CHAPTER 1 - The World in Another Universe
The Federation’s interuniversal research centers identified a planet with conditions suitable for life in one of the regions they had been observing for a long time. The images did not come from the universe where the Federation was located. The planet was in another universe, accessible through transit corridors.
Initial measurements showed that the atmosphere was suitable for living organisms. Usable water sources existed on the surface. The climate remained stable across large regions. No dangerously high radiation fields or threats from a nearby star had been identified around the planet. Based on these findings, a decision was made not to limit the investigation to observation instruments. The scientific team led by Marduk was sent to the planet for a detailed examination.
When the cruiser entered orbit, the team began scanning the entire surface. The first images showed broad plains, mountain ranges, and small seas separating the continents. While comparing the rock layers with the present geography, planetary scientist Boran transferred measurements of past water levels to the main screen.
“These mountains are far from the present coastlines,” he said. “There are fossils of marine organisms on them. The sediment layers on the plains are also thick. In some regions, the same seashells appear over hundreds of kilometers.”
Marduk examined the distance between the fossil sites and the seas. The present distribution of water did not explain where these remains were found.
“Assess the landforms, sediment layers, and rock ages together,” he said. “Let’s reconstruct the planet’s past geography.”
When the computer-generated image was complete, most of the present continents were underwater. Millions of years earlier, a vast ocean had covered almost half the planet. Its boundaries extended far beyond the present seas. Broad plains that were now arid, depressions between mountains, and most of the settlement areas had once been underwater.
Boran compared the old geography with the present map.
“We can’t account for this water with the present seas,” he said.
The team examined the ice sheets at the planet’s poles. They were not large enough to account for the water of the receding ocean. Underground water reserves explained only a small fraction of the missing volume. Atmospheric studies revealed no traces of a major event that could have caused water to escape into space.
“The ice sheets and underground reserves aren’t enough,” Boran said. “There are no traces in the atmosphere to explain a loss of this size, either.”
Marduk requested another scan of the areas exposed by the receding ocean. Images from the survey vehicles revealed valleys far deeper than would normally be expected on a seabed. Some extended for hundreds of kilometers. Interconnected fissures reached into the continent’s interior. The floors of broad depressions lay kilometers below the present sea level.
Boran examined the valley walls and floors separately. The walls bore erosion marks left by water over a long period. The large fractures at the bottom had formed through later movements.
“The erosion marks and the fractures at the bottom aren’t from the same period,” he said. “Water flowed through these valleys for a long time. The major fractures formed later.”
The team assessed these traces together with the regions where the fissures extended. The ocean had not disappeared all at once. The water had first receded toward certain regions, then flowed into fissures reaching deep into the planet. The erosion on the valley walls and the fractures on their floors showed this sequence.
“Investigate whether this was solely a natural geological change,” Marduk said.
The loss of most of the ocean from the surface was large enough to change the entire pattern of life on the planet. While examining the former coastal regions, the team also assessed its possible effects on settlements. Coastal settlements must have lost their water supply, maritime transportation must have ended, and the climate must have changed completely. However, the investigation had not yet uncovered traces of these consequences.
As the research vehicles traveled over the former ocean floor, they detected orderly rows of stone. The rows resembled natural rock formations in the first images, but scans of wider areas showed that they ran parallel to one another. In some sections, they met at right angles and enclosed large areas.
Boran followed the stone rows in the images.
“The parallel lines meet at a right angle here,” he said. “They also enclose areas.”
After examining the structures, the team determined that they were not natural formations that had once been underwater. The stone rows were the remains of roads and settlements built after the ocean receded.
“Settlements were built on this floor after the ocean receded,” Boran said.
This finding showed that life had continued on the planet after the water disappeared. But the remains on the ocean floor did not belong to the period in which they were searching for an older civilization. The team reconsidered the ancient geography to decide where to continue the investigation.
“To find the older settlements, we need to examine the coastlines of that period,” Marduk said. “Not the seabed exposed by the retreating water.”
The computer placed the old coastline over the present map. The line passed along the upper sections of the deep valleys. Some geometric formations identified in the surface scans were arranged one after another along this coast. The high ground now bordering cliffs had once stood beside the ocean.
Boran compared the locations of the geometric formations with the old coastline.
“The formations here continue along the old coast,” he said.
The first large settlements preserving the planet’s past might be found on this high ground. Marduk redirected the survey vehicles toward the formations along the former coast.
