Gravity Waves
All right. Let's get this out of the way. Yes, it is true. Scientists at LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in Louisiana and Washington State confirmed that they have detected gravity waves for the first time in the history of mankind. Einstein predicted such waves one hundred years ago but it took this long to build instruments sensitive enough to detect these ripples in the space-time continuum. The ripples themselves were caused by two black holes collapsing into one another over a billion years ago.
So what impact does this have on the 35th century and the world of Rome's Revolution? Well, as you probably know, I was using the fact that gravity traveled much, much faster (a million, billion times faster) than the speed of light to give rise to PPT transducers and the Overmind.
The LIGO experiment proves that gravity, at least that passed along using the theoretical gravitons (massless particles that carry gravitational force), travels at the speed of light. Now while that is not actually a constant (light travels slower in water than in a vacuum), it is pretty close and kind of ruins my gravitic radiation thing.
I'm not going to rewrite the whole Rome's Revolution saga just because science has debunked my fundamental theorem. Instead, I'm going to fall back to a never-proven theory of Gravity A and Gravity B, as promulgated by Robert Lazar, the self-proclaimed UFO expert. Gravity B is the gravity we are all familiar with. It works at a macro, cosmic scale and it is the force that keeps our feet on the ground. Lazar proposed that there is another kind of gravity, Gravity A, which works at a atomic or quantum level. So I'm going to say that my PPT transducers modulate Gravity A, not B and since Gravity A has never been proven to exist, I can still claim that it propagates at two times ten to the 10th power, my original "speed of gravity." Think of the underlying A gravitons as the tachyons of the gravitational force.
I am going to have to rework my electro-gravity theory a little bit as well. Maybe I'll make that use Gravity A as well. You know, for a science fiction writer, sometimes science sucks!
Entry 4-050: February 15, 2016
Heading back to the Big Island
When Denise and I had our honeymoon in Hawaii, we spent our time on three islands. We first visited Oahu which wasn't that great. Then we visited the Big Island of Hawaii which was really neat. We spent the remainder of our time on Maui which really is Heaven on Earth.
When we left the Big Island, I had a window seat and watched the vistas below as we traveled to Maui. The sights were so neat, I decided to include them the latter part of Rome's Revolution just because they were so clear in my head:
The craft rotated in place and headed across the southern part of Maui rising as it went. As he was on the right side of the transport, he could not see the gigantic crater of Haleakala to the north but could see the rise of the land leading up to it. In a short while, they were over the ocean. Rei could tell from the position of the rising moon that they were headed southeast and it was not long before they came upon the Big Island of Hawaii. They cut across the interior skirting around the peak of Mauna Loa then headed due east.
Rei looked over at Rome but he could not see her because of the guard sitting between them. Rei turned and looked out the window again. In the pale moonlight, Rei could see patterns that he guessed were vegetation interspersed among black, volcanic rock. As the pilot brought the craft around, the caldera of Kilauea rose up in front of them and they climbed again following its rise to its peak. The transport stopped its horizontal motion, rotating in place, hovering over the huge crater. The mouth of the crater was over half a kilometer across, dwarfing the small craft. The pilot lowered them straight down, coming to rest just above the floor of the dormant volcano.
Activating the floodlights again, the transport inched its way forward into a tunnel built into the side. Rei could not tell if it was real or artificial. Suddenly, the pilot extinguished the lights and they were plunged into complete darkness. After a short time, a slight jostle told him they had landed. This was confirmed by the soldiers unbuckling and forming a phalanx. One of the soldiers moved to the side and opened the door, lowering the exit ramp. Rei and Rome were escorted out of the craft.
Here is a picture of what it looked like from the airplane:
Entry 4-051: February 16, 2016
Under the volcano
As an author, things ring truest when I write about things that I know. However, there are times when you must write scenes about places (and people) that you cannot know. For example, in the latter part of Rome's Revolution, I wanted to put the secret Onsira base below the seemingly dormant volcano Kilauea. When my wife and I flew over it on our honeymoon, it may not have been dormant but it certainly was chillin':
The volcano was not actively erupting. However, it was emitting a lot of vapor. That white smoke you see coming out of the top is not steam. It is sulfuric acid! Not very inviting. It made wonder about what was going underneath. I wanted the confrontation scene between Rome and Estar to take place in a dark and scary environment to match the danger represented by being captured by the Onsiras. So I dove in using only my imagination and this is what I came up with:
Once they were on the ground, the soldiers grasped them on their arms and the remaining soldiers moved behind them, holding out their rifles. With a slight prodding, they started walking forward and entered a slightly smaller tunnel. The roof was high, perhaps ten meters over their heads. As Rei looked around, he decided this was a fairly old lava tube of some sort and the walls were real, not Vuduri glop. Along the walls were dimly lit globes separated by great distances but they were enough for them to see their way walking along the hard ground.
