A Spacetime Tale

by J. Benjamin

  “So, you both knew each other in the previous life?” Kiara asked.

  “You could say that,” Adriano said. “We were both on the Herschel together. I came in on batch fifteen. When I first saw this place, I just couldn’t leave, and like Edie, I made the permanent journey.”

  “Adriano is the designer who helped craft the treehouses. He spends his days inspecting the property and planning future expansions,” Edie said.

  “Our goal is to build as sustainably as possible using the natural resources provided to us by the creators,” Adriano said. “We expect that as spacetime sequencing becomes more common, that there will be more permanent residents of Villa del Universo,”

  “Catchy,” Matt said.

  “Well, think about it,” Edie replied. “Humanity fucked up. The rapid uptick in natural disasters. The extinction of several major species in recent years. We were so focused on industrialization that we lost sight of everything that kept us going as a species. It wasn’t technology. It wasn’t gadgets nor any of this other nonsense that we obsessed over on a day-to-day basis. It was genuine human connection. It was our connection to nature. It was a symbiosis that we lost at some point in the last century or two. Out here, we are working to create a new home for humanity that is based on those universal truths. Hence the name.”

  Suddenly, a loud horn sounded from behind them. It was coming from the community center.

  “Dinner is ready!” a loud voice shouted.

  “Coming, Wei,” Edie shouted back. “That’s our chef. Wait till you see what she has. She makes the healthiest meals, and they’re all vegetarian.”

  “I was about to ask about that,” Kiara said. “We can eat in these Aquarian bodies? What do you do for agriculture?”

  “Yes, you can, and we have a farm not too far from here,” Edie replied.

  “The creators helped us build that,” Adriano said. “Crops are plentiful here. Lots of sunshine, water, and it helps that the produce was designed to grow much faster here than on Earth.”

  “Cool,” Kiara said.

  They made their way into the community center. They were greeted by a joyous buffet of black beans, enchiladas, grilled veggies, and fruit of every type. Kiara was impressed that the Aquarians bioengineered bananas to be like they were before GMOs. They even had the seeds in them.

  During the meal, Kiara and Matt learned more about the journeys of the villagers. They learned how all of them were employees of Cosmineral and ultimately decided to start anew in the Universal Crescent after they were introduced to the Aquarians. In doing so, they came away with a greater understanding of the dimension itself. Even though none of the humans truly understood it in full, Edie included.

  After dinner, Kiara and Matt took a short walk along the beach. The sun had set. Kiara looked out at the crashing waves and at Minnie as their Aquarian host glowed in the distance. Behind Minnie, the aeroceteas also illuminated brightly like kerosene lamps suspended in the sky. Though picturesque and captivating, it was still a lot to absorb for Kiara. She felt like she had more questions than answers.

  “Amazing how someone can just drop everything and start anew in a different universe like this,” Matt said. “Have you noticed that they refer to the Aquarians as creators? A bit odd, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, but the food is delicious,” Kiara replied.

  “That is a definite. Still, I wonder how a human mind readjusts to a place like this.”

  “Well, technically, we’re not humans right now,” Kiara replied.

  “We’re not, but we still kind of are. Then you have Edie and her two sidekicks. They’re still natural humans. I wonder if they’ve fully adjusted to this place?”

  A bell rung. They were being summoned back to the community center.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Kiara said.

  As the humans gathered around the fireplace, Kiara and Matt sat next to each other and simply followed along.

  “Hey, everyone. it’s that time again,” Adriano said. The entire room hooted and hollered, save for the two newcomers.

  “What’s going on?” Kiara asked the lady next to her.

  “It’s Creator Corner,” she replied. “Every night, we discuss new ways to honor and thank the Creators for the blessings they have bestowed upon us!”

  Kiara immediately felt very uncomfortable. It was the sort of feeling one got when they knew they were in a place they did not belong.

  “Matt,” Kiara whispered in his ear while faking a smile. “You were saying about the creator talk? I think they meant Creators with a capital-C.” Before Matt could reply, one of the male villagers stood up.

