathes its own air, living in the same area with us. These worlds are Taebakun, Hanbau, Koman, and Kubaisen.”
Taehan was speechless after hearing Dutan’s explanation. Not only was it the strangest story he’d ever heard, but the sophistry broke the majority of the truths in which Taehan believed, such as that Hoon, Taebakun, Hanbau, Koman, and Kubaisen - and their universes - were separated by great distances. He thought that spatial distance between them would be meaningless. They were too far away. It was the pathway between universes that allowed people to move to and from distant worlds.
This had been the truth and the knowledge that governed the world. Hearing that Taebakun, Hanbau, Koman, Kubaisen, and Hoon were superimposed on each other and that each planet lived individually without perceiving any of the other worlds was shocking information.
“If this is true,” Santan said, “what is the pathway we are currently using to access other universes?” It was clear he was refuting the findings of the Institute of Military Science.
“The pathway does not teleport us to a different universe. It is just an illusion. The state of the atoms the aircraft is composed of, and everything in it, is changed spontaneously after passing through the pathway. After passing, it recognizes new states and cannot recognize its original state. This phenomenon deludes people into thinking they are teleported to a different world.”
Santan was at a loss for words and stopped speaking. It
seemed as if there wasn’t any good logic to refute the presented argument. Although Dutan’s argument was new, it did not have any logical flaws.
“If this is so, what kind of states do light or energy have since they are not atoms?” Sochan asked.
“Non-atomic materials follow the state of the atom that generated them. You can consider that the state of a material derived from a particular atom is identical to the state of the atom that generated it.”
Dutan continued his sophistry-like argument and the people in the room could not refuse to believe it since the institute had amassed an unshakeable history and reputation over the years. They would not say things groundlessly.
“Is there any existence recognizing the higher dimension?” Only Santan, who was very interested in the science, still maintained a challenging tone.
“We do not know that yet. However, personally, I believe so. If there is such a thing, it can distinguish Hoon, Hanbau, Koman, Taebakun, and Kubaisen in its way.”
Dutan looked at the small round table in front of him.
“Let me give you an interesting analogy. To help you understand how an entity one dimension above considers us, I will explain to you a world one dimension lower. People are familiar with the concept of space. So, I will give you an example by using the concept of space. Let’s assume that one entity living in one specific world cannot recognize up and down; and, they don’t know the concept either. If so, the world becomes two-dimensional. Like this.”
He lifted a thin circular board horizontally above the table. “This board becomes the whole world that it knows since it does not know up and down.”
He lifted another circular board and put it parallel to the first board. “Suppose there is another entity and it only recognizes the horizontal world as well. Let’s also assume that its world is the newly lifted board. The board above and the board below exist in the same space as us because we live one dimension higher than they do. However, they cannot recognize the presence of each other and consider their world as the whole of existence. They coexist in the same space, but each considers this space theirs.”
Dutan bent the corner of the upper board with his thumb. Then, a part of the upper board was gently bent down to touch the lower board lightly.
“If the worlds touched so, a superposition phenomenon would occur. If the upper world launched aircraft into the sky, the entities living on the lower board would see an alien aircraft appear in their sky.”
He unfolded the bent board and overlapped the two circular boards.
“The entities, not having the concept of up and down and cognitive means, cannot recognize the other world. They only recognize the world composed of atoms in the same state as them.”
Dutan looked out at the people seated in the room. “We live in a higher dimension than the entities of the two circular boards, so we can distinguish these two worlds intuitively by introducing the means to perceive up and down, both of which they do not have.”
He placed the two boards in his hands on the table.
“Now let’s come back to the real world. Hoon, Hanbau, Koman, Taebakun, and Kubaisen are overlapped to each other. But, people only recognize their world. An existence one dimension above would divide these worlds intuitively by using a cognitive means human beings do not have.”
Taehan finally began to understand what Dutan was trying to say.
“Based on this fact,” Dutan said, “the institute has been studying for some time how to directly move an object on the ground from one universe to another. We have studied how to move an object that is in a specific location on one universe to a corresponding location in another universe. If the research is successful, we do not need to go out of the atmosphere for intergalactic movement. We can move multiple people and large quantities of materials on the ground to another universe immediately. It will be the innovation of transportation. The institute has made significant progress through our studies, although we have not yet achieved what we aimed for.”
“Are you saying that a large number of people and supplies on the ground can move to another universe?” Chanman showed great interest in this idea.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“If so, can we use it for military operations?”
