Life As We Know It, Page 2

sun died). The gravitational pull of the black hole would be the same as that of our sun, and Mercury, the first planet from the sun, would orbit the black hole just outside of the event horizon without ever being dragged down.

  Amazing isn’t it?

  So, hypothetically speaking, what would you see if you somehow got too close to a black hole? This is where my story starts;

  We know that black holes are created by dying stars bigger than our sun, but they can come in various sizes depending on the gravitational pull and size of the singularity.

  When NASA detected an unknown object just beyond Pluto they studied it and on closer inspection it became apparent that what they saw was a black hole. Seeing that we knew our solar system pretty well as it is the neighbourhood we live in, nobody knew exactly where the black hole came from.

  Could it be possible that our solar system had two stars (the sun and this unknown one) at the dawn of time and that one of them imploded on itself to create a black hole that hid in the shadow of Pluto? Anything is possible, but why was it undetectable until now? Perhaps, because we felt so comfortable in our own solar system that scientists always tried to look beyond it for signs of life.

  The idea of an unidentified object being discovered in our own solar system always fascinated me ever since I watched an old space exploration movie from the 1970s called Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. In the movie NASA discovered a new planet on the far side of the sun – always out of sight as it moved in synchronicity with earth. It was an intriguing idea, but I never thought something like that would happen in real life.

  Okay, so we didn’t discover a new planet in our solar system, but we discovered something that wasn’t supposed to be there – something that raised more questions than answers, but no matter what questions it raised, one thing was for certain – it was a black hole.

  Our ship, The Dawn Explorer, left earth on March 4th, 2019 to inspect the ominous black sphere at the edge of our galaxy and by March 30th, 2020 The Dawn Explorer lost radio contact with Mission Control just beyond the rings of Saturn – we were on our own for the rest of the trip.

  I remember one night I had a dream about the black hole – something that fascinated me ever since I was a child and now I finally got the chance to see one for real.

  My crew of 6 and I detected a small black hole a few thousand miles from Saturn’s outer rings and identified the black hole purely by the interaction of the particles being sucked into the abyss and decided to get a closer look. The black hole was small – about ten feet across, so the event horizon is pretty much small to non-existent allowing me to get up close and personal with the black hole.

  I got close enough to the black hole that I could feel the gravitational pull tug at my space suit, but I decided to get closer for a better look. Because the hole doesn’t have mass (it is the absence of mass because the mass gave in on itself millions of years ago), I couldn’t see anything except a mysterious black orb – unlike those flat portable black holes the Roadrunner uses in cartoons.

  So I took out a small flashlight and tried to light up the abyss a few feet away, but the light that crosses the virtually undetectable event horizon got caught in the spiral and disappeared down the hole without ever illuminating anything for me to see.

  It’s human nature to be curious and drawn to the unknown and it’s maybe because of this that the absolute darkness and mysteriously infinite chasm dared me – or even compelled me – to venture even closer.

  I reached out towards the hole and the gravity started pulling at my fingers despite my best efforts to pull back. Because the gravitational pull is now much stronger at my fingers than at the rest of my body, I got pulled in and stretched out like spaghetti before finally disbursing into dust particles that spiralled down into the hole.

  At this point I fell out of the bunk bed with a jerk while Captain Brunner, who lay in the lower bunk reading a book, chuckled at me.

  “What was that?” He asked.

  “Nothing.” I said half embarrassed as I dusted myself off.

  Though my dream was a plausible scenario, I hoped that it wasn’t the fate that awaited us on the dark side of Pluto.

  The ship’s medic, Anna, came rushing in when she heard the thud and immediately wanted to check whether I had a concussion.

  “I’m fine.” I assured her.

  Anna and I grew up together and she always worried about me as if she was my older sister and sometimes I wondered whether she might’ve been in love with me, but never wanted to admit it. I knew about her numerous failed relationships and unrequited love stories all too well to understand why she’d rather stay friends with me.

