The Quantum Leap

What is a frontier I once asked my father when growing up on a cruise ship headed to a Mars colony. He explained as though it was an imaginary border created by man to use as an accomplishment when going further than they had. It was like we create the very walls we allow ourselves to be limited to, I rejected that idea then and now use it as fuel to drive me past the point where everyone around me gave up. I developed insomnia when I turned 18 and after that devoted my time to developing the quantum fusion engine that powers many space-faring ships today.

It took 2 years of development to create the initial design and prototype with the use a localised AI I was able to solve many problems and finally build something that I knew would work better than the Nuclear powered drives they were using. 2 years is like a blink of an eye to many but honestly I knew the direction I was going so when I published my paper on the engine and showed it actually working people treated in equal measures as hero and conman. Another 3 years of working brought out the first working engine that powered a test flight that was successful and then it’s all history from there.

I did not stop there however, I pushed the engine even further when I read a paper published by a theoretical scientist on what he called Quantum Folds. Essentially he was talking about wormholes but ones that could have been made artificially if the quantum fusion engines were allowed to generate more energy and punch a hole through the so-called existence fabric. It was all pseudo fringe theories that people liked to throw around to make themselves feel more important, I released my quantum fusion drive design to the public because I believed that by doing this I would have less to worry about and more time to focus on other things. It did not work that way exactly but a company that manufactured ships decided to hire me and give me an unlimited budget to develop my ideas and also help in making the engine better.

Interplanetary travel became easier for people and colonies became sovereign territories on different planets. Mars and several moons were heavily industrialised by the original colonisers and now other planets and asteroids were continually mined for resources. Humanity had become the single worst parasite on this solar system.

While I tried to push my engine design further, I also managed to come across a material found on Neptune that showed remarkable properties which brought great interest. In theory space was not exactly empty, It was not a kind of void but rather it was like a space filled with different types of energy pockets and these so-called pockets were like a form of alternate spaces that could allow me to travel further and faster if I could find a way to harness these space pockets. My experiments with the material that we now called Nephilium led me discover that it was an unstable material that phased between existence and non-existence, which in many way appeared that it looked like it was disappearing right in front of me. It was not a shiny type of metal but when seen under a microscope you could see the disappearing and reappearing particles of the metal. The supply of the material was limited to Neptune and my sponsor held most of the rights to mine so it gave me more time to find a better use for the Nephilium. When powered the metal emitted a resonance frequency that appeared to us was above the frequencies we knew of but when the power levels were attuned to a particular frequency also the space around the metal began to warp, like it was turning into a black whole or something. This led us to theorise that this metal was our ticket to intergalactic space so more tests and ways to work with it were pushed forward. I then came up with an idea to add a layer of Nephilium instead of turning it into an alloy on top and this showed worked as the coated ship was able to move better in space and when the power frequency was attuned correctly the energy needed to take off from a terra dock and fly to space took 90% less power than what was usually required. The metal seemed to make it easier to glide past the atmosphere.

My sponsor quickly built a team to find ways to use Nephilium in their ship building operations. Though abundant on Neptune the material showed that if used without regard to the metal it would degrade faster and the coated surface would be stripped of the metal. I found ways to mitigate that and also how to make sure it remained stable in the coating process and after. I wanted to build a ship with this material and push further and nothing was going to stop me now. My employer and sponsor saw this as the future to real intergalactic travel, I suppose the profits from being the only one with the mining rights to Nephilium allowed for that.

So here I am, 2 years later in a cruiser with a more powerful and experimental engine ready to try the first quantum jump to another galaxy. The Northern Flame was a private cruiser by normal standards but what it lacked in size more than made up with the technology it contained. My sponsor, Nagoya Wilmore Corporation was one of the few corporations who not only built ships but also mined most of their own raw materials. They saw something in me and what I did to seek my services knowing that what I did not only needed an unlimited budget but also led to their unlimited profits. Mr. Hiroyuki was the CEO who was the one to hire me and follow up on what I did, became a friend but kept a distance in case my work veered into the negative press space.

