The Instability

ISAAC ASIMOV
Gold, The Final Science Fiction Collection
Part One - The Final Stories

The Instability
Typed by Bateau


Professor Firebrenner had explained it carefully. "Time-perception depends
on the structure of the Universe. When the Universe is expanding, we
experience time as going forward; when it is contracting, we experience it
going backward. If we could somehow force the Universe to be in stasis,
neither expanding nor contracting, time would stand still."
"But you can't put the Universe in stasis," said Mr. Atkins, fascinated.
"I can put a little portion of the Universe in stasis, however." said the
professor. "Just enough to hold a ship. Time will stand still and we can move
forward or backward at will and the entire trip will last less than an instant.
But all the parts of the Universe will move while we stand still, while we are
nailed to the fabric of the Universe. The Earth moves about the Sun, the Sun
moves about the core of the Galaxy, the Galaxy moves about some center of
gravity, _all_ the galaxies move.
"I calculated those motions and I find that 27.5 million years in the future, a
red dwarf star will occupy the position our Sun does now. If we go 27.5
million years into the future, in less than an instant that red dwarf star will be
near our spaceship and we can come home after studying it a bit."
Atkins said, "Can that be done?"
"I've sent experimental animals through time, but I can't make them
automatically return. If you and I go, we can then manipulate the controls so
that we can return."
"And you want me along?"
"Of course. There should be two. Two people would be more easily believed
than one alone. Come, it will be an incredible adventure."
Atkins inspected the ship. It was a 2217 Glennfusion model and looked
beautiful.
"Suppose," he said, "that it lands _inside_ the red dwarf star."
"It won't," said the professor, "but if it does, that's the chance we take."
"But when we get back, the Sun and the Earth will have moved on. We'll be in
space."
"Of course, but how far can the Sun and Earth move in the few hours it will
take us to observe the star? With this ship we will catch up to our beloved
planet. Are you ready, Mr. Atkins?"
"Ready," sighed Atkins.
Professor Firebrenner made the necessary adjustments and nailed the ship to
the fabric of the Universe while 27.5 million years passed. And then, in less
than a flash, time began to move forard again in the usual way, and
everything in the Universe moved forward with it.
Through the viewing port of their ship, Professor Firebrenner and Mr. Atkins
could see the small orb of the red dwarf star.
The professor smiled. "You and I, Atkins," he said, "Are the first ever to see,
close at hand, any star other than our own Sun."
They remained two-and-a-half hours during which they photographed the
star and its spectrum and as many neighbouring stars as they could, made
spcial coronagraphic observations, tested the chemical composition of the
interstellar gas, and then Professor Firebrenner said, rather reluctantly, "I
think we had better go home now."
Again the controls were adjusted and the ship was nailed to the fabric of the
Universe. They went 27.5 million years into the past, and in less than a flash,
they were back where they started.
Space was black. There was nothing. Atkins said, "what happened? Where are
the Earth and Sun?"
The professor frowned. He said, "Going _back_ in time must be different. The
entire Universe must have moved."
"where could it move?"
"I don't know. Other objects shift position within the Universe, but the
Universe as a whole must move in an upper dimensional direction. We are
here in the absolute vacuum, in primeval Chaos."
"But _we're_ here. It's not primeval Chaos anymore."
"Exactly. That means we've introduced and instability at this place where we
exist, and _that_ means--"
Even as he said this, a Big Bang obliterated them. A new Universe came into
being and began to expand.

Eyes do more than see

Copyright © 1965 by Mercury Press, Inc.