“Of course. That is why I called this meeting and explained this phenomenon to you. You can say that the purpose of this meeting is to explain yesterday’s appearance of Taebakun fighters and future military operations. It means that we can move multiple parantans and electromagnetic railguns to the desired location of hostile territory instantly. This is a terrible thing for the enemy.”
“We cannot attack Taebakun preemptively because of our poor air force,” Chanman said. “It is difficult to go into enemy territory through the pathway at the outside of the atmosphere without dominating the air - no matter how strong the ground forces are, but we may be able to initiate a preemptive attack if we take advantage of this method.” Chanman’s voice was excited, as if he had found new hope in the looming crisis.
“That is correct,” Dutan said, “but we still have an issue. The current research achievements allow us to move people and equipment to hostile territories, but it is not yet possible to bring them back. We are still working on this issue.”
Chanman seemed to struggle with something and began to speak again, “It could be terrible if we cannot pull them back. Even if we win a battle in hostile territory, the troops will face a terrible consequence if they are unable to return. If we cannot dominate in the air, they may never be able to return.”
“The commander’s statement is correct. That is why I consider the research only partially successful,” Dutan said with an emphasis on the word ‘partial.’
“How much more time do you need to complete the ongoing research?” Daekhan asked.
“I cannot guarantee anything, but I hope to have the results we are looking for some time in the next twenty days. We have made a lot of progress so far,” Dutan said.
“Right now,” Daekhan said in summary, “we must decide if we should initiate a pre-emptive strike using the results of partial research, or proceed later when the research is complete.”
“I think a pre-emptive attack using incomplete technology is risky,” Hanmoo said anxiously. His forehead creased in concern before continuing. “They will have to finish the war by themselves if they cannot return.”
“Let’s give the institute the twenty days mentioned to complete the research for considering a pre-emptive strike,” Daekhan said. “Of course, we should prepare our attack scenarios in advance. And Mr. Dutan, I would like to ask you to use full effort as you move forward with the research. Hoon’s survival depends on the results of the institute’s findings.”
“I will do my best,” Dutan said without hesitation, more to the entire room than in response to Daekhan.
Out into the World 19
Dutan dropped into his chair and slumped down after seeing Daekhan out of the institute.
He thought about Hoon’s situation and the schedule he’d promised Daekhan and now he felt burdened, as if the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders had grown exponentially and was seeping into the deepest recesses of his mind.
Twenty days was a tight schedule and he knew it would be challenging, so he had no time to waste. There was no time to be conservative when the planet was at stake. It was highly likely they would encounter unexpected obstacles in the process for that was the nature of research, but unexpected obstacles could cost them critical time. Therefore, the team would have to get started now and plan on spending all their time in the lab in order to have the best chance of meeting the deadline. The task wasn’t an easy one, but the effort and time they all put into securing the future and safety of Hoon would be worth it If everything went as planned, it would be possible to initiate a preemptive strike against Taebakun by using the transmission device. By surprising them in a raid, they might be able to eliminate Taebakun’s provocative actions permanently.
When they started the project of discovering why things were periodically seen in the airspace of Hoon, nobody at the institute imagined it would lead to a military operation. The original intention was to revolutionize the transportation system by providing pathways to private sectors. The institute had decided that the way to return to the original position was for the traveler to bring an additional disassembled transmission device set and assemble it at the destination for the return trip home.
The intention was good, but the idea didn’t really solve the problem. After materials passed through the transmission device, the state of the atoms had to be identical to the state of the destination. But one core component of the device always failed to change its state. Under the current situation, the traveler had to go to a destination without a key component. After studying the problem for many years, the institute had figured out how to solve this troublesome problem and reach the desired destination. If everything went smoothly, this long journey of research would come to fruition soon. In about twenty days, to be exact.
Suddenly, Ghil’s face drifted into Dutan’s mind.
If Ghil were still alive, we would have solved the problem long before now…
He felt frustration and sadness at the same time.
Even though Ghil had been young, he was the key researcher at the Institute of Military Science. He was the star of the institute. When he first came to the Institute of Military Science he seemed like an ordinary young man interested in science. However, he showed his amazing talent when he began to work on research projects. He easily solved many of the difficult problems that had been in the labyrinth for a long time. He also handled many new topics smoothly as if they were made for him. As time passed, his genius shone even more brightly throughout the institute.