Sci-Fi

Volume 7 Issue 3

Editors: Holly G ’22, Kate T ’22, Sylvie B ’22, Maya P ’23, Rids P ’23, Olivia T ’23, Jelena C ’25

The Twin Paradox- Anonymous

Trianna Ingram’s hands smelled like fish. She sat down to join her meeting to help a giant sea bass on a space station, the only ones left are in captivity in space. The table was white, covered with papers, a few pictures, and some pens here and there. The room where she spent most of her work had puddles of water on the ground and tanks and pools sprawled around the room. Fish swam in little circles, waiting for the next moment of stimulus. Her gray hair was curled tight to her head, a hearing aid on her left ear. Her lab coat was sprinkled with water and the skin on her hands saggy with age. She went to her email and clicked on the Zoom link. The Zoom window opened and showed a man, behind him the walls curved up into the ceiling. She could see a little water behind him, the man tried to speak and then he froze. “Bad connection” was written on the screen. She sighs and plays with some of the settings on her side, she finds out that it is probably on their side. She texts him and then plays with a picture frame on her left depicting a young toddler smiling playfully, her son, and with a picture of a family in the bottom right hand corner. A family she was a part of until they got separated at a young age. That picture was the only thing that reminded her that she had a twin sister. The connection to the call started to move into a slide show, it looks like the men recruited some help. A 30 or so old woman filled most of the screen, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked oddly like Trianna looked like 20 or so years ago. She squinted at the screen closer, she could just make out the name tag on her shirt. “Computer engineer, Sex: F, Name: Estoria Ingram.”  Her eyes widened. They both had the same last name, this couldn’t have been a coincidence. Maybe she read it wrong. The call finally smoothed out. “Hello?”

“Hi, can you hear me?” The man asked, the woman on his end had disappeared.

“Who was that woman?” The man stopped in hesitation, she almost thought that he froze. Then Estoria popped up into the view of the camera. “Is your last name Ingram?” Estoria nodded. “Do you happen to know of a Lillie and Nicolas Ingram?” Estoria was taken aback.

“They are my parents.” Estoria said. “How do you know them?” The man also listened curiously.

“They are still alive?! I was told that they were dead.”

“They are very much alive, who told you they were dead?” Trianna was stunned, she never thought she could ever talk to her biological family again, this couldn’t be real, but it had to be.

“My adoptive parents told me that they were gone. Wait.” She paused. “ We’re sisters. You have to be. My name is Trianna Ingrams, I was told my parents were Lillie and Nicolas Ingrams.” Estoria looked uncomfortable and the man noticed. 

“Do you think we can get back to work, this giant sea bass kinda needs us.”

Estoria left them to their work. She walked to one of the doors and waited for the outer doors to a line with the inner doors. Once they did, she walked into a small room. The doors closed behind her with a hiss, as she waited she started to float. The process always made her a bit queasy which didn’t help with her current mental state.

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The Tree of Life- Francesca O ’24

Sounds of Mars: Martian Wind

A Starry, Starry Night- Violet T ’23

They were outside, waiting, he remembered. Night had gathered its skirts and ascended to the sky, draping darkness in its wake and revealing stars. The air had caught a chill, which, depending on who you might be, was either energizing or, well, cold. 

Aveline shivered as she colored in her book, and, glancing over, Orion could see his sister growing increasingly frustrated as her already clumsy fingers shook and distorted her drawing. She moved to pack up her crayons, so, sensing Aveline was on the verge of going back into the warm cabin, he quickly finished adjusting his telescope and called his sister over. She ignored it out of spite, continuing to double and triple check she had all her colors. Frustrated, Orion abandoned his telescope and hurried over. 

“Hey, you know you aren’t supposed to color in the dark. It hurts your eyes.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled.

“I’m serious, that’s what Mom says.” 

“I wouldn’t need to if you would’ve let me bring a flashlight! I eat lots of carrots anyways.”

“You can’t have a light, it makes it harder to see. And whatever, it’s starting soon.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Aveline mumbled, but followed him regardless. They stopped at the telescope. He immediately put his eye to the lens and began tweaking its focus (once more) as Aveline scrunched further down into her jacket. Just as she’d retracted her arms from the sleeves to hug herself within her coat, Orion stood up and pointed at the sky excitedly. 

“Look! There! Do you see the moon?”

“Where? Hey! Where do you see it?” She replied,tugging at his sleeve. “Oh! What’s happening to it!”

“It’s called a lunar eclipse. It’s when the earth’s shadow…” he enthusiastically continued as Aveline, not listening, continued looking at the darkening moon. 

“…So, you should look through the telescope so you can see it better,” he finished. Orion looked down at his younger sister and, realizing her height, snorted. He lifted her to the lens, holding her there with great effort. 

“Do you see?” He grunted out. 

“It’s so pretty!”

“Right?! I’m gonna put you down, let’s go get a stool or something. We’ll come back and watch it, K?”

“K.”

