by M. Modak
The Governor had just issued a State of Emergency for all Georgia. The WWB was reporting a few similar incidents going on throughout South America, Europe, and Asia.
John hit the mute button on the remote control. The room fell into stunned silence. John said, “I have been working on a machine named Aughra.”
“We know, we read the Dream Journals,” Michael said.
“We did too,” John said. “They basically say it all. Joshua and I have been sharing dreams for some time now. It was boring to me at first so I thought nothing of it.” Kayla made a rude noise with her throat. “Ok so Joshua had a big impact on my life, but I still thought it was just strange dreams. Anyway in my world Rana is my ex-wife, Elizabeth, and Kayla is my lab assistant.”
“She is more than that.” Michael said, looking angry for the first time.
“Yes but in my world Anna is not Kayla so don’t become jealous Michael. I can understand your feelings about this, but in my world Kayla is not your wife.”
Michael eased slightly, “But my wife could be trapped in your world!”
“I don’t know about that.” John said.
“Then where did she go, and where did my Josh go?” Rana asked desperately. She continued, “This machine you built, Aughra, it’s responsible for all this too?” With a turn of her head, she pointed to the news on the view screen.
“I believe it is,” he said. He looked back at the view screen and continued, “We know or have seen all those people who are passing out and waking up as different people. Most of them were in the lab when I turned Aughra on. The others were scientist stationed elsewhere throughout the building. Recently on the news we’ve seen many people who were security guards and FBI agents from our world, we had a lot of security over there.
“Ground Zero is where I was standing when the machine was turned on,” John said, “Aughra’s affect has extended out from the main lab, after it took Kayla and me. In this universe it doesn’t seem to matter where the people were at that moment Aughra was turned on, only who they were linked to in my world, and where that person was relative to Aughra.
“Aughra must be affecting matter at the most fundamental levels somewhere in the subatomic realms. I’m guessing that it is in there, at the quantum level that the connection between consciousness and matter joins. On the other hand, could matter be entangled with consciousness, he wondered to himself? He continued, “Aughra has disrupted that link and reversed conscience polarities within our two universes.”
John paused, looking across the wall of streaming news. He said, “What is going on in this universe that makes it so special that Aughra has gravitationally singled it out from all the other universes, which are available for it to lock on to?”
Michael quickly replied. “There’s an alignment with NebulaXJ842 today. Our scientists have developed a network of gravitational antennas stationed along the Florida Keys. It’s a big deal! I’ve been following their work for some time now since the discovery of a new form of matter more than a decade ago. This is the latest experiment with that substance in a long line of scientific breakthroughs. They’re receiving a gravitational signal right now generated by a lens surrounding that nebula.”
Johns released his breath. “We’re also in alignment with a nebula fitting that description; we call it Nebula311. I used Aughra to gather and stretch gravity waves that had originated from Earth 100,000 years ago as a catalyst...” John looked away, “this was only supposed to be a way to look into the strange force that binds everything. It was supposed to be harmless.”
Kayla’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke, “You actually think the production of the ultimate weapon would be ignored by the global powers? You were always a fool. How could you not know about all those different governments fighting to get at your research? I’m sure you knew the Presidents motivations.”
“I knew they wanted Aughra to be a weapon,” John said.
“How could anyone use this as a weapon and what can it do?” Michael asked.
“Some, people,” John responded, “have proposed that Aughra could separate or loosen the entangling force.”
What is the entanglement force? Rana asked.
Kayla answered, “That’s the two trillion dollar question. In short, Aughra was built to answer those questions, and others. The idea is that separate particles, bits of matter…things…smaller than the imagination will allow you to see, can be separated by miles-,”
“-And, apparently universes,” John interrupted.
“They can be separated by very long distances,” She went on, “yet both will still simultaneously react in opposite directions if only one is acted upon. They are actually linked elements that-is they are two parts of the same entangled whole. Tomorrow, using the energy placed in them by the extreme rotations and speed only Aughra can achieve, the two particles of S-matter would’ve been separated by virtually unimaginable distances, not possible under any normal circumstances.
“Finally, using special devices built into their pods, one of the two particles would’ve been measured, that is, acted upon. That measurement will cause an instant reaction reflected in the other, “separate,” particle not measured. A reaction caused at a distance without direct contact will have occurred. This, immediate, faster than the speed of light reaction is entanglement, and it is what Aughra was designed to instantly detect. Using S-matter as the entangled particles should have highlighted the entanglement force.”
“Now we’ll never know,” John complained.
“I guess more is entangled than just tiny particles,” Rana said.
