Chapter 135: More and more mysteries

Sarah was in her office working on the latest data Alan had sent her when suddenly her cell phone rang. She looked at the name on the screen and was surprised to read 'Dr. Sidney Burke'. "Who is at the phone, honey?" Ian asked, who was obviously there with her, who looking at her face was a little concerned. "Trouble?" "No, no. She's just the person I sent the spinosaurus' scale to" Sarah replied. "I just didn't expect a call so soon..." After the emergency in Flagard City ended, Sarah followed Alan's advice and sent the spinosaurus skin samples to a chemistry expert, Dr. Burke. She was an old acquaintance of Alan and Ian and was considered quite good at both chemistry and biology, so perfect for her role. Sarah hoped she could help her solve the mystery of the spinosaurus' tough skin, but Dr. Burke still asked her for some time to run some tests. 'Some time' in the language of the scientists meant between six months and three years, since they had to make measurements so precise they could not be done in a day or even a week. Sarah had hardly thought about it anymore, concentrating instead on the strange task that Miss Jocelyne Jersey had given them. However, that didn't mean she wasn't still curious about the mystery of such tough skin. The strange thing, though, was that it hadn't even been a month... "Dr. Burke, nice to hear from you" she said as she opened the call. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" The voice that came from the other end was rather breathless. "Dr. Hardy... I... analyzed the scale you sent me and... God, I don't know how to explain it..." "Huh? Did you find out what makes it so hard?" "Yes, but... my God... that scale... isn't made of normal matter!" Sarah stood motionless for a moment and nearly dropped her cell phone. "What do you mean it's not made of normal matter?" "Professor Grant's hypothesis turned out to be correct. The hardness of the scale is due to the extreme proximity of the elements that compose it. Professor Grant's only mistake was that... we are not dealing with molecules, but with subatomic particles!" Dr. Burke explained. "That scale... it's made of neutronium!" Sarah had no idea what Dr. Burke was talking about, but Ian jumped up as soon as he heard those words and his eyes widened as if he had just seen a ghost. "Neutronium!?" "Do you know what it is?" Sarah asked. Ian rubbed his chin. "It's a hypothetical state of matter that can only occur under extreme gravity and pressure. Simply put, the idea is that gravity presses so hard on atoms that they dissolve into subatomic particles that are extremely close to each other It is called neutronium because protons and electrons convert into neutrons under pressure, thus forming a kind of neutron sea. But such conditions can only be found inside neutron stars! Normal environmental conditions aren't enough to keep neutronium stable, let alone create it!" Sarah's eyes widened. She wasn't an astronomy expert, but she knew how extreme the environment was inside neutron stars. They were so dense that a single teaspoon of their matter could weigh thousands of tons. "Is there anyone else there?" Dr. Burke's voice came from her phone. "Yes, it's the professor Malcolm," Sarah replied. "Wait, now I'm putting it on the speakerphone... here, you can talk" "Nice to meet you, Dr. Burke" "The pleasure is mine, professor Malcolm" "Thank you. But now let's get back to the subject. Did you say that the scale is made of neutronium?" "Exactly" "But that's impossible! We've all handled the scale. If it were made of neutronium, it should weigh as much as a mountain, indeed, as much as an entire mountain range!" "That's the absurd thing. That scale... it has no weight!" Sarah and Ian looked into each other's eyes. Both notice the total confusion of the other. "What do you mean it has no weight?" Sarah asked. "Exactly what I said! When I found out that the scale was made of neutronium, I tried to weigh it and... and found out that it has no weight! Not even a gram!" Dr. Burke answered. Her tone was getting more breathless by the second. "And not only that! The laws of physics seem to have ceased to work around the scale. Without great pressure or gravity, the neutrons should break free and dissolve it... instead they remain motionless. Particles that wouldn't normally stay close to each other at because of their repulsive force, inside the scale they are completely at rest, all without any great force that forces them to do so! This goes against every principle of chemistry we know!" Ian gritted his teeth involuntarily. One of the first rules of chemistry was that subatomic particles were never motionless in one place unless they were under extreme pressure. Furthermore, neutrons spontaneously sought protons to bind to to form atoms. To claim that neutrons remained motionless and close to each other without any force forcing them to do so was... well, that was completely antiphysics! Noticing her confusion, Sarah quickly ended the call: "Dr. Burke, thank you for your help. Can you send me your test results?" "I've already done it, Dr. Hardy" "Thanks. You can keep the scale, by the way. Maybe you can figure it out" "Thank you, Dr. Hardy. Goodbye" Sarah switched off her cell phone and looked at Ian. "Are you