New Epoch - Ascension (Chapter One)

Chapter One:
Inertial Decoupling

Doctor Paulson awakens from his slumber. He sleepily mumbles into the air: “John, any messages?”

The coat draped over the chair beside him responds in its usual monotone: “No messages, Doctor.”

Paulson runs a hand through his disheveled hair. He groans softly, realizing he hadn’t even bothered to remove his coat nor clothing in any attempt to get comfortable in bed the night before. He pushes himself up off the bed, retrieves a change of clothes from the dresser, and heads to the shower.

Fortunately, the lab’s residential facilities, though spartan, had everything a person needed for the basics. There was no luxury, but it sufficed for a place to rest and recharge.

Completing the preparations for the day, he makes his way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was a short walk from his dorm. It is about the size of an elementary school cafeteria, but it served multiple purposes, doubling as a venue for larger meetings and announcements when higher-ups visited.

At this hour, it was occupied by about fifteen scientists. Ten of them were seated, engaged in quiet conversation or eating, while the remaining five moved slowly through the food line, assembling their breakfasts.

Alexander realizes he had forgotten his large thermos in his room. He grumbles, retraces his steps, fetches it and quickly returns to the cafeteria. When he returns, he joins the short line for coffee. As he waits, his mind drifts to when he lobbied for better coffee at the institution.

He is passionate about his coffee. He is an avid supporter of a dark roast, almost as intense as a cigar, with an aroma that clung to the air long after the cup had been set down. Most of the others preferred their coffee light and sweet, like melted ice cream. The thought of such a travesty makes him shudder. After the long nights and endless hours spent in the lab, his appreciation for a good, strong brew had only deepened.

Alexander puts a few sweeteners in the empty thermos and then fills it with the dark, rich liquid. As he scans the room, his eyes flicker over the faces of the scientists scattered across the cafeteria. Though he was familiar with most of them, only two or three were individuals he interacted with regularly. Each had their own area of expertise, and though most kept to themselves, there was always that occasional extrovert to avoid.

His eye lands on the table he was searching for. It was tucked against one wall, isolated by a couple of empty tables, a space that seemed to offer sanctuary amidst the bustle. His glasses identify the two: Michael Johnson and Tanya Pickens.
With coffee in hand, Alexander takes a few sips, savors the dark, bitter warmth. He approaches the table, neither looking up, he sits down without much fanfare.

“Good morning,” he greets. Michael glances up, meeting his eyes and offering a brief nod. Tanya gives no response, absorbed in her cell phone, her fingers moving quickly across the screen as she scrolled through messages or emails.
The three had mutually agreed to try and keep their research talk in the labs, though Alexander was always the one to break this agreement.

Michael was deeply involved in regenerative and customizable silicon, while Tanya was focused on advanced machine learning.

“So, Mike,” Alexander begins, trying to stir the conversation with something light, “how were your Super Bowl festivities?”

Michael lets out a low grumble, “It was fine. They lost, and I lost a few bucks.” He looks up at Alexander and adds, “Did you catch any of it?”

Alexander sets the container down, his fingers curling around the container. “I saw only the very end,” he replies, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I slipped the VR headset on and watched the last three minutes with a few friends.”

Tanya, who had been engrossed in her phone, finally looks up at the mention of the game. “So glad they switched to AI referees this year,” she says, her voice laced with an unusual amount of enthusiasm. “Our reliance on ourselves to ingest all that data and render an accurate assessment was a fantasy. There was only one challenge this season, and that was a test, which the system passed.”

Alexander nods thoughtfully, leans back slightly in his chair. “From what I caught at the end, it didn’t seem like it was even that close, so nothing for anyone to fret about.” He grins, his tone light. “John even thought it was rather boring. He fashioned a football jersey for the occasion. It was quite humorous.”

The trio chuckle at the thought of the computer-generated assistant indulging in such a human-like whimsy.

They settle back into the rhythm of their conversation, a tall man enters the cafeteria, his presence commanding attention even before he reaches the breakfast bar and takes a few items from it.

Michael’s eyes flicks toward the newcomer, his expression betraying an unspoken recognition before returning to the table. “Hey, Al,” he says with a half-smirk, “looks like your favorite fan is here today.”

Alexander glances up briefly, then immediately returns his gaze to his coffee, trying to mask his discomfort. He inhales sharply, exhaling through his nose. “Thanks for the heads-up, Mike.”

The man notices the trio, flashes a broad smile and begins to make his way over. The man approaches, Alexander receives a notification on his glasses. He glances up to read it and raises an eyebrow.

Without a word, Alexander abruptly stands and sprints out of the cafeteria, heading back toward the lab where he had been the night before.

The three remaining scientists watch him go, puzzled. The approaching man frowns. “Did I say something wrong?”

Adrenaline surges through Alexander as he tore down the corridors. Bursting into the lab, he skids to a halt in front of the monitor, still breathing heavily. He reads the monitor and mutters, “Impossible.”

The usual rhythmic pulsing of the machinery had ceased. The hum, the whir, the ever present background noise was gone. His fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up the logs. An instability had tripped the safety protocols, shutting down the field generator. His gaze snapping to the small perch at the center of the contraption.

Empty. Again.

A sinking feeling grips him. He scans the floor, searching frantically for the missing ball, struck by sudden inspiration, he looks up.

His jaw drops.

The ball was embedded in the ceiling.

