Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) (65 page)

“More or less, sir. According to our scientists, something far away from the site unleashed the process. Thank god that the hole was forming and still very small. It remained open for less than two seconds, then it vanished.”

“So that object is a black hole generator!”

“Impossible!” cried the astronomer. “A black hole is very complex. It’s crazy to think that it can form at the touch of a button. A black hole is a finite region of spacetime where an enormous concentration of high-density mass has been produced, forming a gravitational field from which nobody or nothing can escape. How could a machine achieve such a feat?”

The President frowned.

The scientist tried to explain it better so that they would comprehend just how difficult it would be to carry out such a groundbreaking task. “The formation of a black hole starts with the death of a red giant, a star with a mass nine times that of the sun. It starts to accumulate an enormous concentration of mass in a very small radius due to its own gravitational pull, eventually turning into a white dwarf. When the star’s escape velocity is greater than the speed of light, where the escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for anything to escape from its gravitational pull, then the star will begin to absorb its own light and everything around it, thus becoming a black hole. It is worth mentioning that light doesn’t have sufficient speed to escape from the gravitational pull of a black hole once it is within the event horizon. What do you think happens to an object when light cannot be reflected from it?”

“It becomes invisible to the human eye.”

“Exactly.”

“The event horizon” clarified the astronomer, “is the area around black hole from which there is no way of escaping its pull.”

“Just a minute. You said that a black hole has a gravitational pull so strong that nothing can escape from it, not even light, right?”

The astronomer and the scientist cocked their heads to one side.

The Secretary of Defense frowned, he could guess what the Presidents’ intentions were.

“If that machine is a black hole generator… could it be positioned at a safe enough distance so as to enable us to create a black hole to protect us from the solar storm and asteroids?”

A mass of converging opinions suddenly erupted. The most conservative voted for being cautious and not using an unknown tool that they still didn’t know how to control; meanwhile, others vehemently supported the President’s idea.

“Sir,” replied the scientist. “We don’t know the true potential of the
Trifariam
. What if we create a black hole which ends up sucking in the whole solar system? And even if it were feasible and we discover how to use it, we couldn’t create a black hole without knowing for sure that we will be able to deactivate it at will.”

“Could it work?” asked the President again.

The scientist stroked his chin while those present remained in silence, waiting for an answer. “Yes, in theory. But even if we know how it works, it wouldn’t give us enough time to intercept both threats. The only chance we have is to eliminate them simultaneously by creating a black hole in a zone near to the point they should meet. However, our studies show that area to be very close to Earth. If we create a black hole in that location, we will be within the event horizon and we will be sucked into it at terrifying speed. Seeing as we don’t have time to defend ourselves against both, and unless we manage to find out how the
Trifariam
works in record time, I suggest we use it against the asteroids. The solar storm will set back our progress, but at least it won’t kill us.”

“I agree,” chimed in the Secretary.

“We have to implement a plan of action immediately. We must study the mechanism in that machine, understand how it functions so as to use it without putting the planet at risk. We will send it on a manned mission to Mars, in order to meet with the asteroids and they will activate it up there. We can’t prevent the solar storm from devastating Earth, but when it reaches the black hole it will be absorbed.”

“Have we got the technology to reach that location in so little time?”

Some of those present turned to look at the Administrator of NASA, the highest rank a man could have within the agency and whose role is to counsel the President on all space matters. He didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Yes, sir. We have spent three years working alongside Area 51 on a top-secret aerospace project. We could reach the point indicated in several days.”

The President stood up again from his chair. For the first time that day, he looked at those present with a hopeful expression. “In light of what has happened, the
Trifariam
is not safe to remain in Area 51. Take it to NASA immediately, along with its last piece and all the scientific team who has been studying it. I want the most brilliant scientists from both organizations to cooperate and work out how the hell it works. Mr. Oldrich and Mr. Matheson will accompany them….”

“But my daughter…”

“Mr. Oldrich, I understand your position but are you aware that the planet as we know it could come to an end? If we don’t do anything, everybody will die, including your daughter.”

“Yes, but at least…”

“What?!”

“At least let me take her with me to NASA.”

The President breathed deeply and although he didn’t like the idea, he nodded his head. “Okay, but go now.”

O
ver sixty miles away, in a small town near Las Vegas and beneath the debris of a recently demolished house, a huge bunker hid sophisticated telecommunications equipment out of place for such a small town. There were no more than five people in the main room, counting the woman with brown hair who hadn’t stopped crying since her father was confirmed dead. Now she was in charge.

The room was split into several sections, all of them related to communications and espionage. Several GPS receivers showed different planetary locations on a huge screen which dominated the room, and another two monitors showed real time images beamed from the Yucatan Peninsula and Area 51 via satellite. On the first one, the U.S. Army had already left the Peninsula and it was the Mexican police who were examining the damage they had caused to the pyramid. From the expressions on their faces, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Meanwhile, activity was stirring inside the site in the state of Nevada. All the hangars were opening up.

At one of the individual computers was a thin man of average height, wearing a pair of designer glasses and with unkempt hair. He had a pair of headphones glued to his ears and looked like a poor version of a DJ at some cheap resort. “Miss Ranley, I think they are leaving,” he announced.

Mary nodded, also wearing a pair of headphones herself. Her eyes were tearful and full of anger. Her hands were before delicate and soft, but now they were covered with bruises and deep wounds which had stopped bleeding, traces of her encounter with one of the walls after finding out the tragic news. “Have you filmed the meeting?”

