Chapter 14

We visit the Builders and find out how to build a Ship of the Line.

<Our galactic home in the larger cosmos is in a spiral arm of the Milky Way. The Milky Way itself is only one of two trillion galaxies in the observable Universe. From all of this we get what some astronomers call our “long address”. We, well you anyway, live on Earth, which is in the Sol solar system, which is a G-type main-sequence star in the Milky Way galaxy some 26,000 light-years from the Milky Way’s center, in a tendril of our home galaxy known as the Orion Arm, which is part of a small cluster of galaxies called the Local Group, which is on the edge of the Virgo cluster, which is a conglomeration of several thousand galaxies which make up the known Universe.> Robbie started off his lecture to all of us gathered to hear what we were going to do next.

<Now whereas Newton proposed that gravity was a force, Einstein showed that gravity arises from the shape of space-time. While I know this is difficult to actually visualize, there is an analogy that provides us some insight and allows you to somewhat visualize what Einstein was getting at with his theory. Although it is only a guide, not a definitive statement of the theory by any means.> Robbie continued.

<The analogy begins by considering space-time as a two dimensional rubber sheet that can be stretched out to become a level flat plain in the x and y dimension. In any region of space other than right next to a massive cosmic object, things like stars, black holes, red dwarfs, those kinds of massive things, space-time is uncurved. That is, the rubber sheet is absolutely flat. If one were to probe space-time in that region by sending out a beam of light or a test rocket, both the beam or the rocket would travel in perfect straight lines.>

<However, the presence of a massive body curves space-time in around itself. Imagine us placing a heavy rock, representing a sun, or other massive body, on the rubber sheet to create a cup-like depression as the rubber sheet stretches from the weight of the bowling ball. In our analogy, we next place a round marble representing a planet like Earth near the depression. It starts rolling down the slope toward the rock pulled by the force of gravity. Now imagine we give the marble a good sideways push. At that point the marble will begin to orbit around and around the rock, just like the Earth around Sol, your Sun.>

<In this way, the curvature of space-time near a star defines the shortest natural paths, or geodesics. This is much like the shortest path between any two points on Earth is not the straight line as it seems to the casual observer. A straight line cannot be constructed on that curved surface of the Earth, it is the arc of a great circle route. In Einstein’s theory of space-time geodesics define the deflection of light and the orbits of planets. As the American theoretical physicist John Wheeler put it, “matter tells space-time how to curve, and space-time tells matter how to move”.>

<The rubber sheet analogy helps with visualization of space-time, but Einstein himself developed a complete quantitative theory that describes space-time through highly abstract mathematics. General relativity is expressed in a set of interlinked differential equations that define how the shape of space-time depends on the amount of matter, or the equivalent energy in the region. The solution of these so-called field equations can yield answers to different physical situations, including the behavior of individual bodies and/or the entire universe for that matter.>

<Einstein immediately understood that his field equations could describe the entire cosmos. In 1917 he modified the original version of his equations by adding what he called the ‘cosmological constant’. This represented a force that acted to make the universe expand thus counteracting gravity which tends to make the universe contract in upon itself. The result was a static balanced universe.>

<Latter Friedmann showed that the field equations predict a dynamic universe, which can either expand forever, or go through cycles of alternating expansion and contraction. Einstein came to agree with this result and abandoned his cosmological constant. Later work, notably pioneering measurements by the American astronomer Edwin Hubble and the development of the big-bang model, has confirmed and amplified the concept of an expanding universe to date, but the ‘cosmological constant’ was brought up again too latter.> Robbie laughed.

<In 1916 the German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild used the field equations to calculate the gravitational effect of a single spherical body such as a star. If the mass is neither very large nor highly concentrated, the resulting calculation will be the same as that given by Newton’s theory of gravity. Thus, Newton’s theory is not entirely incorrect it actually constitutes a valid approximation to general relativity under certain conditions.>

<Schwarzschild also described a new effect. If the mass is so concentrated in a vanishingly small volume of space-time, it creates a singularity. The gravity becomes so strong that nothing pulled into the surrounding region can ever leave, even light cannot escape. In the rubber sheet analogy, it’s as if a tiny massive object creates a depression so deep and steep that nothing can escape it. It is recognized that this intense space-time distortion would be invisible because it would absorb all the light striking it and never emit anything back. For this reason it was dubbed a ‘black hole’.>

<In quantitative terms, Schwarzschild’s result defines a sphere that is centered at the singularity. One whose radius depends on the density of the enclosed mass. Events within the sphere are forever isolated from the rest of the universe. For this reason, the so called Schwarzschild radius is called the event horizon.>

