∞ 03 24 ∞
Alright. I want to hear everything.
It's not just me, either. I don't know what happened, or why it happened, but other people have been drawn here, from other dimensions. This whole ship has been going through a time loop for who knows how long, and they were dragged into it. This is for their sake as much as mine.
I'll be recording everything as well. It's going to be presented to the interplanetary council later, once we make it back.
[the commander has taken up a seat on one of the consoles. the captain is still unconscious, lying on two chairs that have been pushed together.
the pair of researchers - since that is what they obviously are - are sitting across from Orion. the man's hand is tight around the woman's. now that they can be seen clearly, they're both young, a little younger than Orion himself, and Terran, of Indian descent. the man in particular should look familiar: it was his ghost that spoke to Orion at the end of the last cycle, though neither of them are aware of that.
the man nods, still half in a state of shock] Yes, of course. This...really couldn't be kept a secret anymore, not after all that. I will tell everything.
[he takes a deep breath, and begins] My name is Anand, and this is my sister Chandra. We're both Corps researchers working on the jump gate project.
[Orion's eyes widen considerably] ...the gate project? That was shelved ten years ago. The costs were too high to maintain it.
[the woman, Chandra, shakes her head, cutting in] At the time that was true. But the Alliance received funding and input from one of the fringe systems in the Andromeda galaxy. It was all very clandestine and even we don't know the full details. The bottom line is that the project received the go-ahead to resume.
However, you recall the protests that the scientific community raised when the project was initially undertaken, don't you? [Orion nods, his brow furrowed with concern] The branch of the Alliance government that was overseeing this project decided that it would be more cost-effective to avoid such coverage all together. More protests would delay the operating schedule.
[Orion's lips curl with distaste, anger flickering in his expression again] You mean to say they hid it from the public because of the dangerous aspects of the project that independent experts had revealed.
[Anand nods, looks ashamed] Yes...yes, that was it exactly. The gate technology involved using the hyperstring method to alter the frequency of molecular vibration in matter. A second paired gate would create a resonating frequency at another location. According to Xacarb's Equations, the vibrations would create their own 'pocket' universe that existed at that frequency. Matter could travel through the gate, cross the relatively tiny space of the created universe, and emerge on the other side nearly instantaneously. The need for ships would be reduced by sixty percent, if not more. As long as a gate was erected at a location, travel there could be as easy as walking through a door.
[the slender man slumps slightly, pressing his free hand to his eyes] But there were problems. Xacarb had theorized that if this technology actually succeeded in creating a pocket universe, it proved that there could be other, whole universes that existed in addition to our own, all vibrating at different frequencies. Most of the protesters pointed out that experimenting with the gate technology could interfere with those other universes.
[his sister looks at the commander imploringly, as if trying to explain away their guilt] But they never understood! The gate never had the power to resonate on the scale necessary to enter another dimension. Hyperstring technology requires equal relative energy on either side of a universal mass in order to connect the two points of access. And we never could enter another universe without a corresponding gate to establish a connecting frequency! How could we interfere when we don't know what frequency to program into the machine?
[her voice gets steadily louder, whereas Orion remains calm, though his expression is shadowed, jaw tight] ...but what if you did have the energy necessary? And what if the machine didn't need to be programed? If it was producing frequencies at random?
[the pair is silent, staring. Orion goes on] The gravitational force and the mass of a black hole would be more than enough. If the gate was operating when the ship entered the well of the hole's mass...would that be enough?
[Anand looks flustered, fishing for an answering, stumbling over his words as horrible thoughts finally dawn on him] M...maybe...I-I suppose it--
Would it be enough or not?
[he swallows hard] It's...possible. It's possible. But it'd be suicide to try it. Letting the gate run and then just...just diving in? It's insane! Insane!
[Orion turns his head away, looking at the prone form of the captain] ...insane. That's a good word for it. The captain...he went insane. You had to have noticed. I don't know when or why, but he was the one that did it. I saw evidence of his tampering with this machine. He must have activated it, found a black hole in nearby space, and steered us all towards doom without thinking about the consequences.
[the brother and sister are silent for a time, a heavy, oppressive quiet settling over the room. then Chandra speaks up again, uncertain, maybe a little afraid] Commander...there were other undocumented problems with hyperstring technology.
[Orion looks up at her, his expression filled with misgiving] What do you mean?
