S.W. AHMED
Sajjad Waiz Ahmed

Inspiration for Dark Matter

Our universe is estimated to be almost 14 billion years old. It is so vast that the total number of stars it contains is virtually uncountable. Billions of star
systems are grouped into individual galaxies, galaxies into clusters, clusters into superclusters, and on it goes. Back in 1950, the physicist Enrico Fermi
suggested that with such an old universe and its large concentration of stars, there should be a multitude of advanced alien civilizations out there, even in
our own Milky Way galaxy. Yet he couldn't explain why we have never observed any alien spacecraft, probes or other activity in space. This led to the coining
of the Fermi paradox, which brought to light the obvious contradiction between the high probability of the existence of alien civilizations and our lack of
evidence or observation of any. Almost 60 years later, after numerous hypotheses and even mathematical equations attempting to solve the paradox, we
are still no closer to any real answer.  So why is it that every effort made to discover extraterrestrial life, no matter how technologically sophisticated or
far-reaching, has till now failed miserably? Well, imagine if the aliens really are there in huge numbers, even in our own galaxy, but they have concealed
their existence from us because they consider us to be too primitive and self-destructive. That is the basic idea behind my novel, and for a plausible
strategy the aliens may have used to place such a shroud of oblivion around us, I had to turn to another mystery, one of the biggest in the world of
cosmology.

The evidence for the existence of dark matter is mounting by the day, but its actual composition has remained elusive to scientists for almost a century. In
essence, all the kinds of matter that we can actually observe, including stars, planets, moons, asteroids and gas clouds, make up no more than a fifth of
the total amount of matter in the universe. So where is the rest? Well, it's there, we just can't see it. It emits no radiation of any kind that we can measure. In
fact, this dark matter is especially concentrated in and around galaxies. Current research indicates that the Milky Way may be almost 20 times bigger in
mass than what we observe it to be. Without this additional mass, there wouldn't be enough gravity to hold the galaxy together - the stars would literally fly
apart from each other into the expanses of space.

What might dark matter be made of? There's talk of non-baryonic particles (ie. particles which are not atomic like neutrons, protons or electrons) such as
neutrinos, or even hypothetical particles such as neutralinos or axions. But, to this day, the discussion in scientific circles remains largely hypothetical.
Nobody knows for sure what dark matter actually is or why it's there in such abundance.  The question then arises - what if dark matter is not composed of
a mysterious, unknown substance, but is simply more regular matter that we can't see because somebody doesn't want us to see it? What if there are
many, many more star systems in our galaxy, all of them hidden from us because they contain planets filled with highly advanced alien life? These aliens
could just as easily make all other visible galaxies look proportionally smaller to us as well, to make the universe appear consistent. In one stroke, this
solves both the Fermi paradox and the mystery about dark matter.  Why the aliens might go to all this trouble and how they would do it are obvious next
questions that get addressed in my novel.

I also find that a large number of today's sci-fi stories keep portraying aliens as ugly, bloodthirsty creatures plotting to invade Earth and eradicate mankind.  
I have taken a very different approach with my story, with a collection of sophisticated alien societies that have no ambitions of conquest on our little planet.  
By adorning them with highly divergent cultures and exposing their interactions, I have alluded to many of the sociopolitical issues we humans currently
face in our own society.  Of particular note are the dangers of extremism, be it religious, nationalist or racial in nature.  Fundamentally, however, I just
wanted to write a great, action-filled adventure story about heroism, sacrifice, friendship and, of course, love.
Why I Write

I've always been somewhat of an introvert with a rather lofty imagination.  In many ways, I would compare my
wandering mind to that of the character Calvin in Calvin & Hobbes.  That's not to suggest I grew up with a stuffed
tiger as my best friend, but I did spend much of my childhood daydreaming about alternate realities.  And given my
strong interest in physics and astronomy, this led to a passion for science fiction at quite an early age.  I've also
always had a knack for writing and can usually express myself better in writing than in speech, something that has
often been more of a handicap than a benefit in day-to-day life.  Regardless, this combination of traits has over time
generated a burning desire in me to write my own sci-fi stories, and although I've done anything but pursue a
full-time career as an author, creative writing has definitely become my favorite pastime.
Who I Am

I was born in 1969 in Bangladesh, but spent most of my life growing up in, well, of all places in the world, Austria.  
That's because my Dad was a physicist at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), one of a number of UN
organizations headquartered in Vienna.  I attended the Vienna International School from Kindergarten through high
school, after which I moved to the United States in 1988 to attend college at Cornell University.  Armed with degrees
in electrical engineering, I jumped into the world of software, eventually making it out to the hi-tech web of Silicon
Valley in California where I still live today.