Black Hole Oblivion Read online

  In less than a minute they were ready with most of the crew sitting in pairs on either side of the pods, holding on to the structure, waiting for the unknown.

  ◆◆◆

  The space outside churned with a maelstrom of colours. Light performed a strange dance of luminosity and darkness, intermixed with a swirling tempest of particles. The lack of windows prevented the crew from looking outside, and most of them missed a sight never before seen by human eyes. For a brief instant, even the dome, despite being deep inside the ship, lit up in beautiful colours, and then just as suddenly everything went black. This darkness was complete and not even a speck of light was visible. The brightness was complete too, devouring away the last traces of black and penetrating every particle of matter in the room. It seemed to permeate through the very skin of people such that they seemed to have an ethereal glow.

  Very few could keep their eyes open in the face of such fearsome beauty. Nobody chose to except one.

  Anara’s natural curiosity overcame her fear and she tried to watch through hooded eyes.

  I have to see this sight.

  Everyone else cowered down, their eyes shut tight, but Anara opened her eyes wide for a second, taking it all in before being forced to close them tightly. So, this is what a singularity feels like. Squeezed into a single point of no volume. Only a supremely courageous, a supremely foolish person or a supremely unlucky person like myself will ever see this again. She was surprised to find that she was smiling. If this is death, it is exquisite.

  The ship rocked ever so slightly as it crossed some invisible threshold. Then the vibrations grew progressively stronger. Antariksh started to rotate as the engines struggled to keep it steady. After a point, they failed altogether leaving the ship and its crew at the mercy of the savage behemoth that knew no emotions except hunger, the insatiable hunger to devour every particle of matter it managed to grasp.

  The ship was now in freefall, gyrating with the turbulence outside. It spun faster and faster throwing everyone off their feet. Many of the crew lost their handholds and were flung about. They fell on each other and against the walls breaking more than a few bones. The room filled with groans and screams as the reality finally hit home, and hard. The end was here.

  Then, it stopped. Their swirling motion just stopped. The darkness melted away as a blazing radiation suffused them all. Their bodies seemed to be turning translucent. Brighter and brighter, the light became till the crew, the ship, and everything inside turned transparent.

  They had entered the black hole.

  Their mass was being converted into the very basic building blocks of matter, smaller than atoms. Smaller than electrons or quarks or leptons. They were turning into pure energy. The black hole embraced them, soaking up their essence.

  It was all over.

  15

  The Singularity

  The calmness was deep.

  The silence was complete.

  Space was harmonious.

  No stray particles disturbed the tranquillity. No photons of light traipsed about disturbing the serenity.

  There was no fear here, but neither was there any hope, sadness, love, or cheer. Space was primeval.

  Time did not flow.

  There was no beginning and no end.

  There was just the singularity.

  All was one.

  16

  The Universe

  She was part of the Entity. One with the vast Cosmos. The balance was captivating. She was one of most fundamental particles, and yet she was pure energy. The secrets of the atom were exposed to her, and yet she knew the scale of the cosmos as well.

  Speed was irrelevant. Time was irrelevant. Life was irrelevant.

  She was here, and she was everywhere. She was at the singularity and yet she could see herself entering the singularity. She saw the Big Bang and the birth of the universe. She saw its frozen death, when its energy had been exhausted and all was cold. Deathly cold. So cold that she would have frozen solid, had she a body.

  She saw worlds being formed and other worlds ending. She saw the birth of stars and their death in black holes. She did not understand how she saw; after all she did not have any eyes or a body. She travelled through galaxies and found life everywhere. And she found death in equal measure. She reached the edge of the universe and could go no further. She sensed something beyond it. Tantalizingly out of reach. Was there a boundary to the universe as well, or were there many universes spreading out... into what?

  She saw her own birth and she wanted to see how she would die and whether there was life after death. Something tugged at her heart. But I have no heart? Something called her back. No, she protested. I want to see my death. The secret is out there. Let me go!

  The darkness was fading. The tranquillity, the peace was fading as well. Someone was groaning in pain. No, screaming in agony. Not just one person. There were many voices and she sensed fear and confusion and wanted to reach out. To help them. To support them. To tell them that everything would be all right.

  The delicate balance vanished and she fell.

  17

  Affliction

  The screams of the wounded in the background nearly deafened her. Someone seemed to be calling her, but she could barely make out the words. She wanted to go back to peace, but something was pulling her back to reality. Let me go!

  “Captain! Captain Anara! Wake up! C’mon. Don’t you dare die on me,” Ryan shook her hard. Then another pair of hands appeared, helping Ryan. Madhavan.

  They stood back as an automated nurse jolted her with electricity, trying to get her heart working again. “She is breathing. I have a pulse. Steady heartbeat. Please get her into a comfortable position while I call the doctor for a check-up.” The voice was flat, mechanical, but it well suited the shiny bulbous body with multiple limbs. An automaton designed to support the doctor on board.

