Waves: The Collapsing Universe
Page 18
Basta smiled and headed through the door. On the other side was a massive dome that lit up as they entered. There were all sorts of symbols, first lit were the ancient alien symbols, spread throughout the other symbols. Then other races began to light up, growing brighter as the ancient symbol began to dim, soon leaving only the new races. A door opened up on the other side, light came in as well as the sound of crashing waves indicating it connected to a cave near the beaches of the city.
“This, is it?” Basta asked. “There is nothing here?”
“There is.” Henry replied with a nod. “You just have to get creative to realise it.”
“Then explain it to me.” Basta said with a nod. “You were always the more abstract thinker of the two of us.”
“Not all treasures are gold and artifacts.” Henry added. “What we saw on the solving of the riddle and this room is the full story of the aliens and life in this universe to this point.”
“Full story?” Basta asked. “I thought you said that no one really knows what happened to the ancient aliens.”
“No one had.” Henry replied. “That is until you and I just saw it.”
“I don’t understand.” Basta replied. “What is the story.”
Henry nodded as he walked to the center of the room. “The ancient aliens were wise and successful. They realised though that unless they expand their source of life they will stagnate and fall into obscurity. Even with them leaving our universe to a higher state of consciousness they knew they could not leave nothing behind. So, they sent out much of their people, sent in groups to establish new colonies and new sources of life and new colonies. They went in all directions, soon finding countless new homes for their people. They even found their way to our universe with at least one of their seed ships. This compendium is an archive of all the races that were found…at least until they stopped recording them and finished this place.
“That is amazing.” Basta replied. “What about this room? The ancient aliens lit up then went out?”
“That is the end of the story.” Henry continued. “As the other races began to grow and thrive they finished their path to supersede their consciousness. They left it all behind to let the other races do what they may. Even though it seems many are on the decline and this universe is collapsing, they had their time and it lead to our universe and what it is becoming. The ancient aliens were like the protectors of the smaller races, selflessly giving of themselves so others could thrive. That is why they disappeared, not just to find a higher consciousness but to help the others. Their empire faded so that many others could brighten. This place is no temple nor treasure vault…it is a last testament to the sacrifice of the ancient aliens and what thy did for the other reaches of the universe.”
Basta went to say something but fell silent, only looking around in awe.
“I realise it is an idea that is abstract and hard to grasp at first.” Henry explained. “I can imagine that one of the races, likely builders who finished this temple made it this way. They wanted to honour this story and built this place. They knew that it might be a long time before someone found this story and had to tell it in a way that people could interpret and understand no matter the language they spoke.”
“But the death traps?” Basta asked. “We could have been killed trying to figure this out.”
“I would imagine that the traps were a decoy.” Henry replied. “I noticed that the heat they generated was not lethal, the spikes that shot only went out to the sides and the energy furnace probably never fully lights.”
“You knew?” Basta asked. “I thought we were going to die!”
“I was caught up in it.” Henry admitted. “I actually really enjoyed the puzzles.”
“So, did I.” Basta admitted with a sigh. “Well I do suppose this is indeed a treasure. It is really cool I just wish we had gotten more information to take back.”
“Well there might be more.” Henry replied. “I am sensing a power source in this room similar to the one in the ancient ship. I think there is an administrator here. A full one.”
“Then can we activate it?” Basta insisted. “We should get Nari to pick us up soon but we need to learn what we can.”
Henry nodded, activating his interface and the similar being lighting up before him.
“You have done well to discover our story.” The new Administrator said proudly. “You would have access to everything I know.”
“I will take only what is needed for a stepping stone.” Henry commented.
“Well my information is vaster than most singular minds can take.” Administrator explained. “I will give you only which I think you can take.”
“Please do it.” Henry insisted. “I am ready.”
Administrator nodded, reaching a hand out toward Henry. There was a flash, a beam of intense light and it was like the world was ripped away from Henry and replaced by an infinite cosmos of facts and ideas. He saw the infinite vastness of the universes, all the planets, all the suns and black holes. He saw science, math, history, all at once and anything he thought of lead down an infinite rabbit hole that created more and more questions. He wanted to know it all, he wanted to absorb every bit of information. He Imagined the advancements, imagine the discoveries. NO! He needed to focus. He thought only of the mission, the people he came with, the answers they sought to solve the riddle. All of the pertinent information flowed into his mind, it was so much that it would take years to express it. Again, the information of an infinite universe tugged at him, calling out to his curiosity and tempting his resolve. Henry closed his eyes, willing himself back to the real world where he could put some use to the information that he had been given.”
“Henry are you alright?” Basta asked. “You zoned out for close to half an hour.”
“I learned a lot.” Henry replied with a sigh, seeing the administrator had left. “There were so many peoples here but it is back in our universe that we must focus on the future of.”
“Well I have Nari inbound to pick us up.” Basta replied. “We will figure it all out later.”
Within the hour, Henry and the others were back on the Endeavor. There was so much information to put down and Henry could only begin to reconcile it all. He touched the vastness of infinite understanding and could see the draw of it. This was likely what the ancient aliens tasted that drove them toward wanting to leave corporeal reality behind. This was something that humans would have eventually, but not for quite some time still.
The Endeavor made it’s jump back to their universe of origin and soon back to colonialized space. There were countless people eager to hear their story and it would take decades to truly tell it and express all they had seen and learned.
-
Henry stood at the edge of his porch, looking out at the beautiful Atlas sky. It had been a few years since he had left the planet and though the stars still tugged at him he found he could resist their call. He had two children now, proving to be a decent father after all. Nari was also a wonderful mother, making the entire thing one of the accomplishments they both were most proud of. Henry made the transition from an explorer to a theoretical physicist. He still had much to offer humanity but now he preferred to invent and let others be the ones that tested out what he designed. He had written a series of books, summing up his adventures and theorizing about the future of humanity and what he had learned in the other universe. He never lost his love of unravelling the mysteries of the universe but he also learned to enjoy unravelling the mysteries of the human condition.
Henry could hear Nari calling to him, it was nearly dinnertime and she would need his help. He looked up to the night sky seeing a light appearing, meaning a ship had just jumped into Atlas orbit. He would soon return to the stars again…but it would not be this day.
END