Doomsday
Story I wrote this evening, no editing or anything yet just finished it. There are several larger projects I want to undertake, but I think if I keep dealing with short stories I’ll improve a lot faster.
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Doomsday (dec 11, 2005)
Like a group of children on Christmas morning the white clad intellectuals could barely sit still. Whispered voices would reach a fevered pitch and suddenly become quiet again as they discussed what was about to transpire. These several dozen men and women, the gigantic minds of the time were brought from different nations and backgrounds, the one common thread was their pursuit of knowledge. Not just any knowledge, but practical knowledge-it was close to being theirs.
Billions of dollars and years of effort had been poured into this brain pool, an effort normally found only by millionaire villains in comic books seeking power. Yet these few, even the projects designer Tim, were meek individuals. Most when seen on the street would be casting their eyes about trying to appear invisible. In a bar, they were the quiet souls-rapidly departing after a brief drink or two. Many were single, and those who were married tended to spend time away from home as if that was where the true work lay. However here, in this dug out cavern far beneath the desert- they were in their element.
Papers of all sorts coated the walls, from science to hypothesis and even a few dug out from old science fiction magazines. Speculations flourished quicker than a bunch of old ladies at gossip- but instead of who was cheating on their husband, these select few were wondering who was cheating on nature. For truly in this marvelous time these men and woman found they were no longer a part of the scenes they were witnessing, as any good gossip or people watcher would share. They held themselves apart from their research, as any good scientist should. Though several bets had been tabled at the outcome of the experimental run- it was science itself unfolding, the wonders of the universe- and one could no more put claim a physical impact on it than one could state they set the sun to burn or the stars to shine.
A hollowed electronic voice reverberated betwixt the uneven cavern walls, etched so painfully by thunderous gas machines before even the first scientist who would learn to call this place home set foot inside. “Test Run in 5 minutes and counting,” the artificial sounds felt right in place here. A whirring that may have been a helicopter engine erupted first in one corner of the complex, quickly followed by several more until the scientists voices themselves were drowned out. Lights were dimming in and out as a quiet remind for the people to get to their stations. It didn’t take long for this was the moment they had been waiting for. Humankind’s first mimicry of the forces of the universe, our first sight into a chapter of the unknown that had been guesswork for the past century. Each of their names would go down in history books.
They called it the Sudden Matter Condenser. A long project of just putting together the arrayed particle colliders, super coolant chambers utilizing both gas and powerful magnets and a chunk of super heavy barely stable mass. Then came all the recording equipment to make certain that their success would be documented, or their failure. None of the scientists were thinking of failure now, they knew it was possible- it had been done before; though not like this. For the past decade people had created black holes many times over, though never on demand or long lasting enough to actually record. Those who tried likened it to watching a pot of water boil, no matter how long they stood and stared they refused to form. This machine, the sudden matter condenser, will not only create black holes, but hold them in one spot long enough to be studied. No one knew exactly how long it would exist for, the scientists pool ranged from the time it took for light to cross over a hydrogen atom to three minutes (most bets were at the low end). The equipment was ready for even the shortest glimpse of the human made black hole, and they would all find out.
It was such an odd group of people, beyond just being scientists. Two were theologians who argued night and day about the meaning of black holes. One felt they were messages left behind by God from the creation of the universe, another felt they were a mistake in the grand scheme of things- undoing the Lord’s work. There was one man who believed that black holes didn’t exist, and what we thought were black holes were nothing more than variable speeds of light- he was one of the most dedicated of the group, hoping to finally get the recognition he deserved. It wasn’t only tied to what black holes actually were, but what they could be. Arguments ranged from new power sources, to new construction materials and even as far as anti gravity and faster than light travel. It was as if all the limitations of physics had vanished and the future of humankind was wide open.
The lights dimmed even more, and the whirring of distant engines reached a whining that seemed to increase with each piece of metal it danced over. Everyone was so intent upon their work that they hardly dared to breath. As solemn as a particular churches holiday the room was devoid of any sound of man, save for the steady speakers voicing how much time they had left for the test to run. It wasn’t long now. At one minute there was no more work to be done, everything had been set up and all there was to do was wait. At thirty seconds a few could no longer hold their breath and with rapid gasps and the stares of their colleagues they glanced down at their feet. At ten seconds, the concentration on the scientist’s foreheads could be read as they followed the clock down to zero.
Suddenly excitement burst through the room as joyous cries of we did it broke the silence. From some dusty cabinet glasses of champagne were found and poured to the point of overfilling for the people still at work calculating the data coming in. It was clear that a black hole had been formed as a brief siren flashed over one of the display monitors, though it would take some time to get all the information in. A new dawn of human kind was upon us, black holes at our fingertips, on demand. Of course it could one day be used as a weapon perhaps- but that was in the far future and the intent of these scientists were of the noblest of purposes.
