CATACLYSMAL Read online

  Adrian Glass

  Cataclysmal

  C A T A C L Y S M A L

  This is a work of fiction, names, places and situations are entirely the creation of the author. Any semblance to set of circumstances, persons, dead or alive is purely coincidental. The author retains all rights over ideas and concepts.

  Adrian Glass. Copyright 2017

  All use of historic quotes and lyrics are from the public domain. Quotes from Adrian Glass can be reprinted with acknowledgment of the author.

  Cover Art: Adrian Glass (c)

  http://www.chiasmusadrianglass.wordpress.com/category/art/

  For all art inquires: [email protected]

  C A T A C L Y S M A L

  _________________________________________________

  “I think that life would suddenly seem wonderful to us if we were threatened to die as you say. Just think of how many projects, travels, love affairs, studies, it–our life–hides from us, made invisible by our laziness which, certain of a future, delays them incessantly...The cataclysm doesn’t happen, we don’t do any of it, because we find ourselves back in the heart of normal life, where negligence deadens desire. And yet we shouldn’t have needed the cataclysm to love life today. It would have been enough to think that we are humans, and that death may come this evening.”

  Marcel Proust

  “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

  T.S. Eliot

  “I remember discussions with Bohr which went through many hours till very late at night and ended almost in despair; and when at the end of the discussion I went alone for a walk in the neighbouring park I repeated to myself again and again the question: Can nature possibly be so absurd as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments?”

  Werner Heisenberg

  “Existence is beyond the power of words To define: Terms may be used But are none of them absolute. In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words, Words came out of the womb of matter; And whether a man dispassionately Sees to the core of life Or passionately Sees the surface, The core and the surface Are essentially the same, Words making them seem different Only to express appearance. If name be needed, wonder names them both: From wonder into wonder Existence opens.”

  Lao Tzu

  “I am wasting time.”

  The figure turns and stares directly at the man. This could, in it’s appearance, be a frightening spectra of the imagination, but it is not. In it’s apparent realism, the ghostly presence is a representation of power. However it is not the helper but rather the antagonist. “Now you are getting it, time you cannot waste, you strive and then you die. Otherwise you’ll regret everything that you did not do, that you could have done…you’ll wither away in this life before your final moments. It must be reminded you only get one life, don’t live as a dream, don’t let anything or anyone control or restrict your reality. More importantly do not let yourself be your own enemy.”

  A.Glass

  I. Devoid

  II.Abyss

  III.Xeno-Structuralism

  IV.Mordant

  V.Cataclysmal

  I.Devoid

  June, 2014

  US Air Force Space Command, Colorado.

  America.

  “We have collisions here and here...” The young console operator says looking at the computer screen in-front of her. She turns looking up at her superior. “...Old Chinese satellite, looks like it...” She brings up on the last trajectory movements of the satellite. “...was recently nudged by this object.”

  “The Chinese are setting up collisions via their two thousand and seven anti-satellite missile, blanketing the orbits in that direction of our satellites, it's worked out in a half-arsed way that the debris trails are somewhat confined to that synchronous orbit. But risky it doesn't evolve into a full blown shit storm up there. Monitor for any threats against the International Space Station, issue a warning for debris and particles in the Low Earth Orbits that maybe in the path of their supply ships. Also notify NASA with our data.” The Commanding Officer looks up at the main screen as he views the High Earth Orbit routes of the ISS and other manned space craft. They all seem relatively safe in their current synchronized orbits.

  “Sir! We have detection on a EMB pulse armament...Also looks like a Neutron detection signal too. Trying to pinpoint.” A young male console operator yells out, the Officer quickly walks across to where the operator is sitting.

  “Project to the main screen!” He orders. As above the AFSPC command area the main computer screen shows encircled pinpoints of Electromagnetic pulses and Neutron activity being shown on the map of the world. “Earth detection or Space?”

  “Hard to pinpoint sir, looks like Eastern Europe.”

  “Russia is a big country. Get me a lock from the SBIRS systems, could be submarines, moving out of the Black Sea.”

  “Negative sir, like I said, hard to pinpoint...It looks like a large pulse centered around Alaska...and another in Antarctica. And then...” The console operator looks up at the main monitor, he then focuses on the screen in-front of him. “...it's gone.”

  The Commanding Officer also looks at the large monitor above them in the darkened control room of the Air Force Space Command.

  “Neutron,” he says looking at the computerized imagery that shows the recorded detection of both EMP and Neutron detection. A large red circle remains on the screen around the two points detected for weapon related Neutron activity.

  “Nothing from Russia, nor China...Detection was from both poles simultaneously.”