  Ryan and Madhavan carried Anara to a corner, and lay her down carefully. Ryan made a pillow with his jacket under her head.

  She opened her eyes slowly, still in the midst of her dream.

  Had it been a dream or something else entirely? Wait, why can’t I see anything?

  In a moment of sheer panic, she jolted upright, flailing her arms wildly against whoever was holding her.

  “Wha…what happened?” Her words came out in a croak.

  “Thank god you’re all right. I thought we’d lost you. You just refused to wake up. Doctor! over here!” Ryan called out.

  “Ryan, it’s you, but why is everything so dark?” She struggled to rise but her body failed to support her efforts.

  Ryan pushed back her hair from her face, trying to soothe her. There was chaos all around. The room was full of people, the wounded lying on the floor or on makeshift stretchers, some leaning against the walls. Medical teams assisted by volunteers moved swiftly among them. The severely wounded had already been moved out to the medical bay, but that facility had quickly been overwhelmed. The other patients would have to be kept in the dome till other arrangements could be made. The worst aspect was the screaming.

  Dr Khan finished with the crewman he’d been attending to, and hurried over.

  He quickly checked Anara and was pleased not to find any major injuries, though there were any number of cuts and bruises all over her body. He shone a light in her eyes but she did not react.

  “Can you hear me, Captain?”

  “Of course I can. But I can’t see anything. Where am I?”

  “You’re still in the dome. We’ve converted this into a medical triage facility. A number of crew persons have been hurt during our descent through the black hole.” Dr Khan was concerned about the eyes, but at least she seemed okay otherwise.

  “The black hole!” Realization dawned on her. Yes, we were entering a black hole and then there were lights and there was peace. Peace, after a long, long time. “We’ve escaped? We’re alive?”

  “You betcha we’re alive,” Ryan smiled. “It worked. Your strategy worked. Y
ou saved the ship and the crew.”

  “Then why is everyone screaming? Why are they in pain?”

  “All in good time.” Dr Khan said. “Right now, I’m going to ask you to close your eyes and rest right here. There are other people who are facing a similar issue with their sight. It might be an effect of our travel, but I need to carry out more tests to be sure. Right now, you will rest. I’ll be back, Commander. Give her fluids to drink, will you?” Dr Khan disappeared as quickly as he had come.

  “What happened, Ryan?” asked Anara as she struggled to sit up. Ryan handed her a sphere. The membrane of the sphere melted in her mouth releasing the cool, refreshing, fortified water inside. She gulped down the water and asked for more. It felt good, the sphere popping in her mouth. Ryan supported her back as she sighed with relief and leaned against his arm. He helped prop her up against a wall.

  “It seems the black hole was a Kerr type charged black hole, after all. We went through it and emerged on the other side.” Ryan grinned. “I never would have believed it, but it worked.”

  “You can thank Manisha for the idea. Where are we? And how is the crew?” She turned her head around trying to make sense of the din surrounding her. “They need me. I must go check on them. What did Dr Khan mean when he said they’ve lost their sight?”

  “Relax,” said Ryan, pushing her back gently. “Everyone is accounted for and being looked after by the medical teams. You are the last one to wake up, it seems. The crew is safe for now. A few cracked skulls and quite a few broken bones, but there have not been any critical injuries. Some of the crew seem to have been blinded. The doctor believes it is temporary possibly due to the intense lights we encountered inside the wormhole. He doesn’t know the specific reason yet.”

  “What happened to us, Ryan? Where are we right now?”

  “It’s very confusing. We’re still trying to figure it out, but right now, I must get back to Engineering. The engines are dead, and we’re completely drained of all antimatter for the fuel. We are running on backup power only. I have to try and get some generators going or we are looking at a very cold death in this place, wherever this is. Don’t worry, I’ll send Manisha to sit with you. She can brief you while I see to the generators, okay?”

  She nodded. Her head had started pounding and she felt disoriented. The darkness did not help one bit. She was grateful for a few moments of rest. She closed her eyes. Blindness. That’s all I needed right now. How the hell am I going to command the ship? Should I handover control to Ryan? Maybe this is temporary. I am not injured otherwise. Let’s wait and see how this develops. I hope the crew will remain safe.

  ◆◆◆

  She must have fallen asleep for some time. The place was quieter. She could sense much less movement of people. Damn, I still can’t see anything! She rubbed her eyes hard till another pair of hands stopped her. They felt soft, feminine.

  “Is that you, Manisha?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m right here.” Manisha had made sure Kevin was alright, even giving him a quick hug, on her way over from Ops to help the Captain. She could hardly believe they were all alive.

  “Were you hurt?” Anara asked.

  “No. I’d strapped myself in just as we went through. I was more fortunate than most other people. You want some more water?”

  “Not right now, thank you. You were in Ops during the transit, weren’t you? Tell me our status. Where exactly are we and how is the ship?”

