Fundamental Force Episode One

By Albert Sartison

Through a tragic chain of events, human civilization gains access to fragments of knowledge from an ancient alien race. Unaware of the danger lurking in the powerful technologies, it undertakes the first interstellar journey to the nearest exoplanet in the habitable zone...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Sartison
• Release date: May 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311516541

Albert Sartison

albertsartison.com Albert Sartison first became acquainted with games theory when he was a student. Since then, he has been fascinated by complex multiple-move strategic games in politics and economics. In such situations, the apparent freedom of action of the parties involved is in fact restricted by the bounds of economic and political feasibility, which at times leads to improbable consequences. The history of modern civilization includes many wars and political and economic crises which began as minor contradictions or local conflicts and escalated into global cataclysms on a planet-wide scale. Man has a highly developed intellect which enables him to assess his actions critically and analyse complex situations. As an individual, he is capable of rational reasoning. Is this applicable to human civilization? albertsartison.com Books by Albert Sartison: --The Contact --Beyond the Event Horizon --Fundamental Force --The Storm --Entangled

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FUNDAMENTAL FORCE

episode one

by

Albert Sartison

Published by Albert Sartison at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Albert Sartison

1.00

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Contents

Prologue

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Prologue

The bright beam of a projector cut through the darkness of the lecture theater. Thousands of dust particles floated lazily in the air, dancing on the almost tangible draught in the room. They jumped upwards then fell gently back down, the shaft of light illuminating them like a galaxy of microscopic stars as they continued to cavort in the air, skipping in every direction.

Gravity is a great mystery of nature. From a physical point of view it is just a force, one of the modes of interaction. It is the weakest that we know of, but it is dominant in space and is the only one that changes space-time itself...

The lecturer’s voice gradually softened as it became tinged with emotion. He walked slowly around the podium, his head occasionally illuminated by the beam of the projector aimed at a large canvas screen. At such moments, his eyes were lit up by the reflected light. He could not conceal his passion for the subject and nor did he try to.

What’s so special about that, you may ask? Gravity is the only force capable of slowing down, stopping, and even turning back time...

The noise of someone getting to their feet broke the silence in the hall like a clap of thunder, cutting the lecturer off mid-sentence. Out of sight of the podium, a tall lanky figure stood up in the semi-darkness of the back row. Clearly not considering it necessary to apologize for such a noisy departure, he turned around and headed for the exit.

The lecturer sighed disappointedly at such tactlessness and turned to face the screen onto which his slides were being projected, gathering his thoughts for a few seconds so he could continue from where he had been so rudely interrupted. It’s just sacrilege to make so much noise, breaking the magical atmosphere of a lecture theater holding its breath. Especially when the subject is the most cryptic, the most powerful property of the Universe. Some people just don’t appreciate the fascinating mystique of Nature. They don’t even know how much they’re missing...

Meanwhile, the tall man was hurrying up the stairs toward the exit, a phone in one hand and his other covering the microphone. Opening the huge door, he stepped out into an empty corridor and the lecturer’s voice and the silence of the dark hall were left behind, as if in another world. He removed his hand from the microphone.

Half a second? he asked, pressing the phone to his ear.

Yes, sir! 480 milliseconds, to be exact. It’s even visible to the normal eye!

And when will I be able to see it first hand?

Whenever you like, sir.

The man glanced at his watch, looked around for the nearest door and moved quickly toward it. With his long thin legs and awkward gait, he looked like he was walking on stilts.

I’ll be there in three minutes.

Oh... so soon?

Is there a problem?

No, sir. It’s just...

I’ll see you shortly.

Outside, the weather was already heating up. The morning air of the emerging summer’s day was still heavy with dew not yet evaporated by the hot rays of the rising sun. A cobbled path snaked through leafy trees, their sprawling branches creating a canopy that offered dense shade to the people walking beneath.

The path was too narrow for the crowd of students streaming towards the man, but he did not slow his pace. He walked purposefully with rapid steps, but there was nothing hurried in his manner and the crowd heading towards him parted instinctively to make way. It seemed that even a brick wall would have been incapable of stopping such a force...

Turning onto a deserted path leading downhill, he found himself alone. Unlike the crowded cobbled path he had just left, there was not a soul here. He quickly looked behind him to check he had not been followed then stopped, took out a cigarette and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. He flicked the lighter he was holding, but did not raise the flickering flame to the end of his cigarette.

After waiting a few seconds and still not having lit up, he took a few steps back, slowly this time, and rang a bell next to a door made of cracked wood.

Yes? came a voice from the entry phone. Who is it?

A camera above the door came to life and diodes lit up around the lens. Rather than turn his face towards it, the man lowered his head and examined the shadow of his silhouette on the building’s stone façade.

It’s you, sir... Please, come in!

The contemporary interior was in sharp contrast to the building’s decaying exterior, the walls and ceilings a dazzling white. Flickering paths of LEDs embedded in the floor showed guests the right way to go and on either side of the corridor were small rooms crammed with scientific equipment. People in white coats bustled around him, paying no attention to the tall man walking by.

At the end of the corridor, one of the doors was open and in the doorway stood a man in a white coat thrown over a crumpled shirt that had been hastily tucked into jeans. The collar was buttoned all the way to the top, where a clumsily knotted tie was visible.

The tall man entered without bothering with a greeting and the man in the white coat moved to let him in then closed the door quickly. The glass it was made of darkened immediately, cutting them off from the goings on outside.

The scientist shrugged his shoulders uncertainly and, after taking a huge breath, he froze, clearly not knowing where to start. Unlike the scientist, the visitor was completely at ease. He took off his jacket and threw it carelessly over the back of the nearest rolling chair.

You said the results were visible to the normal eye... he said.

The man in the white coat came back to life.

Oh... yes! Here’s the microscope, sir. Take a look...

The tall man sat down and bent over the eyepiece. His jaw muscles could be seen moving under the skin of his cheeks, which were covered with deep pockmarks, either as a result of teenage acne or smallpox. With his left hand he held onto his black tie to stop it hanging loose. The focused light from the microscope’s lenses, compressed into two circular beams, fell directly onto his pupils. He froze, examining the image.

Is this it? he asked after a few seconds.

"That is just where