The first time it visited was in the early hours, I think at about 4.am. I say ‘it’ because from such a distorted ethereal form there was no way to determine a gender. Such anthropomorphisms would surely have no meaning to such a highly evolved being.
You might imagine that I would be fearful at such an encounter, but since the visitation of those who should only exist in my memory, I am difficult to perturb. Clearly this was all part of a journey.
The being told me to prepare to leave, that I must not tell anyone. So I Left the house, my family still asleep, and stepped into the vortex. It was how I imagined a wormhole to be, rather than the pitiful and fleeting channel myself and my team had created.
A dizzying feeling, as the being – now a more substantial form – took my hand through the swirling vortex.
The first destination was Mars. It was some time in the future, I knew – at least a century. We’d exited a fixed portal. There were other portals through which people emerged. Their clothes were strange, no pressure suits even though there appeared to be no obvious biosphere containment. One of them held a rectangular device, similar to a datacorder, pointed it at the ground causing a beam to emanate. The beam expanded and turned into a brown mist. When the mist cleared, there stood a dog – a Labrador barking with excitement. I asked the being to explain how this was possible, but I was told not to ask questions because the future was meant to remain a mystery. The being told me that where I stood was the year 2534. However, these were temporal fragmentations. Apparently the universe no longer existed as one coherent continuum.
Desperate for more information, I tried to talk to people but the being told me they would not be able to interact with me in any way.
The next destination was a planet designated as the first world humans would visit using wormhole technology based on my own. This was the present year; the first humans would arrive in 2321. It was a beautiful world, the area we visited was similar to the Rocky mountains.
On brown plain-land I stood frozen by some force I couldn't explain. Then the buildings started appearing, sprouting upwards like a film of speeded up plants. Spires and geometric shapes, reflecting the sun and mirroring the beautiful landscape; it was a city similar to many on Earth, yet not out of place on this world.
And then the destruction happened. The giant silver raindrops exploding the tower blocks; mechanoids rampaging through, killing, abducting.
I could not see them when I witnessed this, but I knew they were there.
‘What do you expect me to do?’ I asked it.
‘You must sabotage your prototype,’ came the reply. ‘Destroy any blueprints or file associated with your work.’
‘And if I refuse.’
‘That is your prerogative, but you will come to realize your mistake.’
‘You cannot prevent the onward march of technology,’ I told it.
Then I found myself back in my bed. The time: 4.07. Perhaps no time had elapsed since the being had arrived.
You probably think it was all a dream. I even had doubts myself, that’s why I had a chip implanted to record every sensory experience. So I downloaded the content from the last few hours. And though the image and sound quality were very distorted, it was enough to show where I had been. The alien, however, could only be resolved as a light, an oval haze that somehow my mind saw as humanoid. Unfortunately, the time code was skewed, giving random readings until the experience ended.
Is this evidence? The download is stored in a crystal; it contains the unique transfer code, which means it has been directly downloaded. Any attempts to alter the content of the recording would result in this code becoming annulled. So this one valid copy will be kept with me at all times. If I die, when I die, whoever finds my body should know the crystal will be about me or near me. I wish I could put the pieces together. All I know is something dreadful will happen....
‘Close,’ Raiya told the display. Alone in her office, she felt her skin prickling, as if she were near a ghostly presence. Him, it was like he had chosen her: the custodian, the arbiter of his sanity.
When she first took on the case, she’d have welcomed this role. Now it was a burden, not just for herself. Her colleague may not have admitted to being fazed. Leonard wanted to be seen as sturdy, unflappable, the one she could depend on for advice; her rock (the role that so many men like to take when it concerns a single woman). He wasn’t one to yield to any intimidation. ‘Len!’ He should be back in his office by now.
She tried his personal comm. No response, as if he had switched it off.
‘Jannson: I need a fix on Dr Heigener’s location.’
‘Checking now.’
‘He’s off the grid. I’ll check the traffic maps and his car’s transponder.’ She felt her heart quicken, breathing erratic. ‘Dr Fortenski, his car isn’t registering; the police have been notified.’
What good would that do? she thought. ‘Thank you, Jannson. I need to increase my personal security to the highest level.’
‘Already done. You’ll be under constant monitoring.’
She opened her console for any new messages. There was one, but not from Leonard.
Origin unknown.
DR FORTENSKI, WE KNOW YOU HAVE KEPT A COPY OF THE LYNDAU FILE. THE OTHER REMANING COPY HAS BEEN SEQUESTRATED. YOUR COLLEAGUE DR HEIGENER HAS BEEN PURGED OF ALL KNOWLEDGE OF TORBIN LYNDAU. HE IS SAFE. HOWEVER, IF YOU ATTEMPT TO CONTACT HIM, HE WILL BE ELIMINATED.
AS YOU MAY REALIZE, WE TAKE THE SECURITY OF THIS PLANET EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY. THE KNOWLEDGE CONTAINED WITHIN THE FILE COULD HAVE RAMIFICATIONS WAY BEYOND ANYTHING YOU CAN COMPREHEND. ANY ATTEMPT TO ACT UPON SUCH KNOWLEDGE WILL RESULT IN A SIMILAR ACTION TO YOUR OWN SELF.
SO IF YOU VALUE YOUR MEMORY, DR FORTENSKI, YOU WILL DESIST FROM YOUR STUDY OF TORBIN LYNDAU.
Raiya ran a search routine of the messages path. Normally each relay bounce would be recorded, at least for twenty-four hours. No trace; it was as if the message had been personally entered on her console. But the idea that even Standford could enter her office undetected seemed too much to contemplate. Surely even the safe would not be too much of a challenge for him, and yet it was all still there.
Jannson’s reassuring voice came through on the comm. ‘I have his location. He is back in his office. The police have spoken to him and decided there is no cause for further investigation.’
‘But how do they explain his disappearance – I mean to be completely off the grid?’
‘He said he had an electronics malfunction.’
She thought of saying: I don’t buy that explanation. But instead said: ‘OK, Jannson, thanks for your help.’
Raiya knew she would have to visit him; it would mean cancelling the rest of the day’s appointments; it would mean putting her life in danger. But I have to know.
This office felt smaller than ever, it was as if the walls had been gradually closing in on her. Every day, perhaps by a few centimetres.
Have to get out of here!