Posts tagged ‘astronomy’
ONE MORE TRY!
And Then He Rested was accepted for publication by Bewildering Stories in December 2007. The story has definite religious overtones, and I thought this might be a problem. It wasn’t.
AND THEN HE RESTED
David Roser, a twenty-two-year-old graduate student, was summoned to Dr. Smithfield’s office one bleak winter afternoon. David was enrolled at M.I.T. in the Astronomy Department. He chose this field for it provided the opportunity to dwell on concrete observations, but also gave him a chance to dream, to ponder the vastness of space and the possibilities of what might exist out there.
He was also in awe of Dr. Springfield.
Springfield had won a Nobel Prize in physics for his study of the cosmos. To work under the guidance of Dr. Springfield went well beyond an honor. It allowed him to tread the sacred ground of the universe.
To be summoned to Springfield’s office was a rare pleasure David savored for the man truly had the characteristics of the absent-minded genius. When thinking, he constantly smoked his pipe, and a wave of aromatic smoke followed him. All the buildings on campus were smoke-free, but no one had the nerve to tell Dr. Springfield to extinguish his pipe. To add to the dilemma, he was hard of hearing and anyone daring to reprimand him would have brought attention to someone shouting at a Nobel Prize winning laureate.
David knocked loudly on Dr. Smithfield’s office door.
“Come in,” came a preoccupied voice far louder than normal.
David opened the door to see Dr. Springfield seated at his cluttered desk; his head wreathed in a cloud of smoke as he puffed furiously at his pipe.
“David, thank you so much for coming. Have a seat.”
Smithfield motioned to the only chair in the office. It was piled high with books, which David carefully removed and stacked on the floor. As he waited for the professor to complete his work, David drank in the atmosphere of the room. Most of the wall space was taken up with bookshelves piled haphazardly with books and stacks of paper. On the little wall space available hung framed photos taken by famous astronomers. There were pictures taken using the Hubble telescope of distant galaxies and images of the planets taken from some of the most famous observatories on Earth. They were all taken by world-famous astronomers and given to Dr. Springfield. All the photos had been taken by former pupils.
Smithfield’s desk was huge, taking up a third of the room. The surface was also overflowing with books, papers and star charts. So although the desk was massive, the work area was minimal.
After a few minutes had passed, David loudly cleared his throat, not sure if Springfield remembered that he was there. Because of the professor’s hearing all communication had to be done quite aggressively. His deafness also accounted for his booming voice.
“David, there’s been an important discovery. I’m sure you have heard about the cloud of matter found revolving around a distant star in the Cancer system. The cloud is approximately the same distance the Earth is from our sun, and the star around which it travels is very similar to our own.”
“Yes, professor. The news is full of the discovery.”
Smithfield continued, “What makes this find truly exciting is that it is a window to the formation of our own planet. It will take billions of years, but someday this mass of debris may form another Earth. What is also so exciting is that, because of the distance of this system, we will be observing a planet form at approximately at the very time our own came into existence, give or take a few million years.
“The reason I wanted to see you, David, was that I want you to be involved in taking some of the initial measurements to determine the characteristics of this mass. Yours will be some of the first data recorded. For unknown generations, scientists will follow this planet’s development. It will be an important view to our past.”
David said, “I feel honored that you want me to do this work, but will it lead to a project for my degree?”
“I’m afraid not. We’ll only have about two weeks to record the initial data, then that area of the sky won’t be visible for observation for another hundred years. But who knows, with the advancement of space-based telescopes, we may be able to gather more data that observations, during similar conditions and advances in technology, allow.”
* * *
David made his observations over the next week, and they were truly amazing. He was sure his measurements were incorrect, so he did not inform Dr. Springfield of his findings. He did, however, consult with other astronomers after five days. David found he was one among many who did not believe their results.
On the seventh day after David began his observations, the hallways of M.I.T. were in an uproar. The astronomy building had lost its mantle of reserve and discipline.
Springfield did not hear the shouts echoing through the corridors. Beyond his office it was pandemonium.
A bewildered David Rosen knocked on Springfield’s door.
“Come in,” boomed the professor’s voice.
