Posts filed under ‘PUBLISHED WORKS’
BALANCE, A STORY OF HORROR, CHAPTER I
BALANCE, A STORY OF HORROR, CHAPTER I
Balance was published by Necrology Shorts in 2010.
There is no free ride in life.
Balance
Nijo London pounded on the door of her small cell – her world now for over a year – until her fists bled. “Let me out!” she screamed although she knew her plea would go unanswered. She stepped back and studied the door covered with dark brown outlines of her fists from past attempts to summon help. She was not sure why she was being held captive, but there were times she was not sure she wanted to know.
Nijo was thirty-five of medium height and slender, with close-cropped black hair and startling blue eyes. She was slender now because of her imprisonment, but she once drifted up and down in her weight. After each of her two pregnancies, the pounds tended to remain more than being shed.
It had been a year since she last saw the sun. No one would speak to her, let alone answer her questions. But she heard occasional conversations through her door. There was hushed talk of brutal murders. One time she thought she heard the mention of cannibalism, but she couldn’t be sure.
Surely these conversations could not be connected to Nijo; she was a nurse and devoted her life to caring for the sick. But she had vague memories that she didn’t understand; flashes of perception that were more than disturbing. They were horrifying. There was also some connection with these horrors to ancient rituals of healing she had tried to incorporate into her practice. Nijo also recalled the most unsettling consequence of using these ancient rights: the complete loss of memory after she used the power.
UNWELCOMED GUESTS: A GHOST STORY
Unwelcomed Guests was accepted for publication by Necrology Shorts in February 2010.
UNWELCOMED GUESTS
Will Trizma was a writer of ghost stories and mined the local countryside for legends and their settings. The area abounded in both. His wife, Joan, acted as his editor and sounding board for his ideas. At times, the only comment she would make is, “You’re sick.”
Not only did he write ghost stories, but he also dreamt of them. One night he conjured a most vivid story; a story from the future. But unlike most of his dreams, he could not remember this tale. The only recollection he had was that it was horrifying.
* * *
It was the evening of August 15, 1949. The time was slightly before ten as a train made its way toward West Chester. There were fifteen souls aboard, counting the crew and passengers on this quiet summer night. The steam locomotive was pushing a caboose and two passenger cars. The weather had been stormy for days and up ahead the foundation of the bridge spanning Ship Road had been undermined by runoff. Jim Purvis, making his last run in a fully loaded fuel truck, slowly crossed the bridge. As he reached the span’s center, it collapsed leaving the truck astraddle the tracks. Jim could not believe he was still alive considering the load he was carrying. Although injured, he managed to climb out of the ravine and go seeking help.
As the train slowly made its way into a depressed section of track, the conductor, Ben Elliot, sat on the caboose’s platform and began filling his pipe thinking about sharing a late dinner with his wife. He looked down to light the pipe, and once achieving a satisfactory burn, he puffed contently and then looked up. The sight before him made his scream, “Holy sh…! He never finished the expletive.
The caboose rammed the truck, followed by the cars. The locomotive cut through the wreck until it reached the truck exploding the gas tank and turning the wreck into a funeral pyre.
* * *
Writing is a lonely profession, and years ago Will sought out a local writer’s group for support and editorial advice. During a Christmas dinner attended by all the writers, Will and Joan suggested a summer party and volunteered to hold it at their house. As the day of the party approached, one spouse or two became sick and others were called away unexpectedly on business.
Will and his wife greeted their guests, their thirteen guests.
Their dog, Millie, a lab mix was her usual excited self with the arrival of every new visitor. Once everyone was there, she settled down and dozed in the sun.
The conversation was lively with all the creative minds present, and as dusk approached, Will was called upon to tell a ghost story. “Not dark enough yet,” he answered.
Dessert was served, and when there was no longer a hint of sunlight, and with the patio bathed in twilight, Will deemed the time right for his tale and went into the house. He returned with candles, one for each table, after extinguishing all the inside lights. “Now we have the right atmosphere,” he said. Will began his story and even Millie appeared interested, her eyes reflecting the candlelight.
The weather had been rainy the last few days, and at ten as he began to read, Will noticed a mist had begun coming out of the gull bordering one side of his property. A few guests had asked him earlier about the gully and he answered that it had once harbored a railroad track.
The mist became denser and soon overtook the yard along with the guests. One by one they all fell asleep, including Millie. As the wall of fog enveloped all present, fifteen human shapes began to form. The specters slowly made their way to the dozing, and one by one, entered their bodies.
The next morning, they awoke from their deep sleep and knowingly smiled at one another. Ben Elliot looked around, and Will’s eyes filled with tears. “We’ve waited sixty years for this moment.”
Millie awoke and growled. She knew there was something terribly wrong with her master.
THE END
PRIONS AND THE MARS INVASION OF EARTH
PRIONS AND THE MARS INVASION OF EARTH
While writing Martian Rebirth I asked myself, “How could enough prions, floating through space, be able to infect an entire planet. This recently resulted in a look at prion replication. Also, in avoiding including this information, I avoided an ‘info dump’.
The next two posts will involve an explanation of what an ‘info dump’ is and a look and prion replication and how, in my story, prion replication on Earth would be different than that on Mars. These subjects may not instill a burning interest in some. But some may be curious.
I wondered how prions multiply for they are nothing but strains of protein lacking DNA and RNA, standard requirements to multiply.
I also realized if an expensive exploration of my question in this story would probably result in an ‘info dump’ and slow down the story. So now that you have read the story what follows is the explanation of what exactly an ‘info dump’ is and a brief look at prion replication.
