Absolute Zero

By Mathe Storm

The conference room door swung wide as Doctor Rebecca Yates breezed in, and the two men who’d been waiting almost twenty minutes rose to greet her. Doctor Matthew Palmer was immediately taken by the elegant woman before them. She was youthful with a pretty smile—not at all what he’d expected of such a notable physicist.
“I’m Agent Don Nichols, Homeland Security, and this is Doctor Matthew Palmer from NASA.” Nichols gestured in Matthew’s direction without taking his eyes off his target.
Matthew shook the woman’s hand and looked into cool, intelligent, blue eyes. He noticed her dangling earrings that resembled the double helix of DNA, and her necklace with a dainty silver cross nestled above her cleavage.
Rebecca smiled as she shook hands with the two serious looking men, neither of whom smiled in return.
“Please, take a seat,” Agent Nichols motioned toward the glass table that took up the central part of the conference room. She took a seat, and Agent Nichols sat directly opposite her, leaving Matthew to take the seat next to his.
“We appreciate you taking the time to meet with us, Doctor Yates,” Nichols began in a serious tone, his unflinching gaze causing Rebecca some unease.
She ignored her discomfort and kept up her smile. “Can I ask what this is about?”
“We have reason to believe you and your team made a significant breakthrough in the area of ultra-cold particle physics,” Nichols stated, his eyes studying her for any change in expression. “The government has a particular interest in your work. We would like to know the details of that breakthrough and what your team has discovered.”
Rebecca’s gray-blue eyes widened, then narrowed, her smile now gone. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. I can’t divulge anything about our recent work. I’m sure you understand how sensitive such data is before it’s been published.”
Matthew decided it was time to speak up. “Doctor Yates, I can’t stress to you enough how important this information is to us. It could potentially save countless lives. It is a matter of great urgency.”
Rebecca looked from one man to the other. “How can it save lives?”
“All you need to know is that this is a matter of utmost importance to the security and wellbeing of our nation and the entire world,” Agent Nichols said, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Please answer our questions,” he pressed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marstro Press
• Release date: Apr 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224803620

Book preview

One

Voyager 2 sailed through the cold vastness of space, its dish pointing back at the solar system it has left far behind, the sun now a distant yellow dot still gleaming. In the dim light beyond the heliosphere the probe is not much more than a silhouette against the glistening Milky Way, its limited cycle motion gently rocking it back and forth catching a faint glint off the etched metallic case containing greetings from the planet Earth.

In a blink the craft vanishes altogether, leaving only a momentary warping of starlight rippling across an invisible surface.

Doctor Matthew Palmer contemplated the dark mirrored building before him as he approached its entrance. It had a modern, sleek look befitting its use as a high-tech particle physics lab, but to him it reflected the dark foreboding he’d felt for several months now—and the reason he was here.

Hey, hold up, his stocky companion called out behind him.

Matthew turned to wait for the younger, more sharply dressed man in a dark suit, aviator sunglasses, and sporting a military style haircut.

He gave the man a weary look. Just remember, Don, she’s a scientist not some criminal you’re investigating. This isn’t an interrogation.

The other man clenched his jaw before replying. And you remember—this is what I was brought in for, it’s what I do and I’m good at my job.

If I don’t like your way then we’re doing this my way, alright?

And what’s your way?

Mutual respect, one scientist to another.

The stocky man gave a snorted laugh. Just let me do the talking. He pushed open the door and the two men entered a marble lobby. The younger man flashed his badge at the security officer by the door. Agent Don Nichols, Homeland Security. We’re here to see Doctor Rebecca Yates.

The conference room door swung wide as Rebecca Yates breezed in, and the two men who’d been waiting almost twenty minutes rose to greet her. Matthew Palmer was immediately taken by the elegant woman before them. She was youthful with a pretty smile—not at all what he’d expected of such a notable physicist.

I’m Agent Don Nichols, Homeland Security, and this is Doctor Matthew Palmer, Nichols gestured in Matthew’s direction without taking his eyes off his target. 

Matthew shook her hand as he looked into cool, intelligent blue eyes. He noticed her dangling earrings that resembled the double helix of DNA, and her necklace with a dainty silver cross nestled above her cleavage.

Rebecca smiled as she shook hands with the two serious looking men, neither of whom smiled in return.

Please, take a seat, Agent Nichols motioned toward the glass table that took up the central part of the conference room. She took a seat and Agent Nichols sat directly opposite her, leaving Matthew to take the seat next to his. 

We appreciate you taking the time to meet with us, Doctor Yates, Nichols began in a serious tone, his unflinching gaze causing Rebecca some unease.

She ignored her discomfort and kept up her smile. Can I ask what this is about?

We have reason to believe you and your team made a significant breakthrough in the area of ultra-cold particle physics, Nichols stated, his eyes studying her for any change in expression. The government has a particular interest in your work. We would like to know the details of that breakthrough and what your team has discovered.

