The Physics of Politics
Then
“Esteemed friends and respected rivals. We are gathered here today to discuss the wormhole.” Pressing his glasses further up his nose, he continued. “I believe a contingency plan should be put in place in order to prevent the extraterrestrial faction known as the Ragon Empire from ever reaching Earth.” Gesturing toward his assistant to cue up the video presentation, Dr. Xue glanced around the room. He did not have everyone’s attention. “Do not worry! I hate PowerPoint as much as you do, this is a video!” Several looks of annoyance crossed his international colleagues faces. Only to be expected by raising my voice. The video started.
“As you may or may not know the concept of a wormhole was first proposed back in the early 20th century. I am not here to give you a science lecture or discuss whether or not a wormhole is possible, as we have identified one which has allowed humans to traverse in both directions while remaining intact.” The video began to show footage of the wormhole, taken by UN representatives. “As you can see here, the wormhole is visible. Whether or not it matches our scientists’ drawings of yesteryear is of no importance. Before 2026, the only wormholes we observed were of the quantum level. They would open and collapse within the blink of an eye, nothing could keep them open. We don’t know why or how a wormhole of this size can exist, the only possibility is that some form of exotic matter is behind it. Now, onto the proposal.”
“Have you ever looked into a mirror, with another identical mirror behind you? You would have noticed an endless descent of reflections slowly turning the color green until you couldn’t make out the details. That is because when light is reflected it loses its intensity and eventually is completely dispersed.” He was starting to lose even more audience members to their social media accounts. This is getting worse. “A wormhole is not like that, it magnifies energy and moves it through quantum space so that no energy is dissipated.” A glass of water was unceremoniously emptied before the lecture continued.
“Listen carefully. Think of a wormhole as a machine with two microphones paired to two speakers on the opposite sides.” The video would display one microphone and one speaker on one side, with the other side having a microphone and a speaker also. “Sound enters the first microphone and exits the second speaker at a heightened volume. The second microphone picks up this sound and transfers it out of the first speaker at an even more heightened volume. As you can see, this process would continue until the machine would be destroyed unless there was an artificial safety mechanism put in place to limit the maximum volume possible. In the case of our wormhole, there is no giant alien dyson sphere surrounding it, which implies that it is a natural phenomenon. Thereby, there is no artificial safety mechanism.”
“I propose that we place two hydrogen fusion bombs, tethered together across the wormhole, to be detonated in the event that our extraterrestrial allies fall to the Ragon Empire. While this could possibly permanently end the connection between our two galaxies, it would guarantee that this galaxy remains safe from the Ragon threat.”
Silence. Suddenly the applause began to grow. Convincing the Security Council to authorize the utilization of WMDs against extraterrestrial phenomena was a piece of cake, as every nation with veto power had nukes.
Three Months Later
The initial proposal had been passed the evening of his presentation. However, the decision as to who would be allowed to manufacture the warheads and be contracted to maintain them still dragged out in the halls of stately affairs. There was also the issue of receiving the blessings of the numerous non-Earth powers which occupied the region in question.
The doctor wasn't a diplomat, he was a physicist. However, when he heard of the plan to send one of the state's own diplomats he quietly protested the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and found himself awarded the position. He was to accompany Earth's own pioneer son, Nathaniel Taylor Carter, while observing both the physical and the social aspects of the universe.
During the journey, the doctor occupied himself with reviewing all of the available information on the Andromeda Galaxy's native species and facts. Most of the information was relatively useless, but it kept his mind active. When he finally approached the station, he couldn't stop himself from staring at the swirling phenomena in the background. To think that an entire galaxy had been discovered relatively overnight and with it a civilization which could be communicated with and held superior technology. Every futurist's dream.
When he arrived, the station was- different. He hadn't been briefed on the wartime changes, although one look at the atmosphere of things would allude to such. Either way, he filed the papers and confirmed his credentials with the Gollar liaison's office and was directed towards the Defiance.
He arrived just in time to watch as an armored eight-foot tall beast strode up the landing ramp. It wasn't fear he felt at the sight, it was astonishment. To know they were in our own galaxy all this time. The thought of Earth's pre-Destiny race for microbes was painful. Ow, that reminds me. He had given his consent to the translation injection, not without great thought and doubt, as he wasn't extremely comfortable with the thought of extragalactic microbes feeding on his brain.
Once he reached the bottom of the landing ramp he wasn't sure what to do next. There wasn't a welcoming party and he didn't think shouting would do. Sharply inhaling and then releasing an exasperatied sigh, his feet began to climb. He hated when things weren't strictly planned out. I guess I need to find the first bipedalist and ask for directions.
