***
The Romeo Project
When the darkness lifted, Frank Giles found himself in a medical emergency. A paramedic was taking his blood pressure. He could feel the tightness around his upper arm. Another paramedic was flashing a light into his eye. He saw a line of onlookers. Some of the crowd held video cameras, others were writing notes. All of them were shouting questions that he couldn't quite understand. He tried to speak, but his body wouldn't respond. The paramedic switched off the light and let his eyelid fall shut. The world was black again.
Black! Frank remembered the darkness. It was sucking at him. Everything was being pulled into the darkness. He recalled the incredible force of the wind rushing past him toward the dark. He held onto his car for dear life, pushed against its side by the onrush of cold air. Just before a street lamp fell, Frank looked over the car and across the street to the physics lab, from which he had just come. He saw the sod of the lawn, in front of the lab, pull up from the sidewalk’s edge and roll back toward the building. Its’ tiny white roots up, exposed, reaching for the blackness spreading from the windows of his third floor laboratory. Something has gone wrong in the lab, he realized. Frank felt his car sliding away from the curb, sideways across the street. The tires were skidding, leaving wide marks on the pavement.
"Professor Giles, can you hear me?"
"He's coming out of it.” Another voice said.
When Frank Giles opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a hospital. "I can hear you,"
Frank answered in a raspy voice. "What happened? Who are you? Where am I?" he asked.
The elder of the attendants motioned for the other to go outside. "Get Mr. Webber," he said, "and bring some water." A moment later, a man in a sharp black suit walked in. He wore a visitor's pass on his breast pocket. The name on it read, Max Webber.
"You're in a hospital." answered the attendant who woke him. "I'm your doctor. You're in Fields County Hospital. My name is Casey Brumins."
The other attendant entered with a glass of water. Frank took it and drank quickly as Brumins cautioned him. "Drink slowly, Dr. Giles. Let the water sit in the mouth a second before swallowing."
It was too late. Frank was already feeling nauseous. "How long have I been out?"
"Almost two weeks." the doctor answered.
"What happened in the lab?" Frank asked, remembering the evening when the accident occurred.
The man in the suit spoke, "We've got no details on what actually happened. We were hoping you could answer some questions. Do you feel up to it?"
"Who are you?" Frank asked with an exhausted voice.
"Max Webber, I'm investigating the accident.”
"Carl Smitz was in the lab, we were working together. He can tell you what happened. Besides, we recorded everything. The controls, the coils, the lab, the vacuum point, everything is recorded."
"There's a problem with that, doctor." Webber cut in. "It's gone."
"Has someone taken the recordings?" Frank asked.
"No, Dr. Giles." Webber answered. "The physics lab is gone."
Webber read Frank’s expression of puzzlement and continued. "As nearly as we can tell, it vaporized in some kind of limited nuclear explosion. Virtually nothing was left but traces of radiation."
"It wasn't an explosion." Frank corrected. "It was an implosion."
Two weeks passed before Frank felt normal again. Most of his joints were free of their stiffness and his broken ankle was healing properly. He had broken it as he and his car were sliding across the street. Frank fell into an open sewer manhole as he was drawn across the street. He caught his leg on a ladder rung. The ankle was a small price to pay for saving himself from the unknown dangers of the darkness. Unfortunately, others at the lab were not as lucky. They vanished with the lab.
A lot had been disappearing from his life over the last few years. Susan, Franks' wife, had been killed in an auto accident. She had run off the road. No one knew for sure why, but the police said she probably fell asleep at the wheel. She hit a concrete embankment and never knew what happened. She died instantly.
They met at a lecture on food irradiation. He was there acting as public relations for the university. She was one of a hundred protesters circling the lecture center. Her group carried signs and shouted slogans against the process. Her sign read, “Stop Nuking My Lunch!” It wasn't the sign that caught his attention. Susan's long red hair flowed down and over her shoulders like a river of fire, leading his eyes to her curvy body. She had his immediate attention. He listened to what the protesters were saying, and especially Susan. As they talked, Frank learned she was active in planet saving organizations such as Green Peace, and No Nukes. He thought of her as kind of a left wing wacko, but she was beautiful. He was not as committed as she was in those efforts, but they exchanged numbers and became friends. Eventually they fell in love. They ended up being the perfect couple. He was the scientist who struggled with the moral issues of science. She was his compass, always leading him the ethically correct way. When Frank lost her, he was more than hurt. He was crushed. It had taken months to loosen him from his shock and sadness. Then, he dove back into his work. It was his obsession and the only thing that could keep his mind from his lost love. Now, even that had disappeared. His research was lost and he was recuperating from another traumatic experience.