ok?" In response, her boyfriend let out a grunt. "I spend my life reminding people around me that everything is governed by chaos and that our knowledge of the universe is terribly limited, but in the face of such information I can't help but be appalled. I think I can define myself a hypocrite" "No, really? I never would have guessed that," Sarah teased. The words 'Ian Malcolm' and 'hypocrisy' often went hand in hand, especially when it came to moral conduct. "I'm serious, Sarah. This stuff is...completely beyond any known concept" Ian said, then looked down. "I think we should call Robert Oz" Sarah was surprised. "Do you think Dr. Oz's theory of the Mother Cell is the answer?" "Right now, it's the only thing I can think. Dr. Oz said the Mother Cell can do amazing things. I'd say it's our best option right now." Sarah bit her lip. Even though she had witnessed not a little strange events over the last few weeks, and that Miss Jersey had shown them that there was a real possibility that the dinosaurs were altering their behavior and even acquiring abilities such as mimicry, and even if the theory proposed by Robert Oz was the most solid at the moment, he didn't really believe in the Mother Cell. However, it seemed to be the best option at the moment. Under the gaze of her boyfriend, she typed a number on the computer keyboard and started a video call. After a few tens of seconds, Robert Oz's face appeared on the screen. "Dr. Hardy, professor Malcolm. To what do I owe the pleasure?" "Hello, Dr. Oz" Sarah greeted him. "Forgive the inconvenience, but we ran into something rather strange. You see..." She briefly told everything. As she spoke, Dr. Oz's gaze became more and more amazed, until his eyes were flat. "Are you telling me that scale violates every known law of physics?" "Pretty much," Sarah replied. "It shouldn't be possible, but..." "No, it's not. It's possible," Dr. Oz stopped her. "There is a way to keep neutrons motionless" Ian's gaze became confused. He had never heard of a method for keeping a neutron still. "And what would that be?" "The simplest solution is almost always the right one, Professor Malcolm. If you don't want to move something that normally moves all the time... all you have to do is stop time" Ian snorted. He had expected a revelation and instead Robert Oz had come up with a completely ridiculous idea. "And how do I stop time? With the magic wand?" Despite the provocation, Robert Oz didn't flinch. "Professor Malcolm, you disappoint me. A scientist of your caliber should know that there is a way to stop time" Ian's gaze turned suddenly serious, as if he had just realized something. "Sure..." he whispered. "The state of absolute zero" There was an 'absolute heat' and an 'absolute zero' in the universe. In particular, 'absolute zero' was equivalent to -273.15 degrees Celsius. Such a temperature had not been recorded even in the coldest places in the universe, not even in the empty spaces between galaxies, where not a single star shone. Even in the laboratory it was not possible to obtain this temperature. It was called 'absolute zero' for the simple fact that it was not possible to go below this temperature. And why was it not possible? Simple: at that temperature, the cold was such that spacetime itself froze. In lesser words, time froze. "Clearly that can't be the case, though. The scale doesn't reach the temperature of absolute zero. But if there was a way to replicate the frozen state of spacetime, then it would work." Ian seemed lost in thought of him. "It's absurd, but... that would explain the scale's weightlessness. Since spacetime around it is frozen, it's as if it were on another plane of existence." "Ehm... sorry, I didn't understand much, but therefore the cause of the absence of physical laws of the scale is due to a variation of spacetime?" Sarah asked. "Is it just me, or does this sound like science fiction stuff?" "Because it is, Dr. Hardy. Still, it's the only possible explanation" Robert replied. "I don't understand how such a thing could exist..." If even Robert Oz, who had been able to come up with a theory bordering on the absurd, was confused, then it was really hard to resolve that dillema. But suddenly Ian exclaimed, "Sarah, did you and Eddie analyze the spinosaurus brain?" "Uh? Yes, but what does this have to do with...?" "Were there any unknown areas?" "What?" "Unknown areas. Parts of the brain that have never been identified. Areas that shouldn't exist" Sarah was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Eddie and I found two completely unknown parts of the brain. We couldn't figure out what they were for. They were like extensions of the central brain, but they had a completely different neuronal conformation" "A mental boost..." Ian whispered starting to pace from one side of the room to the other. By now Sarah had gotten used to that absurd behavior of Professor Malcolm when she was thinking, and she had learned to be patient and wait for it to finish. Robert Oz, however, was not of the same opinion: "Professor Malcolm, could you share your thoughts with us?" Ian seemed to wake up suddenly. "Right, sorry" he said. "I believe... the mind is the key" "The mind?" Sarah asked. "Some time ago, some scientists tried to give an explanation to some phenomena that we could