MARTIAN REBIRTH ANALYSIS
MARTIAN REBIRTH ANALYSIS
I mentioned before I posted Martian Rebirth that an Earth invasion was involved. That the invasion did not involve animal, vegetable or mineral. Now you know that the culprit was prions, those small pieces of protein known to cause disease, here on Earth, such diseases as mad-cow disease and its human equivalent. And these little guys are difficult to get rid of. They have been found on surgical instruments use during surgery involving prions. Remaining even after autoclaving (sterilization with heat and steam).
Yet if you were careful in your reading you will find that in the first part of the story posted Mars itself was invaded by an unknown source of prions which altered the planet’s inhabitance, for the better.
Perhaps after prion contamination of mankind, things will improve on our planet. Sounds like another story waiting in the wings.
My next post will be yet another concerning Martian Rebirth. The discussion will be the result of my being a former scientist and, currently, a writer.
The post will begin with a question I asked myself while writing this story. Perhaps you harbor the same question.
MARTIAN REBIRTH, CONTINUED
MARTIAN REBIRTH
Jeff Granger and Tom Nariba, mission specialists and the first men chosen to walk on the surface of Mars, waved to the cheering crowd as they approached the spacecraft that would take them on their journey. Behind them came Bill Griss, copilot, and Donald Summers, mission commander. They would remain in orbit around the red planet, mapping and performing scientific studies while relaying communications to and from Earth of the team on Mars’ surface. The astronauts craned their necks, taking in the massive rocket. The vehicle that would take them on a sojourn that would last eighteen months. The rocket was twice the size of the Saturn V used for the lunar missions. Composed of two stages, the first stage was used for the launch. The second stage would take them to the International Space Station where it would be refueled and the module containing the living quarters and the attached surface vehicle for exploration of the planet was already present. The fact that the booster could refuel at the International Space Station made the trip possible. Once refueled, the booster, along with the attached vehicles, would take them to Mars.
Jeff turned to Tom and said, “I still find it hard to believe we are going to Mars. We hope to answer major questions man has had about the red planet. Was there ever life on Mars? Does life, in some form, still exist?”
Jeff and Tom were in their thirties and entered the astronaut program ten years ago and had extensive training in space travel and more importantly were extremely capable scientists. They were excellent physical specimens, practically guaranteed to remain disease free for the length of the mission. Jeff, with his short-cropped blond hair, startling blue eyes, and athletic build, would not look out of place on a California beach. Tom topped Jeff’s six-foot frame by two inches. His unruly black hair and swarthy complexion hinted at his Arab roots. Both had loner personalities which would benefit them while working independently on the planet’s surface.
The psychological profiles of Bill Griss and Donald Summers were nearly opposite than that of the men going to the planet’s surface. These two were sociable and at ease with company in close places. Bill and Donald were test pilots – flyers. Their ability to make split-second decisions under adverse circumstances was why they were important to the crew. The little science they knew had been spoon-fed to them in preparation for this mission. This mix of personalities on the long journey to Mars and back to Earth was a healthy combination for the mission
The launch from Earth, on their epic voyage, was uneventful and surprisingly on time. Each man experienced a twinge of sadness knowing they would not set foot on Earth for eighteen months. But these feelings faded rapidly, replaced by the excitement of the adventure ahead. Donald Summers surveyed his crew as the bone-jarring launch made communication impossible and thought, We must prove that machines lack the flexibility that the human mind can provide when unforeseen situations occur. That man can digest data to answer questions that cannot be anticipated by robotic sensors. So much depends on the answers we provide.
Docking with the space station went smoothly. They would spend two days there before they made the final leap to Mars. The Mars module had to be thoroughly inspected one final time while their booster was being refueled. Jeff and Tom had practiced this procedure countless times, yet after all the training sessions, this time the procedure felt different. This time it was real.
With all the supplies loaded, they were released from the space station and the booster, along with its human cargo, slowly drifted away. With small positioning thrusts, the booster’s orbit decelerated. Before long the distance between it and the space station was more than one hundred miles. The booster fired signaling the beginning of the longest space journey man had yet to take. Griss was the first to speak as the Earth grew smaller and details blurred, “We’re leaving our comfortable planet to explore a distant world. I wonder what we will find and if we will answer the ultimate question, the possibility of life on Mars.”
The astronauts were kept busy on their trip by a host of experiments to accomplish and observations to make. Their spacecraft contained a refractor telescope for visual observations and an infrared telescope both taking advantage of being far from the Earth’s polluting light. The telescopes would be in constant use. Time flew by during the seven-month long journey to Mars.
Jeff and Tom had their own unique specialties and would spend four months exploring the red planet. Jeff was a biologist, looking for signs of life, including bacteria and viruses, and confirming the presence and the amount of water detected by unmanned probes orbiting the planet. Tom, the geologist, would study rock formations to trace the planet’s history. And with Jeff’s help, he would also drill into the surface for evidence which the presence of fossils might harbor.
One day, when they were halfway to the red planet, Jeff said, “Since I was a kid, I’ve heard about little green men. My favorite movie was ‘War of the Worlds’. Now I’m going there, and I still can’t believe it. The closer we get, the more anxious I am to know if some form of life could be waiting there for us.”
Tom answered, “I’ve been thinking about the prospect of finding life too. It will be a great discovery if we do. But it will also signal the end of our civilization’s conviction that it holds a unique place in a sterile universe. I hope we find some sign of Martian life. But at the same time, I sometimes fear the consequences such a discovery may involve. Would society have difficulty facing the fact that we are not alone.”
