Into the Unknowable Ch. 11

Chapter Eleven
Intrepid - 3756 C.E.

"Why are you so anxious?" Beatrice gently asked Paul while he lay beside her.

"Are we really going to enter the Anomaly?" her husband asked.

"If that's what Captain Kerensky said then I can only believe that's exactly what the Intrepid, and us in it as well, will do."

"I thought that was something we would never do," said Paul. "I thought that it would be suicide to enter the Anomaly."

"I'm sure neither Mission Control nor Captain Kerensky would ever authorise anything that was suicidal."

Beatrice was very persuasive as, of course, had been Captain Kerensky and the senior officers when Paul and the other passengers and crew gathered together earlier that day for the long-anticipated and well-advertised Official General Briefing. This was assembled at the Conference Centre whose cavernous space could comfortably seat every one of the thousands of passengers and crew. Paul very nearly didn't bother going, but Beatrice persuaded him that he really should.

"Won't it just be the usual waffle about the mission having achieved its goals now that we've more or less arrived at our destination?" he said.

"There could be more," Beatrice suggested.

"Even if there is," said Paul grumpily, "what would there be for me? I've got no research project to pursue and no technical equipment to set up. It'll be a total waste of time."

"Well, I'll be going," announced Beatrice.

And so Paul was given no room at all for negotiation.

There was a palpable sense of excitement among the thousands of soldiers and scientists assembled in the auditorium. The Intrepid's most senior officers and the highest ranking military officers were gathered on the podium where they were cheerfully chatting and joking together. Occasionally they passed a jovial remark to a member of the audience. There was almost a holiday atmosphere. The captain was at the centre of the proceedings with her shaven head and tight-fitting uniform. Next to her and on one side were the chief military officers such as Colonel Vashti and Colonel Musashi. On the other side were the senior space officers including Second Officer Nkomo, Chief Science Officer Dr. Chang and, of course, Chief Petty Officer Singh. Everyone was dressed immaculately in their official uniforms as was appropriate for such a momentous conference.

It didn't take very long for Paul to get bored. The general tone of the meeting was self-congratulatory and it was unlikely that there'd be anyone who'd congratulate him. There was a brief mention of the two unfortunate incidents and due commiseration was expressed for those who'd been injured and killed. There was substantial praise for the work of various eminent scientists whom Paul hadn't even known were on board the Intrepid. All the most important officers on the platform addressed the audience, but it was left to Captain Kerensky, Colonel Vashti and Chief Science Officer Dr. Chang to make the final statements. By this time, it was very difficult for Paul to stay awake. This was an unusually long and tedious meeting even by the standards set by the Interplanetary Union. He'd already been sitting there for three or four hours and was feeling rather restless. Not surprisingly so too was everyone else in the audience. Most of them were wishing that the conference had been over by now and there were several gaps across the audience where some attendees had already sneaked off. If Beatrice hadn't been gripping his arm, Paul might well have joined them.

Colonel Vashti was a popular speaker. She was known for her wit and vivid use of language. On the few times Paul had seen the colonel address an audience, she'd been both stirring and entertaining. So when the colonel approached the lectern, Paul hoped that at last there would be a speech which would make this whole interminable affair seem worthwhile, but regrettably he was disappointed. The colonel's wit and slightly cheeky humour was totally absent, even though the first few comments where she praised the quality of the refreshments provided seemed to promise something rather more engaging. The soldiers in the audience were visibly disappointed. They'd probably expected more than yet another account of their heroism and courage in fighting off the Holy Coalition and in ensuring that more lives weren't lost when the Intrepid was attacked by missiles. What might have been the promising start to a series of diverting anecdotes on the efforts of individual soldiers became a rather dry set of statistics that might have been impressive in another context but after over three hours of tiring speeches was both dull and monotonous. It was almost as if the colonel was going out of her way to be boring.

