Hilde settled herself comfortably in the glider1 beside her father. It was nearly midnight. They sat looking out across the bay. A few stars glimmered2 palely in the light sky. Gentle waves lapped over the stones under the dock.
Her father broke the silence.
"It's a strange thought that we live on a tiny little planet in the universe."
"Yes ..."
"Earth is only one of many planets orbiting the sun. Yet Earth is the only living planet."
"Perhaps the only one in the entire universe?"
"It's possible. But it's also possible that the universe is teeming3 with life. The universe is inconceivably huge. The distances are so great that we measure them in light-minutes and light-years."
"What are they, actually?"
"A light-minute is the distance light travels in one minute. And that's a long way, because light travels through space at 300,000 kilometers a second. That means that a light-minute is 60 times 300,000--or 18 million kilometers. A light-year is nearly ten trillion kilometers."
"How far away is the sun?"
"It's a little over eight light-minutes away. The rays of sunlight warming our faces on a hot June day have traveled for eight minutes through the universe before they reach us." "Go on..."
"Pluto4, which is the planet farthest out in our solar system, is about five light-hours away from us. When an astronomer5 looks at Pluto through his telescope, he is in fact looking five hours back in time. We could also say that the picture of Pluto takes five hours to get here."
"It's a bit hard to visualize6, but I think I understand."
"That's good, Hilde. But we here on Earth are only just beginning to orient ourselves. Our own sun is one of 400 billion other stars in the galaxy7 we call the Milky8 Way. This galaxy resembles a large discus, with our sun situated9 in one of its several spiral arms. When we look up at the sky on a clear winter's night, we see a broad band of stars. This is because we are looking toward the center of the Milky Way."
"I suppose that's why the Milky Way is called 'Winter Street' in Swedish."
"The distance to the star in the Milky Way that is our nearest neighbor is four light-years. Maybe that's it just above the island over there. If you could imagine that at this very moment a stargazer is sitting up there with a powerful telescope pointing at Bjerkely--he would see Bjerkely as it looked four years ago. He might see an eleven-year-old girl swinging her legs in the glider."
"Incredible."
"But that's only the nearest star. The whole galaxy-- or nebula10, as we also call it--is 90,000 light-years wide. That is another way of describing the time it takes for light to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other. When we gaze at a star in the Milky Way which is 50,000 light-years away from our sun, we are looking back 50,000 years in time."
"The idea is much too big for my little head."
"The only way we can look out into space, then, is to look back in time. We can never know what the universe is like now. We only know what it was like then. When we look up at a star that is thousands of light-years away, we are really traveling thousands of years back in the history of space."
"It's completely incomprehensible." "But everything we see meets the eye in the form of light waves. And these light waves take time to travel through space. We could compare it to thunder. We always hear the thunder after we have seen the lightning. That's because sound waves travel slower than light waves. When I hear a peal11 of thunder, I'm hearing the sound of something that happened a little while ago. It's the same thing with the stars. When I look at a star that is thousands of light-years away, I'm seeing the 'peal of thunder' from an event that lies thousands of years back in time."
"Yes, I see."
"But so far, we've only been talking about our own galaxy. Astronomers12 say there are about a hundred billion of such galaxies13 in the universe, and each of these galaxies consists of about a hundred billion stars. We call the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way the Andromeda nebula. It lies two million light-years from our own galaxy. That means the light from that galaxy takes two million years to reach us. So we're looking two million years back in time when we see the Andromeda nebula high up in the sky. If there was a clever stargazer in this nebula--I can just imagine him pointing his telescope at Earth right now--he wouldn't be able to see us. If he was lucky, he'd see a few flat-faced Neanderthals."
"It's amazing."
"The most distant galaxies we know of today are about ten billion light-years away from us. When we receive signals from these galaxies, we are going ten billion years back in the history of the universe. That's about twice as long as our own solar system has existed."
"You're making me dizzy."
"Although it is hard enough to comprehend what it means to look so far back in time, astronomers have discovered something that has even greater significance for our world picture."
"What?"
"Apparently14 no galaxy in space remains15 where it is. All the galaxies in the universe are moving away from each other at colossal16 speeds. The further they are away from us, the quicker they move. That means that the distance between the galaxies is increasing all the time."
"I'm trying to picture it."
"If you have a balloon and you paint black spots on it, the spots will move away from each other as you blow up the balloon. That's what's happening with the galaxies in the universe. We say that the universe is expanding."
"What makes it do that?"
"Most astronomers agree that the expanding universe can only have one explanation: Once upon a time, about 15 billion years ago, all substance in the universe was assembled in a relatively17 small area. The substance was so dense18 that gravity made it terrifically hot. Finally it got so hot and so tightly packed that it exploded. We call this explosion the Big Bang."
"Just the thought of it makes me shudder19."