David was upset, mystified and euphoric at the same moment. He was on the brink of tears as he walked into Springfield’s office.
“David, what is the matter? You look like something is terribly wrong, son.”
“Professor, I’ve finished the project.”
Smithfield said, “I thought we could observe the mass for at least two weeks. Did you make the necessary measurements before you lost it?”
With a laugh that was almost mad, David said, “No professor, the project is finished. The debris is now a planet.”
Smithfield looked puzzled, “How could that be?” he asked. “There must be some mistake.”
“No, professor, there is no mistake. I’ve checked with other observatories. There is now a planet there. It took six days!”
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
DETAILS OF THE MARTIAN INVASION FOUND IN THE NOVEL
The novel begins with the primary character, while using a telescope at an observatory, notices flashes occurring on the surface of Mars. I use the term primary character because his name is never revealed. Also mentioned are the makings having been observed on the surface of the planet.
Eventually, what are thought to be meteorites begin landing in England and only in England which is where the invasion takes place. These are cylinders from Mars. Upon landing the cylinders form deep craters. Activity from the result of flashes and the formation of clouds of mysterious gases are observed issuing from the crater for quite some time. This is because the Martins are using more rudimentary lifeforms and advanced machinery in the construction of their vehicles due to the trouble the Martians have functioning in the greater gravity of Earth as compared to the gravity of Mars
Once the nature of the activity in the crater is realized, the man ponders what is driving the purpose of the Martians in their journey. At one point he also wonders if the Martians have a god and compares the invasion to a European country invading a ‘savage’ culture.
It is revealed that the Martians, through necessity, have increased their intelligence, increased their powers and hardened their hearts.
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PARTXIII
Restarting The Ultimate Experiment
An unpublished short story
THE UNLIMATE EXPERIMENT
Ball looked up from his work as his normally reserved graduate student came running into his office. This usually calm student was in an extreme state of agitation.
“Professor, you’ve got to come quick! We’ve just recorded a unique event. Nothing like this … you’ve got to come!”
“Calm down John. Now tell me what has happened.”
“We’ve detected a new form of neutrino! It is not any of the three known types – electron, muon or tau!”
Now Ball was getting excited. “Tell me about its chirality – its orientation.”
“That’s the strangest part, Dr. Ball. It has none. It is not left-handed as all neutrinos are. I’ve got to get back. Are you coming? There might be more events.”
“I’ll be right there, son.”
After the graduate student left Donald Ball sat for a moment alone. He was simultaneously excited and numb. He cried, and then he laughed. He also felt a calmness he had never experienced before. He knew this was a unique event. Because it seemed inexplicable, the event would probably be deemed the result of faulty sensors. But Ball knew better. The new neutrino was the type of particle Stewart had agreed to generate from beyond the grave.
THE END
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PART XII
Restarting The Ultimate Experiment
An unpublished short story
THE UNLIMATE EXPERIMENT
Donald Ball was at work when his phone rang.
“Hello, Dr. Ball?”
“Yes, this is Dr. Ball.” He did not recognize the voice.
“This is Virginia Madison. I’m a visiting nurse. I have been taking care of George Stewart.”
Ball knew immediately the purpose of the call.
“George Stewart passed away today. He told me it was very important that you know when he died.”
“Thank you for calling. He was a good man and friend. He will be missed.”
“He was a good man. Good-bye.”
Donald Ball hung up the phone. He sat alone in his office a long time thinking of what might occur. He felt a chill of anticipation.
* * *
Two days later John Coolidge, a graduate student working for Dr. Ball, sat at the computer console connected to the Super-Kamiokande detector. He had seen what the computer images of past neutrino events looked like and detected a few events himself. He was reading a physics textbook when the alarms began to sound. As he looked at the monitor, he said out loud, “Holy shit, I’m going to be famous.”
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PART XI
Restarting The Ultimate Experiment
An unpublished short story
THE UNLIMATE EXPERIMENT
A few days after Donald Ball’s visit, Virginia noticed a steady decline in George Stewart’s condition. Every time she saw him she thought it would be the last. Each time she approached his bed, Stewart appeared as a corpse, his complexion gray. Only the occasional rise and fall of his chest signaled that his body still harbored life.