  She lingered a moment longer to make sure I was alright and left as I got back onto the top bunk. I decided to catch up on some reading and took out my eBook reader.

  He stood on platform 3 of the Southgate train station when the antique clock mounted against the wall struck eleven with an almost inaudible tick. He glanced back at the clock which seemed to dissipate with age into the brick-faced wall, and then glimpsed down at his wristwatch; it was indeed eleven in the morning, which meant the train was late.

  To his left he spotted a gentleman with a top-hat and a black coat draped over his arm who also glanced at his pocket-watch before picking up his duffle bag and leaving.

  A woman sat on the bench behind him and crossed her legs as she paged through the newspaper. The headline caught his eye; ‘Hitler Dead.’

  The woman noticed him as he read the headline with his head askew and smiled at him over the rim of the newspaper. In awkward confusion, he turned away without returning the friendly gesture and stared at the train tracks as they disappeared into the distance.

  The delayed train was an inconvenience to him as he wanted to see his wife again. He was discharged from the army when it came to light he had a cardiovascular condition which he didn’t disclose on his recruitment forms – a condition which could not only place his own life in danger in the field, but other soldiers as well.

  The clock on the wall said it was just after eleven, but there was no sight of the train as more people gathered on the platform. Crowds made him restless – he never really liked throngs of people around him. The only person he wanted around him was Mary… if only the train was on time.

  He heard the sound of a newspaper being folded up followed by high-heels walking over to him, but he didn’t turn his sights in the direction of the sounds. From the corner of his eye he could see the woman from the bench standing next to him and flashing him a lipstick smile.

  “Just glad it’s not raining.” The woman said.

  “Sorry?” He finally asked.

  Though her lips were pure seduction and her eyes were enough to reel any man in, all he could think of was being reunited with Mary.

  “There’s nothing worse than waiting for a train in the rain.” She said with a smile.

  He nodded, but didn’t respond.

  “I’m Paige.” She said.

  He didn’t want to tell her his name – he wasn’t planning on socializing with strangers on the platform; socializing with strangers while waiting for the train made him uncomfortable – especially today. But then again, would he want rudeness to be the impression she is left with of him when they parted ways?

  “Jonathan.” He said with a forced smile.

  The wind was warm and dry as it grazed across Paige’s cheek and toyed with her curly black hair before it disappeared like a summer’s fling. She eyed him up and down – she always liked a man in uniform. There was just something about an officer, soldier or police man that intrigued her – perhaps the sense of authority.

  “You’re heading home?” She asked.

  “I’m going to see my wife again.” He said.

  She tried to hide her disappointment and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear.

  “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you again.” She said.

  The train approached from the south; the locom
otive pumped white smoke into the sky as it rushed along the tracks towards the station.

  “Seems like you’re in luck.” She said, “The train’s delay wasn’t a train-smash after all.”

  She chuckled at her own joke as he gave her a bemused look. She was clearly flirting, but he wasn’t interested; the bait dangled on the hook, but this fish wasn’t biting. He turned his sights on the approaching train and his wife’s face appeared in his mind – he longed to see her again. Too long had he spent restless nights dreaming of her; too long has he missed her kisses and her sweet laugh. The time had finally come for him to be reunited with his love.

  The train didn’t slow down as it approached the station and Page glanced at the locomotive with squinted eyes; trying to identify the train.

  “It’s the express.” She said disappointed, “It doesn’t stop here.”

  He glanced at her and said, “This is my train.”

  Jonathan stepped off the platform and in front of the train as it passed Paige who screamed in terror. The train’s hollering whistle overpowered Paige’s scream as it came to a screeching halt; Jonathan had caught the train that would reunite him with his wife.

  The end. Wow. I did not see that ending coming. I liked a story that wasn’t afraid of pushing the envelope and hit me with a surprise twist at the end.

  Buck came in with that big, red beard of his and announced that lunch was ready. Though he was the astrophysicist, he was also the designated cook