Of course, Melbourne is a remarkably international city.”
“Thank you,” he said, taking a seat, “and you are right about the multicultural flavor of the city. Aside from the original English, Scots, and Irish settlers there are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and, of course, native aborigines. There was an oriental young man behind the counter of my hotel this morning and I expected him to sound like either a Californian surfer or a Chinese grad student. Instead he said “G’day, how ya goin’ mate?” He really scrambled my cultural expectations.”
The waiter came over and Rajiv ordered. Then, once the waiter had departed, he opened the briefcase and took out a slim folder. Opening it revealed a collection of large photographs, all shots of a dun colored planet with prominent icecaps. “Would you please look at these and tell me what you see?”
Elena picked up the photos one by one, carefully examining each in turn. The waiter returned with Rajiv’s coffee and another cappuccino for Elena, who murmured “grazie” without glancing up from the pictures in front of her. After several more minutes, she looked up and said, “This would appear to be a terrestrial planet, but it is not in this solar system. I would suspect the image of being computer generated, but somehow I think you will tell me differently, no?”
“Correct. What would you say if I told you that the world in the photos before you circles a star almost 30 light-years from here?”
“I would say that there are a number of star systems that are within that distance which might have an Earth or Mars like planet. Which one is this?”
“Beta Comae Berenices.”
“Ah,” the astronomer said, “and just how did you get these pictures? The resolution is quite high, I would have guessed they were taken from close by, perhaps in orbit—but how would that be possible?”
“We thought that showing you some pictures would be easier than trying to explain in words.” Rajiv smiled warmly and took a sip of his cooling coffee. “Those were taken a little more than a month ago by a spaceship from Earth.”
“But that is impossible!” Elena sputtered. “Even with today’s technology, the ship would have had to have been launched thousands of years ago! And then, transmitting using radio or lasers, the photographs could not be received back on Earth for another 30 years—Einstein’s cosmic speed limit is strictly enforced.”
Rajiv grinned a Cheshire cat grin. “What if I told you there were ways around Dr. Einstein’s inconvenient speed restriction? What if I told you I viewed that planet with my naked eyes?”
“I would say that you are either delusional or playing a very elaborate hoax on me, or both.”
The slender physicist continued to smile as he took out a cell phone and dialed a number. Waiting for someone to answer, he held one hand over the phone and spoke to Elena. “I believe that you know Yuki Saito?”
“Si, but Dr. Saito was reported dead on board the ISS. This joke is rapidly becoming not funny.”
He held up a hand to forestall more angry comments as someone picked up on the other end. “Yes, this is Rajiv. I’m with Dr. Piscopia. Could you put Dr. Saito on the phone? … Thank you.” Without saying another word he handed the phone to Elena.
“Hello, this is Hiroyuki Saito, can I help you?” came a familiar voice on the phone. It was a voice that Elena recognized as her colleague Dr. Saito. “Yuki? Is that you?”
“Yes, Elena, it is me. As you can tell, I did not perish on board the ISS and too many things have happened since our rescue to tell you over the phone. Please trust Dr. Gupta. He will bring you to a place where we can explain everything.”
“It is you! Grazie a Dio! You are alive!” A million questions swirled through Elena’s head. How could this be? Yuki alive, closeup pictures of alien planets, claims of faster-than-light travel—it was too much to take in all at once. Rajiv
“Thank you,” he said, taking a seat, “and you are right about the multicultural flavor of the city. Aside from the original English, Scots, and Irish settlers there are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and, of course, native aborigines. There was an oriental young man behind the counter of my hotel this morning and I expected him to sound like either a Californian surfer or a Chinese grad student. Instead he said “G’day, how ya goin’ mate?” He really scrambled my cultural expectations.”
The waiter came over and Rajiv ordered. Then, once the waiter had departed, he opened the briefcase and took out a slim folder. Opening it revealed a collection of large photographs, all shots of a dun colored planet with prominent icecaps. “Would you please look at these and tell me what you see?”
Elena picked up the photos one by one, carefully examining each in turn. The waiter returned with Rajiv’s coffee and another cappuccino for Elena, who murmured “grazie” without glancing up from the pictures in front of her. After several more minutes, she looked up and said, “This would appear to be a terrestrial planet, but it is not in this solar system. I would suspect the image of being computer generated, but somehow I think you will tell me differently, no?”
“Correct. What would you say if I told you that the world in the photos before you circles a star almost 30 light-years from here?”
“I would say that there are a number of star systems that are within that distance which might have an Earth or Mars like planet. Which one is this?”
“Beta Comae Berenices.”
“Ah,” the astronomer said, “and just how did you get these pictures? The resolution is quite high, I would have guessed they were taken from close by, perhaps in orbit—but how would that be possible?”
“We thought that showing you some pictures would be easier than trying to explain in words.” Rajiv smiled warmly and took a sip of his cooling coffee. “Those were taken a little more than a month ago by a spaceship from Earth.”
“But that is impossible!” Elena sputtered. “Even with today’s technology, the ship would have had to have been launched thousands of years ago! And then, transmitting using radio or lasers, the photographs could not be received back on Earth for another 30 years—Einstein’s cosmic speed limit is strictly enforced.”
Rajiv grinned a Cheshire cat grin. “What if I told you there were ways around Dr. Einstein’s inconvenient speed restriction? What if I told you I viewed that planet with my naked eyes?”
“I would say that you are either delusional or playing a very elaborate hoax on me, or both.”
The slender physicist continued to smile as he took out a cell phone and dialed a number. Waiting for someone to answer, he held one hand over the phone and spoke to Elena. “I believe that you know Yuki Saito?”
“Si, but Dr. Saito was reported dead on board the ISS. This joke is rapidly becoming not funny.”
He held up a hand to forestall more angry comments as someone picked up on the other end. “Yes, this is Rajiv. I’m with Dr. Piscopia. Could you put Dr. Saito on the phone? … Thank you.” Without saying another word he handed the phone to Elena.
“Hello, this is Hiroyuki Saito, can I help you?” came a familiar voice on the phone. It was a voice that Elena recognized as her colleague Dr. Saito. “Yuki? Is that you?”
“Yes, Elena, it is me. As you can tell, I did not perish on board the ISS and too many things have happened since our rescue to tell you over the phone. Please trust Dr. Gupta. He will bring you to a place where we can explain everything.”
“It is you! Grazie a Dio! You are alive!” A million questions swirled through Elena’s head. How could this be? Yuki alive, closeup pictures of alien planets, claims of faster-than-light travel—it was too much to take in all at once. Rajiv
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