The Pathfinder Project (41 page)

Next to him, Kayla nodded in
agreement. “What about probing outside of our universe?” she said. “That’s
always been considered and now that we’re growing close you’re going to have to
make a decision on that one, Captain.”

“The decision on that one
was
already made a long time ago, Doctor,” Dennis replied. “Unless our Council
unanimously agrees, we can send Canary Probes outside the boundary of our universe
but there will be no risk to any of our crew by sending manned flights. Using
shuttles or the
Pathfinder
is not an option.”

“Right now I’ll settle for
getting as close to that river of gravity as possible. If it’s safe enough, I
humbly request that you send a shuttle fully staffed with my scientists – if
not this
entire
ship – into the center of it so we can float along and
record our data.” Julie looked firmly at the Captain and then began hastily
scribbling on her notepad. “I would like to ride along on that mission.”

“Glen, is it safe enough to do
what she asks?” Captain Kaufield asked.

“A shuttle, maybe… you have the
ultimate say as to what would be an acceptable risk. As you know, the Canary
Probes and shuttles use a smaller version of the PTP window that we generate
using the CAS Drive,” he said, giving the idea very careful consideration. “But
they’re simply moving through the window we generate, then turning around and
coming back through that same opening. If we move the
Pathfinder
in
there…”

“Then we take the CAS systems
into the center of a powerful, unpredictable river of gravity that could burn
out our electronics – or worse – tear the ship apart,” Thomas said, sounding more
serious than he had in a long time. “I
do not
recommend that at all,
Captain.”

“Why?” Julie asked. “You can
send a Canary first.”

“Because,” Thomas said,
sounding a little hyper. “CAS stands for Controlled Artificial Singularity.
Emphasis should definitely be placed on the word ‘
controlled
’ here, Dr.
Markham.” He stood up and moved over to the image on the wall. “That’s the most
unpredictable
gravity source we’ve ever seen – I know because I heard
you say it the other day in the Observatory. It’s pulling whole galaxies toward
it and as they approach their gravity begins to compete with Poseidon’s. We
have to be able to
control
the singularity we generate or it could
easily turn into a huge bomb. That ‘Atomic Nightmare’ we found a while back
pales in comparison to the scale of this new chaotic object you’ve discovered.
This situation is as simple as letting a small kid play with matches.
Don’t
,
or we’ll get burned!”

Dennis sat at the head of the
table listening to the silence for a moment. Julie looked very frustrated, but
he had anticipated that to be the case and so he was ready for it. “Glen,
please describe the CAS technique for us, so that everyone understands what is
involved here.”

Nodding, Fredericks stood up
and softly cleared his throat. “CAS is basically an enhanced version of our
Point-to-Point wormhole transit between two far away points,” he began.
“Everyone knows we have a lengthy metal wand hooked to the bottom of the hangar
deck with what looks like a small star burning at its tip, yet most people
don’t know that the tube is hollow.”

“I’ve always wondered what it
uses for fuel,” Anne grinned.

“Exactly. You may have noticed
that the ship has periodically made a stop here and there at various nebulae as
we travel outward,” Glen continued. “That’s because the nebulae can be found
virtually anywhere, and they are usually a massive source of gas and dust used
by nature to form new stars and planets. For our purposes they’re also
basically a galactic fuel station – or unlimited supply of dust particles that
we capture and use to power the CAS Drive.”

“There are huge storage tanks
located under the Lab and Observatory wings,” Kaufield pointed out. “We
stockpile the captured particles there and then run them through several
filters to separate the radioactive and more dangerous matter from the rest.
The stuff that poses a threat to the ship or its crew is spilled right back out
into space. The rest is stored until it’s needed.”

“The CAS Drive is a
miniaturized variation of traditional PTP transit,” said Glen informatively.
“We carefully run particles of matter down through the center of the wand
toward a tiny PTP window at its tip. The particles hit this modified field,
which we continually monitor and keep perfectly calibrated, and are
instantaneously
destroyed
rather than transported to a new location. The
resulting annihilation of the matter creates the brilliant white singularity
that everyone has become used to seeing. The result is a totally new form of
nuclear fusion… kind of a distant cousin to the traditional reaction we see
burning bright in stars everywhere. We are able to then utilize the intense energy
produced to generate a large amount of electricity capable of powering the
entire ship. Our standard PTP drive is still available, but its liquid
fuel-powered systems are shut down. As long as the CAS Drive is on-line, the
power for our PTP transits comes directly from the burning singularity on the
tip of that wand beneath us and everything is controlled very carefully using
the computer systems in our Lab wing.

“So,” Mary said slowly. “If we move
the
Pathfinder
into a chaotic area of space with an unpredictable
environment, it may be impossible to keep the singularity under control and
useful as a power source.”

“Precisely,” Glen confirmed.
“And that’s just a small part of the danger. If we lost control of the
PTP-reaction we could also blow up the entire ship… into nice, tiny little
glowing bits of debris.” He leaned back in his chair and thought very carefully
for a moment. “Of course, we could use the CAS Drive to hop in close… to a safe
distance. Then we could try using a standard, liquid fuel-powered transit to
move us the rest of the way in.”