After hundreds of billions of years, he suddenly thought of himself
as Ames. Not the wavelength combination which, through all the
universe was now the equivalent of Ames-but the sound itself. A faint
memory came back of the sound waves he no longer heard and no
longer could hear.
The new project was sharpening his memory for so many more of
the old, old, eons-old things. He flattened the energy vortex that made
up the total of his individuality and its lines of force stretched beyond
the stars.
Brock's answering signal came.
Surely, Ames thought, he could tell Brock. Surely he could tell
somebody.
Brock's shifting energy pattern communed, "Aren't you coming,
Ames?"
"Of course."
"Will you take part in the contest?"
"Yes!" Ames's lines of force pulsed erratically. "Most certainly. I
have thought of a whole new art-form. Something really unusual."
"What a waste of effort! How can you think a new variation can be
thought of after two hundred billion years. There can be nothing
new."
For a moment Brock shifted out of phase and out of communion, so
that Ames had to hurry to adjust his lines of force. He caught the drift
of other-thoughts as he did so, the view of the powdered galaxies
against the velvet of nothingness, and the lines of force pulsing in
endless multitudes of energy-life, lying between the galaxies.
Ames said, "Please absorb my thoughts, Brock. Don't close out. I've
thought of manipulating Matter. Imagine! A symphony of Matter.
Why bother with Energy. Of course, there's nothing new in Energy;
how can there be? Doesn't that show we must deal with Matter?"
"Matter!"
Ames interpreted Brock's energy-vibrations as those of disgust.
He said, "Why not? We were once Matter ourselves back-back- Oh, a
trillion years ago anyway! Why not build up objects in a Matter medium,
or abstract forms or-listen, Brock-why not build up an imitation of
ourselves in Matter, ourselves as we used to be?"
Brock said, "I don't remember how that was. No one does."
"I do," said Ames with energy, "I've been thinking of nothing else and
I am beginning to remember. Brock, let me show you. Tell me if I'm
right. Tell me."
"No. This is silly. It's-repulsive."
"Let me try, Brock. We've been friends; we've pulsed energy
together from the beginning-from the moment we became what we
are. Brock, please!"
"Then, quickly."
Ames had not felt such a tremor along his own lines of force in-well, in
how long? If he tried it now for Brock and it worked, he could dare
manipulate Matter before the assembled Energy-beings who had so
drearily waited over the eons for something new.
The Matter was thin out there between the galaxies, but Ames
gathered it, scraping it together over the cubic light-years, choosing
the atoms, achieving a clayey consistency and forcing matter into an
ovoid form that spread out below.
"Don't you remember, Brock?" he asked softly. "Wasn't it something
like this?"
Brock's vortex trembled in phase. "Don't make me remember. I
don't remember."
"That was the head. They called it the head. I remember it so clearly,
I want to say it. I mean with sound." He waited, then said, "Look, do
you remember that?"
On the upper front of the ovoid appeared HEAD.
"What is that?" asked Brock.
"That's the word for head. The symbols that meant the word in
sound. Tell me you remember, Brock!"
"There was something," said Brock hesitantly, "something in the
middle." A vertical bulge formed.
Ames said, "Yes! Nose, that's it!" And NOSE appeared upon it. "And
those are eyes on either side," LEFT EYE-RIGHT EYE.
Ames regarded what he had formed, his lines of force pulsing slowly.
Was he sure he liked this?
"Mouth," he said, in small quiverings, "and chin and Adam's apple,
and the collarbones. How the words come back to me." They appeared
on the form.
Brock said, "I haven't thought of them for hundreds of billions of
years. Why have you reminded me? Why?"
Ames was momentarily lost in his thoughts, "Something else.
Organs to hear with; something for the sound waves. Ears! Where do
they go? I don't remember where to put them!"
Brock cried out, "Leave it alone! Ears and all else! Don't
remember!"
Ames said, uncertainly, "What is wrong with remembering?"
"Because the outside wasn't rough and cold like that but smooth
and warm. Because the eyes were tender and alive and the lips of the
mouth trembled and were soft on mine." Brock's lines of force beat
and wavered, beat and wavered.
Ames said, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"You're reminding me that once I was a woman and knew love; that
eyes do more than see and I have none to do it for me."
With violence, she added matter to the rough-hewn head and said,
"Then let them do it" and turned and fled.
And Ames saw and remembered, too, that once he had been a man.
The force of his vortex split the head in two and he fled back across the
galaxies on the energy-track of Brock-back to the endless doom of life.
And the eyes of the shattered head of Matter still glistened with
the moisture that Brock had placed there to represent tears. The head
of Matter did that which the energy-beings could do no longer and it
wept for all humanity, and for the fragile beauty of the bodies they had
once given up, a trillion years ago.

in the future

edgar allan poe- Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me&
Yes!;that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

vara asta

Si uite ca aproape s-a dus si vacanta de vara, au trecut 3 luni in care pur si simplu am stat degeaba. Ei, nu chiar degeaba, am fost la mare, in Delta, in Fagaras, zilele trecute prin Bran :P, m-am plimbat putin vara asta, nu atat cat as fi vrut, dar in fine, a fost frumos :D. Mi-am indeplinit visul de a-mi face ziua de nastere la mare- avantajul de a fi nascuta in mijlocul verii.
Am mai si citit putin in vara asta, nu tot ce ar fi trebuit, dar e ok, ma apuca tocmai acum spre sfarsit sa fac tot. Asa sunt eu, fac totul pe ultima suta de metri, dar nu prea mi-a mers rau pana acum cu metoda asta, desi sunt constienta ca ar trebui sa fac lucrurile din timp, bla, bla, bla...
Inca o chestie ce am mai descoperit vara asta, deloc in avantajul meu este jocul Sorority Life, eu una il joc pe tagged desi am vazut ca e si pe hi5 si nu mai stiu ce al siter de genul. Spun ca nu e in avantajul meu pentru ca acum nu mai pot sa ma dezlipesc de calculator, nici macar sa mai citesc blogurile si siteurile de zi cu zi, cele cu bancuri, cu stiri, si asa mai departe. Ma trezesc, aprind calcu si in fata calcului pana seara tot pe tagged.
nu-mi place, mai ales ca lunea viitoare incep scoala, ar trebui s-o las mai usor. Ma si vad la o intalnire de genul AA : Buna, eu sunt Adina si sunt dependenta de calculator si nu de calculatorul in sine ci de un joc :)))). Nici NFS nu mi-a creat atata dependenta.
Dar las' ca scap eu de ea, mai ales daca o sa fiu pe drumuri de la 7 dimineata pana pe la 6-7 seara, mai intru pe calc in weekend si de sarbatori :)))

Bancuri :D

* I had a dream last night, I was eating a ten pound marshmallow. I woke up this morning and the pillow was gone.

