Through Time, Darkly

[Pryce]

[color=#FFFF00]Main Hangar Bay

Graham frowned slightly He doesn't know anything. This will complicate the research.


Samantha Ross furrowed her brow. So he didn't accomplish this himself. What would that leave? She considered options. A natural phenomenon, some form of quantum tunnelling perhaps? That would be interesting. Or unatural means, technology. Not likely, not if He is unaware of any such technology in use.


Doctor Owens spoke; "I was thinking that we may be looking at an instance of a wave coupling effect of some type, or perhaps a classical presentation of matter-energy conversion. Of course then there would have to be a resultant energy to matter return."


E = mc2 Denise thought.. No, that's not it. She spoke; "You're talking about something like quantum tunnelling," (Voicing Ross' thoughts) "But consider this." She walked slightly around the table, stopping next to Doyle and Graham. The makeup might be hiding the circles under her eyes, but the long day and night, then day again , was starting to catch up with her. She continued; "You're talking about a random movement of particles, a very complex pattern of particles, which theoretically could slip through space-time and appear anytime, at any random point in the universe." She gestured at Doyle; "What are the odds that he would appear in the Sirius sector, exactly where the Alliance arrived after leaving Sol?" Not to mention in one piece, with his ship and everything. A point she left unsaid.


Doctor Owens replied. "That would be rather unlikely." Something of an understatement.


Doctor Donovan spoke for the first time; "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. May I propose we learn more about the craft he came here in? It certainly appears to be several hundred years old. We should attempt to determine that actual age of the materials it is composed of. "


Graham answered; "I see, if we have a craft as old as the Alliance-Coalition war, that would indicate arrival through more standard means, like stasis or.." Graham stopped, realizing that for that to be the case, Doyle would likely know of it.


Donovan picked up on the inference, and glanced at Doyle. He's not telling us everything


Doctor Owens, if he had reached the same conclusion, apparently didn't react to it visually."If the vessel was relatively *new*in terms of the age of it's components, that would point towards an instantaneous transport, supporting the tunnelling hypothesis."


Or that this is an elaborate hoax Donovan thought.


Ross thought carefully. "Is there anyone in the Institute staff suitable for performing that type of analysis?


After a moment, Graham spoke: "I can't think of anyone. I know Doctor Cook hasn't expressed an interest in restaffing that field since most of the Metallurgy Department was killed in Kansas." Indeed, the departments section in the Institute building had been reassigned to the Astronomy branch months ago.


The comment, innocuous to the rest of the staff, felt like a knife to the heart for Denise. She was tired, her normal defenses were down, and she hadn't expected it. A look of shock and pain crossed her face in a quick flash. "Excuse me." She muttered, her eyes already faintly damp. She turned, leaving the hangar. The men on the staff didn't seem to notice.


Ross, knowing Denises' connection to the comment, watched her leave, concern apparent in her expression. I'll have to talk to her later.


Doctor Graham considered the aspects of what was being discussed. He spoke; "Mr. Doyle, can you be certain you were the only person left? I think we can all agree that this event is not likely to be a natural occurrence. Could the Alliance have developed some type of transportation technology? Maybe something that was used on you, maybe even accidently?"


Ross spoke before Doyle could respond; "That still doesn't account for the time variance. Being instantly transported to Sirius wouldn't account for why it would take from the War to eight-eighteen AS to arrive here. In fact, he ought to have arrived before the sleeper ship did."


Doctor Owens responded. "However, if we are to consider a technology based on quantum relativity, the time difference is not paticularly important. Suppose it was an imperfect technology, where the physical destination could be determined, but not the temporal one. After all, to have the year eight-eighteen be the year where the Lieutenant arrives seems fairly random. Why now? "


Donovan spoke; "Fair conjecture. But we should still establish more basic information. He looked at Doyle. "Mr. Doyle, what about your memory of your journey here? What is your first memory of being in Sirius?" He had decided to pursure the idea that Doyle might have been in some kind of stasis. At least until a proper study could be preformed on the vessel.

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