Invisible Universe
Gregory J Christiano

 

   
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Chapter 1 - Journeys of a Sub-Atomic Traveler
by Gregory Christiano copyright 06-03-2003
copyright 06-03-2003
 


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Acknowledgement: Based on the short fiction of Henry Hasse (USA, 1913- 1977), "He Who Shrank," (1936). First appearing in the August, 1936 issue of Amazing Stories.
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"I am tired. A strange tiredness that has followed me on my journeys. I must tell my story. Of all the universes I have passed through, of all the worlds I have come to know, yours is the most familiar, the most similar to mine! Let me begin my tale before I fade into oblivion."

The man, twelve feet tall, sat huddled in the yard of the reporter who was to record his tale. Over him was a huge drapery, the only thing large enough to wrap around his naked body. His size prevented him from entering the reporter's home, it didn't matter, he would soon be of a size small enough to be able to sit in a chair or bench, but for now, he began his tale outdoors.

The traveler had normal features, even though he was a giant. He was handsome with chiseled features, dark hair swept back, piercing dark brown eyes. His skin was tanned somewhat, probably from exposure of his unclothed body to the sun. Across from him sat the reporter. A lean man, about thirty years old, 6 feet tall, with pad and pen, anxious to record this amazing tale.

The traveler never uttered a word, yet his 'voice' was clear, strong and determined. he was communicating with the reporter through mental telepathy - a technique he had learned and mastered over his many adventures. This was a perfect way to bridge the problem of learning an alien tongue.

The traveler began:

What I am about to tell you is incredible, impossible to believe, yet I am living proof. I was a microbiologist by trade and pursuing my researches at the university, until Dr. Benjamin Lingstrom, a foremost theoretical physicist, approached me. He persuaded me to join his team of scientists, researchers and scholars in a top-secret project they were conducting under private and government funding. It didn't take much persuasion for me to accept. So I packed up some belongings and journeyed with this eminent scientist to his laboratory in the mountains.

Here was assembled some of the most brilliant scientists in every field imaginable, astronomy, astrophysics, medical and physiological sciences, molecular biologists, applied physicists, technicians in fields from electronics to quantum mechanics. We had the latest equipment, state of the art devices of all types and descriptions. The super-computer was employed also. The facility was fully equipped, fully manned, and carefully guarded with a private security force. No one could leave or enter this station without permission from Dr. Lingstrom. And that was rarely given. I didn't mind. I was anxious to get started. But what was all this for?

In my first briefing with several other newcomers, we learned of the goal of the project. Atoms and matter are divisible into smaller matter and so on. So the theory goes. Up until now, our science could only glimpse the structure of an atom itself, a nucleus with electrons and protons circling around the nucleus, almost like a miniature solar system. Which, in fact, it was. But could there be an infinite digression of the sub-atomic particles, smaller and smaller, one inside the other, like a peel on an onion, layer upon layer? The theory goes something like this:

Billions upon billions of these nuclei with its sun as a nucleus forms swarms of molecules. Taken together in one group, it would form a galaxy. A galaxy among countless billions of other galaxies, stretching into a vast universe unto itself. Molecular space. This molecular space could be part of an element of perhaps lead or a grain of sand, or an eyelash of some infinitely larger creature. Think of it! It boggles the mind. There would be no beginning, no ending. I could not speak. I and my collegues were dumbfounded.

The Professor continued with his briefing. We were all fixed on his every word. "Carry it a step further," he continued, "maybe that ultra-small world is an electron, whirling around the nucleus of an atom of someone's shoelace, or a piece of metal in a building. Our society has always looked to the heavens as a frontier. Fools! They're blind; blind to the possibilities right here at our fingertips, below our feet, in the air we breathe. And these same fools think of traveling to distant worlds in their hollow space ships. Journeys that would take years, centuries. They would have wasted their time." His tone was firm almost angry. "Suppose these same men were to travel faster than light they would still be confined to our galaxy. The farthest star we can see, by our telescopes is only the tiniest of distances to the edge of the universe. The 'known' universe, that is. The visible universe."

