Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) (66 page)

When James saw it for the first time, he stood rooted to the spot when he noticed a gigantic machine similar to a rocket at the bottom of the pool. It was surrounded with cables, boxes and materials he had never seen before. Wearing the appropriate attire and after having had a short crash course, he spent over five hours inside the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory which replicated the feeling of weightlessness as he went about simple tasks which enabled him to have an initial foray into the world of aerospace.

He then spent several hours in the Tilt-Translation Device (TTD) and the Device for Orientation and Motion Environments, otherwise known as DOME and which allows astronauts to experience visual and aural stimuli similar to those which occur during a space flight. They included rocket launch, being in orbit, load-control, approaches and docking maneuvers, leaving orbit, landing and even the protocol to follow when aborting a mission.

James’ face was contorted when he emerged from the simulator. It had been such a real experience that he could barely keep himself from throwing up. One of his instructors gave him a pill when he found it impossible to remain on his feet. His legs were shaking.

“Are all takeoffs like that? That’s some torture!”

The instructor tried not to chuckle but it was impossible. “The tests were much harder fifty years ago - now that really was human torture. They used to tie them up in centrifuges and make them spin around until they passed out, or they would send them up to over twenty-three thousand feet in the so-called ‘Vomit Comet’.”

“What’s that you said about a comet?” James asked

“The experience consisted of two tests. First they put you in a chamber which simulated an altitude of twenty-five thousand in less than five minutes. If the candidate didn’t faint, then the next day they were allowed to try the ‘Vomit Comet’. This was nothing more than a KC-135 military airplane with six windows, a limited number of seats and a cushioned interior which was ideal for what they were about to go through. The plane would fly forty parabolic maneuvers during which the passengers would experience periods of zero-gravity and 2G or, to put it another way, twice the force of gravity, for intervals of between twenty-five and thirty seconds a time.”

Just thinking about it made James’ stomach churn. “And… I have to try that?” he stuttered.

The instructor grinned again. “Now there are special space suits to reduce vomiting, fainting and the breaking of blood vessels during launch and landing. The centrifuges were consigned to the history books years ago.”

James relaxed.

In the afternoon, the scientists kept him in the laboratories for over eight hours. They subjected the object to various tests - resistance to extreme temperatures, conductivity, response when electricity is applied, hardness, dating, induction of magnetic fields… nothing worked. They were eight exhausting hours during which the professor’s strength didn’t flag at all. He again managed to start the process for creating a black hole, but this time he didn’t feel frightened and it carried on until the scientists believed it could be dangerous. Even though his help was necessary, the scientists couldn’t rob him of any more hours of sleep. He had several very long days ahead of him.

The third day was similar, but the physical tests weren’t as violent as the first day. He was again plunged into the swimming pool and in the simulators, but he didn’t even feel dizzy this time, thanks in part to the fact that human beings actually adapt very well to different environmental situations such as microgravity and virtual reality systems. He improved as the tests went on.

Before returning to the scientific laboratories he was subjected to rigorous medical and psychological tests. During the time an astronaut is in space, their body suffers considerable physical degeneration. The absence of gravity means that their bones grow weak and they lose muscle mass, with some even losing as much as twenty percent of their volume on one mission. Something similar happens with blood volume which reduces by a fifth, and their height which increases by around two inches.

What most worried the doctors, however, was James’ psychological state. They had to prepare him for being able to manage and control any crisis of nerves which may arise in space. This is especially important when the body is undergoing changes in its neuronal and cardiac functions because if stress caused his body to collapse, it could result in immediate death. This phenomenon is known among scientists as SUDS.

However, the afternoon was full of surprises. The scientists had made great advances during the night, and although they hadn’t succeeded in getting the
Trifariam
to work without James’ help, they thought that they had discerned how it worked. The object they had found in the Pyramid of Kukulkan was a device with a quantum processor capable of reading James’ brainwaves. In other words, it was able to read his mind and generate a black hole of huge dimensions which, once complete, would start to absorb anything that was around it. Despite these findings, it was still impossible to do anything without the professor’s help, so everything indicated that James would have to travel into space to set it up himself.

Some scientists compare how it worked to the Large Hadron Collider, or particle accelerator at CERN, even though the
Trifariam
seemed to be a much more sophisticated version. The collider causes two protons to accelerate in different directions until they reach 99.99% of the speed of light, and they then make them collide. The impact causes extremely high peaks of energy which simulate some of the events which occurred immediately after the Big Bang. Many scientists claim that this process could cause micro black holes to form, which would threaten not just our existence, but that of the entire universe.

The idea that such a small object could carry out that function in complete safety, even when the only machine on the planet capable of achieving such a feat measures seventeen miles in circumference, is hard to digest for any scientist.

Two hours later, and after having managed to control the creation of an eleventh black hole, the scientists released him from his duty. James went to his room; he would have a relaxing bath and go to bed. He had no desire to have supper. Tomorrow they would have to leave for the John F. Kennedy Space Center, a NASA complex located in Cape Canaveral which specialized in spacecraft launches.

His last thought was about his daughter.
I hope to god they get here before I leave!
he thought as he opened the door to his room.

W
hen he woke up the following morning, the bedside clock showed seven in the morning. He had managed to get to sleep and forget his nerves for some five hours, which was nothing to be scoffed at. He calmly had a shower, massaging his scalp until he felt himself relax, enveloped in the aroma of the shower gel. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever enjoy such a pleasurable wash again.

When he left his room, he was surprised to see that a soldier was guarding the corridor.
Where do they think I’m going to escape?
he wondered.

Although there were still twenty minutes to go until the meeting which had been scheduled for eight in the morning, he decided not to have a large breakfast, something that all the doctors had advised him against. A milky coffee and a couple of muffins would be more than sufficient.

