The Alien's Secret Volume 1. Robert M. Doroghazi

passing a precisely aimed laser pulse from the satellite toward the black hole through the one-micron space between the mirrors. By producing the virtual-real photons in such proximity to the black hole, they will be immediately pulled through the event horizon before they can cancel each other out—before they can annihilate. Because the laser pulse is directed at the black hole, the vector of generation ensures the photon pair will be directed toward the event horizon. The pair will then travel almost to the singularity at the center of the black hole. The real photon will be absorbed into the particle soup of the singularity, but because of gravitational repulsion, the virtual photon will be expelled back through the event horizon, where we can detect it with the sensors attached to the mirrors.”

      Rankin finished his explanatory presentation with how the information obtained would allow him to study the black hole, and how the Cube would generate the energy and beam it back to Oria.

      He then showed two images. The first was of the Cube as it would appear in space, completely surrounding the binary.

      The second was the real shop-stopper: the Cube as it would appear from Oria. There were even “ohs” and “ahs” from those in the laboratory as the image came on the screen. His audience visualized looking up at the sky, and always there, day and night, month after month, year after year, century after century, seeing a structure five times larger around the sun, making it look like a face on a television screen. The largest inhabitant of the Orian heaven: and it was man-made. Rankin did what only the truly great can do; he captured people’s imagination. Rankin then switched to the matter at hand, the experiment to study the inside of the black hole. There was a live image from a camera atop one of the satellites. He said, “These ten metal spheres that will enter the black hole were released four hours ago from a space station on the side of the black hole opposite the star Mhairi.”

      Three minutes before the first sphere was to enter the black hole, the cameras began to switch alternately from the spheres as they raced toward the black hole to Rankin’s continued explanation of the demonstration.

      Revealing what he already knew under the guise of a prediction, Rankin began, “This is a schematic representation of what we expect will be the behavior, course and path of the spheres after they disappear from our direct view into the black hole beyond the event horizon.”

      As long as they lived, everyone remembered what they were doing, how old they were, where they lived, and their exact thoughts when the great Rankin conducted the demonstration that unlocked the secrets of the black hole and initiated the modern history of Oria. His controlled emotions, simple yet precise, and some said, authoritative explanation, along with his modest and sincere behavior inspired confidence in this and every future generation of Orians. To see this young man explaining theories that were about to change an entire civilization, and the galaxy, in the manner he did was a singular event never forgotten by those fortunate enough to witness it.

      With exactly one minute to go, the paired mirrors had reached their final position. The lasers, suddenly glowing bright red, shot their invisible yet precisely-aimed beams at the one micron space between the mirrors. The computer screen displaying the demonstration filled the entire field of view. The black hole, with the event horizon highlighted by a yellow line similar to the first down line added to the football game, was at the center but occupied only one-half the screen. On the upper right, the camera followed in real time the metal spheres as they approached the black hole.

      Rankin stopped talking. Everyone was silent as the countdown clock noted: five—four—three—two—one—zero.

      The first metal sphere passed the yellow line of the event horizon. It disappeared instantly: ZAP, it was gone. Now there were nine spheres. ZAP: now eight. ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP. All gone, disappeared.

      The instant a sphere crossed the event horizon it began to accelerate and simultaneously decrease in size. In just 0.0000016 seconds it was gone. The recordings had to be replayed at one-ten millionth speed to appreciate the findings. In barely more than ten seconds, all the spheres had disappeared to the center of the black hole, their exact course plotted to the nanosecond.

      Within four minutes the computers had plotted a gravitational, thermal, and topographical map of the black hole. There were no alternate universes, no worm holes to other ends of the galaxy, and no evidence of the past or the future, as some well-respected scientists had predicted. There were also no three-headed aliens, or King Kong or Godzilla-like monsters. From the event horizon to the singularity, it was a vacuum.

      In just one more minute the computer calculated the most important number of all: the volume of the singularity. It was ten to the minus thirty-three centimeters, a one preceded by a decimal point and thirty-two zeros. An unimaginably small area, a churning soup of subatomic particles that contained a mass more than three times the star Mhairi.

      The findings were displayed next to Rankin’s predictions. Everything. Absolutely everything was exactly as Rankin had predicted.

      The camera flashed to Rankin. He never looked directly at the audience or into the camera, but instead kept his eyes on the screen. Some thought he had the slightest of smiles. It was not a gloat, just the look of satisfaction that he had done what he set out to do, what he told everyone he would do. Rankin nodded his head several times but said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. Words would have only detracted from the obvious, from his triumph.

      The camera showed the “honored” guests. At first everyone was silent; they really couldn’t believe what they had seen. But then the stunning Csomor, to her everlasting credit, started to clap…X…X…X…X. She was joined by Omerah. The clapping got louder and faster...XX..XX..XX..XX. Then Bowher, then the scientists, then everyone…everyone everywhere—in the schools, the factories, the shops, people at home—they began to cheer, to raise up their arms, to hug each other, to dance. Outside the large cities, the roar could be heard ten kilometers away.

      Rankin had unlocked the secrets of the power of the black hole.

      But WhoaohW was nowhere to be found. Everyone knew Rakesohn was utterly humiliated—except Rakesohn. He wasn’t silenced or even humbled. When interviewed after the demonstration, he was as vocal as ever. Holding up both hands as if preaching a sermon, he said with the gravest of voices, “I knew we wouldn’t see The Great WhoaohW.” He put his right hand over his heart, and bowed his head slightly, and said, “To me this is just further proof of His existence, His presence, and of His Almighty Power. WhoaohW was not seen because he would not allow himself to be seen.”

      The demonstration had profound implications far beyond Rakesohn, Rankin, WhoaohW, and the black hole. It appears it is easier to prove there is not a god than to prove there is one.