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Author Biography
Gary J
McCleary has worked as a Mathematics teacher since obtaining his Science Degree
majoring in Mathematics and Physics from Sydney University in 1970. More
recently he has been a Head Teacher of Mathematics with TAFE NSW and a part time
university lecturer in Engineering Studies. He retired in 2004.
He has always
had an interest in works of science fiction and more recently has undertaken
research into spirituality with particular reference to the ‘Near Death
Experience’. Since retiring he has tried to explore both of these themes in his
novels ‘Raised as an Angel’, ‘An Angel in the Making’ and ‘Millennium’s End’.
Gary has just won a literary prize for
an essay competition about his town Penrith as it
has evolved over the last fifty years since being proclaimed a city.
By the same author
Raised as an Angel
An Angel in the Making
READ A
SAMPLE OF THE BOOK
Michael
stood in front of his electronic marker board and looked up into the eager young
faces of his students. There were twenty in the class and while all were new
recruits to Michael’s ‘Field Dynamics’ course none of them were strangers to
university life or studies. Here on Tranador and indeed on all the worlds of the
great star known as The One people tended to maintain their appearance at their
own preferred age. Life for most of the students, aside from their studies, was
really just an ongoing party and for this reason Michael, who was now a lecturer
at the university, had allowed his own appearance to age slightly in an attempt
to project some authority. He had permitted a few small streaks of grey to
appear in his normally dark hair and while he was naturally tall of frame he had
cultivated a slight stoop when he walked. In his white lab coat and gold rimmed
spectacles he looked every bit the university academic.
Lately he was beginning to feel more
comfortable in his teaching role and the students were becoming ever more
receptive to his authoritative tone. “Please take your seats everyone as I have
much to discuss with you today.”
When all were seated with their note
pads at the ready Michael continued. “Last time I discussed at length with you
the relativistic effects which would be observed concerning ‘time’ as measured
both in a reference frame considered to be at rest, such as right here on
Tranador and in a space ship moving away at a significant fraction of the speed
of light. We know that ‘time’ for the occupants of such a vessel dilates which
is to say that ‘time’ for those occupants actually runs at a slower rate than
for a stationary observer here on the ground. However, according to the theory,
it is equally valid to consider the space vessel to be the frame at rest while
the observer back home is the one moving away at near the speed of light. That
means that ‘time’ should run slower for the observer on the ground relative to
the observer in the space vessel.”
Michael then pointed to one of the
young men seated in the front row and addressed him directly. “How about you
Kyle, can you tell us what your research has uncovered as an answer to this
seeming paradox?”
The young man selected was a little
surprised to be singled out by the teacher in this way but still he rose
confidently to his feet. “I believe sir, that the question you posed last lesson
was a little more personal than that. You asked what would happen to a pair of
identical twins if one twin remained at home while the other twin went off in
the space ship. When the travelling twin returned which one would appear to have
aged the least?”
“That is correct young man. That was
indeed my question to you.” Suddenly now and for the first time the question
took on a very special meaning for Michael. He had a vision of his own lovely
twin daughters Mary and Kathy separated in this way.
The young man continued. “Your
original question sir implied an acceleration and deceleration for the space
ship but not for the observer here at home. In order for the space ship to
return it must at some point turn around which would of necessity involve the
aforementioned acceleration and deceleration. In this context the frame of
reference of the space ship cannot be considered as the inertial one. Therefore
the twin returning would have aged the least and depending on the speeds
involved that twin may have aged only months while the planet-bound twin may
have aged years.”
“That’s a good answer, Kyle. I can
see that you’ve been doing your homework.”
Before Michael could ask his next
question a young woman seated at the back of the room rose to her feet. “Excuse
me Doctor Thomas, but I have a question for you.”
Michael had never gotten used to his
title or the use of his extended name. Moreover this young woman had already
shown herself, in the short time that he had been teaching the class, to be
extremely interested in finding any and all discrepancies in whatever theory was
being discussed. In many ways she reminded him of himself as he had been all
those years ago. “Alright Sarah, what is your latest query?”
“I have done my research on the so
called ‘twin paradox’ and while it is quite interesting I believe that there is
a much more important topic which should be the focus of our attention.”
When she said this many of the
students cringed down in their seats in an effort to disassociate themselves
from her remarks.
“What can you tell us sir, about the
so called Casimir Effect?”
This topic was definitely NOT part
of the curriculum and Michael had first hand knowledge of exactly why that was
the case. Still he knew better than to try dodging the question as this would
put the topic clearly into the category of ‘forbidden fruit’ and none of the
students would be able to resist researching it. “Why don’t you Sarah, first
tell us what you know about this effect?”
