George's Secret Key to the Universe

by Stephen Hawking

  In December 2006, however, scientists looking at pictures of newly formed gullies on the Martian surface suggested a striking possibility: liquid water may still be present on Mars, buried deep down under its surface.

  Mars has two small moons: Phobos and Deimos.

  “Yes, thank you!” said George. He was just busy thinking up another question when Eric stood up at the front of the room, next to the speaker.

  “Thank you, Professor Crzkzak,” he said, “for your very interesting paper on Mars.”

  Professor Crzkzak bowed and went to take her seat.

  “Dear friends and colleagues,” continued Eric. “Before we move on to the last and most important issue we have to discuss, let me thank you all for making the effort to get here. Some of you have come from far across the globe, but I know the talks we have heard today have made the journey worthwhile. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how important it is that the existence of Cosmos stays a closely guarded secret.”

  The group nodded its agreement.

  “Now,” continued Eric, “the question we all came to answer is a question of fundamental interest for everyone who is involved in science. We all know far too well how it can be used for evil purposes, and that is why we have all taken the Oath of the Scientist, so that science is used only for the good of humanity. But we are now facing a dilemma. As you heard in the news and saw at the evironmental march on Saturday, more and more people are concerned about the state of the Earth. So, the question we now have to answer is: Should we concentrate on finding ways to improve life on Earth and face its problems, or should we try to find another planet for humanity to inhabit?”

  All the scientists in the room were silent and looked very serious. George watched them as they wrote an answer on a little piece of paper. Eric then collected the papers in a hat. In total, including Eric and the red-haired speaker, eight scientists had voted. Eric then started to open up the papers one by one.

  “The Earth.”

  “The Earth.”

  “Another planet.”

  “Another planet.”

  “Another planet.”

  “The Earth.”

  “The Earth.”

  “Another planet.”

  “Well, well,” said Eric. “It seems we have a split vote.”

  The red-haired Professor Crzkzak put up her hand. “May I make a suggestion?” she asked. Everyone else nodded. She got to her feet. “George,” she said, addressing the boy directly, “we may lack a bit of perspective on this matter, because we are all specialists in our fields. So you could maybe tell us what you think about it.”

  All the scientists were looking at him now. George felt very shy and stayed silent for a few seconds.

  “Say what you really think,” whispered Professor Crzkzak.

  Twisting his fingers in his lap, George thought about his parents and the green campaigners. He then thought about the excitement of traveling in space and trying to find another home out there. And then he heard himself say to the scientists, “Why can’t you do both?”

  “George, you are absolutely right,” Eric said as they waved good-bye to all the scientists, who were leaving now that the conference had come to an end. George and Eric went back into the library, which was covered in cake crumbs, half-drunk cups of coffee, old pens, and conference papers folded into airplane shapes. “We need to work on saving this planet and looking for a new one. We don’t have to do one or the other.”

  “Do you think you will?” asked George. “You and your friends? Do both, I mean?”

  “Oh, I think so, yes,” said Eric. “Maybe we could invite your parents to our next conference? Do you know, George, I heard your father’s talk at the climate-change protest march the other day. Maybe he has some good ideas we could use?”

  “Oh no, don’t do that!” said George, panicking. He wasn’t at all sure that his father would approve of Eric and his friendly scientists. “I don’t think he’d like that.”

  “He might surprise you,” said Eric. “We all need to work together to save the planet if we’re to get anything done.” He started to clear up some of the mess the scientists had made. They seemed to have left behind an extraordinary number of things: jackets, hats, sweaters—even a shoe.

  “It was very nice of you to drop by to apologize,” said Eric, gathering together a great armful of abandoned clothing.

  “Well, actually,” admitted George, “that’s not quite why I came around.” Eric dumped the clothes in a corner of the room and turned back to look at him. “I signed up for a science competition,” the boy continued nervously. “It’s sort of like your conference, except it’s kids giving the talks. And there’s a big computer as first prize. I’ve tried to write something to say, but I’m really worried I’ve made lots of mistakes and everyone will laugh at me.”