“How are you today, Professor Stewart?” Virginia did not expect an answer but he opened his eyes.
“I don’t think I have long for this world, my dear,” he said with great effort. “But I am at peace. I have one request of you before you leave.”
Two hours later, while making another visit, Virginia was paged by the nurse’s aide caring for Stewart.
“The professor passed away.”
Virginia went to pronounce him dead. She had lost a patient and a friend. Then she fulfilled Stewart’s last request.
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PART X
Restarting The Ultimate Experiment
An unpublished short story
THE UNLIMATE EXPERIMENT
Stewart looked at Ball and said, “I must admit your theory interests me. I now see why you require a man who, some would say, led an honorable life and why you require the help of someone about to die. But what is your need for a scientist?”
“History is overflowing,” Ball said, “with people who have vowed to communicate with the living after their death. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the popular Sherlock Holmes stories, considered those works a minor representation of his entire output. He was primarily concerned with the afterlife and communication from the beyond. What happened after he passed? Nothing.
“Harry Houdini spent a good part of his life trying to contact his departed mother, and in the process debunked quite a few mediums. He vowed that he would communicate to his wife from the next world – nothing.
“But these people weren’t scientists. Even if they had been, the level of technology did not exist to allow them to communicate from that singular dimension. I’m asking you, Professor Stewart, after you pass, to send me a sign. Something that we will now plan. Something that will prove my theory.”
Stewart’s eyes twinkled as he said, “I think I know just the event.”
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY, PART IX
Restarting The Ultimate Experiment
An unpublished short story
THE UNLIMATE EXPERIMENT
“That is correct, Professor Stewart. We are left with one dimension, one universe that is infinite, a universe of energy, and a universe where physical reality does not exist. The one remaining universe is heaven.”
Both men fell silent. Ball continued, “I have thought about the next aspect of my theory a great deal. As I said, I am not a religious man. But I appreciate the good and the evil in the world. If the one remaining dimension is heaven, then what comprises hell? Could it be a continuum of the heavenly dimension, or does it not exist?”
Ball paused for emphasis, and then continued, “I propose that hell does not exist. The reward for an errant life is oblivion. Your life force is dissipated for some other purpose and your consciousness, your existence is lost.”
A SHORT STORY PUBLISHED
A SHORT STORY PUBLISHED
My short story, The Universe in Balance, can now be found on Corner Store Magazine.
Go to the home page, then to Ostarablot, March 21, volume 9 issue 4.
This was one of the first short stories I wrote nearly twenty years ago. It is quite different than the original. I eventually realized that the story’s premise was totally wrong resulting in a series of rewrites. The fact that it now appears in print is an indication that I finally got it right.
INVASION: A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
This story has not been published. It was written in 2006. That was when NASA was launching probes to Mars. When to vehicle reached the planet balloon-like appendages were deployed, and upon reaching the surface, the vehicle would bounce until coming to rest.
INVASION
I am the protector of the ‘king and living god of Zyron’ and I have just witnessed the unspeakable.
We inhabitants of Zyron are a peaceful lot, enjoying our quiet lives in the planet’s interior. Fierce conditions make the surface uninhabitable for more than a short period of time. Violent storms engulf the planet, blowing clouds of red dust into the arid air, making a stroll on the surface most uncomfortable. We Zyrons enjoy the warm moist interior of the planet formed many millions of years ago when violent earthquakes opened the ocean floor draining the surface dry. Then, another few million years passed, and our surface atmosphere changed to what we have now, conditions that will not support life for an extended period of time.
On the neighboring planet, Gothor, life is less peaceful than ours. In our language, Gothor translates to blue sphere, a tranquil looking place but tranquil it is not. We have witnessed their many wars and constant conflicts. They foolishly broadcast their audio and video signals into the atmosphere giving information of their civilization to less friendly inhabitants of other planets. Gothorians know nothing of our civilization on their neighboring planet. The existence of the Zyonions is kept secret, our communications, shielded by the surface of our planet, cannot be intercepted by prying civilizations. A recent development on Gothor had given us even more information of the planet. They have developed a network that connects their computers, and with the increased knowledge we have gleaned for this network, we marvel at how much they achieve while so many of their number lack a sense of purpose, a need to contribute to their civilization.