  “I don’t have all the data yet; most of the instruments are down. But it seems my hunch was correct. The black hole was literally a hole, a portal if you wish. We managed to push through it and, like Alice, we are in a different world.”

  “Different world? You’re not making sense.”

  “This world, this place is not making sense, Captain. I’m afraid that’s the best description I can give you. You see, there is nothing out there outside this ship. No stars, no energy reading, no particles—nothing. I don’t know if we are still inside the singularity and if so, how we are alive and kicking. Or have we fallen into a parallel universe or even another dimension? Roll the dice and take your pick, as the Commander would say. However, we…we did manage to survive and that, for me, is enough for the moment.”

  “And Antariksh?”

  “Undamaged as far as we can tell, though we have no engines and no power as Commander Ryan must’ve informed you already. Fortunately, we do have enough power backup for the next couple of days at least.”

  “What else?” Anara closed her eyes. She realised that it made no difference whether they were open or closed. This blindness would take some time to get used to. She hoped it was only temporary.

  “I just don’t know. I have been trying to get some more sensors working and then maybe we’ll get some answers. For now, we are dead in the proverbial water.”

  ◆◆◆

  An hour later, sufficiently recovered but still thankful for the support of Manisha’s shoulder, Anara stepped back into Ops. Manisha eased her into her chair and went back to work at her station.

  “Talk to me, Manisha. Anything further on the sensors?”

  Manisha worked her controls. “I have basic sensors working Captain, but I have limited the range to conserve power. I had set the system to scan the space around us for five million kilometres. Like I’d told you earlier, there is nothing out there.”

  “You keep saying ‘nothing’. What do you mean nothing? How far are we from the solar system?”

  “No. You don’t understand. There is literally nothing out there. I mean there are no stars, no planets, and no celestial bodies of any kind. My instruments don’t even show any energy readings. There is nothing out there except complete darkness.”

  “That is not possible. Even the deepest reaches of space have something—distant stars, a few atoms, photons of light. Check again.”

  “I am telling you, ma’am. I’ve checked everything three times. There is nothing here. Look for yourself. Nothing.” She winced, realizing her mistake. The Captain could not see. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Anara waved away the apology. “What about the vision systems? The radio telescopes? What do they show?”

  “Nothing. The images are blank. No radiation, no stars in deep space.”

  It had to be something wrong with the instruments.

  “Call Madhavan. Tell him to take the sensors apart if he has to. Find out where we are and how do we get back to Earth from here. Ask Ryan to meet me here once he’s free. Meanwhile, read through to me all the parameters you have tested so far.”

  ◆◆◆

  “How’re you feeling?” Ryan asked. Anara looked pale. It would have been better if she’d rested for some time. Instead, here she was poring over scraps of data that Manisha read out loud. It was so much more difficult to make sense of figures and equations when she could not see them flowing before her eyes. Yet, she had persisted.

  “I’m fine,” she said shrugging off his concern. “Find anything new?”

  “We might be able to get the engines working in a few hours but, with hardly any fuel reserves, we’re stuck.” He leaned in closer to her. “There is something seriously wrong. I don’t think we have come out of the black hole into normal space. We are trapped, I don’t know where.”

  “Yeah, Manisha told me as much. Do you have a plan?”

  “I was hoping that we could work out our options once you were strong enough.”

  “I’m strong enough to work. Blindness does not make me useless. Besides the doctor did say it was temporary, right? Okay, for the moment this is what I propose we do. We avoid causing panic at all costs. The crew must be disturbed and, with so many injured, we must be shorthanded. We can’t let them know just yet that the leadership is as lost as the ship. Let’s keep this strictly on a need-to-know basis. Restrict access to Ops to the senior officers only. We may need to set up a secondary station for the non-essential personnel. Once Madhavan has checked out the sensors get him to relay all the da
ta to Ops. We will work out of here. Get to work, will you, Ryan? I want to go check on the crew. I’ll be back shortly. You too, Manisha, not a word to anyone. Now help me to Medical.”

  ◆◆◆

  Anara walked into Medical, her hand on Manisha’s shoulder for guidance.

  “Hey, Doc. I need an update.”

  “You really shouldn’t be walking around. Let me get you into examination.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Doc. I’m holding up. Tell me, how’s the crew?”

  “They’re doing well for the most part. Fourteen broken legs and arms being set. They’ll be fine by morning and will be able to resume duties shortly. Eight crewmembers with fractured skulls but no internal injury. The regeneration will be complete in a few hours. Four people with concussions, recovered and sent back to work. We’ve patched up quite a few cuts and bruises but we seem to have been fortunate. Except…”

  “Except the blindness? Did you find the cause or a cure? How many are affected?”

  The doctor did not answer. He looked down, arranging various instruments on the tray. “That’s got me slumped. Can you step over here for a minute? Let me check you out.”