“Dr. Skallen, how are you today?”

“Hiroyukisan, I am well. So far everything is as expected. My team are just making sure we have gone through all checks at least twice to be sure. I am hoping the route we have charted is clear and whatever is on the other side we are prepared for that. I know I refused any form of armaments on this ship but not having something that could be seen as a threat could help us greet whatever is out there better.”

“I know, still the under carriage mounted asteroid miner gives me a little hope, should something less welcoming find you then you have something to protect yourself. Still I wish you would have allowed my team to install a small missile pod. I will follow your progress as I did when you first tried that drive system. I already have the militaries trying to break my doors down along with their countries to try and send out explorers to other systems. They are blinded by hunger, but I know if anything happened to their people I will be the first to be persecuted.”

I was reminded of the, perhaps, 30 or so unmanned trials we conducted of these quantum pocket flights that were to see the viability of using them to traverse through open space. The first few flights were abject failures which is what I expected as the ships were not built strong enough to accelerate in such a short time then decelerate again in such a manner, basically some went boom before hitting the jump mark and others on exit. The ones that did survive the jumps were not so lucky internally as the pilots were reduced to mashed potatoes within, so it took calculations of reverse gravity to the extreme to figure all that out and then some. I had a team of over 200 working on many aspects of such a flight so when we finally made the breakthrough it was the best day in a very long time.

The test flights with the new modifications were used with test animals, they were successful and the ones that followed with people had a few unexpected results. It seems that the space in between the jumps were in a places that we had not foreseen. The space in between the entry and exit is a dark space, a sort of nightmare dimension that hides where you can’t see it. This was all science fiction until footage of what happened to one test crew, they were attacked by a black mass of energy that killed from the inside. It was a total disaster that was covered up by the corporation to save the project, my team wanted to make it public but when confronted about the reality of what would happen if it all went public most of the staff became silent. Progress always has a cost, its up to the person who wants it to accept the cost or die.

It was not forgotten that we were running out of space to live on, Earth had become almost barren due to the rampant exploitation of resources and so was the fate of Mars and the moon soon to follow. We needed to find another system to start again and maybe not be so destructive but then again profit over sustainability which one would shareholders choose. I knew this was the only chance we had, they knew this also. I was 20 when I created the quantum fusion engine and now at 50, I was on the path to interstellar travel. Mr. Hiroyuki may appear patient but inside he wanted to leave this near dead system behind also. I did not have a family because this research became my very existence, I wanted to live without borders and I was at the very cliff edge of that.

It was then theorised that putting the crew in a sort of coma while traveling through the quantum pockets we could bypass the horrors that lay waiting within. That research along with cryogenics lead to a form of sleep that mimicked a short-term coma that actually worked without having any real aftereffects. It took roughly 8 years before the first quantum pocket travel to where I now stood.

It was called the Nautilus V34.708 and was the very first of its kind, a quantum jump cruiser. We were now ready to travel beyond our stellar border and see what the galaxy held for us. The governments of all the sovereign territories were at our doorsteps looking to build their own Nautilus’s and they were trying everything to do so which also included demonising Nagoya Wilmore Corporation but the corporation was much too powerful to budge and knowing that failure would effectively end the corporation this flight was done in complete secrecy.

I stood at the bridge with my crew, there were only 8 people in total for this flight. I chose each person to join me on this maiden voyage and I really did not care about red tape as the person who managed the quantum fusion engine was a smuggler. My navigator was Su who knew how to calculate trajectories and paths better than anyone, also the pilot was another anomaly. Jacobs was a dark horse as he was a rated to be a commercial pilot but held many records in attack and defence flights, Amita was another navigator who excelled at spatial reconnaissance.

“Doctor, we have run through the test and are good to go. All results are well within the projected calculations.”

“Good, engine room, how is the core doing?”

“Engine room here, we are good to go. Levels are good and regeneration rates are within margins.”