Frank did have some idea of what happened two weeks ago, but he didn't exactly know how it happened. He was heading to an interview with the investigation committee. Max Webber would surely be there. The college president, Harold Costello would be there. The police department would be there too. This was getting a lot of press. TV and newspaper stories claimed that sixteen people were in the building when it vaporized in a science lab experiment gone wrong. There was a rumor that manslaughter charges would be filed.
"Dr. Giles, what was the project that you were working on the evening of the accident?" The question came from Max Webber. Costello and a police investigator named Paul Willis were the only others there. Willis was taking notes. He was a heavy set short man with a horseshoe of gray hair.
Frank answered. "Carl Smitz, an associate professor, and I were working with three other students. The project had two goals. The first goal was to create a type of electron field that enclosed a specific area. In common terms the project would create a force field, or electric barrier. The second goal was to create a vacuum inside this barrier. This vacuum would test the integrity of the barrier.
"What do you suppose actually happened that resulted in the accident?" Webber asked.
Frank shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Apparently, we created a vacuum inside the electric barrier. This was the goal."
"How do you explain the destruction of the physics lab?"
Frank continued, "If the barrier failed, while the vacuum point continued to exist, the vacuum may have pulled everything into it."
"Are you telling us that the whole building, sixteen people, and six cars were sucked into a vacuum on the third floor?" Paul Willis asked. “That's one hell of a Kirby.” He added under his breath.
“It seems to be my only answer." Frank responded.
"How large is this point?" Webber asked.
"We've been attempting to run it between 21 and 38 millimeters." Frank answered.
"That's between the sizes of a nickel and a half dollar, right?" Webber confirmed.
"Close," Frank agreed. "But the point would be spherical, not flat."
"Would there be remains of any kind from the experiment?" Webber asked.
Frank was getting agitated. “This was the first occurrence of its kind. I can't say for sure, but I'd guess that a very heavy spherical pellet is in the site of the lab. I'd also expect it to be slightly radioactive." Frank directed this last statement to Max Webber. "A lot of mass has been compacted."
"A lot of people as well!" Paul Willis cut in. "Who was in charge of th
is experiment? Did the school physics department approve it?” The police investigator was getting a little excited. He was breaking into a slight sweat. “Who is going to be responsible for this loss of life?"
Harold Costello looked only slightly ruffled at the outburst from the investigator. "Frank Giles was in charge of the physics lab and all the experiments in that department. He is respected in his field. The school will stand behind him on this."
The investigator's temper was rising. "That's not good enough. I've got sixteen missing, and hundreds of people wanting answers. A lot of people are crawling all over my ass and I haven't got a clue as to what actually happened. Someone is at fault here and someone is going to take a fall. I don't care if it's the Doctor, or if it's you, Mr. Costello, but someone is at fault!"
"That's why we're here people." Webber reminded them. "We searched the site of the laboratory and found nothing. Now the traces of radiation are also gone. Have you got any other theories on what may have happened?"
This is crazy, Frank thought. “Smitz thought that the vacuum would be as revolutionary an event as the splitting of the atom. I disagreed. I thought the electric barrier would be a more important invention. It appears I was wrong."
"What did Carl Smitz see as valuable in the creation of an un-enclosed vacuum?" Webber asked.
"He believed that when we created an un-enclosed vacuum a passage would be created. He thought it would be a kind of worm hole."
Willis exploded. "This sounds like a Science Fiction Theater to me." His voice was rising again. "There's no way I can report this. It will never do."
Webber shouted back, "Then report this… You are excused from this investigation. It is now solely a matter of the government."
Paul Willis's jaw dropped.
"Further, the conversations you've heard here today and anything you know about the disappearance of the lab is classified.” Max Webber stepped between Willis and the hospital bed. He talked down to the little man in a stern voice. “It would be a federal offense to relate anything you know, or to write it in any form for your department. The only answer you may give in regards to this matter is that you are no longer involved in the investigation. It is being handled by the federal government, and that you have no comment. Do you understand?"
"Yes, but..." Willis tried to say something.
Webber continued slowly and clearly. "I am doing you a favor. This is no longer your problem. Please go, and leave your note pad.” Webber added.
With the police out of the office the interview took on a whole new direction. Unlike Willis, who was looking for a person to put the blame on, Webber was interested in understanding the phenomenon. He was not completely unfamiliar with the procedures and could gasp the abstract ideas involved in the science. More then once Frank wondered if Webber was more familiar with the worm hole theory than he let on.
"Would it be possible to bring back whatever goes into the worm hole?" Webber asked.
"It is pure speculation, but it may be possible." Frank wondered. "Are you proposing that we try to recreate the event and pull them back somehow?"
