Reality Zero Read online

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  The following morning, Billy joined Angela and Dev in the lab, wearing his new uniform.

  ‘Now you're officially a member of the team, we thought it would be a good idea if we opened up the box to see what's really in there. By the way, Dev and I have nicknamed it 'Pandora', as we’ve no idea what it's going to do to society once we've opened it. We just hope it's going to work out for the best’ said Angela.

  ‘Okay. I suggest that only one of us does that, just in case it's accidentally triggered and switches us to the enemy reality. There's no telling whether they even have a space station such as this one and even if we were transported there, whether we'd finish up inside a wall or floor. When Sarah Hirst and I used the switch on Astraeus 5, we were as sure as we could be that the two universes would match up, as otherwise they would risk killing their own people. That's not the case here’ replied Billy.

  ‘Any volunteers?’ asked Angela.

  ‘In for a penny….’ responded Billy, looking for a screwdriver with which to open the lid ‘At least they made it easy to open. Better suit up, just in case.’

  A short while later, he started to remove the lid, whilst Angela and Dev watched on a monitor from the other room. A minute later, he had the lid removed and provided the others with a commentary ‘Glad that's done. We should be okay but just to make sure, I'm also going to remove what looks like the battery for it. Then we can see what we're really dealing with here…. Okay, I think it's safe now. Dev, can you pass me a meter, so I can just make sure there's no residual current lurking around before I consider it dead?’

  After testing as much of the top-most circuit board as he could, he decided that, as far as he could tell at this stage, the device was inert and it was safe to consider how he might remove it from its enclosure. Now that the circuits could no longer receiving any power, he shrugged out of the spacesuit.

  ‘Phew. Glad to be out of that thing’ he said, as he hung it on a hook in the corner of the lab.

  In each corner of the box was what looked to be a screw holding the circuit board in place. From the previous scans that Angela and Dev had run, they knew there were six inter-connected boards. He removed the screws and found, to his surprise, that all of the boards were now loose within the box, so he gently removed them as one unit and placed them carefully onto a rubber mat on the workbench. ‘Well, that's the easy bit done. All we need to do now is work out the circuits, what they all do and whether we are able to recreate them!’ he said, relieved that nothing had gone wrong so far.

  ‘What surprises me is just how archaic these circuit boards look, compared to what we’re used to. I reckon we have a good chance at miniaturising what’s on these boards quite a bit once we know what it all does’ said Angela, reflecting what Billy and Dev were thinking, as they looked at a selection of components and integrated circuits that none of them had seen for some time.

  ‘When Will and I went into the office on Astraeus 5, there was a computer terminal in there that looked absolutely ancient. We concluded that their view must be that 'if it does the job, why change it?' I’m amazed that, even with this old-tech circuitry, they have somehow managed to have some control over which reality they're in’ observed Billy.

  ‘What surprises me more than that, looking at this little collection of circuit boards, is that they even realised that there were different realities they could access. I doubt we'll ever know the answer to that one but one thing does occur to me. We already know that there are at least three realities. If so, how come this switch only has one button? Why not have some kind of additional switch or button or something that allows them to select one of several realities?’ said Dev, bending over the contents of the switch box.

  ‘Good question. Until we know how this thing works, that's something we'll have to keep in the backs of our minds. We have no idea what it is that selects the two realities. At this stage, all I can imagine is that there is some kind of binary setting that allows some part of the circuitry to be in one of two states - their reality and ours. Until we manage to fully disassemble the thing and can recreate the full circuit, we won't be able to be sure on that’ said Angela.

  ‘First off, do we know what all these components are? Some look familiar, such as the resistors, diodes and capacitors but I'm surprised that they are as big as they are, never mind mostly discrete components. All the circuits I’ve seen of late seem to use integrated circuits with only a minimal number of far smaller discrete components around them when necessary. The biggest area of doubt is with the few integrated circuits that there are on the boards and that device with five connector legs’ replied Dev, pointing at the strange component.

  ‘Once we've managed to separate the boards, I suggest we re-scan them board by board, so there will be fewer blind spots than there were when you were scanning all six of them. This’ll also give us a good chance of working out what the circuits are inside the few IC's there are. Hopefully, the scanner will be able to identify how that strange new component is constructed and then the software can start to decipher what the circuits do. I suggest that we just label up each board one to six, with one on top, then run each of them through the scanner and see what the computer can find’ suggested Billy.

  ‘Sounds as good an approach as any’ said Angela, reaching out to separate out the boards and place them in a line on the rubber mat. Once the boards were labelled, she carefully placed the first one into the scanner. ‘As the scanner is doing its thing, I suggest we take a more detailed look at the switch to see whether it's a simple on-off or more complex than that. The other thing we need to do is to have a look at the battery to see what voltage it produces and see what current drain it can take. That way we'll be able to use our own battery when we get to the point of trying to produce our own version.’

