Waves: The Collapsing Universe

by Thomas Edward Savage

  “Does this look like the ship from before?” Nari asked. “The one from that moon?”

  “Very much so.” Henry replied. “It is still powered up and intact. My scanning device is showing it is over seventy thousand years old.”

  “That is remarkable.” Nari replied. “To be intact, functioning and preserved for so long. Imagine what we can learn from it.”

  “We need to get inside.” Henry replied. “This is exactly the kind of thing that we came to this universe to find.”

  “Henry, Nari, do you read?” Chalice asked over the con. “I am starting to see some information in English from the system translation.”

  “We read you.” Henry said as he and Nari began to walk along the side of the mysterious craft to look for some sort of opening to inside. “What is it saying?”

  “Well it is a little slow in how it is relating things.” Chalice admitted. “But from what I am able to figure out that the device came from something sown there and automatically wants to connect with it. However pat of however it contacted with it is not working and it can’t.”

  “It’s a ship.” Henry explained. “Similar to the one we found. Massive and ancient, likely within this planet for a very long time, likely put here using a technology that we have not determined yet.”

  “That makes sense.” Chalice replied. “The system is referring to it as it’s host system. I don’t know how much the system knows on it’s own but they were definitely connected. The damage is likely why it was left here to just power down and die. I can see if I can get the transmitter on it working but I will need more time and more tools.”

  “Focus on the deciphering for now.” Henry replied. “We can see what we can do with it later but we need some primer on the information here and now.”

  “It might be our only primer on how to interact with the ships technology.” Nari commented. “Is there anything else that might help us?”

  “I am still cataloguing what is is telling us.” Chalice admitted. “However, it would seem that it has recorded some of the orders that it has received and I am focusing on the last one and working backwards. I would imagine the last recording is a good place to start.”

  “That is as good a plan as any.” Henry commented. “How much time do we have before we need to worry about the power in our suits running out.”

  “About two hours.” Nari replied. “And it is a thing we should not at all cut close.”

  “We need to use all the resources at our disposal to learn as much as we can.” Henry replied. “We are spread thin in this universe and need to gather as much information as possible. We might not be able to come back down again.”

  “I have Basta on the com.” Chalice replied. “He seems keen on exploring the ship but wants you back far before the time runs out for the suits.”

  “Understood.” Nari replied. “We will take time to do whatever we can to get in and learn about the ship. But in one hour we head back no matter what.”

  “I think I found a way in.” Henry commented as he walked over to what looked like a humanoid sized portal. “We just have to figure out how to open-“

  Without warning the portal slid open, as if automatically waiting for someone to come to it.

  “We seem to have gained access to the ancient ship.” Nari replied.

  “We will do as you can.” Henry replied. “We will keep you posted to any discoveries we make as we make them.”

  “I will continue to decipher the machine.” Chalice replied. “It hopefully soon will reveal something that might help us. I will message you the moment I learn more.”

  “Alright we are going into the still active alien craft.” Henry added. “Let us hope that if there’s anyone alive, they are happy to see us.”

  “We can only hope.” Nari admitted. “Because most of our weapons wont to well work down here.”

  “Well hopefully we won’t need to test them.” Henry replied. “We are entering the alien ship together now.”

  “Good luck.” Chalice replied. “If anyone can do this…it is you two. Chalice out.”

  The ship began to light up as the group went through, opening up as if welcoming them. Though it likely was a very long time since anyone had been in the ship it was remarkably well preserved.

  “I am detecting oxygen and a compatible temperature.” Nari said as she removed her helmet. “We should give our suits some time to cool off.”

  “Agreed.” Henry said as he removed his own helmet. “It will be easier to interact with things.”

  “We should see if we can find a control room.” Henry said as he walked over to a large panel to her side, seeing it light up.

  “Can you decipher that language?” Nari asked. “If we can identify the core letters if you can program the computer to figure it out. We got some of the data from Chalice, right?”

  “Yeah.” Henry said as he walked over to the computer. “Wait…the panel is absorbing the data from my device.”

  Henry watched as the panel changed it’s writing to English. “That is amazing. It seems to have scanned our technology and reset its systems to a language that we both seem to understand.”

  Henry interacted with the ancient touch screen controls. “It seems to indicate that the central control system is nearby. Let’s go.”

  The pair followed the direction indicated by the ancient computer, the lights coming on as they went as a way to greet and guide them. Soon they reached a door that slowly opened as they approached. Within was a massive circular room with a glowing crystalline orb suspended in the middle.

  “That has to be the power source.” Nari commented. “The device keeping this whole place running and generating that bubble.”

  “It is truly awe inspiring!” Henry said, looking over controls. “I think it would take both of us working together a lifetime to figure out just ho this works. It is beyond Earth technology, even magnetic wave technology. If only there was someone alive on this ship to help us.”