I mean that it had...side effects. In a manner of speaking. [she pauses at the end of ever sentence, as if revealing this secret after so long is physically difficult] Prolonged exposure to the vibrations caused alterations in the matter surrounding it. We didn't realize this until one of the research crew became...ill. Mentally. Initial tests labeled it as dementia, but his brain matter had changed, somehow. Investigations revealed that other changes had occurred in some of the facilities and equipment. [she laughs, a high, shaky sound] One of the shrubs outside the building turned purple. Things like that.
Your father...the captain had been interested in the gate project for a long time, since it's initial stages. He visited our facilities frequently. He encouraged this transfer to a safer, more optimal testing location. After we boarded the ship, we discovered logs in the gate's data streams indicating that it had been use during off-hours. He was the only other one who knew, so...
[Orion shudders, then presses a hand over his eyes. he sucks in a short, harsh breath] So odds are it...it altered him. Years of exposure altered him. Maybe it even...I don't know. Maybe it connected with him somehow. Things happened that indicated that he was somehow...resonating with the gate. Being on this ship, playing with it like he was, that pushed him over the edge.
[he's shaking now, trying to take in the enormity of what happened to his father, and finally asks the awkward, silent pair] ...can it be corrected? The alteration to his brain. Can anything be done?
[neither answers right away. it's obvious they don't want to. finally, Anand speaks, eyes downcast] We don't know. Our staff member took his own life while he was hospitalized.
Alright. Alright. [Orion lowers his hands, expression so, so tired, but resolute just the same] I want the two of you to run a full diagnostic on the gate. I want to know how long it was running, how it was doing all of this, and if it is still in operating condition. I want to know everything we possibly can about how it was able to resonate with other universes, both in terms of relative distance as well as time. I need every single scrap of information you can get for me.
[he gets to his feet] Passengers not included on the original manifest may contact you for questions. You will answer all of them. I don't care how classified this project was before now, but after everything that's happened, I don't see the point of keeping it secret anymore.
If nothing else, we're going to make sure that this never happens again.
[now he looks up at his Sphere once more, addressing the visitors from other worlds]
I need time to get the ship organized. There are a lot of people out there that don't know what's going on or what to do, and I need to contact the nearest Alliance station as soon as possible. Give me at least five days. After that, I'm going to get all of you home.
I promise.
It's not just me, either. I don't know what happened, or why it happened, but other people have been drawn here, from other dimensions. This whole ship has been going through a time loop for who knows how long, and they were dragged into it. This is for their sake as much as mine.
I'll be recording everything as well. It's going to be presented to the interplanetary council later, once we make it back.
[the commander has taken up a seat on one of the consoles. the captain is still unconscious, lying on two chairs that have been pushed together.
the pair of researchers - since that is what they obviously are - are sitting across from Orion. the man's hand is tight around the woman's. now that they can be seen clearly, they're both young, a little younger than Orion himself, and Terran, of Indian descent. the man in particular should look familiar: it was his ghost that spoke to Orion at the end of the last cycle, though neither of them are aware of that.
the man nods, still half in a state of shock] Yes, of course. This...really couldn't be kept a secret anymore, not after all that. I will tell everything.
[he takes a deep breath, and begins] My name is Anand, and this is my sister Chandra. We're both Corps researchers working on the jump gate project.
[Orion's eyes widen considerably] ...the gate project? That was shelved ten years ago. The costs were too high to maintain it.
[the woman, Chandra, shakes her head, cutting in] At the time that was true. But the Alliance received funding and input from one of the fringe systems in the Andromeda galaxy. It was all very clandestine and even we don't know the full details. The bottom line is that the project received the go-ahead to resume.
However, you recall the protests that the scientific community raised when the project was initially undertaken, don't you? [Orion nods, his brow furrowed with concern] The branch of the Alliance government that was overseeing this project decided that it would be more cost-effective to avoid such coverage all together. More protests would delay the operating schedule.
[Orion's lips curl with distaste, anger flickering in his expression again] You mean to say they hid it from the public because of the dangerous aspects of the project that independent experts had revealed.
[Anand nods, looks ashamed] Yes...yes, that was it exactly. The gate technology involved using the hyperstring method to alter the frequency of molecular vibration in matter. A second paired gate would create a resonating frequency at another location. According to Xacarb's Equations, the vibrations would create their own 'pocket' universe that existed at that frequency. Matter could travel through the gate, cross the relatively tiny space of the created universe, and emerge on the other side nearly instantaneously. The need for ships would be reduced by sixty percent, if not more. As long as a gate was erected at a location, travel there could be as easy as walking through a door.
