The State of the Cosmos (Flash Fiction)
Dr. Belloc spent his whole life studying every bit of the observable cosmos and found order, but his boss at the Institute wanted chaos.
Author’s Note: I submitted this story for a Substack Anthology project that was supposed to come out later this year. Alas, that project came to an unceremonious end as we were all busy with other things. I didn’t want this story to languish in my hard drive, so I decided to publish it for this week’s Sci-Friday. Enjoy!
Dr. Jean-Paul ‘JP’ Belloc had spent his life studying every bit of the observable cosmos. Not just from the Earth but also from the Moon and even from Mars. Even to this day, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the Creator’s handiwork. Stars, galaxies, quasars, and all the celestial bodies moving about in a predictable manner. It was all… orderly.
The scientist’s report of the cosmos was a decades-long undertaking, but it was finally finished. JP saw it as his greatest work. Unfortunately, his higher-ups at the Institute saw things otherwise. It was why he was called for this meeting:
“Dr. Belloc,” Chief Howard said with an annoying, high-pitched voice. “I have read your report. As have the others in the Institute.”
JP nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure you’ll find everything to be in order.”
Howard snorted. “On the contrary, we found your work to be unacceptable!”
“What?! Why?”
“You work… does not meet standards.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Dr. Belloc said, “I have double-checked every recorded movement; all the references are out there, the peer-reviewers found no error in my calculations.”
“There is an error, though,” Howard replied. He waved his arm. “Your thesis! It said that our universe is orderly.”
“It is,” JP said, nodding. “In fact, I’d go so far as to say that our universe is cozy.”
“Right,” the Chief replied, frowning. “You see, Dr. Belloc. We can’t have that.”
“What do you mean? That’s the honest truth!”
“I don’t think you understand our situation. The purpose of the Institute.”
“To study the cosmos and…” JP trailed off.
“…to protect the Earth from the chaotic threat of outer space,” Howard completed. “But here your report says that the cosmos is far from chaotic, it’s orderly. No, cozy even. Do you have any idea what this will do to the Institute?”
“I suppose,” JP said hesitantly, “it will undermine our mission. After all, the nations of the world only fund us because of the threats of alien invasions and such.”
Chief Howard clapped loudly and pointed at his interlocutor. “Bingo! And by telling our gullible taxpayers that our universe is actually cozy, you are threatening our livelihoods!”
JP looked down, his eyes betrayed uncertainty. “But what do you want me to do about it?”
“What do you think?” Chief Howard asked sarcastically. “I want you to change your report. Do a little fibbing. Tell a story, Dr. Belloc. Talk about the threat of our Sun going supernova, or perhaps some black hole that can swallow up the Earth. Ooh, wait! Some sort of being beyond our comprehension, far older than humanity by billions of years, even just looking at it will drive a human being crazy… Actually, that’s a bit too much of a fib. But you get the idea, doc.”
At this point, JP had regained his composure. “You want me to lie?” he said indignantly. “I am a man of science! I must tell the truth.”
But Dr. Belloc’s declaration was met by raucous laughter from Chief Howard. “Where have you been, doc? Actually, you were on Mars, right? Hah!”
At a loss for words, JP said nothing.
“Listen,” Howard said. “Just rewrite your report. Perhaps all that time spent on Mars gave you gravity-sickness now that you’re here on Earth. Get some fresh air, then look at your report again. I’m sure you can… fix up your errors.”
And with that, the Chief of the Institute dismissed Dr. Jean-Paul Belloc. For his part, the scientist left the premises as quickly as he could.
***
JP knew that he had an important decision to make. For almost a century, the Institute had been telling the people of Earth the dangers of outer space. Everyone believed that the cosmos was chaotic, that it would only be a matter of time before something out there would destroy all life on this rock. But JP knew better, the cosmos was orderly. Everything was working as it should be. And the Earth was fine, protected even. But there was no way that the Institute would allow his report to be released as it was. They would fire him before that could happen, and all his life’s work would go down the drain.
Just what was Dr. Belloc supposed to do?
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I love the Lovecraft reference.
I like your theory of a cozy universe. And I may have to steal it.