I gave the go ahead to the pilot to initiate the flight, I received a message from Mr. Hiroyuki. “Doctor, I know this is a monumental step for this corporation but know this. We are all waiting for your return in triumph.”

I smiled as the cruiser flew forward onto open space for the projected path, I took my place on the captains chair and hooked up the flight harness that housed an injection for the jump sedative. The others were already hooked up so it was now a waiting game to reach up to speed and then activate the jump protocol.

As the cruiser sped up, the crushing force of gravity was slowly reversed by the ship’s artificial gravity generators. The mandatory crew muster was called and everyone confirmed their positions, the speed that was now being registered was near light speed. As we neared the speed of light the Nephilium would by energised by bursts of power directly connected to the panels, the power was amount was not the main element but connecting the speed it activated something within the structure that made the material vibrate to such a degree it basically folded the space around it. This happened right in front of me in the lab when I tested it in a control chamber. Now I was in that control chamber and watching as space around me began to warp and fold.

The sedative kicked in and I missed the part where the cruiser entered the dark fold, I did not dream but knew we were travelling to a distant star.

I woke what felt like just a second, at first the while scene in front of me was full of light trails and my body felt like it was made of stiff gel. I tried to move my head and look around and could not get the vision of light trails out, I relented and went to sleep again. Finally I woke up and everything was in focus. I looked around and saw Su was already up and looking through the navigation charts while Amita was standing behind her, Jacobs was frantically checking his feeds, I tried to speak but my mouth felt like it was full of water. I coughed and spat out saliva that had gathered and tried to speak again, Amita turned to me and helped me out of the harness.

“We are going through the path data right now, we are on target but not exactly where we should be. Alpha Belt system is no longer in this position, we are drifting in open space doctor. We have found another system we can travel to but it will take a month. Do we try and open a channel with HQ?”

“Yes. Did we overshoot or what exactly is around us?”

Amita walked over to her station and brought up a view of what was around us, there was nothing but open space, I could see the system they mentioned and realised me made the most fundamental mistake. Light travels much slower than we think, what we see on, say, Earth may not be the real picture. The chances of a solar system remaining where we see it before traveling and reaching that position are non-existent, Hawking had hypothesized that a very long time ago and we ignored it in the name of desperation.

“Let HQ know the position we are in, also what is the power level of the engine?”

“Engine power levels are holding at 70%, all other parameters are below projected results. We are doing better than expected but I guess we need to re-think how we can navigate beyond our system,” Su replied.

“Doctor, there is something you need to see. Amita please re-scan sector 345 position 234, 198.”

Amita ran the scan, I stood up and to check look for my self on her screen. The readings were coming in but I did not expect to see what I was now looking at. There was something large out there, according to the scan it was 3 times the size of Earth but it appeared to be drifting like us. Amita ran the scan a few times to get a better picture and every pass made my blood freeze.

“It cannot be right, it appears to be a large mass of some sort. The readings are picking up metal and rock but I cannot get a clear picture than this. It seems to also have a gravitational pull which is also distorting my scans. Doctor permission to release a drone to have a better look?”

“Negative, if that is something other than a large space rock then its better we leave immediately. Su how far on the navigational route to the solar system?”

Su replied and I told her to input the route and get us going. I told Jacobs to manoeuvre into position, I was about to raise the engine room when the cruiser shuddered. I almost fell from the sudden rocking but got hold of Amita’s chair for support. The alarms did not ring out so it could be that we were hit by turbulence, I was not convinced and raised the engine room.

“Doctor, engine room is fine. No damage to report, we are ready for another run.”

Amita spoke up, “doctor the object is turning now. I cannot exactly say to what position but its moving.”

“Keep an eye on it, Su are you ready? Jacobs lets get going please.”

“Doctor, It changed directions, I believe it was heading to our system and now it looks like its coming for us. We need to move.”

The Nautilus was already moving to the set coordinates but we were all bracing for something. The shudder returned and the ship acted like it was caught in a space drift, I held on to my chair while everyone was furiously working away at their stations. I contacted the engine room and they said the power was holding but the engine will not be able to remain stable if the shaking continues. I needed Jacobs to get us out of this but it seemed we were being chased.