“Yea, and this is all impossible,” John said sarcastically. “Some think that if this force, or whatever you want to call it, is properly directed it could, in a sense, dissolve solid metals, or even whole mountains. Others have been trying to make a kind of teleportation device. The possibilities are mindboggling.
“And mindswapping,” Michael said without a smile.
“But there are four basic problems,” John went on, “if you have overcome many of the laws of physics as I understand them.
First: you need power to do it again, you need a lot of power to start this thing and containing antimatter explosions are expensive. Second: you need intelligence. If you have the other things, you need a computer powerful enough to keep track of all that’s happening- remember entanglement happens faster than the speed of light so there will be a lot of data to process and your always behind. Third: and most important, you need S-matter. Regular matter will not do, at least not with the technology at the present. All the S-matter we had was placed in Aughra’s containment pods. Last, you need to align it with a powerful gravitational lens like nebula311, that takes, what a hundred thousand years! So, to me, the idea of making Aughra into a weapon that could be used once, much less over and over again is impossible.”
Kayla laughed, “You thought this,” She waved her hand from the top of her head down toward her feet, “was impossible. Where are we John? Which universe did we end up in? Is this possible?”
Michael spoke with a little edge in his voice, “What about this? What about Joshua and Anna? Did you know about this possibility?”
John thought about the debate he had with Professor Dmitry. “There was one suggestion. I just never took it seriously. If I only knew what went wrong maybe I could began to understand how to fix it. Aughra wasn’t going to start-up until tomorrow night. I only hit the Phase Two Switch tonight. The machine wasn’t supposed to be activated until tomorrow night; something happened that I had no control over?”
Kayla fidgeted in her seat as they all stared a John. On the silent view screen, the same kinds of reports were broadcasting from increasingly random places throughout Atlanta and around the world.
“What happens tomorrow night?” Michael asked.
“Nebula311 will be fully aligned with the Earth and the sun,” Kayla said, “that’s when John figured Aughra would get the biggest bang for our buck.”
&n
bsp; “We have to shut down those gravitational antennas in the Florida Keys before tomorrow night!” John said, “Those antennas could be providing the conduit between our universes. The signal will only get stronger, and I’d bet more people are going to be affected as we get closer to their full alignment.”
“So this is just going to get worse as we get closer to tomorrow night?” Rana asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happening here. I don’t even know how the link has taken hold or even if Nebula311 really has anything to do with this. It was all theory a few hours ago.” John said.
“Well I can’t stand here knowing what I know without trying to help. John, you are the key to all this,” Michael said. He started dialing numbers on the small flexscreen he held in his hand. After a brief pause he said, “Is Dr. Peterson available, this is Michael from the Addison Group; I have an urgent message for him.”
15 The Subfloor Labs
Fael’s Universe
The prophecy spoke of a time, near the end of the world, when the spirit of a man from another realm would visit his people on the eve of a great battle, the last battle. Lavar would lead him to great knowledge in his holy quest to save all life; if that were true than by now it would have already come and passed. But, who understands time, Yrrep thought?
He knew there was much more to the prophecy Lavar had written down long ago, but he never paid attention. After all they had been through; he trusted Lavar and would do what he asked of him, though Lavar wasn’t always correct.
Yrrep was an elf of action. Sure, he could invent, plan and draw blueprints to construct great vessels, but it was the actions those vessels would take that had always interested him. The idea to build ships that could both sail upon the seas and dive to the ocean floor came from the motivation that great things could happen once you got there.
His multiple talents set him apart from nearly everyone else, though his first wife was his match at nearly everything. Leaving her was the hardest thing he had ever done. Leaving his children was the second hardest. Nevertheless, it was his destiny to come to this Earth. He could choose to ignore it. He could avoid it, build another ship, sail away to some forgotten part of the world with his family and wait for the end to come, but that just wasn’t him.
From the beginning, when the first hints of sending someone across the great void were spoken, he knew Lavar would choose him for this task. They had been best friends since he was an elfling. He remembered holding Lavar as a baby, with his mother and father nearby, thinking that this child would grow up to do great things. He had become more than anyone could have guessed.
After Elohim called Lavar to be TOL’s last protector, he set off on the most dangerous adventure anyone could have imagined. Then for a thousand years, he fought against the forces that would enslave all life for their simple pleasure. What was he to do when an elf like that asked him to cause Sapen’s evil power to falter and die?
On TOL, there had never been violence until Lavar; or at least that was how many of the elders had told it. However, he knew the real secrets of his world’s past. Lavar had laid them all bear with a single act of great compassion and bravery. Once you forget the evil of the past, you are dammed to repeat it, he thought.
