Our mission was simple: explore, seek new life, and assess any threat if we found sentient extraterrestrials. After thirteen months in space, I came to realize that “life” is more difficult to define than previously thought.
My team was the first to study the vastness of space with the newly christened interstellar engine. The first weeks were filled with wonderous new planets, stars, and solar systems. I dutifully logged each new sight, thrilled to be amongst the chosen few to empirically test current scientific hypotheses.
What astronomers previously thought was dark energy turned out to be something much more complex. In truth, there is another dimension thinly veiled from our own. We found that String Theory is only partially accurate: one parallel universe exists, not a multitude. This universe continually collides with our own, sometimes merging momentarily, which I believe is the source of many of the paranormal stories on Earth.
Two months after we set out, our pilot, Greg, discovered a nebula on the edge of the galaxy. The gas cloud birthed a multitude of stars, which was breathtaking to bear witness to. Abruptly, the bright nebula and its star clusters darkened, giving off an unsettling black/gray light. Greg and the other crew members looked at one another in awe.
“There is a planet nearby. We should land and investigate the anomaly,” Allison said.
“Are you sure about that?” Greg replied, stroking the short, brown beard that enveloped his round face.
“We are staying right here for now.” Though I didn’t want to say it, I felt a terrifying aura permeating every cell in my body. Shortly thereafter, strange wisps floated out of the black nebula toward our ship. What happened next is beyond explanation. Red lightning crackled as far as we could see. After one of the bolts struck, it stayed suspended in space, a crimson tear in reality.
More wisps spewed from the frozen electrical energy. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes couldn’t focus on them because it was both difficult and painful. My hands grew numb, and the sensation spread to the rest of my extremities. Allison tucked her long black hair out of the way just before she vomited, and Greg held his head in agony. I maintained stoicism the best that I could, but I genuinely feared for my crew.
I must have closed my eyes for a bit because the next thing I knew, the interior of the ship turned to gray then ebony. Slowly each of the wispy entities morphed into beings of great size with six legs. Dark thoughts of hopelessness and visions of my comrades lying bloodied on the cabin floor flickered in my consciousness. My head pounded, and everything went black for a minute. Shortly thereafter, I heard tormented screams from the ship’s technicians. Allison began murmuring things like, “How are you here? I’ve missed you,” before she collapsed.
The entities left an impression of their will on my mind. I felt their desire to enter our universe of light, both hating and lusting for it. Their yearning filled me as if it was my own. These creatures feared life and light, yet curiosity drew them in. They were ancient beyond the confines of time, and somehow, they knew my name. They called to me softly, “Liz, Liz,” then they flooded my mind with all my past regrets, the lies I told, and anything else that consumed my joy. “I won’t let you do this. Get out of my head!” I shouted, struggling with all my might against the invading energies.
As if waking from a deep sleep, I snapped out of the trance and saw that the nebula had returned to normal, but with roughly three-quarters of the gas and stars remaining. Allison slowly got to her feet, and Greg kept asking what had happened. The hours since are somewhat of a blur. Though I vaguely recall ordering Greg to run a scan of the area and then turn the ship around, I cannot recollect much else.
The scanners picked up particle anomalies, leading me to believe that this was another universe and that it was much closer than we realized. Unfortunately, we’ve slipped into that alternate realm unintentionally three times since. What is more unsettling is that this universe is growing exponentially. How and why Earth has been minimally affected so far, I don’t know. There seems to be an inexplicable protection around our home solar system, but I doubt that will last much longer. The separation between the two realities is thinning. Stopping it will require extensive research.
—
R. Michael lives in rural Minnesota and is happily married. He has one son and a border collie foot warmer. He has four books published on Amazon and has works published in “365 Tomorrows,” “Altered Reality Magazine,” and “Ink & Fairydust Magazine.”