  They returned to the workbench and Dev picked up the battery ‘Looks fairly straightforward. The wrapper says that the voltage is 18 volts, which is a bit unusual. It also says that it's good for ten Amps. I'll hook it up and test those values.’

  A few minutes later, he said ‘Okay, well, those look about right. Not sure why it needs to be able to deliver ten amps. I suspect that we can produce something that will draw a lot less than that. We need to remember that if we use more efficient components and circuits, we may be able to use a smaller battery than this one.’

  Back at his workstation, Billy removed the switch from the lid of the box and examined it in more detail. ‘Angela was right. This is just a simple two-way switch. Every press of the switch switches the power from one primary circuit to another, resulting in a reality switch by the user and anyone or anything close by. I need to look at the circuit the scanner comes up with but it seems that, apart from when it's being switched over, Pandora's permanently live. Fortunately, it’s mostly in standby mode, so the current drain is minimal. Seems an odd way of doing things, though. You only need to power it when you actually reality transfer. The rest of the time it can be turned off. That would reduce the battery drain considerably as it's only turned on a few seconds at a time, as well as, I expect, simplifying the circuitry.’

  ‘I agree. That's about the most inefficient way I can think of for producing this sort of thing. Sounds a bit like the approach they have, if your comments about the computers are anything to go on. Should give us plenty of scope for making something much better’ commented Angela, as she placed the final circuit board into the scanner.

  Ten minutes later, the three of them were looking at the circuit diagrams that the scanner had produced and were starting to analyse what the various components did.

  After a while, Dev said ‘there seems to be an awful lot of redundancy and duplication built into this thing’ pointing at several parts of the screen. ‘The biggest redundancy is that the switch alternates between two almost identical circuits, with just a few components being different. What a waste. All we need is to put the different components outside the common circuits and switch between them. I
t’ll have the same effect, as well as being both cheaper and more efficient. I think that, once we’ve sorted out how this thing actually works, we then see if there’s a way of doing the job with software but we need to have a clearer understanding of the processes involved first.’

  By the end of the following day, they had managed to identify more precisely what the circuits were and what they all did. The computer had managed to identify how the strange new component was constructed and had identified how the pins were interconnected or were switched. Having done that they, with the computer, produced a draft circuit design that was considerably smaller, more efficient and which required a smaller and lower-voltage power supply than the original. They left it to the computer to produce a working prototype overnight.

  The following morning, Angela removed the prototype from the machine and gave it a visual check. The whole thing, albeit unboxed, was small enough to fit on the palm of her hand with room to spare and only required a single double-sided circuit board. The only additional items to add to the board were the switch and the battery, which was quickly dealt with. They then rebuilt the original device, which they now called Pandora 1. Their version was to be called Pandora 2 for now, to distinguish between the two devices.

  ‘Okay. We have, I think, something we can call a first version. I think we need a name for that new component. How does Transcator sound? Looking at this shows just how inefficient their design was. I'm nervous about testing it here, because if we were to be transported to another reality, we need to be certain that we're going to be somewhere pleasant and not in the middle of a wall, in free space or even in full view of the enemy. Any thoughts?’ said Angela.

  ‘Why don't we go to 'Roid 2? If we remain in orbit a hundred metres, say, above the comm base, we can test Pandora 2 in our ship and, if it works, we'll find ourselves above their version of the asteroid. Unless there’s someone nearby, we should be safe and, I would expect, remain unnoticed. We can be there and back here by the end of today. Okay on Transcator. It’s as good a name as any I could think of’ replied Billy.

  ‘Good idea, Billy. Sounds good to me. Boss?’ commented Dev.

  ‘Yeah, Okay. Let's get this thing boxed up and get over there. It might be a good idea if we could have a cruiser or something to keep an eye on us from a distance. That way we'll have eyes on us if we run into difficulties but they won't be able to help if we get stuck on the other side’ replied Angela.

  ‘Two of us could watch from within the Comm centre’ suggested Billy ‘At least that way only one of us would be at risk if it goes wrong.’

  ‘Good idea. Although we’ll all be on hand to discuss the results and make any further tweaks, it wouldn't be helpful to the programme if we were all trapped with no way back’ replied Angela.

  ‘If we set up some cameras in both the comm room and on the ship, we can monitor what happens. Before we do use the comm room, we should check it out with Galacticomm first - they might get a bit upset if we assumed that we could use one of their comm centres without permission. I can call my old boss if that helps. He knows I'm working with the navy, so should be okay with it’ suggested Billy.

  ‘Good idea. How will we know we're in the enemy reality?’ replied Angela.