"The Big Bang caused all the substance in the universe to be expelled in all directions, and as it gradually cooled, it formed stars and galaxies and moons and planets ..."
"But I thought you said the universe was still expanding?"
"Yes I did, and it's expanding precisely20 because of this explosion billions of years ago. The universe has no timeless geography. The universe is a happening. The universe is an explosion. Galaxies continue to fly through the universe away from each other at colossal speeds."
"Will they go on doing that for ever?"
"That's one possibility. But there is another. You may recall that Alberto told Sophie about the two forces that cause the planets to remain in constant orbit round the sun?"
"Weren't they gravity and inertia21?"
"Right, and the same thing applies to the galaxies. Because even though the universe continues to expand, the force of gravity is working the other way. And one day, in a couple of billion years, gravity will perhaps cause the heavenly bodies to be packed together again as the force of the huge explosion begins to weaken. Then we would get a reverse explosion, a so-called implosion22. But the distances are so great that it will happen like a movie that is run in slow motion. You might compare it with what happens when you release the air from a balloon."
"Will all the galaxies be drawn23 together in a tight nucleus24 again?"
"Yes, you've got it. But what will happen then?"
"There would be another Big Bang and the universe would start expanding again. Because the same natural laws are in operation. And so new stars and galaxies will form."
"Good thinking. Astronomers think there are two possible scenarios25 for the future of the universe. Either the universe will go on expanding forever so that the galaxies will draw further and further apart--or the universe will begin to contract again. How heavy and massive the universe is will determine what happens. And this is something astronomers have no way of knowing as yet."
"But if the universe is so heavy that it begins to contract again, perhaps it has expanded and contracted lots of times before."
"That would be an obvious conclusion. But on this point theory is divided. It may be that the expansion of the universe is something that will only happen this one time. But if it keeps on expanding for all eternity26, the question of where it all began becomes even more pressing."
"Yes, where did it come from, all that stuff that suddenly exploded?"
"For a Christian27, it would be obvious to see the Big Bang as the actual moment of creation. The Bible tells us that God said 'Let there be light!' You may possibly also remember that Alberto indicated Christianity's 'linear' view of history. From the point of view of a Chris-tian belief in the creation, it is better to imagine the universe continuing to expand."
"It is?"
"In the Orient they have a 'cyclic' view of history.
In other words, history repeats itself eternally. In India, for example, there is an ancient theory that the world continually unfolds and folds again, thus alternating between what Indians have called Brahman's Day and Brahman's Night. This idea harmonizes best, of course, with the universe expanding and contracting--in order to expand again--in an eternal cyclic process. I have a mental picture of a great cosmic heart that beats and beats and beats..."
"I think both theories are equally inconceivable and equally exciting."
"And they can compare with the great paradox28 of eternity that Sophie once sat pondering in her garden: either the universe has always been there--or it suddenly came into existence out of nothing ..."
"Ouch!"
Hilde clapped her hand to her forehead.
"What was that?"
"I think I've just been stung by a gadfly."
"It was probably Socrates trying to sting you into life."
Sophie and Alberto had been sitting in the red convertible29 listening to the major tell Hilde about the universe.
"Has it struck you that our roles are completely reversed?" asked Alberto after a while.
"In what sense?"
"Before it was they who listened to us, and we couldn't see them. Now we're listening to them and they can't see us."
"And that's not all."
"What are you referring to?"
"When we started, we didn't know about the other reality that Hilde and the major inhabited. Now they don't know about ours."
"Revenge is sweet."
"But the major could intervene in our world."
"Our world was nothing but his interventions30."
"I haven't yet relinquished31 all hope that we may also intervene in their world."
"But you know that's impossible. Remember what happened in the Cinderella? I saw you trying to get out that bottle of Coke."
Sophie was silent. She gazed out over the garden while the major explained about the Big Bang. There was something about that term which started a train of thought in her mind.
She began to rummage32 around in the car.
"What are you doing?" asked Alberto.
"Nothing."
She opened the glove compartment33 and found a wrench34. She grabbed it and jumped out of the car. She went over to the glider and stood right in front of Hilde and her father. First she tried to catch Hilde's eye but that was quite useless. Finally she raised the wrench above her head and crashed it down on Hilde's forehead.
"Ouch!" said Hilde.
Then Sophie hit the major on his forehead, but he didn't react at all.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I think I've just been stung by a gadfly."
"It was probably Socrates trying to sting you into life."
Sophie lay down on the grass and tried to push the glider. But it remained motionless. Or did she manage to get it to move a millimeter?
"There's a chilly35 breeze coming up," said Hilde.
"No, there isn't. It's very mild."
"It's not only that. There is something."
"Only the two of us and the cool summer night."
"No, there's something in the air."
"And what might that be?"
"You remember Alberto and his secret plan?"
"How could I forget!"
"They simply disappeared from the garden party. It was as if they had vanished into thin air . . ."
