Faster than the speed of light (Fan fic)

[Finkelfantomen]

The setting

It was a dark chamber visited by few of the living. If the dead could, they probably would stay away too, considering this being more boring than laying still underground. Yet, this location WAS important. It was just utterly uninteresting to the majority of existence.  

This was the laboratory for the philosophical and” not out of the box” but ”there is no box, and even so, we are outside it, so let us think!” division of science.

The staff currently consisted of two members. Both highly intelligent, ambitious, and focused on the task at hand. Some said their intelligence was amazing! They just weren’t competent in dealings with the outside world. Let’s just say that the placement of atoms in a calculated space was interesting for them. Soap and water not so much.  Deodorant was some kind of religious item that men of science, as they were, avoided at all costs.  They trusted numbers. Not other peoples noses.

Anyway, their little laboratory was located deep inside a Corpus pillar class ship, just outside the trash bay area. So, no one noticed them, and those who did had forgotten them by now. But the system didn’t forget, so they still got their pay checks. Credits were important within the corpus, even for a genius. Your worth was your wealth, so working on ways to improve the latter was always a life priority.

” Sooo…” the short one, with a receding hairline, said ”I’ve been pondering this thing…”

” About factual things?” the other one, with a body that told the tale that snacks after bedtime was a ritual, and a steady breakfast made of pork, things that had some pork in it, and things that had been greased in pork, was a good way to kickstart your heart each morning.   ” Or a philosophical question which will force us to look for the facts to back it up, since any thought not based on fact is just nothing?”

” Well, both, actually”, the one to probably be completely bald within five years (but the hair would be replaced by those in his nose anyway) replied. "I've been putting my mind into space travel lately. I’ve been going through historical records, data, and experiments as long as the archives allowed. And up until the Orokin empire’s greatness, the speed of light was the limit. But then they discovered the Void.”

The… less skinny one, named Marcus Gluteus, nodded. He had written a thesis about the void and the trouble trying to eat at sandwich in it.

The other one, the short one,  named Electum Uterus, continued.” The void messes with physics. There can be two thoughts in one mind there, or two realities in the same space and time. Sometimes time is displaced, but the place is the same in two realities. It’s still a territory worthy of more exploration. But… This made me think. Perhaps our non-void reality is similar, and physics can be different from what we know?. But we do not see it, because we do not know we could look for it?”

Marcus now intrigued, encouraged his friend. ”Go on…”

Electum smiled and started talking again.” The speed of light is the limit. There is no theoretical explanation, within the physics known today, of how to accelerate an object  to push through that barrier and go faster than light. But my conclusion is that there is and has always been. We have just made this mistake to study this problem from the angle of known knowledge about speed, and not from the perspective of” no speed.”

Marcus frowned. This was confusing. ” Ehm… I’m not sure I quite follow you there my friend. Speed is basically an object being here, and then moving away from here. How far from here it can get in a given time is its speed. Otherwise, it is static, here and not there. So how can ’no speed’ be the solution to our problem?

”Well…”, Electum gave off another happy smile, the smile of one who had already realised the answer and was ready tell it to the world (or at least his close friend, or a colleague educated in the department of physics, or someone who was educated enough to be able to read and write, ok basically anyone who was ready to listen without giving up a sigh half-way through it), ”What is it that exists everywhere until light reaches it?”

” Uh…”, for a second Marcus face was locked in a thoughtful grin,” Without light there is darkness. But darkness isn’t an object, or a thing in motion. Can it still be the answer?”

Electum rose from his chair and exclaimed” Correct! But still, it is the only thing that is everywhere at once! And the only time it isn’t there is when light arrives. So, I have devised plans for an engine that can travel at the speed of ’The absence of light’”.

Marcus jaw dropped.

” Here look at my calculations”. Electum showed some slightly wrinkled, but with serious data on them, papers into his hands. Some of them had stains of whisky on the edges. “I call the process ‘Darkleap’.”

The bigger theoretical physicist of them (in allocated space in their workplace) slowly, and thoroughly, went through the data presented before responding almost in a whisper. ” This is amazing. In theory a non-light speed ship could arrive at its destination as soon as it departs, because the ’darkness” is already there, and so the ship will be too.”

” Yes, my friend!”, Electum shouted to the world, realising that now that when someone competent backed up his theory this was a path to success and glory,” 

“ But…” said Marcus, “ Wouldn’t the age old problem of  ‘If you travel at extreme velocity through space and hit an asteroid, or even a speck of dust, then  it would completely destroy the vessel?” still be a problem for ‘Darkleap ™’?”

” Nope!” Electum continued proudly,” Because when traveling at the speed of darkness an object in your path would be illuminated by any star, no matter how far away, even so slightly that the Darkleaping vessel would just bend to the darkness and circle around it to avoid it completely.”