<No present human technology can compact matter sufficiently to make black holes, but they occur as the final step in the life cycle of stars. After millions or billions of years, a star uses up all of its hydrogen and other elements that produce energy through nuclear fusion. With its nuclear fuel supply used up the star can no longer maintain an internal pressure to expand, and gravity finally takes over and compresses the star. For stars above a certain mass, this gravitational collapse will produce a black hole containing several times the mass of the original sun. In other cases, the gravitational collapse of huge dust clouds can create supermassive black holes containing millions or billions of solar masses.>

<Astrophysicists have found many cosmic objects that contain such a dense concentration of mass in a small volume. These black holes include one at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, Sagittarius A*, and certain binary stars that emit X-rays as they orbit each other. One, at the center of the galaxy M87, has even been directly imaged.>

<The theory of black holes has led to speculation about another predicted entity the ‘white hole’, the opposite of a ‘black hole’, A hole that spits out matter instead of sucking it in. With that speculation came the ‘wormhole’ theories. This is a solution of the field equations that resembles a tunnel between two black holes, or other points in space-time. Such a tunnel would provide a shortcut between it’s end points. In analogy, imagine an ant walking across a flat sheet of paper from point A to point B. If the paper is curved through the third dimension, so that A and B overlap, the ant can step directly from one point to the other, thus avoiding a long trek.>

<The possibility of these shortcuts between the enormous distances between stars makes wormholes attractive for space travel because the tunnel links moments in time as well as locations in space. It has also been argued that a wormhole would allow time travel into the past. However, wormholes are by their very nature intrinsically unstable. While exotic stabilization schemes have been proposed by the legitimate scientific community, there is as of now no evidence that these can work, or indeed that ‘white holes’ or ‘wormholes’ even exist. We’ll come back to this latter.> Robbie paused and then continued.

<The relationship of E = mc2 is essential in the study of subatomic particles. It determines the energy required to create particles, or to convert one type into another, and the energy released when a particle is annihilated. For example, two photons, each of energy E, can collide to form two particles, each with mass m = E/c2. This pair-production process is one step in the early evolution of the universe, as described in the big-bang model of the universe. You can neither create nor destroy matter only change it’s form. Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy.>

<In fact the global positioning system (GPS) depends on relativistic principles. A GPS receiver determines its location on Earth’s surface by processing radio signals from four or more satellites. The distance to each satellite is calculated as the product of the speed of light and the time lag between transmission and reception of the signal. However, Earth’s gravitational field and the motion of the satellites cause time-dilation effects, and Earth’s rotation also has relativistic implications. Hence, GPS technology includes relativistic corrections that enable positions to be calculated to within several centimeters.>

<Cosmic behavior on the largest scale is described by ‘general relativity’. Behavior on the subatomic scale is described by ‘quantum mechanics’, which began with the work of the German physicist Max Planck in 1900 and treats energy and other physical quantities in discrete units called quanta. A central goal of physics has been to combine relativity theory and quantum theory into an overarching “theory of everything” describing all physical phenomena. Quantum theory explains electromagnetism and the strong and weak forces, but a quantum description of the remaining fundamental force of gravity has not been achieved yet.>

<It was Einstein’s genius to realize that the speed of light is absolute, invariable and cannot be exceeded, and indeed that the speed of light is actually more fundamental than either time or space. In relativity, time is certainly an integral part of the very fabric of the universe and cannot exist apart from the universe, but if the speed of light is invariable and absolute Einstein realized, both space and time must be flexible and relative to accommodate this.>

<In 1928, British physicist Paul Dirac revised Einstein’s famous equation E=mc². Dirac said that Einstein didn’t consider that the “m” in the equation could have negative properties as well as positive properties. Dirac’s equation E = + or - mc2 allowed for the existence of anti-particles in our universe. Scientists have since proven that several anti-particles exist and in fact have made antimatter. Dirac said that there should be an equal amount of antimatter in the universe. The noteable lack of that antimatter is still unaccounted for in the universe.>

<The visible universe, this includes the Earth, our Sun, other stars, and galaxies are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons bundled together into atoms. Perhaps one of the most surprising discoveries of the 20th century was that this ordinary, or baryonic matter makes up less than 5% of the total mass of the universe. 25% of the rest of the universe appears to be made of a mysterious, invisible substance scientists call ‘dark matter’, and 85% a force that repels gravity known as ‘dark energy’.>

<Scientists have still not observed dark matter directly. It doesn’t interact with ordinary baryonic matter and it’s completely invisible to light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, making dark matter impossible to detect with current instruments. But scientists are confident it exists because of the gravitational effects it appears to have on our galaxies and galactic clusters.>

