The Time Surgeons

Six months went by during which the scientific world, or at least its astronomical corner, began to buzz with the news of such a nearby and thus readily studied phenomenon. The buzz even leaked into the general media, and ‘Pachmeny’s Stars’ became stars in the public mind, dragging Pachmeny along with them.

She had no time for that. She was happy in her work, ignoring the fame except as it helped her work; happy in her relationship with Arragath, which had transformed almost seamlessly from a night of passion to something deeper and more lasting.

The only oddity was Shemsak. Sometimes Pachmeny thought he was jealous of her success, though that made no sense. It never occurred to her that he could be jealous of her relationship with Arragath; which was probably a good thing, as that was the last thing on his mind. He was nothing but supportive of her and her work; gave nothing but his blessing to her union with Arragath. Yet too many times she would catch a glimpse of him alone at his work, a look almost like fear on his face. Other times she would catch him looking at her, as if staring at his own death.

Then one day he called them into his office.

“Shut the door,” he commanded.

Then he waved to the chairs before his desk. “Sit.”

They looked at each other. It was rare that any student was invited to sit before a Sage; a breach of protocol, almost, except in cases of exceptional success or failure. Their success was too old, and had not invited a seat when it was new. So they sat, but on the edge of their seats, looking at Shemsak nervously.

He looked back, folding and unfolding his hands, as if he were even more nervous than they. In his prime he had exuded power and confidence; now, only six months after their discovery, it was as if his greatest success had drained him. He looked almost haggard, and when he finally spoke, they could detect a distinct quaver in his once firm voice.

“Pachmeny. Arragath. You must know how proud I am of both of you. But now I must tell you some of my own latest work. I was working on this even before you discovered the stars that now bear your name. Then, I was not sure. Now, I am. Or perhaps I am coming to you, Arragath, as Pachmeny did that night. Perhaps I am wrong.”

He was silent for a while. Then he spoke again.

“You are familiar with the theory of exploding stars?”

Pachmeny nodded. “Yes. When a giant star runs out of its nuclear fuel it can no longer support its own weight. But in its collapse, it triggers a fusion explosion beyond understanding. It tears itself apart with a violence that rivals all the output of its home galaxy. Even today we can see the remnant glows of supernova explosions thousands of years ago.”

She paused and Arragath added, “I too know the theory, but I do not see your meaning. There are no such stars anywhere near Earth. They cannot hide for they are too bright. Even behind clouds of dust their presence would reveal itself.”

Shemsak nodded. “No, there are not. But there are other ways a supernova can be caused. A white dwarf star, drawing mass from a companion red giant, can add enough mass to its core to trigger a collapse, with the same result.”

The mention of white dwarfs piqued Arragath’s interest, with a subtext of fear. But he replied after a moment’s thought, “Interesting. But a red giant is also too bright to hide, and there are none of them close enough either.”

Shemsak looked at them, and suddenly seemed older, as he added softly, “A white dwarf feeding off a red giant companion… or when two white dwarf stars combine.”

“You aren’t saying…?”

“I am. Pachmeny’s Stars are not only close to each other, they are in an unstable orbit. I do not know why. Perhaps they are in a cloud of gas and friction is causing orbital decay; perhaps some other nearby star perturbs their orbit; perhaps that Einstein physics Arragath is working on has something to do with it. The effect is small, but their orbit is highly elliptical, and Pachmeny B comes very close to Pachmeny A at its closest approach. So it only takes a small effect. As white dwarf stars they are both very dense, and so despite their tight orbit, little material is transferred between them. Until they get too close. Then they will merge, or enough material will be stripped off Pachmeny B onto Pachmeny A to achieve much the same thing.”

“When?” whispered Pachmeny.

“I cannot yet say. Years, I fear. Decades, I think. Centuries, I hope. They may already have done so. We will have no warning. Once critical mass is reached the collapse is extremely rapid. One day they will look as they do today, invisible to the naked eye, filling the days and nights of astronomers. Then one day their light will fill the sky. They are too close. Even thirty light years would be too close, though maybe some would survive the holocaust. Seven… seven is too close. They will sterilize every part of the planet their radiation hits. They will destroy the layer of ozone that protects us from the Sun’s ultraviolet light. We will all be dead. I imagine that simple life will survive, hidden away from the worst of it. But the ecosystem will collapse. The Earth will become a desert.”

“What… what can we do?”

“Nothing can stop it.”

“Then… why tell us? Why tell anyone? Perhaps we would all be better off not knowing! Living our lives and our hopes, our dreams: never even knowing when they end.”

“Now you know the burden I have borne.”

“I do not think I can thank you for sharing it. I can neither help you bear it, nor bear it myself.”

“No. I am sorry, Pachmeny. I have come to think of you as a daughter, and it tears my heart apart to do this to you. But I must. For there might be a way out. The way is neither easy nor guaranteed; perhaps it will merely add suffering to pain. But can we ignore the one hope of the human race, by shutting our eyes to escape our own pain?”

Pachmeny looked at Arragath, tears pricking her eyes. We had such hopes, you and I. Our careers, our children, our legacy. Now there is nothing. Could we even have children now, knowing the fate they must meet? Why, Shemsak, why? I think I would have preferred to live my life until death crept up on me unseen; to strip my life and dreams from me without my ever knowing.

Arragath looked back at her, knowing her thoughts; sharing them. Then he turned back to Shemsak. “What is the hope you see?”

“You, of all men, know what we have been learning from the work of the Ancient Sage Einstein. There is more to space and time than meets the eye. We cannot escape the death of these stars. We have not yet managed to escape our own planet, let alone flee tens of light years ahead of their rage. But Einstein teaches that perhaps there is a way. Perhaps we can tunnel through space to a far part of the galaxy. Escape Earth. Maybe many, maybe only a few. Enough to preserve the race.”

“You cannot be serious! You yourself said it! We have not even left our planet, yet you imagine we can build tunnels through spacetime itself?!”

“I wish I were not, but if you know of some other way I will readily hear it.”

“Can we not literally tunnel? Dig into the Earth? Build shelters, protected under miles of rock?”

“Perhaps. Indeed, that is part of my plan, if ‘plan’ is an appropriate word for what it is. Not to weather the storm. That is impossible. The biosphere will be destroyed for millennia, if not forever. Even buried under tons of rock lined with lead, in the face of gamma radiation and the rest in such ferocity, complete protection is impossible. People would survive. But whether they could have children…” He spread his hands helplessly. “And if they could… even with nuclear power, I see no way they could survive long enough to return to a living surface that could support human life. It would buy time: decades probably; with luck, a century or two. But it would only prolong the inevitable. Soon enough all will die, having achieved nothing but the extension of pain. An asymptote to the end of Man.”

“Then why consider it?”

“Because we know nothing! Except that what we don’t know might save us! What I want is to set the whole world working on a solution, set up such shelters, then populate them with the best and brightest of humanity, so they can continue the work after the end!”

Arragath looked from him to Pachmeny and back. “You’re mad.”

Shemsak shrugged. “Perhaps. Who would not be, after six months knowing what I have known? But it is that, or roll over and die.”

The two students stood, as if as one. “We will think about it, Shemsak,” said Arragath. “But will anyone believe us? Even I don’t believe it, and I’m an astrophysicist!”

“We will have to make them believe, or we are all dead, and with our death comes the end of the entire human race.”