The Dark Freeze

by Peter Gregory

  ‘As the play unfolded, dance music was interrupted a number of times by fake news bulletins reporting that a ‘‘huge flaming object’’ had dropped on a farm near Grovers Mill, New Jersey. As listeners sat on the edge of their seats, actors playing news announcers described the landing of an invasion force from Mars and the subsequent destruction of the United States. The broadcast did contain an explanation that it was a radio play, but if the listeners missed the brief explanation at the beginning, the next one didn’t arrive until 40 minutes into the play. The broadcast was so realistic that a large proportion of the listeners thought they were hearing an actual news account of an invasion from Mars. And panicked. People packed the roads trying to flee the city, barricaded themselves into their homes, hid in cellars, loaded their guns, even wrapped wet towels around their heads as protection against Martian poison gas, in an attempt to defend themselves against the aliens. We don’t want to precipitate anything like that,’ concluded the President.

  ‘That’s really very interesting,’ said Liz, enthralled by the story but amazed how gullible some people were.

  As the meeting progressed, the scientists pushed for more time, a week, two weeks, to obtain more information. More information on the propulsion devices. More information on the sensing and transmitting devices. More information on trying to find the origin of the meteorites. And more information on the encrypted signals. More time to try and crack the code. The code that was proving so difficult to break.

  Throughout the meeting, one question was at the back of everyone’s minds. Nagging away. One question that kept coming back to haunt them. Why, if the aliens were trying to make contact, was the signal so difficult to decipher? Surely, they’d have made it as easy as possible to understand. Their language would be incomprehensible but the language of science wouldn’t. It’s universal: the same throughout the Universe. The only universal language. Surely, they’d have used that. The structure of the hydrogen atom, the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe and the fuel for all the stars. The structure of water, one of the simplest molecules and one essential for life. Mathematical equations. Drawings of galaxies. Drawings of themselves. But they couldn’t find any of those, only extremely complicated algorithms. Why? Rather than being easy to decode, the signals were exactly the opposite, as if they weren’t meant to be decoded. To be understood. It was both puzzling and worrying, as if they concealed some sinister, Machiavellian message.

  In the end, a compromise was reached. The scientists would be allowed one week to conduct further tests. One week and one week only. Then, the discovery would be made public.

  11

  Leaks

  Now their secret was out, at least to the governments of Britain and America, Viv and Carl took the decision to have the meteorites examined at specialist laboratories using their countries top experts. This was in no way a reflection on the efforts of either team – both had done really well – but rather to get results quickly. Time was of the essence. One week wasn’t long at all to perform a thorough examination of a complex meteorite.

  ‘Our first impressions,’ said Professor Myles Lockhart to the small gathering of scientists sat in the meeting room of the Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre (IARC) of Imperial College, London, ‘is that your intact meteorite resembles a stony-iron mesosiderite and the pulverised one a stony chondrite, although both are harder and more dense than normal.’

  ‘Come again,’ said Viv, looking utterly confused. ‘You’ve lost me. Completely.’

  ‘And me,’ said Liz.

  ‘Me too,’ said Rupert.

  Frank’s response was different but far more perceptive. He also hadn’t the foggiest idea what a stony-iron mesosiderite was, or a stony chondrite, but he grasped the significance of what Myles had said. ‘You mean the two pear-shaped meteorites from the Arctic belong to different classes?’

  ‘The preliminary findings seem to suggest that, yes,’ replied Myles. He paused, looked at the four scientists from Jodrell Bank, and smiled. ‘I thought you might not be au fait with the intricacies of meteorite classification,’ he said, ‘so, before I go on, I think it’s best if I give you a brief explanation of the types of meteorites and their structures.’

