“Six? Really?” Zimmer shook his head and focused on one of the stars in the ceiling, reaching for the memories that would help him set a correct timeline. “Gosh, time does fly. How is your family—six years must put your oldest child at about twelve now?”
“Jenny is thirteen actually, and she is quite the teenager.”
“Thirteen. You know, I just can’t picture it… she was just a wee little thing the last time I saw her—I think that was at your father’s house.”
“Well, the time has certainly flown by for my wife and me as well.”
“Ballard told me about your wife’s award a few months ago. What an amazing honor. You must congratulate her for me.”
“Thank you, Professor. I’ll be sure to extend your greetings to her.”
Ballard broke up the pleasantries. “If you two are sufficiently caught up, I think we only have about 45 minutes before the meeting. I thought it would be good, Carlton, for you to give Maril a heads up on your thoughts, so we can be better prepared for the meeting.”
“Yes, and thank you, Maril, for taking some extra time out of your schedule today. We have a topic of discussion that I think you’ll find rather fascinating.”
“Why don’t we head over to my office where we can be more comfortable? It’s just in the adjacent building.”
With that, the three retired from the blazing stars and nighttime setting of the museum for the more glaring light of a misty morning fog that had settled over the area. Zimmer squinted as he adjusted from the thousands of imitation stars that were suddenly replaced by a gray circle of light hovering over the haze.
…
“Kelcey, please hold all of my calls,” Maril requested as he walked briskly by his secretary’s desk.
Recognizing his urgency, Kelcey simply nodded and smiled as the group of scientists convened their closed-door session in the program manager’s office.
The three visited the coat rack first where damp overcoats were hung to dry before being seated around a small conference table.
Zimmer wasted no time. “Tell me how the Star Shield project is going, Maril.”
“We think it’s going very well, Doctor Zimmer. We’re actually fabricating a prototype of the shield right now for a test flight that should occur in August of next year. We’ll put it through the wind tunnel and bombard it with all sorts of nasty space debris at high-speed, hope that it doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface, and then mount it to the prototype vehicle for its flight towards the Sun.”
Something in Maril’s delivery betrayed him. “And, so you think it will be able to handle particle impact near to Warp speed?”
“Oh, yes, yes we do.”
Realizing that any doubts or concerns were not being volunteered by the young scientist, Zimmer grew more pointed in his interrogation. “So, what is your top concern about the project?”
Not feeling a desire to be frank, Maril said unconvincingly, “Well, to be frank, I’m just not sure about the viability of the project?”
“Oh?” said Zimmer prompting for more information, while the older Scoville sat back and watched the volley of questions and answers fly back and forth over the desk.
“I don’t get the impression that the Star Drive team is making good progress on their propulsion experiments. I think they’ve made way too many trips to the drawing board to give me any warm and fuzzies about their current status. So, what good is the effort of my team, if we don’t have the rockets to propel the vehicle to high speed?”
“Well, in that case, I guess you’d be over-designed, but at least you’ll know that the shield will function perfectly at speeds lower than specified.”
“But, what’s the point?” opened up Maril. “I mean, we put our blood, sweat, and tears into this project for years, and to what end? For a slow craft? Or worse yet… to get the plug pulled? The scenarios are bitterly frustrating.”
Zimmer leaned back. “Well, I’m here to offer you an exciting possibility that would end that frustration once and for all, Mr. Scoville.”
Maril sat erect in his chair with intense curiosity. “Go ahead… you’ve certainly got my attention with that opening.”
“Well, all this time, you’ve been preparing to mount your shield to the front of the Star Transport vehicle, right?”
“Yes,” the response from the scientist was measured. “Although, I guess it would be more correct to say that it will be molded to the body of the vehicle. It’s pretty much like a very thick skin that we will be growing from the shell of the spacecraft.”
“Well, I propose that we put it on backwards!”
…
Carlton Zimmer stood from his chair and approached the front of the room. He chose to be at the end of the table, where he could better see all of the attendees, and look each and every one in the eye. While the astrophysicist was quickly regaining status and popularity for his recent discoveries of the superluminal comet and the parallel Earth, he knew that perhaps this hour would prove whether he still had more to give to humanity—one more peak in a career of Himalayan proportions.
He paused as he calculated each participant quickly in a clockwise manner. To his left sat Vurim Gilroy, the Mars Mission manager, effectively looking for a new job, since any subsequent Martian efforts had been put on hold at NASA. Then he saw Marrak Henley, the tight-fisted director of NASA. He knew Henley would be his toughest sale, which is why he had pulled some influence and invited a pair of Southern California congressmen to the meeting, just in case Henley needed reminding who his boss was. His eyes met the friendliest bodies in the group—namely, Ballard and Maril Scoville, whose support he knew would be invaluable. This high-powered group of eight was rounded out by directory of JPL, Rawson Cornell, who sat next to Maril, irritated with the fact that he was called to this secret meeting, knowing nothing about its intent, while suspecting that his subordinate had been better briefed than himself.