The addresses given by Chief Science Officer Dr. Chang and Captain Kerensky were similarly tedious. Neither said anything not couched in polysyllabic technical terms and neither address could be described as brief and snappy. The Chief Science Officer spoke first and at great length about what had already been mentioned by other speakers about the scientists' achievements. Those being congratulated were no doubt delighted by the additional fulsome praise, but even they must have been weary. They acknowledged the applause they earned almost reluctantly. One of the scientists wasn't even in his seat and the whole auditorium had to wait for him to return from wherever he'd gone simply so he could acknowledge the applause.

Paul gradually became aware that as the Chief Science Officer continued her address some members of the audience were getting increasingly restive, predominantly amongst the scientists. Paul focused his attention more closely towards the even-toned address the Chief Science Officer had now been giving for over half an hour with no apparent sign of being nearly finished.

"What does 'deep field reconnaissance' mean?" he asked Beatrice. "And what is 'esoteric interior research'? What are those references to 'non-spatial intra-field coordinates'?"

"I'm sure it'll all be explained in due course," said Beatrice who was probably the only one in the audience neither bored nor agitated.

"Excuse me, Dr. Chang," came a loud booming voice. "Excuse me!"

It belonged to Professor Penrose who was an expert on quantum field fluctuations and one of those whose research was most often cited for praise by the Chief Science Officer and other speakers. In addition to his other notable achievements he had an unusually resonant voice that could be heard further than anyone might think possible. He didn't need a microphone to be heard across the whole auditorium.

"I shall be taking questions afterwards," said the Chief Science Officer who seemed uncharacteristically exasperated by this interruption.

"Am I to understand that you are implying that the space ship Intrepid and everyone aboard are about to enter the Anomaly?" the professor asked.

"There will be an opportunity for questions later," said Captain Kerensky sternly.

"My understanding was that the mission would not involve any such foolhardy risk to either the crew or passengers," boomed the professor regardless.

"I don't believe Mission Control would ever authorise anything that was anything of the sort," said the Chief Science Officer. "If I may continue...? There is a great deal to cover and I'm sure many of you would rather convene to the celebratory lunch that is being prepared after this meeting than be delayed by unnecessary interruptions."

Although the implication was that the rest of the addresses might then proceed at a faster pace, this wasn't at all true. There was nearly another two hours of wearisome speeches given by the Chief Science Officer, then the captain and afterwards by several other officers.

"And now," said Captain Kerensky, "shall we all adjourn to the reception area? There is some truly remarkable confectionery from Saturn and wine from the very best vineyards on Triton."

The weary audience began moving out but before everyone had left the auditorium Professor Penrose's voice boomed out: "Tell me, captain, if you may. When will the space ship Intrepid be entering the Anomaly?"

"In less than twenty-four hours, professor," said the captain with a smile. "Now if you can all follow me..."

"This was not at all how the mission was intended to proceed, captain," said the professor. "This is a complete change to the mission's objectives. We are here to observe and conduct research not plunge to our certain death in uncharted territory."

"Really, professor," said the Chief Science Officer dismissively. "Don't exaggerate. If you look at the mission statement freely available on the ship's systems you'll see that deep field ingress and exotic phenomenon analysis is precisely what the mission was intended to undertake."

"Unless my memory is faulty or the mission statement has been tampered with," said the professor, "that cannot be so."

"I think you'll discover that it's your memory that's defective in this case, professor," said the captain with a wry indulgent smile. "Mission Control wouldn't be sending us all this way for nothing. Interior anomalous non-quantum investigation is precisely what we are here for. Where else can this be done except inside the Anomaly? Isn't that so?"

The last question was addressed to the captain's fellow officers who all cheerfully concurred with Captain Kerensky's comments.

"You'll have to study the statement of the mission objectives in more detail, professor," said the Chief Petty Officer. "It's all there. This is what we've travelled across trillions of kilometres of space to do and despite the best efforts of religious fanatics and murderous wealthy fantasists that will be exactly what we shall do. It's what you signed up for, professor. You should be delighted."

"This is a very momentous occasion, professor," agreed Second Officer Nkomo. "This must surely be the climax of all your years of research. In less than twenty-four hours we shall be inside a new spacetime continuum. It might not even be a spacetime continuum as we know it at all. Isn't that exciting, professor? Only twenty-three hours and seventeen minutes."