The girl had not been sure what
Michael’s response was going to be to her question and she had really only asked
it for the somewhat perverted pleasure of trying to unsettle her teacher. Now he
had thrown it all back onto her and she was not quite so sure of herself. “What
we are…normally think of as the vacuum of normal space is really a sea of
virtual particles whose net energy is actually zero. We can also think of it as
a sea of fluctuating electromagnetic waves of all possible wavelengths. If we
now place two parallel uncharged conducting plates into the vacuum very close
together then only those wavelengths which fit a whole number of times into the
distance between the plates can exist there. That means that the energy density
between the plates becomes negative compared to the region away from the plates.
This effect is known to exist and has actually been measured.”
Michael knew where all this was
headed but he could see no way of deflecting the class’s attention from it. “And
the relevance Sarah, of all this theory to our present discussion is…?”
The girl knew now that she had
gotten herself in well over her depth and that she was broaching a topic very
personal to Doctor Thomas. Everyone knew what Michael Thomas had done in his
youth but he had long ago made atonement for those actions and had been forgiven
for them. Now it was considered in extremely bad taste to ever make mention of
the matter. Still she felt compelled to complete what she had started or risk
losing face with the other students. “The mere existence of regions of negative
energy density implies an inherent flaw in the basic premise behind the whole
topic of Field Dynamics.” The girl hesitated then and she lowered her gaze.
“Go on Sarah,” Michael replied
gently, “but you and all the class must know that this topic cannot be pursued
at this time. It is definitely off limits!”
The girl again hesitated but she was
determined to make her final point. “Is it not true Doctor Thomas…that…that
regions of negative energy density have major implications for the theory of
‘Faster-Than-Light’ travel?”
“Yes Sarah, that is true but it’s
only just the beginning.” When Michael said this he became aware that every pair
of eyes in the room was staring directly at him and that absolute silence
prevailed. What had started out as a mischievous piece of student heckling had
opened up a full blown can of worms.
He wasn’t sure how much information
he should give the class but he felt that he owed them at least something. “You
all know about The Void and that The Guardians routinely transfer the very
essence of who we are as Beings through The Void instantaneously when we choose
to live a life on one of the untamed worlds across the galaxy. This is possible
because the essence of who we are is non-material and therefore not restricted
by the speed of light. However…there was once a project which was initiated by a
group of inter-species scientists who live on the other side of Tranador. This
project involved the instantaneous transfer of people, still alive in material
form, through The Void. I am one of those people.”
This was the ultimate bombshell! The
girl, Sarah, sat quietly back down and all the students sat rigidly still in
their seats. No-one dared speak as they each tried to assimilate in their minds
what was until then, the unthinkable.
Michael continued in subdued tones.
“The project was known as ‘The Travel Vehicle’ and there was only ever one
mission. Initially it was kept secret from The Guardians but once they found out
about it they black-listed all further research and they shut down the project.
They deemed it to be extremely unstable and far too dangerous. However, I can
tell you quite honestly that I would not be here talking to you now if it were
not for ‘The Travel Vehicle’ project.”
Later that day as Michael climbed
the small number of steps to the landing platform just next to his office he
cast his mind back to those far off days. Twenty years had elapsed since the day
he and the others had stepped through the glowing portal of the Travel Vehicle
and into the sanctuary of the Hall of The Guardians on the other side of Ocean
City. The transition, once they had stepped through the portal on the other
world, had been instantaneous. One minute he and his family had been trapped
beyond all hope of redemption on that faraway and hostile world known as
Earth 2. The next instant the portal had opened and they stepped out into
the soothing light of The One as it gently rose into the morning sky over Ocean
City.
Michael’s office at the university
was situated on level sixty and as he walked across the landing platform to his
little flier he felt the crisp clear afternoon sea air on his face. From this
height he had an almost uninterrupted view of Ocean City all the way to the
skyline. He could see far out into the vast inland ocean which was now almost
completely surrounded by the great city. Ocean City was the First City of
Tranador which itself was by far the largest of all the thousands of planets
which circled the great star known as The One or the smaller Companion star.
The little flier was still Michael’s
pride and joy after all these years. It was only capable of carrying two people
at a time but it was ideal for commuting to and from the university and because
of its size it gave the occupants a real sense of flight. Furthermore the clear
domed canopy could be slid back during flight to further enhance the flying
experience.
Michael climbed into the pilot seat
and engaged the air controls. He could easily have programmed in the exact
coordinates of his home and let the flier take him there on automatic but he
elected instead to fly the machine manually. Flying was Michael’s great passion
and he availed himself of every opportunity to do so. He took the little machine
into an almost vertical climb until he had reached the bottom of the cloud layer
and then man and machine disappeared into the swirling white fog of the cloud
mass. Still he pressed the machine to go ever faster and higher even though the
world outside the canopy was a blanket of pure whiteness. Suddenly he emerged
from the layer into a deep blue section of sky and the white cloud mass fell
away quickly below. The One was settling down towards the horizon on his left
and at this point of its luminosity cycle its disk was a brilliant orange tinged
with a very faint green towards the edges.