“Gentlemen,” began Zimmer serenely with his hands clasped in front of him. “First, let me thank each of you for your attendance here today. I am well aware that you know nothing of which I would like to address you but am grateful that you have honored me with your attendance anyway.
“It is a particular honor, considering that my views and opinions have not been held in the highest regard lately. For years, I received ridicule for chasing after a parallel Earth—the proverbial needle in the haystack. I was severely reprimanded for heretically proposing that our yellow beam was a superluminal comet. Often, my views and projects have been simply too radical to accept. I have been called by peers and press ‘crazy’, ‘warped’, ‘irrelevant.’
“Fortunately, for me,” Zimmer said wiping his brow in a sign of relief, “some of the criticism has been appeased. For my fortunate discoveries of late, I have been restored to some degree of respect among my colleagues, but don’t expect that to stop me from doing something foolish again.” A few soft chuckles were heard in response to Zimmer’s colorful delivery of the word ‘foolish’.
“In fact, if any of you leave here today thinking I’ve been restored to my senses, then you clearly must be sleeping, because what I will suggest to you today will certainly be the most radical idea that I have ever proposed. I am not entirely convinced myself that it will work, but that is why I have assembled you here today, to help me assess the feasibility of such a notion or to follow up with studies of the matter in greater detail at a later date.
“Gentlemen, I propose to send astronauts to the planet designated as ZB-5344-P1…”
In disbelief, some eyes widened. Some rolled. Others widened and rolled. The first realization of Zimmer’s proposal was met with a sense of absurdity.
“…Earth 2.”
With the common name used, the remaining eyes narrowed skeptically.
“This is preposterous, Professor,” stated Henley, who was the first to feel defensive against Zimmer for his resistance to funding the Yellow Beam mission, and then for cutting critical requirement
s off of Zimmer’s wish list. “ZB-5344 is 26000 light years away from here. Do you intend to endow our astronauts with immortality to be able to live for the hundreds of thousands of years that will be required to travel there?”
Zimmer looked the NASA director squarely and earnestly in the eye. “Dr. Henley, it will not take that long.” Then looking up at the group at large, he continued. “Remember, gentlemen, we live in a new age now. A couple of months ago, Dr. Henley’s statement would have been absolutely correct. It would have impossible to travel to the ZB-5344 star system. But that was before the discovery of a superluminal object traveling around our galaxy. But now, we have no limits on the distances we can reasonably travel.”
“But, Professor,” rebutted Cornell. “Just because we have seen something travel faster than the speed of light, doesn’t mean that we can ourselves. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we will ever have the technology to do so.”
“Dr. Cornell,” responded Zimmer cordially. “This discovery should enlighten us to explore the possibility. The possibility for exploration becomes limitless with that discovery. We need to break through the glass ceiling that has been placed over humankind for its entire existence—superluminal travel is possible, and I suggest we get right to it.”
“Professor?” called out one of the congressmen. “The funding for such research—I just don’t see where we’d come up with the money needed to fund that research, especially if we really have no idea how long it will take to create propulsion faster than the speed of light.”
“I agree that funding will be huge, but championing this cause will bring massive opportunity to Southern California. Besides, if I am hearing correctly from your constituents, they want to do everything in their power to find out what Earth2 has in store. Everybody is curious about whether there is life there, and whether that life is like us or—”
“—or more hostile,” blurted out Gilroy. “Professor, in the few moments that I’ve had to consider your proposal, so many insurmountable questions come to mind. How do we get there? How can we build a machine robust enough to handle traveling that fast? Mr. Scoville, you know better than anyone the risks associated with space debris at near Warp speed! Are you willing to put the lives at astronauts at risk with debris hitting the Star Transport at rates much greater than the speed of light? How do we know that human flesh won’t obliterate as it approaches Warp speed? And then, perhaps we actually get there, but then are captured and executed by a hostile species. How do you find astronauts that would be willing to do this? You realize that this won’t happen in your lifetime, Professor, don’t you?”
“Why not?” said Zimmer skeptically.
“Ever the optimist, you are Professor, but this time, I think you’re over your head, and you won’t even see it happen. I’m sorry, but this really is a waste of our time, Carlton.”
“Professor,” asked the other congressman with much interest. “How do you propose we go about such an effort of developing the technology to accomplish this?”
“First of all, I think you’re all looking at it wrong,” answered Zimmer. “What I’ve been considering is a much lower-tech approach then developing warp-drive capability.”
With derision, Cornell fired back. “A low-tech solution to one of the most profound controversies of our day. What are you going to do? Chase the comet and hitch a ride?”
Zimmer smiled and pointed at the JPL director. “Yes! That’s exactly what I suggest we do.”
Frustrated at this answer, the JPL director turned his attention elsewhere. “Maril, do you have any idea where Zimmer is going with this? Does this make any sense to you?”
It was Maril Scoville’s turn to stand and back up his father’s associate. Zimmer deferred his position at the head of the table happily and moved back to the corner of the room to watch Maril Scoville’s attempt to appease the crowd.