Professions that do not, in some way, serve the good of society are shown little respect on Zyron. That is why the Zyronians find some of what they learn of the Gothians to be comical. So many of their society do nothing but serve themselves. They also require something they call self-help books to further their decline into shallowness.
When Zyronians greet one another we give our name and value to society. I would say, “I am Gorn, protector of the king. Others would give their name and say that they were the cleaners or the scientists or the meat keepers. When we Zyrons meet, we bow to one another, and the depth of the bow depends on the value one lends to society. If I were to say, “I am Gorn the poet,” the bow I would receive would be deep indeed. And if I were Gorn the teacher, the bow offered must be so deep that the small horns on our heads must touch the surface on which we stand.
We know a great deal about the lives of the Gothorians and some of the ways they spend their lives. If a Gothor revealed some of the professions that exist there to a Zyonian, the back of the Zyronian would remain ridged. If I were to introduce myself on Zyron as Gorn the telemarketer or Gorn the E Bay zapper, no bow would be given. Our cultures even have different perceptions of the same profession. On Zyron, if I am Gorn the athlete, I receive a customary bow, but the athletes from Gothor may merit a slight bend of the back, for on Gothor in many cases, the game is secondary to financial rewards.
We Zyronians know the inhabitants of Gothor are giant creatures and are yet dwarfed by less intelligent creatures that inhabit other worlds. Our king stands no more than six of Gothor inches, and his line is the tallest on Zyron. Our king and his subjects closely resemble animals known as lizards living on Gothor, but their lizards are dumb beings where we have the advanced intelligence responsible for the culture that thrives on Zyron. Unlike the lizards on Gothor, we on Zyron walk upright, and possess appendages referred to as hands, similar to those of the Gothorians.
We view the Gothorians as having a hostile purpose towards our planet. Many times they have sent missions to our planet, devices that orbit our planet seeking information. We had developed a ray that disabled many of their machines, but we could not doom them all. One day a machine landed on the surface of Zyron, bouncing uncontrollably until it came to a halt. The device opened, revealing another machine that set forth on the surface of our planet. This was a true invasion, our planet violated. We Zyrons observed the machine until we detected no further transmissions to Gothor, we then retrieved it for examination.
Since the first bouncing machine landed there have been other probes sent from Gothor to orbit our planet with instruments, taking photographs and other measurements of our surface, trying to detect our presence but the Gothorians will never discover us and will probably succumb to some other civilization of some planet waiting to use the vast resources contained on their blue sphere.
Then one day it was decided that we would attack Gothor, and I was a witness to the catastrophe that precipitated this decision.
Our beloved king, on occasion, would roam the surface of our planet and gaze at the stars and wonder of the world his ancestors inhabited so many million years ago. It was on one of the ventures to the surface that the most horrible fate beset our king.
I, along with two other guards, accompanied the king on his journey to Zyron’s surface. We walked a short distance when the king halted and gazed at the stars in the cold Zyronian night sky. We guards followed the king’s example when we all detected a strange movement in the blackness. A speeding light approached, it flamed, and then the flames extinguished but still the light approached. It grew in size until the realization of another invasion from Gothor became apparent. It was another bouncing machine. It landed a great distance away, then began its haphazard bouncing along our planet’s surface. The king and we guards ran, scattering. Once the device came to a halt we reformed but could not find the king. We separated, searching for our ruler. I will never forget the wail of the guard who discovered our poor monarch. The huge bouncing device from Gothor had squashed him. We carried his limp body, for most of his bones were broken, down to his kingdom and placed it on his throne.
His son, our beloved prince, was enraged with grief and full of hate for Gothor. “Enough of this invasion of Gothor,” he yelled. “I seek revenge.”
Zyron had developed a ray, a death ray. We kept the ray for use against attacking civilizations, and now the new king demanded, “Prepare the death ray; we must retaliate.” All Zyronians knew that any planet exposed to the ray would suffer grave consequences. The area of the sphere exposed to the ray would be destroyed.
There was a fringe of land from which the Gothorians launched their devices. This would be the target. The new beloved king waited for Gothor to revolve, exposing the target.
THE END
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