  Viv had chosen the Department of Materials at the IARC to conduct the analyses but had insisted that a handful of other leading experts from around the UK (United Kingdom) be invited, experts in molecular engineering, propulsion, nuclear energy, chemistry and telecommunications, as well as himself, Frank, Rupert and Liz. He realised the risks. More people meant more chance of a leak, especially with news as hot as this, so he made it abundantly clear to everyone present that what he was about to tell them was of the utmost secrecy. Of the highest national security. Not a single word must leave the building. Satisfied that he’d rammed home the secrecy aspect, he then explained what they’d found and what they thought it might be. Now, he concluded, they needed some expert opinions as to whether they were right.

  His counterpart in the US, Carl Ryan, had done the same thing, choosing the NASA/Johnson Space Center at Houston as the base for their analyses.

  Professor Myles Lockhart surveyed his audience, the four scientists from Jodrell Bank and the five experts from around the UK, before continuing. ‘I’ll assume you know nothing, or very little, about meteorites,’ he said, deliberately looking at Viv, Frank, Rupert and Liz, ‘and start at the beginning.’

  ‘A good assumption,’ thought Liz, ‘at least in my case.’

  ‘You can tell the difference between a meteor and a meteorite as they travel through the Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites are generally much brighter than meteors, and look bigger. For these reasons, they are often referred to as fireballs.’

  Liz’s face lit up. ‘That explains why the meteorite that hit my house looked so big, because it was a fireball,’ she said excitedly.

  Myles looked at her and nodded. ‘That’s right,’ he said, then added, ‘it must have been a frightening experience.’

  ‘It was,’ said Liz. ‘Frightening yet… exhilarating too.’

  ‘It’s from these fireballs that most meteorites of measurable size originate,’ continued Myles.

  ‘Excuse my ignorance,’ said Rupert, ‘but what kind of sizes are we talking about.’

  ‘The size of meteorites varies from microscopic to very large,’ replied Myles. ‘Most recovered meteorites measure between two inches and two feet in diameter, but the largest one is still in the ground in South Africa because it was too large to move.’

  ‘When does a… No, it doesn’t matter,’ said Frank. ‘Please continue.’ He was going to ask at what size a meteorite became an asteroid, but decided there wouldn’t be a definitive answer.

  ‘Recovered meteorites fall into two classes, fall and find. A fall is when a meteorite is actually observed as it falls to Earth, for example when it lands on the roof of a house or in the backyard. A find is when someone stumbles across a strange looking rock but didn’t see it fall to Earth.’

  ‘So the one that hit my house was a fall,’ interjected Liz, ‘and the ones we found in the Arctic were finds.’

  ‘That’s correct,’ said Myles. Continuing, he said, ‘Meteorites consist of varying amounts of nickel-iron alloys, silicates, sulphides and several other minor phases. They are classified into three main groups based on their mineral compositions.

  ‘Iron meteorites can contain as much as 90 per cent iron, together with some nickel, combined with non-metallic phases and sulphide ores. They are characterised by the presence of two nickel-iron alloys: kanacite and taenite. They are very dense and non-porous, being 3.5 times heavier than most comparably sized Earth rocks.

  ‘Iron meteorites have a dark brown surface, the fusion crust, but silvery-coloured interiors. Their surface is fluted or scalloped, like thumbprints pressed into wet clay, an effect produced by ablation – severe frictional heating of the sur
face, but not the interior – of the meteorite as it plunged through the Earth’s atmosphere.’

  ‘But the one in my garden had a black, cinder-like surface,’ said Liz, looking puzzled.

  ‘That’s because it had only just fallen from the sky,’ replied Myles. ‘Recently fallen meteorites usually have a black ‘‘ash-like’’ crust on their surface, evidence of their flaming passage through the Earth’s atmosphere. After several years of exposure on the Earth’s surface, it weathers to a rusty brown and then disappears altogether.’

  ‘I see,’ said Liz. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘These meteorites are well-known because the iron metal often crystallises in criss-crossing plates, known as a Widmanstatten pattern after the name of an Austrian count who was one of the first to describe them. However, this pattern is not really evident unless the meteorites have been chemically etched in the laboratory.

