Fundamental Force Episode One

by Albert Sartison

  There was nothing foolish about the idea of colonizing space beyond the galaxy per se, only in the way they set about it. After all, before setting off for another galaxy that could surpass our own in every way, they should have taken safety precautions. When it became clear that intelligent life was not just a random mistake but occurs all over the place, they should have started from the assumption that Andromeda was already populated. And not only populated, but, considering its characteristics, that the alpha-civilization there would be a much older and more powerful race that would hardly rejoice at the appearance of uninvited guests and competitors.

  This perfectly obvious conclusion was apparent to our terrestrial scientists as soon as the aliens’ main plan was revealed. Was it possible that an alien civilization that had colonized the Milky Way so successfully was too stupid to work this out themselves? However self-satisfied and blinded by their own success they might be, it was criminally negligent to ignore such risks!

  The answer to this question remained a complete mystery, however. For whatever reason, the aliens decided on a jump to Andromeda without bothering to ask the permission of those who lived there. The reaction was not long in coming. One of the reasons why the aliens had managed to colonize the Milky Way so successfully was its powerful transport infrastructure, which covered the whole galaxy like a gigantic spider’s web. It appeared that the aliens had realized long ago that they would not succeed without rapid communication between stars. How could two star systems be combined to form a single integrated economic entity if they were hundreds of light years apart? Therefore, 200,000 years ago, they had built portals enabling interstellar distances to be covered in a reasonable time.

  And even then they were thinking one step ahead. More than one step, in fact; dozens, maybe hundreds of steps! When they laid the foundation of their first transportation portal, they already knew where, and more importantly when, they were going. That’s what you call efficient planning – two hundred thousand years ahead! We on Earth have yet to learn how to plan even as little as fifty years into the future.

  Yet it turned out that the most developed, the most cunning, the quickest and most capable civilization in the whole Milky Way had been guilty of such stupidity!

  The very day the aliens began construction, events developed exactly according to the scenario predicted by the astrophysicist Professor Shelby, the chairman of the academic council that had been monitoring the aliens’ actions. When the sphere constructed around our Sun began operating, the aliens had brought their portals into action, including the one not far from the Solar System.

  Combined into one vast whole, they concentrated sufficient energy to project a ship not only to an adjacent star system, but to another galaxy. The array of portals had been charged with tremendous energy, opened – and disappeared.

  After spending some time crouched intently over its astronomical apparatus, the academic council had come to the conclusion that the reason for the disappearance was not a technical failure, but simply a black operation. Apparently, the Andromedan civilization had been prepared for the appearance of uninvited guests and it seemed that hospitality was not something they particularly valued. The reaction had been rapid, decisive, and had had the maximum effect.

  The jump to Andromeda had been intended to be a huge epoch-making step by the aliens on the way to colonizing space beyond the limits of their own galaxy. Instead of that, however, it had been their doom.

  It was not known on Earth whether the aliens’ ship had reached its destination, or if it had been destroyed halfway there. All that was known for sure was that certain minor, almost completely insignificant, changes had been made to the set of fundamental constants of our Universe. As a result, the aliens’ entire transport infrastructure had collapsed within an hour. The portals had died and their wonder ships, capable of such enormous speeds and untouchable by the most powerful of Earth’s weapons, had simply evaporated. This was because all of their technology had been based on the same principles of hyperspace manipulation...

  Their best ace had been trumped. Their ability to travel between stars had perished in an instant. Their entire 200,000-year-long project had been turned into a mist to be evaporated by the heat from the bright summer sun.

  So, the mighty aliens had just fallen from their pedestal. The sacrosanct place at the apex of the pyramid of power in the galaxy had suddenly become vacant. The former ruler was lying alongside, writhing in agony, and the question was – what should a competitor do in such circumstances?

  The idea of taking the initiative into their own hands did not cause rejoicing in political circles. Warnings were heard once again. History is changed not by gallant gestures, however, but by hard and decisive actions. Capricious Lady Luck rarely offers such opportunities, but when she does, she doesn’t give you long to think about it.

  What hellish efforts it had cost him to convince the others that his idea was a sound one! How much moaning and small-minded criticism he had had to listen to! Time after time, an endless number of times, the very same fears and cowardly speculation as to why the project was doomed to failure. He had remained polite and patient, but even that hadn’t helped with some of them, so he had had to unpack his goody bag full of various promises of favors and when those hadn’t worked either, threats were all that were left. Yes, the lord of the political Olympus had claws too, something many people forgot...

  And now, this evening, the fruit of this hellish work had finally ripened and the official ceremony marking the start of the project had ended about half an hour ago. The unthinkable project. This evening, Earth’s civilization had been brave enough to grasp its historic opportunity. At the same time, it had entered a new era, the era of deep space colonization, the space beyond the bounds of the Solar System, on the way to ruling its entire home galaxy...

