The Discovery

By Harry R. Albers

Alone at his observatory atop Mauna Kea Volcano in Hawaii, Dusty McCrae makes the discovery of his life ... another universe. Altitude plays tricks on the brain, and many nights of observing lie ahead before he can confirm the observations that will make his name the equal of Galileo and Hubble. But word leaks and trouble begins. Hes bombarded with inquiries by media, the public and scientists, many of them ridiculing him. Harassed by a reporter from a supermarket tabloid, he replies: "Sure there could be aliens ... and a god no one has ever imagined." A media-savvy televangelist jumps on the comments and McCrae becomes embroiled in religious controversy. Complications multiply when hes invited to participate in a television debate. Naively, he accepts, thinking it an opportunity to calmly and logically quell the uproar, but his life is threatened and his boat firebombed with him and a companion aboard. Desperate about whats happening to his life and career, he agonizes over a way out of his predicament. He knows when he presents his discovery during the debate that emotions, not logic, will run rampant, but there will be an opportunity to vindicate his discovery and expose his pursuers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781450297295

Harry R. Albers

Harry R. Albers has degrees in physics from the University of Pittsburgh and Cornell University. He has previously published three books: Murder at Lake Tomahawk, The Discovery, and The 4th Icon. His career has included the Smithsonian Institution, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Barnard College and San Diego State University Research Foundation. He and his wife, Jean, have three children, five grandchildren, and live in San Diego and the Big Island of Hawai’i.

Book preview

1

Dusty McCrae maneuvered his four-wheel drive pickup on the snow-covered road leading to the summit of Mauna Kea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He was headed for another night of observing on the new Fielding telescope, the largest in the world. The telescope had received its ‘first light’ a month ago and was still in the shakedown process, being readied for routine operations. That hadn’t stopped McCrae from using it for his own research when it wasn’t being tested. Almost fourteen thousand feet above sea level, Mauna Kea was the highest mountain in the world when measured from the sea floor, thirty-three thousand feet compared to Everest’s twenty-nine. The volcano was dormant, which meant it could erupt again, but that hadn’t deterred astronomers from building the world’s greatest array of telescopes on the summit. Clear skies and Mauna Kea’s height above much of the atmosphere made it the best observing site on the planet. In addition to American telescopes, a dozen other countries had observatories on the mountain. Mauna Kea’s last eruption was five thousand years ago.

The past two nights he’d obtained puzzling results. The telescope seemed to be working properly, yet he couldn’t fathom what he was observing. There was an obvious explanation, but he wasn’t ready to believe it, and for forty-eight almost sleepless hours he’d been vacillating between jubilation and despondence. His instinct told him it was another universe … a galaxy of stars on the leading edge of another universe that could have existed before the Big Bang … before time began. It could have different physical properties and different forms of life, but he knew that was absurd.

Thirteen billion seven hundred million years ago the universe was created in the Big Bang. At a miniscule point in space called a singularity all energy and matter exploded into existence and time began. The force of the event propelled the energy and matter outward in all directions at an incomprehensible velocity, through a mechanism still not fully understood, in what scientists called the inflationary epoch. In the first second after the Big Bang temperatures dropped from trillions of degrees to ten billion. Elementary particles known as quarks formed and bonded into photons, electrons, positrons, protons and neutrons. Antimatter, with opposite electrical charge, was created, as was the mystifying dark matter and dark energy. At three minutes and a temperature of a billion degrees, protons and neutrons combined to form helium nuclei. For the next four hundred thousand years the universe continued to expand and cool to ten thousand degrees. These conditions allowed single protons to capture electrons to form hydrogen atoms, and helium nuclei of two protons to capture electrons to form helium atoms. Except for trace amounts of other light elements, these two gasses were the building blocks of the universe, with hydrogen almost three quarters of all known matter and helium one quarter.

At that point the universe ‘went dark’ for two hundred million years … the so-called Dark Ages, as hydrogen atoms captured photons of light. During this time the first stars formed out of the hydrogen-helium clouds, super massive, short-lived stars that exploded in tremendous supernovas after just a few million years of life, seeding the gas clouds with higher elements formed in their nuclear furnaces. Out of these gas clouds the next generation of stars was created, and gravity collected them into giant galaxies that became the dominant feature of the universe. Radiation from the second-generation stars stripped electrons from the gas clouds to make the universe transparent, and once again there was light. Thereafter, for billions of years, gravity continued as the dominant force in the universe, continuing to coalesce the clouds of hydrogen, helium, and newly created heavier elements into stars and galaxies of stars. Many of the stars had planets orbiting them.

