Shadow of Heaven Page 21

  Her gaze locked with his. “Harry, there is so much we left undone, unsaid. Do you know I never got to hear you play your clarinet for me? I mean really play it, not just a few notes at that disastrous dinner. I so wish I had. I could hold on to that memory too. I want to thank you again for introducing me to this amazing world of art … and food!”

  Again she laughed, brightly. “I love to eat now!” She sobered. “You’ve opened my eyes to so much. You’ve changed me forever. And I’m hoping that somehow I can find a way to live in my world with those changes, maybe even teach others about what I’ve discovered. You all kept talking about my world, my universe, as the Shadow universe. Well, to me, you are in the Shadow universe, and mine is the so-called real one. We could be mixing, even now, blending into one another without knowing it, thinking we’re so far away when—”

  Her voice caught. “I want to think of it that way. I want you to imagine that I’m right there, part of you, all the time.”

  Her image blurred. Kim blinked his eyes angrily.

  “I am your shadow, Harry Kim.” She was crying now. “I am your shadow, and you are mine. If we believe this, then we will never be without each other. Every time you stand in the light, you’ll see me in your shadow, and know that I love you, and will remember you always. Be well, Harry.”

  She kissed her fingers and pressed them to the screen in front of her. Kim did likewise. Then the screen was dark. He sat for a long moment, then rose with purpose.

  “Lights,” he called. “Full brightness.”

  The room suddenly flooded with light. Before Harry lay the dark length of his shadow, its outline crisp and clean in the bright illumination.

  Shadow universes, dark matter, unfathomable technologies, enemies who became friends, art, music, food, love. All rolled into one strange, precious ball called life. Despite all the pain and fear and losses and discouragement, he was glad he was living it.

  I never realized just how important it is to fully live every day, every minute.

  He gazed at his shadow, and remembered Khala.

  CODA

  JANEWAY WAS HAPPILY CURLED UP IN BED, A STEAMING mug of decaffeinated coffee at her side, with a book propped up on her knees. The door chimed.

  “Come,” she called, wondering who it could be at this late hour.

  It was Seven. She had an expression on her face that Janeway couldn’t quite interpret. “Please forgive the interruption,” she said, “but I thought you might find this of interest. I found it in Dr. R’Mor’s quarters.”

  Janeway felt a pang. Weeks had passed since they had said their farewell to the Romulan scientist and left him to his destiny. It had been fulfilled; Janeway had checked. Telek R’Mor had indeed died in the year 2367, as he was supposed to if the true timeline was to be preserved.

  She rose and accepted the padd Seven handed her. Her eyes widened as she glanced at it. “Did you … ?”

  “No. I did not read it, once I determined what it was.” Again, the odd look. Janeway realized that Seven was struggling with grief, and compassion filled her.

  “Thank you, Seven. Dismissed.”

  Seven nodded her blond head and left. Janeway sank back onto the bed, the coffee and book forgotten. Telek was not one to be caught off-guard. He had prepared for everything, even his eventual trial and Right of Statement.

  Her eyes filled with tears as she read, sorrow warring with admiration for the keen brain as well as the bright soul.

  FINAL STATEMENT OF DR. TELEK R’MOR

  Presented as a Heartfelt Warning

  I stand before you as a condemned prisoner. But prisoner or no, I am a Romulan, and to that end I have prepared this, my final statement. I do not question the decision reached by my peers, nor is this a plea for a different, more favorable verdict. Rather, I take this opportunity to warn you of a terrible danger that is encroaching upon us even as I speak.

  It may seem peculiar that I use this last opportunity for my voice to be heard to speak of scientific matters. But hear me out, and perhaps this statement may serve some greater purpose. I speak of dark matter—and dark matters.

  WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT DARK MATTER

  A few hundred years ago, we knew very little about this matter which composes over ninety percent of our universe. We knew it was there only because we could see the effect it had on the galaxy. The outer regions of galaxies, for example, rotate faster than they should if visible matter was all there was in the galaxy. Like the hands of a puppeteer, whose gestures make the puppet dance, so dark matter exercises its gravitational power on visible matter.

  There were two theories, both of which have proved to be correct, as to the identity of this mysterious matter. The first theory was that dark matter was composed of dark stars or large, planet-like bodies, or ECHOs—Enormous Compact Halo Objects, which for various reasons did not emit or reflect light or radiation. These would be composed of what we call “baryonic matter.” Baryonic matter can also be called “ordinary matter,” in that it is matter as we know it, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. This is the matter that makes up our bodies, our clothing, computers, and stars.

  Observation nearly four hundred years ago showed that these ECHOs—which did indeed prove to be made up of ordinary matter—do exist. But this was only half the puzzle. Where, and what, was the rest of the matter of the universe? It could not be baryonic, or else we would have been able to identify it. It therefore stood to reason that the rest of the dark matter was made up of some kind of exotic matter with which we were entirely unfamiliar—and was nothing like ordinary matter.

