String Theory_ Fusion (Book 2) - Kirsten Beyer [82]
Phoebe’s face loomed large above hers, blocking out any view she had of her mother’s eyes.
“Yes, Kathryn, this too was a beginning. Do you understand the difficulty… the imprecision of your most basic tool for communication… your language? This is the beginning of your life… your existence. But imprinted upon the strands of amino acids which form your DNA are memories which predate your life. You and every other living thing hold the memories of the beginning of all existence within you. Try again,” she commanded.
Reluctant as Janeway was to abandon the warmth and comfort of her mother’s arms, she obeyed and cast her mind into darkness, searching for a memory she had never known was part of her.
She found herself suspended in blackness, staring toward a tiny speck of light.
“Better,” Phoebe said.
Turning toward the sound, Janeway could barely make out the vague outline of her sister floating in the darkness beside her.
“Where are we?” Janeway asked.
“Closer to the truth,” Phoebe replied enigmatically.
“That’s comforting,” Janeway replied, hoping that saying the statement would make it real.
“I know this is difficult, Kathryn,” Phoebe said. “The answers you are seeking are buried far beyond the parts of your mind and body where you normally seek them. Unfortunately I can only show you those things for which you have some sort of context, even if it is theoretical. Once we have established the limits of your knowledge, we will attempt to push past them. But I will only be able to present that knowledge to you in images that you can relate to experientially.”
“All right,” Janeway said, turning her attention again to the tiny speck of light that seemed to beckon in the distance. “So far I understand that we are looking for a beginning.”
“That is correct,” Phoebe said.
“And that the word ‘beginning’ is imprecise because from my particular point of view there have been several events which were, in fact, some kind of beginning.”
“Also correct,” Phoebe replied, then asked, “What is this beginning?”
Janeway studied the speck of light. She was already growing weary of the exercise. She remembered vividly her days in early school, and then Starfleet Academy. She had always possessed a visceral thirst for knowledge. It drove and defined much of her existence. But the moment just before a concept or new piece of information had been integrated into her larger understanding of the subject at hand, that casting about in the unknown searching for the thing which would anchor her in her search had always been painful. She realized in this moment how much of her drive and discipline as a student had been calculated avoidance of this exact feeling. She needed to know the answer, the correct answer to the question. Only that could stave off the inevitable physical discomfort of ignorance.
In a flash, these thoughts brought her to the appropriate memory. She had been seated in Professor Philemon’s theoretical quantum mechanics course in her first year at Starfleet Academy. Philemon had been presenting a lecture on the origins of the universe, accompanied by a holographic projection of the moment still referred to in some circles as the “Big Bang.”
The moment she realized where she was, the fleck of light began to dance before her. A split second later it burst forth in a cascade of light that enveloped the room.
Turning to Phoebe, she said, “This is the beginning of the universe.”
“As you understand it,” Phoebe replied.
“Are you telling me that this theoretical model of the formation of the universe is wrong?” Janeway asked. “That the basic principles of space and time which have allowed humanity and countless other species to venture out into the universe and safely explore space are… what?” she demanded.
“Incomplete,” Phoebe replied.
Janeway planted her hands on her hips and asked, “In what way?”
“Look closer,” Phoebe demanded.
Resigning herself to the attempt, Janeway considered the fragments of fiery light flowing out from the original speck that she had always