"And getting closer all the time," remarked Colonel Musashi. "I can barely wait, professor. Who here won't be celebrating the occasion?"

"Am I the only one here who thinks we are about to commit suicide on a futile whim?" said the professor in despair.

"I rather think you are," said Second Officer Nkomo. "Come on, professor. We've wasted too much time in this futile discussion. Let's join everyone else."

At this stage there were relatively few people left in the auditorium and most of those were in the process of leaving. Professor Penrose quite clearly did not have everyone's attention.

"What new information does Mission Control have that wasn't available before the endeavour began to suggest that it's possible to enter the Anomaly and later return to the Solar System? What critical piece of information have I simply not been aware of before now? How have the best minds in the Solar System been so ignorant of what we hitherto believed to be a fundamental characteristic of the Anomaly?"

"Shall we discuss this privately, professor?" said Chief Science Officer Dr. Chang with an indulgent smile as she approached the scientist's isolated figure.

"What was that all about?" Paul asked Beatrice. "Isn't the professor right?"

"Evidently not," said Beatrice.

"I'm sure he is," said Paul. "I always believed that the objective of this mission was to rendezvous with the Anomaly and after a period of investigation to return home to the ecliptic plane. I don't believe anyone ever said that we'd be entering the Anomaly. I thought that nothing that entered the Anomaly ever re-emerged again."

"Are you sure?" questioned Beatrice. "I can't believe the captain and all the officers would ever agree to authorise suicide. Wouldn't the Interplanetary Union be rather foolish to send an expensive space ship and everyone on it into the Anomaly if it didn't think that by doing so it would fulfil the mission and relay the results of the research back home?"

"You're right," said Paul. "It would be very foolish."

Paul and Beatrice were among the last to join everyone else now enjoying nibbles and wine. There was a clear divide between the puzzled and disconcerted scientists and the rather more cheerful senior officers. The military contingent stood amongst themselves where Colonel Vashti was much more amenable company now that she wasn't giving a long dull speech. The military were generally less agitated than the scientists although it was the senior officers who were the most cheerful. It was a strange kind of party. It scarcely be described as celebratory. The scientists' discontent was apparent, but the reassurances from those of high rank and sheer professionalism carried huge weight. It was a party where Paul felt even less comfortable than usual, but where Beatrice was clearly in her element.

As the couple circulated, it was Beatrice who led the conversation and this was primarily with those scientists that appeared to be the most unhappy. Although she professed ignorance as to the actual science, she was intent on reassuring everyone she spoke to that everything would be fine.

"I have absolute faith in our captain," Beatrice said.

"Professor Wasilewski wouldn't authorise the mission if he wasn't confident of its success and safety," she said to another group of scientists.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted the Intrepid to do," she remarked to some others.

Paul noticed that Beatrice was doing exactly the same as all the other senior officers. And that was to mingle amongst the scientists expressing their doubts the most vocally and trying to assuage their worries and concerns. Captain Kerensky, Second Officer Nkomo and Chief Petty Officer Singh: they were all mingling, consoling, reassuring and generally being very cheerful. Surely there could be nothing amiss if so many well-qualified people on whom everyone so heavily relied were insisting that everything was as it should.

"Look, there's Professor Penrose," commented Beatrice, who spotted the professor standing in the company of Chief Science Officer Dr. Chang and some other scientists. He was very cheerful and expressed none of his earlier doubts or disagreement. "Shall we go and chat to him?"

Paul didn't know Professor Penrose at all, although inevitably the professor knew Beatrice. Was there anyone on the space ship who didn't?

"Has the Chief Science Officer succeeded in allaying your doubts, professor?" Beatrice asked.

"My doubts?" said the professor as if he couldn't for the moment imagine what she was talking about. "Oh yes. A few moments back there. Yes, of course. I don't know what I must have been thinking. Dr. Chang showed me the original mission objectives and it's there as clear as anything." The professor held up a holographic image of the mission statement in which a few paragraphs were underscored. "I must have just forgotten about it in the excitement of the Intrepid being so close to its destination."