  “Yes, Annie told me about your competition,” said Eric, looking serious. “And I’ve got something that might help you. Funnily enough, I had an idea after your comet ride. I decided to start writing a book about the Universe for you and Annie—I’ve made some notes. They might help you with your science presentation.” He picked up a plate of cookies. “Have one of these. Brain food.”

  George helped himself to what was left of the cookies.

  “How about this for an idea?” said Eric thoughtfully. “If you could just give me a hand to get my library straightened up a bit—Annie’s left me strict instructions that I’m not to make the house messy while she’s away—then we can talk about your science presentation and I’ll go through the notes I made for you. Does that sound like a fair deal?”

  “Oh yes!” said George, delighted by Eric’s promise. “What would you like me to do?”

  “Oh, perhaps a little sweeping or something like that,” said Eric vaguely. He leaned casually on a wobbly pile of chairs as he spoke, accidentally pushing them over with a loud crash.

  George burst out laughing.

  “You can see why I need help,” said Eric apologetically, but his eyes were twinkling with laughter. “I’ll pick up these chairs, and maybe you could brush a bit of this mud off the floor? Would you mind?”

  The carpet was covered in footprints left by the scientists, none of whom ever remembered to wipe their feet on the doormat.

  “Not at all,” said George, stuffing the last cookie into his mouth and running off to the kitchen, where he found a dustpan and brush. He came back into the library and started to swish away at some of the worst bits of dirt. As he worked, a piece of paper stuck to his brush. He picked it off the bristles and was about to throw it away when he realized it was a letter, addressed to Eric. There was something strangely familiar about the handwriting.

  “Look at this!” He passed the note to Eric. “Someone must have dropped it.” Eric took the piece of paper and unfolded it while George kept on sweeping. Suddenly he heard a great shout.

  “Eureka!” cried Eric. George looked up. Eric was just standing there, piece of paper in hand, a joyous look on his face.

  “What’s going on?” George asked him.

  “I’ve just been given the most amazing piece of information!” cried Eric. “If this is correct …” He peered at the piece of paper again, holding it up very close to his thick glasses. He muttered a long string of numbers to himself.

  “What is it?” asked George.

  “Hang on.” Eric seemed to be calculating something in his head. He ticked off a series of points on his fingers, scrunched up his face, and scratched his head. “Yes!” he said. “Yes!” He stuffed the paper into his pocket, then picked George up off his feet and whirled him around. “George, I’ve got the answer! I think I know!” Suddenly dropping him again, Eric went over to Cosmos and started typing.

  “What do you know?” said George, who was a little dizzy.

  “Great shooting stars! This is fantastic!” Eric was frantically tapping on the computer’s keyboard. A huge flash of light shot out of Cosmos’s screen into the middle of the room, and Ge
orge saw that the great computer was once more making a doorway.

  “Where are you going?” George asked. Eric was struggling into a space suit, but he was in such a hurry that he put both feet into one pant leg and fell over. George hauled him up again and helped him on with the suit.

  “So exciting!” said Eric as he buckled it up.

  “What is?” said George, who was now feeling rather alarmed.

  “The letter, George. The letter. This might be it! This might be what we’ve all been looking for.”

  “Who was the letter from?” asked George, who had a bad feeling in his stomach, although he didn’t know why.

  “I’m not sure,” admitted Eric. “It doesn’t really say.”

  “Then you shouldn’t trust it!” said George.

  “Don’t be silly, George,” said Eric. “I expect it was written by someone at the conference who wanted me to check out the information using Cosmos. I expect they wanted to know it was correct before they announced it to the whole scientific community.”

  “Then why didn’t they just ask you directly? Why write a letter?” persisted George.