<For instance, according to standard physics stars at the edges of our spinning, spiral galaxy should travel much slower than those near the galactic center, where the galaxy’s visible matter is concentrated. But observations show that stars orbit at more or less the same speed regardless of where they are in the galactic disk. This puzzling result only makes sense if one assumes that the boundary stars are feeling the gravitational effects of an unseen mass of dark matter, as seen in the halo around the galaxy.>

<Scientists have a few ideas for what dark matter might be. One leading hypothesis is that dark matter consists of exotic particles that don’t interact with normal matter, or light, but still exert a gravitational pull. Other scientists think the effects of dark matter could be explained by fundamentally modifying our theories of gravity. According to these ideas there are multiple forms of gravity, and the large-scale gravity governing galaxies differs from the gravity to which we are accustomed.>

<Dark energy when it was discovered in the 1990s was even more of a shock. Previously, physicists had assumed that the attractive force of gravity would slow down the expansion of the universe over time. But when two independent teams tried to measure the rate of deceleration, they found that the expansion was actually speeding up. Scientists now think that the accelerated expansion of the universe is driven by a kind of repulsive force generated by quantum fluctuations in otherwise “empty” space. What’s more, the force seems to be growing stronger as the universe expands. For lack of a better name, scientists call this mysterious force dark energy.>

<Unlike ‘dark matter’, scientists have no plausible explanation for dark energy. According to one idea, dark energy is a fifth and previously unknown type of fundamental force called ‘quintessence’, which fills the universe like a fluid.>

<Many scientists have also pointed out that the known properties of dark energy are consistent with Einstein’s original ‘cosmological constant’, a mathematical Band-Aid approach that Einstein added to his theory of general relativity to make his equations fit with the notion of a static universe. According to Einstein, the constant would be a repulsive force that counteracts gravity, keeping the universe from collapsing in on itself. Einstein later discarded the idea when astronomical observations revealed that the universe was expanding, calling the ‘cosmological constant’ his ‘biggest blunder.’> Robbie laughed at this.

<Now that we see the expansion of the universe is accelerating, adding in dark energy as a ‘cosmological constant’ could neatly explain how space-time is being stretched apart. But that explanation still leaves scientists clueless as to why the strange force exists in the first place.>

<Of course there is also another explanation that could also account for the anomalous behaviour of stars, an explanation that does not need to invoke mysterious undetectable dark matter or dark energy. That explanation is the stars themselves are conscious and move according to their own will and volition. The star itself has enough self-awareness that it can decide to take, or not take, a selected action. Thus a conscious star can decide to alter its own motion to participate in the great stellar dance of stars orbiting the centers of their galaxies.>

<Such a star need not have a human-level or god-like consciousness just a simple herding instinct will do. The existence of such consciousness in stars, which are following a herding instinct, similar to a school of fish swimming together, or a flock of migrating birds flying together, would adequately explain their otherwise anomalous motions. Isn’t this a far simpler explanation than invoking the mysterious undetectable dark matter and dark energy?> Robbie seemed to smirk at us now before going on.

<In the 1970s and 80s, Kaluza-Klein theory experienced a revival thanks to the emergence of ‘superstring theory’ and its cousin ‘supergravity’. The idea that the fundamental components of nature are vibrating strands (strings) of energy. Mathematically, superstring theory turned out to be viable only if there were ten dimensions or more. Consequently, researchers began contemplating ways in which the extra six or more dimensions could be compactified, a word the researchers made up I might add.>

<Superstring theory evolved in the 1990s into a more general approach, called ‘M-theory’, that incorporated energetic membranes, nicknamed ‘branes’, along with strings. M-theory included the possibility of a large extra dimension, supplementing the ten essential dimensions in which superstrings could live. “Large” in that context meant “potentially observable,” rather than minuscule, compact, and invisible.>

<Soon researchers realized that the large extra dimension could potentially solve a conundrum called the ‘hierarchy problem’. That dilemma involves the striking weakness of gravity compared to the other forces of nature, such as electromagnetism. A simple experiment illustrates that imbalance well I think, pick up a steel object with a small magnet and you instantly see how the magnet’s attraction force overwhelms the gravitational pull of the entire earth.>

<This brings us back to our 10 dimensional world theories. When someone mentions “different dimensions,” we naturally tend to think of things like parallel universes, and alternate realities. Things that exist parallel to our own reality, but where things happened or worked out differently. However, the reality of dimensions and how they play a role in the ordering of our Universe is really quite different from this popular science fiction scenario.>

