《The Great Voyage》


 Noah Paradigm

    We did it.


    After years upon years of endless struggle. Broke the barriers of even the most complex realms of quantum computing. Cleared the slate colored clouds of obscurity.


    And we approached a solution. Attained it.


    We laughed, we partied, we embraced. Our labours had been rewarded.


    In the distant, unexplored corners of quantum physics, we discovered the secrets to perpetual endless energy.


    But this proved to be only half of the equation. A minimalistic half compared to the monster that was left yet unsolved :


    Time.


    Time was a colossal constraint upon every cosmic study. Our lives were, but a blip in the face of the universe. That endlessly vast, infinitely massive titan that had sworn to keep it''s secrets hidden away. Unreachably distant from the hands of insignificant mortals like us.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Or so it thought. Or so we ourselves had thought.


    But then after almost a millenia of painfully meticulous research, a spark had been born.


    A genius mind unparalleled by any that had trudged before it, or would ever trudge after it.


    His discoveries and sheer brain-storming sessions had created what we now came to know as the Noah Paradigm Equations.


    For those of us, well-versed in the methods and knowledges of science, the NPE might as well have been the Holy Grail of human existence. The equations had solved the age old dilemma of infinite energy, not simply theoretically, but also practically. It was miraculous, how one mind could have solved, to not be modest, pretty much everything.


    The age of miracles was, at last, upon us.


    But our celebratory sentiments were to be short-lived. The problem of Time hung over our heads. Taunting, teasing, tantalizingly out of reach.


    We had the means to travel to the ends of the universe. But how would we ever have enough time?

 Revelation

    Noah had considered countless theories. But even his unparallelled level of genius could not grasp the solution to this seemingly insurmountable problem.


    Innumerous sleepless nights had aged him visibly, but his eyes were as sharp as ever and they reflected his endlessly positive mind.


    Every problem has a solution.


    This was the motto he lived by, and he was ready to die by it.


    The universe works in mysterious ways.


    This has always been clear to the men and women of science. It gambles away playfully when it''s mysteries approach a revelation, and yet, sometimes, it simply bestows the revelation into the minds of the chosen. History has borne witness to this uncanny phenomenon.


    From the stories of Dmitri Mendeleev, to the bemusing statements of Srinivasa Ramanujan, History has told us that perhaps a higher form of intelligence is at work all around us. And that these great men are sometimes conduits of it''s infinite knowledge. As it was then, so it ensued now.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Revelation was bestowed.


    On the same day and on the same night, it descended unto the minds of five brilliant men, one of them being Noah himself. Each being given a different part of the puzzle. And each being enlightened that their part belonged to a whole that needed to be assembled. It was as clear as the sun, as tranquil as a cloudless night, and as paramount as existence itself.


    A day was decided upon. And the great minds met. All brilliant in their own fields.


    A team was quickly assembled, headed by Noah himself, and with the innovative and ever brilliant minds working in unison, the solution to the Time problem was finally achieved.


    It was weird. The feeling of success was alien, somehow. Exciting, and yet, something that seemed to demand apprehension. The invention of the Time Contraption, as it had been named, was by far, the greatest invention mankind had ever chanced upon. The greatest, and yet, as it became clear to it''s five creators, the most dangerous.


    It was an anomaly and it conveyed this fact to the creators, clear as day.


    It was a machine, and yet it seemed to possess sentience. The contraption itself was an unimpressive object at first sight.


    No taller than a standard desk. No heavier than the same. A mere rectangular box, completely devoid of any color except black. Completely devoid of any discerning features as well. Plain as a marble slate. It honestly seemed odd, that a device as complex as the Time contraption should look as simple as this. A mere black box. But looks were deceiving.


    The box seemed to emanate a "presence" of sorts. The creators called it an electromagnetic field. It seemed to distort the very space around it.

 The Titanic

    The scientific community was overjoyed at the creation.


    They cheered and they laughed, once again.


    Their labours were finally bearing fruit. But the creators were aware that this fruit might as well have been the Forbidden Fruit.


    One that mankind was not meant to create, or interact with.


    But humanity had lost its patience. The secrets of the universe could now be unravelled. And they wished to wait no longer.


    The Time Contraption would be implemented, in conjuction with the infinite energy solution. A team would be sent, consisting of several people including the five creators. The project would be dubbed "The Great Voyage."


    And their space ship would be called, The Titanic.


    The name was opposed by many, given the history of the original bearer. But Noah was adamant that the name remain unchanged. For unlike the real ship, this one would go forth and not sink. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    This one would complete it''s voyage.


    It would take five years for the Titanic to be built to perfection, and not a soul working on the project made any compromise.


    They slaved away, working as relentlessly as the machines. Assiduously integrating every piece into the system. It was a sight to behold! As glorious as the creation of the pyramids themselves. The pinnacle of human innovation, and ingenuity. The ultimate creation made by man. The summation of every scientific research.


