The Invisible Universe

Time Machines: Part 2

The drive didn't take too long, stopping only briefly to relive his aging balder, that seemed to be more and more unpredictable as the years rolled on. Ian had made excellent time; with the roads being relatively empty despite the 3-day weekend being in full swing. All in all, it had only taken him three hours. Granted it hadn't felt that long, as Ian's mind was full with activity, and that seemed to make the time pass swiftly.

Thoughts about the previous evening's events had filled his head, things his wife had said, things he probably shouldn't of. The combination of these thoughts and the anticipation of what was to come had left him quite uneasy. The main issue that seemed to bounce around inside his head like a hyperactive fly was that he hadn't got the response from his wife he had expected. Considering just how exciting it was to be given a chance to work for the UPN, especially for a man of his inclination, Ian was a fair bit disappointed to see that his wife hadn't seemed to share in his excitement.

She had been concerned more than anything, about the prospect of him being sent into space, and the realities that came with that. It wasn't something he hadn't done before, interstellar travel being a relative norm, but that didn't seem to remove those creeping worry's. How long would he be gone? What would it do to him physically? Would she be able to keep in contact throughout? All fair questions, and Ian did understand the concerns, but he also realised these were questions that at the time, were unable to be answered.

Ian thought back at his attempts to reassure her, explaining how he didn't know precisely the nature of the job he would be doing, and that it might not even require him to go anywhere, but this did very little to calm his beloved's anxieties. Towards the end of the conversation Ian did regrettably become a little enraged. Ever since he was a boy, he had dreamed of one day joining the scientific away teams that sent to new uncharted areas of space to conduct their studies. To go where the stars gathered in unfiltered abundance, and bask in the universes size and mystery, without having to sit through the pains of commercial travel. It was also something that as a professor of astrophysics, made even more sense for him to one day achieve.

So to see the albeit understandable concerns coming from his wife, without any of the joy alongside it, did leave him in a very sour mood. Thankfully towards the end of the evening both had calmed down and came to an agreement that this was indeed a brilliant opportunity that he would be a fool to miss. So after a few final goodbye hugs, Ian left the following morning with a positive attitude hanging in the air. A positivity that could still be felt as he arrived at his destination.

Pulling up outside the UPN headquarters, Ian took great pleasure in stretching his legs upon stepping out into the hot wind. The building itself was quite a foreboding structure, that made no attempt to blend in with the natural backdrop, having tall concrete walls the shot up from the yellow rocks with an alarming abruptness. Additionally the car park itself was also a bit of a flat, featureless eye sore.

However placed at the top of one of the ugly walls, to Ian's delight, was a surprisingly elegant carving, that brought some warmth to an otherwise unfortunate view. It depicted a simple top down view of the original solar system, where all human endeavours began. Being more like a diagram than anything else, it showed all the planets and their orbits as a series of circles and rings surrounding the large Sun in the centre. Ian found it very pleasing despites it's obvious inaccuracies in scale and dimensions. The Sun was far too small, the planets were far too large and everything was extremely close together. If this depiction was accurate, Earth and indeed all the other planets beyond it, would be burnt to a crisp. 

The sentiment was not lost on him however, and he appreciated the effort that went into making it. It was also a very fitting image for the building he was about to enter as the UPN (United Planetary Network) were the primary organisation responsible for all space travel, exploration and colonisation efforts throughout the civilised worlds.