Gravity Versus Gravity
GRAVITY
VERSUS
GRAVITY
RAHUL SHRIVASTAVA
To my son, Aryaman
-
Whose love for technology
never fails to impress me.
For the way of comets
Is the poet’s way: Burning, without warmth.
Reaping without having planted— exploding and breaking
Your path, an elliptical curve,
Unforeseen by the calendar!
- Maria Tsvetaeva, 8 April 1923
© By Rahul Shrivastava 2018
Edited by: Alice Riley
Designed by: Lybomir Yatsyk
Cover by: Lauria Ebook Cover, Morocco
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced or distributed in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical or other, including scanning, photocopying, recording, or stored in any form, without written permission from the author except for brief passages for review purposes.
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner.
Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1985093096
ISBN-10: 198509309X
Dramatis Personae
Aaron Bennett - Census Officer in Devon
Adam Thomson - Disaster Management Minister of the UK
Alan Fields, Dr. - Science Documentary Director at Channel Four TV
Alan Simpson - Journalist from Discovery Channel
Albert William Hennessey or Al - Space Scientist at Ohio Space Center
Aldous Banker - Supply Manager at Pip Parker’s pipe-factory
Alfie Marsh - Assistant of Kai Hayes
Alice Robinson - Resident of Lake Hutton and wife of Archie Robinson
Amelie Jones - Resident of Lake Hutton and neighbor of Archie and Alice Robinson
Anna - Newsreader at Channel Four TV
Amy - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Andy Rivera - Sam’s former boss
Angela Hart - Sara’s sister
Archie Robinson - Resident of Lake Hutton and husband of Alice Robinson
Arnold Ashdown - English astronomer in the 17th century
Babu - Shepherd from Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Bablu - Resident of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Bert Johnson - Prime Minister of the UK
Bhanu - Bhim’s mother
Bhim -Young shepherd from Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Bob Cox - Al’s fellow Scientist at Ohio Space Center
Bobby Givens - Journalist from The Science Observer
Boyle - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Bubba Hunter - Journalist from TBC TV of UK
Buster Ingram - Farmer in Salisbury
Camila Carmel - London Underground Operations Manager
Carmel - A math genius at Swindon Space Center
Catherine Myers - News Editor at Chanel Four TV
Charles - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Cheryl - Young person traveling in Devon
Chris Bailey - Scientist at Ohio Space Center and Al’s former Supervisor
Colin Fuller - DIMA* Machinery and Transportation Coordinator
Colin Howell - Political Department Head of the UK Embassy in the USA
Corwin - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Dan, Dr. – Extra-terrestrial life expert at Ohio Space Center
David Bright - UK Foreign Secretary
David Solensky - Data Analysis Expert at ASD# of Swindon Space Center
Desmond Gower - Imagery in-charge at Swindon Space Center
Diana - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Dorothy - Girl at The Box Club
Dulari Bai - Resident of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Edward Blackwell - Ambassador of the UK to the USA
Edward Young - Communications Director to Prime Minister of the UK
Elizabeth - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Ellie Jordan - Al’s fellow scientist at Ohio Space Center
Eva White - Advisor to the Prime Minister of the UK
Gavin Morley - Head of Ground Station in Devon
George - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Gilbert Hughes Mannering - English astronomer in the 17th century
Harley Quinn - Senior Superintending Civil Engineer of Chelsea Borough
Harry Allen - DIMA Desk Officer
Henry - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Herman Connell - Investigative journalist from Daily Mail
Humphrey - Young person traveling in Devon
Humphrey Cox - Journalist from The Sun
Ingrid - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
Isaiah Potts - Mayor of East Devon
Jack Lawson - Sandra’s husband
Jackie Mason - DIMA* Royal Buildings Official
James - Member of Louisa Weavers’ team
James Schultz, Dr. - First Deputy Director of Ohio Space Center
Jamie - Handyman
Jamie Riley - Assistant to Kai Hayes
Jamir - Resident of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Jamuni Bai - Resident of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Jane - Journalist from Plus TV
Jayanti - Resident of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Jeremy Rodgers - DIMA* Critical Emergencies Official
Jess Horton - DIMA* Information Official
Jimmy Lambert - Head of Administration of Chelsea Hospital
Joe Banks - DIMA* Liaison Official for Borough Councils and Ministries
Joe Cummings - Junior Astronomer at Swindon Space Center