Rebecca’s gray-blue eyes widened, then narrowed, her smile now gone. I’m sorry, gentlemen. I can’t share anything about our work with you. I’m sure you understand how sensitive our data is before it’s been published.

I can assure you, any and all information you share with us will be kept in complete confidence, Nichols said in his calm, authoritative voice. Please, tell us what you and your team have been working on.

Rebecca shifted uneasily on the plush conference-room chair. I’m really not at liberty to divulge anything  at this time.

Nichols kept his eyes on the woman without speaking, letting the moment stretch into an uncomfortable silence. It didn’t seem to have the desired effect on the woman though—she calmly stared back at him without saying a word. Matthew couldn’t help but be impressed by such composure under pressure.

Agent Nichols blinked. This is a matter of national security, Doctor Yates. We have the authority to enter your facilities and take any and all information we deem necessary. We’re asking for your cooperation as a courtesy to you.

Rebecca’s pleasant face distorted with a mixture of shock and anger as she rose from her seat. Who are you people? What are you here for? You need to explain yourselves right now or you need to leave!

Matthew decided it was time for him to step in. He raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, Doctor Yates, I’m sorry for my colleague here, I know this must be confusing for you, but I can’t stress to you enough how important this information is to us. It could potentially save countless lives. It is a matter of great urgency.

Agent Nichols gave Matthew a sideways look but said nothing. 

Rebecca looked from one man to the other. How can it save lives? She demanded. Can you at least explain it to me? I can’t tell you anything without knowing why.

All you need to know is that this is a matter of utmost importance to the security and wellbeing of our nation and the entire world, Agent Nichols said, trying to regain control of the conversation. Please answer our questions, he pressed.

Rebecca sighed. Do I have a choice? She sat down again. What exactly do you want to know?

Tell us about your discoveries, Nichols prompted once more, we want to know all of it. And try to explain it in a way I’ll understand.

Rebecca fidgeted with her necklace, rolling the silver cross between her fingers, obviously conflicted. You must already know something or you wouldn’t be here, she muttered to herself. I should’ve known this was too big to keep quiet. Her shoulders slumped as she seemed to resign herself to the situation.

Matthew couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. He hated putting her through this.  

Rebecca curled her lip in displeasure before she began to speak. About a year ago our team had a major breakthrough, and I say that without hyperbole, it was a monumental leap in the science. We were using a new quantum technique we’d developed to cool matter to as close to absolute zero as possible… She paused as if remembering who she was speaking to. Uh, absolute zero is when atoms cease all movement and reach a state of minimal energy.

I know what absolute zero is, Nichols said. Go on. 

What is this new technique you were using? Matthew asked.

You’d need an advanced degree in quantum physics for me to explain it to you, but to put it simply, we use quantum fields to create atomic-level energy redistribution to generate a near instantaneous localized negative energy field.

Matthew didn’t understand any of that but he nodded. Okay, go on.

In the past we used lasers or magnets to trap atoms and restrict their movement, but this new technique allows us to create a negative energy field that’s like flash freezing the sample at a quantum level. Rebecca was gradually becoming more animated as she went on, as if she couldn’t help being excited about her discoveries. We discovered the theoretical concept behind this new method several years ago but we’d only just found a way to bring it to realization in the lab, and after a year of perfecting the method we were able to cool a cloud of atoms to the very threshold of absolute zero, to a single picokelvin. And that’s when something unexpected occurred.

What happened? Nichols asked, and Matthew leaned forward in anticipation. 

Our sensitive instruments could no longer detect the sample matter.

It disappeared? Matthew asked, peering at her over his glasses.

She nodded. The sample was undetectable until we turned off the quantum field and the matter became detectable again. We later determined that the sample matter had actually reached absolute zero and was gaining a negative energy from somewhere. We’d inadvertently discovered a dark energy, and it transformed our matter into a dark matter.

Let me get this straight … you think you've discovered dark energy and dark matter in the laboratory, Matthew said, his eyes wide with amazement, though his voice betrayed his skepticism, and it’s related to ultra-cold temperatures?

Yes, Doctor Yates said matter-of-factly. But to be clear, dark matter is not just ultra-cold matter. Reducing matter’s energy to zero acts like a switch that causes normal matter to cross over to the dark side where dark energy acts upon it, and it’s this negative energy that makes it dark to our measurements.

Fascinating, Matthew said, and Rebecca noticed his intonation sounded familiar, like a certain well-known science fiction character. She wondered if he was subconsciously mimicking the character after watching too many old Star Trek episodes. 

What else did you discover? Nichols pressed.

Rebecca averted her eyes from the agent’s gaze. Isn’t that enough? It’s the discovery of the century. What more do you want?

