I wrote this as a school assignment about two years ago. Now, I am thinking about revisiting it, and expanding it.
What I would really like to know: Is it worth it?
Through the Kerr Hole
Neal lay dispiritedly on the hard bed in his cell. There was simply no more that he could do. The situation was out of his hands. The DNA tests had proven that he had been in the house of both murdered families, as he had known they would. He had been in the two houses on the very night the murders had been committed. That is not to say that he had actually killed anyone at all. He had not although Neal knew all too well who had. He also knew that giving the authorities the real murderer’s name would do anything but get him out of his predicament. It was Frog, Neal’s old school friend, who had done it. Of course, he had not gone by that name in the old days. No, once upon a time he had been Manual Blackwell. Unfortunately, as far as the authorities knew, Manual Blackwell had died in a car crash along with his parents. Only a handful of people knew he existed, and only one person knew his true name. That person was Neal.
Although he had never committed murder, Neal tended to stray into the shady side of the law. Neal’s parents had died when he was fourteen, and he had been sent to live with his aunt. Neal had never liked his aunt, and after several months in her care, had run away. He had spent the last two years surviving off robbery and several other illegal ventures.
However, something had gone horribly wrong on his last two robberies. The families had been murdered. And now Neal was facing the death penalty. He had a few days, maybe a week to live. There was nothing to do but wait.
Suddenly Neal’s ponderings were disturbed by the sound of his own name.
“Neal? Are you Neal Sanders?” It was one of the Jailers.
“Yes,” said Neal uncertainly.
“Come with me, Neal. We have an offer for you.” Neal’s heart leaped. Did this mean he might not be killed? He could not dare to hope he would get off. The jailer unlocked the door, and carefully handcuffed Neal before leading him into a small office. At the desk, there sat a powerful and wealthy-looking man. Seeing Neal, the man looked up.
He addressed Neal. “Ah, you are Neal Sanders, am I correct?” Neal nodded.
“We have an offer for you, Neal. It involves the probe that was recently sent into the only known Kerr Hole. You probably haven’t heard of it. This was a very quiet operation. ” Neal nodded again.
“Well, when the probe went in, it gave us feedback up to a certain point, but then suddenly stopped sending back information. It was as though it had simply disappeared. This is not publicly known, of course. I would not be telling you if it were not for…certain circumstances.” Here, the man stopped and gazed at Neal, apparently trying to hint at something. When Neal remained nonplussed, he went on.
“Neal, it is too dangerous to send an astronaut into a Kerr Hole. There is absolutely no guarantee that he or she would survive. Even if a person did survive, we have no idea what they would find or how they would get back. You, on the other hand, have nothing to lose. What I’m saying is that you could travel into the Kerr Hole. If you made it back, your name would be cleared, and if you didn’t, well, you wouldn’t really be any worse off.” Neal couldn’t talk. He didn’t know what to say.
“You can have until tomorrow to think about it, if you like,” The man said. “In the meantime, I have to get going. Goodbye Neal. We will await your response.”
Neal did not sleep that night. How could he? He now faced either certain death or probable death. What kind of a choice was that? How had he let his life get so out of hand? He mentally ran through everything he knew about Kerr Holes. They were like normal black holes, only they rotated. The rotating somehow prevented the formation of a singularity, making it theoretically possible to go through one, without being crushed by gravity. If you made it out through the other side of a Kerr Hole, you may end up in another world or even in a different time. The odds did not look good. But then again, it was that or certain death.
So, Neal made his final decision. He would be the first human ever to venture into a Kerr Hole.
* * *
It was on an early October morning that Neal was strapped into the spacecraft that would be taking him into the Kerr Hole. He had gone through several months of training and was finally ready to take off. The craft he was riding was to be controlled by a group of scientists, astronomers, and technicians, all of whom were intent on being the first to hear of the results of the expedition. This of course, meant that there would be a lot of pushing and shoving, which was beginning to make Neal nervous.
The Kerr Hole was not too far away in space terms. It was a relatively short distance outside the solar system. According to the scientists in charge of the event, it was surprising that it hadn’t been discovered earlier. Even so, the spacecraft had to move extremely quickly in order to get him to the Hole in a reasonable amount of time.
The trip to the Kerr Hole was quite unremarkable. It took nearly five weeks, most of which Neal spent eating, sleeping, and watching videos. He had to stay in constant contact with mission control throughout the journey, “Just in case something came up,” as one of the scientists had said.
It was actually the most relaxing time Neal had had in years. The spacecraft had five rooms, including a bathroom, living room, bedroom, kitchen, and office. Although, when he went in to the Hole, he would have to strap himself into the seat at the front, as he had done during takeoff. The craft also contained a television, which had countless videos stored on its memory.
The ride itself could hardly be said to be interesting. There were no windows, as that would rather defeat the purpose of the apparently unbreakable material the craft was made out of. At least, the scientists had said it was unbreakable. Although, seeing as a similarly constructed probe had failed to send back any information, this seemed somewhat less probable.
Neal leaned back in his seat. As a child, he had always wanted to be an astronaut when he grew up. Perhaps he still could if he ever made it back to earth alive. Until then, he decided, he would do best not to think about his future. It seemed quite unlikely that he would even have one.
Neal grew slightly more apprehensive as the spacecraft drew nearer to the Kerr Hole. What were the chances that he would survive this? And if he did, where would he end up? How would he get back home? The questions were endless, and the answers were minimal.
As Neal’s traveling time went from weeks, to days, to hours, to minutes, he felt as though the extent of his life was ticking away.
