The Darkness of Matter

The Darkness of Matter: Chapter 2

 Chapter 2

Dawn broke. It was another summer day of perfectly normal loveliness for the month of June. And yet there was something special today, a promise of magic that shimmered and sparkled, gilding the morning rosy with potential. In the soil, the small things of the earth wriggled heartily in the coolness of the earth. Clouds stirred against the wind; under mountains and oceans, things long-slumbering moved within their coils, a portent of events as the balance tipped at last towards one side of the scale. 

***

Sophie woke up disoriented and yet deeply rested, keyed for flight. She swung herself up immediately, fists balled, ready to run. But there was only silence in the well-ordered apartment. The premonition of disaster evaporated. Embarrassed, she lowered her hands. What was she thinking? 

Cautiously she stretched out. The malaise of the previous day had completely disappeared. Her body hummed with energy. Whatever it was that had made her feel so sick, it had gone. Jetlag, she supposed. Maybe an overnight bug. Whatever it was, she was grateful that it was over. Even the pimple burgeoning on her left temple had faded without a trace. 

They had a leisurely morning with coffee and pancakes. Yawning, Carl read the newspaper, and Sophie checked her email. To her, pleasure there was a missive from Helen:

Dearest Sophie, 

Guess what, your mother has now been to the deepest part of the earth! Well, almost. We did the initial test dive this morning. It was amazing - 1km down without problems.  That's deeper than I've ever been before. It was pitch dark down there. Didn't see much but I think we'll have better luck once we shift spots.

Once we got back up shipside, the crew threw a little party to celebrate. There are about 15-20 of us on board, people come and go. It reminds of a camp--all different nationalities, speaking different languages. There are just three Americans on board including me so it's a small crew.

How are you doing? I hope you're having a good time with Dad! Remind him to take you boating. And please make sure you go over your physics with him while you're there. Hope he won't be too busy to explain to you. 

Will write again soon (I get limited outbound email time at present because everything has to go by satellite and they say it's expensive). 

Love, 

Mom

"Mom went on a test dive!" Sophie exclaimed as she put the laptop to sleep. 

"So I hear." 

"She emailed you?" 

"We chatted briefly last night."  He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I was worried. Are you sure you’re feeling better?"

"Totally. Must have been a bug. What did she say?"

“We didn’t talk long.” Carl stared down at his plate and Sophie frowned.

“What is it?”

Carl sighed. He looked at his hands for a moment, as if debating whether to speak. "Ever heard of unbihexium? I didn’t think so. It's the one hundred and twenty-sixth element in the periodic table. Purely theoretical, until Chelonia found traces of an unknown substance in the seabed mud last summer."

"And it was unbi--" Sophie couldn't remember the rest of the word.

"Unbihexium." Carl dumped the plates with a clatter into the sink and turned the taps on. "The heaviest element ever known to man. Heavier than plutonium or uranium.”