Prologue: The Scientist

 Prologue

Three Months Ago

 

 

The simulation played out on Ajay’s computer screen. He watched as a small N-19 space shuttle glided into view. The N-19 was the newest shuttle created by NASA in their endeavor to perfect a ship for interplanetary travel.

 A black hole was forming in the distance of deep space. Black holes aren’t really visible, but just for the sake of argument, Ajay made the simulation so that the black hole was a grey disc in the background. Ajay ground his teeth in anticipation. The shuttle zoomed closer to the black hole. A red beam appeared, almost too thin to see, in the eye of the black hole. It represented the flare of pure energy that a black hole emits out of its center. The shuttle came ever so closer. Now it was at the point of no return. The black hole pulled it inwards, and the shuttle started to elongate. It stretched farther and farther, and then touched the beam of pure energy. The ship warbled, and started to move away from the black hole. The beam was actually starting to push it! Ajay smiled, it just might work. But then, to his dismay, the shuttle imploded and fell towards the black hole. It disappeared into the abyss, and the program ended.

Ajay stepped away from the computer, excited. He had almost done it! All he needed to do was strengthen the shuttle’s hull and shields, and it would work. He hoped. He walked to his desk, and flipped through his calculations. Ah! There it is. He adjusted the numbers for the shield and hull just so. Trying not to get too hopeful, Ajay fed the papers, for well over the thirtieth time today, into the machine. He pulled up the program again. The image of a ship and black hole reloaded and adjusted to the newly strengthened hull and shield. The ship fell towards the black hole and just barely entered the flare of energy. The ship warbled again, and Ajay lowered his head in defeat. How many more times must he fail? One more try? One hundred more? Then, to his astonishment, he heard a satisfied beep come from the computer. He looked up. The ship had disappeared from the screen, but beside the image was a checkmark. The bottom of the screen read: Objective completed. Shuttle successfully launched. Exit? Adjust? Replay? Ajay, barely able to control himself, clicked Replay. As the shuttle started to look as if it might fall out of the flare, the energy reached its maximum, and even though the shuttle was dangling halfway out, it shot like, well, like a rocket. It was spiraling, on account of only half of the shuttle touching the flare, but that didn’t matter. It flew off screen, and the computer beeped again. Could it really be? He had done it! If only theoretically as of yet, but he had done it! After six years of study, research, and exhaustion he had done it! No doubt there was much work on the real shuttle, but he believed it was possible. Colleagues told him to let America or Russia or Great Britain work out the solution. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) didn’t have the funds to do anything with the solution. They couldn’t launch a simple satellite.  No matter, Ajay had a plan. Ajay ran outside, yelling praises in Hindi. The people of Ahmadabad stared at him as if he were crazy.

Then he called Andrew, his friend and colleague from the International Space Development Conference (ISDC). He needed a favor.

“Hello?”

“Andrew Foley, old friend, its Ajay Malik.

“Ajay, how are you?”

“I’m superb. No, even better. Andrew, do you remember that theory I threw at you last year? About black holes?”

“Vaguely. If you’ll jog my memory.”

Ajay began, “For many years, scientists have known that the center of a black hole emits a flare of continuous energy. But they didn’t have the technology to utilize it for anything useful, until now. The new NASA shuttles, if I could merely adjust their panels, I think they would be fit for-“

“For riding the energy flares, I remember.”

“I think I’ve figured it out! But India does not have the shuttles that NASA does. I was wondering if you could propose the idea to NASA, maybe form a crew to train?”

“Ajay, I left NASA. I’m in Russia as we speak, helping an old friend train some of his people for Mars. But you know what, I could pass it by some people I know if-“

“That would be wonderful!”

“Okay, no guarantees, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Oh, thank you so much! This is so monumental!”

“Something crosses my mind. How do you expect to find a black hole, and then travel too it? Or even after that, how does this crew get back? Have you really thought this out?”

“Come down to India and I’ll show you. Oh, this is so big!” Ajay could barely keep himself together.

“You know what? I think I will, I need a vacation. Let’s say, in a few months?”

“Wonderful.” Ajay hung up. He wouldn’t tell anyone else, not yet. Wow, interstellar travel at my fingertips.