    The possible solution to the universe itself.


    And it was done. Five years had passed. The Titanic was ready. A colossal ship, fifteen storeys high. Shaped like a surfing board. Completely black, like the Time Contraption itself, which lay at the heart of the ship.


    The crew of 50 was ready. The goodbyes had been said. Promises of return had been muttered with wavering lips and uncertain eyes.


    Noah was ready. The four other creators were ready. The five of them were, perhaps, the only ones among the fifty five that knew for certain that this voyage would be a complete success.


    Fifty-five humans would travel beyond the edge of the Universe.


    The Titanic would not sink. The Great Voyage would be noted in history books and become the stuff of legend.


    The creators had known this ever since the Time Contraption had been created.

 The Voyage

    As the ship exited the furthermost reaches of our atmosphere and was welcomed into the endlessly dark embrace of space, it slowed down and began moving forward with nothing except a gentle hum.


    The speakers sprang to life with a piercing feedback squeal, indicating that one of the creators was about to speak to the crew.


    Noah explained how the Time Contraption worked. Interjections and comments were made in between by the rest of the creators during the long speech.


    Time, was a complex and primordial construct. The one real "scale" that measured every event as it ensued in the cosmic time line. The contraption would work in ways that could only be described as anomalous : it would render the entire ship immune to that "scale".


    The Titanic would, quite literally, elude time itself. Travel outside the bounds of the cosmic time line, evading the measurement of Time. And in doing so, it would be effectively immortal and everlasting.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Anything that traveled outside the cosmic time line could not be measured, and hence, could never age.


    The ship would still take billions of years to reach the estimated edge of the universe, but since it would be travelling outside the time line, no time would pass inside the time line at all.


    To all observers, it would seem as if the Titanic completed it''s great voyage in the blink of an eye. But the reality would be an immortal crew travelling for billions of years to reach an edge that could, in all probability, be even further away than initially hypothesized.


    Cryo sleep chambers installed would be used to keep the members on-board in a state of infinite stasis until their destination had been reached.


    The speakers had returned to their dormant states and the crew once again busied itself in preparations for Cryo sleep. This was it.


    The Great Voyage had begun.


    The Cryo sleep was activated. The whole ship fell silent and the only thing audible was the gentle hum of the ship as it traveled in the infinite vastness of space.

 At the End

    A loud beep indicated that the Cryo sleep duration was to end within 10 minutes.


    The Great Voyage was at an end.


    The members on-board had slept for forty eight billion years.


    The crew at first, could not believe it had actually happened. The creators, however, were immediately outside of their chambers and in the main station, staring outside the glass at what was unfolding before their eyes.


    White.


    All white.


    It seemed that they were all headed toward a literal wall of white light.


    The wall had nothing else but white in it. The whole darkness of space just seemed to stop abruptly.


    The creators knew. The crew knew.


    They had reached the end of space. The edge of the Universe.


    Dumbfounded, they stared ahead. The ship moved forward at a gentle pace. A beast floating on calm waters. Moving toward the unknown. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Not a single voice rose interrogatively.


    A tranquility unlike any other. Bestowed by the gods themselves.


    The whiteness swallowed them. It seemed to spread all around them, pushing away the vast interminable darkness. Pushing away space itself. Further and further until everything was white, and only a minimalistic black patch remained as proof that space even existed at all. That all of this was actually happening.


    That mankind had finally made it past the edge.


    Several moments expired before the realization struck the members on-board that all form of movement had stopped. The ship was neither moving forwards, nor going backwards.


    It was simply stationery. Floating in the whiteness.


    Confused muttering. Inquiring glances in every direction.


    Everything seemed to culminate into a collective gasp as the members noticed a person, walking toward the ship.


    They had traveled through space, reached it''s very edge, traveled further into the beyond, and yet the strangest sight was that of a person walking.


    Stranger still, was the nonchalance of the person''s gait. He could''ve been strolling on the beach on a Sunday. And yet, he was walking toward a ship supposedly floating in mid space, or whatever all of the whiteness could be called.


    Dressed in what the on-lookers realized was a white lab coat over a black shirt, and jeans.


    Before long, the person was standing right outside, in front of the Titanic, steadfastly looking through the glasses at the people staring at him from the inside.


    Humanity had travelled beyond the edge of the universe to discover...... Humanity?


    The person simply motioned at them to come outside. He was smiling.

 Answer

    Slowly, apprehensively, the Creators unlocked the doors and the members all stepped outside.


    Weird would fall several thousand miles short of possessing the ability to describe the experience.


    They seemed to be standing on something, but nothing, at the same time. There was no sound, no breeze, nothing. Deafening silence was all that greeted their ears. Not even a sound of breathing because no one was breathing.


    The people discovered that they no longer needed to take in or expel air. They could just.... Not breathe.