  “Because, because, because,” said Eric, sounding a little annoyed. “They probably had a good reason, which I’ll find out when I get back from my trip.”

  George saw that Cosmos’s screen was now covered in long strings of numbers. “What are those?” he asked.

  “Those are the coordinates of my new journey,” said Eric.

  “Are you going now?” asked George sadly. “What about my science presentation?”

  Eric stopped in his tracks. “Oh, George, I am sorry!” he exclaimed. “But I really have to go. It’s too important to wait. Your talk will be fine without me! You’ll see …”

  “But—”

  “No buts, George,” said Eric, putting on his glass space helmet and speaking in his funny space voice once more. “Thank you so much for finding that letter! It has given me a vital clue. Now I must go. G-o-o-o-d-b-y-e-e-e-e!”

  Eric leaped through the portal doorway and was gone into outer space before George had time to say another word. The portal slammed shut behind him, and George was left alone in the library.

  After the door to outer space closed, there was a moment of deathly silence in the library. It was broken by the sound of a tune playing very faintly in the background. George looked around to see who might be humming, but then he realized it was Cosmos, singing a little song to himself as he crunched the long strings of numbers that were flashing across his screen.

  “Ba-ba-ba-ba,” tooted Cosmos.

  “Cosmos,” said George, who wasn’t feeling very happy about Eric’s sudden departure. He certainly didn’t feel like whistling a merry tune.

  “Tum-ti-tum-tum,” said Cosmos in reply.

  “Cosmos,” repeated George, “where has Eric gone?”

  “Tra-la-la-la,” Cosmos went on cheerfully, rolling reams of endless numbers across his screen.

  “Cosmos!” said George once more, this time with more urgency. “Stop singing! Where has Eric gone?”

  The computer stopped mid-hum. “He has gone to find a new planet,” he said, sounding rather surprised. “I’m sorry you don’t like my music,” he continued. “I was just singing while I worked. Pom-pom-pom-pom,” he started again.

  “Cosmos!” yelled George. “Where is he?”

  “Well, that’s hard to say,” replied Cosmos.

  “How come you don’t know?” said George, surprised. “I thought you knew everything.”

  “Unfortunately not. I don’t know what I have not been shown.”

  “Do you mean Eric is lost?”

  “No, not lost. His travels uncover new places for me. I follow him and I map the Universe.”

  “All right,” said George, relieved to know Eric wasn’t lost. “Fine. I suppose it must be something very special that he’s gone to see, for him to rush off like that—”

  “No, no,” interrupted Cosmos. “Just another undiscovered part of the Universe. All in a day’s work.”

  George felt a bit confused. If that was the case, why had Eric just shot off into outer space in such a great hurry? He’d thought that Eric was his friend and that, unlike other adults, he would explain what he was up to and why. But he hadn’t. He had just gone.

  For a split second George wondered about grabbing a space suit, asking Cosmos to open the portal, and joining Eric. But then he remembered how furious Eric had been after he and Annie had gone into outer space without his permission. He realized sadly that he would just have to go home now. Maybe Eric wasn’t really his friend at all but just another grownup who didn’t think it mattered whether George understood stuff or not. He picked up his wet coat and school bag and made for the door; Cosmos was still humming his little melody in the background.

  George opened Eric’s front door to leave. He was just about to step out into the street when he had a sudden flash of memory. There had been two reasons he had come to see Eric today, and he’d only managed to tell him about one of them: the science competition. In all the excitement he’d completely forgotten to warn Eric about Dr. Reeper and his strange questions.

  The letter, George now remembered. It’s Greeper! George had overheard him asking the bullies to deliver a note! That must be the letter Eric received! And Reeper asked if Eric had disappeared! George turned and rushed straight back into the house, leaving the door wide open behind him.

  In the library, Cosmos was still at work. On the desk in front of him, George spotted the letter that Eric had read with such joy. He read the whole thing, his hands shaking as he realized who had written it.