  ‘Often, people mistake terrestrial magnetite for iron meteorites because it is heavy compared to most other terrestrial rocks and has a black to purplish-brown surface similar to the fusion crust of an iron meteorite. However, samples of terrestrial magnetite also have black to purplish interiors, in contrast to the silver-coloured interiors of iron meteorites,’ concluded Myles.

  ‘But none of our two pear-shaped meteorites are iron meteorites, are they?’ said Frank.

  ‘No, they’re not,’ replied Myles. ‘But I included them for the sake of completeness. And because it was an iron meteorite that hit Liz’s house.

  ‘The second class of meteorites,’ continued Myles, ‘are the stony-irons. These consist of approximately equal amounts of nickel-iron alloy and silicate minerals. It’s best to visualise them as small pieces of stone fixed in a body of iron.

  ‘Stony-irons are divided into two sub-groups, the pallasites and mesosiderites. The pallasite group is characterised by olivine – magnesium orthosilicate – crystals surrounded by a nickel-iron structure which forms a continuous enclosing network around the silicate portion.

  ‘The mesosiderites consist mainly of pagioclase and pyroxene silicates in the form of heterogeneous aggregates intermixed with the metal alloy. Unlike the pallasites, no distinct separation is apparent between the metal and silicate phases. As I mentioned at the beginning, we think your intact meteorite is a stony-iron mesosiderite.’

  ‘I don’t know about you,’ chimed in Viv, finding it all a bit heavy going, ‘but I’m starving. I think now’s a good time to break for lunch. It gives us time to, er, pardon the pun, digest what you’ve said.’

  ‘Aren’t you surprised the two meteorites containing the alien artefacts belong to different classes?’ Viv said to Frank, forking another chunk of sausage and mash into his mouth.

  ‘I am,’ replied Frank, swallowing a mouthful of tea, ‘but I’m even more surprised by the change in the relationship between Liz and Rupert. They’ve gone from arch enemies to bosom buddies in the space of a week! I just don’t understand it.’

  ‘I was going to mention that,’ said Viv. ‘Everyone’s talking about it. And have you noticed he calls her Liz too, not Beth,’ he said, glancing across the canteen towards the two young people sat in the corner. Two young people in earnest conversation. Two young people who, until a week ago, fought like cat and dog. Two young people who apparently hated each other. The transformation in their relationship was simply amazing.

  ‘Do you… do you think they’re in love?’ asked Viv. ‘You know, like opposites attract. A rich, well-educated ‘’posh’’ boy and a working-class girl made good sort of thing. It happens, you know.’

  Frank almost choked on his mouthful of gammon and egg. ‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ he said, ‘but something’s triggered a dramatic change in their relationship. I think it’s the excitement of discovering the alien artefacts that’s brought them together. Anyway, Liz already has a boyfriend, hasn’t she?’

  ‘Yes she has,’ said Viv, his voice betraying his disappointment, ‘but they don’t seem to see each other very much. It would be nice if they were in love,’ he said wistfully.

  ‘Come on, you old romantic,’ said Frank, gulping down the last dregs of his tea. ‘Let’s get back to the meeting room.’

  At 55 years of age, Frank had seen it all. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. He’d known Viv for over 20 years, first as a colleague and later as a friend, a very good friend. Friends who felt comfortable in each other’s company. Friends who respected and trusted each other. Friends who could be frank and honest with each other. Frank’s level, calm, approachable, easy-going, some would say laid back, manner made him the magnet of the group. The uncle who listened to everyone’s problems. The practical, down-to-earth uncle who kept everyone’s feet on the ground. The glue who held them all together.

  Myles waited for the audience to settle down before continuing. ‘The third and final class of meteorites are the stony meteorites. They’re not as obvious as the iron meteorites because they resemble Earth rocks, especially basalt, in their appearance and composition, although their density is slightly higher, 1.5 times higher to be precise. They are the most abundant of the three groups.’