” That’s brilliant!” Marcus shouted, ”As long as there was an unbroken path of darkness the vessel could travel, or in reality ‘exist-hopping’, from ’dark here’ to ’dark there’ in an instant and the laws of physics would keep it out of the path of any illuminated object. And since the only thing, no matter how far away, that attracts light are physical objects (even in gaseous form which is a physical state), then the path of the vessel would, by physics, automatically be pushed out of the way of illuminated objects and keep it on the path of darkness.”

” I’m glad you understand my research so fast my friend”, Electum responded, ” But you are a well educated man, and from working years by your side it should not surprise me.  Also, the base for this discovery is your research and scientific report about the light eating snails of Venus. Without it, my theory of Darkleap ™ travel would never have emerged to a calculated hypothesis. So, this really is a teamwork effort.”

The two looked at each other in silence for a second, before they broke out in a simultaneous yell of” Were in the credits now!”

 

Funding the project

From there on it was just a matter of time before they had found a top-ranked bigwig to present their findings to. The moneyman quickly sensed the amazing opportunity for profit, and a suitcase that had thus ben unnoticed was opened, presenting the credits needed to fund the project.  A short time later, the two colleagues had their own landing dock, science lab, and robotic assembly line made available for their work.
They even had some credits to spare for a sign over the front door. Of course, they would have to keep their research in secrecy until the final product was there, and the patent carved in sto… hardened steel. But as artists, they still wanted to leave a glimmer of their genius out there for the audience.
The sign read” Disillumination inc.”

The Mark I
A mere six months later the first prototype vessel was ready. The mighty Darkleap Mark I. It looked like a large, polished shiny barrel that had fallen on its side. Golden runes decorated it, and things that looked expensive were sticking out from it here and there. It rested on a red carped that looked like it had cost a lotf of money too. There were no windows on the vessel. Such things weren’t necessary when you just basically would enter, sit, and then get up a second later because you had arrived at your destination at the end of the galaxy.

The investor was there too, rubbing his hands eagerly while puffing a probably very expensive cigar.

The two world-first Darkonauts approached the Mark I, donned in standard Corpus space suits. Being the first to break new frontiers would bring glory. So there had been a long line of volunteers for this mission. 

A huge orchestra had been assembled to play some grand and heartlifting tunes as the Darkonauts bravely walked the last steps to the door of the Mark I. Beside them a large crowd of about thirty side-investors and some forty-ish associates were cheering them on (all curious of how this would affect the stock market.)

The door to the vessel closed, and a countdown was exitedly yelled out of a nearby speaker.

“Three… Two… One… Darkleap activated! It’s on!

*Wooosh*

It was gone.

The band stopped playing.

The Darkleap was a success! It had sent the Darkonauts on the first faster than light travel!

The problem was that nor they or the vessel had appeared at its intended destination. The camera in the target hangar displayed an empty room, and the tracker on the Mark I had no signal.

The worried look on Electums face made the investor turn to him and ask. “What just happened?”

“Analysing the data, sir.” Electum said. “We anticipated some trial and error, so we invested greatly in different sensors to pinpoint anything unexpected. Ah… yes…”

The investor took a drag on his cigar. “Well?”

Marcus nodded to his friend and then faced the investor. “It seems that... We tried to set a fixed location for arrival. But since darkness is everywhere then the ship also went everywhere. So, it instantly dissolved into atoms and spread itself over as much of the galaxy as possible…” He looked down at his feet, trying to avoid the now red cheeks of the investor.

The investor looked slightly shocked, but not too much, “So what you are saying is that it exploded?” 

“That is one way to describe it.” Electum answered. “Exploded as in trying to Darkleap ™ everywhere at once.”

“Text me when the Mark II is ready.” The investor turned on his heels and walked away.

The Mark II
Another six months later and the mighty Mark II was ready!

A shiny tube like the Mark I, polished chrome all around, but with a less amount of gold runes and expensive things sticking out. No fancy carpet beneath it. Costs had to be cut. Though it was also riddled with something resembling hedgehog spines.

Two new Darkonauts marched heroically towards it. The line of volunteers had been shorter this time, but these two would do. This time they were accompanied by a smaller orchestra of twelve, still with various violins and trumpets.

They waved at the crowd (Now down to 20 side-investors and no entourage.)

The speaker once again yelled out the countdown. “Three, two, one. Darkleap activated!”

*Wroosh*

The Mark II was gone.

The music stopped.

The target hangar was still empty, and the tracking signal was nowhere to be seen.

The investor sighed. “Gentlemen?”

The two physicists looked at the data pouring in on their multitude of screens. A heated, but whispered, debate followed before they came to a consensus.

“It seems that… Well, this time we tried to put precision light emitters on, to use light to close out the unwanted directions of dark, and thus force a path to the target location by the only darkness available. The computer should have been able to calculate this, but it seems like the light couldn’t close out all competing darkness, or it interfered with the preferred darkness and…. Well the result was that the Mark II Darkleapt into nothing.” Marcus needed to regain his breath after that long explanation.

