And Going Past Mars

Today's meeting would strike a question that all 6 members questioned the most. It was rather hard to answer, or it wasn't and people just kept it a secret, but just like the main commanders at ISSAFE knew, the new crew also needed to know.

"Well, welcome to the 5th meeting. As of today, we've discussed your fields, the responsibilities, and furthermore. We scratched the surface a bit, but to completely break through, we need to talk about our next topic." Lieutenant General Winterson pressed the button on the remote she was holding, a screen coming down from the ceiling. Everyone looked at it and then at her, confusion present on their faces. "How did we and our other crews get to ISSAFE? Does anybody want to try to answer that question?"

Nobody raised their hands for some seconds, but then Phoenix decided she wanted to give it a shot. She slowly raised her hand, Lieutenant General Winterson looking at her and smiling. She nodded at Phoenix, her hand then shooting down. She cleared her throat, then looked at her notes.

"Astronomers on Earth have yet to discover them, but there could be a 50 percent chance it's through wormholes." Phoenix gulped at her response and then looked at her notes. Lieutenant General Winterson didn't speak and instead kept looking at the girl, motioning for her to keep talking. "The split side that couldn't be wormholes is that one, a wormhole is formed when a black hole and white hole connect their singularity. Einstein said that in his theory of relativity. The singularity is neither confirmed real nor not-real, so in essence, the singularity could just be a tunnel to the other side. Another thing to note is that no living being has been in a black hole and successfully stayed alive due to the intense amount of gravity and also the process known as spaghettification."

Everyone in the room looked at Phoenix, and she then looked up from looking at her notes, straight at Lieutenant General Winterson.

"What about the other split side, where it was possible?"

"A wormhole consists of a connector white hole to the black hole you're essentially traveling through. Nothing can escape a black hole, not even light, which means the same for a white hole except nothing can go in. If we take into consideration that the singularity doesn't exist and that it's just a connector point…the engines attached to the ships should be able to boost members through the event horizon of both objects. That is only if the ship can travel faster than light. Once past the event horizon of a black hole, there is no return out, but for a white hole, it would be the opposite, meaning that there is no return inside. In conclusion, all we need is to know if the singularity is a connecting point and if the engines attached to the ships allow it to travel faster than the speed of light." After Phoenix was done saying that, her eyes grew wide, then she smiled, laughing to herself. Lieutenant General Winterson smiled back at her, then cleared her throat and pressed the button again, revealing the next slide which was titled exactly what Phoenix was rambling about; Wormholes.

"To my surprise, you're right, Ms.Everlot. We travel to ISSAFE through wormholes, and essentially now I do want to clarify that she is right with everything. Wormholes exist. They're made by connector black and white holes. As stated previously, the singularity does not exist. From there, you guys should understand what's going on. Just know that the ships can travel faster than the speed of light. This is the "future" after all, things are different."Lieutenant General Winterson smiled at her and nodded, pressing a button and revealing the second slide that essentially would answer her own question; wormholes.

"You would be right, Ms.Everlot. Wormholes are the answer. Researchers from ISSAFE had found out that concept, and there's a lot more to unpack from it than just the fact that they exist." From that point on she went to explain it, leaving all 6 students stunned, quiet, and even more confused than they were before. Phoenix had initially understood, but even after a while, she began to be a bit confused. She looked at her notes, looking at the drawing she drew so she wouldn't forget what the Lieutenant General said. Next to her sat Alexander, whose leg was rapidly bouncing. He looked at the screen, then raised his hand quickly.

"Oh! Yes, Mr.Norway?"

"So…what I'm getting out of this is that we can go past the event horizon due to the engines on the ship. How does the ship not get damaged? Are there extra engines that are covered in the same material the ship is? Or better yet, how is the ship powerful enough to power through the event horizon of the white hole if after its event horizon nothing can go in?" Lieutenant General Winterson nodded her head again, then sat down at the large desk in front of the classroom.