When the spacecraft arrived at the space dock nearest the black hole, Neal felt his heart beating against his chest. How had he let his situation become so desperate? Three years ago, he would never have guessed that his dream to fly into space would come true so quickly. But this wasn’t exactly the way he had imagined it. He had pictured himself discovering and colonizing new planets, flying far into space and returning with trophies from faraway civilizations. Entering a black hole, the most dangerous known force in the universe, was something he had never dreamed of. Ever since a probe had been smashed to pieces while entering a black hole in 2202, most scientists had decided that black holes were the one thing that our species couldn’t conquer. It was beyond our understanding and our strength. While humans had, until now overcome everything that stood in their way, black holes stood fast. Yet, now Neal was going into one.
Neal suspected that the group sending him into the Kerr Hole was a government organization. They had not actually told him this outright, but the fact that they were able to use him as a sort of guinea pig was a bit of a giveaway. It was not likely that a normal scientific organization would be allowed to use another human, convict or not, to send into the black hole. Such things would be considered illegal, unless the people in charge had the ability to change laws. Furthermore, the entire project had been given a rather secretive aspect. Neal had been told not to tell anyone about it.
Neal’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the familiar voice of Myles Sandoval, one of the technical advisors, who Neal had befriended on his journey. Myles had entertained Neal throughout much of the ride to the Kerr Hole.
“All ready, Neal? My, you’re looking a bit pale. Not getting second thoughts, now, are you?” Myles said, sarcastic as usual, although Neal thought he could sense concern in his friend’s voice as well.
“If I am, there’s not much I can do about it now,” retorted Neal, trying to sound less nervous than he really was.
“That’s the spirit!” Said Myles, “No use getting too worried about what is to come. In five minutes your fate will be sealed, one way or another.”
Neal was silent. There were some things you just couldn’t joke about.
“Right, well, I’ve been asked to go over the procedure with you again,” continued Myles. “ Just in case you managed to forget it in the last ten minutes. So, we steer you into the hole, to begin with. You give us feedback all the way. If you lose contact or something goes wrong, return to the dock if possible. If not, you’re on your own. Got all that?”
“Yes.” said Neal
“All, right, I’ll send you on your way, and remember we’ll be with you the whole way.” Myles said.
“Only you won’t be in mortal danger.” remarked Neal.
“Uhm, yeah, I suppose you’re right,” his friend admitted. “Still, you’re better off than you were before – a bit.”
Their conversation dwindled as the spacecraft drew nearer to the ominous patch of darkness. Not even light could escape it. How could Neal? The gaping hole looked like the mouth of some foreboding, carnivorous animal. The craft was moving faster now, encouraged by the gravitational pull. Still, the spacecraft sped up, nearing the speed of light. Neal could not think, or move. He was frozen in time, while at the same time moving at an unimaginable speed. He heard Myles’s voice coming through the speaker.
“Neal, you have entered the hole. Can you hear me? I repeat: you have entered the Kerr Hole.”
Neal felt a sudden tranquility wash over him. If he did die, Myles would be there with him – in a matter of speaking. What did it matter anyway? It wasn’t as though his life had been any good anyway. “Yes Myles, I can hear you. But don’t you think that update was a tad bit unnecessary?” he said. “Strange,” he thought, “I am facing almost certain death and can still manage to be sarcastic.”
He was beginning to feel the gravitational pull. It felt as though some strange force was pushing him into himself, and at the same time stretching him out. The craft was supposed to prevent outside gravity from affecting him, but with such strong forces, it was weaker. Myles’s voice came through again.
“Neal, are you alright? Have you begun to feel the gravitational pull?”
“Yes,” Neal responded, “it’s not too bad, but I can definitely feel it.”
“Okay, we expected that, but if it gets too strong….” Myles left that sentence unfinished.
The gravity did get stronger. Neal could feel it pressing in on all sides of him, as though he had sunk into a pool of concrete. Even so, Neal was oddly calm. It was getting worse. The gravity was pushing on him, forcing him to submit, to allow it to crush him. Neal’s breathing was getting harder. He felt lungs contracting. His breath was coming in short gasps. Neal could not take it any longer.
“Myles,” he forced out. “Myles, it’s too strong. We can’t get through.” He was going to die here, in the middle of a black hole.
“Hold on, Neal” Myles said urgently. “ We’re –” His friend’s voice was cut off. At the same time, Neal thought he could feel the gravitational force waning. Neal’s head swam. The pressure had completely overwhelmed him, and without another thought, he fell into oblivion.
* * *
The first thing Neal realized when he woke up was that he was no longer experiencing the pressure the black hole had exerted on him. He tried to move, but found that his body was incapable of much more than what was needed to keep him alive. Surprisingly, the monitor that took the place of a window was in full working order. Neal glanced at it without moving. It seemed that he had somehow made it out of the Kerr Hole. But he had definitely not left the same way he had entered it.
The spacecraft seemed to be in disrepair. The lights were not working, for one thing, and it appeared to be floating of its own accord. The spacecraft was not the only one damaged. Neal reckoned he had several broken ribs and numerous other wounds. He didn’t expect to live much longer than an hour.
He spent his last minutes lost in his own thoughts. Would anybody miss him? Myles might. He doubted anyone else would. His aunt had wanted nothing more to do with him after he ran away, and to the other astronomers and scientists he had just been a guinea pig.
He looked back towards the monitor, and was surprised to see a planet. It was green, and blue, and had white patches. There was a moon revolving around the planet at an angle. This planet was none other than the mirror image of the planet he had been born on. It was the mirror image of Earth. With that, Neal Berg closed his eyes for the last time, knowing that finally, his name would be cleared. Neal was not dying a criminal, but a hero. He was the only person who knew what was to be found at the other end of a Kerr Hole, and so it would remain.
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