The four men were surprised how fast time passed on their journey. While they were conducting their assigned experiments, Mars went from a distant point of light to a discernable disc to a moon-sized sphere, and finally to a new world.
* * *
With the help of the onboard computer, the booster inserted itself into orbit around the red planet, an orbit that would take the craft over a previously discovered ice field. Jeff and Tom prepared to make their momentous journey to the surface. They separated their module from the booster and headed toward Mars. Their module resembled the lunar craft used long ago, but on a much larger scale for this was going to be their living quarters not for days, but for months. The module also contained a lab with many of the instruments normally found in a biology lab but miniaturized. When time came for them to return to the booster, the lower part of the module would remain behind with instrumentation that would continue to monitor the planet’s surface. Their living quarters would rejoin the booster and reattach for the voyage back to Earth.
The touchdown on the Martian surface set both their hearts racing. Each had wondered about the feelings this moment would produce. In the end, pure awe was the product. They viewed the pale red landscape out their window, contrasted against an ebony sky speckled with stars.. Jeff said to Tom, “I know it’s against regulations, but I think we should both take the first steps on to the surface together.” Tom happily agreed.
An hour later, they were suited up and ready to leave the module. As they stepped onto the Martian surface, they said the lines that were practiced for the audience back on Earth. “We bring the presence of mankind to our sister planet Mars. Fiction has dealt with the prospect that this red planet harbors life. We have journeyed to seek the truth behind the fiction.” Once the excitement of their first steps wore off, both men settled down to complete their assigned tasks.
The module had landed on the intended ice field. Tom took core samples and conducted seismic tests to determine the depth of the ice. He found the depth to vary between thirty and fifty feet. He already knew the dimensions of the field from orbiting observations to be hundreds of square miles in area. This would supply an abundant amount of water for future explorations and make possible the establishment of colonies that would serve as a stepping-stone for future space exploration.
Tom examined the Martian ice for signs of life by gently melting a quantity of water, then passing the solution through two filter sizes. The first filter would trap any bacteria present and would be incubated with growth media to see if any colonies would form. He used a microscope to check for the presence of bacteria, but none were present.
The second filter would be used to detect viruses and, if present, would be encouraged to proliferate. During these studies Tom wore a disposable bio suit to protect him from any life form present and worked in a miniature laminar flow hood. He ran test after test yielding no positive results for the presence of bacteria or viruses. He would also harvest water to be returned to Earth.
Jeff spent days roaming the Martian landscape while Tom remained close to the spacecraft. Jeff drove the exploration vehicle to distant geologic formations, taking samples and making measurements. He had never felt such deep peace knowing he was alone exploring the surface of Mars studying, charting and sampling the alien landscape. He found hints of the fossilized existence of life in the past, but detailed analysis back on Earth would be needed for confirmation.
The time to journey back to Earth rapidly approached. The astronauts had spent over three months working extremely hard in their quest to discover life and study the planet. Tom and Jeff were disappointed with their research results. They did not find firm evidence of any present life past or present. Perhaps the samples they were returning with would supply more hopeful results.
Days before their voyage home the crew orbiting Mars ran into their first major problem. The fuel cells’ mechanism used to manufacture water on the orbiter broke down. They would still be able to process their urine into potable water, but their bodies used more water than the processed urine could provide. They would never be able to survive the seven-month journey home on the dwindling water their urine yielded.
Mission control was notified. Jeff and Tom had fuel cells on their module to manufacture water while they were on the planet’s surface. But the part of the craft that contained the fuel cells would remain behind. The solution was obvious, a solution the astronauts had already decided upon but waited to be confirmed. The response from mission control said, “You are sitting on a vast amount of water. Fill the storage tanks on the surface module with filtered water filtered twice, to insure its sterility. That, along with your processed urine should provide enough water for you to return home.”
The Martian water’s pH was tested and found to be basically neutral; water on Earth was slightly acid due to dissolved carbon dioxide. Atomic absorption analysis was also run to discover if there were any dissolved minerals present. The water contained fewer trace minerals than water found on Earth. Later, as a mission control scientist studied the analysis he commented, “The Martian water is purer than what comes out of my faucet. Probably tastes better too.” Tom spent the last days melting and filtering water, then filling all the storage tanks to the brim.
The time came to depart Mars. As the two men watched the red surface recede to a red disc, they felt a twinge of regret. Their capsule successfully coupled with the orbiter that would take them home. As they departed Mars’ orbit Donald Summers said to his crew, “We did not discover any life forms currently present, but our rock samples may uncover the evidence of life in the past. After we return to Earth analysis of the sample we are bringing back may yield evidence of past life.” But each crewmember secretly harbored the fear that Mars was a sterile world. Perhaps mankind was a unique product of fortunate circumstances in an otherwise sterile infinity.
Four months into their return flight they found it necessary to begin consumption of Martian water. Tom was first to taste the water. “Bottoms up,” he said. He took a long drink then said, “This water does have a slight aftertaste, probably due to some dissolved minerals, but I’m sure it’s safe.. Bill responded, “You’re right. But I can tolerate the aftertaste for three months if the alternative is dying of thirst. The four men learned to ignore the strange taste, knowing the water was pure, and looked forward to returning home.
Jeff was the first to notice the beginning of the change. His thick blond hair had begun to thin, in fact, all the hair on his body began to disappear. He took to wearing a baseball cap to hide his change in appearance. One day Tom saw him without his cap and asked, “What the hell is happening to you?” His questions ceased when he found clumps of his own hair in the sink. Soon all four of the astronauts suffered the same malady, complete loss of all hair.