Another universe is bullshit, McCrae said aloud to himself as he parked the pickup in front of the Fielding Telescope building. Pulling up the hood on his fur-lined parka, he opened the door and the frigid air made him gasp for breath.

After taking the elevator up to the control room and checking that the technicians had left everything in order, he played with the computers and brought the giant telescope to life. He was alone, the night clear with dark sky conditions … no moon … the best observing for astronomers. The shutter of the huge rotating dome atop the building was open and the Fielding Telescope pointed to near zenith, tracking slowly and smoothly to compensate for the earth’s rotation. Even with his parka he was cold. It was necessary for the telescope and the twenty-story building housing it to be at outside ambient temperature, so there were no heat-caused distortions of the faint images captured by the telescope and its detector systems.

To say he was puzzled by his observations was an understatement. Science was the driving force in his life and more than anything he wanted to make a great discovery, but he couldn’t allow ego to overwhelm judgment. Theoreticians considered other universes in the realm of possibility, but no one expected one would ever be found. The theories were esoteric. Other universes could exist side-by-side with ours without being seen. They could be tucked away in other dimensions. The speculations were endless. And yet, if he had telescope or detector malfunctions why would he only see the image in that particular place in the sky? And all the other distant objects he observed had the light shifts they should, so the telescope and detector system were working properly. Only this mysterious object had a light shift he couldn’t explain. Outward velocities of objects in the universe caused their light to shift in wavelength toward the red end of the spectrum, the amount of shift a measure of their distance. Edwin Hubble had determined this. The light from this object was shifted far to the blue, indicating it was distant and approaching, not receding. It must have originated beyond the known universe. If the finding leaked out he’d be called crazy or the Fielding telescope flawed, probably both. He needed someone to review his work to tell him where he’d made a mistake. He’d obsess and drive himself crazy until he found it.

It suddenly hit him why he was fooled … the altitude. At fourteen thousand feet, above almost half the earth’s atmosphere, lack of oxygen played tricks on the brain. He’d known astronomers he’d observed with tell him the same story over and over the same night, and seen others spend time searching throughout the night for the sandwiches they’d brought with them and eaten hours earlier. Atop Mauna Kea wasn’t the best place for deep analysis or concluding he’d made the discovery of his life. Lack of sleep the last few nights coupled with the cold and frenetic bursts of excitement contributed to making him light-headed.

Definitely altitude, he thought, but ideas continued to twinkle like starlight.

Before Edwin Hubble everyone thought the Milky Way Galaxy was the universe, even Einstein was convinced of it. Then Hubble showed those ‘fuzzy objects’ were speeding away at amazing velocities, and they too were galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars, and there were hundreds of billions of them.

So why shouldn’t there be another universe? he said aloud. His voice startled him and he realized he was talking to himself too much lately.

He had to find other objects in this new universe to confirm his observations. If his discovery was a foreign galaxy and the first contact with another universe, and this universe was anything like ours, there should be more galaxies in it. And he had to analyze the data at sea level after some sleep. He was so tired he wondered if he should drive all the way down the mountain when he finished this observing run, to his condo on the ocean, or stay at the base camp dormitory at a lower altitude. The thought of eighty-degree temperatures and sleeping in his own bed made the decision easy.

2

Dawn broke as he drove past Waikoloa Village on his decent down the mountain. He still had half a dozen miles to sea level and some dozen miles north along the coast to Kohala Bay and his condo. Opening the window, the thickness of the air was palpable and the warmth it contained wonderful. The sky was clear and promised another beautiful day. In the distance the ocean was flat with no breeze marring the surface, ideal snorkeling conditions before the trade winds screwed up visibility. He flirted with the snorkeling idea. The ocean would refresh him, but he decided he was beyond refreshing. No more than four fitful hours sleep each day after observing runs the previous nights coupled with breathing half the oxygen his body wanted took its toll. A shower followed by bacon, eggs, an English muffin, Kona coffee and sleep would set him right. Imagined smells of bacon and coffee made his stomach growl. He hated being overtired. His eyes felt like the trade wind had scoured them with sand at the beach, and he had the feeling he wasn’t in touch with his surroundings, like watching life as a movie instead of participating in it. He kept his discovery out of his thoughts. If his fogged brain obsessed, he knew he wouldn’t get to sleep and his conclusions would be even more suspect.