  “Mr. President, Mr. LeRoy is on the line. Will you take it?” called the secretary.

  On one of the screens appeared the face of the president’s public communications assistant. The man was a slick opportunist, always smiling even when bearing bad tidings, to the intense irritation of all those around him. Had it not been for his inspired capacity for pulling the wool over the voters’ eyes, it would hardly have been possible to work with him. But it was better to have such a man in his own team rather than the enemy’s. Particularly when great matters are being accomplished.

  “Hello?”

  “Good evening, Mr. President.”

  “Good evening. How was I?”

  “Not bad on the whole, but when you cut the ribbon, you were standing with your back to the photographers. I’m looking at the photos now, not one of them captures the most important moment successfully.”

  The president took a gulp from his glass and screwed up his face, perhaps from the taste of the alcohol, perhaps from what he had just heard.

  “What else?”

  “Well, in general, the ratings are going up. A positive reaction prevails. This is what I would propose. You’ve been criticized all this time for not wanting to discuss the project openly with those seriously against it. Now the wheels are turning, why don’t you make up for lost time by meeting with them and talking?”

  “Who exactly?”

  “I’ve just been told that Gates and McAllister went off to the bar together after your speech, probably to cry into their beers.”

  “Gates and McAllister? Together?”

  “It’s incredible, isn’t it?”

  “Are they really suffering that much?”

  “Judging from appearances, yes. Considering their spectacular failure, they intend to drink a great deal, so tomorrow they won’t exactly be on top form. They will make a striking contrast to the healthy face of the president and they will have thick heads, too. I think that would be the perfect time to discuss what they find so painful. I’ll get in touch with them first thing in the morning and propose a joint discussion on primetime TV.”

  “They won’t agree so quickly, it’
s too soon.”

  “Oh, but they will! They need publicity on any pretext right now. And it’s such a hot topic, the first time with you on such a show... They’ll take the bait and you’ll knock them out of the election campaign once and for all. So what about it? Unless you yourself do not intend to celebrate the event as it deserves...”

  The plan sounded tempting. Knowing that LeRoy had a nose for such things, he could be sure that it would work out just as he had said. He would be killing two birds with one stone, taking out his two most dangerous political rivals. And if the project went as planned, the chances of those two competing successfully in the forthcoming elections would be zero. The president sighed heavily and set his unfinished glass aside.

  “Not in my wildest dreams...”

  2

  “Close the door, please,” said Shelby.

  There were only two circumstances when Professor Shelby, the dean of his astrophysics faculty, kept his door closed when he was inside: when he was on the phone to his wife and when something extremely important was going on.

  Steve obediently closed the door behind him.

  “I told you about our meeting with the president in Canada, didn’t I? Directly after the aliens screwed up in Andromeda?” asked Shelby, settling in his chair and motioning to Steve to sit in the chair opposite.

  “I believe so, yes...”

  “I thought at the time that he was joking.”

  “Who?”

  “The president.”

  “I thought he never joked, even if he was being witty.”

  “You got that right... The day the aliens tried to go on an excursion to Andromeda, MacQueen and I immediately flew to the president. To inform him at first hand, so to speak, and to receive further instructions.”

  “Interesting...”

  “As soon as he learned what had happened, his eyes lit up. Really twinkled. ‘If they’ve left a vacancy,’ he said, ‘it would be foolish not to fill it.’”

  “Just the reaction you might expect from a professional politician...”

  “It now seems to me too that it was to be expected, very much so. A reflex, you might say. But at the time, I was rather surprised. Yes... And what do you think of the idea?”

  “Of what idea? A confrontation with the aliens?”

  “No, no-one’s talking about a war. Let’s just say of establishing diplomatic relations with our galactic neighbors. Thanks to the aliens, we now know where to look for them.”

  “You mean the Gliese system?”

  Shelby nodded.

  “I don’t know,” replied Steve. “I’m not a diplomat. After all, we have already established some sort of relations with the aliens...”

  “So we have, but now they have left us without even saying goodbye.”

  “Yes, but there is a reason for that.”

  “But that doesn’t bind us to anything. What, are we not allowed to fly anywhere now?”

  “Why shouldn’t we fly anywhere? I’ve nothing against making contact with our neighbors, but in the case of Gliese, they are not just our neighbors, but part of their civilization. Who knows how jealous the parent state might be, if there is one? I reckon it would be a dangerous move. I wouldn’t provoke them. Who knows how they’d take it?”

  “I completely agree with you. But that isn’t what those up there” – Shelby pointed upwards – “want to hear from you.”

  “So what would they like me to say?”

  “They would like to know how to check that.”

  “How should I know?”

  “Well, you are running a project involving the monitoring of communications in the gravity band, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “So that makes you the master in electronic intelligence concerning the aliens. All other methods of communication are limited to the speed of light, consequently we can only extract up-to-date information from gravity communications. After all, it takes hundreds of thousands of years for a signal to reach the other edge of the galaxy, so that makes you the possessor of vary rare information. That’s why your opinion is important.”