John Brown - Standby Telescope Operator at Ohio Space Center
John Taylor - Peter Green’s boss and Head of AED+ of Swindon Space Center
Joseph Whitbred - Science Counsellor at the Embassy of the UK in Washington
Kai Hayes - Westminster Parks Water Supply Department Official
Lawrence Wiggins, Dr. - Deputy Director and Head A&CW^ of at Ohio Space Center
Leo Frasier - Mayor of Camden Borough
Lesley George - Journalist from Radio City of UK
Louisa Weaver - Sandra’s Deputy
Lucas Walsh - Mayor of Westminster Borough
Mary - Girl at The Box Club
Mary Daly - Head of Office of Mayor of East Devon
McCarthy - Administrative Assistant Director at Ohio Space Center
McDonald - Pilot of DIMA* plane
Mel - Adam Thomson’s Secretary
Michael Evans - Director of Civil Aviation of the UK
Millie Slater - Deputy Mayor of Chelsea Borough
Morgan - Crane Operator
Morris Jackson, Dr. - Al’s professor during his under-grad studies
Mukhiya - Village Headman of Kasba settlement in Thar Desert
Nicholas - Young person traveling in Devon
Nick Bright - News Coordinator at Channel Four TV
Owen Pearce - Firefighter at Westminster Fire Department
Paddy - Young person traveling in Devon
PC Hannan - Police Constable in Westminster
Peter Green - Engineer from AED+ of Swindon Space Center
Peter Wardle, Dr. - Director of Swindon Space Center
Phil Jowell - UK National Railway Network Operations Manager
Piers Andrews - Programmer at Swindon Space Center
Pip Parker - Pipe-factory owner
Ramesh Thakur - Deputy Director of Chelsea Hospital
> Raunak - Village boy from Muali village in Thar Desert
Rob Gray - Al’s fellow Scientist at Ohio Space Center
Robert Gales - Technical Data Assistant at Swindon Space Center
Rory Carr - Firefighter at Westminster Fire Department
Rosie - Ambassador Blackwell’s Secretary
Sam Reed - Al’s girlfriend in USA
Samantha Bradley – Al’s Assistant at Swindon Space Center. Also, his girlfriend
Samir Kumar - Junior Astronomer at Swindon Space Center
Sandra Lawson - Head of DIMA* Response Coordination Team
Sara Hart - Al’s former colleague at Ohio Space Center and schoolmate
Seth Hardy - Owner of KR Pipes
Shamu - Bhim’s elder brother
Simon Miller - Al’s fellow Scientist at Ohio Space Center
Sue Wadsworth - Young Researcher at Swindon Space Center
Sue Walker - Al’s fellow Scientist and friend at Ohio Space Center
Sylvia Peters - Dr. Wardle’s Assistant
Theon Yates - Pilot on round-the-world trip
Thomas - A math genius at Swindon Space Center
Thorpe - Co-pilot of DIMA* plane
Ursula Raymond - Telescope Station Manager at Swindon Space Center
Veera - Bhim’s father
Venus Hodgkin - Journalist from The Express newspaper
William Blackstone, Dr. - Director of Ohio Space Center
William Lake - Young Researcher at Swindon Space Center
^A&CW - Asteroid & Comet Watch
+AED - Aeronautical Engineering Department
#ASD - Advanced Super-Computing Division
*DIMA - Disaster Management Ministry of the UK
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Prologue
Gilbert Mannering was the favorite student of Arnold Ashdown and was sharper than his teacher. But this fact did not prevent Ashdown from sharing his knowledge with Mannering. Ashdown would tell new things about astronomy to his student every day. Mannering would listen attentively and ask questions. However, the teacher did not have answers to every question that his favorite student asked.
“You’ll become the best astronomer that England has ever had,” Ashdown would tell Mannering.
“You are the best astronomer that England has ever produced, and I can never take your place,” Mannering would reply.
The year 1698 was unusually cold in Dorset. And the nights were remarkably clear. Mannering was shivering when he entered Ashdown’s chamber at ten in the night.
“I can see that you have again spent hours in front of the telescope,” Ashdown said, pouring a cup of mead.
“I was observing the comets,” Mannering replied.
“You have spent more than two weeks following them.”
“They are very different from the comet that Kirch has discovered.”
“That’s interesting. I thought comets were comets.”
“The smaller comet seems to be pursuing the larger one. In two weeks, the distance between them has decreased.”
“The decrease in distance may be because of the gravitation pull of the larger comet.”
“Exactly.”
“What else have you found out?”
“The larger comet will pass by earth in about eight months. Seven days later, the smaller one would pass by.”
“Keep the information to yourself,” Ashdown warned Mannering as he finished his mead and prepared to leave.
Mannering observed the comets for two more weeks. He was excited about his new findings. Not finding Ashdown in his chamber on the day he made his final calculations, Mannering poured his heart out over several cups of mead to Franco Webb, Ashdown’s assistant.