  ‘If I set up a couple of simple receivers, I ought to be able to receive some standard broadcasts. If they're speaking Esperanto, we know we're probably in the expected reality. It might be a good idea to take Pandora 1 with us, just in case. That way, we know we’ll be able to get back here. We know it works, after all’ suggested Dev.

  ‘All sounds good. The ship's receivers can cover pretty much any band and mode, so I reckon we can get out there and sort anything else out en route, such as calling the navy and Galacticomm ‘ replied Angela.

  On board the navy shuttle they had been assigned, they agreed that Dev would be the one to test the device and, hopefully, visit the Esperanto-speaking reality. Having agreed it with Billy's Galacticomm manager, Angela and Billy would go onto 'Roid 2 and enter the communications centre there. Their navy support vessel would arrive around fifteen minutes after they would. As they approached the asteroid, they finalised setting up the cameras and microphones to record the trip and the construction of their switch box and were happy, as far as they could be without actually testing it, that Pandora 2 would work as planned.

  When they arrived at 'Roid 2, Angela and Billy disembarked and moved across to the comm centre, while Dev flew the shuttle back to one hundred metres above the asteroid's surface. Billy and Angela arranged their equipment on the bench in the comm room and made sure that the centre's external cameras could monitor their ship. Once they were ready, Angela called Dev ‘All set down here, Dev. When you're ready. In your own time.’

  ‘Okay, thanks, Angela. Receivers ON. Cameras ON. Recording equipment ON. I'll count down from three. Three…Two…One…Switchon.’

  Angela and Billy watched their monitors apprehensively. Nothing changed.

  ‘What's happening, Dev?’ asked Angela on the radio.

  ‘Er, nothing. I pressed the button but nothing happened. I'm going to remove the lid and see if there's anything obviously wrong. I also think I'll add an LED to the circuit so there will be a visible clue that power is getting through.’

  ‘Okay. Let us know when you're ready to give it another go’ replied Angela.

  Fifteen minutes later, Dev called. ‘Found it, the switch was faulty so it didn't do anything when I pressed it. I've replaced it and added the LED so will try again in a few moments.’

  ‘Okay, thanks. In your own time’ replied Angela.

  ‘Right. As last time, counting down. Three…Two…One…Pressing.’ The ship vanished from Angela and Billy's view.

  Thirty minutes later, Angela and Billy were starting to get worried, as Dev hadn’t reappeared. After an hour, they were really concerned for Dev, when the shuttle reappeared but it wasn’t in the same place it had left from.

  On the comm, a smiling Dev called them ‘Well, that didn’t go quite as planned. Using the receivers, I picked up Esperanto messages being sent so, as far as I can tell, I went to the enemy reality as planned. For information, there is nothing at all on the asteroid. They clearly don't use it as a communications hub as we do.’

  ‘Glad you're back safely. Was there a problem with getting back?’ asked Angela.

  ‘No. None at all. It took me a few minutes to tune to a few radio transmissions and record them. I also thought I would have a quick look around to see if there's anything we could use. From out here I couldn't see anything much, although there did seem to be a bit of activity around New Oregon when I zoomed in on it. There was a ship not too far away from me when I arrived, moving towards New O., so I decided to move behind the asteroid, just in case. I left it a while to give it a chance to move further away, so I could look at the planet without, hopefully, being seen.’

  ‘Excellent news. No great surprise on the activity. Can you come down and get us? We'll tidy up in here and will meet you outside. Now we know it works, I think it would be a good idea if we all came along for the ride.’

  ‘No problem, Angela. See you soon.’

  Ten minutes later, Angela and Billy were greeted by Dev and helped into the shuttle. Once they were safely away from the asteroid and were ready, they sat around the switch box. Angela pressed the button. Their world briefly swirled, as if they were suffering from a mild case of dizziness, then settled back to normal. ‘Okay, are we in the other reality?’ asked Angela.

  ‘Well, the asteroid is now devoid of equipment, so I guess we probably are. I'll just listen to the radio’ replied Billy.

  As he tuned in the radio, the sounds of a couple of men having a discussion were heard, speaking what sounded to Angela, Dev and Billy to be Esperanto.

  ‘That clinches it. I don't want to attract attention, so we'll only stay here a few minutes. The last thing I want is for someone to investigate us. I imagine that we've already tripped a few sensors as it is. What
would be helpful is to take a quick look at New Oregon and see if they have a space station like Columbus circling it’ said Angela.

  ‘Looking in that direction, I can see a station roughly between the planet and our position and I think I can see one to each side of the planet’ replied Billy.

  ‘Okay, better split’ suggested Dev.

  ‘Agreed’ replied Angela and Billy in unison, as Angela hit the button to return to their reality.