  “I do have an opinion, but they reject it as unsuitable. As a scientist...”

  “Steve, here in the university you are a scientist living in the world of science, but if they involve you in this project, you will be in another universe. The universe of politics. They have their own laws of nature, unlike normal people.”

  “Do you mean no-one is going to ask me if I want to become involved?”

  “That brings me to another question: do you want to leave the military to face the aliens one-to-one?”

  Instead of replying, Steve pressed his lips together in a sign of disapproval.

  “All right, let’s get back to our observations. On their basis, what can you say about the state of their civilization?”

  “After that Andromeda fiasco, their activity fell sharply and has remained at the same low level ever since. The portals, in the form in which we saw them near the Solar System, no longer exist. On the whole, I think the theory about their collapse is correct. There can’t be any other explanation.”

  “Concerning the spheres around the stars from which they obtain their energy. Like the one they wanted to build around us...”

  “The problem of the speed of light arises here. The spheres are only visible in the electromagnetic band and these waves need time to reach us. So in that respect, there are no changes yet. Of course I am referring to a distance of no more than five light years – after all, this happened five years ago, didn’t it? And we don’t know if the spheres still exist at such a distance.”

  “By the way, how many spheres have we detected so far? Eight, did you say?”

  “About ten.”

  “And now remind me where exactly...”

  Shelby gestured to the computer. The window glass darkened, plunging the room into semi-shadow. A huge hologram of the Milky Way appeared in the center of the office. Billions of shining stars floated slowly past the bookcases, rotating around the bright center of the galaxy, and the room was instantly transformed, the vivid, amazingly lifelike hologram filling it with an incredible beauty.

  Steve stood up and, without taking long to think about it, pressed on several points with his finger.

  “Here, here, here, here... And here too. Interesting that there is an accumulation of spheres appearing in this region. It looks as if the mother planet of their civilization must be somewhere in this sector... They clearly began their expansion from this point in the galaxy.”

  Shelby suddenly started up from his chair to get a better view of the place in the hologram to which Steve’s finger was pointing.

  “Interesting... We always assumed that life was born in other sectors of the Milky Way...”

  “Yes, in quieter ones. But this does not mean that they colonized the galaxy from their cradle. Something similar took place here on Earth. Life was born in Africa, but the greatest expansions of civilization took place elsewhere: Mongolia, Europe, China... Anywhere you like, in fact, but not Africa.”

  Steve fell silent, mulling over a thought that had unexpectedly come into his head.

  “By the way, are there already volunteers for this mission?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, to become heroic voyagers... That’s a one-way ticket. It’s 20 light years to the Gliese system, after all...”

  “But would you not like to be one of them?”

  “Me? Not for the world! I have things to do here on Earth. I couldn’t even get used to Mars, let alone another star system. Or even worse to open space, inside a tin can...”

  “And if it were not a one-way journey?”

  “That’s another matter... although it still depends on how long the flight would take. I could maybe stand a year or two, but no longer. Anyway, that’s all fantasy, the portals are not possible any more, thanks to the magicians from Andromeda.”

  Steve returned silently to his seat without takin
g his eyes off Shelby.

  “Professor, I feel there is something you are not telling me...”

  Shelby gave a sign to make the windows transparent. The hologram faded at once and the room became a normal office again. Voices from outside, which had been heard only in muffled form, suddenly became sharper, filling the room with animated sound.

  “Maybe, maybe. The future will show.”

  Steve stood up and picked up his jacket.

  “Then we’ll wait.”

  “By the way, have you heard what this new project is called?” asked Shelby, holding out his hand in farewell.

  “It looks as if I’m always the last to know. No, I haven’t heard.”

  “Supremacy.”

  “Supremacy... As the name of a project to establish diplomatic relations...” Steve shook his head in disapproval. “That’s not a good sign, not good at all...”

  3

  There was an incredible crush in the corridors. By tradition, this was Open Doors Day in the university, allowing the professors and their assistants to praise their faculties to school pupils.

  Forcing his way through the crowd of future students, Steve looked for Auditorium A3, which was where Clive usually performed this function. He was a creature of habit and always selected the same auditorium for his lectures, which made it much less difficult to find him.

  The door to the packed auditorium was open and Clive’s voice, amplified by microphones, could be heard from within. There were so many wanting to listen to what he had to say that there were not enough seats for them. The school pupils were sitting and standing in passages and on steps, some even within the doorways. Among the young faces, sporting fluff instead of moustaches and beards and some still with child-like rounded cheeks, were some a little older. They differed from the younger ones in that they were carefully taking notes of what was being said.

  To the sound of muffled whispers, Steve forced his way through the crowd. Gently pushing through the mass of people, he proceeded deeper into the hall.