Tim, the project leader hankered down next to a short haired, dark skinned woman at one of the terminals flashing data that would be meaningless until it could be analyzed. “So, Sue- who won the bet. How long did our little pet black hole last for,” Tim sounded out joyously. He had been down for a cool minute but was so elated he could care less about winning the pool.
Sue for one reason was not as happy as Tim. She sat there muttering to herself, occasionally bringing up some new menu. Apparently not noticing Tim had been talking to her.
“I say Sue, what is it? This is no time for typing away, let the computers deal with it and join me for a glass of champagne.” Tim was already trying to push a glass into her hands which she simply let fall to the ground with a crash.
Sue turned up to face Tim with wide eyes and a look of deepest consternation littering her brow. “It’s still there. The black hole- it’s still stable.”
“That’s impossible Sue, not for this long,” Tim glanced over at a large wall clock on the far side of the room. “It’s been eight minutes and however odd seconds.”
“I know it’s impossible!” Sue stated loudly enough for other people to hear who found it interesting enough to walk over. “That still doesn’t change that it’s happening. Look there, look at that you can clearly see it for yourself.” Sue pointed at a corner of her display, and it filled to fit the whole screen at her gesture. It was the inside of their machine, right at the core of their super heavy matter- and though they could not see it directly, there was no mistaken the absence of light at the shells core.
“My god!” Exclaimed Tim not quite realizing the full ramifications of what they had done yet. Turning away as if in a sleep walk, project director Tim did his duty and contacted the political leaders who had funded the project.
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It took several days for the brass to arrive looking self important and dismayed, followed by the men in suits concerned with the cost of this whole mess. They looked around at the mess, grown from hours of sleepless work from the scientists attempting to discern what had gone wrong with their project.
“So what type of mess are we in, Mr. Johnson?” One of the generals asked the project director as if it was something that could simply be washed away.
“General sir, the black hole is still stable and is unlikely to go away on its own … “, Tim hesitated dreading the next words that would come out of his mouth. “In fact sir, it seems to be growing.” His words became increasingly quiet as he let slip that one piece of information that would mark the end of his career.
“Growing!” Yelled several voices at once as several of the politicians stepped back as if that would make a difference.
“No, no sirs,” Tim tried to say in his most reasonable voice. “There’s really no need to worry.” This seemed to make the gathered elite worry even more. “It’s growing very slowly. I doubt it would even be visible to the naked eye for more than a century.”
“And then?”
“Well, it will keep growing. Yet I’m sure something can be done about it one day. Just look how far we’ve come in the past … “ Tim caught himself waving his hands around at the exact underground facility that caused this mess and stopped himself. “Err, at any rate. It won’t even be noticeable directly above this facility for a thousand years. And it will be well near several millennia before it will pose a threat to earth.”
The general just kept staring at Tim waiting for him to continue.
“Well, in about 20,000 years it will destroy the earth and a few thousand years after that it will start to consume the solar system. But really, I’m sure we’ll discover a way to stop it long before then.”
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The entire project center was mothballed not a month later with no word to the press of the ticking time bomb laying a mere mile underground. Several meters of cement were haphazardly laid over the entire site with the official explanation being a radiation leak. The scientists found themselves in a variety of isolated positions, away from the press and each other. Each was told it was a matter of national security and if anyone breathed a word, even to a family member, they would find themselves even more isolated than they had become. They were assured it was possible and perfectly legal. Everything seemed to be okay. New advances in science occurred daily and it was certainly only a matter of time before humanity learned to deal with its folly.
Fifty years later World War Three broke out, over some minor regional dispute it quickly brought to life past bitterness that erupted into all out merciless war. Nuclear devices were exchanged as well as several new anti- matter weapons that leveled entire armies as if they were dust in the wind. There was no peace to this war, as by the time the damage was complete there were no governments to make peace with. All electronics worldwide had been damaged beyond repair by weapons with that purpose intended. Radioactive fall out laid waste to the cities- the only ones who survived were those already left out of the development race of humanity. The small towns on the fringe of nations, the undeveloped regions of the world will people lived as much as they could as their ancestors did. There was no end to the war, it was neither won nor lost.
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A thousand years later a young boy clothed in a short cloth went hiking several miles away from his village as a passage to manhood. He stumbled upon some unusually hard rocks that upon closer examination extended for several thousand feet. Not one to leave curiosity alone the young boy climbed up atop what was once known as cement covered by several inches of dust and sought to discover the secrets of this unusual place. Ruins were well known to his people, who spoke of the past as if it was to be forgotten. The old ways are the best ways were repeated down from grandfather to grandson. Once, the young boy had found a box that would create light when it was held a certain way in one city ruins and hurried home to show his father. Thinking himself clever, he did not expect his father to take the machine out back and smash it into small pieces with a rock. The old ways are the best ways. As the boy trod on he noticed his walking stick was behaving unusually. He was not a water douser and was sure his stick would make a poor device for such endeavors, but it felt like it was being pulled down, down towards what the boy could not even dream of.