Addressing his boss first, he began. “Dr. Cornell, Professor Zimmer came to me just before this meeting with his suggestion, and while I agree with him that there are many questions that need to be answered, I actually like his idea quite a bit, and I think, Gentlemen that the public will be very interested in supporting all of us in our decision to move forward with the proposal. It won’t cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and it might just work.”
“We’ve been working on the Star Shield for nearly three years now—from concept to prototype. We believe that we are building something practically impervious to high-speed stellar debris.”
Henley was first in probing this claim. “Mr. Scoville, as I understand it, your requirements are for avoidance of large objects and tolerance of small objects on the order of 1c. Is that right?”
“That is correct, Dr. Henley. In open space, we are immune to space debris up to the speed of light.”
Henley’s voice increased in volume and speed, indicating his intolerance of this discussion. “But, we’re talking about 25000c. I don’t see how you can be comfortable putting the lives of astronauts at such dire risk when you aren’t building the shield to anything near to the type of condition to which you plan on subjecting it.”
“Sir, with all due respect, we aren’t putting anybody’s life at risk yet. We are only asking for the ability to review all of the details of such a mission to determine its feasibility. Further, I expressed this same doubt to Dr. Zimmer just before this meeting, and he pointed out that we will not be traveling at 25000c in open space. We will do it in the confines of a comet’s tail. That comet will make a way through the vacuum of space and will eject all debris that stands in its way. In that case, we need not worry about debris coming head on, but rather we must focus the study on the ability to receive bombardment from behind.”
“I fail to see the difference.”
“The difference is that we will accelerate gradually yet rapidly as we enter the beam, ensuring that particles propel the Star Transport to greater velocities while not impacting the shield at speeds greater than 1c. Professor Zimmer has calculated from data retrieved during the study mission that while the center of the beam is traveling at 25000c, there is an inversely proportional and linear relationship between the velocity of particles in the beam and its distance from the center. As long as the Star Transport penetrates the beam gradually, it will be able to accelerate under the propulsion of the matter, but it will not be subject to damage by it. It will be a perfectly controlled environment that will balance the velocity of the vehicle with its ability to penetrate the beam even farther, and thereby gain even more velocity.”
“Dr. Cornell, I appeal to your judgment,” wavered Henley only slightly. “Tell me that this isn’t the most ludicrous proposal. Tell me that this isn’t set for certain failure. Tell me that it won’t be a suicide mission.”
“I can’t tell you any of those things, sir,” Cornell said in response. “We will need to study everything in greater detail. Nobody’s life is at risk if we’re simply studying the possibilities.”
“But we are risking our taxpaying dollars.”
Zimmer stepped forward. “Dr. Henley, Dr. Cornell, and Congressmen, let me assure you that this is something that taxpayers want to see done with their money. It is rather anti-climatic to find a parallel Earth and then not be able to study it. Curiosity has got the better of your constituents, and I think your leadership in this area would only secure your job security.”
Zimmer saw that the congressmen were weighing the statement and considering the fine line they were walking between pleasing constituents and funding programs with taxpaying dollars.
Henley did not look happy. “Look, gentlemen, even if we do fund this program, Congress has already allotted NASA a certain budget for this year. We will have to cancel other programs. It’s not for these representatives to decide.”
One congressman spoke qualified this last statement. “At least not this year, but we certainly could appeal for a larger budget for your organization starting next year, if we believe the citizens of our districts would find
it valuable to do so.”
With his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him, Henley paused thoughtfully for a several quiet and tense moments. Eventually, his demeanor softened. “Ok, if you think we can fund the research above our current budgetary plans, then I guess we could produce the team to do the feasibility research at least.”
Zimmer smiled almost imperceptibly. The meeting had served its purpose, and he was certain that research and planning for a mission to ZB-5344 was on its way.
…
Before Zimmer had a chance to realize it, autumn turned into winter and winter into spring. It wasn’t difficult for seasonal changes to escape the recognition of Southern Californians, since these changes only delivered slight variations in precipitation and temperature. But for Zimmer, this year was particular busy. Between his class instruction and increased research activities, Zimmer’s year at CalTech flew by.
As soon as ZB-5344-P1 had been discovered, Zimmer put his Parallel Earth team to work studying the entire ZB-5344 system. Even Zimmer was stunned to find even more similarities between the Solar System and the ZB-5344 star system. Four other planets had been discovered that approximated Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Venus in their appearance, size, and orbits. The only thing the team had found vastly different was the orbital plane of the ZB-5344 system. It was oriented exactly 90 degrees different to the plane of our own Solar System, leading Joram Anders to joke with the professor that Zimmer still had work to do, considering that “you didn’t exactly find a parallel Earth yet” and that it was “too bad he hadn’t been looking for an orthogonal Earth all of these years.”
The team also spent a vast amount of time probing the P1 planet itself. Searches for signs of life—including detection of artificial light or electromagnetic radiation—proved frustrating, but Zimmer was not taken aback by this. Any studies of Earth2 dating 27000 years ago would also prove useless. Geologically speaking, 27000 years isn’t much time, but if Earth2 was on the verge of civilization, then 27000 years would prove plenty of time for significant intellectual advances.
The Orthogonal Galaxy Page 28