Bill and Donald both had families, which lead them to experience more anxiety than the two single astronauts. Bill said to Donald, “I have no idea what is happening to us. I sometimes try to think of my family but I’m beginning to have trouble.” With a weary look Donald responded, “I am too. I don’t know what’s going on.”
In addition, they experienced a decrease in the musculature of their arms and legs. Their arms and legs lengthened and became exceedingly thin while the little fingers of their hands withered and were lost. Fear of all the changes they had undergone was short lived for their brains were changing as well.
Two months into their journey home all communications with mission control ceased. The minds of the astronauts became confused, unable to focus. They found the words communicated to them from Earth alien but were able to understand the thoughts behind the words. Their thoughts remained bewildered until they crossed some strange boundary in their brains. They were now at peace knowing the mission they were sent to fulfill would be accomplished, but not the mission as planned. The four beings sat perfectly still and studied one another with their huge black eyes. They felt no alarm as their skin turned a grayish hue, and their skulls enlarged to become huge cranial domes.
Back on Earth, Emma Griss and Rhonda Summers, wives of the two astronauts, talked often. During one call, Rhonda told Emma, “It’s been so long since we’ve had any word from mission control. I’m sure there must be some kind of telemetry being received from the spacecraft. I wish they would give us more information.” The two women continued to call each other on a regular basis but their mutual hope was rapidly replaced by fear.
* * *
The space capsule separated from its booster and began its fiery descent to the Pacific Ocean. A fleet of naval ships was on hand for retrieval. Parachutes deployed and the craft landed precisely where intended. The computers had functioned flawlessly. Divers from a hovering helicopter jumped into the water to attach a cable to the capsule which delivered it to a nearby aircraft carrier. A specially trained technician opened the capsule’s hatch. With no word from the crew for so long he feared all he would discover upon opening the capsule would be four corpses. The sight that greeted him shocked and repulsed him. He immediately shouted for aid to remove the four.
* * *
A week after the four astronauts returned to Earth, after the most important space voyage ever accomplished by mankind, the world was still deprived of greeting their heroes. The press clamored for information. Questions ran rampant about the outcome of the expedition.
To alleviate all speculation George Fredrick, head of NASA, arranged a meeting in the building housing the astronauts with members of the media to end all conjecture.
The small auditorium was packed with international press. A remote feed to a larger room in another building held the overflow. The tension was palpable as the NASA head approached the podium.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I have called this meeting to end all speculation as to the outcome of our Martian expedition and to introduce you to our gallant astronauts.
“But before I present them, I would like to say something about the conclusions formed from the samples Jeff and Tom obtained from their exploration of the surface of Mars. After extensive analysis of the samples, it is speculated that there is an extremely strong possibility that a primitive civilization had existed there in the past and was suddenly altered by a factor of unknown origin.”
George Fredrick waited for the uproar of the audience to die down.
“In a sense, from what we can determine, the inhabitants of Mars were manipulated by biological material perhaps journeying from outer space transforming a primitive species into a highly intelligent form of life by infecting the Martian water which changed the Martians into creatures designed by an unknown lifeforce. Analysis of rock samples from Mars indicates that two species of intelligent creatures once existed on Mars. This is, of course, speculation but this theory is the result of bits of fossilized skull fragments. Both skulls indicate, through size and structure, intelligent creatures. However, one was possibly far superior to the other in mental acuity.
“What is fascinating is that, through carbon dating, that the two forms existed together for a very short interval. The transition from one creature to another appears to be remarkably instantaneous. Our astronauts confirm the rapidity of this process
“As you all know, the one major problem experienced on this mission was the breakdown of our water-making capabilities. Because of this, our astronauts were forced to drink filtered, sterilized Martian water. We now know that even though this water was sterile, it was not pure.
“After our astronauts returned, the water was further analyzed. One method used was western blot technology to determine if there were any foreign proteins present. It was found that indeed there were. What we discovered in the Martian water was the presence of prions. These bits of protein, although not alive, can alter living beings. On this planet, prions cause mad cow disease and the human counterpart Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.”
Fredrick next showed a slide of the Martian prion protein structure.
“Prions are virtually indestructible. Surgical instruments used where prions were present were found to still harbor the proteins even after being autoclaved. However, alcohol, which denatures protein, can eliminate them.
“These prions can apparently function as a carrier with transformation capabilities. By a manner not yet understood they can take over the biochemistry of whatever creature consumes them and converts that creature into what can only be called the Martain which existed at the end of intelligent life on the planet. This finding was truly unexpected. These prions were there for a sinister purpose. They harbor the unique property of creating alien creatures from any being that ingests them. They possess the ability to transform contaminated beings into those of the planet from which the prions originated. Our voyage to the red planet may have been the first time it had been visited by sentient life, but prions appeared first. The discovery of these prions demonstrates that there are forces at work in the universe that we can only begin to comprehend.
“One aspect of our astronauts’ return trip was puzzling. Why did they not contact mission control when they noticed the first physical changes? On Earth, prions affect only the brain. It is only conjecture, but we feel that long before any physical manifestations took hold, their brains were first affected. Once they had all ingested the prions, their brains were altered. We feel this protective mechanism prevented communication with any other beings except their fellow aliens. Now that the process is complete, we hope to find a way to communicate with our astronauts.
“Without further delay, I would like to introduce to you Jeff Granger, Tom Nariba, Bill Griss and Donald Summers – Martians.”