In the distance he could make out
the northern tip of the huge cliff which overlooked the ocean at the extremity
of the city. It was here on the top of this cliff that he and Alana had made
their home together since returning to Tranador.
At this point Michael put the flier
into an almost free fall dive causing it to swoop directly towards the distant
cliff wall. At the final approach he applied the air brakes at the last moment
causing the machine to stall in the air just above the landing pad and the air
outside the canopy crackled with billions of red sparks as the machine came to a
complete stop. He then brought the little machine in for a perfect soft landing
on the pad just outside his home high on the cliff wall.
As he walked the short distance
towards their home, through the beautiful rose-garden that his wife Alana
lovingly maintained, he caught sight of her standing in the doorway and his
heart seemed to skip a beat as was always the case whenever he saw her. She was
his soul-mate on every level that was possible. They had lived many lives
together on many different worlds and each was the completed whole of the other.
Their most recent mission away had been a nightmare by anyone’s reckoning but at
least they had had each other and that had made all the difference. Now at last
in this place they had finally found peace and could simply take the time to
bask in their love for each other.
She came to him then and he gently
folded his arms around her. Her sheer physical presence threatened to overwhelm
him as he took in the softness of her skin and the smell of her lovely golden
hair. During the twenty years that they had spent in this place she also had
allowed her youthful body to age slightly. Just as Michael had done and for a
similar reason she had allowed a few faint streaks of grey to soften her hair
and for a few slight wrinkles to appear at the corners of her eyes.
Michael pulled back from her and
admired her still stunning beauty. “You are my everything and I still cannot
believe that I deserve you.”
“Come my husband. I have prepared
our evening meal and then there is a matter of considerable importance that I
want to discuss with you.”
Michael and Alana’s home was split
into three levels and all faced towards the great ocean. The walls were of
crystal clear glass which offered a magnificent view of the ocean by day and of
the stars by night. The sleeping quarters were on the top level and as Michael
and Alana lay together later that night the stars in all their magnificent glory
could be seen against the blackness of the night sky. In the great arch of stars
facing towards the galactic centre the stars were so numerous as to only appear
as a thick mist. Low on the eastern horizon the Companion was just making its
appearance and was starting to cast its faint glow over the seascape.
“This place reminds me of where I
was stationed during the war back on Earth 2.”
“Yes, you have told me of those
times often.”
“Our base faced out towards an ocean
just as our home does here and in the midst of that horrible raging war it was a
place of relative peace and sanctuary.”
“Tell me again about the night you
and your friend fired off the three missiles as a signal to those on The Blue
World.”
“We had tied our computers into the
world wide net and we had successfully blocked two nuclear attacks by the enemy.
After that the system became compromised and we were ordered to decommission the
base. On the last night I, with the help of my friend Jaime, managed to actually
fire off three missiles belonging to our allies into the upper atmosphere. Four
and half years later the message was received and correctly interpreted over on
the Blue World and the rest is history.”
“How did you ever convince anyone to
help you with a task like that?”
“When I first explained to Jaime
what I intended to do he thought I was crazy. I pointed into the night sky and
said that we had tremendous friends out there who would help us if they could.
At first he thought I meant the ocean but when he realised that I meant across
space he almost flipped out.”
“This is the matter that I wanted to
talk to you about.”
“Go on Aly and I’m pretty sure I
know what you are going to say.”
“We really did have friends out
there across space and they did find a way to rescue us, did they not?”
“Yes, and in my case it was the
second time that such a rescue was necessary.”
“I still find it hard to believe
that we were all prepared back then to simply walk away and leave them both on
that horrible uncaring world.”
“It was their wish, almost their
‘command’ that we do so but yes, I agree with you Aly. He rescued us in every
way that it is possible to be rescued and yet we were prepared to abandon him.
We simply stepped through the glowing portal of the Travel Vehicle and into a
new life.”
Alana looked out into the blackness
of the night and her heart filled with a great sadness. “Without him we are
nothing. We are not progressing. Everyone tries very hard and the other
Guardians do their best for us but without him we are nothing.”
“Do you remember the promise that I
made to Julia just as we were leaving?”
“Yes. You said that when her time
came to come home that we would be waiting for her.”
“I asked our girls some time ago to
carefully monitor the time of Julia’s return. Since they both work in the Hall
of The Guardians and have a high level access to the Living Computer that is no
problem for them.”
At the mention of their daughters,
Alana’s sombre mood immediately lifted. “Have you heard from them lately?”
“Yes,
I had a communication in from Mary only this morning. It seems that Julia’s
return is imminent. Mary will let us know exactly when she is due to return and
she has already booked our place in Julia’s Reception Chamber.” |