As he drove into the condo complex people were stirring. Two walkers and a jogger were setting off, most likely tourists renting condos. People vacationing in Hawai’i used the opportunity to ‘get in shape.’ Most overdid it and took home souvenirs of blisters and pulled muscles, in addition to the mandatory sunburns. It was part of the experience.

The condo grounds reflected what a tropical island should be. Bougainvillea, hibiscus, naupaka, wili-wili, coconut and fan palms dotted the grounds. Flamboyant, royal poinciana and plumeria trees bordered the roads and pathways. Plumeria blossoms made the scents of past, present, and future perfumes pedestrian.

Climbing the outdoor flights of stairs to his third and top floor condo, real smells of bacon and coffee played with his stomach, and before he could use his key the door opened and Maile O’Brien confronted him.

I figured you might show up this morning, she said. Since you’ve been ignoring me, I thought I’d visit and make us breakfast. She looked him up and down. You don’t look so good, she added.

Thanks, but I can’t say the same for you. You’re gorgeous. Something special happening today?

Representative from a big Japanese company coming to scout us out and see if they want to reserve the resort next summer for lots of employees and their families. Big contract and big bonus, if I land them, she said, turning her back and walking into the kitchen.

Looks like you’re going to do the hula for them. I love you in muumuus, he said, following and observing.

Go out on the lanai and sit down, breakfast is almost ready … uh … no … go wash, you smell.

Sorry, but I haven’t changed my clothes for three days. I thought I’d be on the mountain just one night.

Get cleaned up and maybe you can sit near me. I’ll put things out.

Maile was director of marketing for the Kohala Resort, a short walk from the condo. In her mid-twenties, she was an island beauty, slender with long dark hair. Her mother was native Hawaiian, a kanaka, her father a sailor stationed in Hawai’i long enough to sire Maile and three brothers before deserting them. Her brothers also worked at the resort. They leased space to operate aquatic activities for guests: sailing, fishing, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, parasailing, kayaking and paddling outrigger canoes. The family had a difficult time economically as the siblings grew up. Like many Hawaiians they had lived in an extended family, with her mother’s parents. And like many Hawaiian girls, Maile began dancing hula at a young age and was part of a children’s troupe that entered island-wide competitions and entertained at hotels. A good student, she matriculated at the University of Hawai’i, majoring in business and marketing, and went on for an MBA. She kept up her dancing and occasionally performed at the resort’s twice-weekly luaus. She was well known on the Big Island.

She had met McCrae two years earlier when the Pacific Science Institute hosted an international conference of astronomers at the Kohala Resort to discuss scientific programs for the then-in-construction Fielding Telescope. McCrae chaired the conference and Maile was ever present, ensuring arrangements were exemplary. They began dating, but it was a difficult relationship since he spent most of his time at his Institute’s headquarters in California.

I put my head under the faucet, brushed my teeth, and put on a clean shirt and shorts to impress you, so you can kiss me if you want, he said, finding her outside on the lanai. How’d you know this is what I wanted for breakfast?

That’s all I ever see you eat after you’ve been on your mountain all night.

The lanai looked out at a curving white coral sand beach populated with tall palms. A couple preparing to snorkel were the only inhabitants. In the grass directly below a covey of partridge-like francolins searched the grounds for their breakfast, their raucous calls demanding attention.

How’d things go? she asked.

He didn’t answer immediately as he worked on his breakfast.

I may have made an incredible discovery, but I don’t know if I believe it, he said.

She looked at him suspiciously. It could be important?

Ultra stupendous, he said, piling an egg and bacon on a muffin half and readying it for a bite, but I’m not getting excited … I have to think about it more. This breakfast is great … thank you.

See what you’re missing not living in Hawai’i? I could be doing nice things for you all the time.

You always do nice things for me.

Have you given any more thought to moving here when your telescope is finished? You said it’s a possibility.

I still haven’t discussed it with Arthur. The founder and chairman of the board of the Pacific Science Institute might not like his president living full time in Hawai’i.

Why not?

Because he likes to wander into my office whenever he feels like, to consult with me and my incredible brain … and he gets his money’s worth. He pointed his fork at her for emphasis.

Right … you’re so smart you usually don’t know what day it is, and you’d better stop taking me for granted.

Come on, Maile, I spend most of my time with you when we’re not working. Our relationship is evolving.

What if you’ve made this great discovery? Will that affect your decision?

Don’t know, haven’t thought about it.