"Yes, but..."
"... into thin air."
"The story had to end somewhere. It was just something I wrote."
"That was, yes, but not what happened afterward36. Suppose they were here . . ."
"Do you believe that?"
"I can feel it, Dad."
Sophie ran back to the car.
"Impressive," said Alberto grudgingly37 as she climbed on board clasping the wrench tightly in her hand. "You have unusual talents, Sophie. Just wait and see."
The major put his arm around Hilde.
"Do you hear the mysterious play of the waves?"
"Yes. We must get the boat in the water tomorrow."
"But do you hear the strange whispering of the wind? Look how the aspen leaves are trembling."
"The planet is alive, you know ..."
"You wrote that there was something between the lines."
"I did?"
"Perhaps there is something between the lines in this garden too."
"Nature is full of enigmas38. But we are talking about stars in the sky."
"Soon there will be stars on the water."
"That's right. That's what you used to say about phosphorescence when you were little. And in a sense you were right. Phosphorescence and all other organisms are made of elements that were once blended together in a star."
"Us too?"
"Yes, we too are stardust."
"That was beautifully put."
"When radio telescopes can pick up light from distant galaxies billions of light-years away, they will be charting the universe as it looked in primeval times after the Big Bang. Everything we can see in the sky is a cosmic fossil from thousands and millions of years ago. The only thing an astrologer can do is predict the past."
"Because the stars in the constellations39 moved away from each other long before their light reached us, right?"
"Even two thousand years ago, the constellations looked considerably40 different from the way they look today."
"I never knew that."
"If it's a clear night, we can see millions, even billions of years back into the history of the universe. So in a way, we are going home."
"I don't know what you mean."
"You and I also began with the Big Bang, because all substance in the universe is an organic unity41. Once in a primeval age all matter was gathered in a clump42 so enormously massive that a pinhead weighed many billions of tons. This 'primeval atom' exploded because of the enormous gravitation. It was as if something disintegrated43. When we look up at the sky, we are trying to find the way back to ourselves."
"What an extraordinary thing to say."
"All the stars and galaxies in the universe are made of the same substance. Parts of it have lumped themselves together, some here, some there. There can be billions of light-years between one galaxy and the next. But they all have the same origin. All stars and all planets belong to the same family."
"Yes, I see."
"But what is this earthly substance? What was it that exploded that time billions of years ago? Where did it come from?"
"That is the big question."
"And a question that concerns us all very deeply. For we ourselves are of that substance. We are a spark from the great fire that was ignited many billions of years ago."
"That's a beautiful thought too."
"However, we must not exaggerate the importance of these figures. It is enough just to hold a stone in your hand. The universe would have been equally incomprehensible if it had only consisted of that one stone the size of an orange. The question would be just as impenetrable: where did this stone come from?"
Sophie suddenly stood up in the red convertible and pointed44 out over the bay.
"I want to try the rowboat," she said.
"It's tied up. And we would never be able to lift the oars45."
"Shall we try? After all, it is Midsummer Eve."
"We can go down to the water, at any rate."
They jumped out of the car and ran down the garden.
They tried to loosen the rope that was made fast in a metal ring. But they could not even lift one end.
"It's as good as nailed down," said Alberto.
"We've got plenty of time."
"A true philosopher must never give up. If we could just... get it loose . . ."
"There are more stars now," said Hilde.
"Yes, when the summer night is darkest."
"But they sparkle more in winter. Do you remember the night before you left for Lebanon? It was New Year's Day."
"That was when I decided46 to write a book about philosophy for you. I had been to a large bookstore in Kris-tiansand and to the library too. But they had nothing suitable for young people."
"It's as if we are sitting at the very tip of the fine hairs in the white rabbit's fur."
"I wonder if there is anyone out there in the night of the light-years?"
"The rowboat has worked itself loose!"
"So it has!"
"I don't understand it. I went down and checked it just before you got here."
"Did you?"
"It reminds me of when Sophie borrowed Alberto's boat. Do you remember how it lay drifting out in the lake?"
"I bet it's her at work again."
"Go ahead and make fun of me. All evening, I've been able to feel someone here."
"One of us will have to swim out to it."
"We'll both go, Dad."
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1
glider
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| n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹 | |
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glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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Pluto
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| n.冥王星 | |
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astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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visualize
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| vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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nebula
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| n.星云，喷雾剂 | |
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peal
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| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
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astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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galaxies
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| 星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物） | |
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14
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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implosion
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| n.向内破裂，内爆 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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scenarios
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| n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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convertible
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| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
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interventions
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| n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 ) | |
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31
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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rummage
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| v./n.翻寻，仔细检查 | |
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compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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grudgingly
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enigmas
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| n.难于理解的问题、人、物、情况等，奥秘( enigma的名词复数 ) | |
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constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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disintegrated
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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45
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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