In 500... (or less)

Ad Infinitum

Years of research. Math problems that hobbled the processors of the largest supercomputers. It would only be a few moments before everyone would see if it was all worth it.

The three astronauts sat nervously in the ship. 

"Suppose we'll ever see Earth again?" Dailey asked.

No one answered, each of them had their own thoughts about testing the experimental drive. It wasn't just fast. This thing made warp drives and hyper drives from the movies and television look like tectonic plates drifting through frozen molasses.

"We all know the mission plan." Commander Kim never let her nerves get the best of her. "We go, we take a few readings, then we turn around and come home."

"Suppose..."

"Dailey," Kim interrupted. "First of all, there are only three true outcomes for this. One, it doesn't work at all and we sit here in Earth orbit. Two, it breaks and we're stranded in some distant galaxy. Or three, it all goes as planned."

"Let's focus on number three," she added.

Dailey looked over at her commander and nodded.

"Infinitum, this is Control. All systems are go. See you on the other side."

Kim smiled at her crew mates as she stretched out for the control. In moments they would be beyond the universe's horizon of observable light. 

"Control, this is Infinitum. See you on the other side of the Big Bang," Kim replied.

Kim couldn't tell whether she blinked or whether there was a flash. The drive disengaged automatically. She turned to look out the window and sighed.

"Control, Infinitum. Looks like nothing happened," Kim couldn't hide her disappointment. She was certain this would work.

"Copy Infinitum, we're looking into the readings now. It appears the drive did engage, we're going over the data now to see what happened."

Kim clicked off the comm. 

"What are you seeing, Dailey?"

"A malfunction. Has to be. The numbers are way off." Dailey squinted at the screen. The numbers were beyond anything her head could imagine.

"How far? What distance did we travel according to the computer?" Kim asked.

"I couldn't even read it if I wanted to," Dailey responded. "A one with 360 zeros behind it...in light years."

"Let's get to the root of the malfunction," Kim ordered. "That number is several factors larger than the universe."

As hard as she looked, nothing out of the ordinary turned up. 

The trio analyzed and checked every system. All of the logging systems checked out. The drive was fine.

"The problem has to be in the math behind the drive," Kim proclaimed. "It couldn't be anything else."

It was still another few hours before ground control was finally back in contact.

"Infinitum, this is Control." The voice sounded oddly shaken, as if there were something seriously wrong. "Can you check your bio-readings?"

Kim tapped the panel in front of her.

"Myself, Dailey and Ramirez all check out."

"Copy," the voice from control said. "We are reading the same thing. Dailey is quite surprised to find herself on board, when she is standing here." 

Author's Note: The odds of another Earth somewhere in the universe with the exact same people doing the exact same things is astronomical, and yet if the universe is infinite in size, it is a mathematical certainty that such a world exists.