Keep in mind that while some women might think you’re a good catch, this relationship has obstacles.

What obstacles?

At the rate we’re going, it’s going to take ten years for us to spend one year together. You know I want to get married, and time is passing.

Yeah, right, you’re twenty-six … I’m the one who’s getting old. I’m thirty-six, and if I don’t do something incredible soon, lots of eager young astronomers will pass me by while I’m sitting in my rocking chair.

I was talking about us, not about astronomy. I meet lots of men and many of them would leave their wives if I snapped my fingers.

Married men?

She sighed. That’s mostly who comes to the resort, on business or with their families. I don’t see lots of eligible bachelors, but I can start looking.

Maile, we have a great relationship, and once the telescope is on-line things will shake out. Let’s give it time. Want to take a shower with me?

Are you growing a beard? And how come it’s got red in it? You haoles are weird.

He rubbed his chin. I told you, I thought I was going up the mountain for one night and didn’t bring anything with me. I’ll shave while we’re in the shower.

I have to go get ready for my visitors. Meet me at my office at six tonight and we’ll have dinner at the resort. Get lots of sleep and wear something nice, so my friends think I date someone successful. I want to hear about your discovery, and then we’re going to talk about us, because you might disappear and I won’t see you for six months. I’m excusing you for standing me up the last two nights and for almost falling asleep with my breakfast in your mouth. If you’re up to it, maybe we’ll have a fun night that will make up for you ignoring me.

3

Frigid conditions on Mauna Kea were nothing compared to the deep freeze in Montana. The campus of Nathaniel Husted College was located in the northwest part of the state on Moose Lake, not far from the town of Clarkton. The town derived its name from the Lewis and Clark expedition coming within fifty miles of the area during the duo’s exploratory trek across the continent. Why Clark had been chosen as the namesake for the town rather than Lewis had been the subject of innumerable senior theses at Husted, with no definitive resolution. The college was a fundamentalist Christian liberal arts institution dedicated to the literal interpretation of the bible and establishing it as the moral compass in student lives. In addition to the usual curricula found at institutions of higher learning, Husted boasted studies in the bible, evangelism, establishment and administration of missions, and an elective semester in the Holy Land at a small campus on the Sea of Galilee. Getting approval from Israel for the overseas campus had been difficult and was accomplished only with the mortifying agreement the campus would be used exclusively to provide students an invaluable learning experience where Christianity began. Proselytizing was forbidden and would result in expulsion from the country, so students had to keep their nascent missionary fervor in abeyance.

Nathaniel Husted Sr. had founded the college shortly after World War II. He had served as an army chaplain in Italy and France and been dismayed at the irreligion of many of the soldiers. After his discharge he set about improving morality by starting a religion-oriented boarding school for boys, and to his surprise found he had a highly marketable commodity. He also found he was a born fundraiser in addition to being a born again Christian. Growing conservatism in the country coupled with the evangelical boom provided the resources to establish a college in his name and leave it as his legacy for his son, Nathaniel Husted Jr., the fifty-eight year old current president. The college had thirty-five hundred students, roughly the same population as Clarkton, and the two were interdependent. Clarkton was a god-fearing community with high church attendance, while the college community spent most of its discretionary income in town since it was the only retail destination within reasonable driving distance.

Nathaniel Husted Jr. was a hellfire and brimstone preacher who had been receiving national attention for his support of intelligent design and repudiation of evolution. Intelligent design was taught as a science at his college. Evolution was referred to as … ‘that theory.’ On a national news cable program he had said, "Show me an evolutionist and I’ll show you an atheist."

Evolutionary biologist, Dr. Shelley King, had responded to Reverend Husted the next night on the program. Reverend Husted’s assertion is understandable, if one considers he possesses about the same level of understanding of evolution as his ancestral life forms.

The exchange resulted in the two debating on the program. Audience interest spiked and it was agreed Husted and King would co-host a debate on intelligent design vs. evolution that would be carried by the cable station. A steering committee was formed to plan the event. In addition to Reverend Husted the members for intelligent design were Bailey Lassiter, chairwoman of Husted College’s biology department, and Reginald Watson, author of the authoritative textbook on intelligent design, Life is Complex. In addition to Shelley King the members for evolution were Donald Parks and Tamara Wilkinson, co-authors of a widely used textbook on evolutionary biology, The Long Road Here. The first meeting of the committee was being held at Husted College, on the Reverend’s home turf.

