200 KILOMETERS NORTH OF SEVERODVINSK, RUSSIA
The Russian icebreaker Burnyi slowly made its way through the snow-covered ice that blanketed this region of the White Sea eight months out of the year. The ice was relatively thin for late October—only about six inches in most places—due to the unusually mild weather this year in the Arctic. But this was still a challenge for the Burnyi, a timeworn, diesel-powered icebreaker out of Severodvinsk. Especially with the heavy barge it was towing.
Seventy miles due south, just at the edge of the winter ice sheet, the sleek, white Belyi Prizrak glided gracefully through the frigid blue water of the White Sea. On board, a group of powerful men were assembled in the yacht’s plush media room. Seated among four rows of red theater-style chairs were five high-ranking officials of the Russian government, including the first deputy prime minister and three Russian generals in full uniform; two representatives of the Chinese Defense Ministry; and one representative from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. In the back row were four older men who simply described themselves as posrednikov or “facilitators.” These were powerful—and dangerous—men with connections in both high and low places. They were the type of men who put the word “crony” in “crony capitalism,” which was what passed for free enterprise these days in Russia. In the front row, seated by himself with his legs crossed and a stoic expression on his face, was Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Benjamin Fulcher.
Vladamir Krupnov, president and cofounder of Krupnov Energy, suddenly appeared on the room’s large plasma television screen. “Gentlemen,” he said with a dramatic flourish. “Welcome aboard the Belyi Prizrak. I apologize that I could not be here in person for this historic event. But if all goes as planned today, you will soon be witnessing the greatest technological accomplishment in Russia since the launch of Sputnik. Because of your tremendous support and patience, and your continued financial generosity, we are now in a position to announce that Krupnov Energy will be the first and only company in the world with the capability to harness mankind’s greatest untapped energy source . . . gravity.”
The small crowd did not stir at all. The dignitaries and other men assembled in the media room had all heard this promise many times before. What they wanted to see today were results.
“This is just a demonstration, of course,” continued Krupnov. “But I think you will soon see that your investments in Krupnov Energy have been well placed.” Krupnov gestured toward Dr. Fulcher. “So without further ado, may I introduce Dr. Benjamin Fulcher.”
Fulcher rose slowly with the help of his cane and turned toward the small audience. “Lights, please,” he said. The lights slowly dimmed in the media room and a video began playing on the screen behind him. “It all begins with a small seed,” he said. As he spoke, a small glass vial appeared on the screen with a tiny black shard floating lazily inside it. The camera zoomed in slowly until the floating object took up most of the screen.
There was a collective murmur in the room as the seated dignitaries began exchanging emphatic whispers.
“This,” continued Fulcher, “is one of the rarest substances on earth . . . perhaps in the entire universe. We are tremendously lucky to have this small bit in our possession. And I assure you, there is more on the way. This tiny seed material is what makes all of this technology possible.”
“How does it float like that?” asked the Russian first deputy prime minister.
Fulcher collected his thoughts for a moment before answering. “Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that the force of gravity we experience all around us emanated from a single event known as the Big Bang.”
The first deputy prime minister shrugged and nodded his head.
“So all matter is attracted to all other matter because, in the beginning, it existed as just a single pinpoint of incredibly dense matter and energy, and it wants to return to that state. Let’s just accept that assumption as true.”
The first deputy prime minister nodded again.
“If that is true, then the material you see here on the screen somehow escaped the Big Bang. In other words, this material came to us from somewhere else, somewhere that was not involved in the Big Bang. And, as a result, this material is not imbued with the property that we call ‘gravity.’ ”
“But . . . where could this material have come from if not from the Big Bang?” asked the Iranian official.
Fulcher shrugged. “Another universe, perhaps. Or another dimension. Both possibilities are supported by modern string theory. Or, if you like, you could just say it came from God.”
There were a few chuckles among the group. Fulcher, however, did not laugh or give any sign that he was joking. Because he wasn’t.
“The question of where it came from is not terribly important,” said Fulcher. “What is important is that, under the right conditions, this seed material has the ability to influence other material.” Fulcher looked around the room to make sure this notion had sunk in. “This seed material,” he explained slowly, “can make ordinary material give up its gravitational force. And that, gentlemen, is what allows our reactor to convert gravity . . . into energy.”