The next day, Mannering stood in the court of King Henry VII.
The Clerk of the King’s Bench read out aloud, “Gilbert Hughes Mannering, son of Hughes Princeton Mannering Sr., has declared that a large comet shall appear after eight months. A smaller comet shall follow one week later. He has announced that the larger comet should be called Ashford and the smaller should be named after him -Mannering. He has proclaimed that the comets shall go around the sun and then continue their journey to the abyss they came from. The distance between the comets shall keep decreasing. They shall again emerge from the darkness three centuries hence. And they shall emerge as one. Gilbert Hughes Mannering has prophesied that misfortune shall fall on earth then.”
“You have uttered those words?” the Lord Chancellor asked.
“Yes,” Mannering replied.
“You wish to name the comets after yourself and your teacher and not after the royalty?’
“Yes,” Mannering replied.
“Why?”
“Because I discovered them, and my teacher’s knowledge helped me discover them.”
“You prophesy bad days for earth?”
“Yes,” Mannering replied.
The Lord Chancellor hollered, “My Lord, I beseech nothing but capital punishment for the heretic.”
The King nodded and struck the royal gavel on the block.
The next day, Mannering was hanged in full public view in Dorset. The whole town, except Ashford, turned up. Mannering’s last words were, “None can separate Mannering from Ashford. The people of this planet, a dozen generations hence, shall see the spectacle of Ashford-Mannering as they launch their fury together.”
1
Al noticed a blob on the computer screen, which did not look familiar. He did a rewind and scanned the images again. The blob did not disappear. It was so small and smudged that Al had almost missed it the first time.
It doesn’t look like a computer error, he thought.
Al had been doing the job every day for more than ten years. He had made many discoveries. He remembered each of them and the date of the discoveries. But like that of every other space scientist, his record was not flawless.
In the first six years, every second time he had discovered something, he had been told that the discovery was not new. Sometimes, he had been beaten by minutes. And then there were times when he had been wrong. What he had thought was a new celestial object had sometimes turned out to be a technical glitch.
But over the years, especially in the last couple of years, Al had perfected the art of discovering obscure objects in space. The last six discoveries that he had made had indeed been found to be super-discoveries. He had been rapidly gaining the sixth sense of knowing what was real and what was not. But the faded blob was putting this enhanced sixth sense to stress.
Al wanted to complete his verification before he called out for outside help. He took out the charts from the printer and examined them. He was still at a loss. If the blob was faded on the computer screen, it was nearly invisible on the printout. But it was there.
Al could not help thinking that he might have made his seventh discovery in a row. If that turned out to be true, he would break a three-decade old record at the Center - seven discoveries without an error in less than one year.
“Hey, Sue,” Al shouted for his colleague.
br /> Sue Walker had joined the Center a week before Al had. And every time she had seen Al since that day, she had wondered, how can such a tall, well-built and handsome guy be a space scientist? She had never put this question to others. She had nearly asked about it once to Al but had stopped just short of the first word coming out of her mouth.
Sue had thought that it was possible that the two of them would have to work together till they retired, which was a good thirty years away. And she did not want both to feel uncomfortable every time they met each other because of a stupid question that she had asked Al.
Al did not have any such questions about Sue. He respected her and her opinion. He categorized the space scientists into three groups - those who gave diplomatic answers, those who gave blunt answers and those who never gave any answers. Sue fell in none of these categories. She always gave a frank answer and in a manner which usually did not hurt Al.
Sue came running from the adjacent room. It was not often that Al got excited. And every time he did, Sue thought that Al would talk about something other than astronomy. But, from her experience, she knew that this would not happen. Yet, she could never stop herself from keeping calm if Al called out excitedly at her.
“Have you found a new supernova?” Sue asked, running towards Al’s computer secretly thinking that he would say, no, it’s not about the stars that I want to talk about. I wanted to know if you are free for a drink on Friday evening.
“No, it’s not a supernova. I’ve already found two in the last three months.”
“A nebula?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Don’t tell me you have found a comet,” Sue said in surprise.
“It could be,” Al replied.
“Don’t fool me,” Sue said, laughing. “Didn’t you hear Dr. Blackstone say last week that the possibility of discovering a new comet in the next one year was almost zero?”
“Then, what is this blob?” Al asked, pointing at the blob on his computer.
Sue looked once at the screen and said casually, “It’s the work of computers. This happens when they forget to do what they are supposed to. A computer failure, in short. I’ve seen hundreds of them in my career in the Center. Our computers are getting sophisticated. We are becoming more precise. We are going deep into space, deeper than we had ever imagined when we joined the Center. But, it’s a pity that the number of technical errors that I see is also increasing.”