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So far everyone’s been polite and we’ve made progress, but next on the agenda is a discussion of creationism, which our evolution friends insist we include, Reverend Husted said, addressing the steering committee. Who wants to start the discussion?

The steering committee was meeting in the Reverend’s conference room. The windows looked out at the open space inside the quadrangle of academic buildings, a bleak view since the day was gray with snow flurries and the trees bordering the pathways looked more dead than dormant. The room was wood paneled, the conference furniture austere in design but expensive. A hearty fire in the fireplace was as much for appearance as heat, since the high-ceilinged room required central heating to make it comfortable.

Since I suggested the topic, I’ll begin, Tamara Wilkinson said. Dr. Wilkinson was in her early forties, short, salt and pepper hair, eyeglasses, and gray business suit. She was a distinguished faculty member at her university and had a national reputation. We’ve been polite to one another this morning, which is nice, but it’s time to lay some things on the table. In my opinion … and my colleagues in evolutionary biology share this … intelligent design is a Trojan horse built by creationists to get the teaching of religion into public schools. The first amendment to the constitution prevents them from achieving their goal directly, so they invented this fake science of intelligent design, which we call ‘creationism-lite,’ with no overt mention of religion. If we’re going to debate intelligent design and evolution on national television, this has to be out in the open.

Forced conviviality transformed to tension. Drs. Bailey Lassiter and Reginald Watson signaled to respond. It had been agreed since Reverend Husted was hosting the meeting, he would serve as chairman.

Dr. Lassiter, why don’t you start, and then Dr. Watson, Reverend Husted said with a smile that didn’t convey humor.

Bailey Lassiter had recently turned thirty. Blond, blue-eyed and attractive, she was the daughter of missionary parents who had spent their lives in South and Central America. She’d lived with them until the start of high school, when it was decided she should stay with her grandparents in Montana to experience growing up in America. Intelligent and raised to think of God as her governing force in life, it was a natural decision for her to attend nearby Husted College as an undergraduate before getting her PhD in biology at the state university, then returning to Husted as a faculty member. She’d been chairwoman of the biology department for three years. Her religious beliefs were strong and had never wavered. Being a dedicated Christian was required for faculty and staff of the college.

I think, Dr. Wilkinson, you don’t understand intelligent design. I teach it, and I can assure you it isn’t a Trojan horse. It’s a developing science, not religion, Lassiter said.

That’s absolutely correct, Dr. Watson barged in. He was a large man, more stout than muscled, with a large mustache to go with his large body. As the author of the main textbook on the subject, I totally reject your description of intelligent design. You evolutionists have had you way so long you can’t face up to the fact that intelligent design challenges and proves many of your basic hypotheses incorrect. It’s time to open your minds to alternative ideas rather than hide your heads in the sand. If we’re going to debate, it has to be done on the basis of scientific fact, not prejudice.

Dr. Shelley King, co-chair of the debate, couldn’t contain herself. Fact! What facts do you have? All intelligent design does is question the basic tenets of evolution without offering a scintilla of scientific proof of your assertions. That’s not science. Show me your laboratories where you’ve done real research to prove your claims and I’ll take your arguments seriously. You have to prove to the American public that you actually do science if you want to call intelligent design a science. It’s a charade.

And what is evolution? Reverend Husted said. I’ve never heard it called anything but the ‘theory of evolution.’ If it’s a theory, how can you people be so sure of yourselves? Theories are guesses, that’s all they are, maybe educated guesses, but still guesses. Against that we’ve got what the bible says, and that’s not guesswork … that’s divinely inspired writing of things that really happened.

I thought intelligent design wasn’t about religion? Donald Parks said. I can’t believe we’re having this discussion. Everything I’ve read about intelligent design says you people believe there’s an intelligent something behind all of nature, and it’s clear from the Reverend’s statement this intelligent something is the Christian God. If that isn’t creationism, I don’t know what is. Out in the open with it, Reverend, admit that’s the bottom line.

I’d like to answer that, Bailey Lassiter said, coming to the assistance of her boss and mentor. "We teach in class that certain features of the universe and of living things are so complex, so beautiful, they can’t be accounted for by unguided natural processes and forces in nature. For example, the concept of natural selection in evolution can’t account for the complexities we see in living things. And you have no explanation for how life began from nonliving matter. We offer the alternative explanation there must be an intelligent cause or design that made things happen and produced such complexity and beauty, because accidents can’t account for it. We make no assertions as to what or who that designer might be, that’s left to the individual. We look at nature just as you do, and through investigation arrive