As they went inside the cabin, both felt as though this was the best vacation they’d ever had. It was nice to be away from the city—to breathe the fresh air, to see the stars away from the blinding lights, to linger outside at sunrise to see the fields set aglow. Well, neither of them really dwelled on these facts—Orion being 13 and Aveline only 4—but still, each appreciated this cabin for their own reasons. Aveline, to finally be able to sit and color outside, and Orion, to finally use the telescope that Grandma had gifted him on his last birthday. 

~~~

It was apparent from an early age that Orion was an extremely gifted student—well, that is to say he was a gifted student in the sciences. His grades, ever dropping in the humanities, flourished in the STEM subjects. He tested out of high school math halfway through freshman year, and was—successfully—self taught in chemistry, physics, and several astronomy courses (though not in biology). By the end of sophomore year, there was really nowhere for him to go but, well, out. To college, that is. So, at fifteen and a half, he had officially become a college freshman. By nineteen he was doing graduate level research and, by twenty, Orion had been recruited by GAIA. 

Over the years he continued to keep in touch with Aveline and their mom. Though their mother—a dedicated professor of astrophysics herself—was constantly up to date on Orion’s latest projects, and constantly keeping Aveline up to date as well, it was still nice to hear his voice on the phone. 

“…And we’re launching a project soon Avey,” he was saying now. “It’s gonna be big—years in the making. They’re choosing a leader for it soon. I submitted an application for it…but I really haven’t worked here all that long…But, Ave, I’ve got to make it.”

“That does sound really exciting, Orion! Mom was telling me something about this earlier, but she said you couldn’t tell us any more?” 

“No, not yet…but you’ll see very soon! Anyway, how’s the new art teacher coming along?”

As though a spark caught within her, she broke into a grin and, almost glowing, launched into a story. 

“Well, ok, so they are absolutely amazing. I was showing them this piece I did…”

Across the sea, Orion grinned broadly, sat down at his desk, and listened. 

~~~

“What?”

“Orion, that’s wonderful,” their mother began tearing up. “That’s…tha- I’m so proud of you.”

“What’s happ-”

“I know, Mom, I know! You don’t know how exciting this is-“

“Could someone tell me what’s going on! What does this mean!”

Orion and their mother fell silent. 

“Well-“ Orion started, but their mother interjected. 

“Ave, what it means is Orion, with this new position, will be leading the third global effort of exploring outside our solar system. They’ll be traveling farther than anyone before them.”

Aveline was silent. “So. Orion’s leaving?”

“Avey, it’s not-“

“When are you planning on coming back?

“I-“

Their mother shares a look with Orion, then turns toward Aveline. 

“Hey, don’t worry Ave. He’ll be back. Right, Orion.”

He gives their mother a strange look, almost disappointed? Shocked? 

“Yeah Ave, I’ll be back. But, hey, I’m not leaving yet. It’s gonna be OK.”

Aveline felt like something odd was happening. It was the same feeling she got when they were playing board games as a family and she could tell Mom and Orion were ganging up on her. Like they were hiding something essential. 

But she suddenly felt very tired and simply replied: “Ok.”

As the screen went black over Orion’s face, Ave closed her eyes, dread creeping up her throat. 

Please don’t go. 

~~~

Orion, the youngest person to leave our solar system, led his team of five on a 15 year round-trip journey, past the path laid out from Voyager I and it’s human successors, toward a planet only seen through the videography sent back by Voyager IV. Seven and a half years into the  journey they would warp there via a wormhole. But that was, well, years away. So Orion and his five, all experts among experts—geologists, chemists, engineers, the like—settled down.

Waited. 

~~~

It had been over a decade since he’d last seen Earth. Fifteen years, that is. Fifteen years. It felt like a lifetime, but it hadn’t been. Not for him.

There was something special about this planet, he thought. Unique. Maybe that’s because it was home: he could envision the shape of each continent even after a decade away, he could draw them with his eyes closed. Maybe it was because there was something special about Earth. But nothing mattered as Orion gazed out at the blue expanse of the oceans, and green and brown and sandy masses of land and saw color, true color, after so long–as he, in orbit now, saw night fall over the planet and reveal lights. Nothing could have prepared him and the crew for how lonely it was out there, and now, back here, seeing their people alive, living–nothing could have prepared him for this feeling of reunion.

He turned away from the window. 

“Are we ready for reentrance?” He asked the crew.

“We still have been unable to contact Earth, due to the damage to our radio system during our first warp. But I’ve found a landing site which should be safe for us to use.”

“Ok. Everyone, prepare for reentry!”

As his crew moved around him, Orion thought back to Earth. What he’d left behind. He’d done the math, it wasn’t impossible, just unlikely. But still, he mumbled to himself, hoping. 

“Please, please don’t have died on me.” 

~~~

The man looked at his screen, flipping through some chart for a few moments before glancing back up to Orion. He and the crew, after some confusion with the current people working at the landing pad, were met with warm welcomes home. Their samples were collected, their minimal personal belongings unloaded, and each person escorted to a small room for “reintegration” purposes. Everything had felt heavy, warped and odd. Too dark, too bright, too many colors and senses and people. But this small, white room felt familiar, other than this irritating man who would not answer any of the important questions. The important question. 

He rattled off about events that had occurred in the last century, wars, treaties, current politics, even influential movies, style trends. 

And finally the man got down to personal affairs and- 

He looked up, expression full of pity.

“Sir-”

Orion rested his head on the table and cried.