  It was only when we became capable of deep-space exploration that the second half of the puzzle fell into place. The rest of the dark matter is particles that interact weakly with other objects. We first encountered them a mere hundred years ago, when we became aware of the existence of something we call “dark-matter nebulas.” These are collections of billions of dark-matter particles—which, in and of themselves, weigh an infinitesimal amount—into a visible nebula. I will refer to this later, in what I call the Colossal Mistake of dark matter mis-identification.

  So—we were satisfied. All parties were correct. There were ECHOs and weakly interacting particles, all matter was present and accounted for—even if, to this very day, we still cannot say with any certainty precisely what the weakly interacting particles (which I refer to as “dark matter” from this point forward, as we do know what the ECHOs are) truly are composed of.

  NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT DARK MATTER

  We Romulans are concerned with things which are of value to us. We pursue paths that will help further the interests of the Empire. Scientific exploration of a venue for its own sake is not encouraged. As I stand facing my death, I speak up now, and condemn this policy. For thus it was that we made the Colossal Mistake.

  We assumed that the reason we could not see dark matter was that it was too small to be viewed, unless it was gathered together in a dark-matter nebula with which we are familiar, or as a dark-matter galaxy—something which we have never yet encountered. We were wrong in this assumption.

  Let me state this as plainly as I may, for this is vital to the comprehension of our present situation:

  Dark matter is only visible when it interacts with subspace distortions, as in a dark-matter nebula.

  We had made the Colossal Mistake of assuming that dark matter, apart from the known and understood baryonic-matter ECHOs, gathered together solely in clusters as dark-matter nebulas and galaxies. The truth is, dark matter is very nearly omnipresent. There are untold amounts of it in this room right now, perhaps hundreds of particles in a single strand of Romulan hair. We can’t measure it—why? We can’t see it—why? Why, when we can see and measure it in a dark-matter nebula?

  The reason dark matter is detectable and even visible to the naked eye in a dark-matter nebula is that the interaction with subspace which renders dark matter visible also pulls it completely into this universe. The staggering secret behind dark ma
tter is this—it exists simultaneously in all universes, never completely in one universe. This is why it is like the Earthers’ “little man upon the stair.” It is and isn’t “there.” It helps our universe exist in its present fashion—and who knows how many other universes it is helping to keep stable as well.

  DARK MATTER, THE SHEPHERDS, AND US

  We had no way of knowing the information I have just cited, but Lhiau did. He and the other Shepherds have spent eons manipulating dark matter, and they understand its nature very, very well. We know how the Shepherds’ apparatus works. It gathers particles of dark matter directly to it, as a magnet attracts metal. We do not understand why the apparatus works, but our best minds are hard at work at deciphering this mystery. It is better to not be in debt to anyone. We Romulans know that.

  Because dark matter is not completely of this universe, it therefore cloaks any object with a material that is not completely of this universe. What this does is effectively render the cloaked object utterly invisible, without moving it out of our universe. Any hints of its existence are wiped out. It is, as Lhiau promised us, a cloak without flaw.

  The Shepherds’ skill in manipulating dark matter has also enabled us to create wormholes of practically limitless size and of limitless stability. My years of effort at creating a stable wormhole of any useful size are well documented and I shall not waste precious time in summarizing them now. I will say that it has long been common knowledge that it is not finding the wormholes in space that is the problem, it is enlarging them and keeping them stable. Any kind of normal, baryonic matter tends to collapse under its own gravitational attraction unless something else stops it. We knew that the only way to keep a wormhole open would be to thread it with some sort of exotic material—something that has negative energy.

  The same technology that summons dark matter to act as a cloak on our warbirds calls it to enter the artificial wormhole, providing that much-needed negative energy and resulting in stability and enlargement.

  Now, such would seem to be a good thing, a powerful thing. But oh my colleagues, oh my leaders—we are blind children if we think these blessings all come without a terrible, terrible price.

  THE TRUTH ABOUT DARK MATTER AND THE SHEPHERDS

  Who were we, truly, to be the beneficiaries of such pure kindness? The Shepherds are no friends to the Romulans, to the Federation, to anyone or anything currently existing in this galaxy. Lhiau and his colleagues have an agenda, and it is one that calls for nothing less than the utter obliteration of every universe in existence.

  And they are using us to bring this about.

  Before I elaborate, let me digress briefly and refer to theories regarding the end of the universe. Many pages have been devoted to this eventuality. We know that the universe is expanding and has been since its creation. Some believe that the universe is “open,” and it will continue to expand forever. Matter will be spread ever more sparsely, and the average temperature of the universe will fall steadily toward absolute zero. Pundits have dubbed this the “Freeze.”

  Others feel that there is enough matter present in the universe to stop this expansion. Everything will start collapsing back inward. The universe will become compressed, become a “closed” universe. This is called the “Squeeze.”

  Such playful terms are indicative of the cavalier attitude shown toward the eventual death of the universe and all things living within it. That is because, at its present rate, the universe should continue as it is for an unimaginably long time—1 followed by 100 zeroes. Our star system, in comparison, has a scant twenty billion years before it dies. We will be long gone before our universe is.

  Or so we had thought.