  “Blessed be the Gods of the universe who reached out to us from the heavens and brought salvation to the human race!”

  “Blessed be!” Everyone shouted back. That was, everyone except Kiara and Matt.

  “Kiara,” Matt whispered back. “Quietly make your way out. If anyone asks, you had to use the restroom. We are going to make a run for Minnie.” At this point, everyone was on their feet in a ceremonial dance dedicated to the Aquarians.

  “Say no more!” Kiara whispered hastily through a clenched smile as she pretended to applaud what was going on.

  Thirty seconds later, Kiara waited by the trees outside the community center. Matt quickly exited the center.

  “Matt, Matt!” she whispered.

  “Kiara.”

  They bolted as quickly as they could, running past tree branches until they were back on the sand.

  “They’re out of their damn minds!” Kiara shouted after they were far enough from the village.

  “Do you think the Aquarians will listen to us?” Matt asked.

  “I think it’s our only option. We have to talk to Minnie. Question is, what can it do for us? If the bridge is still open, we may have a shot,” Kiara said.

  “A shot at what?” Matt asked.

  “A shot at getting the fuck out of here and getting back home!”

  Their pace hastened. The Aquarian host now towered mightily above them. They were less than twenty yards away. Bright blue cracks in the sand resembling tree roots indicated that they were incredibly close.

  “I can feel her presence,” Kiara said. “Minerva knows we are coming.”

  “That’s good. Keep reaching out. We may be able to get out in one—” Matt was interrupted by a loud bang. There was a laser shot. Hundreds of birds scrambled overhead. The gammanauts stopped dead in their tracks. Matt turned to Kiara, who was alive and still standing. She looked back, and he too was unharmed.

  “That one was a warning, and you best be aware this laser fire will rip apart your Aquarian bodies just as easily as they would your human bodies,” Edie Brenner said, as she approached them from behind. Simon and Alex flanked her sides with their weapons drawn.

  “You never were going to let us leave, were you?” Matt asked.

  “And let GSF storm this place and ruin it just like they ruin everything else?” Edie said. “No fucking way.”

  39

  Sally Ride City, Spacetime Command Center

  To Dev Ivanov, standing in the heart of the GSF’s spacetime command center felt unnatural. It almost felt like standing behind enemy lines. The semicircle shaped room with a dozen rows of consoles and engineers was abuzz. It reminded him of the documentaries he used to watch as a kid showing Mission Control during the NASA Apollo missions.

  Except instead of a giant screen, the front of the room was a wall of glass with hologram monitors displaying real-time intelligence. On the opposite end of the screen, the comatose bodies of Kiara Lacroix and Matt Ashford floated unconscious. Dev turned around. Looming on the opposite end of the room was another wall of glass. On that side, Secretary-General Thomas Adler stood defiant and watched as the scientists worked tirelessly below.

  Dev had given Dr. Srivastava and his team everything they needed. He decided to take a quick breather and left the floor of the command center. He turned to take a look at the gammanaut
s and then back to the door alongside the left side of the room. He exited into a long white hallway. From there, he turned into a staircase and made his way up. When he walked out, he saw the observation area where Thomas was standing. It was just another ordinary hallway but with a glass wall overlooking below.

  The secretary-general was undeterred by Dev’s presence. He continued observing the action in the room below. Dev walked up to him.

  “Is it cool if I go to the roof?” Dev asked. Thomas broke his attention and turned to face him.

  “What’s the purpose?” Thomas asked.

  “I need a breath of fresh air. I spend too much time in space,” Dev replied.

  Thomas continued gazing at the command center below. He remained silent for a few moments.

  “Sure. The rooftop is secure,” Thomas said.

  “Thomas. You don’t seriously think I would attempt to engineer an escape attempt? I told you I am ready to face the consequences if the gammanauts don’t make it back.”