“Can you explain how the gravity reactor works?” asked one of the Chinese officials.
Fulcher clicked a button, and the screen behind him suddenly transitioned to a slick animation of nuclear fission. “I can explain it best by comparing it to a conventional fission reactor. As you know, a fission reactor converts mass into energy. It does this by breaking an unstable uranium atom into fragments and using the released energy to heat water, which then runs turbines to generate electricity. But where does the energy come from? Well, if you were to weigh all the fragments that are left over after the uranium atom is broken up during fission and compare it to the original, intact atom, you would find there is a very tiny difference in mass. This is called the mass deficit, and this is where the energy actually comes from. The missing mass has been transformed directly into energy according to the formula E equals mc squared.” Fulcher paused for a moment and looked all around the small audience. “Of course, this was considered impossible a hundred years ago. Now it powers ships and submarines and entire cities. Next slide, please.”
The screen changed to a simplified animation of Fulcher’s gravity reactor.
“Our reactor is based on a similar principle. But instead of converting mass into energy, it converts gravity into energy. As I explained earlier, we start with a special seed material, which has the capability of influencing a secondary material, causing it to release its gravitational force. This results in a ‘gravitational deficit,’ and energy is simultaneously released according to the formula E equals mc squared, where m is the mass of the material that has transitioned to the nongravitational state.”
“And what is the secondary material that you use?” asked one of the Russian generals.
“For today’s demonstration, we will be using nickel. But virtually any dense mineral will work, such as iron or copper, or zinc, or even alloys such as steel. In time, we will be able to harvest the spent secondary material from the reactor. And I’m sure you gentlemen can imagine the many uses it will have.”
“It will float?” asked the first deputy prime minister. “Just like the object we saw earlier?”
Fulcher nodded. “Yes, it will.”
“What about radiation?” asked the Iranian scientist.
“There is no release of radiation from our reactor because the atoms are not being broken apart, as they are with fission. Therefore, when we harvest the spent secondary material, it will not be radioactive.” Fulcher paused. “There is, however, one important side effect. Which is why we are conducting this demonstration out here in the open ocean.”
“You mean time dilation,” said the Iranian.
Fulcher nodded. “Yes. It is most problematic during reactor start-up, and it diminishes over time. We believe that, once we have enough material to create a self-sustaining reaction, the time-dilation effect will reach a steady-state condition that can be easily managed. Perhaps it will be a factor of just slightly less than one. In other words, time will run just a bit slower in the vicinity of the reactor, but this should not affect operations or present any sort of health hazard. As a precaution, however, we are designing our first reactors to be placed out at sea. Long transmission lines will carry electrical power to the grid.”
Krupnov’s face suddenly appeared on the screen again. “Gentlemen, it is not necessary to get bogged down in these details right now. Our technology will provide clean energy from a natural resource that, while it may not be renewable, is certainly abundant.” He swept his arms dramatically around the room he was sitting in, which happened to be the library of the Hillcrest mansion in Middleburg, Virginia. “We are talking about converting gravity into energy. As a side benefit, we will be harvesting gravity-free material from these reactors. The quantity will be quite small at first, but, as it accumulates, just imagine the possibilities. And, unlike with conventional nuclear power, we will no longer have to worry about radiation.” He paused and watched the Russian generals and the Chinese officials nodding enthusiastically. “The only price we must pay is the inconvenience of a few isolated ‘time pockets.’ Easily manageable, as Dr. Fulcher explained. And totally harmless.”
Dr. Fulcher checked his watch and interrupted. “Gentlemen, I believe our demonstration is nearly ready. Please sit back and watch the screen. We have remote cameras on board the reactor barge, and thanks to the Russian navy we have two helicopters in the vicinity that will provide aerial shots. Ah, here we are.”
As Fulcher spoke, the plasma screen switched to a four-way split screen, showing two live shots of the reactor vessel and two overhead shots of the mobile power station, floating by itself in the frozen White Sea.
“The demonstration will begin in approximately five minutes,” said Fulcher. “Gentlemen . . . prepare to witness history.”