Nichols studied her for a moment. Doctor Yates, there is something else you’re not telling us.

She stared at the dark, reflective surface of the glass table-top as the two men waited patiently for her to speak. Finally her gray-blue eyes looked up to meet their expectant faces. My team has been working on this for years and we have kept these discoveries a secret all these months despite our excitement, waiting for the day we’d get to reveal it to the world.

The two men said nothing and she sighed in pained resignation. She began to speak in a low, quiet voice. What we discovered next was incredible, and you might not even believe what I’m about to tell you. She paused and sighed again. We wanted to observe the phenomenon directly so we created new instruments. We were able to create a much larger quantum field that could produce a near instantaneous negative energy field where the sample matter could reach absolute zero fast enough to not form a Bose-Einstein condensate which would otherwise ruin the sample. We could then place visible sized objects inside the negative energy field and observe them directly. And when we did that … we saw the objects begin to physically revert to previous states like they were going backwards in time. She tried to gauge their reaction but saw only confusion on the men’s faces.

Can you explain what you mean by that? Matthew asked.

I know it sounds incredible, but we could see with our own eyes these objects physically reverting to previous states of development. For example, we placed a carved wooden object inside the field and saw it revert to a piece of uncarved wood, then appear to become part of a living tree that shrank to a seed before eventually separating into its organic particles. When we placed living biological matter into the field it became visibly younger the longer it remained within the quantum field. We did the same with jewelry and watched it revert to unrefined stone. Even broken pottery would mend itself. Everything would revert in reverse order as though entropy was working in reverse direction on the object inside the field.

Both men sat in stunned silence. Matthew was unsure if he could believe any of this, but she seemed sincere.

So it’s some kind of time travel device, Agent Nichols said.

Rebecca shook her head. Not time travel, it doesn’t move to a previous place in time, it only reverts to previous states. If we could place a human inside the field that person would not travel back to a previous date or place in time, they would revert to a younger physical form. You are familiar with entropy and the arrow of time? When this matter reaches absolute zero the arrow of time changes and goes in the opposite direction.

Rebecca couldn’t tell if the men were accepting any of this or not, but she continued anyway. We think this dark energy is actually negative entropy, or reverse time, so to speak. And dark matter is any matter that is being acted on by negative entropy making it dark to our instruments through being in reverse time to our own. She looked directly at Doctor Palmer. You could say it is out of phase from us. She smiled, pleased with herself at making an obscure Star Trek reference of her own, though neither of the men showed they’d got the reference.

What does this mean? Nichols asked.

His question didn’t seem directed at her, but Rebecca answered anyway. I’m sure the theoretical implications for all of this will be the subject of competing theories and interpretations for years to come, but it could mean that there is an anti-universe to our own, an opposite or mirror universe through a symmetry at the big bang, like a particle-antiparticle pair, which would possibly account for the asymmetry in our own universe such as the lack of antimatter. It would be a universe sharing the same space but not the same direction of time, where the big bang would not have been a beginning but an end that time and entropy are moving away from in a mirror to our own universe. From our experiments, any matter that gets close enough to a zero energy state triggers a shift into that other universe where reverse entropy acts upon it. The sample matter has always returned to our universe once the field is turned off, like the field is only holding the matter under a stream that pushes it back out as soon as we turn off the field. From the rate of physical change that we’ve observed, negative entropy is many times that of our own entropy, so time is going backwards faster than it moves forward for us, though that might depend on the strength of the field. On a practical level, this means we can reverse entropy so everything becomes a renewable resource. We can reverse the age and wear of any material thing, and potentially even ourselves, making us physically younger, to before the onset of disease for example—

Doctor Yates, Agent Nichols interrupted her, a deep furrow etching his forehead, we need you to give us all your research data, and you need to hold off on publishing your findings—

Rebecca shot up out of her chair and stood with scary defiance looking down on the two men. In a quavering, passionate voice she cried, This is too important! It must be published and you can’t stop us!

Nichols fell back in his chair as if by the force of her words.

Matthew turned to the Agent, We have to tell her.

Nichols raised an eyebrow and gave Matthew a slight shake of his head.

She can help us, Matthew added. I can’t think of anyone who’d be of more use to us. It’s more than we could have hoped for. We’d be fools not to get her on board right now.

We need the proper clearances. We can’t just bring anyone we want into this. We have to clear it with the head of Homeland first.

No. We have to do this now. I’m telling her everything.

Rebecca watched as the men talked like this right in front of her. She was shaking with indignation at the overwhelming injustice being done to her, which was now being completely ignored, but she was intrigued by their conversation.

Agent Nichols shrugged. If you want to tell her then that’s on you. He turned to the woman. Doctor Yates, what Doctor Palmer is about to tell you is highly classified and you must not share it with anyone else including close friends and family members, or you could face criminal prosecution under the espionage act. Do you understand?