define... supernatural. Yes, in short, people capable of using pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, magnetokinesis and so on. Obviously, those people have you all reveal scammers. But in that group of scientists there was someone who tried to imagine how it would be possible to make such superhuman abilities real. And the conclusion he came to was... very controversial". Ian started gesturing, which he normally did when he was explaining something revolutionary. "According to his studies, the mind may be able to interact with spacetime. Yes, in short, with the very fabric of the universe. The basic idea is that the mind emits certain frequencies capable of altering the position of spacetime. These are such minor alterations that it is almost impossible to notice them. However, if a creature were able to control this ability even partially, it could manipulate spacetime and consequently everything it contains. This would give rise to powers such as pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis... or even the manipulation of matter to replicate the state of absolute zero" Sarah's face screwed up in amazement. The same was true of Dr. Oz. "Are you saying the mind could control spacetime?" "Not a mind like ours" Ian replied. "As I said before, our brains aren't powerful enough to generate frequencies strong enough. But if a creature evolved a whole new part of the brain just for that task..." Sarah froze. "The unknown parts of the brain..." she whispered as the pieces began to fit together. "It is true?" "Hard to say. Unfortunately there's no way to prove the truth of that theory" Ian replied. "This is why it is still considered pseudoscience today. To prove it, it would be needed a creature that has evolved this part of the brain" "Is such an evolution possible?" Sarah asked. Ian shook his head. "Not due to the normal laws of evolution. Even assuming that we manage to overcome the anatomical constraints that prevent the uncontrolled development of certain parts of the body, and even assuming that a living being decides to enhance that part of the brain despite not bringing him any advantage and is only a burden due to increased metabolism, it would take tens of BILLIONS of years to achieve such perfect control. The multicellular life on our planet is simply not old enough for this evolution to have occurred. Unless something accelerates the evolutionary process" "The Mother Cell" Robert muttered, finally getting the full picture. Ian nodded. "I see no other explanation" he said. "This would explain the electrical charges we detected on the ship. It wasn't due to the molecular charges as Alan had thought, but to the neuronal activity that kept this delicate balance stable" Sarah looked at the computer screen. "Dr. Oz, do you think the Mother Cell could lead to this kind of evolution?" Robert rubbed his chin. "The Mother Cell is like a quantum supercomputer that runs on the wishes of the host. If the host wished to become invincible, and Professor Malcolm's theory were true, I have no doubt that the Mother Cell would have used this trick to create the toughest skin ever" Sarah swallowed, and looking at Ian she noticed he was nervous too. This discovery was exceptional, but neither of them could feel excitement or happiness. Because if that theory was true... then the Mother Cell was surely true as well. And if the Mother Cell was real... then it was only a matter of time before the planet's fauna began to turn against humanity, just as Robert Oz had predicted. An all-out war with animals possessing such power would clearly have been disastrous. Almost certainly, human civilization would have ended. Perhaps humanity would have even become extinct. Furthermore, for the moment the manipulation of spacetime had stopped at creating indestructible scales... but in the future, if the evolution provoked by the Mother Cell continued, what would happen? Could that power have gone even further? Could the creature in possession of the Mother Cell have modified spacetime to manipulate the elements and obtain real superpowers, or could he even have pierced it and created a real natural wormhole? The prospect was nothing short of chilling. Had such a creature existed and turned hostile, humanity would have faced an unprecedented crisis. Neither Sarah nor Ian wanted to believe that theory, but the more they thought about it, the more plausible it became. All the pieces fit together perfectly: the hardness of the scale, its weightlessness, the spinosaurus' extra brain parts, and its rapid metabolism that could produce enough energy to fuel even those excess parts... "Dr. Hardy, please send me the data you have" Robert said. "I'd like to analyze them myself" "I'll do it right away. We'll do some tests too. Thanks for his help, Dr. Oz" Sarah replied. "Of course. Thanks to you" Robert said, and he cut off the call. Silence returned to the room. Neither of them said anything for at least a minute, then Sarah whispered: "We should inform the others too" Ian nodded. "Yeah... we should do it" he said, wondering how principled scientists like Alan Grant and Mitch Morgan would react to learning of a flake that violated all the laws of physics and a theory that was nothing short of science fiction but which was the only plausible one.