  “Well there both is and is not.” Nari said as she went over a panel. “The system seems to be left in standby mode to accept commands from anyone needing it. There also seems to be some sort of guide program we can access.”

  “Well turn it on.” Henry agreed. “It might just be our best bet to getting any answers here.

  Nari agreed, telling the system to start up. A light flashed from the orb and a figure materialized next to the pair. For a moment, it seemed as if made by light, but soon it formed into a humanoid shape. It was not human or anything recognised, instead a simple being with ivory white skin with grey eyes and an elongated head.

  “Welcome to my ship.” The figure said in plain English. “You may call me the Administrator.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” Henry replied. “Let’s start basic. Who are you? What is this ship and how did it get here?”

  “Well I am a synthetic lifeform.” The Administrator replied. “Meant to simulate a people that are long since gone. We were called the Elun, and we evolved to sentience so long ago I do not have an accurate way to depict it in your apparent scope of time. We evolved from simple life forms on our planet, then to technological advanced forms, to ones that could explore the stars. We spent eons learning the secrets of the universe but soon began to evolve beyond the need to exist in what you call conventional space time. Our cycle of growth and life were over but we decided to give a gift back to the universe. Though there was the potential to life on countless worlds, the exact situation that could create life was very unlikely and random. We made a fleet of ships, sent with the last of our corporeal race to go find worlds in the zone to support life.”

  “Henry, I think this ship has been here a lot longer than my scanner had indicated.” Nari admitted. “Much longer.”

  “Within both of you I sense two races that have been affected by our ships.” The Administrator admitted. “It would delight those that came before to know that this had worked on at least two worlds. This ship itself has been a
ctive for some time and it is good to see our plan paying off.”

  “How is that possible?” Nari asked. “We are from a completely different universe, the one that is advancing on this one as it collapses.”

  “We have discovered ways to circumvent the confines of not only our lifespans but our universe itself.” The administrator explained. “It is likely that one of our ships found it’s way into your planet of origin.”

  “Well we did talk about how we never looked deep in our own world.” Henry admitted. “Maybe there is one hidden on earth, just shut down and not sending out anything detectable.”

  “This is mind blowing.” Nari admitted. “It changes most conventional theology, science, religion, physics everything.”

  “I do not agree.” The Administrator replied. “Though you are of course learning of a larger chain of universes and a more profound span of time it changes none of your core values. Though my people have transcended science we still have no answer to the question of what spawned our universe or life. We have higher powers that we believe in as your races likely do. It is the blessing and curse that no living corporeal being can ever know the true nature of existence while they live.”

  “Either way.” Nari replied. “These are discoveries that will take our scientists years to decipher.”

  “Well we cannot offer you all the answers.” Administrator replied. “Though we freely offer information, you will have to use it to gain advancement on your own. We offer a stepping stone, not a delivery directly to the destination.”

  “Understandably so.” Henry replied. “I would like to download as much information as my portable device can hold. Anything you think is beneficial to us.”

  The administrator nodded. “Of course. I would be happy to.”

  “Henry, Nari?” Chalice said over the com. “Do you read me?”

  “This is Henry.” Henry responded. “We are in the ship, we are learning so much, I cannot put into words the ramifications of what we are learning here.”

  “Well you need to do it faster than we anticipated.” Chalice replied.

  “What do you mean?” Henry asked. “We just got here.”

  “I have the last logs of the device.” Chalice replied. “It seems that the crew to that ship had to evacuate it in a hurry. There was some sort of life forms stowed on board and they threatened to kill anyone on board.”

  Henry turned to the Administrator. “Do you have any knowledge of this?”

  “I do not usually access the ships logs.” Administrator admitted. “One moment. I see. Yes, the ship had been besieged by a technorganic lifeform that evolved from some of our failed brothers.”

  “Failed Brothers?” Henry asked. “Explain.”

  “You must understand that much of my databanks are missing.” Administrator admitted. “Taken likely when the ship was evacuated. However, I have reports that they are ones of our race that were not able to make the transition into the next phase of existence. Only about sixty percent were able to do it and the others were doomed to a dying universe. They began to experiment on themselves to force themselves to evolve and in so created a race of savage abominations that moved away from enlightenment into pure survival brutality.”

  Suddenly a light went on in the console in front of Nari. She waved a hand over it to reveal images from elsewhere on the ship.

  “Henry, we got creatures…in the ship.” Nari announced as she turned to Henry.

  “How many?” Henry asked.

  “Like two dozen or so.” Nari replied. “They are all moving erratically and look dangerous.”

  “We need to get out of here.” Henry said as he walked to the console. “I will take what we have of the data and get back to the shuttle.”

  “They will likely want to get up the hole and take the shuttle.” Administrator admitted. “The logs indicate that there was an attempt to trap them here. They were likely woken up by your arrival. They have likely been in forced suspended animation on this vessel for a very long time.”

  Henry nodded and turned to the Administrator. “We have a shuttle on the surface and a ship in orbit. We cannot allow them to gain access to either. Can you help us.”