"What I am proposing may take you unexpectedly. Your government has been researching the vacuum point theories as well. In fact we have already started some of the initial testing. You seem to be quite a bit ahead of us."
"Just what are you proposing?" Costello asked, with the thought of a government research grant forming in his mind.
"I would like your university to consider teaming with our research group. Working together we can understand this new phenomenon." Webber had their attention. "The government would take the rights of discovery, but they would also absorb the costs and liabilities. The paperwork could be settled in a matter of days." Webber continued. "It would be a matter of secrecy, but upon the completion of the research the university would receive national acclaim. Your involvement would be noted and more research grants could be issued."
Webber's little speech did indeed take the two by surprise, but Costello knew his way around a political bargain. "I will have to take the matter up with the board, but I don't see any problem as longs as the government takes the liabilities and lawsuits revolving around our lab accident too."The shrewd handling of the situation impressed Webber. The school definitely held the trump card with Frank Giles being a loyal employee contracted to the university. Webber had no choice but to agree.
"By the way," Frank questioned, "what office in the government is interested in continuing the research?"
"The disturbance in atmospheric patterns caused by the vacuum was noticed right away. We had expected this kind of occurrence when we actually started operating our own hole generator. To answer your question, the project is in the control of the Department of Defense."
When Willis had said that a lot of people were asking questions about the accident on campus, he wasn't exaggerating. Harold Costello felt the heat too. As the president of the university, he was responsible for each department and the actions of the staff. If there was a problem on campus, he was the person who actually had to answer to it. To call the accident at the physics lab a problem was an understatement. A problem can be defined. An accident can be explained. This phenomenon went beyond explanation. When the lawyers started charging in with lawsuits Costello knew it was going to be impossible to satisfy any of them. Even the school insurance agents were refusing to acknowledge any considerations without a clearer understanding of what happened. Harold Costello couldn't begin to explain. An atomic explosion would have been easier to answer to.
When Max Webber's interest in the project proved to be more than a need to put the blame on someone, Costello started to see the light. Just as Willis was removed from the accident investigation, Costello hoped he too could use the shield of national bureaucracy. It was his only hope. The college couldn't take the strain of all the lawsuits, and he would surely be out of a job. When it became clear that his professor was the only person who knew anything about what really happened, Harold quickly stepped to the Frank's side. He spoke highly of the professor and put the school in a position of alliance with him. Harold trusted he'd get the same in return. This bet paid off. The government was indeed interested in the research. They were so interested in fact; they would help with the legalities of the accident on campus. This was the only thing Costello really cared about. The school was off the hook and so was he. Whether or not the government actually did anything to satisfy all the claims was unimportant to him. He would just forward all the legal paperwork and let it get stacked on someone else’s desk.
All the plans that Frank had developed would be given to the government research team, and their notes would be given to Frank. As it turned out, Frank had little left to relinquish to the government. Most of it had vanished in the lab accident. He, on the other hand, found himself buried in reports. Some of the government plans were similar to the experiments that he and Smitz had pursued. Other programs were way off the mark and unlikely to be useful.
Dan Galanti was the government team leader. He was a slim man with a short salt and pepper beard, but his head was hairless. Both men respected each other as equals in the research. When Frank delivered his notes, Galanti understood completely the direction that they had taken in creating the vacuum. He could fill in the missing data or in some cases improve on the original plan. Galanti considered Frank to be the genius behind the magic that made the vacuum possible. Frank had developed a way to create an electric barrier that air could not pass through. This was the key that held the government researchers back. With this new tool, Galanti was sure that he could create the phenomenon again.
Frank was unsure. His efforts had been unsuccessful even with the magnetic field barrier. He was outside the lab when Carl Smitz created the hole, and he didn't know what Carl had done to make the experiment a success.
Galanti and all the new staff on the project were cream of the crop. I
f anyone could do the job, Frank believed that these were the people. They were all experts. Everyone down to the electricians who helped set up the new hole generator, were the most competent staff he had ever seen. The government was stopping at nothing to see that the project proceeded without delays.
Frank often wondered what the Department of Defense would want with such a tool. Would he be inventing the next super weapon? Would it be a bomb that sucks everything into itself? Or, would he be creating a new way to travel? Was this an instant invasion transporter? Get a machine behind enemy lines and maybe an army could march out. Could anything ever march out, or was Carl Smitz and the students lost forever?