“Doctor we are being hailed, the thing below us is sending us a video message. Can I patch it through?”

“Has it been scanned?”

“Yes, its using an old transmission protocol. I have no idea how they have it but putting it through.”

The shaking stopped, Amita reported that the object had stopped and we all turned to look at the central display. A fuzzy image appeared and a figure that looked formless head was seen talking to the camera, the audio was not clear but after a few commands by Su the audio came out clear.

“… please confirm identity. Repeat. We are of the Morban Star, our kind had made contact with your kind and were coming on a refuge mission. Please confirm your identity.”

The message repeated again and then went blank. I now wished we had a real ship captain on board, this was not expected. I turned to Jacobs who was the most experienced in space flight and asked him his opinion and for once he looked like he was thinking on what the next step would be. Su spoke up, “I don’t think we should respond. I mean we have no idea who gave them our system location or what may have been agreed upon. Who they are and what their refuge mission is may even be is not clear.”

I agreed but given that we are in a precarious position I waited for Jacobs to reply. “I think doctor that we should send them your name and our mission as scouts. I think this will allow for a better understanding of what they want. Amita, what do you think?”

Amita nodded at this, Su also seemed to agree to this. It was decided then so we sent them this information in a basic format. We waited as the cruiser flew forward to the system, it took another 20 minutes before the reply was sent. By this time we had packaged together the transmission to be sent to HQ, I knew it would take approximately 4 weeks before the signal would be delivered but this was all we had right now.

“Doctor Skallen, thank you. We are looking forward to working with you but we running out of time. We are….” The signal cut off, another shudder ran through the ship. Jacobs was shouting now, Amita was also shouting, the engine room along with the maintenance personnel was screaming out warnings. The massive object was moving faster now and it was coming for us. It was not stopping and we had to find a way.

“Su, re-calibrate the jump protocols. We will need to return back to our system. There is no way we can fight something this large.”

Su looked at me incredulously then turned to Jacobs who told her to do it. I called the engine room of our intentions and they informed me that they will be ready, Amita kept giving out warnings of getting caught in the alien ship’s gravity field. We were running out of time and it had to be done. Everyone was putting their harnesses and I followed suit. We have never done something like this and doing a jump this close to the first risks us not being able to sleep due to short term immunity to the sleep cycle.

Su had input the commands, Jacobs navigated to a jump path. The engine room reset the energy frequencies, everything was done in extreme pressure but we all knew the consequences if we did not. As the cruiser moved into the set jump path the massive ship that was following tried to catch up, we accelerated and soon I could see the space around us warping from the external feeds. Within a few more seconds we reached the jump velocity and the frequencies held, the cruiser was still shaking but everything held.

The fold opened and we were all out.

I woke up to red warning signs all over, Jabos was up and furiously working to control the ship while Su was doing the same. Amita however looked like she was still out, I tried to clear my head. The aftereffects of the jump sleep felt like the worst hangover but I needed to move. I could not rest until we were safe, I tried to speak but like before it took a moment for my voice to restore itself.

“Su, status report,” I croaked. Su looked at me and began barking out what was happening.

“The power levels are down to 20%, the jump took us further than expected. We have hailed the rescue team but from what the engine room is saying. We might loose power by the time they get to us. Amita did not sleep in time for the jump, her brain was fried while in jump. We have lost 2 more crew members also.”

“Engine room, what about the Nephilium control engine, can we use that as a back up?”

“Negative doctor, a jump as soon as what we did shorted the recharge capacitors. I am trying to fix them and stabilise the core. Give me 15 minutes.”

I sat back for a minute, looking at Su who was still trying to work the navigations and rescue operation I stopped her and informed her that we need to send the data packet to Mr. Hiroyuki and inform him what is coming for us. I knew we would not make it so this is my last transmission. The Quantum fusion core was going critical and we will be a ball of fire in a few minutes, I saw the readings and knew it was inevitable.