~~~

It was dark by the time he got there. Breath froze, smoke-like, illuminated in the glow of the streetlamps and storefront windows. The moon was full tonight, and at 12:27 it would begin to be eclipsed by the earth’s shadow. There was a crowd of people waiting outside the building, dressed in odd clothes Orion had yet to grow accustomed to, and chatting vibrantly amongst themselves. All were eager to gain entrance, and see the famed and critically acclaimed works inside. 

Orion waited with them. The anxiety that had settled  deep in his stomach surged as he was ushered through the doors. This was it. 

Warm pine floors shined in the bright lights, a juxtaposition from the dark outside making him feel surreal. He floated through the galleries, disconnected from his body, looking at the art. Here was an empty swing hung on a lush oak tree on a day deep into summer; here, a river iced over, cracks extending from a dark, black hole. A puncture wound. 

Scenes of nature all around him: whimsical, mesmerizing, alive. Each tainted with a distinct feeling of… of something. Of loneliness. 

A girl, vines tethering her to the ground, looking at the stars.

Stars reflected on a bioluminescent ocean. 

A cabin, with a single window lit.

An eclipse, one child holding the other to a telescope, looking at the moon in a vast sea of stars.

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Untitled- Olivia T ’23

The R Factor- Anonymous

Forenote: For official purposes, the R Factor is not scripted. Do not, under any circumstances, allude to the fact that the R factor is scripted or read from this script. Any notes from the director will be written in red. These notes are not to be read out loud.

Note that while crowd reactions can vary from those laid out in this script, we have become very good at algorithmically predicting their reactions, so deviation is unlikely. 

Announcer: Good evening folks, and welcome back to the R Factor, the one and only science-based talent show! We have an exciting lineup for you tonight, so keep your holograms tuned to the R Factor!

The R Factor theme plays

A face appears on the big screen on stage. It appears to be a young man with a bionic arm

Announcer: I’d like to welcome Jace. Now he’s calling in from a ship travelling at high fractions of the speed of light.

Jace: That is correct.

Announcer: Now am I correct in thinking that that means you are experiencing time at a different rate?

Jace: Indeed!

Announcer: So how are you dealing with this?

Jace: Well, I’m talking really really slowly *high pitched, fast laugh, reminiscent of a dolphin*

Announcer: That’s really impressive! Well, take it away, Jace!

Jace: I was born at a very young age on the asteroid colony F – 184, which, after being raided by space pirates and then eaten by a space worm, crashed into the planet Jupiter. I lost my arm in an industrial accident while doing deep space welding. I’ve always dreamed of being on the R Factor. I have always turned to comedy to bring joy into the lives of myself, my relatives and friends.

Camera cuts to joyous relatives

Announcer: (Wiping tears from his eyes) Well go ahead then, we’d love to see your show!

Jace: What type of fish is made of two sodium atoms? 2 Na. Sorry, that was a silly pun. You can’t trust atoms; they make up everything!

Camera cuts to montage of crowd and judges laughing

Jace: So before the show, I was just trying to relax in the virtual waiting room. It’s pretty cold back there, but I stood in the corner, which was luckily a solid 90 degrees. You know, it’s nerve wracking sitting there backstage, thinking of how good the other contestants are going to be. I told my friend “I shouldn’t be here, I’m just average,” and he said, “Don’t be so mean to yourself”. But some of those guys looked pretty serious. There was this guy scribbling furiously on some graphing paper – I was like wow, he must be plotting something. Anyways, I’m going off on a tangent. 

Laughter intensifies

Jace: So I wasn’t always that into science when I was younger. Although some of that can be blamed on my old classmates. They were not what I would call “good” at chemistry. We were doing a group project and one of them suggested a taste test, so I was like “Bro, it’s Sodium Bromate – it’s in the name of the chemical” but he did it anyway. When he told me he felt sick later I was like OMG really? Luckily they managed to Curium, but they almost had to Barium. Should have listened to me.

Crowd Cheers

Judge Sinclair: Hilarious!

Jace: Thank you!

Judge Jameson: So you say you weren’t always into science – what got you interested? 

Jace: Well I suspect the same as most people, holographic shows and video streaming. Lil’ sigma was an especially big inspiration growing up.

Crowd cheers

Jace: You know that sounds a lot more disturbing when it’s slowed down due to time dilation, but thanks guys!

Crowd laughs

Judge Jameson: That’s a yes from me

Judge Sinclair: From me too!

Judge McDougal: Oh absolutely yes!

Jace: (Wiping away tears) Thank you so much! It’s an honor!

Crowd cheering

Announcer: After the break, we have a man who claims to make music with the sound of plasma blaster discharges! 