The soldier didn’t leave his side until James turned up at the meeting room, when he was invited in. He left straight away. The situation had been very uncomfortable until then. He had the distinct impression they didn’t trust him.

“Good morning, Mr. Oldrich,” declared the Administrator of NASA, Mr. Aaron Lordson, before he had even stepped into the room. “Come on in. Nobody’s here.”

“But… the meeting?”

“It has been postponed.”

Flanked by two hefty soldiers and a pilot, the Administrator spoke to James with a look of resignation on his face. “We have to go to the John F. Kennedy Space Center immediately.”

“And my daughter?”

“I’m sorry. She won’t be able to make it.”

“What?! I want to see her before I leave! Where is she?!”

“Your daughter and Mr. Matheson arrived two hours ago, but the doctors advised against them making another trip. They say that they are in no state for traveling. We’ve had her admitted to our medical center.”

“I want to see my daughter!”

“Don’t you understand, Mr. Oldrich? We have suffered a serious setback at the last minute. Our scientists have discovered an unforeseen shift in the path of the asteroids, the estimated time has been brought forward one day. We have to leave immediately. The spacecraft is waiting. Mr. Matheson will see that - ”

“James! James!”

At the end of the corridor suddenly appeared the voluminous silhouette of the paleographer as he ran towards them. James rushed to give him a hug in the face of the strain the Administrator was putting him under.

“How’s Lily? Is she okay?”

Richard was trying to recover. He was panting and the beads of sweat running down his forehead showed that he had been running for a good while. “Thank god I got here in time. She’s better,” he said eventually. “The doctors say she will regain her strength but she’ll need all your help for to get close to how she was before.”

James smiled, it was good news.

“Mr. Oldrich, I must insist that we leave right now.”

James nodded as he walked back towards them. “You’ll look after her, won’t you?”

“Deal. I’m just on my way back from the hospital now.”

James beamed. Richard had proven to be a good man and an excellent friend. His daughter was in good hands.

Just then, in building number twenty-five of the JSC, a woman with a serious expression on her face, wearing a doctor’s uniform and with a stethoscope around her neck was walking through the corridors towards room number fifty-four. Her hair, chestnut brown and wavy, shone when the spotlights on the ceiling fell upon it.

When she reached the room, she peered in through the glass. A girl was sleeping, bedclothes pulled up to her neck, in a huge bed on the other side of the door.

She was just about to enter when somebody stopped her.

“Excuse me!” called one of the nurses. “I haven’t seen you before. Are you part of the psychological team we called for?”

Mary held her breath and nodded.

“Come with me, please. You have to fill out a couple of forms.”

The young woman frowned as she again watched the girl sleep peacefully on the other side of the door. Never in a million years could she imagine what was about to happen to her.

So near and yet so far,
she thought to herself.

T
he flight to the John F. Kennedy Space Center was quicker than expected. From the sky, they could already make out the magnificence of the site, located halfway between Miami and Florida at Cape Canaveral. It is over thirty-five miles long and six wide, creating an area of two hundred and nineteen square miles in which seventeen thousand people work.

Once they had touched down, a helicopter took them to Launch Complex 39 where they were already waiting for them.

James was surprised to see the sea in the distance.

He had sometimes listened to the explanations given by Aaron thanks to the earphones he had been given when he had boarded the flight.

“Launch Complex 39 comprises a series of facilities specifically for the launch of spacecraft. It has two launch platforms, 39A and 39B, both located around three miles from the nerve center and right next to the sea.”

The young professor listened to what the administrator had to say inside the helicopter, all the while staring at the marshland which extended below them. It looked as if the seawater was filtering little by little into underlying cavities, giving rise to hundreds of islands surrounded by water.

James understood why that location was the most suitable place for space launches. The fact that the platforms were isolated and surrounded by water could be an advantage in case of accidents, while their proximity to the sea meant that the rocket boosters could detach and fall away without causing damage.

“Land here, please,” said the administrator.

“Is there any news about the
Trifariam
?”

James had been wanting to ask about it for a long time, but he couldn’t find the right moment.

“Don’t worry, it arrived at the Space Center first thing this morning. Our scientists have managed to place it inside the shuttle.”

The helicopter touched down softly on the runway where five soldiers carrying machine guns were waiting for them.

James noticed how one of the launch platforms, number 39A to be exact, was surrounded by scientists who were pacing back and forth, from one side to the other. The space shuttle selected to complete that mission was Endeavour, and it had already been sitting in the Vertical Assembly Building for several hours. The operators had put it there in the early hours of the morning, transporting it over the three miles between the hangar and the launch platform.

As he got closer, he was filled with panic just at the sight of it, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was prepared for what was about to happen.

He quickly walked towards the steel tower that stood before him, towering over forty-six miles up in the air. He was accosted by several scientists who were trying to encourage him, but they only managed to make him more nervous.

At the base of the shuttle, a group of five people were waiting for him; the four men and one woman made up the team of astronauts who would accompany him on the mission. They were wearing the typical launch and entry suits. Even though James didn’t know it, the suit was equipped with all kinds of emergency devices which would be useful in the case of a fatal ending - water, food, parachutes, floats… Even the color - bright orange - had been specially chosen so they would be more visible in the case of an accident.

Aaron quickly introduced them to him. “As you can probably guess, Mr. Oldrich, these five people will be your colleagues for the next few days. We have selected the five best qualified professionals for this mission. Allow me to introduce you to Alan Glenn and Scott Grissom, who will be the two pilots in charge of the trip and keeping the craft in orbit, Ed Carpenter and Yi Young, mission specialists, and Helen Conrad, scientific expert on the
Trifariam
.”