Return of the Flying Dutchman

RETURN OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

Ron Isaacs

"I don't think I shall ever get the hang of proving these
trigonometrical theorems!" Janie was quite morose as she pondered her
handiwork on the table.

"Just remember," Jim Slade reassured her, "It's all just logic. Once
you have done a few of these the rest will come much easier."

Jim was a theoretical physicist, living next door to a family having a
scientific prodigy for a daughter. Her teachers had despaired of
helping her so her parents asked their neighbour, whom they saw as a
genius, to give her some tutoring. Jim had gladly accepted, if only to
help Janie achieve the goals he felt she deserved.

Packing her things to return home, the twelve-year-old turned to her
mentor. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get married and be
together always!"

Jim was not at all taken aback by this proposal, for he was aware that
students often fell for their teachers, regardless of the age gap
between them. He was not without feeling for Janie, but convention
forbade development of a loving relationship.

"Have you read Alice In Wonderland?" he asked.

"Oh yes! Many times! What a beautiful story!" his student was
ecstatic.

Raising a cautionary finger Jim continued. "Lewis Carroll's real name
was Charles Ludwidge Dodgson," he informed, "Although a clergyman he
was also a brilliant mathematician. He was deeply in love with Alice
Liddell, one of the little girls to whom he was tutor, and she,
possibly, had feelings for him. She admitted it when she was much
older. But as in our own case, nothing could come of their feelings, so
he died a single man."

"But surely you don't want to end up the same way!" pleaded Janie. "If
you do then so shall I!"

Jim laughed. "Alice did marry and raise a family, and so will
you!"

"Not without you!" returned the child. "If you remain single so shall
I! Look, suppose it were possible for me to catch up, so that I were
not so much younger than you, could we marry then?"

Jim pondered a little, then ventured "I'll think about it."

Several weeks later Jim was one of a number of eminent scientists
appearing at a symposium at a university college. The subject under
consideration was the development of ideas about how to travel vast
distances across the galaxy and beyond. The chairman stood and
addressed the assembly. "You are all aware of the tremendous
contribution in this field by Dr. James Slade, Reader in Theoretical
Physics at Exbridge University. Tonight he will present a paper
entitled Detection and Creation of Worm-Holes".

Jim stood and faced his colleagues "Suppose the astronauts were to pass
through a worm-hole. There is nothing new about such a notion, but if
we consider the possibility of it happening we must think about the
consequences. A worm-hole is, in effect, a short-cut through space,
enabling travellers to move many light years in a very short time. They
could well, to all intents and purposes, be seen as travelling near, or
even above the speed of light. This is where Einstein's concepts come
in, for time dilation would occur on board the space-craft. There is a
possibility that the distance covered might be so great as to make
return to Earth impossible. But suppose that our travellers were to
manage a return, they would find that time dilation would render the
elapsed time on Earth to be far greater than they experience on their
space-craft. They may even find that all whom they knew and loved had
died, while they had hardly aged at all.
"Worm-holes can be shown mathematically to exist all over the universe,
and there could be mini-versions right here on our own planet. It is
even possible to artificially create such mini-worm-holes. On the bench
before me is a demonstration of this. You will note at each end of the
bench an upright pair of electrodes, each connected to a box of
electronic circuitry. The equipment generates the kappa-waves described
in the my paper, of which you all have copies."

Jim nodded to a technician, who walked to each box in turn and operated
a switch.

"Will someone lend me a clearly-recognisable object?" Those present
laughed when he said "Sorry to sound like a conjuror, but I am about to
do something similar." A brief-case was passed to the rostrum, which
Jim threw between the pair of electrodes at one end of the bench. A
fuzzy orange glow enveloped it, as it disappeared and, preceded by the
same orange luminescence, reappeared between the similar electrodes at
the other end of the bench. The assembled audience gasped as the case
was held aloft, then passed to its owner, who affirmed that it was
indeed his case and contents.

Jim continued: "As you can see from reading the paper, a worm-hole
emits kappa-waves, enabling them to be detected, and the signal so
derived used to steer a space-ship towards it. I am approaching a space
exploration group, asking them to build a suitable ship, and hope to
arrange finance from the European Space Agency."

The craft for this exploration was much larger than those used for
orbiting the Earth, as it would have to travel great distances, taking
possibly years before finding a worm-hole. It would be unable to
commence its journey from the surface of this planet, because of the
vast quantity of fuel required for a such a heavy vehicle to reach
escape velocity. By this time, however, an enormous orbiting station
had been built. It was constructed by taking each part into position by
rocket and assembling it while in orbit. The station, almost a city in
the sky, was aptly named Laputa, after the flying city conceived by
Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels".

Seeker, as the craft was called, was built in a similar manner, with
the advantage that Laputa was already available. It was taken there in
sections and assembled by a team of technicians. Not requiring the
enormous thrust of rockets launched from Earth, it was propelled by a
nuclear- powered ion drive. The crew, limited in size, was comprised of
an international team of specialists. There was Jim Slade, leader of
the expedition, Chen Wong, an electronics engineer from Hong Kong,
Ludmilla Rostova, an astronomer from Moscow university and Ilana Meyer,
a doctor from Israel.