• PS. This man is a joke candidate we flattered and let through. Judges, you all can improvise reactions to this one. It’s HILARIOUS. – Steve

R factor theme

Signed, R Factor Chief Writer Steven Johnson

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Binary Stars- Sam C ‘2

By all accounts, the letter appeared ordinary. It lay in a simple manilla envelope with gold trim, sealed shut with red wax stamped in the shape of a half-moon. Perfect penmanship marked the front with two names: Estelle & Terra Naut. 

The family opened the letter that night, at dinnertime. A suffocating hush overcame the table as their father broke the Space Fleet Academy’s seal with a thin silver letter-opener. There were only two possible outcomes – the acceptance of one sister and rejection of the other, or the denial of both of them. The Academy had long since stopped allowing twins to both serve in the stars – the Law of the Twin Paradox demanded that all available opportunities to study the twin paradox be satisfied. Regardless of the contents of the envelope, one or both sisters was about to have their future crushed.

They had known the risks when they’d taken the exam, of course. They had both dreamed of joining the Space Fleet since they were toddlers, had known that they could never both have their hopes fulfilled. But that crushing reality had never seemed so real until their father lay the opened envelope down on the table and lifted the letter inside up to the light of their lava lamps.

“The Space Fleet Academy of the United Colonies is proud to announce the acceptance of Estelle Naut to the 51st Deep Space Exploration Fleet,” he read aloud. “Our condolences to her sister and competitor Terra Naut. We wish her a fulfilling life and regret our inability to extend her an invitation.”

Estelle couldn’t hold back a shout of jubilation. She had made it! She did it! All those long nights studying, all those hours after school spent at the aviation yard taking careful notes on everything the Space Fleet technicians were able to tell her – it had all paid off. She, Estelle Naut, was going to space! For a split second, everything in her world was perfect. Then she glanced at her sister’s face. 

Terra’s lips curved upward in a grimace almost reminiscent of a smile, the expression of someone trying their hardest to be proud. Her eyes watered and her chin trembled, but she held Estelle’s gaze. 

“Good…good job,” she managed to say, then burst into tears and fled from the table. 

Estelle ate the rest of her dinner in guilty silence, until no further distraction remained and she sat staring silently at her empty plate.

“I’m proud of you, Estelle,” her mother said finally. “We both are, but…” she took a deep breath, “…you should go talk to your sister.”

Estelle nodded. She knew she would have to console Terra. It was her place to, but still an inkling of anger twisted in her heart. She had won her acceptance fair and square. She had proven herself better than Terra, so why should she waste precious time consoling her failed sister? 

The look in her mother’s eyes, however, told Estelle that this was not the time to argue, so she excused herself and climbed the stairs to her and Terra’s shared bedroom.

The door to their room was closed, but not locked, and it creaked open as Estelle placed her hand on it. A sliver of light from the hallway inched its way into the dark room, illuminating the corner where Terra sat huddled, face in her hands.

“Terra?” Estelle’s voice was barely a whisper, but Terra looked up all the same, face stained with tear tracks.

“What.” It wasn’t a question, but a thin veil of layered on politenesses that barely masked Terra’s rage.

“I…I just wanted to say-” Estelle began, cut off as her twin suddenly leapt to her feet.

“-Say sorry? I’m not some…some toddler, y’know. I know you aren’t sorry.”

“What…” Estelle didn’t really know what to say to that. “What do you…”

“I’m your twin, you dolt. I know the look in your eyes, you aren’t sorry. You don’t care. So stop lying.”

Rage bubbled in Estelle’s heart again. The Academy wasn’t going to change their decision, so why was Terra even bothering to act like this? It wasn’t Estelle’s fault that she was better than her sister. “Just…just shut up, why don’t you? Let’s have a nice heartfelt talk to appease Mom and then we’ll all be happy.” She couldn’t stop the sarcasm from creeping into her voice.

“Happy? Happy?” Terra’s voice was stretched thin. “You think I’m going to be happy!? I trained my entire life for this!”

“And you think I didn’t?” Estelle’s voice was raised, just loud enough to mask the concerned murmurs of her parents downstairs. “I worked just as hard as you, Terra. Hard-ER, clearly! It’s not my fault you didn’t make it.” 

“Considering you cheated on the test? Yeah, genius, it’s your fault.” Terra crossed her arms, glowering.

“Cheated!?!” Estelle couldn’t believe her ears. “You think I cheated? Good god, you idiot. Stop being jealous and pay attention to reality for once!”

“It’s not jealousy, it’s fact! Why else would they have picked you over me?”

“Maybe because I’m smarter than you? Maybe because I’m better than you?”

Terra wrinkled her nose. “Smarter than me? Better than me? Just look at our childhoods, Estelle. I was first chair and valedictorian and-”

“Oh shut up! So what, you were best at all our kiddy projects? This is the real world now. Not pretend. Go off and get some minimum wage Earth job and see how having been first chair in FIFTH grade helps you out.”

“Oh, please, we both know that isn’t gonna happen.” Terra sniffed, barely holding back tears.

“SHUT UP, TERRA! Stop pretending! I’ve got an official piece of paper proving that I’m smarter than you, better than you, so just drop it!”