[the slender man slumps slightly, pressing his free hand to his eyes] But there were problems. Xacarb had theorized that if this technology actually succeeded in creating a pocket universe, it proved that there could be other, whole universes that existed in addition to our own, all vibrating at different frequencies. Most of the protesters pointed out that experimenting with the gate technology could interfere with those other universes.
[his sister looks at the commander imploringly, as if trying to explain away their guilt] But they never understood! The gate never had the power to resonate on the scale necessary to enter another dimension. Hyperstring technology requires equal relative energy on either side of a universal mass in order to connect the two points of access. And we never could enter another universe without a corresponding gate to establish a connecting frequency! How could we interfere when we don't know what frequency to program into the machine?
[her voice gets steadily louder, whereas Orion remains calm, though his expression is shadowed, jaw tight] ...but what if you did have the energy necessary? And what if the machine didn't need to be programed? If it was producing frequencies at random?
[the pair is silent, staring. Orion goes on] The gravitational force and the mass of a black hole would be more than enough. If the gate was operating when the ship entered the well of the hole's mass...would that be enough?
[Anand looks flustered, fishing for an answering, stumbling over his words as horrible thoughts finally dawn on him] M...maybe...I-I suppose it--
Would it be enough or not?
[he swallows hard] It's...possible. It's possible. But it'd be suicide to try it. Letting the gate run and then just...just diving in? It's insane! Insane!
[Orion turns his head away, looking at the prone form of the captain] ...insane. That's a good word for it. The captain...he went insane. You had to have noticed. I don't know when or why, but he was the one that did it. I saw evidence of his tampering with this machine. He must have activated it, found a black hole in nearby space, and steered us all towards doom without thinking about the consequences.
[the brother and sister are silent for a time, a heavy, oppressive quiet settling over the room. then Chandra speaks up again, uncertain, maybe a little afraid] Commander...there were other undocumented problems with hyperstring technology.
[Orion looks up at her, his expression filled with misgiving] What do you mean?
I mean that it had...side effects. In a manner of speaking. [she pauses at the end of ever sentence, as if revealing this secret after so long is physically difficult] Prolonged exposure to the vibrations caused alterations in the matter surrounding it. We didn't realize this until one of the research crew became...ill. Mentally. Initial tests labeled it as dementia, but his brain matter had changed, somehow. Investigations revealed that other changes had occurred in some of the facilities and equipment. [she laughs, a high, shaky sound] One of the shrubs outside the building turned purple. Things like that.
Your father...the captain had been interested in the gate project for a long time, since it's initial stages. He visited our facilities frequently. He encouraged this transfer to a safer, more optimal testing location. After we boarded the ship, we discovered logs in the gate's data streams indicating that it had been use during off-hours. He was the only other one who knew, so...
[Orion shudders, then presses a hand over his eyes. he sucks in a short, harsh breath] So odds are it...it altered him. Years of exposure altered him. Maybe it even...I don't know. Maybe it connected with him somehow. Things happened that indicated that he was somehow...resonating with the gate. Being on this ship, playing with it like he was, that pushed him over the edge.
[he's shaking now, trying to take in the enormity of what happened to his father, and finally asks the awkward, silent pair] ...can it be corrected? The alteration to his brain. Can anything be done?
[neither answers right away. it's obvious they don't want to. finally, Anand speaks, eyes downcast] We don't know. Our staff member took his own life while he was hospitalized.
Alright. Alright. [Orion lowers his hands, expression so, so tired, but resolute just the same] I want the two of you to run a full diagnostic on the gate. I want to know how long it was running, how it was doing all of this, and if it is still in operating condition. I want to know everything we possibly can about how it was able to resonate with other universes, both in terms of relative distance as well as time. I need every single scrap of information you can get for me.
[he gets to his feet] Passengers not included on the original manifest may contact you for questions. You will answer all of them. I don't care how classified this project was before now, but after everything that's happened, I don't see the point of keeping it secret anymore.
If nothing else, we're going to make sure that this never happens again.
[now he looks up at his Sphere once more, addressing the visitors from other worlds]
I need time to get the ship organized. There are a lot of people out there that don't know what's going on or what to do, and I need to contact the nearest Alliance station as soon as possible. Give me at least five days. After that, I'm going to get all of you home.
I promise.