The Vault Of Time
(cliff hanger series)by Edward Owens
“So you are saying that knuckle draggers making a blood sacrifice could actually be accomplishing something?” Dr. Brenner said looking at Dr. Walters like he was an alien.
“If they do it right. Know the right procedure.” Walters said holding out his hand.
“Procedure? You mean ritual? How does that even make sense in a scientific material world.” Brenner said handing Walters the sample.
Walters took the sample and examined it.
“Now this is number 43 from inside the block right?”
“Dead center actually. What would be the abdominal cavity.”
“I can’t wait to see the completed MRI scans. I hope our core samples didn’t damage the structure much. We are definitely looking at fossilized bone.”
“Yeah I got that when you called and said - Hey Donald I’ve got some fossilized bone for you to look at from the Marianas Trench. Okay so back to the ritual thingy.”
“Okay the theory...” Dr. Walters began.
“Theory?” Dr. Brenner said raising an eyebrow.
“Okay the conjecture. The conjecture is that the fields that are already established in the DNA that makes up the gametes at the moment of conception have to be compatible. That’s number one. Otherwise you get spontaneous abortions or no fertilization at all. As the embryo grows so does the complexity of the field surrounding the organism. The trillions of atoms, billions of molecules, millions of proteins, etc. That energy is an extension of the ephemeral universe...” Walters began again.
“Ephemeral Universe? You mean temporary?” Dr. Brenner said looking interested.
“Yup. The layer of the universe that is mutable unlike say a black hole or something substantial anchored to space by gravity. Gravity is what forces a star into a certain shape and the heat and electromagnetic energy created by the fusion flies out where it can when an imbalance develops and allows for it thus making it a more chaotic system. On the other hand, such as in living organisms, when given the time and freedom to slowly grow and accomodate each other the forces form a coherent pattern. This is present in all life. Now if you imagine that force of energy is like a standing column of water in your sink and you suddenly release it what happens?” Dr. Walter said pressing buttons and watching the computer screen.
“It falls into the rest, becomes reabsorbed, and ripples back and forth until the energy is expended.” Dr. Brenner said.
“Well put. Actually better than my metaphor. And that is of course in opposition to say a star that if it were to suddenly disappear, which would be a scary thought if it could happen, but if it did the loss of gravitational attraction would spread out at the speed of light and everything along the path of that growing or actually disappearing gravity field would stop following the warp in space time created by the star and just head off in more or less a straight line.” Dr. Walters continued.
“Okay. I’m with you so far but how does that relate to ritual killing?”
“Like I said the energy field that grew from two cells into a living being is coherent as long as life remains in the body. Once life stops that energy remains complex for a short while and then dissipates over time. If you realize that all things in the ephemeral universe or in the vicinity of the ephemeral setting are also ephemeral its like water absorbing water. If the conditions are made right you can absorb the energy of the victim.”
“And chanting and waving your arms up and down or passing stones across someone can do this?”
“I’m not saying it is common but if the proper arrangement of other ephemeral elements are present and orderly, kind of a feng shui thing, that energy, whatever it might be, could be channeled into something or someone acting as a receiver. Like a radio picking up a signal.”
Brenner grimaced.
“What are the odds that anyone ever figured out how to make that work?”
“Pretty slim I would bet but it might occur naturally so that a death near a material of the right matrix might act as a conduit or vessel.”
“And you believe that nonsense?” Brenner said grinning and making a face.
“Oh hell no. But it was an interesting idea. And you must admit the energy must go somewhere.”
“Thermodynamics rules!” Brenner shouted holding up his arm and making a number one jesture.
“Word to your momma.”
“So what’s his next lecture about? I’m curious now.” Brenner asked handing Walters another sample.
Walters took the sample. Waited for the mass spec to finish the last sample and then exchanged the old with the new and sat back.
“There that should do it. We have the stone, the bone, and the surrounding rock. Radiometric and mass spec in progress.”
“The next lecture. What is it?” Brenner asked sitting back in his lab chair.