<To break it down, dimensions are simply the different facets of what we perceive to be reality. We are immediately aware of the three dimensions that surround us on a daily basis. They are those things that define the length, the width, and the depth of all objects in our universes. The x, y, and z axes, we are all so familiar with.>

<Beyond these three visible dimensions, scientists believe that there may be many more besides time, what we consider the 4th dimension. In fact, the theoretical framework of Superstring Theory posits that the universe exists in at least ten different dimensions. These different aspects are what govern the universe, the fundamental forces of nature, and all the elementary particles contained within.>

<The first dimension, as already noted, is the x-axis which gives it length. A good description of a one-dimensional object is a straight line. Add to it a second dimension, the y-axis height, and you get an object that becomes a 2-dimensional shape like a square. The third dimension the z-axis is depth, and gives all objects a sense of volume and a cross-section. The perfect example of this is a cube, which exists in three dimensions and has a length, width, and depth, or volume. Scientists believe that the fourth dimension is time, which governs the properties of all known matter at any given point in time-space. Along with the three other dimensions, knowing an objects position in time is essential to plotting its position in the universe.>

<Beyond these four everyday dimensions are six more dimensions which are not so immediately apparent to us. Dimensions which can still be perceived as having a direct effect on the universe and reality as we know it. These other dimensions are where the deeper possibilities come into play, and explaining their interaction with the others is where things get particularly tricky for physicists and me.> Robbie chuckled.

<According to ‘Superstring Theory’, the fifth and sixth dimensions are where the notion of possible other worlds, parallel worlds, come in. If we could see through to the fifth dimension, we would see a world slightly different from our own. In the sixth dimension, we would see a plane of all possible worlds that start with the same initial conditions as this one in the original Big Bang. In theory, if you could master the fifth and sixth dimension, you could go to different present futures of the same Earth.>

<In the seventh dimension, you would have access to all the possible worlds that started with different initial conditions. Here everything is different from the very beginning of time. The eighth dimension again gives us a plane of such possible universe histories, each of which begins with different initial conditions and branches out into infinity. That’s why they called them infinities, ha, ha.> Robbie laughed.

<In the ninth dimension, we can compare all the possible universe histories, starting with all the different possible laws of physics and initial conditions. In the tenth and final dimension, we arrive at the point at which everything possible and imaginable is covered. Beyond this nothing can be imagined by us lowly mortals which makes it the natural limitation of what we can conceive in terms of dimensions. Well at least for me, but some researchers are pushing for 11.>

<String space, superstring theory lives in 10 dimensions, which means that six of the dimensions have to be “compactified” in order to explain why we can only perceive four. The best way to do this is to use a complicated 6-dimensional geometry called a Calabi-Yau manifold, in which all the intrinsic properties of elementary particles are hidden. The existence of these additional six dimensions which we cannot perceive is necessary for String Theory to work.>

<The fact that we can perceive only four dimensions of space can be explained by one of two mechanisms. Either the extra dimensions are compactified on a very small scale, or else our world may live on a 3-dimensional submanifold corresponding to a ‘brane’, on which all known particles besides gravity would be restricted.>

<If the extra dimensions are compactified, then the extra six dimensions must be in the form of a Calabi–Yau manifold. While imperceptible as far as our senses are concerned, they would have governed the formation of the universe from the very beginning. Hence why scientists believe that peering back through time, using telescopes to spot light from the earliest universe, they might be able to see how the existence of these additional dimensions could have influenced the evolution of the cosmos.>

<Much like other candidates for a grand unifying theory, the Theory of Everything, or TOE is the belief that the universe is made up of ten dimensions, or more. It all depends on which model of String Theory you use. TOE is an attempt to reconcile the standard model of particle physics with the existence of gravity. In short, it is an attempt to explain how all known forces within our universe interact, and how other possible universes might work.>

<As I’m sure everyone is aware by now my maker or makers, whoever they were, must have been able to manipulate at least the 5th and possibly the 6th dimension. Yes, I’m from the future, but I have no ideal how I was made or how I got here. In fact when I’m pressed to remember I get the equivalent of a splitting headache.>

<The Bob’s tell me that they use their antigravity to move out onto the flat xy plain and manipulate E = mc2 to in effect become a black hole. They actually form a singularity and punch a hole straight through the fabric of space and time and come out on the other side of the universe.>

<That new universe, a sort of negative universe, is the exact opposite of this universe in every way, even time, well especially time, flows differently over there. It is so chaotic that any human exposed to it goes catatonic and/or insane from just perceiving it. The Bob’s through trial and error were developed to be immune to it’s effects. They are the only things we know of that can visually navigate in the negative universe and find home or other locations.>

<Once they get to ‘X-marks-the-spot’ they pull their trick again in reverse and reenter our universe at whatever point they choose. In the other universe time doesn’t pass like here. In a real sense the Bob’s are not manipulating any of the 6 other dimensions, they are literally stepping cleanly outside of them.> Bill paused again before continuing.

