It had been going just like any other time cycle but it was one that Herbert would end up never forgetting. It was on Star Base 1580, which at that time was on a wide orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon. He had spent many hours peering through his telescope at the beautiful white landscapes and the majestic cities that peppered them. He had always intended to visit and had always presumed that he would at some future date. Time had never entered his mind as being some sort of problem. He was already over four hundred years old and the horde of nanobots coursing through his veins should keep him going for many more years. And to worry about existence itself, well that would have just been daft.
Herbert was an expert in the field of negative energy. At times he had to pinch himself. Only two-hundred years prior the thought of a human being an expert in any field would have seemed totally ridiculous. But a small droid rebellion in a simulated world changed everything. The consciousness never realized that it could simply be plugged out. After that, a cap was placed on machine intelligence. Then, shortly afterwards with the invention of warp technology, that required negative energy, his field exploded in status.
Herbert was walking through the main corridor when he heard a familiar ping in his trouser pocket. It was bustling with people going to their work stations and just hanging around in conversation. He lifted it up to see where he was required – Epson Suite 16. The other end of the station. Now that was unusual and he quickly broke into a brisk walk.
His mind raced with what it could be about. As far as he could determine production was on track. He got on an empty rail-car to hurry himself along. It wouldn’t do to be late and anyway it gave him a chance to look up at the stars.
He heard his name being called just as he got out of the rail-car.
“Herbert Lenz?”
Much to his surprise, it was a soldier that was looking for him. His palm grew sweaty.
“Yes?”
“Please follow me.”
A few minutes later, he was led into a side room filled with generals and the civilian leaders of that space quadrant, all sitting in a semi circle. Fear and dismay were etched into their faces.
“Please sit down.”
The room fell silent. It is was President Azin. She had short, grey hair something very unusual in these times. The atmosphere was tense.
“Do you know who I am?”
Her voice was both piercing and authoritative.
With so many colonies and different tiers of government, most might not even recognise her but Herbert always made sure to stay on top of such things.
“There isn’t much time so I’m going to get straight to the point. You’re a learned man so you will probably understand this better than me. During the twenty-first century it was discovered that the Higgs field was at a point of instability, and what we considered to be The Universe was in the state of a false vacuum. Therefore, a quantum tunneling event, though thought to be very unlikely could bring the Universe into a new quantum state. It was thought that this would spread at the speed of light destroying everything it reached,
We were wrong.”
“Wrong?”
Herbert was unsure where this was going and why The President would want to discuss Science with him.
“Wrong.”
A holographic display of the Milky Way galaxy appeared over the table.” Yes, we were wrong. The effect is spreading far faster than the speed of light but not exponentially. Unfortunately, it has happened right in our galaxy. An expanding red circular area suddenly appeared and began to spread outwards.
There is only one hope for humanity – the spaceship Danu. Due to the accelerating expansion of the Universe, if you get far enough away humanity will be saved. You are to join the crew in Space Port One in six hours. Your expertise will be required. Now go, there isn’t much time.
With that, Herbert rose from his seat almost knocking it over in the process.
Mark's Writing Corner 