The beginnings of an idea..

We’ve been working hard to adjust some of the finer calibrations of the AMS to tell us more about the particles of antimatter that are passing through its detectors. Our work has paid off! The latest data shows that the stream of antimatter we detected from the deepest depths of space appears to be dense enough to facilitate, as I predicted, collection!

Of course it’s no secret that scientists have been working hard on ways to trap and contain antimatter, but what didn’t make it into press releases about the launch of the AMS was what makes up a substantial portion of this 7 tonne piece of equipment is the world’s largest antimatter containment chamber - a quadrupole ion trap. I should know, I designed it!

High above our heads, preparations are being finalised to start collecting and storing the antimatter that has travelled billions of light years to reach our solar system. This antimatter could change our world forever; the implications for scientific research and energy production are nothing short of incredible! Convincing the AMS steering committee that it would be possible to capture these cosmic particles was no easy feat, and although at times I doubted it myself, I have been vindicated once again. How does the saying go? A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

That said, collecting this antimatter seems now almost.. bitter sweet. It acutely crystalizes the fact that we’ll never see with our own eyes the anti-worlds that I know are out there.. the anti- worlds that I’ve begun to see in my dreams - realms of awe, peace and tranquility. It serves as a reminder that despite being proven correct about the existence of anti-galaxies, despite my ingenuity giving rise to the world’s first antimatter collection system... and despite the years I have devoted to the AMS project I am still not respected by my peers. I’m still on the fringe... not accepted into that inner circle... and now even Gideon, my once trusted partner, has shown her true colours...

Something drastic may well be required.