A Long Way To Go

Foreward
I’m currently reading a book titled “This Will Change Everything”.  That book is a collection of answers to the single question “What Game-Changing Scientific Ideas and Developments Do You Expect To Live To See?”.  Stuart Kaufman’s answer inspired this story with his answer, “The Open Universe”.

This story doesn’t strictly reflect my understanding of Stuart Kaufman’s thoughts presented in the book.  Instead, once I felt that I’d understood what I read, the muse struck and carried my imagination where it did.  From there I tried to craft what I hope will be a readable and entertaining, if not thought-provoking story.

This is a first draft.  I did a quick edit to make it more presentable by removing what obvious typos and clumsy phrasing I could.  But please consider this a work in progress.  I might come back to this story in the future and play with it some more… who knows.  I only hope you enjoy reading it.

regards,
mike n.

=========

Long Way to Go
By Mike Neal, 2010

“Mission, we’re on final approach to Alpha 3”, said Capt. Deanna Lorin.  The Captain was eager to finish this last mission because they were overdue for some R&R back at sol.  Deanna was a short, strong, and stout woman in her late 30’s who possesses a captivating smile and a lustful glint in her eyes.  She’s captained this exploratory vessel for nearly 16 years now.

“Roger that”, said Frank.  “How’s it looking.”  Frank was the mission interlocutor.  Looking at him on the display you’d think he was dour, humorless man in his late 50’s but he was not what he seemed.  More on Frank later.

“I’ll let Dr. Frieling answer that one”, said Capt. Lorin.

Dr. Amanda Frieling was the planetary geologist of the mission who possessed that rare combination of beauty and brains.  She was new to the team and at the age of 19, was the youngest member of any interplanetary exploration team there ever was.

“Very unusual”, said Dr. Frieling.  “Scans show a highly developed yet homogenous consistency to the surface of the planet.  And the surface is full of holes which are strangely, evenly distributed.”
“O.K., Doc, that’s enough of the science talk”, said Frank.  “Your starting to turn me on.  You know how I love smart women.”

“Sorry Frank”, said Amanda.  “I was just fascinated with the unique nature of this world.”

“That’ll be enough of that Frank”, said Capt. Lorin.  “Touch-down in 3… 2… 1.”

The ship landed softly on the surface of this strange world.

“Mission, we have arrived”, said Terry Lee Grant, the Flight Engineer.  “But that was one of the strangest landings I’ve ever experienced.” 

Terry Lee was an ex-military pilot who flew the ship so well he almost seemed to be a part of the vessel.  Terry Lee was 31 years old, tall, jovial, and full of Texas charm.

“What do you mean?”, said Frank.

“Well, for lack of a better word”, said Terry Lee, “it was mushy.”

“You know Deanna”, said Dr. Aaron Schlesinger, “My instruments are reading life here.  But not just around here.  It’s everywhere.” 

Aaron Schlesinger has been the Exobiologist on this ship for three years now and has proven to be quite a workaholic yet he displays a paradoxically leisurely demeanor.  He’s cataloged over 10,000 species of life forms into the Life Science Library which at 35 years of age puts him on track to capture a lifetime achievement record.

“I’m getting unusual readings as well”, said Dr. Frieling.  “There’s none of the usual geologic structures on this world.  At first I thought the surface was covered with some kind of life form.  But I’m discovering that there’s no underlying soil or rock, it seems that this entire world is a single living entity.”

“You’re telling me the planet is alive?”, said Frank.

“I’m not certain yet”, said Dr. Frieling.  “We’ll have to run more tests.  The only thing I’m certain about at this point is that this star system is much older than ours.  It almost seems out of place in our galaxy.”

“Does anybody have a problem with going outside and doing a little exploring?”, said Capt. Lorin.
The crew shook their heads as they looked around the cabin.

“I think it would do us some good”, said Dr. Austin, the Mission Medical Officer.

Lynn Austin was the quiet wallflower of the group.  She would disagree but most would say she was shy.