The door to the isolation chamber opened and there sat the four Martians with their huge black unblinking eyes. The reporters present reacted with horror and wonder.
With their mission in mind and knowledge provided by the prions, the four former astronauts consumed large amounts of Martian water knowing that their bodies would produce a copious supply of concentrated prions.
The four Martians quietly sat as they read the thoughts of the crowd. Each had in his possession a secreted vial of ‘concentrated Martian water thick with prions to transform the Earth into their home.
THE END
MARTIAN REBIRTH, ANOTHER INVASION ATTEMPT
MARTIAN REBIRTH
The last Martians clung desperately to life, knowing their situation was hopeless. Still, they practiced a truth known throughout the universe; life is precious and vigorously preserve. But their society was doomed. The underground cities they inhabited were littered with corpses. Their scientists had predicted this turn of events, but no one believed it true until it was too late.
* * *
As time passes the atmosphere of Mars began to thin, but since the loss began the Martians inhabited the planet’s core and manufactured their own atmosphere, the population worried little. They had their magnificent oceans on the surface, the source of life-giving power, the declining atmosphere was of little concern.
The scientists tried to explain the impact of the loss of the atmosphere. One prominent scientist addressed the supreme council, “We are safe in our cities, we control most of the aspects of our life – the atmosphere, food production – but we have no control over the oceans on which our lives depend.
“Our atmosphere is slowly thinning, escaping into space. A thousand years from now, the atmosphere will be too thin to support life, but you say, “’We live in the planet’s core and make our atmosphere’, that is correct, but we cannot duplicate the surface water that gives us the unique life which is ours.”
“Our oceans will disappear. With little atmosphere, much of the water will sublime into space. What water remains will freeze. No longer will the streams of life filter from the surface to fill our lakes. We may be able to farm the ice, but we will never be able to supply the vast amount of water our society requires. Understand, we can manufacture water, but it will not have the same life-giving properties which water contained on the surface provides.”
At one time that the most advanced beings on Mars were a primal form of life. But gradually, due to some unknown factor, the Martians changed both physically and mentally resulting in an entirely new society. For newborns this factor was unable to cross the Martian placenta causing the babies of the inhabitants to appear nothing like the adults. But once the babies began nursing and drinking the water, they took on the appearance of their parents.
A thousand years passed; the scientist’s prophecy came to fruition. The oceans began to disappear. The planet cooled, the atmosphere thinned and what remained of the oceans froze. Where once the deafening roar of the water from above filling the lakes below echoed through the interior of the planet, now there was only silence.
Rationing began, but an estimate of approximately one hundred years was given for their society to continue. As the years passed, the lakes grew smaller and smaller. Eventually, they became pools of mud and then parched ground.
The last Martians huddled near what water remained. No one had the strength to venture to the surface and gather what little ice which was still there. They grieved for their magnificent cities; now vast wastelands filled with rotting corpses. All hope for their civilization was lost.
TO BE CONTINUED
ANOTHER INVASION ATTEMPT
MARS TRIES ONCE AGAIN TO INVADE EARTH
My next post will be my short story Martian Rebirth published by Bewildering Stories in 2007 and Books To Go Now in 2011.
In the story Mars is attempting to occupy our planet. But this time the plan is nothing like what was attempted in the past (you understand we are talking fiction, as far as I know).
The method being used is quite unique. It involves neither animal, vegetable nor mineral. And the plan is in no was connected to AI.
This should keep you guessing.
Enjoy the story.
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE, A SHORT STORY
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE
As mentioned earlier this story was recently published by The Corner Bar. Here is a link to the publication.
God does not play dice with the universe.
—- Albert Einstein
God not only plays dice; he also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.
—- Stephen Hawking
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE
Prof. Maxwell Lowman sat in his MIT office deep in thought. It was mid-afternoon, the blinds were lowered and closed creating the setting he desired. The sole illumination is a reading lamp on his desk, a desk littered with books, research papers and correspondence. His office, lined with bookshelves contained works reflecting his eclectic interests running from poetry to the latest volumes in astrophysics.
With his salt and pepper eyebrows and mane of unruly gray hair he looked every part of the college professor. Lowman was an expert on the ‘Big Bang’, as if anyone could claim that title, he often thought. An expert. Might as well be an expert on heaven. Another doctrine born of conjecture. He often mused, “Why did the ‘Big Bang’ take place? How did it give birth to the universe? Questions yet to be solved. And to some, the answers relying on faith. The same as the existence of heaven. But unlike heaven, there was proof, in theory, that the ‘Big Bang’ did take place but for what reason did the universe exist? The question of why the universe came into existence is unanswerable. How is a matter of conjecture.
Lowman’s mind continued on a journey he had come to enjoy. Where some unknown force, some would call God, held hands with science. How could the universe come into existence from nothing? He tried to imagine space before the ‘Big Bang’. Nothing existed. Time did not exist. Light did not exist. Before the ‘Big Bang’ did space exist. Some thought, before the ‘Big Bang’ space did not exist but then unfolded. Did anything come before the existence of nothing. He spent hours musing over these questions thinking that perhaps, science could not and should not answer everything. Some mystery should remain.
* * *
Lowman was conducting his first graduate class of the semester covering the ‘Big Bang’. His lecture would be full of theory, but in reality, no answers. During the course of his lectures, he encouraged questions. And these questions would determine the structure of his future lectures. And this year, with the important upcoming experiment, he wanted to introduce the Higgs boson.