"Well, there's your mechanic. It's great that you're asking that many questions. For you, I'd like to tell you one thing. Acantha might look like Earth, but it is vastly different. Different metals, one of them with such a high melting point we've never seen. Another one is so strong, it's absolutely ridiculous. We made a prototype with it, sent it inside a blackhole and we were able to make observations. That's how we know so much now. Your ship is made out of those things. It's incredibly strong." Lieutenant General Winterson pressed a button again and then a picture of the metals popped up on the screen, and then the ship. "Remember that Acantha has more in store than Earth ever will. Now, we're done talking about that. Any more questions?"

Everyone in the room was quiet, looking at Phoenix and Alexander. They both looked at the screen and then nodded their heads no. Lieutenant General Winterson then sighed, looking at the watch on her wrist. Everyone looked at each other slowly, then raised their eyebrows quickly.

"If nobody has any questions, you guys are free to go. I'll see you all next Monday." Lieutenant General Winterson kept sitting there, watching all the students leave. She fixed her vision onto Alexander and Phoenix, who were walking out together.

"Lieutenant General Winterson, what are you so concentrated about?" a voice asked. She turned around and saw Major General Paris, standing by the door parallel to the desk. She smiled, then placed her feet on the desk, relaxing.

"This group…they're going to be something," she said. Major General Paris laughed, sitting down on one of the desks and sighing.

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean their future Captain is already so knowledgeable."

"Oh, it's a wonderful thing, of course. It's a wonder her field is quantum mechanics."

"That's a perfect mix."

"I agree."

"Well what do you say, why don't we go see if Jonathan still works at that rusty ole cafe?"

"It would be nice to see if he did." The two smiled at each other and then left the entire building.

As they did during the first meeting, the 6 went to the last level of the building, sneaking into it. Phoenix was the first to walk onto the floor. She kept walking, dropping her bag in the middle of the floor before running towards the spaceship. She opened the door she had opened last time, then climbed inside carefully. Dominique lifted Jenn on his shoulders so she could see Phoenix for them. She cupped her eyes and then saw Phoenix, who waved a hand at her.

"It's pretty dark, I can't really see, but it looks like she's opening another door. It's sideways, though!"

"Alexander, go in there!"

"No way! You go Silas." Silas looked at Alexander as he said that, then sighed and climbed into the ship. As he went in, Phoenix got the door open. She pushed it inwards, Silas quickly going to help her. Both of them then looked inside, the smell of the ship being strong.

"This is a new smell," Silas said, making a disgusted face as he looked upwards. As he and Phoenix looked up, they saw the cockpit. There were 6 seats, each of them having blue lights around them. From the cockpit, they could see the front of the ship, where the two pilots would sit.

"This is incredible," Phoenix said, stepping backward and almost falling. Silas catches her, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Please don't hurt yourself in here yet…I'd have to kill myself if you did." Phoenix laughed at the comment, standing up and then pulling Silas out. She closed the door, then heard a buzzer go off.

"Error, forbidden entry. Turning on the alarm."

A screeching noise started coming out of the ship, causing Phoenix and Silas to cover their ears, then run out. Silas got out first, helping Phoenix out before closing the little door. Phoenix grabbed her bag and Alexander had tried getting the elevator open but didn't as it was now locked.

"The elevator won't open!" he yelled, then looked around. He ran towards the right, where there was a door. On the other side was the same door, but from there there was noise. "Come on! We gotta go up these stairs!" Alexander opened the door, and everyone ran in. The group began running up the stairs, Dominique looking out the small window on the wall.

"They're coming this way, go, go!" Everyone ran up the stairs faster, reaching the door that led to the first floor. They heard the footsteps of the people coming, and yet they ran outside, going into their cars before the people got to the first floor. All of the cars drove off one after another.

"Why are you so out of breath, Silas?" Silas's mother asks. Silas looked at her wide-eyed, then smiled.

"We decided to race down the stairs instead of taking the elevator."

"Of course. General teenage behavior." Silas shook his head, brushing his hair out of his face. He took his phone out of his pocket, then texted the group chat.

"Never again." he typed and sent. The others agreed with him and then changed the subject to something else, being too shaken up by the shrieking noise of the alarm. They tried to forget about it, not getting in trouble for it either. However, to them it was fun, and yet they would go down to the last floor again.