“Well then Mission, we’ll get back to you when we’re suited up and ready to disembark”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Roger that”, said Frank.  “Catch you on the flip side.”

It took the crew most of a half hour before they were suited up and ready to leave the ship.  Capt. Loring notified mission control that they were ready to disembark as she threw a switch, which opened a door and stairs descended to the ground.  The captain and crew cautiously climbed down the stairs to the ground and began exploring this bizarre new world.

“Are you getting our telemetry Frank?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Five by five, Captain”, said Frank.

“Do you feel that?”, said Terry Lee.

“You mean the ground shaking?”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“Yeah, it’s like the ground is reacting to us”, said Terry Lee.

“What’s going on there?”, said Dr. Freiling.  Amanda noticed tiny mounds beginning to rise up on the surface as they walked.  “Everybody stop for a moment”, she said.

The group of explorers stopped walking and the the mounds flattened back down.

“We seem to be giving it goosebumps”, said Dr. Austin.

Just then, the bumps returned but this time they continued sprouting upwards.  Looking like snail antennae, they leaned towards the explorers.  Hundreds of them appeared and the ones closest to the explorers were reaching out and touching them.  But no sooner did one of these tentacles come in contact with one of the explorers then it would quickly retreat back into the ground, as if shocked to have touched something.

“Everybody back to the ship”, said Capt. Lorin.

“But they’re not hurting us”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“Not yet”, said Terry Lee.

The crew turned around and started heading back to the ship which was about fifty meters away.  The tentacles started growing larger now and they were starting to change their shape.
“Mission Control, are you getting this?”, said Dr. Frieling.

“Yeah, we see it”, said Frank.  “Keep moving.”

The shape of the tentacles were imitating the explorers now.  They were mimicking not only their shapes but also their color.  The tentacles even appeared to be wearing environment suits with faces inside of helmets mirroring every crew member’s face and expression with amazing detail.  But just as the explorers reached the stairway into their ship…

“Ahhh! I’m stuck”, said Dr. Austin.

Terry Lee tried to pull Lynn forward but her boots were indeed stuck to the ground.  And the surface was slowly creeping up the sides of her boots.

“Release her boots”, said Capt. Lorin

“I’m already on it”, said Terry Lee.

“Hurry”, said Dr. Austin.  “My feet are starting to burn.”

Terry Lee entered a code on the command module of Lynn’s sleeve and the mag-locks on the boots released.  Terry Lee lifted Dr. Austin out of her boots and carried her up the stairs, into the ship.  The rest of the crew followed right behind them.

“Aaron, look after Lynn”, said Capt. Lorin.  “Terry Lee, help me prep for lift-off.”

As the Captain and Terry Lee headed to the flight command deck, Aaron removed the fabric covering Lynn’s feet.

“Your feet look fine”, said Aaron.  “How do they feel?”

“Much better”, said Lynn.  “But look at my slippers”

Lynn’s slippers appeared deformed and discolored on the bottoms.

“Hang on, this could get rough”, said Capt. Lorin over the intercom.

A second later the ship lurched forward but suddenly stopped.  There was a violent vibration before a loud crunch signaled the ships release and it surged forward again.  This time the ship went into normal flight as far as the crew could tell.

“I don’t get it”, said Terry Lee.  “The engines are at full thrust but we’re barely moving away from the planet.”

“I’m checking the instruments”, said Capt. Lorin.  “Everything’s normal…  We’re actually moving very fast.  But so is the planet.”

“What!?”, said Terry Lee.  “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know”, said Capt. Lorin.  She pressed the communications switch.  “Hold on to something everybody, we’re going to jump.”  After releasing the communications switch, Capt. Lorin dialed up the hyperspace drive, leaned back in her seat and pulled back on the lever in a quick jerk.  A second later, a queasy wave of dizziness swept through the people in the ship as they transitioned into hyperspace.

“Uh, I don’t know how to tell you this”, said Terry Lee, “but there’s a distortion following behind us.  I’ll give you one guess what it is.”

“Damn!”, said Capt. Lorin.  “What do we do now?”