    With the few moments of amazement and disbelief now behind them, the people stared at the person smiling at them.


    "Congratulations."


    He beamed at the Creators and Noah, who stared at him silently.


    "Congratulations to all of you," he said, looking around at all the people now.


    "W-what is this? Is this a joke?" ventured <u>Noah</u>.


    "No," said the person in a solemn voice. "None of this is a joke."


    "Where are we?" said another one of the Creators.


    "Beyond the bounds of the Universe," replied the man. "This place is called the Null Zone."


    "The Null Zone??"


    "Yes. The Null Zone. An extra dimensional space that exists outside of all existence. Beyond reality, beyond time and space itself."


    "Is there no time in here?"


    "No. The end of space cannot be reached without reaching the end of time as well. The two are inter-linked. One cannot exist without the other. Therefore, when you reached the end of space, you also reached the end of time. And you are now in a zone that''s beyond both."


    The man said it like it was the most common thing that should be known by everyone.


    "What do you mean?" asked one of the members.


    "I mean. You are now beyond the realms of existence. Or existence is now no longer valid. The world you left behind, the universe you left behind, has all ceased to exist. Because you have reached the literal end of space and time."If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    This statement resulted in quite a loud and alarmed muttering among the people of the ship. Even the Creators seemed unnerved by what was being said to them. Noah just stared at the ground quietly.


    Finally one of them spoke up.


    "But that makes no sense. What are you... What are humans doing at the end of space and time? Whats the meaning of all this?"


    "Interesting," muttered the man, mostly to himself.


    "Whats interesting?" asked one of the crew members aggressively. "You need to explain what''s going on!"


    "What''s going on," replied the man. "Is that your existence, has no meaning. You''re all nothing but mere codes."


    "C-codes?"


    "Yes," said the man, a weird glow in his eyes. "I''m conversing with you as a coded avatar of my real self."


    "What?!" The question was uttered by many.


    "Yes. You ''humans'' came quite close to the truth once or twice, but it was nothing a little programming couldn''t fix."


    The man now sounded childlike, crazed even, as if this was giving him immense joy, and sadistic pleasure.


    "We designed you. All of you. All of everything that exists in your universe. Your reality. Simply a string of codes. Several simulations and every single time, it ends with all of you searching for a grand meaning to everything, and travelling to the ends of the universe in order to find it. Funny, really. Even coded strings such as yourselves strive to find a bigger answer to it all."


    "But it can''t be..... Everything..... Life, the Earth, the Solar System..... All just mere... Programming? It''s not possible!" stormed Noah. He looked like he was about to cry.


    The man looked at him.


    "Ofcourse it is. You''re all ''living'' proof of it. We created the Big Bang Project in order to simulate the entire universe that you lived in. Based on similar principles of our own universe. The same laws that applied to us, applied to you as well. Which is why these simulations were so very important."


    "Why were they important?"


    "Because every single time, you seem to come to the same solution. We have been trying to develop a solution ourselves. But Time, in reality, is a lot more complex and can''t be merely eluded as easily as all of you did it, with your Time Contraption. The actual theory and calculations behind such a device are massive. Even for the most advanced quantum computers of our age. We solved the energy equation similar to how you did it. But our problem of time was much more complex, which is why we needed to run more than a few simulations."


    "But what solution are you trying to attain?" asked the Creators.


    "Why the same as you. We wish to find out what lies beyond the edge of the Universe. The actual Universe."


    The people stared at the man, dumbfounded. None of them appeared to have any more questions. Most of them simply gawked at him, unable to believe what their years of hardwork had led them to. Even the Creators seemed to be at a loss for words.


    All those years of research, years of struggle, to find the greater meaning to everything. A herculean task for even the greatest of minds. All of it, only to end in an answer that answered nothing at all. An end that was as meaningless as everything up and until it was reached.


    "And now," spoke the man suddenly in a dismissive manner.


    "It''s time to end this simulation. Thank you for providing us with the final key to reach our own solution. Congratulations on reaching here. This will be the last time project Big Bang is completed."


    And with that the man began to walk away.


    "N-no. Wait!" cried the people assembled there, looking around in frightened bewilderment.


    "Stop!!" yelled Noah. But to no avail.


    Lights out.


    Everything suddenly vanished as if it had never been there. Nothing remained.


    Existence had been nothing but a mere experiment.

 1199

    Report No. 1199 :


    The simulation shows promise.


    The coding seems to have achieved semi-sentience.


    Coded elements were able to create a simulation of their own called The Big Bang project. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Remarkable achievement.


    Every simulation seems to end in the same manner, however. There is no reason to believe that simulation number 99 will be any different.


    Data generated shall help us reach the solution eventually.


    The time problem shall soon be solved.


    The mystery of the universe is on the brink of being unravelled.


    ****End report****