“Estelle, please.” Terra was crying at this point.

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I’m so done with you Terra. Pretending you’re all high and mighty, but you aren’t. You’re stupid. Stupid.” She took a ragged breath, thoughts overcome by rage. “I hate you. I HATE you. I hate you, Terra, and I wish you weren’t my sister.”

And with that, Estelle stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her. Terra’s muffled sobs echoed throughout the hallway, but Estelle couldn’t hear them over the raged pounding of her heart. 

The next day, the Academy Officials came to take Estelle to the nearest base to prepare for launch. Terra didn’t leave her room, not even to say goodbye, or wish her sister luck. It was fine by Estelle. Terra’s terrible attitude could not get in the way of what was going to be the most exciting day of Estelle’s life.

“Exciting” couldn’t hope to cover how fantastically incredible space was. There wasn’t really a way for Estelle to describe it, not with human language, at least. It was all so vast and varied and beautiful that she found herself falling short every time she opened her journal to describe a passing nebula, glittering purple and gold in the light of a thousand pinprick stars. It was incredible, and Estelle had ten long years to enjoy it before her return to earth.

Ten long years traveling nearly as fast as light, ten long years away from Earth, ten long years without her twin. Every time she looked in the mirror she no longer saw her face, but instead Terra’s betrayed eyes staring back at her. Terra wasn’t stupid, and Estelle didn’t hate her. It hadn’t been fair of Estelle to attack her while she was grieving. But no matter how awful she felt, Estelle couldn’t apologize. Her ship was too far and too fast to communicate with Terra. Still, guilt and impatience gnawed at her. What if, even when she returned, Terra still hated her? She just couldn’t stand idly by. So, pencil and paper in hand, she wrote her twin a letter. There was no way to send it, of course, but what else could Estelle do? Each day, she wrote more and more, long sprawling letters about the glittering of galaxies, the captivating orbit of binary stars – twins, just like they were, and just how sorry she was that Terra couldn’t be there alongside her to see them. It was no perfect solution, but it helped still her bubbling regret, just a little. She could give Terra the letters to apologize, ten long years from now. 

Or at least, ten Estelle years. Unfortunately for these sisters, the reason that only one of them could be accepted to the Space Fleet was about to become more poignant than ever. Because when Estelle finally returned to earth in her early 30s and, letters clutched tightly, pushed her way past the hordes of scientists to reach the lab where her sister lived, she was greeted not by the mirror image of herself that she had grown used to seeing, but by an old woman – her wrinkled face barely visible beneath a cloud of wiry gray hair. A peculiar facet of time put into action – Estelle had aged so much more slowly than her twin that she could hardly recognize the owner of the face she’d once shared. It was like peering through a telescope of time. One day, after Terra was long gone, Estelle would look like that, those same wrinkles, that same hunched back, gazing out at the world through those same cloudy eyes.

“Estelle? They…they told me you were coming today. You’re…so young.” Terra said with a smile, her voice warbled and faintly accented. It was the first thing Estelle had heard her say in a decade. 

“Hey…Terra.” That would have been the first thing Terra had heard Estelle say in…what? Seventy years? “You aren’t still…mad?” Perhaps she was jumping the gun with that one, but she had to know, had to know if this was the time to give her the letters.

“What?” Terra squinted as she looked up, her confusion genuine. “Why would I be mad?”

“Ah, yeah, I’m sorry.” Estelle forced herself to laugh. “I’d still like to apologize to you though, I…” She trailed off, waiting for recognition to flash in Terra’s eyes, but it didn’t come.

“What? Why would you…apologize?” Terra scrunched her eyebrows together like she did when the twins were young, and Estelle had to bite her lip to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes. Did Terra really not remember?

“Remember? We had a…a fight.”

“That doesn’t sound like us. Estelle, I think space made you crazy.” Terra chuckled. “It’s….wow…I can’t believe I’m actually…seeing…you.”

“So you really don’t remember?” Estelle grabbed her twin’s hands, staring deep into her eyes. The letters fluttered to the floor. 

Terra shook her head. “No. What…what happened?”

“…” An idea struck Estelle, a terrible, terrible idea. Terra really didn’t remember. She didn’t have to know. She was happy, happy to see Estelle, and that was what mattered. Terra would die soon anyway, why taint the last years of her life by bringing up terrible memories? Estelle could live with not apologizing…their parents were long dead, and no one else alive on the planet would ever know that they’d fought. It really hadn’t been Estelle’s fault, after all. 

So with a sickly sweet smile, she squeezed her twin’s hands and said, “Oh, silly me. You’re right, Terra. I don’t think we ever fought.” 

With a firm step, she ground the letters beneath her boot.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Picture 1: Wallace and Gromit ‘A Grand Day Out’ (photo credit: Pinterest), Picture 2: STS-119 Shuttle Discovery With Moon (photo credit: NASA)

Journey- Kelsey P ’24

The ship emerged from the fog like a looming specter. Kim watched it from the car window, swaying with the turns of the road. It stood alone on the horizon, the thick of the city behind them and only shacks and rubble to stand in its wake. The rumbling of Cal’s van did little to fill the silence.