He paused and looked into our eyes with childish excitement. "No, my friends. Space travel is not the answer. We desire to fathom the meaning and purpose of the universe. The purpose of creation. Particle theory, unified field, weak and strong atomic forces, string theory...all misnomers. We here at the project, turned from the infinitely large to the infinitely small, from the macrocosmic to the microscopic. So far, within the last two years of intense research, we have proven the theoretical existence of sub-atomic universes. And it is our intention to travel there. To send a man through the barrier of the infinitely small."

We were stunned. There was a long period of silence. "When do we get started?" I blurted out. A smile crossed the professor's lips. "You already have, all of you. When I read your many abstracts and dissertations in the science journals, we added your knowledge to our data base. We just needed you in the flesh to continue to work toward our ultimate goal. You were doing that without even realizing it. All of you were, in publications in your elected fields. This is why we have assembled this team. That is why we will succeed. Welcome gentlemen."

Five years passed, then another three. We were ready for the final step. To send a man into the vastness and unknown regions of inner space. There was no return, no way of coming back. Once the journey began, it was continuous.

A volunteer was required. I was single, unattached, no family to speak of. I was in perfect health, thirty-seven, fit and with my mental faculties in place, I was selected from a field of seven. I trained for several weeks and the time came for the final preparation and departure.

The sterile room was ready. It was as sterile as our science could provide. Sitting in the middle of this hermetically sealed room was a solid marble table. In the center of this table was placed a block of the densest metal known to our science. It was connected to a myriad of wires, cables over which the strongest electron-scanning microscope developed was in place. The most sensitive devices, the most minutely calibrated pieces of equipment were prepared. Outside the chamber were arrayed several rows of view screen, computer consoles, and other instruments. Technicians and scientists would monitor and record my every mvement and experience. We were ready indeed.

The first step was the innoculation. The serum had been perfected and safely tested on many animals. The concept was simple enough. This pale green liquid which seemed to be luminescent was a compound perfected in structure. It is a quantum resizer, a way of shrinking the cells of the body. Once in the bloodstream the substance bathes the individual components of my atoms with a quantum anti-binding force. This discharges the electrons and protons, causing them to steadily decrease in size. Since the neutrons have no electrical charge, they shrink along with the rest. I will soon become the size of an atom and smaller. Yes! Into the infinite smallness.

The block of metal on which I was to be placed would be the control medium for all my journeys as they are recorded. The team would be able to follow my every move even in the vastness of infinity as I traveled from one universe to another. Hopefully there would be no side effects to the serum. There were none really.

This block of dense metal was non-radioactive, and as I would diminish in size there would be no interference with my progress downward. The recording would be continuous also. Just as light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, so is thought. And just as light travels in waves, so does thought. I was to be tracked by my very thought processes. Sight, smell,touch, everything viable will be recorded. My mind was racing. The needle plunged into my arm. I suffered immediately from vertigo, then weakness, and then a paralysis overcame me. But all this was temporary. Needless to say I was stark naked. We hadn't figured a way to shrink clothing in a constant shrinking process with my body. Oh well, it's the price of the search for knowledge.

I began to shrink at a constant rate. In fact it was a trifle too speedy. Those adjustments would be made for the next traveler. It was a minor flaw that was easily corrected. One thing that caused many problems was the fact of what was I to do when I became a size and entered the vacuum of space. My life would surely be snuffed out, because there was no air to breathe! Adding elements to the compound that would provide oxygenation of the blood, solved that problem. I would be able to survive in the vastness of empty space. This recombinant element also provided a nourishment that would sustain me somewhat. I would still need food and water but not in the bulk quantities that had been required before. Also the cold in space will be combated because this compound also had properties of heating elements which would radiate a certain amount of internal body heat, regulated whenever there was a drop in temperature. I would be protected even in severe cold. Being naked would cause exposure to the elements for sure, but heating factors would compensate somewhat for it. My body would be properly insulated. Yes, all contingencies were accounted for. All possible scenarios reviewed and studied.

Judging from the rate of my shrinkage I would be able to land on a world and explore it for only a matter of a few hours at best. In my training I was advised to avoid black holes, stay clear of larger suns, approach only main sequence stars, avoid anything out of the ordinary.