As they walked along the tunnel, Rei could see they were in an elaborate underground complex. Occasionally, there were doorways cut out of the living rock but it wasn’t until they were taken to the apparent end of the hallway that they stopped. One of the soldiers opened a door and motioned that they were to go through. As they entered the room, it was only slightly easier to see. There were aerogel panels, covering up some of the rock but they did not quite reach the ceiling. However, the panels did emit the usual diffuse lighting that seemed to emanate from all Vuduri-made materials. The ceiling was partially tiled but above it, Rei could see lava rock, dark grey and porous.
So, here they are in more or less a torture chamber, beneath a dormant volcano. Pretty creepy, huh? It gets us ready to meet the next villain, the architect of a plot to extract the truth, no matter what the cost.
Entry 4-052: February 17, 2016
Interrogation. Again.
In the latter part of Rome's Revolution, we saw the Rome and Rei were kidnapped by the Zengei, the worker-bees of the Onsiras and taken to the secret base underneath the now-dormant volcano Kilauea. This scary place was to be the scene of Rome's next interrogation.
Why would the Onsiras want to interrogate her? It was clear that Rome and Rei stumbled a bit as they presented The Big Lie but still, why would the Onsiras care? Were they just being paranoid? The fact is, I really don't know. I just thought it would be cool. We know that Rome was part of a program called Slayer, started by the Overmind to flush out what later turned out to be MASAL's secret samanda, long after the evil computer had supposedly died. But still, look at Estar's questions and Rome's answers. They really don't propel the Onsiras' agenda:
The third person was a petite blonde woman wearing one of the standard issue Vuduri white jumpsuits. Rei recognized her immediately and his heart sank.
The woman walked over to where Rome was sitting.
“Hello, Estar,” Rome said dispassionately.
“Hello, Rome,” replied Estar, Rome’s fellow archivist from back on Skyler Base.
“What do you want with us?” Rei called out to her.
Estar turned her head and glanced in Rei’s general direction but averted her eyes as if she wanted to deny his existence. She turned back to Rome and regarded h
er for a long time.
“We require some answers,” she said finally.
“What kind of answers?” Rome asked.
“The truthful kind,” Estar said. “You have not been forthcoming so far.”
“How have we not told the truth,” Rei interjected from across the room.
Estar turned to him and this time looked directly at him. “Erklirte, it will be your turn shortly. Please be quiet.” She turned back to Rome.
“I am not supposed to be here,” Rome said, lifting her wrist showing off the tracking bracelet. “I was not supposed to leave Mowei.”
“No one knows you are here,” said Estar. “Your tracking signal has been jammed since you entered our transport and it is fully masked now. No one can follow you here.”
“But why?” Rome asked. “I still do not understand. What do you want of us?”
“As I stated. I need you to answer some questions,” said Estar.
“I have already been questioned,” Rome replied. “I have already given my answers.”
“Not to me,” said Estar.
“What?” Rome asked resignedly. “What do you want to know?”
“I only have three questions,” Estar said, holding up three fingers, “but choose you answers wisely.”
“What are they?” Rome asked quietly.
If I had to guess, since I knew that Rome and Rei had come from Deucado, I have to believe that the Onsiras suspected it too. Otherwise this whole interrogation thing is a waste of time. What were the three questions? Tomorrow.
Entry 4-053: February 18, 2016
The Three Questions: Question 1
Yesterday, I set up the interrogation scene for you as Estar was about to ask Rome three questions in the latter part of Rome's Revolution. Today I will present the first question and proclaim that Rome tells the truth by playing with Estar's words and answering her literally. Here is the first question:
Estar lowered her hand. “First,” she said, “within your shuttle, your engines were deliberately crippled. We have tried to reverse the programming but we were unable to do so. From the logs, we can deduce their power output has been reduced for a long time but there are other indicators that do not match up. Our engineers have one reading that would indicate it is even possible that event occurred within the last sixty days.”
“You are wrong,” Rome said without much conviction. Even though she was telling the truth, Rome was certain it was not in the way that Estar would have guessed.
Estar bent down so that she could look Rome directly in the eyes. For the first time, Rome realized Rei was correct, that Estar’s eyes were not like a regular Vuduri’s. The irises were completely silver and with the light reflected off of her tapetum, it almost appeared as if there was no discernible pupil. How could she have missed this before? How blind was Rome to all of this when she was part of the Overmind?
“Who disabled them?” Estar asked sharply.
“We did not,” Rome said. “Over time, they simply became less efficient. If you cannot deduce how this came to pass, how could we?”
“You did this,” Estar spat out. “How did you do it?”
“I did not,” Rome protested. “I do not have the knowledge nor the skill set to do so. And Rei certainly does not.”
Estar turned to look at Rei. “Of course he does not. But this leaves us with no answer. Why would you even do such a thing?”
Rome just looked at Estar with no expression on her face, staring into those silver eyes.
“Very well,” Estar said. “We will return to this issue.”
Did I say Rome was telling the truth? Mostly, she was. First, MINIMCOM had disabled the engines a mere 24 hours earlier, not 60 days as Estar suggested. Second, truthfully, Rome and Rei did not disable the engines, MINIMCOM did. And when asked how she did it, Rome truthfully answered she did not do it because she wouldn't know how. Only MINIMCOM did.