They glanced over to Cal in the driver’s seat. He was sitting unusually upright, staring at the road with his brow furrowed. His tension filled the van, still attempting to gather himself after his fit of anger. While its intensity was rather terrifying, they shook it off to give Cal’s shoulder a comforting pat. His eyes glazed and his face relaxed. He let out a sigh. “We’re going to fix this.”

Kim hoped he was right.

After what felt like an eternity the van swerved into the parking lot. Cal haphazardly jammed the car into a parking space and jumped from his seat, Kim following closely behind. They kicked up the battered earth below them as they bolted for the ship.

The small crowd of people and equipment was dwarfed by the massive ship towering over them, blocking out the sunlight. Friends and family said final goodbyes to the astronauts before they left forever. Cal and Kim shoved their way through the crowd, muttering apologies. As they made it to the front, the solemn procession of astronauts came into view, rounding the side of the ship. The crowd began closing in, shouting and wailing. As the people pressed in around them, Kim spotted Vicki, hidden away in the middle of the line with her head down.

“VICKI!” Kim rushed forth, pushed by the moving crowd around her, and dashed to the landing pad, Cal following closely behind. Vicki stopped as they saw them part from the crowd. Their knees began to shake. She let out a whimper and fell on her knees, tears pouring down her face. Kim stopped at her side and embraced her tightly. Cal dropped to one knee in front of Vicki and lifted their face with his hand.

“Look up.” She looked back at him through tears, unable to keep eye contact. “Why are you leaving us?”

“I messed up,” she said between sobs, “I messed up.”

“Is this about Marie?”

“If I had done better she would still be alive right now…”

“Look, she was bound to die anyways. Kids don’t survive disease like they used to and this god-forbidden town is full of it. What were you meant to do?”

“If I learned how to make a salary she could have gotten the treatment she deserved…”

“Like anyone can find a job these days! What’s in the past is in the past, just get your act together and stand up!”

Vicki went quiet.

“Vicki, please come home…” Kim murmured.

They were interrupted by the clicking of boots behind them. “Excuse me. I’m going to have to ask you to step away.” The security officer pulled Cal to his feet by his shoulders.

“Hey! Let me go! This is important!” He struggled in the officer’s grip, but his grip was unheeding.

“I’m sorry, we can’t let any visitors onto the landing pad.” He steered him firmly to the side. Kim stayed by Vicki’s side, but as a second officer approached they pulled away. They looked behind as they were led away from the pad, watching as Vicki was helped to their feet by the other astronauts. The procession continued up the support of the ship and disappeared into the airlock.

They watched the ship as it rose into the sky, the officers watching them closely. They were helpless to stop it. Kim buried their face in Cal’s chest.

The thoughts swam in Vicki’s head as she wandered the barren streets of her hometown. The memories were flooding back all at once, and they were hitting her hard. It was all so familiar, yet so different- they noticed how battered the buildings had become, and where the shacks of homeless folk had come and gone, and how the remaining shops shifted and shrunk in desperate times. It had all been so long, even if it didn’t feel like it. The guilt was heavy in the air, too. She tried to push it out, but the force was relentless.

They turned the corner to the door of their apartment building. Its sloppy white paint had peeled significantly since the last time she saw it. They stepped through and the smell of old furniture hit her in a wave. They made their way up the rickety metal stairs and stopped at last at their apartment door. She slid the key in and swung it open.

A thin layer of dust covered every facet of the house. There were still dishes in the drying rack, messy stacks of books and papers on the counter, everything had just stopped, as if frozen in time. Vicki teared up a little as she stepped into the kitchen. As she was looking around in awe, she noticed something- an envelope with their name on it, placed neatly in the center of the table. They took it, hand trembling slightly. She recognized the handwriting. They carefully pulled it open and began to read. As she read her eyes widened and they began to tear up. The handwriting, it struck her hard. It was that of her friends, they knew it well, but with a shudder in its marks. A final goodbye left as a desperate reach for her, far among the stars. They let the letter fall from their hand.

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Picture 1: pillar of gas and dust in the Carina Nebula (2010), Picture 2: Astronaut Edward White (1965), Picture 3: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (1998) (photo credit: NASA)

Twin Paradox Story- Anonymous

Setting: a thirty year old dude named Chase just finished a gig at a local bar with his band the SunStroke Serenaders. He is outside the bar having a post show cigarette. People walk by and congratulate him and his bandmates. Suddenly an older man, about sixty years old, named Bill walks up to congratulate him. 

Bill: Hey that was an interesting show

Chase: Uhh thanks I guess

Bill: Yes…yes…very interesting

Chase: What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Bill: No y’all sounded good, a lot of noise!…Almost too much noise

Chase: Not really we only hook up to a couple amps, we are half as loud compared to hardcore shows that go on around here

Bill: Ahhh amps, amps! Interesting…that’s what you call them oversized radio boxes?