“Ghosts and the holographic universe.” Walters said.
“Interesting. I think I can already see where that might work. The universe is recording us I guess is the theory.”
“That’s my guess. He throws zingers out there though. I go more for the zingers than the baseline idea. I like to guess like you just did and then see if he went a different way.”
“And this guy used to be a physicist?”
“Yup, until he had a mental break down. The word is that he solved the unified field theory but won’t tell anyone because it’s too dangerous. He’s afraid we will Big Bang ourselves like the last occupants of the last universe. Apparently its not that hard to upset the apple cart.”
“Nuts.”
“Maybe, but he is brilliant too. They often go hand in hand.” Walters remarked watching the computer screen.
Suddenly he sat up in his chair.
“Donald look at that!”
Dr. Brenner leaned. He read the data points. He cocked his head.
“What the frog. That can’t be right. Our samples are mixed up.”
Dr. Walters frowned.
“Dammit. Do you have back ups?” Walters asked.
“I have five representative samples. Two bone, two stone inside skeletal structure, one stone outside.” Brenner said turning back to his hooded station. Five samples waited in a row.
“Okay I’m clearing it. Give me a second.”
Dr. Walters cleared the machines and reset the systems. Over the next hour the samples were retested. When the last sample was loaded Walters sighed.
“What time is it?” Brenner asked stretching.
“Late. Let’s get this data and call it a night. I’m beat.”
“Deal.” Brenner said sitting back in his chair again.
Walters didn’t sit back this time. Instead he waited watching the computer screen hunched over. The data started coming in a few minutes later.
Walters looked at Brenner. Brenner shook his head.
“That just can’t be right. How do you get thirteen thousand year old bone inside a two hundred and fifty million year old rock? In what universe is that possible? What possible scenario could account for that?”
Walters just stared.
“Come on Gabe it has to be wrong. Even if that were not mineralized bone how could younger rock, the shape of a bone, end up in a rock hundreds of millions of years older, in the deepest point on earth?” Brenner said waving his hand at the machine. “I’m tired, your tired, lets pack it in and start over tomorrow.”
Walters stood up and stretched a look of disappointment on his face.
“Yeah. We’ll clean everything out tomorrow. Get some fresh samples and start over. Karen should be done with the stone by then. Actually she should be done by now. How long does a fricking MRI take?” Walters said annoyed.
The two grabbed their jackets turning off machines as they went. Saving their work. Their mistakes. The two shrugged to each other as they headed to the door. Dr. Walters reached for the doorknob. It turned in his hand. He backed up.
Karen Wojenskowski opened the door.
“Ah there you two are. Glad I caught you. Here’s your scans. Funny stuff. Not sure if a practical joke is worth four grand and the crud in my machine but still funny stuff.”
Walters and Brenner looked at each other. Karen handed Walters a flash drive.
“What’s the problem?” Brenner spoke up first.
“I don’t know how you faked that rock but it was a good job. I’m not a geologist so maybe its not that hard to fool an imaging tech. Thanks for wasting my time. I’m done. Enjoy your family pictures.”
Karen rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned sharply and walked back down the hall.
Walters looked at Brenner and at the flash drive. He walked over to the computer and booted it back up.
“Jeez these things are slow.” Brenner said shifting around like he had to use the bathroom.
The computer finished booting. Walters stuck the flash drive in the USB port. The computer recognized the new device and asked what to do with it. Walters chose View Images. A gallery of thumbnails popped up. Walters clicked on the first then each one in succession. The two stood dumbfounded. Brenner shook his head his hand covering his mouth.
On the screen was the perfect outline of the oblong stone that had been recovered by Deep Scrapper a deep sea recovery robot sent into the trench six months before. Inside the outline of the stone was the nearly perfect ghostly white image of a person curled in the fetal position one hand in front of its face as if trying to block something. A few centimeters from the hand was the outline of an object that looked like a small box.
“Weird.” Was all Brenner could think to say.
“Word.” Walters replied.
TO BE CONTINUED....