"It's tomorrow that we arrive, isn't it?" prompted Beatrice.

"I can hardly wait," said the professor. "This is truly the opportunity of a scientific lifetime. Just imagine all the new discoveries we'll make!"

"Do you think we'll be able to pass news about these discoveries back to Mission Control?" wondered Paul.

"We'll worry about that after the discoveries have been made, shall we?" said the professor. "The most exciting moment will be the time of transition. Will there be a discernible difference between quantum behaviour inside and outside the Anomaly? Will Planck's constant still hold? I've got a lot of work to do just to set up equipment to measure the data at the exact right moment."

"Will the experiments be repeatable?" Paul asked.

"Repeatable?"

"...In the sense that we can go backwards and forwards through the point of transition and verify them?"

"Are you asking me whether the Intrepid will be going back and forth through the Anomaly just to check our data? I don't think a space ship behaves like that. This sort of experimental data isn't the stuff you can synthesise on a computer...erm...Paul. It's not the sort of data you can reproduce that easily. The mission objectives are clear but they don't provide the opportunity to oscillate back and forth. Am I right there, Dr. Chang?"

"That's my understanding as well," said the Chief Science Officer. "That was never anticipated as being part of the mission."

"But could we, if we wanted to?" persisted Paul. "Theoretically that is. Could we go into the Anomaly and then get back out of it if we needed to?"

"We won't know that until the Intrepid enters the Anomaly, Paul," said the Chief Science Officer dismissively. "That's what experiments are. They confirm hypotheses. We don't know how valid they are until we do the experiment."

"And is it a hypothesis that the Intrepid will be able to escape from the Anomaly once it's got inside?" wondered Paul. "Are our lives just to be data in a grand experiment whose results Mission Control will never be able to receive?"

The Chief Science Officer and Professor Penrose both laughed good-naturedly at Paul's remarks. "Mission Control would never knowingly put lives at risk, Paul," said the professor. "Why else would field transition ingress be approved as part of the mission objectives? Now, if you don't mind, I have other people to talk to."

After Professor Penrose walked off with a wine glass in his hand and a broad beam over his face, Paul frowned at Beatrice.

"The professor's changed a lot since we were in the Conference Centre," he remarked.

"Changed? In what way has he changed?"

"In every way, really. It's as if he isn't even the same man."

"Don't be silly, darling," said Beatrice as she lovingly kissed her husband on the lips.

Now, less than a day later, Paul was still anxious. Perhaps Professor Penrose was now convinced that everything would be alright. Perhaps Beatrice was also convinced. Every senior officer was completely relaxed and apparently unconcerned about the consequence of diving into the Anomaly. Paul didn't really have the knowledge and expertise to argue about such matters with the Chief Science Officer, but he was sure that until recently the accepted view was that it would be suicide to enter the Anomaly and now that was exactly what the Intrepid was about to do.

"What will happen, do you think?" asked Paul.

"I don't know," said Beatrice. "What do you think?"

"The only thing we know about this Anomaly is that weird things are associated with it. You know, like Angels, psammeads and flying concertinas."

"Have you seen any of those?"

"No, not at all. Have you?"

Beatrice shook her head.

"The Intrepid's bulletin board has been full of reports the last few days though," said Paul. "People have seen the weirdest things. The kind of things you never expect to see except in a film or a computer game. There was a bicycle travelling through the second level and no one was sitting on it. A pteranodon flew over the lake on the fifth level. An orang-utan wearing a suit and hat wandered along a corridor in the military quarters. None of these apparitions lasted for more than a few seconds and none of them left evidence that they'd even happened."

"Is that what we'll see inside the Anomaly?" Beatrice wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe they aren't the same inside the Anomaly as they are outside."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Beatrice with a smile.

"Aren't you even in the slightest bit perturbed?" Paul wondered incredulously. "This could be it. This could even be the end of our lives."