Chase: Yeah amps that what we used…just like every other band around. You know you aren’t too bright for an old man

Bill: Wow Chase…Chase…no need to disrespect your elders!

Chase: How the heck do you know my name? You should only refer to me as the lead guitarist for The SunStroke Serenaders!

Random person: YEAH!

Bill: That’s an interesting name… No I talked to Jeane earlier today at the Market, that’s how I heard of your show

Chase: JEANE? As in my MOM Jeane?

Bill: Yeah

Chase: How do you know her?

Bill: Well I haven’t seen her since she was about fifteen years old

Chase: Dang really? How the heck do you know her though?

Bill: Well I do hope everyone knows their very own family

Chase: FAMILY? You say family?

(Bandmate Gavin interrupts)

Gavin: Yo Chase, you coming to the Clam? We’re about to leave

Chase: Yeah hold on a sec

Gavin: Who’s this?

Chase: Some bum speaking some gibberish

Bill: Hello I am The Bum (extends hand) You had a great show tonight

Gavin: Thanks dude…Alright, well Chase hurry up were bouta leave

Chase: Alright just go I’ll meet y’all there

Gavin: Cool (Gavin leaves with buddies)

Chase: OK again did you say FAMILY?

Bill: Yeah…Family

Chase: What about family? How do you know my family?

Bill: Well, I’m part of it

Chase: Alright just shut up old man, you are pissing me off. You have been saying some weird things… a little too weird

Bill: Chase, I know you somewhat well and you do not know me at all. Can I explain this to you?

Chase: I don’t have the time for nonsense. I’ve got drinks to have and friends to laugh with

Bill: I’m just asking for a couple minutes then you can leave and forget about me

Chase: Alright let’s go inside I have to grab my guitar either way

Both Chase and Bill go back inside the venue to grab some of Chase’s gear. Bill starts to explain a journey he took a long time ago with Chase’s Grandfather. 

Chase: How the heck did you know my Pap Pap?

Bill: I know this sounds odd and unbelievable but your Pap Pap is my twin brother

Chase: How? That’s not even possible, my Pap Pap is now dead and has been for almost ten years. And you…you are like sixty years old?

Bill: Sixty two exactly. Well you know how curious your Pap Pap was with space and space travel?

Chase: Yes I do remember hearing a lot about that

Bill: Well your Pap Pap and I made space travel a reality

Chase: Alright old man, I have met a lot of odd people after shows but this tops it, what are you on?

Bill: Your Pap Paps name is Jim, well I guess was Jim

Chase: What? You have official freaked me out I’m just going to forget this conversation ever happen I have got to go

Bill: Chase! Chase I know this is out there but you have to believe me. Coming back to Earth has been the most tough thing I have gone through, and I have been through a lot. I have learned that everyone I knew aged and died and I fell behind them

Chase: Figure it out dude maybe try therapy or rehab

Bill: Chase, look

Bill pulls out an old picture of himself and his twin brother james posing in front of a janky looking spaceship

Chase: What the heck…

Bill: You notice that face at all? Or that barn in the background?

Chase: Holy cow… what the…

Bill: You believe me now?

Chase: Uhhhh…Who the heck are you?

Bill: I’ve been trying to tell you, I’m Bill. Chase, I am your Pap Paps long lost twin

Chase: What’s the name of Pap Pap’s wife?

Bill: Ah yes Mazy… what a cool gal

Chase: How many acres is the farm?

Bill: 434 exactly 

Chase: What instrument did Pap Pap play?

Bill: Well the guitar of course, we didn’t miss one day playing with each other

Chase: Bill are you telling me you really are my great uncle

Bill: In the flesh

Chase: But how are you still alive and not old?

Bill: Well basically what I have figured out in the past month is when I was traveling in space time went by slower for me compared to y’all on Earth

Chase:How?

Bill: I have no clue, but somehow it happened. I was only gone for ten years, and in that time Jim aged and eventually died…Hey how did he die by the way?

Chase: He had a heart attack

Bill: Gotcha, he did have a big heart he was a great brother, maybe that’s why he died it was too big it exploded

Chase: Wait so why did you travel to space and not Pap Pap

Bill: Well, Jim wasn’t so keen on moving that fast and honestly he was a little scared

Chase: And you were eager?

Bill: Well sort of, I just noticed how excited he was about the whole thing so I stepped up and became the guinea pig. I mean he worked on that spacecraft every day and night for almost three years

Chase: Jesus, You know Bill I kinda like you

Bill: Thanks Chase, I do gotta say I had a great time listening to you play tonight

Chase: Wait, so have you never played on an amp or an electric guitar?

Bill: Electric guitar? That sounds futuristic

Chase: I guess you could say that. Here, hold on, try this

Chase plugs his amp in and plugs in his guitar. He pushed the volume to the max and hands over the guitar to Bill

Chase: You said you played with Pap Pap right?

Bill: Yeah everyday

Chase: Let me see what you got

Bill strums the guitar and startles himself from the power of the sound. 

Bill: OH MY! This is crazy

Chase: Isn’t it cool?!