The investor looked at him with anger on his face. “Could you… please explain that in another language than nerd?”

Marcus patted his friend on the shoulder and spoke on his behalf. “Instead of spreading ship and crew out over all of the known and unknown universe, it made every atom travel to the very same focal point. It’s so small that you cannot see it, but there is likely a hole in this floor where a super dense atomic collection once was and then gravity dragged it down through it. Being so small it won’t cause any trouble. But we are unlikely to ever find it again…”

“Tell me when the Mark III is ready.” The investor, slightly irritated, turned and walked away.

The fate was in the Mark III
Just four months later the Mark III was ready. It was a tube, but now just painted grey and without the shiny chrome and runes. Costs had to be cut! A new set of hedgehog spines covered it, but there was something different about it.

Another pair of Darkonauts walked nervously towards it. Probably some sorry sods who desperately needed credits.

A small mariachi band played La Cucaracha. They would be paid in free tacos, so the incentive to add pompous and grandiose songs to their repertoire was non-existent. 

The cheering crowd was now down to the investor prime and the ten highest invested side-investors.

The door on the Mark III closed.

A slightly bored voice came from the speaker nearby. “Ok. Three, two, one. Darkleap go, or something…”

*Flop*

A strange mess of twisted metal now resided where the Mark III was just a second ago.

The mariachis, unprepared for what just happened, shouted “Ariba!” and then went to look for their tacos. 

Puffing his cigar the investor glared at Marcus and Electum. 

Their screens once again filled with data. It was studied, discussed, followed by an argument of who should present the conclusion to the investor.

Marcus cursed and faced him. “Well, this time instead of light emitters we put light absorbers on the outside of the ship. Calculations showed that it would create a ‘Darktube ™’ around the Mark III and shield it as if it was riding inside a physical tube. Unfortunately, this interfered with the nav computer trying to go Darkleap ™ to a dark location, since it couldn’t peek outside it lost its bearing and… it seems that the ship turned itself inside out. It ‘un-tubed’ itself.”

The investor turned, dropped his cigar, and mumbled “Text me”. He then walked away while clenching hist fists. 

In the background an upset mariachi band could be heard yelling demands since someone had stolen their tacos.

The Mark IV is the moneymaker?
Two months later the Mark IV was ready. It was their final shot at glory. After this the investor was out.

It was a grey tube with a door. That’s it. Some parts of it looked like they had ben put together with duct tape.  There were some strange, but cheap, contraptions on the inside though, which had replaced every lamp and light emitting thing there. The plan was now to put light absorbers inside an already dark compartment, to create absolute darkness as a shield from the ‘normal no light condition’ of the darkness.

Two shaking Darkonauts walked towards it. No money left to hire people with, and no debts to call in,  Electum and Marcus had to do the job by themselves for once.

Music accompanied them on their “brave” march towards the door. This time, it was a single musician sitting on a chair, playing his guitar. On the floor beside him lay a hat, in which he hoped the attendees would drop a coin or two. The Tune was some frisky bar song from the shady parts of the Orb Valis. 

But the crowd was gone. There was only the investor now, and the janitor at the back, but he was sweeping the floor and not paying attention to mankind’s greatest discovery.

Marcus and Electum entered the vessel and closed the door. 

The investor banged it three times with his fist. Even the speaker guy had been cut off to save money.

* Omph! *

The Mark IV was gone.

But the target hangar wasn’t empty! The camera displayed the Mark IV resting majestically on its floor! What was missing there was the Darkonauts.

Marcus and Electum now remained in front of the prime investor, butt naked.

The musician kept on playing. As long as someone who could drop a credit in his hat was near then nothing could stop him from performing his art. 

The investor decided this was the time to walk away without coming back.

As he left the music stopped.

Naked men rarely had any coins.

The aftermath
 
They say that when you are dying your whole life passes you by, and somehow your mind has enough time to comprehend and sit through it.  

Having your clothes teleported away and then finding yourself standing naked on a cold concrete floor has a similar effect. But since they weren’t dying, the two minds were focused on what the hell just happened. Before they started reflecting on their life, they came to the same conclusion.

Inside the vessel, everything was dark, and every light source was blocked out. But under their clothes, their own body heat was a light source. But since it emitted in the infrared spectrum, it had passed them by in their calculations. They hadn’t thought about looking for things they could not see. They had only focused on the visible light. The fools! The utter fools!

The result had been that everything but them had made a successful Darkleap ™. Their butts had remained, so to speak. 

But the real fool had been the investor, turning away just when they were on the brink of success!

Darkleap ™ was working! At least as long as they only tried to move things not emitting  light or heat, and thus infrared light, this would work!

Now they just had to find an investor that would fund the Mark V, which would deep freeze everything inside.

This time they could not fail!

 

Edited February 24 by Finkelfantomen