  Both theories on the universes hinge on the amount of matter present—too much, the Squeeze, too little, the Freeze. Therefore, obviously, dark matter, which comprises ninety percent of the matter in the universe, has a significant role to play in either scenario.

  But there is a third option. It has long been dismissed by our scientists as completely unrealistic, and that is the concept that our universe is neither open nor closed, but flat. All theories involve the concept of a critical density, which is roughly equal to one hydrogen atom per cubic meter, or about one ounce for every 50 billion cubic miles. If the actual density of the universe were greater than this critical density by a factor as small as one part in a trillion, the universe is closed. If it were less by an equally tiny amount, the universe is open. A flat universe is one in which the density is exact. If our universe is indeed flat, it would keep expanding, but at a slower rate, never quite turning the corner. It would exist forever.

  Of course, such a thing could never naturally occur. In that, I agree with our scientists.

  But what about unnaturally? Suppose, for the last few billion years, the matter in our universe has been toyed with, a little taken here, a little put there, to keep it precisely at the critical density?

  That, my colleagues, is what the Shepherds have been doing. They even took the name in acknowledgment of their actions; good shepherds, tending their sheep with care. For this, we ought to be grateful.

  But there are other Shepherds who have long disagreed with this intervention, even though countless life-forms depend on this balance. Shepherds like Lhiau, who would destroy this universe and others as well, simply to see what else would happen, what new universes would crop up in our wake.

  These rogue Shepherds have taken vows that forbid them to directly intervene, but there is nothing that prevents them from urging us, comparatively tiny, pathetic life-forms that we are, to unwittingly hasten our own destruction.

  CLOAKS, DARK MATTER, AND THE SHADOW UNIVERSE

  The gift of the dark-matter cloaks, the gift of the wormholes—these are but the weapons with which we will destroy ourselves and our very universe. We thought we understood dark matter, and to an extent, we do. In its natural state, it is utterly harmless. As I said before, it is likely passing through our bodies at this very moment.

  But the dark matter that is summoned by the Shepherd technology, the dark matter that is brought into a wormhole, which is a different sort of space than any other—this dark matter has been mutated. We can detect it, much the same way we can detect it in a subspace rift, and for much the same reasons.

  It has been changed.

  There is a precedent for such mutations. We know that one type of neutrino can be changed into any one of another two types. An electron neutrino, the most common sort, can be changed into either a muon or a tauon neutrino. This is what has happened with the dark-matter particles.

  No longer does it pass harmlessly through bodies, or machines. It is now fully of this universe, thanks to Shepherd tampering, and it lodges inside solid matter instead of passing through it. Once there, it acts like a foreign piece of matter—which indeed it is. It begins to replicate itself like a virus, ultimately destroying whatever is hosting it—the table, the star, flesh, mind, body. Our ships that have the dark-matter cloaks will eventually be useless, and the people aboard killed or driven insane.

  Worse still, this tips the delicate balance so carefully tended by the Shepherds. There is more matter in the universe than there ought to be now, and this is disrupting the balance in other universes as well. Matter which exists in another universe is being pulled into ours at an exponential rate. Far sooner than anyone had dreamed—a few years, months, or perhaps days or even minutes—our universe will have too much matter and undergo the Big Crunch. Other universes will suffer the same fate. Still others will have too little matter to continue, and suffer the Big Chill.

  And all this, we have done ourselves. We, in our desire for conquest, have played directly into the hands of aliens who will not suffer for their crimes, for they exist in the rifts between universes. They will be fine. The board will be cleared, ready for a new “game.”

  The rogue Shepherd’s diabolical plan must be stopped.

  WHAT WE CAN DO

  We are fortunate that in this battle for ou
r very existence, we have allies—the true Shepherds, who are as appalled at Lhiau’s renegade activities as we are. They have been busily trying to curb the damage themselves, by gathering up the mutated dark matter and rendering it harmless. To this end, they have enlisted the aid of the starship Voyager, as time is of the essence.

  Yes, I admit it is true that the superior cloaks would give us a tactical advantage. The wormholes, aided by the mutated dark matter, enable us to open corridors virtually anywhere in this or other universes. But such advantages are not worth their price—the destruction of our universe at worst, the deaths of thousands of Romulans at best. We must no longer volunteer to aid our own destruction. We must cease using all Shepherd technology and lend our aid to the true, right task. And somehow, we must return the Shadow matter to its rightful universe.

  In conclusion, there is only one enemy now—the rogue Shepherds, led by Lhiau. We have been gulled like foolish children, led to destroy ourselves. But now we know, and we shall not be misled any further.

  We shall rally like the warriors we are, to save our universe and ourselves.

  On a final, personal note, I hope that the above shows that I am no traitor. I am a true Romulan. I have lived like one, and now I am prepared to die like one, ever in service, mind and heart, to the Empire. I do not mourn death, for I shall merely be following my wife and my daughter—also true Romulans, who, I am certain, died well.

  I thank you for this statement, and I hope you heed the warnings of one lone scientist. Long live the Empire!

  * * *

  “Long live the Empire,” said Janeway softly, “when there are men such as you in it, Telek R’Mor.”