Estar knew there was more to the story but she just wasn't good enough at interrogation to elicit the proper response. Don't forget, even though she looked like an adult, she was actually only 12 years old. She was not happy about Rome's answers but she still had two more shots at it.
Entry 4-054: February 19, 2016
The Three Questions: Question 2
Yesterday, Estar tried to extract the truth from Rome regarding the crippled star-drive engines in the latter part of Rome's Revolution. Estar was simply not skilled enough as an interrogator to get to the truth of the matter so she gave up. A little too easily if you ask me but that how the story goes. Today, she asks Rome the second question about something they believe to be important:
“Very well,” Estar said. “We will return to this issue. My next question is very simple. Why were there three chairs in your galley?”
Rome thought back to the trip from I-cimaci to Mowei and realized that Grus was paying attention when her mother pointed that out. The Onsiras must have been listening in. Perhaps Grus was one of them. Rome did not know. She shrugged.
“We synthesized one during our trip,” Rome answered.
“Why?” Estar hissed. “This action makes no sense.”
“Have you ever had more than one meal with the same person?” Rome asked.
“Of course,” Estar replied.
“Did you always sit in the same place?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Estar asked.
“Well,” Rome continued, “Rei and I had every one of our meals together every day for over one year. After some time, we needed a little variety in where we sat. Creating another chair was certain easier than lifting and moving the chairs each time.”
“I do not understand. Why did you need variety?” Estar asked. “That is inefficient.”
“It is what we mandasurte do,” Rome said proudly. “Of course you cannot understand.”
Estar started to speak and then stopped herself. She signaled to the lab-coated men who came to stand by Rome’s side. Rei tried to get up but he was bound too tightly. He couldn’t help himself.
“What are you going to do to her?” he asked.
Rome looked at one of the technicians then the other. She shook her head no at Rei.
Estar answered him nonetheless. “It is possible we will do nothing,” said Estar. She turned back to Rome. “Your next answer determines your fate.”
Rome’s eyes widened. “Answer to what?”
You will notice that Rome never actually answered Estar's simple question. She gave an answer that sounded like she was responding to Estar's inquiry but the reality was that it was a discourse about another subject entirely. Again, Estar's immaturity betrayed her. She was getting frustrated though. Tomorrow you will see that she is very serious about getting to the truth, even if she cannot do it by words alone!
Entry 4-055: February 20, 2016
The Three Questions: Question 3
Yesterday, Estar tried once again to get the truth out of Rome regarding what they were doing on Earth and how they got there in the latter part of Rome's Revolution. She failed miserably. This little scene was Estar's final attempt to get at the answers by words alone:
Estar said, “Your next answer determines your fate.”
Rome’s eyes widened. “Answer to what?”
“To my third question,” replied Estar. “What happened to your baby?”
“My baby?” Rome asked confused. “He, he died. He was stillborn. I already explained this to Oronus.”
“Yes,” said Estar. “But what did you do with the body? The remains?”
Rome looked over at Rei in a panic. She tried once again to call him using their internal circuit but the only sound she detected was a pulsating, buzzing noise. The jamming equipment simply worked too well.
“Well?” Estar said. “Answer me!” she shouted.
Rome looked down at her feet and the image of Aason dead was enough to call up a flood of tears. When they were sufficient to sp
ill over and down her cheeks, she looked up at Estar.
“We sent him into space,” Rome said quietly. “Rei made him a ceoxei and we set him adrift. Rei called it a burial at sea.”
“You are lying,” Estar said. “No more.”
The technicians pushed Rome back onto the table and tied her arms and legs down with four sets of restraints.
“Hey!” Rei shouted, struggling with his bonds. “Leave her alone, you demented bitch.”
“I warned you,” Estar said without looking at him. One of the soldiers went over and stuff a cloth into Rei’s mouth then strapped an elastic band around his head so he could not spit it out. Meanwhile, the technicians placed cuffs on Rome’s arm and leg and they placed two sensor pads one on each temple.
“It is time you rejoined us,” Estar said harshly. “We shall reconnect you and then we will know the truth.”
“I do not wish to be connected,” Rome replied.
“Of course you do,” said Estar. “I was there when you were Cesdiud. You were devastated. This is your chance to come back.”
“You do not know what you are talking about, Estar,” Rome said. “I am mandasurte now and this is the way I want to be.”
“You have spent too much time with the Essessoni,” Estar said with disdain. “You have lost the ability to think clearly. Your words are just ranting and mean nothing.”
Well, Rome's words were just ranting when you consider the fact that she never actually answered Estar's questions. It was time for Estar to employ more drastic measures. She just didn't account for the squiggly line. I will explain tomorrow.
Entry 4-056: February 21, 2016
The squiggly line
Yesterday, we saw Estar fail to get any useful information from Rome during her interrogation deep beneath the currently dormant volcano Kilauea in the latter part of Rome's Revolution. It was time for Estar to bring out the big gun. Her plan was to reconnect Rome to the Overmind or at least MASAL's version of the Overmind thereby giving them access to Rome's inner thoughts. Little did they know that Rome had already been reconnected by the Vuduri in their compound back on Deucado.