“What’s going on?”, said Dr. Freiling as she entered the flight control deck.

“That planet, Alpha 3, or whatever… is following us”, said Capt. Lorin.

“What!?”, said Dr. Freiling.  “It just… just can’t be.”

“I know”, said Terry Lee, as he removed the helmet from his environment suit.  “Got any ideas?”

“I do”, said Capt. Lorin.  “We’ll give it something else to play with.  Something bigger.”

“Another planet?”, said Dr. Freiling.

“Exactly”, said Capt. Lorin.  “But which one.  You’re the expert.  Where’s the closest, biggest, lifeless planet to us right now.”

“Hadir 4 in the Beta Centauri system”, said Dr. Freiling.  “It’s a gas giant … and a big one.”

“I’ll set a course”, said Terry Lee.
…
The crew of the ship slept while the captain and Terry Lee worked shifts making sure they stayed ahead of the planet chasing them.  After 32 hours the crew were awakened and they prepared for arriving at the planet Hadir 4 where they hoped to escape from their stalker, Alpha 3.

“Time to drop out of hyperspace”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Hyperdrive shutting down in 3… 2… 1…”, said Terry Lee.  “Adjusting course and speed.  50 seconds to atmosphere.”

“Right on schedule”, said Captain Lorin.  “There’s Alpha 3, it just dropped out of hyperspace and it’s still following us.”

“Is it catching up with us now?”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“No”, said Capt. Lorin.  “It’s continuing to follow at a respectful distance.  No, wait, it’s slowing down.”

“Do you think that’s a response to the gas giant we’re approaching?”, said Terry Lee.

“Your guess is as good as mine”, said Dr. Frieling.

The ship was just entering the atmosphere of Hadir 4 when Alpha 3 came to a complete stop.
“What do you think it’s doing?”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“Well, it had stopped”, said Capt. Lorin.  “But now it’s starting to move closer to the atmosphere.  Maybe it feels the gravitational pull of Hadir 4.”

“Hmmm, look at that”, said Dr. Frieling.  “Some of Hadir 4s atmosphere is getting pulled towards Alpha 3.”

The atmosphere of Hadir 4 wafted towards Alpha 3 and when it finally got there, the multi-hued gas was being inhaled into the many holes in the surface of Alpha 3.

“Will you look at that”, said Terry Lee.  “Alpha 3’s taking a whiff of Hadir 4.”

Alpha 3 then moved closer to Hadir 4 until it disappeared far into the center of the gas giant.
“Best we get moving”, said Capt. Lorin.

“I’m way ahead of you”, said Terry Lee, who was steering the ship back into open space while plotting a course back to Sol.

“Mission Control”, said Capt. Lorin.  “We’re attempting to leave Alpha 3 behind.  Right now it’s somewhere in the atmosphere of Hadir 4.”

“We’re watching”, said Frank.  “Good luck.”

The ship was ramping up to full speed now and still no sign of Alpha 3.

“Let’s kick it into hyperspace”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Aye Captain”, said Terry Lee.  The ship jumped into hyperspace and the crew were relieved to see that Alpha 3 was nowhere within sensor range.  They had given their pesky planet the slip.
…
After a week of sleeping in their hibernation chambers, the crew were awakened by mission control as their ship approached the Phobos base orbiting Mars.  After docking, the crew exited the ship through the docking port where they were greeted by a holobot of the Mission Control AI, Frank. 

“Good to see you Captain”, said Frank.

“Good to see you too”, said Capt. Lorin.  “Where do we report?”

“Go to the end of this hall and turn left”, said Frank.  “I’ll see you a hundred meters later and guide you from there.  Hello Amanda!”

Amanda enjoyed Franks attentions but didn’t understand why an AI would act this way towards a human being.

“What’s causing this strange behavior of yours?”, said Dr. Frieling.

“Oh, it’s kind of hard to explain”, said Frank.  “Technically, it’s an manifestation of my base personality matrix.  Does it bother you?  Because I can override it if you’d like.”

“Doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you”, said Dr. Frieling.