The launch of the rocket taking the team to Laputa took place at a site
about 100 kilometres east of Moscow. Jim gave them an initial briefing.
"We could describe ourselves as trail-blazers for those following us to
take long-distance trips into space. You, my colleagues, have been
selected not just for your expertise, but for your reported courage.
There is a possibility that we may never return home, and we may meet
unforeseeable hazards."

Before departing for Russia Jim was visited by Janie and her family.
"My daughter is going to miss you," said her mother, Mary Fellowes,
"You know that she is very fond of you, so please try to come back in
one piece."

"If I return at all," replied Jim, "I promise to be just that!" He
shook hands with Mr. And Mrs. Fellowes. Janie became very emotional,
hugging and kissing him as she cried. Jim allowed himself a kiss on her
cheek. "Work hard at your maths and don't let me down. By the time I
return," he joked, "you could well have a PhD!"

Seeker had left the Solar system and had been on its voyage for some
three years. Everything had settled to a routine. Regular astronomical
observations logged the distance she had travelled, and boredom had
almost set in, until the kappa-wave detector began to warble. Chen
switched on the guidance system, and the navigational thrusters turned
Seeker towards what appeared to be a flickering orange sphere. "Here we
go!" he shouted, "Hold on to your hats!"

The crew could see through the observation ports that Seeker was
entering the orange glow. A few seconds later all of them had the
sensation of being squeezed, aware apart from this only of an
all-pervading orange light, accompanied by a high-pitched hum. It was
impossible to judge for how long, for it all gave the impression of
timelessness. Eventually, and quite suddenly, everything returned to
normal.

Ludmilla peered through the telescope and checked her charts. "Look at
this everybody!" she called, "The stars are in the same positions as we
see from home!" A further search revealed that they were heading
straight back to the Solar system.

Laputa looked very different from the way it was at the outset. It was
larger, with more features. Jim called on the radio. Their identity
established, he asked "How long have we been away?"

The reply came "How long do you think?"

"According to our clock," said Jim, "Three years."

The operator on Laputa laughed. "Your clock must be slow! You've been
away for fifteen years! Anyway, welcome home!"

Jim realised that in accordance with his forecast time dilation had
taken place. He informed his colleagues, who despite being hardened
investigators marvelled at what had happened.

A reception and dinner were held in the Great Hall of Exbridge
University to welcome back the travellers. During the dinner Jim was
seated next to Dr. Jack Bridges, the university's Professor of Pure
Mathematics. "There's a young woman here, Jim, who says you tutored her
in maths when she was a kid."

"That must surely be Janine Fellowes." Jim responded, "So for all her
difficulties she finally made it."

"Dr. Janine Fellowes to you," laughed Bridges.

Jim laughed in turn. "I did suggest to her that if she worked hard she
might gain a PhD."

"PhD my foot," replied Jack, "Do you remember that chap Andrew Wiles at
Cambridge many years ago who found a proof for Fermat's Last theorem?
That took him years and put his family life under strain. Our Janine
took just six months to write a paper, A Concise Proof of Fermat's Last
Theorem, and for her work was awarded a Doctorate of Science."

"A DSc," whispered Jim, and whistled. "I was really joking, but a DSc,
she must be a genius."

"Genius is right," returned the professor. "You know, I am getting near
retirement, and although your young friend is only in her twenties
there is talk of her succeeding me."

During the socialising that evening Jim was approached by a beautiful
young woman. "Hello Jim!" she smiled.

"Janie?" stumbled Jim, "I thought I saw you in the crowd. You really
have grown up, and done very well for yourself by all accounts."

"They're putting on an opera tomorrow evening to celebrate your
return," smiled Janie. "Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, very
appropriately. You, of course, are going to escort me!"

They sat together in the semi-darkness, listening to the story of the
sea-captain condemned to continue his wandering until he found a woman
who loved him. Jim felt a warm little hand clutching his.

After the performance they wandered hand-in-hand about the campus. "It
feels so wonderful that my Flying Dutchman has returned after such a
long, arduous voyage." whispered Janie. "But unlike Wagner's captain he
has found someone to love him."

"At least I am no longer in Dodgson's situation," replied Jim, "The
little girl I mentored is no longer much younger than her
teacher.

"I don't suppose you remember," said Janie, "telling me that if my age
caught up with yours you would consider marrying me."

"I remember." responded Jim.

"So are you considering it?"

"I finished considering it a long time ago."

Janie paused. "So what conclusion did you reach?" she asked.

"What do you think?" queried Jim.

They turned to face each other. In the campus lamplight first their
eyes met, then their lips. They cared not what others thought as, after
a long, long wait, they expressed their love for each other.

Footnote: Time dilation plays a big part in this story, for without it
the two main characters would not have been able to get together. There
will no doubt be some scientific purist who will assume that the author
either forgot, or disregarded the Clock Paradox. Such a person should
remember that this is just a story.

? R. J. Isaacs, 2001