*- Nu mai astepta, aici autobuzele merg numai de sarbatori, - se adreseaza o doamna catre o blonda.
- Pai astazi e ziua mea de nastere!!

*O femeie casatorita se plange prietenei sale:
- De ce ma bate sotul? Spal, calc, fac mancare, totul e perfect, de copii am grija...
- Cu altul nu iesi?
- Poate din cauza asta...

*In cuseta vagonului de dormit se aude o bufnitura. Buimaca de somn, sotia intreaba:
- Ce-a cazut acolo, Nicule?
- Pijamaua, draga.
- Cu atata zgomot?
- Eram si eu in ea!

*Într-o zi, o soţie se plînge soţului:
- Dragă, sînt nemulţumită că am sînii mici.
Soţul îi răspunde:
- Ia o bucată de hîrtie igienică, freac-o între sîni şi în cîţiva ani ai să vezi că o să-ţi crească.
- De unde ştii? întreabă mirată soţia.
- Cu fundul a funcţionat, nu-i aşa?

*BARBATUL a descoperit sticla si a inventat PAHARUL.
FEMEIA a luat sticla si a inventat OGLINDA .
BARBATUL a descoperit ZARUL si a inventat jocul.
FEMEIA a luat ZARUL si a inventat VRAJITORIA.
BARBATUL a descoperit CUVANTUL si a inventat CONVERSATIA.
FEMEIA a descoperit CUVANTUL si a inventat BARFA.
BARBATUL a descoperit BANUL si a inventat COMERTUL.
FEMEIA a descoperit BANUL si a inventat CREDITUL.
BARBATUL a descoperit TRANZACTIILE si a inventat CARTEA DE CREDIT.
FEMEIA a luat CARTEA DE CREDIT si BARBATUL s - a dat dracului..
BARBATUL a descoperit MUNCA si a inventat SALARIUL.
FEMEIA a descoperit SALARIUL si iar s - au dat dracului BARBATII.
BARBATUL a descoperit FEMEIA si a inventat SEXUL.
FEMEIA a descoperit SEXUL si a inventat ..........................................CASATORIA

DUPA ASTA BARBATUL S - A SUPARAT SI NU A MAI INVENTAT NIMIC, CE NAIBA , PANA CAND SA TOT CADA DE PROST..

*Cele trei mari dorinte ale barbatului:
1.sa fie asa frumos cum crede maica-sa ca e!
2.sa fie asa bogat cum crede fiu-su ca e!
3.sa aiba atatea femei cat suspecteaza nevasta-sa ca are!

*Un orb sta la semafor insotit de un caine si astepta sa treaca. Un alt om sta si priveste scena de pe cealalta parte a drumului. Se face verde, dar cainele nu il trece strada pe orb. Se face iar verde, cainele nimic. Se repete scena de cateva ori, dupa care orbul scoate un os din buzunar si il da cainelui. Mirat, omul care observa, intreaba:
- De ce ii dati os, daca va tine pe loc si nu va trece strada cand se face verde?
- Pai am observat ca stau de 10 minute in acelasi loc, ii dau un os ca sa imi dau seama unde are capul si sa-i ard un sut in c*r ca ma tine in loc de atata vreme.

*Merge un tată cu copilul lui de 3 ani şi trece o tipă superbă pe lîngă ei, cu o rochie foarte mulată. Tipul nu poate să se abţină şi exclamă:
- Doamne, ce c*r fain!
Băiatul se întoarce către el şi întreabă:
- Ce ai spus, tati?
- Am spus cucu.
- Ce-i aia?
- O pasăre, fiule...
- Ahhh... Şi există cucă, tati?
- Mda.
- Şi un cuc şi o cucă fac cuchiţi?
- Da, fiule.
- Şi un cuchiţ şi o cuchiţă fac cuchicişori?
- Da, băiatule!
- Şi un cuchişor si o cuchişoară fac cuchişorei?
- Da, omule, ce atîta...
- Şi un cuchişorel şi o....
- Mă, băiete, am zis c*r. Ai înţeles? C*r!

vreau la mare 8->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvaf4GfX9CQ&feature=related