  “I suppose I could destabilize the matrix of the power core.” Administrator admitted. “That would cause catastrophic problems and break down the bubble protecting the ship.”

  “That might be what we have to do.” Henry replied. “We have a tether that will get us back to the surface faster than they can climb but we need a way to keep them here. I am sorry that I am asking this of you.”

  “I am glad to be of help.” Administrator admitted. “Though I will need your help to do it, I am programmed not to be able to do such damage to the ships core.”

  Henry nodded and went to the panel near the drive and began to look through it. Nari assembled her wave pule blaster and stepped out into the hall. A scouting group of the abominations group surged forward. They were hard to tell where their technology ended and they began, each like a surgical nightmare of flesh, bone and synthetics. Nari cut through them in a powerful attack, killing them before they had a chance to act or warn those behind. Nari held her ground, cutting through their synthetic armor and using the element of surprise to halt their advance. The atmosphere of the ship proving to be a blessing to the weapon.

  “Ok, I think I know how shut it down.” Henry said as he went through the controls, his hands struggling to keep up with the speed of his mind. “It would power down and pop the protective bubble but seems like it would take close to an hour.”

  “We don’t have close to an hour!” Nari shouted as she moved like a woman possessed, fighting like a demon and letting no one that would approach stand to defy her. Henry was both impressed and terrified, not yet seeing Nari fight with this level of strength and determination for some time.

  Henry worked at the controls, even though they were in his language they were hard to figure out. There were universalities in the science but many made in different ways and it was like he was partially relearning some of it.

  “We do not need to do this by the book.” Administrator suggested. “We need to literally break it.”

  “I understand.” Henry nodded. “But how?”

  “These guys are kinda unstoppable.” Nari shouted. “There are a lot more of them than we thought and every one I take down another springs up to take its place. We need to hurry!”

  “I don’t know this technology well enough.” Henry admitted, frustration plain on his tone.”

  “You know more than you know.” Administrator interjected. “You know all of how this works and though it is a primitive version, you know how this core works too. It is different parts of the same technology. There is an answer there for you.”

  Henry focused, thinking of the science on how the system worked and what he recently learned about the core. Equations of physics that he could not fully process passed through his brain. He knew that a lot of it was theoretical and would take time to understand, but for the moment, it would have to do. If the wave within the machine could be refocused to a opposite frequency could destabilize the gravitational field of a core and a drive within. The key however was to do it in a way that gave them just enough time to get back to the tethers. He decided on the frequency and set the machine to slowly change to it. The machine would have about thirty minutes before it fed back and destabilized the core.

  “Nari can you hear me?” Henry said as he activated the console and inputted the commands. “Do you think that we can hold them off to get back to the airlock and outside?”

  “I suppose I will have to.” Nari replied. “The blaster works on them very well but I am down to twenty five percent power.”

  “I can find us an alternate route to where you came in.” Administrator replied. “I can shut doors and bulkheads, it won’t hold them for long but hopefully long enough.”

  “Works for me.” Henry said with a nod. “I have set the controls, we have thirty minutes tops
.

  “I will do my best.” Nari replied. “Tell me when to start moving!”

  “Chalice do you read me?” Henry said over the con. “I need your assistance.”

  “I am here and ready to assist.” Chalice replied. “What do you need?”

  “I need you to first of all get all equipment back onto the shuttle and start up the engines to get it ready to take off.” Henry explained. “Second, I want you to get some explosives and line the top of the shaft. Get it ready to blow and preferably from the shuttle. You have twenty-eight minutes.”

  “I will have it all ready for you for when you get back.” Chalice said enthusiastically. “Good luck.”

  “The drive is primed for your plan.” Administrator replied. “We should really start moving now.”

  “I got them as held back as I can.” Nari insisted. “If we are to try and get out, now would definitely be the time.”

  “I will come with you.” Administrator replied. “I do not know how to fight them but I will endeavor to be of service in any way that I can.”

  “Thank you, Administrator.” Henry nodded. “Thank you for helping us on our quest for discovery and survival.”

  “It is my pleasure to be of use one last time.” Administrator said with a nod. “Now let us go…and let’s hurry. There is not much time. I will light up the alternative path out of the ship back to where you came in.”

  Henry nodded, heading outside and gesturing for Nari to follow him. “We need to leave. Cover us.”

  Nari fired behind her to buy time to leave and ran after Henry and administrator. They made several turns, running as fast as they could.

  “Henry the shuttle is primed and ready to take off.” Chalice said over the com. “I will have the explosives in place momentarily.”

  “Understood.” Henry replied. “We will see you soon hopefully.”

  Doors and bulkheads shut along the route and within seconds scraping and cutting could be hears as the abominations were cutting through. The group got to the outer door and both began to put their helmets on.”

  “I cannot leave the ship.” Administrator said. “I will cover your escape.”