“Yes, your… your father had cleverly fitted hidden microphones throughout the room. As you have seen, the signal can be heard perfectly.”

Although her feelings of rage were growing by the second, they didn’t stop her from thinking clearly.

“Miss Ranley,” chipped in another member of the team. “Dozens of planes are leaving the hangars. The scientific team is starting to be evacuated together with all their little toys.”

Mary nodded after receiving the information. “In view of the imminent change of plan, all the microphones installed in Area 51 will no longer be useful. Deactivate them! We can’t leave any trace.”

A few seconds later and over sixty miles away, a tiny object located in an alcove under the meeting table stopped emitting its characteristic intermittent red light, followed by the other two dozen or so microphones installed around the whole site.

“What are we going to do with the
Trifariam
?”

The woman sighed and banged her fist against the table. Her anger left no room for pain. Unlike how she felt at first, she no longer wanted to kill James. She wanted to see him suffer and she knew how to do it. “All in good time. For now, we have to get revenge.”

T
he National Aeronautics and Space Administration, more commonly known as NASA, is the governmental agency in charge of aerospace programs in the United States. It was created under the leadership of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, in response to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union the year before. Its purpose was to provide answers to several basic questions. What is in space? How do we get there? What will we find? Are we alone in the universe? What can we learn from everything that has happened before to make life on Earth more pleasant?

NASA achieved its defining moment when it managed to put man on the Moon after the so-called Space Race, an unofficial competition between the United States and Soviet Union to be the first ones to set foot on our satellite. Something that has recently been called into question because many believe that the whole thing was a sham created by the U.S. Government.

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston was the place chosen by the President for them to study, prepare and organize the mission. Known by the initials JSC, it is the NASA facility which supervises and coordinates manned flights from the United States, managing all the missions, launch activities and the International Space Station, as well as controlling the emergency landing area.

James had arrived at the center three days ago along with the President’s governing body and the scientific team who was going to keep analyzing the
Trifariam
. It was hugely important that they could count on the cooperation of the future university president. Meanwhile, Richard had stayed with his daughter until she could be brought over, something that was due to happen that very morning.

No sooner had he arrived than he discovered how intense the next seventy-two hours would be, during which he would have no time to rest and find it difficult even to eat.

The most highly qualified scientists got to work immediately and subjected the object to several tests in their laboratories. James had to be present for all the experiments because the object behaved abnormally whenever it was in his hands. The most illustrious minds began to predict that James’ role was going to become more significant than even he had thought, and it was then that he had the most important meeting of his life - one which would change it forever.

James remembered it as an informal meeting. The Administrator of NASA turned up unannounced just as he was getting out of the shower.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Oldrich. May I come in?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. What can I do for you?”

Aaron couldn’t resist glancing around his room.
Despite him having had to cross the globe on several occasions over the last few days and not having any rest at all, all his clothes are neatly stacked away on the shelves of his closet. James Oldrich seems like a tidy and meticulous person
. “How are you finding the JSC?”

“I can’t complain. Your staff has treated me really well, but they haven’t stopped carrying out experiments on me and the
Trifariam
.”

The Administrator rubbed his chin and thought very carefully about what he was going to say next. “Umm, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Our scientists have confirmed that after it was subjected to the first three tests, the object began to display radically different behavior to when you are alone with it and you have it in your hands.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are unable to deactivate the force field which protects it and which is rapidly whittling down our team of scientists - we have already had to send another two to hospital. But when you touch it, the field disappears. It allows us to carry out a more in-depth and detailed study!”

James remembered hearing how the scientists claimed that after the last piece had been fused, the object had become more aggressive and was responding more violently to experiments. However, he personally thought it was much more docile and manageable and he started to get a feeling for how it worked. If fact, on one of his recent tests and without knowing how, he had managed to create a micro black hole that disappeared from view when he became scared. It was as if the
Trifariam
could read his thoughts and acted accordingly.

“We have two days to try and understand its composition, its design and how to make it work when you are not there. If not…”

“If not…? If not, what?!”

“Well, you yourself will have to travel into space to set it up.”

“What?! That’s impossible!”

“Mr. Oldrich, do you still fail to grasp the gravity of what is going on here? If you refuse to go, you are sentencing the whole of the world’s population to certain death. Your daughter will suffer, too. Is that what you want?”

James took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. “I’ve never been into space! I’ll feel claustrophobic! I’m not prepared!”

“Don’t panic. Tomorrow you will begin a practical course which would normally last a year, but you will complete it in two days. In the afternoons you will continue to conduct research in the scientific laboratories.”

“What happens if we aren’t able to understand how it works?”

“I don’t think I need to answer that question - you know the answer. Mr. Oldrich, you must understand that your help is essential. For some strange reason, that device only wants to communicate with you. You have to work with us on everything you can, for the good of the planet.”

The Administrator proceeded to leave the room, but not before thanking him for his help and informing him that his daughter would be arriving in the next few days.

His second day at NASA was the worst of all. As soon as he got up after having slept for less than two hours, he was taken to the Sonny Carter Training Facility, one of the most sophisticated centers for training astronauts. It included a Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, which is actually nothing more than a swimming pool filled with over six million gallons of water in order to simulate weightlessness, and is where the astronauts learn how to cope with additional tasks which could occur on any mission - carrying out repairs outside the spacecraft, controlling space vehicles, docking…