Footsteps echo down the hallway. Moments later, the three from the cafeteria cautiously step inside. Their eyes follow Alexander’s stunned gaze.

“Holy crap,” the tall man mutters.

The other two offer their own versions of the sentiment.

After a long beat of silence, Alexander scratches his head. “Anyone have a ladder?”

Tanya says, “John, call maintenance. We need a ladder.”

Some time later, Alexander stood perched at the top of the ladder, studying the ball up close. The tall man had excused himself, mentioning he would return later to see what was uncovered. This left Michael and Tanya watching him with the air of bored supervisors overseeing a tedious task.

Alexander descends the ladder and calls out, “We should get an X-ray scope to see how well these materials are bonded together."

Michael’s face lights up with realization. “I have one, I just need to go to my lab and be right back.” He turns and hurries out of the lab.

Tanya wanders over to the console and begins typing away without invitation. Alexander makes no effort to stop her nor even raise a comment; given her expertise, he assumes she was chasing down her own answers, likely analyzing John’s logs. He awaits Mike’s return, he has his own mysteries to unravel.

Eventually, Michael returns following a cart with a device on it, wheeling itself into the lab. While waiting, Alexander had contacted maintenance to request a lift, ensuring they could get the device high enough for an unobstructed view of the embedded ball.

Once the lift arrives, he and Michael carefully position the X-ray scope and raise it toward the ceiling. What they discovered defied explanation. The ball had fused with the ceiling, the materials somehow bonded together on a molecular level. A research paper could be written on this phenomenon alone, but it was just one of many mysteries they needed to unravel.

Alexander descends the ladder and approaches Tanya. “How far along are you on the analysis?”

Tanya provides, “I think I found something interesting. According to John’s logs, the system detected the ping pong ball’s absence and shut itself down accordingly. Let’s see what the video shows.”

A few keystrokes later, a recording begins to play. The footage shows the sphere vibrating slightly, accompanied by the rhythmic hum of the machine. A discordant noise cuts through the sound at the exact moment the ball vanishes. Even at an extremely high frame rate, there was no indication of movement in any direction.

Alexander stares at the screen, dumbfounded. “Any ideas, guys?”

Michael shrugs. “This is your ball game, Alex.” He grins at his own pun.

Tanya was more focused. “I’ll query the AI to correlate the various readings with the video and audio. That should help us connect the dots.”

Alexander nods. “Sounds like a good plan. Thanks, Tanya. You’re better at communicating with John than I am.”

From the lab speakers, John’s voice chimes in. “I enjoy working with both of you. It’s difficult for me to pick favorites.”

Alexander places a new ping-pong ball onto the platform while Tanya continues tinkering with the console. “John, initiate another attempt,” he instructs.

As he reaches for his coffee and takes a sip, he grimaces at the cold coffee. With a sigh, he pours the remainder down the sink and settles into a nearby chair, crossing his arms and propping his feet up on the table. Fixing his eyes on the electromagnetic device, watching intently.

The timer ticks away. The familiar rhythmic throbbing grows in intensity, but this time, a new dissonant sound emerged. Alexander frowns. “I haven’t heard that before. It sounds like a faulty magnet.” He then addresses the assistant. “John, are you detecting any power loss or inconsistencies in field strength either between the magnets or within the device?”

A brief pause follows before John responds. “I detected a dissonance at the 36-degree axial position. I initially reduced the energy at that location, but the issue persisted. Consequently, I then increased the energy field at the same point, which resulted in a loss of contact with the target.”

Tanya looks up from the console, a small smile crossing her lips. “It seems that John’s counterintuitive adjustment may have uncovered something.”

Alexander nods slowly. “John, repeat the experiment exactly as before, with the same adjustments.”

The machine’s sound shifts, escalating rapidly. A sudden unease grips Alexander. There was something not quite right. Reacting instinctively, he lunges toward Tanya, tackling her away from the machine just as a massive discharge erupts. The ping-pong ball vanishes with a violent jolt, and leaves an eerie sensation lingering in the air.

Alexander scrambles to his feet, scanning the lab. “Where did it go?”

Then he sees it. The ball had partially merged with the wall yet another inexplicable displacement. But unlike before, it had shifted in a different direction. His stomach twists at the realization. If he hadn’t reacted in time, that could have been them.

He turns to Tanya concerned, “Are you okay? We almost merged with that ball.”

Still catching her breath, Tanya let out a nervous laugh. “A Nobel Prize on my tombstone would definitely not be my first choice.”

Alexander chuckles. “Fair point.” He exhales and runs a hand through his hair. “You should get back to your own experiments. I have a lot of notes and observations to record. It’ll probably be a few days before I have time for breakfast with everyone again.”

He glances at the ball embedded in the wall, wonder flickering in his eyes. “We’ve achieved something remarkable—reproducibility.”

He adds, “If you see Mike before I do, tell him to keep quiet about this. Not until I have everything documented and the proper evidence in place. I don’t want the administration thinking we’re all mad. Let them keep believing I’m the only eccentric one for now.”

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A: While caution is important, survival requires action, not hesitance. Discoveries like these offer humanity opportunities to advance, and it's vital to capitalize on them, even with risks.

B: I agree with progress but emphasize that the risks must be calculated. If we rush into discovery without due consideration, the consequences could be dire.

C: Both of you are missing the greater concern—what if this new discovery unleashes uncontrollable forces? Humanity must ask itself if it is prepared to handle the ethical dilemmas and unintended consequences of such powerful knowledge.