Unfathomable Depth

Chapter 1. Unanswered questionsThalassa, a research station orbiting the ocean planet Proxima Centauri b, ~4.24 light-years from Earth. Standard time: 14:59, Wednesday, March 26, 2925.Alex Kronenberg stood at the edge of a large observation window in his office, his right palm pressed against the cold polymer coating the wall. The soft, pearlescent glow of the ocean planet reflected in the neatly trimmed gray hair of the station’s chief scientist—a military precision to his appearance. His jumpsuit hung loosely on his frame, as if tailored for a broader, sturdier man. Beneath the unfastened collar peeked an old black cotton T-shirt—a memento from a colleague on Mars, the last anchor to a reality where complex equations still had a single correct answer, even if not the simplest one.Kronenberg ran a hand over his face. When his fingers brushed against the small scar above his left eyebro…