  Dear Eric,

  I understand that your longstanding quest to find new planets to inhabit isn’t yet over.

  I wanted to draw your attention to a very particular planet I happen to have found. It is roughly the size of the Earth and lies at about the same distance from its star as the Earth is from the Sun. As far as I know, there has never been such a strong candidate planet for humans to settle on. I am pretty sure it has an atmosphere like ours. An atmosphere we could breathe.

  I’m not in a position to verify this information, but I very much look forward to hearing what you think of it. Please see below for the coordinates of that planet, or rather, a way to reach it.

  Scientifically yours,

  G.R.

  George knew perfectly well who “G.R.” was. The handwriting was all too familiar to him—he recognized it from his school reports, which usually said things like, George will amount to nothing unless he learns to pay attention in class and stop daydreaming. It was without doubt written by Dr. Reeper.

  And Greeper knows Cosmos exists! It must be a trap! George thought. “Cosmos!” he said out loud, interrupting the computer, who was now humming “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” “You have to take me to Eric right now! Can you find him?”

  “I can try,” replied Cosmos. A succession of images appeared on his screen. The first one looked like a starfish, with long arms twisted into some sort of spiral. Above it was written, OUR GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY.

  “Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is made of approximately two hundred billion stars,” Cosmos started. “Our star, the Sun, is only one of them—”

  “No!” howled George. “Not another lecture! I haven’t got time—this is an emergency, Cosmos.”

  The picture of the Milky Way zoomed inside the spiral very quickly, as if Cosmos was offended by George’s lack of interest. George could see that the spiral was indeed made of countless stars. The image whizzed past these until it reached a place where there didn’t seem to be anything anymore. The picture stopped moving. The screen looked as if it had been cut in two. The bottom half of the screen was full of stars, the other half completely empty except for a thin line that was moving up toward the top edge of the screen. The empty part of the screen seemed to correspond to an unknown part of the Universe—an unknown part that the thin line seemed to be unraveling as it moved.

  Po
inting at the upper end of the line was a moving arrow with a little tag attached to it. The writing was so small, George could hardly read it.

  “What does it say?” he asked Cosmos.

  Cosmos didn’t reply, but the tag grew bigger, and George saw the word ERIC written on it.

  “There he is! Open the portal for me! Near that arrow,” commanded George, pressing the ENTER key on Cosmos’s keyboard.

  “George is a member of the Order. Authorization granted. Space suit needed,” Cosmos said in the mechanical voice he used to process orders.

  George rummaged through the pile of space suits but he couldn’t see the one he’d worn before. Eric’s old space suits were all huge, so he reluctantly ended up wearing Annie’s old pink one. It was a bit tight and he felt very silly, but as the only person he was going to see in outer space was Eric, he figured it didn’t matter. Once George was snugly buckled into the sequined suit, Cosmos drew the doorway into outer space.

  George reached forward and opened the door. Holding onto the portal frame with his hands, he leaned out to have a look around, his feet still anchored inside Eric’s library. This part of outer space seemed very similar to the one he had seen before, but this time he didn’t see any planets around him. It didn’t look much like the image on Cosmos’s screen—it wasn’t cut in two at all. There were stars shining everywhere. Eric, however, was nowhere to be seen.

  “Eric!” George shouted. “Eric! Can you hear me?”

  There was no reply.

  Maybe he was in the wrong place.

  George looked back into the library, toward Cosmos’s screen; the ERIC arrow was still there. Next to it he saw a new one that had GEORGE written on it. He realized that what he saw out of the doorway wasn’t yet on Cosmos’s screen. Cosmos had to process the information and only after he had done so, would it appear on the screen.

  George leaned through the door into outer space once more, making sure not to fall. “Eric! Are you there? Can you hear me?” he yelled.

  “Who’s calling me?” replied a faint voice through the transmitter fitted inside George’s space helmet.

  “Eric! Where are you? Do you see the door?”