“That’s funny,” said Jake grimly. “I’m more afraid that she will.”
20
Madison Russo finished her prepared statement, took a seat on the podium, and Dr. Timothy Benari replaced her at the lectern. He glanced down at his notes.
“I’m going to keep this short and simple,” he began. “As Dr. Tobias mentioned, my work is in the field of zero point energy. I’m glad Miss Russo described relativity to you. The other major breakthrough that occurred around this time, which Einstein also had a big hand in helping to launch, was quantum physics. I’m not going to explain this to you now, simply because it’s so strange that it makes relativity seem intuitive. Even Einstein could never bring himself to really believe the implications of this theory. This being said, modern electronics wouldn’t be possible without it, and it is arguably the most successful theory of all time.”
He paused. “But it is unbelievably bizarre. What it says is that particles can be in two places at once, can be linked over unlimited distance, and can pop into and out of existence. Oh, and it suggests something else: that there is a nearly infinite amount of energy in every square centimeter of vacuum. That the vacuum really isn’t a vacuum. That as close to a free lunch as this universe will ever offer is just waiting to be harvested. Zero point energy.
“This was confirmed in 1997, an event the The New York Times described particularly well in an article entitled, Physicists Confirm Power of Nothing, Measuring Force of Universal Flux. I’ll read a few excerpts from it now:
“For half a century, physicists have known that there is no such thing as absolute nothingness, and that the vacuum of space, devoid of even a single atom of matter, seethes with subtle activity. Now, with the help of a pair of metal plates and a fine wire, a scientist has directly measured the force exerted by fleeting fluctuations in the vacuum that pace the universal pulse of existence . . . Dr. Lamoreaux’s experiment was the first direct and conclusive demonstration of . . . the Casimir Effect, which has been posited as a force produced solely by activity in the “empty” vacuum. His results came as no surprise to anyone familiar with quantum electrodynamics, but they served as material confirmation of a bizarre theoretical prediction.
Quantum electrodynamics holds that the all-pervading vacuum continuously spawns particles and waves that spontaneously pop into and out of existence on an almost unimaginably short time scale.
This churning quantum ‘foam,’ as some physicists call it, is believed to extend throughout the universe. It fills empty space within the atoms in human bodies, and reaches the emptiest and most remote regions of the cosmos.”
Dr. Benari stopped reading. “So why is any of this relevant?” he said. “Because speeding up an object the size of a car to near light speed takes some serious energy: more than the total output of our sun over a fifty year period. With current human understanding, the only way this could be done is if a civilization found a way to tap this zero point energy. Even taming antimatter wouldn’t provide enough power. I’ve spent my entire career trying to find some way to tap this infinite free lunch, and so have my colleagues. We haven’t gotten very far, to say the least. Many of us believed it couldn’t be done.” He nodded his head slowly. “Well, now we know otherwise.”
He paused for several seconds. “I’ve theorized that if this zero point energy, or ZPE, were tapped,” he continued, “it would change something called the Planck constant. I’d be happy to explain what this is later on. The bottom line is that an object harvesting this energy would change some fundamental properties of the universe around it, including light, and result in a telltale spectroscopic pattern that I’ve called Casimir Radiation.”
Dr. Benari smiled broadly, unable to help himself. His theory had been attacked without mercy, and until yesterday, his prediction had been considered to be untestable. What a difference a day made. Einstein had predicted that light from a distant star coming close to the Sun would be bent, but it was years before an eclipse occurred and proper equipment was in place to measure it. Once it was, the deflection of the light turned out to be 1.7 arc seconds, matching Einstein’s prediction exactly, proving his vision of gravity and spacetime and making him the most famous scientist on the planet. Now it was Benari’s turn.
“Turns out my theory isn’t just a theory anymore,” he continued. “We’ve discovered this Casimir Radiation coming from the object, precisely as my theory predicted. Whatever is coming towards us is not only alien life, and intelligent alien life, it’s from a highly advanced civilization that has conquered the ultimate energy source.”
He raised his eyebrows. “And assuming it doesn’t veer off course, I, for one, am dying to get a peek under the hood.”
21
Jake trained a pair of binoculars on the red SUV that had just entered the center of the wide ravine. Hundred-foot cliff walls rose sharply on both sides.
“Nice choice,” noted a self-assured voice from the earpiece in his left ear, coming in clearly despite the whipping sound made by the blades of three helos circling overhead, maintaining a three mile surveillance perimeter. “How many men do you have on each cliff?”
“One or two,” replied Jake noncommittally.
“More like five or ten, I’m guessing,” said Kira Miller. “And helicopters to boot. Looks like someone was paying attention the day they taught how to take the high ground in military school.”
“Just a sign of how much respect I have for you,” said Jake.
“Lucky me,” she mumbled wryly. “I’m getting out now,” she added. “How about reminding your men of our little agreement. No killing the helpless girl.”
“They know,” said Jake.
A moment later the front door of the car sprung open and a lithe woman stepped out wearing faded blue jeans and a teal, v-neck blouse. He could see her well enough but he used the binoculars to zoom in on her face. His heart picked up speed. It was Kira Miller in the flesh. At least it seemed to be. With this woman you could never be sure of anything.
“Walk ten or fifteen yards away from your car with your hands in plain sight,” he instructed.
She was wearing a headset as he had asked, so her hands were completely free. She raised them above her head and began walking. “As you can see, it really is me,” she said into the microphone extending toward her mouth. “I’ve done everything you asked for. I’m in your control. Now how about living up to your end and texting my associates where to find your prisoners?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stick to our agreement. But I’m not quite satisfied. Not yet.”
“Another sign of respect?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m going to add someone to the call. She’s going to ask you a few questions.”
He manipulated his phone and a second later a woman joined them on the line. “Tell me the properties of a Type III restriction enzyme?” she said, her voice low and scratchy.
A wide, unselfconscious grin came over Kira Miller’s face, which Jake saw clearly through his binoculars. “Okay, now I’m impressed,” she said. “You take caution to whole new levels, Colonel. If this isn’t really me in the middle of nowhere, who do you think it is? You think I found a perfect double and convinced her to give herself up in my place?”