  “Oh, I am not the least bit worried about that. The roof deck will recognize your biometrics, and if you so much as attempt to jump the balcony, it will alert every soldier on patrol. Just in case you do escape, our sharpshooters and drones can pick you off from as far as five miles away. Now go.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dev nodded and headed back to the staircase. He made his way up to two flights, which terminated at an indiscreet door. He opened it and immediately felt a rush of fresh air, stepping outside onto a rectangular rooftop deck. The building was small but closely connected to the giant golden egg that was the General Assembly, and its dome loomed large over the shorter command center. Standing on the balcony was another familiar face.

  “Sook!” he shouted, running over to hug her. “Oh boy, am I happy to see you. This has been one shitty day.”

  “How is that plea deal coming?”

  “Depends on how well the data from the nano-drive is helping,” Dev replied.

  “You’ll be happy to know that the scientists are fully connected into the wormhole matrix. The data sets from the Herschel have also been incredibly helpful. Right now, their AI is sifting through all of it. Using the keys we have, we think we can back-trace the path of the gammanauts after they left Sally Ride City. It’s like we’ve created an alien API,” Sook explained.

  “Well, I hope for all of our sakes, this works.”

  “Me too, Dev. Me too,” Sook replied as she put her arm around him. Together, they looked out as the sun rose over San Francisco. In June, the city was known for being notoriously cold.

  The bright lights of the FiDi, SOMA, and the Sunset District were gone. Between the calm waters of San Francisco and Sally Ride City, the lasers of the Leon Esposito Accelerator continued unabated. Though one could not visually see the nano-sized wormhole, it was there and still running strong.

  “Can you believe this? Two years of this bullshit and after everything, we managed to crack the code of space and time,” Dev said. “Crazy how the fate of the human race could be inexplicably altered by the anomaly being held together by those few lasers.”

  “You deserve a lot of credit,” Sook said. “It’s all because of the technology you brought to life. It wasn’t your mother. It was you. No matter what people say, spacetime sequencing will always be your baby.”

  “Ah, but you kept it alive. Now you understand why I made you chairwoman? It was the only way we could keep this whole thing going.”

  “Even though I was technically part of it?”

  “I’m the one who hired Edie. I was the one who forced you to divert the escort ships. I’m just thankful that throwing myself under the bus ensured your ascension as CEO. With you in the driver’s seat, our work continues unimpeded.”

  “That’s why you kept a good poker face all throughout the journey from Saturn?” Sook asked.

  “Oh, I was toast. I knew that the moment Edie escaped with the first nanodrive. The investors were going to chop my reputation to a million pieces. John Alvarez was right. So, I orchestrated the handing of the company over to someone whose reputation wasn’t as heavily damaged as mine,” Dev explained.

  “For what it’s worth, I have no regrets,” Sook said. “FYI, I still have that fucking lawyer.”

  “Oh, you didn’t hear?” Dev asked.

  “No, what happened?”

  “He died. Apparently, he wasn’t aware that you weren’t supposed to smoke cigars in the smaller bubbles on Titan. Even though the bubbles are engineered to handle fires, he still suffocated.”

  “What a shame,” Sook replied sarcastically.

  They continued looking off into the horizon beyond the clouds hovering over San Francisco. The sky had turned a dark blue gradient. Dawn was slowly approaching.

  A noise from behind disrupted their Zen. Two GSF soldiers burst through the door and onto the rooftop.

  “Gentlemen. How can I help you?” Dev asked.

  “Mr. Ivanov, Ms. Nguyen,” the one on the left said. “Please return to the command center at once. Your presence is needed.”

  “They found something,” Sook said. “Didn’t they?”

  40

  Universal Crescent

  “How the hell did you even get lasers in a place like this?” Kiara asked. “I didn’t realize the Aquarians were a subsidiary of Smith and Wesson.”

  “Like I said. We are natural humans who arrived here from an actual inter-galactic jump. You think we wouldn’t pack heat for the long journey?” Edie said.

  “Yeah, like some militarist usurpers from Earth’s evil empire,” Alex added.