  ‘How do you know if a rock is basalt or a stony meteorite?’ asked Rupert.

  ‘By the nickel content,’ replied Myles. ‘Earth rocks such as basalt have either very small or very large amounts of nickel, but in stony meteorites, the nickel content falls within a very specific range.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Rupert.

  ‘Stony meteorites are composed mainly of silicates with small amounts of a nickel-iron alloy,’ continued Myles, ‘which appear as small fragments within the surrounding rocky material and which are readily seen when a chip is broken off. They have the greatest variety in composition, colour and structure. One particular structural feature, called chondrules, divides the group into two sub-groups, the chondrites – those with chondrules – and the achondrites – those without chondrules.’

  ‘Excuse me again,’ said Rupert, ‘but what exactly is a chondrule?’

  ‘A chondrule,’ answered Myles, ‘is a small, spherical drop of solidified silicate ranging in size from fractions of a millimetre to several millimetres. Many scientists believe they represent the most primitive material in the solar system.’

  ‘And you think the pulverised meteorite is a stony chondrite, right?’ gushed Liz.

  ‘As I said at the start, that’s what our preliminary findings suggest, although it’s much harder and more dense than all the other stony chondrites we’ve examined.’

  ‘What puzzles me,’ said Viv, scratching his head, ‘is why the two meteorites belong to different classes? Why go to the trouble of sending two different types? Surely it would have been easier to send two of the same type.’

  ‘It could be to confuse us. To make us more likely to think they’re natural meteorites,’ said Rupert.

  ‘Either that or there’s a technical reason,’ said Frank. ‘Perhaps one type is better for propulsion and the other for transmitting.’

  ‘We’ll bear that in mind,’ said Myles, ‘as we carry out the analyses.’

  ‘I’m still fascinated by their shape,’ said Liz. ‘Why pear-shaped? None of the natural meteorites we found were pear-shaped.’

  ‘Meteorites come in a great variety of shapes,’ said Myles. ‘They’re seldom round, but angular fragments that are very irregular in appearance. During their flight through the atmosphere, some are tapered to a conical shape but I don’t know of any that are pear-shaped. Most are split into fragments. In carbonaceous meteorites, the intense heat and pressure can transform the meteoritic graphite into minute diamonds!’

  ‘Wow! I wouldn’t mind finding a few of those in my garden,’ exclaimed Liz.

  ‘I think we’d all like to find one of those,’ said Myles with a smile. ‘Unfortunately, they’re pretty rare.’

  ‘But why pear-shaped?’ repeated Liz.

 
‘Perhaps that’s the best shape to house the propulsion system and the transmission device,’ said Viv, speaking aloud the first thoughts that came into his head.

  ‘Or it’s the best compromise for travelling through interstellar space and the Earth’s atmosphere,’ added Frank.

  The meeting continued a while longer but no new information emerged. ‘I think we should call it a day,’ said Myles, scanning the tired faces of the people in the room, ‘and sleep on what we’ve discussed. Perhaps after a night’s rest we may have some new insights.’

  The following morning Rupert dashed, indeed almost ran, into the canteen. ‘Have you seen this!’ he shouted, brandishing a newspaper in front of them. ‘Have you bloody well seen this!!!’

  Liz, Viv and Frank looked up at the young man interrupting their breakfast, and at the newspaper he was thrusting towards them. Their mouths fell open in disbelief. ALIEN PROBES DISCOVERED IN ARCTIC: PRELUDE TO ALIEN INVASION? screamed the headline. A headline that was no doubt splashed across every newspaper in the country.

  ‘I knew it,’ said Viv resignedly. ‘I just knew someone would spill the beans. How can the biggest story ever be kept secret? The papers will have paid someone a small fortune to get a scoop like this. It just had to happen. It was just a matter of when.’