  “Ok I want a communication lock-down as of now, all logs and data feeds are now of military security and protocol. No information regarding the detection of EMP and Neutron activity is to be disclosed to civilian Space departments.” The Commanding Officer walks across to his chair, sitting down he then lifts a phone which is attached to the outside of his right armrest. “We got a major detection of an EMP and Neutron activity within and around the Polar regions. All security protocols are in place. Require further confirmation on a possible military test by either Russia or China.”

  ***

  Neutrino detector station. Sub-Core IRDS

  (International Research and Detection Station)

  Antarctica.

  “Hey John! I hear the palm trees are looking good this year.”

  “Yeah, hydroponics inside our Greenhouse down here. Durable plants...”

  “Left over from fifty three million years ago? With thawed out Crocodiles!”

  “A scientist joke hey? Don't you mean that crocodiles that once roamed the Arctic?”

  “Poles haven't shifted yet! Jokes aside, I have a paper coming out soon. Climate change on ocean trichodesmium microorganism. I heard that your colleague had to leave?”

  “Appendicitis, go south of the Earth and some people get appendicitis...That's why I had mine removed before coming to Antarctica.”

  “So six months on your own...All good?”

  “Should be fine, for this season our skeleton crew have dropped to eleven, budget reasons. So gotta keep this place running, new research members coming in just after winter.”

  “Well everyone is good back here...you stay frosty...Trying to be funny again. Talk to you soon.”

  “Will do, take care.”

  John Nyman leans back in his chair looking at the monitor in front of him, as the satellite disconnection shows the time out signal. The video conference with his friend Kyle Ryan, a botanist and biological researcher from Stamford University.

  Suddenly there is a knock on his dormitory door. It opens and a woman walks into his room.

  “John we gotta issues with one of the Ch
erenkov detectors.”

  Nyman turns around, standing in-front of him is one of the sub-station physicists Renate Levi, an attractive woman in her early thirties with short cropped blond hair.

  “Energy output?”

  “It's declined under the three hundred Transient Earth Voltage, just one of the sensors on the right field array.”

  Nyman stands lifting up his light jacket, placing it on he then leans down and turns the monitor off.

  “Best conserve,” he says referring to the energy conservation requirement for the sub-base scientists.

  “I'd think the computer tower would be more wasteful,” Levi replies.

  “Except we need all the computer power we can muster down here. All right lets have look.” They both leave his dormitory walking down the narrow walkways of the smaller sub-station, a half-size version of the larger base three miles North of their location.

  “Any information from the main array?” Nyman asks as they continue walking towards the main research and data area of the base.

  “No nothing, we have a pretty bad storm coming in from the South East, as you know communication satellite links are down...”

  “How long?”

  “Levi stops in-front of the data receivers of the facility before opening the door she looks at Nyman.

  “Eight hours”

  “And we got some issues with the data relay to the satellite,” Nyman replies, walking into the main data room with Levi following behind.

  “Hey John, one of the Digital Optical Module strings is acting really odd,” A man says in his late thirties, balding, wearing spectacles.

  “Just one?” Nyman replies as he pulls up a chair as does Levi, they both sit down looking over the computer monitors in-front of them.

  “Just above the detector at...” The technician peers closer pointing at the screen. “...twelve hundred and sixty feet. Deep Core is holding at ten giga-electrons, yet one of the Subcore DOMs is acting tetchy.”

  Nyman looks at his watch, seeing that it is 2:00pm despite it being dark outside, the Winter has arrived for Antarctica. Within this season, the Sun will never rise. He then looks back at the readouts in-front of him.

  “I can see, patch through a software update...Could it be that?”

  Levi points at the coding on the screen indicating that all DOM modules have been upgraded recently. “Upgrade and software maintenance occurred two weeks ago...before the winter-over shift.”

  As the winter begins, the solitude of a sub-structure, a smaller version of a larger facility which lies two miles north of their base - becomes more pronounced. A winter-over crew of sixteen scientists, engineers and maintenance personal. Left to endure the winter months till summer begins. The sounds of the wind howl over the base, held in place by two concrete pillars anchored into the million year old sheet of ice, even deeper are the sensors, frozen into the ice-core, five miles down. Their sole mission to capture and study a particle called the Neutrino, a massless subatomic by-product of a decayed beta Neutron. Ghostly in it's presence, it can be only seen as it emits a radiated light deep within the Deep Core array of the detention station. The Ghost Particle passes through all matter within Space and time.

  “You seeing this?” The technician stares at the readouts and the large monitor in-front of him, both Nyman and Levi do the same. It shows simultaneous ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and Neutrino spikes.

  Nyman leans closer towards the screen, staring at the received data from the detector, he also looks at the information regarding the faulty DOM.