Franks’ personal feelings about armies were that it displayed the worst in man. It set aside the intelligence and compromises of getting along with one another, and replaced it with the emotions of primitive man. We've evolved beyond that, he believed. All we need is proper communication and a desire to live happily. He knew Susan would be against working hand in hand with the department of defense. She was more of a left winger than he was. Susan was the idealist, and he was the realist. She could have given him a thousand reasons to stay away from the project. He heard her voice in his mind telling him not to do it. But he knew that an opportunity like this was rare. The offer to work on the secret project was an honor, and the university needed him on the project. He hated the thought of working on a weapon, but as a scientist he could not turn it down. As an employee of the school, he had no choice. He had to ignore his moral compass this time.
The new lab was off campus. There was some concern that it could be too dangerous to have it in such a populated area as the university. No one argued this point. The new location was about thirty-five miles north of the campus, just outside the small town of Romeo. The government had cod named the named the operation as the Romeo Project. The on campus accident was called Juliet. The code names amused Frank. The government seemed to be able to put a name on something and make it understood and acceptable. But in franks view, this was nothing more than an experiment and they didn't understand much of anything.
To the average person who passed by the Romeo site, they wouldn't have thought anything experiment was taking place. The site was typical of a mid Michigan farm. They were simple and well kept. An apple tree grew in front of a freshly painted, 80 year old, wood frame house. Behind the house were a garage and a work shed. Perhaps it was better built than average. Still, there was nothing obviously out of the ordinary. Farthest down the driveway was the barn and silo. The farm was far from typical. The barn held most of the machinery for generating the hole. The actual vacuum point would be inside the silo. The height and open top of the structure would act as a funnel. Engineers had lined the silo with new steel. The structure was strong. As silos go, it would last forever.
Between the main house and the barn were two smaller buildings. The roofs of these buildings were of a single angle that faced the barn. Through a large skylight of safety glass you could see the barn and experiment silo. One of the buildings contained a row of consoles and controls. It would be the back-up control room if there were any problems in the barn. A full staff would man the emergency controls too. The government was sparing no expense. All the equipment, components and personnel were of the highest quality. This was a high priority operation.
The small buildings also held the records and videos of the experiment. It was tragic that the accident had taken the university records at Juliet. This would not happen at Romeo. Daily uploads to an archive computer backed up the data. No person or event would steal away the secrets of the vacuum from the U.S. Government.
As Frank sat in his room looking out one of the front windows of the old white farmhouse, he wondered where all this could lead. Would they ever open up the hole again? Could it be possible to retrieve the victims of the Juliet accident or were his students and friends lost forever? What are they experiencing inside the black hole that took them? Frank shuddered at the thought of this new force, falling into the wrong hands. And whose hands, he wondered, were the right hands? Suddenly Frank felt very alone, and realized he missed Susan more than ever.
"The capacitors are charged and ready." The technician reported. Giles and Galanti reviewed the dials and readouts on the control panel. Everything had been tested twice.
"I guess it's time to see what we can do with our heads put together." Galanti remarked.
The barn was not much different from any other except for the three trailers parked inside, on the rough wood floor. One held only replacement parts for the hole generator. The other was a near sterile workshop. The third was the control center for the experiment. From this trailer a cable three inches round ran through a passage in the floor. On the lower level it snaked into the silo. There it split several times to supply components with power and relay data back to the control center.
"Let's get the electron barrier put up." Giles remarked. "If we can get it stable, we'll go from there."
"Smoke the silo." Galanti ordered. The technician at the control board started the procedure that would fill the silo with a harmless chemical smoke. On one of the TV monitors they could see a dark cloud filling the silo. It was a view from near the top of the tall structure. Soon the view of the silo chamber was blocked by a dark brown smoky color.
Giles pulled his chair to the control board. "Ion generators are active.” He said as he flipped a switch. "Electron magnets are in proper alignment and at ten percent."
"We're ready for sphere generation." Galanti reported. He walked to a panel and flipped a row of switches. "Magnet rotators are on and up to speed. You can start the power up program."
Giles typed in a line of commands and entered them. Everyone looked into the dark screen of the monitor not knowing what to expect. It was dull and dark.
"Magnets are at 75 percent." The tech said. "An electron barrier is established at the vacuum point. The diameter is approximately 224 millimeters."
Giles ordered. "Fan out the silo."
At his command the silo starting to fan out. The smoke was clearing and they could see the ring of electron magnets rotating around a dark brown sphere. It was floating at the center of the spinning magnet network. They had captured the smoky atmosphere inside an electron barrier! A roar of cheers, as well as gasps, came from the engineers at the emergency controls in the other building. Everyone was pleased.
"Let's tighten the ring a bit gentlemen. Reduce the diameter 50 percent." Galanti said.
Giles entered the command into the computer. The rotating ring of magnets decreased in diameter and pushed at the smoky sphere. The globe wobbled a bit and shrank in size.