“Well it bothers me”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“But it’s really none of your business though, is it?”, said Dr. Frieling.

Dr. Schlesinger ignored the question with a smile and followed the rest of the crew down the corridor.

“Shall we?’, said Frank, offering Dr. Frieling his arm.

“Please”, said Dr. Frieling. 
…
The crew eventually found themselves in a room with big, comfortable chairs surrounding a large conference table.  Both holobot Franks left the room as the crew picked out chairs and sat down.  The large display at the end of the conference room ignited with a display of Frank and three others.

“Let me introduce you to our mission science review board”, said Frank.  On my left is Dr. Derek Shaw.  On my immediate right is Dr. Marikit Alon and next to her is Dr. Francisco Salazar.”
“We’ve reviewed your logs and we think you’ve made a startling discovery”, said Dr. Alon.

“It sure startled us”, said Terry Lee.  The rest of the crew chuckled at the quip.  Dr. Alon smiled in recognition of the humorous acknowledgment .

“Let me explain”, said Dr. Salazar.  “We’re all familiar with the concept of evolution but your discovery has presented us with evidence of how far evolution can go.  As you know, evolution develops from the simplest life forms into life forms of increasing complexity.  In the case of Alpha 3, this is a single life form of global complexity.”

“But it followed us”, said Capt. Lorin.  “How do you explain that?”

“Remember when the tentacles started imitating you?”, said Dr. Shaw.  “We think that was Alpha 3 attempting to communicate with you.  But it didn’t work so the planet had to try something else.  That’s when it grabbed onto Dr. Austin.”

“My feet started burning”, said Dr. Austin.  “How was that trying to communicate with me?  I thought it was trying to eat me.”

“Precisely”, said Dr. Shaw.  “It was communicating directly through your nervous system.  We believe Alpha 3 used a form of nervous system coupling and through that short contact, it was able to understand us better.  And when you tried to take off, at first Alpha 3 was holding the ship down.  We think it was trying to communicate with the ship in the very same way.  And somehow, in that very short time, Alpha 3 was able to glean enough information about us and our technology in order to duplicate the ability of space flight.”

“Do you know how crazy that sounds”, said Dr. Schlesinger.

“Unfortunately, it fits the facts”, said Dr. Alon.  “There’s no other possible explanation.”

“What do you think it’s doing now?”, asked Terry Lee.

“Evolving in its new environment perhaps”, said Dr. Salazar.  “It’s difficult to say at this point.  We’ll have to return to Hadir 4 and investigate in few years so we can determine whether or not Alpha 3 even survived dropping into the gas giant.  Maybe at that time there might be some evidence of Alpha 3 activities.”

“I don’t envy anybody on that mission”, said Dr. Frieling.  “I mean, what if Alpha 3 not only survived dropping into Hadir 4, but is actually thriving there.  And what if Alpha 3 turns Hadir 4 into a bigger version of itself?”

“We’ll return to Hadir 4 someday”, said Dr. Shaw.  “Meanwhile, we’ll keep the Hadir system quarantined until we’re ready to find out what happened to Alpha 3.”

“Suits me”, said Terry Lee.

There was a mild sense of dread that filled the room.
…
Seven years had passed and the crew had stayed together.  Capt. Lorin was married to Dr. Schlesinger for two years before they amicably called it quits.  Terry Lee and Dr. Frieling were married as well and were expecting twins in four months.  The twins were not with them on mission though.  Instead, they were safely gestating on Earth in separate, synthetically-cloned wombs of Dr. Frieling.  And finally, Dr. Austin had married Frank, the mission control A.I.  It was becoming fashionable for women to marry A.I.s these days because they were perfect companions for many reasons.  They were always available, constantly looked after their mates to ensure their comfort and contentment, and never got jealous, just to name a few.

The crew had just completed mapping a system which was precariously close to the Hadir system.  A nagging tension hung in the air.

“O.K., Mission Control”, said Capt Lorin.  “What’s our next mission?”

“I think you know”, said Frank.

“Damn, I knew it”, said Terry Lee.