During his lecture, one of his favorite pupils from the past year, Joe Hess, raised his hand and asked, “The ‘Big Bang’ is a mystery to me.”
Lowman said, “Well, you are not alone.”
Hess continued, “We know it happened, or else we wouldn’t be here. But where did all the matter in the universe come from?”
Lowman anticipated this question because it was asked every year. He began pacing along the front of the lecture hall to organize his thoughts for opinions were constantly changing. He began, “Stephen Hawking has a relatively new theory that all matter in the universe was created by the ‘God Particle’. In 1964 Peter Higgs predicted the existence of the Higgs boson which, in a book written by Leon Lederman, was referred to as the ‘God Particle’. The boson is central to our understanding of the structure of all matter”.
Lowman anticipated Joe’s next question, “But where did the ‘God Particle’ come from?”
“That, young man, is the question which remains unanswered. The theory is that the ‘God Particle’ populated the entire universe in the smallest fraction of a second at a speed far beyond the speed of light. Of course, it is accepted that nothing can exceed the speed of light, but we must remember that when this occurred light did not exist. Time did not exist, so anything is possible. When the ‘Big Bang’ occurred, it is theorized that the universe consisted of equal parts of dark matter, which is now accepted to exist, and visible matter. For unknown reasons, the amount of visible matter surpassed the amount of dark matter. And that is the reason that the universe – stars, black holes and you and I – exist.
Lowman concluded his lecture by telling the class, “I am sure you are aware that tomorrow a unique experiment will be conducted. It will attempt to duplicate the material which existed immediately following the ‘Big Bang’. And perhaps create the particle which existed at the moment of the ‘Big Bang’, the ‘God Particle’. He concluded the lecture, and as the class exited the lecture hall, erased the whiteboard of his lecture notes. One fact he saved for his future lecture was that the universe was expanding, not contracting as was originally thought. So rather contracting to the point of, perhaps, another ‘Big Bang’ it will expand into single atoms wandering in space. Nature destroyed along with all the balance which once existed. It made no sense.
* * *
Lowman made his way to his office, excitement in his step. His anticipation of tomorrow’s experiment filled his mind with the possibilities it may contribute to understanding the birth of the universe. He would be counting the hours, the minutes until the experiment was initiated. Wondering at the knowledge to be revealed. It was an experiment in which MIT was a participant, along with a host of other prestigious institutions from all over the world. Prompted by his excitement, he scheduled a meeting with Dr. Volachek, head of the Physics Department, to share his enthusiasm. With a few hours before the meeting was to take place, he returned to the solitude of his office to contemplate what tomorrow’s experiment might reveal. Now he raised the blinds to the dismal gray of the winter’s afternoon.
While sitting at his desk, his eyes wandered over the bookcases lining the walls of his office. He had a love for books since he was a child. During his youth they were his entertainment, and as he grew older, his source of knowledge. He enjoyed being among the thoughts and ideas of the great minds contained in these volumes. Now, with tomorrow’s experiment, he may be witness to a great advancement in the understanding of the universe. The answers to questions great minds had pondered.
With the Hubble telescope and a host of great technologies being developed, questions were being answered and knowledge being gained more rapidly than ever before. The discovery of dark energy and dark matter, once radical concepts, has changed the science of physics. The question is, why does this mysterious dark matter and energy exist? Lowman sat in his office with the only sound the ticking of the old clock sitting on his bookshelf.
As the time of his meeting with Dr. Volchek drew close he donned his overcoat, and through the crisp winter afternoon, made his way to the dean’s office. He had known Dr. Volchek for years. The dean was a good friend and knowledgeable colleague. He entered the office and Dr. Volchek rose and welcomed him with a handshake. “Good to see you, Max. Glad to have someone with whom to share the excitement of tomorrow’s experiment.”
Lowman answered, “I just hope nothing goes wrong. It is an extremely complicated endeavor. This is an international effort with billions of dollars invested. Failure would be heartbreaking.”
The dean replied, “With every experiment there is a risk. But even a failure can produce knowledge. Now relax. Just look forward to the progress we may make in understanding the mysteries of our universe. Tomorrow that device nicknamed, The Hand of God, with gold atoms racing into one another to achieve unbelievable temperatures, will hopefully cause protons and neutrons to break apart into quarks and the gluon particles which hold the quarks together. And then, we hope, the quark – gluon plasma will duplicate the densest material ever created. The material which existed at or immediately after the ‘Big Bang’. Perhaps a Higgs boson. What a mighty contribution to physics that would be. Creating the material unknown to the universe for 18 billion years.”
* * *
That night, at home, his mind was like a whirling dervish. At dinner Max’s wife, Martha, could feel the excitement her husband generated. She said, “Max, calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. Indigestion will not help you appreciate tomorrow.”
You’re right, Martha. You’re right.”
They finished dinner and spent the remainder of the evening reading. Later, as Martha prepared for bed, Max lie there, his mind working furiously. Once Martha was in bed, she turned off the bedside lamp, kissed Max and said, “I love you.” And he returned that thought. It was their bedtime ritual and meant a great deal to them both. In the darkened room Max turned onto his side. He knew it would take some time to fall asleep, feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve.
The next morning, having spent a fitful night of anticipation, Lowman prepared for work. Before leaving he kissed his wife on the cheek and softly said, “I love you. You make my life worth living.” Martha slightly stirred and smiled.