Bill plays an old folk tune for Chase. Every once in awhile he hits a wrong note and the speaker blasts a twang

An Angry manager walks into the room

Manager: Hey you guys, the gig ended thirty minutes ago!

Bill: Oh sorry sir, I just got back from a ten year spac-

Manager: I don’t care, get out!

Bill: Alright Chase, let’s see your mom. I’ve got a lot to share

Chase: Hmm I guess I can miss one night with my buddies. Let’s go!

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What Really Happens in Friday Physics Alternate Class- Saturn T ’23

Saturn burst into Physics class, completely out of breath, and collapsed into their chair. “Good morning, you guys! Technically–technically–I’m not late because time and distance are dependent and relative, right Mrs. Farris?”

“Technically you’re right, Saturn, but from our shared perspective on Earth, class started two minutes ago.”

“I was moving at the speed of light; time doesn’t even exist for me,” Saturn responded. 

“That’s actually a great segue into what we’re talking about today,” Mrs. Farris said, turning towards the whiteboard. “The Twin Paradox. Has anyone heard of it?” Violet raised her hand. “It’s that experiment where one twin went into space and aged more slowly than the one on Earth.”

“Correct. While both of them were experiencing time moving at the same rate in their respective frames of reference, the twin in space was moving at such a speed that they aged more slowly.”

“Why, though?” Violet asked. “Like, why do they physically age at different rates?” 

“I could answer that question in terms of the known laws of physics, but I think you’d understand better if we actually looked at how those laws are applied.”

“Oh! Are we going on a field trip?” Ari asked.

“Yes, we are. To the school bus!” Mrs. Farris grabbed her keys off the desk and opened the door. As the students filed out, Saturn asked hopefully, “Hey Mrs. Farris, can I drive?”

“No,” everyone replied in unison. “Remember what happened last time?” Ari asked, poking Saturn on the arm. “Hey, I got us into orbit, didn’t I?” Saturn said indignantly. “Yeah, around Jupiter,” Violet snickered. Saturn clutched their chest. “Violet, you wound me! So I took a few wrong turns. For my first time driving a rocket, I feel like I did pretty okay.” 

“I still cannot believe Mrs. Farris let you steer,” Ari remarked. Technically, Mrs. Farris had let Saturn hold the wheel while she explained something to Violet for all of five minutes, but the next thing any of them knew, Saturn was muttering to themself, “I wonder what this button does…” and they were all thrown backwards as a crisp, robotic voice announced, “Trajectory set to Jupiter. Estimated arrival time: T minus two minutes.”

“Good times,” Saturn grinned.

“It was a good time, although I hadn’t planned on us leaving Earth’s orbit,” said Mrs. Farris, coming up behind them. “Still, I think I’m going to man the wheel today. We’re going to be going way faster than before; if you thought steering a rocket was hard, try a school bus the size of a photon!”

As they talked, the students and Mrs. Farris had made their way out of school and onto the bus. As she said that, Mrs. Farris turned the key in the ignition and pushed a series of buttons on the dashboard. Through the windows, everything appeared to grow at an exponential rate, until all anyone could see was empty space. 

“Where are we?” Violet asked.

“We are between atomic particles. Hang on a second.” Mrs. Farris pushed more buttons, and the windows went completely black, then lit up with magnified images of slowly drifting blobs.

“What are those? They look like amoebas.” Saturn pressed their nose against the glass.

“Those are electrons. I modified the windows to zoom in on atomic particles, so we can have some perspective on where we are and what’s going on. I’m going to zoom out now so we can observe our normal perspective from the vantage point of a photon. Before I do, are there any predictions as to what we’re going to see?” 

“I think everything’s going to be slow,” said Ari, “Since we’re moving so fast.”

“I think everything’s going to be fast,” said Violet. “Think about the twins. The twin in space aged more slowly despite going way faster than the twin on Earth, which means they experienced things more slowly.”

“Interesting theories, guys,” said Mrs. Farris. “What about you, Saturn?”

“Okay, so you said that photons are three dimensional; that they–and by extension we– are moving so fast that they don’t move through time, only space. I think time is going to freeze. I think everything is going to appear to be completely still from our photon perspective.”

“Let’s see.” Mrs. Farris pushed some more buttons, and the windows took on an image of the sidewalk where the bus had been parked. Nothing was moving. Not the pedestrians, not the leaves on the trees. Everything was as still as a photograph.

“So Saturn, you were correct,” Mrs. Farris explains, “Because we are moving at the speed of light, which is the ceiling for velocity for all bodies in the universe, time approaches zero. We are currently three dimensional.”

“Sick. So wait, are we time traveling right now?” Saturn asked, bouncing in their seat. 

“In a sense, yes; we have traveled outside the realm of time.” 

“Siiiiick.”

“Indeed.”

Soon after, Mrs. Farris programmed the bus to return to normal size, but pressed the button to engage the rocket thrusters and accelerate to supersonic speed. “Alright, buckle up. We’re going to Copenhagen circa 1940.” 

“What’s in Copenhagen?”

“History. It’s time to learn about Bohr’s theory of complementarity from the man himself.”

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