  “Oh, come on!” Matt shouted back. “You think I’m an idiot? There’s a reason Dev Ivanov hired you. There’s a reason you all escaped through the spacetime portal. You were mercenaries in your past lives.”

  “So?” Simon asked.

  “Why don’t you tell us what you did in your previous life, Eden Brenner,” Matt asked.

  “Wow, Kiara,” Edie said. “I gotta hand it to your fellow traveler here. He’s not as big of a dumbass as he looks. You’re right. I was a mercenary. So was everyone else here. But the ones you met in the village? They don’t have my rap-sheet. Blackmail, contract kills, coups, I got them all.”

  “I hear your type is very popular with Dev Ivanov,” Matt said.

  “When Earth got sick of me, Dev Ivanov gave me a call. Being the narcissistic fuckwit he was, he liked surrounding himself with fellow narcissists,” Edie said.

  “More like crazy bitch sociopath in your case,” Kiara said. “All that bullshit you spoon-fed us back there about building a new world and giving humans a clean start. You don’t actually believe in any of it. Deifying the Aquarians? You’re just jerking these colonists so that they’ll continue idolizing you as their great leader.”

  “Shut up!” Simon Emmerson shouted while jerking his gun higher. “How dare you talk about the Creators like that!”

  “Do you really believe they are the Creators?” Matt asked. “I’m serious. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just curious why you think these things are so mighty and powerful? You’ve seen it yourself, in the visions. They can be killed.”

  “I’m not fucking kidding around. Stop it now!” Simon shouted back. This time, even Edie and Alex seemed a bit taken aback by his tone. Kiara said nothing. She kept her mouth shut and just continued to observe.

  “They are the Creators,” Alex said curtly. “And you best not insult them.” The look in his eyes suggested that he didn’t really believe what he was saying either.

  “You know what I think?” Matt asked. “I think despite all the kumbaya, you guys are completely miserable here. You thought moving to another universe would be the answer to your problems. Instead, it simply cut you off from the only world you ever truly knew.”

  “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Simon shouted. He was now screaming maniacally as he finally fell to the ground. Kiara, Matt, Edie, and Alex watched as Simon Emmerson had a full nervous breakdown before them
. He started crying.

  “Oh, God, what have I done? What have I done?” Simon cried out.

  “Simon, take a deep breath,” Edie said.

  “You’re having an episode right now,” Alex replied.

  “No!” Simon shouted as he defiantly stood back up. This time, the gun was pointed directly at Edie’s head. “You took us away from our homes. You fed us promises of a false utopia. You ruined our lives!”

  “Simon, I would highly advise you against doing anything stupid. Put that gun down right now!” Alex said. “You’re experiencing PTSD.”

  Kiara panicked at the scene unfolding. As all of this was occurring, Kiara fully understood what Matt’s game was. He was buying her time.

  “Kiara,” Matt said in a whisper as he motioned to her.

  Matt. Give me a minute, she communicated back, unsure if the natural humans before them could detect the telepathy. I have an idea.

  Matt already knew. He turned to the ground beneath his feet. The blue cracks emanating from Minerva were pulsating and glowing. He looked to Kiara’s feet. Kiara’s right foot had changed from something human to something very alien. Unbeknownst to the three natural humans present, Kiara’s foot had morphed into a series of appendages that carefully met at the roots of Minerva, which only stood mere feet behind them.

  Kiara was half present in the moment and half present in her mind. At least to half of her, the fog that she felt before waking up in space was slowly coming back. Her human mind was well aware that three dangerous individuals with big egos were playing chicken with lasers mere feet from her. However, her human mind was in an Aquarian body, and as she saw in her prior visions, that body gave her the ability to split her mind’s two attentions simultaneously.

  In Kiara’s alien mind, she had managed to find a state of calm and peace. Little by little, she felt her psyche connecting to Minerva as it had before. She arrived in a dark place. Literally, Kiara felt present and conscious in this mysterious location. At first, there was silence.