* * *
The drive to campus seemed to take forever. Lowman had trouble maintaining the speed limit. His excitement transferred to his foot. He parked his car and entered one of the large lecture halls reserved to watch the experiment take place on closed – circuit television and hoped for some kind of immediate results. Dr. Volchek saw Lowman and motioned for him to come over and sit in the seat Volchek saved for him.” The scientists at the ‘Hand of God’ began the introduction of those present at the site and relate a brief history of the journey which led to the experiment.
When that was completed, the experiment was initiated.
Lowman began to consider what knowledge might be discovered but that thought was never completed. In an instant Lowman no longer existed. The universe no longer existed. The balance of nature was revealed. All Lowman’s questions were answered, and the answers would remain forever unknown.
Lowman had always been amazed how nature maintained balance. The balance also applied to the Higgs boson. And true to that balance, the experiment produced an anti – Higgs boson. In a thousandth of a trillionth of a second dark matter, using dark energy, compressed all the matter of the universe into the anti – Higgs boson. The entire mass of the universe was now compressed into a minute particle of unbelievable mass. This process had been repeated for an infinite number of times. For infinity. The anti – Higgs boson sat alone in the emptiness of space. And after billions upon billions of years would morph into a Higgs boson prepared to initiate another ‘Big Bang’.
THE END
AND THE BEGINNING
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE, THE STORY’S HISTORY
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE, THE STORY’S HISTORY
My next post will be my short story, The Universe in Balance, recently published by The Corner Bar. But before I post it I thought I’d tell you something about its history.
This story is one of my first attempts to write a short story some twenty years ago. It has had a long journey through many edits.
All along this story’s journey I have felt there was something wrong. That something wrong was probably the reason I couldn’t get it published. Finally, not long ago, I realized what the mistake was.
An exciting physics experiment was soon to be attempted. The primary character, Professor Lowman, has a knowledge of the experiment he should not have. He has a deep-seated fear of the results of the experiment. He feels it should not be conducted. That the outcome of the experiment could be disastrous.
Why does he feel this way?
He is a scientist and should be looking forward to the experiment being conducted for the knowledge that might result. I rewrote the story with the professor excited about this experiment and the knowledge that it may yield. After the rewrite it was published.
MY LATEST PUBLISHED STORY
MY STORY, PETS, PUBLISHED IN THE CORNER BAR
As I mentioned in my post on April 7th, The Corner Bar had accepted my short story, Pets, for publication. It has now appeared and here is a link to the sto
“PETS” by WALT TRIZNA
Copyright 2025 Walt Trizna
Ronald Corey was a mean son of a bitch. His foul nature increased over years of personal disappointment. His life was now going nowhere. His anger was relentless since his wife had walked out the door. Just about everything that breathed hated him and he returned the favor. Turns out, there would also be some beings which didn’t breathe would share that hate. Tall, overweight, a monster of a man in size and personality, he had a rim of graying brown hair bordering his bald head. At 49, Corey was ten years older than his departed wife. He was educated, with an associate degree in engineering but held firmly to his blue-collar upbringing. Unfortunately, he did not hold firmly to employment. His favorite response to management ‘Go fuck yourself,’ resulted in rapid and direct membership to the ranks of the unemployed. His wife, June, was a complete opposite of Corey. Highly educated, holding multiple degrees, she was petite with dark hair and eyes so blue they merited a double take by the observer. Their temperament was also at opposite poles. How they became attracted to each other, never mind married, was a mystery to all who knew them, and eventually became a mystery to June too. June was aware that Corey drank and came to consider it to be just part of his makeup. When not drinking he was different, loving and kind. But once they married his drinking increased, being loving and kind flew out the window. Then came the start of physical abuse. June finally saw the handwriting on the wall, and what she could not see was knocked into her. Corey desperately wanted her to produce a son, but after one year of marriage, June came to realize that bringing a child into the world with Corey as the father would be a disaster. How would he treat a child when he treated her so terribly? Her imagination reeled and her mind produced images that left her disgusted. While he tried to become a father, June adhered to birth control. Corey would yell, “I don’t understand it. The rest of my family is popping kids left and right. What is wrong with you?” June replied, “Maybe it’s not me. Maybe it’s you. Go get checked.” She knew Corey had a deep-seated fear of doctors, his entire family did. “Why don’t you get checked?” he shouted back. “Fine,” June said. “We’ll go together,” and that was the end of that. Finally, after five years of enduring the hell of their marriage, June had had enough. Sporting a black eye, she began packing. Corey threw his glass of cheap scotch at their closed bedroom door and felt nothing, no loss – no regrets. Experiencing emotions, other than anger, had long ago departed his being. As she turned to leave tears moistened her eyes. Seeing this, Corey was sure she did not have the guts to go. He waited for her determination to wither, was surprised when she 10 Corner Bar Magazine said, “I can’t take the pets. You’ll have to take care of them until I find a place for them.” The pets were now his responsibility, and he despised them – always had. The dog, Molly, a medium size brown and white mixed breed, was an SPCA rescue. Sally and Sam, the result of friends of friends whose cats produced litters, were two grey tabbies who looked identical, although three years of age separated them. After June was gone his drinking increased and the more he drank the more his rage grew needing an outlet, and that outlet became the animals. If one should chance his way, it would receive a kick or powerful slap sending the poor animal sprawling and running for safety. After Corey had enough of their neediness, he looked at the animals and said, “Now to get rid of you little bastards.” But a short-lived moment of sanity filtered into his brain. The entire neighborhood knew about the pets and would become suspicious if they all suddenly disappeared. “Christ, people are