Free Fundamental Force Episode One by Albert Sartison Page A

that is to say outside space-time, the
wave will pick it up and carry it along with it. The most
interesting thing is that the displacement of the object will take
place at phase velocity.”
    “If the wave
carries an object which has fallen out of space-time along with it,
then it stays in place the whole time in its system of coordinates,
doesn’t it?” asked Clive.
    “Absolutely
right. Furthermore, it must remain stationary relative to the
phases of the wave, otherwise it will leave the zone being carried
along and simply fall out somewhere in some indeterminate place and
not necessarily along the vector of the wave.”
     
    “So the object
carried by the wave will stand still in its own system of
coordinates, but move at phase velocity in ours. Is that so?”
    “That’s how it
is.”
    “But for a wave
to carry an object somewhere, it must reach there itself. How can
you propagate a wave for 20 light years? It would have to travel
faster than the speed of light!”
    “Yes, but that
isn’t a problem.”
    “Isn’t it?”
    “No. The rate
of propagation of a wave within space-time is limited to the speed
of light, but this restriction does not apply to space-time itself.
It can be compressed and expanded more rapidly. I imagine you have
heard of the inflation phase of the expansion of the Universe after
the Big Bang. For a certain time interval, the Universe grew at
faster-than-light speed.”
    “And how fast
will such a wave travel?”
    “We don’t yet
know for sure. In the experiments, it was considerably faster than
the speed of light, but we did not succeed in measuring to what
extent. It’s quite possible that the value is infinite.”
    “So we can
travel to any point in the Universe in any time interval?”
    “In theory,
perhaps. But in practice, the range is limited by the applied
energy. Now that we can supply the plant with energies comparable
to the radiant energy of an entire star, we can induce a wave for
dozens of light years. This is enough to reach Gliese and some way
further. We cannot yet manage the more remote distances.”
    “But how do you
know your machine is capable of getting there? You’d have to throw
out a transmitter to confirm its position. And its signals in turn
would only propagate at the speed of light. They would take twenty
years to return from the Gliese system.”
    “These are
calculated figures.”
    “Calculated?
You mean they haven’t been confirmed experimentally?”
    “Only short
jump distances have been confirmed experimentally. We threw beacons
out for several light hours, beyond the orbits of the planets. The
precise measurements of jump distance and energy consumed
corresponded to the calculated figures, so there’s nothing to worry
about.”
    Clive and Steve
looked at each other.
    “Really?” Clive
muttered to himself.
    “But how do we
get back? A wave always moves away from the radiation source,
doesn’t it?” asked Steve.
    “Not quite. As
I said, the wave will carry you at phase velocity. The direction of
motion will also coincide with that of the phase, which means it’s
simply a question of polarity. We can send a phase in any
direction.
    “For your
return, we will only have to switch the polarity to create phase
motion in the opposite direction. Then, from the point of view of
the Gliese system, you will be moving towards the Solar System, not
away from it.”
    “I hope that
this at least has been checked in practice?”
    Gray
laughed.
    “You can rest
assured that we have checked that in practice.”

10
    Under the
sights of the people above, Zach obediently took the automatic
rifle sling off his shoulder and laid the weapon down. At once, the
tall bushes at the side rustled and two armed men appeared. One of
them signaled to Zach to move away from the gun on the ground. He
did so, taking a few steps back. Roots and bits of garbage crackled
underfoot. While one of the two kept a gun trained on him, the
other went up to the pulse rifle and