  “Yes...I am seeing this...Renate your thoughts?” He replies looking at the ultra-high-energy cosmic spikes. She is also studying the unusual correlation level in both Neutrino and Subatomic particles as the monitors show a sharp incline, both physicists are perplexed by this sudden detection of a Neutrino flux.

  “This is very strange, we filter out Gamma Rays, background noise, but...where is this from?” Levi asks looking closer at the real time data being received.

  “And it's gone...” The technician says as the readouts return to their normal ranges.

  “Not a Supernova or Hyper-nova. Remember the report from two thousand and twelve.” Nyman checks over the unusual data, he then brings up the recorded information that was received from the DOM detectors.

  “I read that paper, we don't believe that low level Gamma Ray Bursts, despite high UHECR spikes are from Hyper-novas,” Levi replies she stands upright folding her arms whilst still looking at the monitors that both the technician and Nyman are studying.

  “Still speculative, but this data does point to an Neutrino correlation...This was a rapid energy burst with...” He points to the screen indicating that the Neutrino detection also showed no drop in the subatomic-particle count. “...Whatever has occurred out there in the Universe, is something new that we haven't seen before.”

  Levi still staring at the screen, turns and looks upward at the ceiling of the room. “It is though...” She pauses as from outside the small Antarctic Neutrino detection base the howling wind continues it's relentless force, battering against the small base amidst a ferocious Antarctic winter. She then looks at Nyman. “...it was a detonation.”

  Nyman turns and faces her. “As in nuclear?”

  “Yeah, or more so hydrogen fusion, for my thesis I wrote about Geoneutrinos from unnatural sources. Weapons, nuclear accidents. The data here is very similar to a fusion weapons test data, that is, Neutrinos and Antineutrino with Gamma Ray detections all occurring simultaneously.”

  “As opposed to decayed radiation from an exploding star...” Nyman replies.

  “Faulty DOM is back on-line!” The technician says pointing to one of the ice buried DOM strings.

  “How long till we get satellite communications?” Nyman asks checking his wristwatch.

  “Twenty hours or so...” Levi replies.

  “Once we set up communications, we'll liaison with the main detector...” Nyman taps the screen in-front of him. “...We have a mystery here.”

  ***

  August, 2016

  Natakhtari, Georgia

  “Damn GPS!” A young woman says whilst driving, she promptly pulls over to the side of the road. In the distance from her driver side window she sees cows grazing in a nearby paddock, it is mid afternoon as the sun beats down, the last weeks of an unusually hot European summer. She winds down the window of the hire car peering up at the clear blue sky, she shakes her head smiling. Looking back at the GPS screen on her dashboard, the woman continues tapping with her right index finger onto the small screen, which is still fixed onto a position three kilometers back. “Oh well, old school...which is actually more accurate.” She pulls out a paper map, spreading it across the car's dashboard. “I am here...” She points with her left index finger on the road between Tsilkani Mukhrani and the E117 seeing the remaining distance for her destination, despite the GPS not working, the frozen image shows that she is driving in the right direction to it's eventual destination. Looking at her watch, she then looks at the map again, seeing the kilometers scaled against her current position, she calculates in her mind that the amount of time, depending that there are no outside random events, will take her forty five minutes from the current speed that she is driving at. The woman looks up a the sky again from the car's front window. “Unless we get a visitor...” She says to herself referring to the Chelyabinsk meteor strike eight years ago in Russia. The small meteorite which was caught on film by countless dash-cams of Russian drivers . “...and it hits this car.” She starts the engine winding the window up, the woman drives onward

  Three weeks ago.

  Conference at New York University's Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics.

  Professor Ivane Tori's closing speech.

  “If I was to say that we could unify the Quantum structural aspects of physics, so that Unified Theory and the elegance and brilliance of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, it would not only complete our understanding o
f the physical laws that govern the Universe. But the technicalities of that concept would be an immense achievement for humanity. And I think we are close. Does that mean, once we do unify the fields of physics, will we have conquered in an intellectual sense Cosmology in all it's complexity? Maybe. Still it is prudent to continue the theory of understanding the mysterious. Unknown and newly discovered particles and also earlier discoveries such as Dark Matter and Neutrinos, also known as the Ghost Particle. So I conclude with this in relation to the Neutrino in-which passes through us every second as a massless particle. Yes it is benign, a residual leftover from solar radiation in it's decay, however, it would be important that we look for and study the particle as an intensive effort of physics. That 'Ghost Particle', the Neutrino maybe not as benign as we may think. In it's form, being this relentless, invisible particle, able to transcend through all matter, could hold and provide information for the human race which may change our perspective of reality and even physics. Thank you very much.”

  Professor Tori steps down from the podium making his way to the side of the stage area. Standing behind the main stage are two men in their early forties, one dressed formally the other in a military attire.