“But why now?”, said Dr. Austin.  “Why us, Frank?”

“Darling please”, said Frank.  “When we’re on mission you have to call me Mission Control.  When we’re off duty we can go back to calling each other by name.  O.K. Punkin?  But in answer to your questions, we should do it now because it’s overdue and we’re in the vicinity.  And who better to investigate the status of Hadir 4 than this crew?  If Alpha 3 is still alive then it should remember this crew.  And since it never displayed any hostility towards you, the Mission Science Review Board thought this crew is the best choice for the job.”

“Oh please! …Punkin?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Sorry Captain”, said Frank.  “It won’t happen again.”

“Plot a course Terry Lee”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Aye Captain”, said Terry Lee.

It took only 16 hours in hyperspace for the crew to reach the coordinates of the Hadir system.  But when they arrived, there was a surprise waiting for them.

“Nothing!?”, said Capt. Lorin.  “What do you mean there’s nothing here?  Are you sure we jumped to the right coordinates?”

“Yes Captain”, said Terry Lee.  “The surrounding star configurations match.”

“Then what happened to the solar system?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Oh my God!”, said Dr. Frieling.

“Wait a second”, said Terry Lee.  “There’s another missing star system.”

“I think I know what’s happening”, said Dr. Frieling.

“What?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Alpha 3 evolved this entire solar system before moving on.”, Said Dr. Frieling.  “I think we created a monster!”

“I think she’s right”, said Terry Lee.  “See… there and there.  That’s where two other planetary systems are suppose to be.  But, they’re gone now.”

“What are our orders now, Mission?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Can you determine what direction it’s taken?”, said Frank.

“Wait a second”, said Terry Lee.  “Ah Hell!  I think I found it but you’re not going to like this.”

“Give it to me”, said Capt. Lorin.

“O.K., good news is that it’s heading away from Earth”, said Terry Lee.  “Bad news is that it’s now a black hole.”

“I was afraid of this”, said Dr. Frieling.

“Are you serious!?”, said Dr. Austin.

“I’m afraid so”, said Terry Lee.  “But it gets worse, I think.”

“What do you mean?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Its trajectory is heading straight for the center of our galaxy”, said Terry Lee.

“Alright… What do we do now Mission?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Nothing”, said Frank.

“You mean Nothing, nothing?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Precisely”, said Frank.  “We can’t stop this.  It will end up at the center of the galaxy merged with the black hole that’s already there.  It’s evolution.”

“Evolution!?”, said Capt. Lorin.

“Yes”, said Frank.  “Look at the facts.  Alpha 3 merged with and evolved Hadir 4 along with the entire Hadir system.  Then it took its first step towards the center of our galaxy where it merged with another star system in its path, and then another and another.  We know Alpha 3 is extremely intelligent so we can assume it is choosing this path for a reason.  And about all we know about black holes is that they’re a collapse of space-time.  Alpha 3 was able to navigate itself as a planet and now appears able to navigate itself as a black hole.  Alpha 3 seems to have reached the zenith of evolution.  At least from our perspective.”

“But what will happen when it reaches the center of our galaxy?”, said Dr. Frieling.

“We have a long way to go before we’ll know the answer to that”, said Frank.  “It’s possible that the black hole at the center of our galaxy is a collection of previous evolutionary cycles which are all drawn to the same place.  Simple matter and energy goes through the evolutionary cycle where life evolves from lifelessness.  Then life evolves into greater complexity until it becomes like Alpha 3 was, a single living being incorporating an entire planet.  We’ve seen the rest of that evolution happen right before our very eyes.”

“Mission.  What should we do now?”, said Capt. Lorin.  “You said nothing earlier but we can’t really do just nothing.”

“That’s right”, said Frank.  “Let’s head back to Earth and live out our lives, secure in the knowledge of what our future has in store for us.”

“I’m hungry”, said Dr. Austin.

“Me too”, said Terry Lee.  “I suddenly have a craving for a flatiron steak and shoestring fries doused with truffle oil.

“Count me in”, said Capt Lorin.

…The end
=========