"Temperature is rising." The technician reported. "It's now above 90 degrees and going up fast."
Giles answered. "We had relative temperature rise to sphere size at the university, I mean Juliet.” He corrected himself. “It's nothing to worry about. Are the data recorders getting all of this?"
A voice answered from the speaker panel on the control board. It was a voice from the second control team in the other building. "We have the entire event on video and all data recorders are on." It answered in a tinny voice.
"Good, so far." Giles looked to Galanti, "Shall we proceed?"
"I don't see a reason to stop. We've got a barrier. Let's see how strong it is."
The technician informed them. "Air pressure inside the sphere is at four atmospheres. Silo temperature is stable at 92 degrees C."
"Reduce the sphere 50 percent." Galanti ordered.
Giles fed the command into the computer. Again, the circle of rotating electron magnets came together and again and the smoky sphere reduced in size.
"Sphere size is 112mm." The technician reported. "Inside pressure calculated at sixteen atmospheres."
"Take the sphere to 29mm." Galinti ordered and Giles answered with the command to the computer.
; "Sphere at 29mm." The technician reported. "Silo temperature is 100 degrees." On the monitor they could see the revolving ring of electron magnets spinning around a floating black ball about the size of a nickel.
Giles typed a command, “I’m increasing the magnet power to 100 percent." The sphere reduced in size to the point that it was not visible. "What is the ion sensor reading?" Giles asked.
The technician answered. "Ions read zero. I detect no free ions in the chamber. They're all in sphere formation and holding."
"It looks like we have the point compression process under control." Galanti noted. "Let's move onto the next phase."
Frank Giles centered himself at his computer keyboard and started typing command. "I’ll make the break duration 1/1000th of a second." he added.
“Wait!” Galanti countered. "What was the duration of the break when you and Smitz tried the experiment at the Juliet site?"
"1/1000th of a second, we agreed to start the tests there." He answered.
"You didn't get any response, did you?" Galanti asked. "And when nothing happened, you called it a day. It was Dr. Smitz and some others that stayed to continue the experiment. Whatever they changed created the phenomenon." He paused. "What were their plans? What were they thinking?" Galanti wondered aloud.
Giles answered. "They were going to change the break duration. They were going to make it shorter.” The plan was to quickly turn off the ion barrier and let the built up pressure explode. Then, re-capture the vacuum at the center-point of expansion after a fraction of a second break interval. Once the barrier was re-established it would be enlarged in size. This would create a powerful vacuum within the new ion barrier sphere.
Giles paused for a thought, and then continued. “Smitz was going to shorten the break duration and capture the vacuum quicker.” What they didn't know was that it would somehow create the phenomena that occurred at the Juliet site.
They decided to instantly kill the barrier and let the super compressed balloon of the smoke explode for 1/60,000 of a second. It was the shortest break duration that the system could produce. When the barrier is re-established a vacuum would be created in that tiny sphere.
"Prepare the silo for expansion," Frank ordered.
With a flip of a switch the silo top opened. The flat top split and slid into itself just as the aperture of a camera lens opens to become larger. With the top open, the sunlight bathed the silo with the noon sun.
"Prepare for break." Frank commanded.
The technician reached over the control panel and held his hand poised above the ion barrier kill button. "Break in five seconds... four..." With his hand ready to drop on the large red button he looked to the monitor, "Three... Two... One..." The technician dropped his had onto the switch. For a second the monitor flashed white then the picture returned.
“All lights are green.” The technician announced.
Frank typed in a command at his computer. “I’m expanding the magnets back to the 112mm point.” The spinning machine expanded and a small black globe appeared at the center of the rotation.
“All lights are green,” was reported.
“I'm expanding the vacuum point back to the 224mm size.” Frank said as he typed in the controls. The machine adjusted itself again and was rotating just inside the silo walls. Floating, centered in the ring of magnets was a black globe the size of a bowling ball. It was glossy black, almost wet looking. Occasionally a smoky white clouded the pristine black and made the globe look like it was rotating.
“All lights are green.” The technician informed the room.
”Are we getting video on this Galanti questioned.
The speaker answered. “Video is being recorded and I confirm all lights are green. Computer models indicate an inner sphere reading of 1600 tor. We have vacuum.” A crowd cheered in the distant room as Frank and Galanti looked at each other and smiled. They had created a vacuum contained by nothing but electricity. The field barrier was a proven success! It had held incredible pressure and was now holding a great vacuum.
There moment of self adulation was interrupted by a flash on the screen. Sparks flew from one of the spinning electromagnets. It chard the steel wall as it rotated, but before anyone had a chance to react the screen went black.