“And just how do we determine
what is a
safe
distance?” Dennis asked, chuckling to himself. “We will move
the ship close enough for the Observatory staff to take all the readings and
measurements they like. If some of our pilots are brave enough to want to try
approaching this thing in a CAS-driven shuttle I might even allow that. But we
are
not
, under any circumstances, going to risk taking the
Pathfinder
into this giant river of gravity. That option is off the table right this
moment, because there are quite simply too many things that could go wrong.” He
frowned. “We may very well be the last group of humans alive in that big blue
bubble,” he said, pointing to the wall projection. “Our mission plan defines
our duty to explore, but it has also become a critical part of that mission to
eventually find a place to settle down and raise kids. I don’t know about any
of you, but I want that place to be as far away from this Poseidon thing as
possible.”

“Transiting a shuttle close to
or inside of Poseidon would be very dangerous to its crew,” Thomas commented.
“Depending on how strong the gravity is – which we can measure with a Canary
Probe – they could get dragged away from the PTP window that we create for them
faster than their engines could compensate. We have to be very careful and
remember that we’re sending these Probes and shuttles a lot farther than they
could transit on their own. I’m sure the pilots would appreciate it if we could
guarantee their safe return.”

“Agreed,” Captain Kaufield said
firmly. “We almost lost the entire ship in the wasteland galaxy, due primarily to
a little too much curiosity on my part. Whatever we decide to do in this case,
we will take our time and make certain that we do it
safely
. I also
advise everyone on the Council to vote with your intelligence and common sense.
Leading with your heart is the surest way to get us into trouble out here.” He
paused, watching Thomas turn off the wall projection and then his laptop.
“Anyone who wishes to dissent and debate further may do so now without
prejudice.”

Everyone sat quietly and
watched Thomas putting away his equipment. Several people took a moment to jot
down a few more notes but no one raised any objections.

“I don’t know about the rest of
you,” Dr. Markham finally commented, “But I’d like to go back to my Observatory
and continue studying this most remarkable find.”

“This Council hereby stands in
recess,” Kaufield said, chuckling as he stood up and patted Julie fondly on the
shoulder. “You can argue with Glen and Thomas as to how close we can get to
this thing without damaging the ship. I trust them to stand up to you and speak
their minds if they think their equipment will balk at us.”

“Thank you, Captain,” she said
gratefully as everyone began chatting casually and gradually trotted back out
into the corridors of the
Pathfinder
. “So much to explore, so little
time…” she mused softly to herself.

THE PATHFINDER PROJECT

Thomas thoughtfully reviewed
the series of images on the work station in front of him. They showed a small
cluster of ten stars and the colorfully illuminated nebulae surrounding them.
He smiled and shook his head, then glanced up at Dr. Markham. “That’s really
fine work,” he said. “Some of the best shots of galactic objects you’ve come up
with yet.” Standing behind him near her desk in the Observatory wing, Julie
smiled in agreement.

“Lots of the stellar material
that Poseidon’s gravity is tugging at
is
your invisible dark matter,”
she commented. “But I’ve been searching relentlessly for rogue stars and the
smaller star clusters whose gravity Poseidon inevitably defeats. As they get
pulled into his river of gravity their solar radiation is lighting up
everything surrounding them.”

“Congratulations, Doctor,” said
Thomas sincerely. “We’ve been at this for two weeks, and this is by far the
best spot you’ve picked.”

Julie held up a piece of paper,
both sides of which were covered with transit coordinates. “This is my master
list,” she said delightedly. “So far we’ve traveled to about 50 out of 500
possible locations along the gravity river. Most of them were chosen by the
computer, and every day it prints me a list of more and more potential viewing
sites. I spend a lot of time manually reviewing everything in order to properly
prioritize my top choices.”

“You could try delegating a
little more to your staff,” he grinned, watching the frown on her face as he
said the words. “Seriously,” he said, pointing to one of the images on his
computer screen. “You’re getting spoiled with our new CAS systems. The
width
of the gravity river in front of the
Pathfinder
at this particular
location is 127,112,000 light years. That’s a
lot
of territory to
observe for a day or so before we continue onward – it would be an entire
career for some astronomers back on Earth. Once we choose to move along, you
simply pick your next target and we transit directly to it – whether it’s five
light years away or 500 million. You’re absolutely spoiled, I tell you.”

“Just you wait,” she said.
“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface as far as exploring this phenomenon
goes.”

“At our last Council meeting we
were talking about how some galaxies and star clusters defeat Poseidon’s
gravity and how some lose the battle and are pulled in.” Thomas observed as he
reviewed a series of new images recently photographed and processed by the
ship’s telescopes. “At least when we’re sitting next to some of the brighter
star clusters like these their light lets us see which ones are winning and
losing that fight for survival.”

“That’s only part of the magic
here,” Dr. Markham said with enthusiasm. “It’s like pouring glitter or colored
dye into a glass of water and stirring it. Many members of my staff have
received dedicated assignments to closely observe and map Poseidon’s gravity
based upon the patterns present in this visible matter. We’re trying to chart at
least part of its length and make a determination as to how predictably or
unpredictably its gravitational ‘current’ changes over the passage of time.”

Thomas suddenly got a curious
expression on his face. He leaned backwards, glancing at the image on her
computer. “Hey… you updated the mystery transmission,” he noted.

“It wasn’t all that difficult,”
the Doctor replied. “I analyzed the file in my quarters last night and
discovered that it was
compatible
with our graphics software.” She
looked at him with complete disbelief. “Whoever sent this continues to astonish
me. They either used
our
software to draw the original image or they
converted their own file to
precisely
match our compression technique.”