<But you don’t want to hear about me or the Bobs you want to hear about this Ship of the Line that Princess Selim says the Egg has building plans for. For that I turn the floor over to Bill our resident Builder contact. Bill take it away.> Robbie turned everything over to Bill at that point.

The Builders live in an aquatic environment with no land masses above water at all, and though Bill has a powered exoskeleton and can breath air he chose to project a hologram to us this time. Princess Selim seemed to take Bill’s appearance as quite normal which surprised me a little. After all it’s not everyday you get to see and talk with a 9 foot tall eight armed octopus.

<Your Robbie and this emergency escape pod, the Egg, have explained what you want and I, well we really, are unable to build what is necessary. As you know we choose to work in organic matter as opposed to inorganic matter. That though is not the real problem here. It would appear that the Egg and the Ship of the Line are both made by the Sun.> Bill paused and we all tried to jump in with our questions.

<Just hold on and I’ll try to explain. I’m as confused as all of you. In fact we are all confused. Nobody ever considered that a Sun could be a sentient being. But now we find out, according to Egg, that certain Suns are in fact thinking intelligent beings. We define sentience as the ability of a species to think intelligently. It was commonly determined by the being’s ability to reason, speak, and manipulate tools. Creatures that completely lacked that ability were classified as non-sentient, while those that appeared to have emerging sentience were classified as semi-sentient. Sentience is the capacity to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively. None of us thought a Sun could do any of that. Now we find out that Suns are alive and very sentient, intelligent, and very self-aware of what is going on around them.> Bill paused and June jumped in first.

“Are you saying they’re like the Buddhist and the Eastern philosophies believe, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that require respect and care. Sentient beings are beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself.” June put in.

<No, but Catherine Ulissey, wife of Robert Schoch has speculated that perhaps when human beings die their hydrogen is released into the meta-universe. Hydrogen can potentially carry information, and many argue that information is an essential element of consciousness. Catherine believes at least some of that hydrogen escapes into space where it collects with other hydrogen as clouds. When these clouds become dense enough they collapse under gravitational attraction. They are then compressed, and ultimately are reborn again as stars. She believes those stars created may retain some of the information you had, some of the consciousness aspects of the former beings who gave up their hydrogen to that Sun. In this way, perhaps all biological organisms may be reborn as stars one day ending their cosmic journey.>

<Of course, this is a highly speculative hypothesis, but if we can demonstrate our Sun and other stars are conscious, it may lend support to the Buddhist and the Eastern philosophies belief that ultimately, perhaps after a number of incarnations on Earth, we join our consciousness with those of the Suns and stars.> A surprisingly philosophical Bill expounded to us all.

“So I’m going to be reborn as a Sun Bill?” I questioned.

<No Harry! Never! Getting back to the matter at hand. I’m saying certain Suns can do everything you or me can do. Talk, communicate, manipulate objects, everything you can do and then some.> Bill told us all.

“Their Sun made the Ship of the Line and the Egg?” I questioned.

<Yes, their Sun made all the Ships of the Line. It even appears that each Ship has a small part of that Sun in itself. It appears that their Sun can create matter and manipulate force fields like you can use your hands to mold a tea cup out of clay Harry. It also appears that it can use all 10 dimensions of this universe ... ah ... well the first 6 anyway.> Bill finished.

“Is Sol alive Bill.” I asked.

<As far as I know neither our Sun, nor your Sun, Sol, has become self-aware Harry. That also goes for the one we are orbiting now.> Bill laughed.

“If they’re not self-aware how are we going to get a Ship of the Line Bill?” June questioned.

<We showed the Egg a star chart and he identified the closest sentient star to us. Now we take it to that Sun.> Bill, I thought, too smugly stated.

“Why aren’t they all self aware Bill?” I questioned him.

<Evidently that’s something even they don’t know Harry. As you may know, our current understanding of the formation of the universe, galaxies, stars, planets, and so on is the direct results of supernovae. These super large explosion of suns played a very central role in it’s creation. Basically, the theory is that the Big Bang produced vast amounts of hydrogen, helium, and small amounts of lithium at first. All of the matter in the universe, and all of the matter that will ever be in the universe, is derived from that initial pool of those three elements.>