Every person waved goodbye to me. The voice of Professor Lingstrom boomed over the speaker. I had to signal for him to speak softer, since my eardrums would burst. He whispered, "Goodbye, good luck."

My limbs were tingling as the paralysis left me. My muscles ached a bit but I rubbed my feet and calves back from sleepiness. The numbness was completely gone now. When I was approximately an inch high I was placed, with a cherry-picker contraption, onto the block of metal. I was alone in sealed room, the 'clean room.' I waited as everything about me became a blur. The men in the next room appeared mountainous,towering thousands of feet above me. The walls in the room extended beyond them, seemingly miles in the distance. The ceiling above me could just as well have been the distance to the moon! I walked to the edge of the block of black metal and found myself at the top of a cliff with blackened walls, sheer and straight. Far below me was the vast expanse of the table top. It stretched on for what seemed like miles all around! I moved back to the center of the block for fear of losing my balance and ending the experiment before it had begun!

I sat down and rubbed my calves again to help circulation. They ached a bit from the intitial effects of the serum. By now everything was an indistinguishable blur. Suddenly, the smooth, flat surface of the metal was no longer smooth or flat! Everywhere around me there were ditches, ravines, crevasses. Slowly these began opening up to more deep trenches. They extended in all directions. The light had dissipated, I stumbled blindly along one of these trenches. As I became progressively smaller, the walls of the ravine pressed higher above me. I was on a ledge heading downward into the lower regions of this trench, now between two towering cliffs. My shrinking was steady and constant.

There were gouges in the cliff face. As I peered into one of them, something moved within the darkness. My God! It was a dust mite! Not everything had been sterilized, obviously. It was an emormous beast! Being a microbiologist I recognized it immediately. I had seen this very same creature magnified 50,000 times under my scanning electron microscope, yet here I was standing face to face with this hideous monster with no weapons and stark naked! The thing was blue-white with green specks of algae all over it. There were hundreds of ugly spikes rimming the body on the lower and upper parts. The eye sockets didn't have eyes, they had sensory feelers protruding from them. It was an arachnid by genetic structure, monstrous just the same! I screamed instinctively and ran until I thought my heart would burst. Panic stricken I thought of the irony of being killed by a microscopic dust mite. What a way to die! I ran until my feet bled, getting smaller, while this beast was getting bigger! It was still in pursuit, and gaining.

Rounding another turm, I ran up and down these ravines. Looking back I could see it gaining more and more. It had a double row of double-jointed legs propelling it forward, sometimes it bounced off the walls. It was a living nightmare. I was almost out of breath. I had to stop. As I turned to face this monster, it was gone! I looked around licking my lips in anticipation of my demise! The cliff face disappeared into nothingness. I was alone. But something else caught my eye...It was bigger than a horse, but it was no horse. The body was black with many tentacles wiggling all along the outer body. i was again dumbfounded to be looking at a germ, a living bacteria. This I knew could eat me alive. Those tentacles not only acted as legs to carry it along, but it also inflicted infection and could paralyze me immediately. Then absorb me through its outer membrane. I shuddered and again ran for my life.

While I was fleeing I tripped over a knife-edged fracture in the 'rock.' There were chasms and pits all around me. I bounced lightly and got to my feet as quickly as possible, until something sharp grabbed my leg. I was being hauled back. It was the dust mite again.

The gelatinous mass of the germ luckily for me, attacked the mite as it threatened to eat me. I broke free, as the germ turned and was trundling toward me again. I pulled myself up to the edge of a precepice and hung over this vast abyss. It looked bottomless, dark. I hung there between two cliff faces, maybe twenty yards apart. The germ passed above me and one of its tentacles smashed into my hand, I lost my grip and fell into the abyss.

I plunged downward. I felt that sickening sensation of falling and accelerating. I couldn't scream. I was almost losing consciousness, expecting to hit bottom at any second.

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Next Chapter - First Contact
 
 

  
 
 

 
 

 

 

Copyright © 2003 Gregory J Christiano
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"