| Chapter 2: Spoiled Apple of the Sky The Swartzchild cruised through the constellation Cygnus, most famously known as containing the six stars that make up the Northern Cross. Their target lay ahead. The well known star Cygnus A-1, its claim to fame being it was the first star besides our sun to have its distance calculated from earth, was recently proved to have once been a binary star. A binary star is a common phenomenon; actually, more common then single stars like our sun. Cygnus?s partner, though, Cygnus X-1, was rare; in fact, it was a black hole. The Swartzchild's mission was thus: to explore a black hole and to beam back, through hyperspace, all of the details of their flight. They would use the new technology hyper-dio, or hyperspatial radio, the sending of television and radio wavs through hyperspace. There would be a period of blank out time while in the black hole, but there would be huge amounts of evidence beamed back to the greatest minds on Earth to decipher. At last, the ship neared the black hole. None of the crew, even Johnson, knew what could be in store for them. No one even knew if they would make it out alive. ?Wow,? murmured Ranz. ?It is amazing?. Indeed it was. Though a black hole is for all purposes invisible, you can still see its outline in the swirling mists of gas yet to be stripped from Cygnus A-1. The Swartzchild ?parked? just beyond the event horizon, as the final preperations were made. Shields were put on overdrive, engines on overdrive, and the hyperdrive recalibrated. The crew strapped themselves in. They began the dive. Slowly, the gravity as well as the engines began to pull them in. The G-suits of the crew began to go to work. The ship, made of the highest-tech durasteel, titanium, ceramics and plastics, began to groan under the strain. Nearer and nearer toward the center they drew, Jones screamed out ?punch it!?; or tried to, under the stress. His hand inched closer...closer.... he wasn't going to make it.. he hit the button...nothingness. Then, a burst of white light, energy, he squinted.... they had made it! |
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