All India Literature Competition 2019-20
by The Creative Post
Winner – 13th Position
(Judges’ Choice)
—by Nilam Manwar Ingole
–Reading Time – 15 min Approx
The Universe has hidden so many mysteries within itself. Covering it with the dark matter. Some are so brightly revealed like the stars while some are buried into the Black holes. This limitless immensity of the Universe has always been the subject of curiosity for human race. This curiosity turned into passion and resulted into invention.
One of such invention was to develop the technology which could bore the holes through the planets. By the time year 2220 is ended, human could create path through intra universe wormhole. Although these wormholes are not traversable in both the direction, their existence inspired Dr. Vin Thorpe to imagine traversable wormholes created by producing the negative energy of exotic matter and its density could be used to stabilize them.
Dr. Vin Thorpe is a NASA scientist, working on a project to create a tunnel through two points of a wormhole connecting two planets. Dr. Vin had already chosen planet Nibiru as this beautiful planet already bore a hole at the time of first experiment of intra universe traveling. The other reason going to the Nibiru was the sight of the ‘stark beauty’ flashed in front of the mastcamera used in first experiment. Dr. Vin could not pass over that face till date. “Maya”, wrote Dr. Vin in his personal diary which Ann, close friend of him, could only understand. ‘The Winsome innocent eyes looking down from a distance. A stark beauty of its own, approaching my spirit’. She was a space researcher and the reason of peeling layer after layer off of Dr. Vin’s emotional blocks over and over again.
The Nibiru was identified as one of the planets where extra-terrestrial civilization existed. The Nibiruans were the most collaborative species in the universe. They had been cooperating with us since this idea of inter universe travelling came into existence. That was the first unmanned mission when both the Earth and the Nibiru were bored in order to create a tunnel in naturally created wormholes. One way travel was still possible. But today’s struggle was for making the existing wormhole traversable in both the direction by holding the “Throat” open with exotic matter that has negative mass and energy. This was as the manned mission and every minute information was worth taken care of. Virtually everything was planned between these two giant planets.
Dr. Vin and his team on boarded the Gravity Train for their experiment. Engines, machines, fuel, circuits, programmed chip, exotic matter, Pycnometer, mastcamera everything was checked couple of times, for this involved a great risk of losing the Earth contact forever. But they were ready and passionately positive about the mission. And the time came.
Three…Two…One…and Boom. 40,000 miles per hour.
It was faster than anything in this world. Everything was like a dream. Dr. Vin and his team have been working on this mission since they joined NASA. It was the incomplete mission of Dr. Vin’s father Dr. Schwarz Thorpe. He had spent his entire life researching on wormholes and the timings when it gets opened. The Data he gathered throughout his life and the equations he made about the nature of cosmos was the main data base of this mission. Dr. Vin continued his research after his father’s death. Suddenly he reminded of his father in this journey and was extending gratitude towards him for providing such a solved answers of this mystery and the statistics he provided.
The Moment of realization and Dr. Vin was on the planet Nibiru. The first manned journey through this tunnel was successful. He reminded the Laika’s journey. When he held out his first experiment, he chose to send someone or something other than human. It was Laika, The Dog, then. He was a stray dog from the streets of San Francisco selected to be the occupant of the first ever made gravitube. It was a success, and the team could see Laika as fearful but safely reached to the Nibiru through the Mastcamera. How cheerful they were at the moment of their victory! and so were Nibiruans.
Dr. Vin and team stepped down on the Nibiru. Much like the Earth, similar in many areas like mass, density, atmosphere but the Nibiruans were somewhat different than the human race on the Earth. Facial structure was same, but the hands and feet were elongated. It was the first ever encounter with the extra-terrestrial being. Strange but was familiar as these two distinct points of the universe were in contact with each other from many years. They have the same motto and the same passion to manifest it. The Host team welcomed the guest team.
For the first time the habitant of Nibiru and the Earth were talking about the possible transportation throughout the Milky way. There were many more experiments and explorations in line. Both the team now were all set to conduct the second and the significant part of the experiment. The real challenge was to carry out the second phase of this plan. All the important facts which could turn this experiment in to the disaster, had already been analyzed and studied thoroughly. One mistake and it would have cost Dr. Vin to end the possibility to travel in both the direction through wormhole. Moreover he and his team would have never been able to come back to the earth again. If the second phase fails, it will be their Last Train to the Earth.
Researchers had found out this naturally created wormhole traversable in one direction. Dr. Smith opened up to Dr. Vin and said, “I have recorded a message for my wife Ann and the kids if in case we could not hold the wormhole’s throat open for the required time when this fully equipped deep drop would travel through the tunnel back to the Earth”. Dr. Vin looked at the family photo which Dr. Smith held in his hand. Ann was a very sweet lady and his best friend too. He said to Dr. Smith, “There won’t be any need for this, your belief is the key “. And the countdown began. Three…Two…One… The negative energy was enormously formed from the exotic matter to hold the wormhole’s other hole open and gravitube to start its journey through the tunnel. Once the energy formed, there was a wait time of ten seconds and then again 40000 mile/hour journey would start.
With all the belief in Dr. Schwarz’s database and the trust on the hard work of his team for this research, Dr. Vin was all set to switch the red button to start the process of the journey and suddenly the same Flash! It was familiar, he had seen this cloud of light before and he could not bear the sight. He was about to leave this planet and here she was. “Maya”. Dr. Vin was startled seeing at her. His ‘A stark beauty’ was in front of him. All the emotions he has been feeling for her, gathered together and he whimpered, “Don’t go”.
This moment of emotions took his few but very crucial seconds and he unwillingly came back to his senses. He began remembering Dr. Schwarz’s wrinkled hand in his own when he was on his deathbed, the promise he made to his father, the family photo in Dr. Smith’s hand, the smile on Ann’s face, and what not. He began trembling and somehow pressed the Red button but this journey was so timely managed that the wormhole was opened but the Gravity train was not ready to enter it. The requirement now was more density of the negative exotic matter. It was almost impossible to form it at this stage boarding into the train. Dr. Vin had given up for he knew it very well after his lifetime research on this same topic that there is no way out. He was convinced the next moment that this was the Last train to the Earth and they have missed it but suddenly the Pycnometer changed its digits. It was miracle. The negative energy was formed and the gravitube started.
Dr. Vin was shocked and surprised to see as how did they get the extra energy. Felt relieved and he checked the machine. It was clear that the extra energy was re-infused for stabilization. He searched as who had done it.
He checked the credentials and it was under the username “MAYA”. The extra-terrestrial habitant, who could infuse the feeling of love in one of the space researcher on other planet, was apparently able to infuse the dark energy to get the train started as she too was a space researcher. She helped them succeed their expedition, their mission!
Dr. Vin Thorpe was speechless. It could have been the ‘Last Train to the Earth which they missed’, but now he was so much contented and convinced that with this successful project human race would be able to travel in the Universe and he can come back again to ‘Maya’. Mission was successful and so was Dr. Vin’s intension.
—by Nilam Manwar Ingole
