CHAPTER 1 - The Returning Ship
When the first change appeared on the screen showing the crossing region, Vena leaned toward the recording panel in front of her. Lines that had been separate a moment earlier were curving toward the same point. The space at the center darkened for a few seconds. Then the ship’s bow appeared.
Vena reached for the communications panel.
“A vessel has appeared in the crossing region. I’m comparing its identification record,” Vena said.
The staff in the research center’s observation room turned to their screens. On the display covering the front wall of the room, the ship’s hull was slowly emerging. The Federation vessels left their waiting positions and moved toward it.
The two records in front of Vena overlapped. The markings on the hull, the movement data, and the ship’s identification code matched.
“It’s our ship,” Vena said.
Huzzi, the research supervisor, rose from the table in the middle of the room. As Huzzi approached the display, the rear section of the ship also emerged from the crossing area. The return they had awaited for so long was now on the screen before them.
“Open the connection,” Huzzi said.
Vena sent the call. There was no response on the first attempt. Everyone in the room waited as the indicator showing an attempted connection flashed on the panel. After the second call, the ship’s command section appeared.
Captain Tili was seated in his chair. Behind him, the crew members were at their panels.
“We can hear you,” Tili said.
“What is the crew’s condition?” Huzzi asked.
“Everyone is alive. The entire crew is aboard,” Tili replied.
Vena entered the captain’s words in the return log. Huzzi’s gaze rested briefly on the people working behind Tili.
“The vessels approaching your ship will escort you to the research center. The medical team is ready here,” Huzzi said.
“We’re receiving the guidance,” Tili said.
The connection remained open. As the Federation vessels took their positions around the ship, Vena recorded the time of its return.
The first exploration ship the Federation had deliberately sent to another universe had returned to its own universe after a long mission.
***
When the ship was brought into the research center, Huzzi was waiting behind the glass in the reception area. After the security staff completed the external checks, the access door opened. The crew disembarked to be taken to the medical section.
Tili was among the last to leave. He nodded when he saw Huzzi. The glass between them had not yet opened. Huzzi returned the gesture, leaving the questions until after the medical checks.
In the examination rooms, the crew members were scanned one by one. Zuli, the medical supervisor, was comparing the incoming results with the records from before the journey. As completed examinations accumulated on the screen nearby, Huzzi sat in one of the chairs in the waiting area.
When Tili came out of his examination, he took the chair opposite Huzzi.
“Are the recording systems ready?” Huzzi asked.
“They’re ready for transfer. All the data we collected during the journey is aboard,” Tili replied.
“Let’s finish the medical results first,” Huzzi said.
Tili nodded. He watched the crew members coming through the open door. After completing their checks, each joined the others waiting in the adjoining section.
Zuli came over after completing the final comparisons.
“We found no illness in the examinations. We detected no physical changes either,” Zuli said.
“Is there any effect you can attribute to their having been in another universe?” Huzzi asked.
“We found no unknown effects in our scans. The entire crew is healthy,” Zuli replied.
Huzzi stood. Tili rose as well.
“Now we can look at the records,” Huzzi said.
***
By the time the ship’s recording systems were opened, Vena had taken her place at the transfer desk. Tili sat in the chair beside her. Huzzi stood behind them both, watching the main screen.
Observation files, measurements, and images were listed in separate directories. Vena established the first connection. Acknowledgments from the Federation’s science centers began appearing on the right side of the screen.
As the files progressed, it became clear that only a small part of the list had been transferred. Vena looked at the amount of data remaining.
“The transfer will take a long time,” Vena said.
“Let’s begin the examination with the crossing records,” Huzzi said.
Tili opened the relevant file. Images recorded during the journey appeared on the main screen. The route the ship had followed after leaving the research center was shown alongside the measurements taken as it approached the crossing.
Vena stopped the footage at a particular point. One screen showed the space around the ship; another displayed the values recorded at the same moment. Huzzi approached the desk and compared the recording times.
“Open all the measurements together from this point on,” Huzzi said.
Tili selected the files. The changes that had occurred in space during the crossing filled the screen. Vena placed the records showing the physical conditions in the ship’s region beside them.
When the initial examination was complete, Huzzi brought up the assessment to be sent to the science centers. The records confirmed that the ship had crossed into another universe. The return data was also opened in a separate file. The researchers began comparing the measurements obtained during the outward and return crossings.
Tili waited without changing the order of the images. When Huzzi wanted to look at a record again, he opened it, and they then continued the examination where they had left off.
After a while, Vena reached the directory of observations made after the crossing. The screens before them now showed images of the universe the ship had reached. Huzzi asked for the second file to be opened without closing the first. Then Huzzi requested another.
“Do all these measurements belong to the same observation sequence?” Huzzi asked.
“Yes. The times of the images and measurements have been matched,” Tili replied.
Vena displayed the matches on the screen. Huzzi examined the records for a while without speaking. Then Huzzi returned to the initial assessment on the desk. Beneath the lines reporting the successful completion of the journey, Huzzi opened a new heading for examination.
The exploration ship had reached a universe whose existence the Federation had not previously known. The data obtained there required all their knowledge about universes to be reassessed.
The transfer continued. The science centers acknowledged receiving the files, and the ship’s records opened one by one before the researchers. Huzzi asked Vena for the next image.
The Federation had succeeded in bringing back the first ship it had sent to another universe. But the information the ship brought back had presented humanity with a discovery far greater than the journey itself.