Rebecca gave a slight nod.

I need a verbal confirmation from you, Nichols said.

Yes, I understand.

Matthew pushed his glasses back on his face and cleared his throat. First, let me properly introduce myself. I am Doctor Matthew Palmer, associate director at the Institute of Astronomical Sciences, which is part of NASA.

Rebecca looked at the man as if seeing him again for the first time, noticing now his eloquent and educated way of speaking. She guessed he was in his early to mid forties with some early graying in his unkempt hair. He was classically geeky with glasses and even some odd, mismatched attire, though he held a certain dignified demeanor that commanded respect which was not lost on her now. She sat back down in her seat as he continued. 

A few years ago we sent up an instrument to map the cosmic microwave background radiation at a higher resolution than anything done before. He was suddenly very aware of her eyes on him and felt strangely tongue tied. He was glad that Nichols had been here to do all the talking up until then. He took a steadying breath and continued. Space, as you probably know, has an average background temperature—

2.73 kelvin, Rebecca interrupted. Go on.

Yes…. Matthew was feeling increasingly intimidated by this highly intelligent woman, which was an unusual feeling for him. He was used to being the smartest person in the room. He paused to think how best to say what he needed to explain, acutely aware that accuracy was important if he was to have any credibility with this woman.

At first we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary in the new data, but that was because we were only looking at anything with a measurable temperature. When we went back over the data we saw a gap in the cosmic microwave background radiation—a small anomalous region with no measurable temperature at all, and it was right on our doorstep, so to speak, in our very own backyard. It had gone unnoticed at first because we filter out the temperature interference of our galaxy from the data, but we’ve now confirmed it is there, it is real and not an artifact.

The woman had a serious expression on her face as she listened intently to what he was saying.  

When we trained our telescopes on this zero region—as we now call it—we could see a dark void without stars or any matter. We theorize that this zero region, whatever it is, could be obscuring stars behind it, but it’s not a dust cloud, it’s not a black hole, it’s exerting no gravitational effect or being influenced by the gravitational force of the galaxy. It has no detectable mass and there’s no way of detecting the region other than its lack of any temperature. It looks like nothing’s there. We don’t know if there are similar phenomena out there in the universe and this one just happened to be close enough for us to detect it, or if this is something unusual or unique in the universe. We don’t know.

He paused for a moment to gauge her reaction, but not seeing any particular reaction at all, he went on. I’m sure you know that the Earth and our solar system are traveling with the galaxy through space at more than 2 million kilometers per hour. In what must be the most unfortunate coincidence, our solar system happens to be on a path toward this zero region and will soon encounter it, including the Earth. When I say soon I am not speaking in astronomical terms. 72 days ago we lost contact with our most distant probe, Voyager 1, out beyond the edge of the solar system. And ten days ago we lost contact with Voyager 2. We believe they both encountered this zero region and are no longer able to send signals from within it. Based on the time and location of the two probes when we lost contact, we calculate that the Earth will likely encounter the zero region in a little over a year from now.

Matthew realized how dramatic this all must sound, and he looked for some reaction or change in her expression, hoping it wouldn’t cause another emotional outburst like before. But Doctor Yates remained surprisingly calm, staring off as if lost in thought.

He cleared his throat. Of course, we’re not sure what this could mean for life on Earth, though we did have some initial theories, with a worst-case scenario that it’s an expanding bubble of vacuum decay that would ultimately bring an end to everything in the universe.

She raised an eyebrow. If it’s vacuum decay it would be expanding at close to the speed of light. Has it expanded since you’ve observed it?

Matthew shook his head. Our refresh of the data takes time, but if it has expanded it’s not by much. And, thanks to your discoveries, we might now have a better theory of what this is and what we could expect. It is hard to imagine and seems incredible, but it is possible that the Earth is about to experience some kind of global reversal of time in our near future, with unknown consequences for life on Earth.

Rebecca gave an abrupt laugh then stopped just as suddenly, and the three sat there staring at each other.

She exhaled through pursed lips. I guess it’s possible that it’s bleeding through between the two universes. If this zero region, as you call it, really is absolute zero it won’t act like a temperature, you understand. It won’t just cool the Earth down a bit, it will be an energy field that passes right through everything it encounters changing it all to dark matter with reverse entropy acting upon it. There’ll be no way to escape that field. How certain are you that it is absolute zero and the Earth will encounter this zero region?

Matthew could tell by the rise in pitch at the end of her question that she was shaken by all of this after all, as would be any normal, sane human being. But she was hiding it well and seemed to be staying calm for now. He’d had time to get used to the knowledge of this unknown threat coming toward them, though it was still a fearful thing to contemplate.

He gave her a respectful nod before answering her question. "The zero region is several times wider than our solar system and we