"Did we lose that camera?" Galanti asked. "What's the status of system continuity?"
The answer came from the Emergency Control Room. "This is ECR. We have a complete system failure in the silo. All lights are red. Do you confirm?"
"Main control also has a complete silo failure." The technician reported.
Frank was still staring at the blank monitor. "It is just a blank screen." he kept telling himself. "The hole generating machinery is still there. We just lost the connection. The video camera is broke. It's not the blackness that I saw before." He was starting to sweat with fear. It took everything in him to gain control. Then he spoke to the crew. "We must have lost the main cable connection to the silo. That's why we lost everything at the same time."
"Possibly," Galanti agreed, "but we better do an atmospheric review." He questioned the Emergency Control Room. "What is the status of the environment?”
It only took a second for the ECR to reply, "15 MPH wind. The barometer is falling. Wait, barometer is rapidly falling and the winds are picking up. The ground based readings show 15 MPH, but the rooftop wind speed is almost 40 MPH!"
Frank looked to Galanti, "We may have a disturbance on our hands."
Galanti questioned the ECR, "What's the barometer reading?"
The answer came instantly, "Seven millibars and falling. It's lower than the eye of a hurricane." There was a pause, and then the ECR continued. "We have clouds building up fast. We could have some weather coming our way."
"We created the weather." Frank said. "We have a black hole in the silo."
Galanti was at the control panel now. "Ok, we've opened a hole and lost the monitors. Do we power down or continue?" The excitement was obvious in his voice.
"Continue if possible." Frank answered cautiously.
"Turn the generators on." Galanti ordered, and the technician activated the bank of diesel generators. They would keep the experiment running in case of a power failure. "What's the status on the rest of the control panel?" Galanti asked Frank as he reviewed the operation.
"We have confirmed control of the main power supply and the emergency supply. The red lights are on for all the silo equipment except the aperture cap and camera. We have gun control and tether winch confirmed."
"What is the farm status?" Galanti questioned ECR.
"We see shingles from the barn roof flying everywhere. They are tearing up and looping down into the silo. A small dust tornado is starting to form, but the low altitude wind speed is only 40 MPH.” There was a pause. Then the ECR continued. "Clouds are building and rain is eminent, possible hail as well. Temperature is 60 degrees and falling slowly.”
In the control trailer the scientists could hear the wind whistling from outside. Through the one window in the door they could see the dust and dirt blowing around wildly. The big barn doors, latched shut, were stretching at the hinges to open. Cracks of light streaked in.
"Ok, let's go. We have a hole. Now let's shoot a probe into it." Frank said.
"Arm the probe!" Galanti commanded as he took his seat at the control panel. Frank was to his right and the assistant technician was to his left.
“The recorders are on," responded a voice from the panel speaker. The tethered probe was far up on the inside the silo. The winch mount held a camera that aimed down at the hole generating machinery. Now switched on, it overlooked the entire base of the silo and showed its smooth rounded sides down into the nothingness of the dark unknown. Painted onto the inner sides of the silo wall were measurements of height off the ground. The blackness was up to the eleven-foot level. They could see nothing lower than that.
"Probe camera on,
" Galanti announced as he flipped a switch. When he did this, a monitor in front of him also came to life. It showed much the same scene. "Electronics on." he added. And a series of indicator lights came alive on the console in front of him. These were the probe functions. He noted that they were active and recording. They had designed the probe to measure air pressure, vacuum, temperature, and radiation. It had the camera and a high intensity lighting system that was already on and functioning. The last piece of equipment installed on the probe was an antenna like sensor designed to pick up any electronic or radio activity in the vacuum. A wireless sending unit was also a necessary component to relay the data if the umbilical broke.
The technician announced, "We have the radio link and are we are ready for probe deployment."
"Release the probe to six feet." Frank suggested. "We can run a system check and see how the tether holds up."
"Agreed." Galanti turned a dial that started the unwinding of the tether.
On the hatch monitor you could see the yellow egg shaped probe lower toward the hole. On the probe's monitor you could see the darkness of the hole larger and closer. The probes' video lens was nearer to the unknown.
"Receiving data by umbilical and radio," the technician announced. "The readings are identical."
"Good," Frank responded. Then he added, "The edge of the darkness seems to be about at the eleven foot mark on the silo. Let's take the probe to twelve feet and take a look inside."
Galanti lowered the probe down to the edge of the blackness. The monitor before him showed only black while the hatch monitor showed the silo scene. From the wench mount near the silo cap the wired tether cord ran down almost 80 feet to the probe located just above the darkened bottom of the silo. Despite the intense lamps that were lighting the area under the probe, they could see nothing lower then the twelve foot marker on the silo wall. As both scientists watched the hatch monitor, the technician gave a run down on data reported back via the umbilical. "We have no readings of radiation or video. Vacuum is off the scale. Temperature is below zero.”