going to jail for shit like that,” he said to himself. You see, he did not even consider putting them up for adoption. He only considered death or abandonment. But then he realized the plan to just drive them to some field and leave them was also out. Damn, he couldn’t remember if Molly had one of those new fucking chips im planted. “Damn animals are turning into computers now,” he mumbled. From then on the animals lived in fear of Corey. In time after constant abuse, fear gradually turned into anger, an anger they communicated to one another as only animals can. Poor Molly spent most of her day huddling in her open crate, seeking the false sense of security it provided. If she left the cage, in Corey’s presence, she would suffer a kick sending the dog running back for shelter. The abuse was relentless and soon resulted in a permanent limp, and also something else, a hate which crossed a subtle boundary. There was another bone of contention, the cats’ litter box. The cats, constantly hiding, ventured out only to eat and use the litter box. The abuse they received when hunger or nature called was relentless, journeying to the levels of Molly’s rage. The source of the cats’ abuse was that Corey felt degraded every time he had to scoop up the cat’s waste, as if he was some kind of servant. One day he thought, I’ll show the little bastards and stopped cleaning it. Soon the box was nothing but a huge mass of lumps of congealed urine-soaked litter and cat turds. When the cats began relieving themselves in the vicinity of the box, Corey cursed them to hell and was forced once again to keep it clean. “Fucking cats,” he would mumble every time he had to clean up after them. With his wife gone, Corey stayed drunk most of the time. During this ‘relaxed state,’ in the far reaches of his muddled brain was the realization that he needed to find a job soon. Alone with the pets, that’s how Corey lived, but then his twisted reasoning would replace logic, and he would mumble, “Find a job for what? To feed the damned animals.” Due to the stress of their lives, the behavior of the animals changed from the normal response to a lone master, following that person from room to room to occupy the same space. This was not how life for the pets in the Corey household went. Here they avoided their master and stayed hidden, and Corey liked it that way. And when Corey finally passed out from a day of drinking, they would form a tight group glaring in his di rection and attend to their needs. One day, after one particularly violent attack on the animals, from the corner of his eye he detected movement. In his drunken stupor, he could not tell if he was seeing things or not, the movement was accompanied by a soft rustling sound, as if the softest of materials was being dragged across the floor. Was he now hearing things? Sure, he would find an animal lurking, but all that he saw were piles of pet hair constantly increasing in size and quantity, another by-product of the animals Corey loathed. That was a major problem, the hair. Shortly after June left, Corey noticed small balls of hair accumulating at the edges of the rooms and eventually they appeared over most of the floor. The rest of the house fared just as bad with the sink filled with dishes, a heavy coating of dust on every surface and the refrigerator full of rotting food, but the hair was the filth that maddened Corey the most. June had kept the floors swept and, of course, Corey never appreciated the effort. Now the hair accumulated, it seemed, with a vengeance. If he only knew. Corey swept up the hair every few weeks, filling plastic bags full of the fluff. He would be in an especially bad ‘pet mood’ after completing this chore. One day, after a particularly long time between sweeping up the hair, he had two bags full of waste. He was about to take them out to the trash when his usual anger turned to shock. Piercing the depths of both bags, he saw two glowing points of red resembling glowing cigarettes seen in the night or the last embers of a dying fire. He shook his head, looked away, and when he looked back the glowing points of light were gone. “What the fuck?” he muttered and soon forgot the incident. Corey stretched the hair cleaning, and at the same time, the hair seemed to accumulate at a faster rate, appearing as small tumbleweeds, ready to move with the slightest breeze. After the next cleaning, he had three bags of hair. Corey stooped to pick them up when he stopped. He shook his head to clear his brain because he could not believe his eyes. In each bag, in addition to the two small glowing spheres, there appeared a crimson crescent shaped like a smiling mouth. Corey stepped back and then stumbled forward for another look. The specter in the bags was gone. Weeks later, cleaning yielded four bags of hair. Once the job was completed, Corey cautiously approached the bags and vaguely remembered the previous specter. It was then he beheld a sight filling him with terror. Along with the now glowing eyes, the smiling crescent reappeared slightly parted and filled with a vicious set of pointed teeth. The balls of hair began to move within the bags, which was impossible. Soon the bags tipped, spilling their contents on the floor. Ever so slowly, to Corey’s horror, the spheres of hair began to move toward him. Within the fluffy balls there appeared to be a solid presence, a substance where none should exist, as if something unworldly had taken on a physical aspect. Corey backed into the corner of the living room, stumbling over accumulated trash. While their master faced this unknown terror, the pets appeared, Molly, limping from her protective crate, Sally and Sam from beneath beds. Corey’s eyes flicked from the animals, sit ting in a group gazing at him to the slowly creeping maleficent spheres. The closer these hateful entities moved toward Corey, the more at ease the animals seemed to become, as if a great weight were being lifted from their lives. It was then that neighbors heard ungodly screams coming from Corey’s home and called 911. The responding police had to break down the door to gain entrance and were met by a grisly sight that they would never forget, haunting them for the rest of their days. Corey lay – they assumed it was Corey – in the middle of the living room. Where his face had once been was nothing more than a blood-soaked mound of flesh. The rest of his body was horribly mutilated. Once they overcame their initial shock, the cops noticed Molly and the two cats sitting close to the body intently observing it. One officer said to the other, “I wonder if they tried to stop what ever happened.” His partner responded, “Do you think the animals could possibly have do this?” “No way. Look how they are keeping watch over their dead master. They must have loved the guy,” said the other officer.
v 13 Copyright 2025 Walt Trizna Corner Bar Magazine
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