The truck stopped and he leapt off its roof and landed in the trees. His body had fully healed over the last day though it had taken considerable strength to do it. Now he had to find water and then Whitman. There were a few places he was expected to be, and if he had to, he would check them all.
It was hot in Atlanta, but it was a different kind of hot than he was used to. The air was very dry here as if it had not rained for a very long time. He knew from the news that humans had learned how to artificially control the weather, but it had unintended consequences in other places. If you stopped energy from flowing in one direction, it had a habit of showing up somewhere else.
Whitman was the leader of the worldwide company, Laytech, based in Atlanta. He had been the force behind all the greatest advancements in technology for the past couple of years. He had built the Light Streets and designed the system that operated it, managed a network of intensive care trauma centers located throughout the world, and was the force behind the construction of the atmospheric scrubbers proposed to reverse the artificial greenhouse effect. Nevertheless, Yrrep knew the man had been doing much more than that.
Quickly he found a map of the city near an underground train station and learned the location of the Laytech headquarters. Within a few minutes, he had made his way across town and landed on the roof of Laytech’s lower tower and began scanning for any signs of Whitman’s ware bouts. As he scaled the main tower, he learned that there were important experiments ready for field test waiting in the subfloor labs. Perhaps Whitman is down there.
He found that all the guards wore the same uniform he had on and that the uniform he had acquired gave him a high rank. After reaching the top of the tower, he made his way to the door. Two guards stood at attention, giving each other strange looks, but saluted as he approached. He ignored them as they opened the door and let him pass. One fight avoided, he hoped.
He stuffed his large frame into the elevator and pressed the lowest number on the keypad. A tech voice asked him for his ID. He searched his pockets and found a card that seemed to match the display. He fumbled with it until it activated and the elevator quickly dropped, making him grab the handrails in surprise. A small display clicked on in front of him and an eye appeared. A new, male voice, with a hint of feminine undertones said, “Hello Major Ragan.”
Yrrep blinked at the eye as he tried to think of what to do, he did not know how to fight a computer. He said, “Hello.”
The voice continued, “Please place your eye against the scanner.” A light blinked indicating the device he was to use.
He bent low, and still holding on to the rail, he leaned forward and looked into the machine. Red lights blinked all around him and the elevator stopped. The voice came again, this time more sure and angry, “Do you think I am fooled so easily? This is not some universal AI you are dealing with, I am Quantum Sapen, an emotionally intelligent being.
You gave Void quite a workout in the jungles of Peru. She’s the woman you beat in the sword fight, an unmatched accomplishment. I guess that after your last encounter you now know that she is more than a mere woman.”
Yrrep said nothing as he watched the eye watching him.
Sapen continued, “We thought you were dead after she vaporized over 25% of your heart and lung. Your body has an interesting anatomy and chemical composition. I intended for it to be brought here anyway for greater study…used to enhance my growing army, thanks for the delivery.”
Yrrep heard something mechanical moving above him but he couldn’t feel it. Fears threatened to blind all his senses. He inhaled his fears, accepted them and then looked directly into the eye.
Sapen noted the calm and went on, “You will find this exercise much more…destructive.”
He stepped back, but there was nowhere to go. He didn’t know if he wanted to go, here was the enemy! However, the timing wasn’t right and this was not the position he wanted to be in for a fight. He thought he could easily jump through the ceiling, but he wasn’t sure what was up there making all the noise.
The elevator shuttered and then he felt weightless as if in free fall. He drew energy from his core preparing to change the gravity around him, readying himself for the impact that was sure to come. The elevator slowed and stopped, the lights on the keypad remained highlighted on floor -5.
“Ding!”
The doors opened and from the darkness, a giant hand reached into the elevator, seized him and flung him deep into the black room from where it had come.
He rolled as he hit the ground and was back on his feet. Before him stood a ten foot tall monster, a thing that seemed to have come from the prisons below the Red Dragons layer. He had seen this kind of creature, from a distance, once before. It had two long horns that were
still growing from its head. Its thick neck supported the head of a beast from the field. Its body bulged with muscle and curved spikes protruded from its elbows and knees. It roared an incomprehensible sound. Yrrep smiled; clearly, it wanted to fight!
Yrrep took in his surroundings. A red light shown down from above and he heard feral growls coming from the shadows as glowing yellow eyes glared back at him. The smell of feces began to permeate the air. More than a dozen demon-like creatures, each terrifying to look upon, waited for him to move.