"What about radio contacts?" Galanti asked.
"I show some minor electrical activity. We are recording it, but it's unclear if it is natural or man made."
"Look!" Frank motioned to his hatch monitor. "The size of the hole is increasing!"
The blackness was approaching the twelve-foot level and engulfing the probe inch by inch. After a few seconds, the tethered line ran into the nothingness and stretched taunt into the darkness. Debris from outside the silo wiped around and into the blackness.
"The probe is completely inside the black now." The technician commented.
"Are you still receiving data from the probe?"
The answer came only a moment later, "We are receiving all channels via tether and all channels via radio. All probe lights are green."
The speaker panel confirmed that they were in an "all green" situation. Still, the monitors weren't changing. The hatch camera showed the view of the silo with the tether leading down to the growing blackness, but the probe camera was completely black.
"Change the mode of the camera to infra red," Galanti instructed. The change added nothing to the view. "Prepare to shoot a flare." he added.
High up on the wall of the silo a small port launched a flare into the silo. With the debris from outside, the flare shot down the silo. They saw it for only an instant as it entered the dark bottom of the chamber. The black had progressed up to the fifteen-foot level now.
On the probe monitor, now in infra red, a streak flashed across the monitor and quickly became a smear on the screen. In a second it was only a small dot. A moment later it was gone.
"We can't record light, but we can record a slower heat signature." Frank said aloud. "It doesn't make sense."
"We are still picking up the heat radiation with the probe sensor. It's still moving, going deeper into the vacuum." The technician sounded amazed, "It has to be a mile from the probe now, almost out of range." Together, all the scientists realized they had indeed opened a passage to someplace vast.
"Are we getting any electrical activity?" Frank asked.
"Nothing recognizable, just random spikes " the technician answered.
Frank leaned back in his chair. "It looks like there is nothing in there, nothing but space."
"Where is this space?" Galanti asked. "The silo is only 100 feet high, not a mile deep." There was a pause as they all wondered. "It has to be somewhere else. This has to be a passage to some place."
"Let's put out the tether," Frank suggested. He started the process of unrolling the three hundred feet of wire that connected the probe to the control panel. The probe went deeper and deeper into the dark silo bottom. All the while, the monitor showed nothing but darkness. On the hatch monitor, at the top of the silo, you could see that the size of the hole was expanding. The darkness was up to the twenty foot level on the stainless steel wall.
Suddenly the monitor seemed to shake. A rumbling sound echoed from the silo. The emergency control room called from the other building. "We've got red lights on all panels. We are loosing the silo foundation."
The three men in the control trailer could feel the Earth begin to shake. The hatch monitor showed the blackness was up to the twenty-five foot level. Galanti reached to the silo cap controls. "I'll close the silo cap half way." he said. "That may control the expansion of the hole." As he adjusted the cap apature, the sound of the wind whistled loudly through the top. The turbulence inside the silo was great. The hatch monitor showed the probe umbilical was vibrating. The probe would be shaking wildly down the length of the cable, deep in the hole.
"We are loosing the tether." The technician said. "We're not getting a signal. It'll snap any second now." Before he finished his sentence, the tether gave a wild jerk and bounced free of the darkness. As it whipped wildly inside the silo, all three of the controllers could see the fray of torn wires at its end.
"Do we have radio reception?" Frank asked.
"Just an occasional radio spike, the probe is alive but it will be out of range any second." The technician said.
The control trailers shook with another rumble from the foundations. The silo cap monitor looked oddly askew.
"We have a visual on foundation loss.” The warning came from the Emergency Control Room speaker. "The silo is 10 degrees off vertical. We have some height loss as well."
Galanti looked worried. "We may not be able to stop the progression. We're in uncharted waters." He worked the silo cap controls and the hatch slowly came closed. The wind whistled to a scream and came to a sudden silence. The rumbling of the Silos’ foundation broke the silence. The hatch monitor showed the blackness was reaching the thirty two-foot level on the silo walls. Stress cracks began to show themselves. The smooth steel on the inside of the silo started peeling away from the outer cinder block frame. The mortar holding the reinforced construction began to crack and turn to dust, spinning around inside the silo and diving down into the black beyond.
"We've lost contact with emergency control," the technician exclaimed. "We've got to get out of here!" The shaking of the trailers made it hard to walk as he started toward the door. The trailer took a violent lurch and fell to an angle. The exit was up a steep incline now.
Galanti shouted to be heard over the thundering noise. "Power it down! Turn everything off!" Frank started for the power cut off switch, but before he got to it the entire control panel went dark. All the monitors and indicators were black. The only light in the trailer was the battery powered emergency lamps that hung on the wall.
"We're in the hole," the tech said with terror in his voice.
"No." Frank corrected. "We just lost power." The shaking slowed. "It must have ripped out the power supply lines and shut off the equipment."
“Or perhaps it swallowed the equipment, and ripped the power supply lines." Galanti suggested. "But, as long as we're not
swallowed…..."
The trailer rocked sharply, throwing all three of them against the wall, then it rolled to its' side. Frank looked for his companions. Both were apparently unconscious, tumbled together with manuals and gear at the back of the trailer. A flashing of the probes’ monitor caught his attention. It was flashing bright white. "We're getting something from the probe." He shouted, unbelieving. Something is coming in from the hole!" No one responded.
The speaker came to life with static. A second later it was making a quiet buzzing noise. The buzzing became the background as a voice slowly became louder and understandable.
"I know you think you are doing the right thing." It was a female voice and frank recognized it immediately. "You are very wrong, you have to stop." The probe monitor stopped flashing and the face of a beautiful woman appeared on it. Everything on the panel was dead. This can't be happening. Frank thought.
He reached to the monitor, touching the screen. "Susan? Susan, what's happening?"
Susan continued, "You shouldn't be here. This place is not for you."
"Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Frank was babbling in disbelief, talking to the monitor's image of his long dead wife. "What do you mean?”
"This place is not for you.” She pleaded. "You must stop intruding into this space." The picture was starting to fade and show static. "This is all I can say."
"Where are you?" Frank asked the monitor.
"I am where you are not. I am nowhere.” Then the screen went black.
There was a pounding at the door and the sound of commotion as four rescue workers tore the trailer door from its frame. The intrusion broke the confused state that he was in and Frank fell against the back wall of the trailer with the other two scientists. The equipment tables that were mounted to the floor now jutted out of the wall. The monitors and controls were directly above him. The trailer was on its side, tied to the laws of physics and gravity. Reality had returned. The event was over.
From the air, the farm looked like a war zone. All that remained of the barn was the stone foundation. An eighty-year-old slab traced the shape and location of the massive structure. Where the silo once stood tall was a gaping hole some twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep. In the hole the twisted remains of the last control trailer laid, half buried in the dark soil. Frank Giles and Galanti were shocked to see the destruction around them. The force of the vacuum had pulled three large trees up and dragged them toward the silo. Their roots plowed a trail into the earth. The Emergency Control Building was on fire. Huge concussions shook the air as two underground fuel storage tanks exploded and created small mushroom clouds of fire near the generators.
The main house was also a total loss. It looked as though a tornado had set down and tore it to pieces. Yet oddly, there was no debris. It looked as if everything loose had been vacuumed away, as indeed it had.
Frank found himself sitting on the old foundation of the barn. He watched the others work to extinguish the fire at the emergency control and records building. He was shaken and light headed. He didn't remember sitting down, nor did he feel compelled to help in the fire fighting. The vision of Susan kept returning to his mind's eye. Her looks and voice were just as he remembered. What exactly did her message mean?
Galanti was walking back to him from the inferno raging in the distance. He was covered in black soot and sweat. It's all destroyed." he sighed. "Every piece of equipment, every note and drawing is gone. It's all gone. The explosion blew open the vault. We even lost the basic records we had before we started here."
"Was anyone hurt?" Frank asked.
"No, thank God for that miracle," he said without thinking.
"What are you going to tell Webber?" Frank asked.
Galanti didn't respond right away. He just sat down and watched the fire and two years worth of research going up in smoke. "I don't know exactly, but I'm not going to say we got a message from God delivered by some red head! I can't do that. Webber will take me off the project."
“You saw it too," Frank asked, astonished, “and you plan to continue?"
"I didn't see anything, and you didn't either unless you want people to think you're crazy.” He paused to let the statement take impact. “Webber will want to continue. He'll find another site and we'll learn to harness this thing.”
Susan's voice came to his mind again. “I am where you are not.”
Galanti continued. “We already know a lot more about it. Maybe we can use the force to run generators and power plants." He was getting caught up in the possibilities. "We could solve the energy problems of the world."
Frank got up and started walking away. This rambling reminded him of the wild expectations of past revolutionaries. Frank was sick with the thought of ignoring the warning they had gotten from Susan, his moral compass. She was the person who had always looked out for the world’s future.
"Hey, where are you going?" Galanti asked.
"I'm going where you are not!" Frank answered.