Chapter 27
“Relax, relax, relax.” Shen heard Loxy in his ears. “I got you, breathe…”
There is a breaking point, a place where Co2 has increased so much that one must breathe in, even against an urge not to breathe when submerged in liquid. Shen and Tama were past that, due to the field taking their breath and ravaging their body with pain, accelerating the depletion of their body’s oxygen. The next inhibitor is when something wrong hits the larynx- an urge even greater than the compulsion to inhale shuts down the throat, and people can suffocate without any liquid hitting lungs. The pain and desperateness caused a delay in that reaction and so golden light hit their lungs, forcing coughing, vomiting, and rebreathing golden light. A person can be conscious during this process. Shen felt Loxy taking over muscle control- a thing tulpas can do, but something she had never done before, not without permission. She relaxed him to the point that he inhaled more golden light into his lung. If he didn’t know any better, the golden specks were codeine. He felt warmth rushing his body.
“Breathe,” Loxy said. “That’s it.”
He opened his eyes. He blinked but adapted quickly to the liquid. He flattened his nose, wanting it out. Tama appeared to be unconscious, but her lungs moved. The Lily unfolded, revealing they were in an underwater world. Unbeknownst to him, once they were caught in the rose, it severed from the vine and plummeted, and was dropped into the sea below. Because he had not experienced a fall, he wondered if this underwater place was illusion, something mother was providing for his benefit- something to make him relax into his death even further. The sea floor held many rose bud like pods. Some were opened, transformed into lilies. A variety of octopi were there to greet them. Angel Octopi swept in and took Tama. A rainbow blanket octopus accompanied them.
A Dumbo octopus hovered by Shen’s head. “Do not be afraid.” The voice was in his head. A giant Megaleledonidae took Shen’s arm and dragged him up and along the sea floor, bringing him back into eye sight of Tama. A blue whale moaned, and the water churned light. All manner of bioluminescent fish and plant were excited and shiny. There were more colors present than he thought was possible. A singled light as bright as sunlight bathed Tama. A bioluminescent Octopus, or Stauroteuthis syrtensis, was tentatively touching her. It was gentle. It was intimate. It remind him of a Vulcan preparing to do a mind-meld.
“Oa?” Shen asked.
“Yes,” the Dumbo octopus said.
Another creature came at Tama. It removed her hair, allowing it to drift away. Fish swarmed in and took pieces and went away.
“Am I dreaming?” Shen asked.
“Are you?” the Dumbo octopus asked.
Oa enveloped Tama, merging with her, covering her head. It wavered in appearance, becoming a mask. The face was less Tama, but held features of the same. Oa disappeared. Hair was camouflaged, clinging to the body as if were pasted on, or shellacked. She appeared to be awake. She righted herself. She spun, marveling at her hands and feet, the way her dress moved in the water. She came to Shen and took his hand. She started for the surface.
“Go, child. You cannot stay here longer without a joining,” the Dumbo octopus said.
Shen pushed on the ground and rose. Tama and Oa went with. The giant Megaleledonidae accelerated their ascent, holding them both by the waist. The water around them became suddenly cold. The waters were darker. It became impossible to see, either with eye, or ears, or heart. It was simply a churning of indecipherable sensations. Only the fact that he was held gave comfort. And then there were hand grabbing arms and pulling him onto the shore. Someone pounded his back as he vomited and coughed. There were voices speaking to him, comforting him. He heard the unmistakable sound of an air-vaccine gun popping, and felt the sting on his arm. He hadn’t recovered enough to even protest. As much as he hated the liquid in him, he discovered he didn’t want to give up the opiate feel that came with it. He felt as if he were vomiting light. A large towel, large enough to be a blanket, was brought and wrapped around him. He went with them like child who has been with fever; he simply went were directed. Tama/Oa had their own volition. They walked across a stone floor to a fire. Above was a constellation of glow worms. Both Shen and Tama/Oa were undressed and given dry, warm clothes, handmade. Knitted clothes that fit perfectly. They were invited to sit and given hot drinks. While they drank, their feet were cleaned and then adorned with knitted socks.
Shen wanted to ask questions, and yet he didn’t want to speak. His throat felt numb. The drink warmed him in a different way than the golden light. Tama/Oa drank as well. He saw her in two lights, one as a human drinking normally. The other was more surreal, as if Spiderman had raised his mask just high enough to drink. The latter was so disturbing that he chose not to see it, and from there on, he only saw the human drinking.
The people here spanned the continuum of human, all colors, all sizes, with one feature all in common- they had shellacked hair. Some hair was straight, tight against flesh- as having just stepped from the shower. Some had curls. It was obvious to him, these were conjoined creatures. The people were dressed in earth tone colors. It was homemade, wool- knitted, with simple designs that were woven into the patterns.
“Hello again, and for the first time,” Tama/Oa spoke. He blinked: he recognized her as the lead that had come to him during his suicide attempt in the cave. He recognize several others here as that.
“Tama? Oa?” Shen asked. “I don’t know how to address you.”
“How about Tamoa?” she asked. “Tama is here, Oa is here, but I am dominant.”
“You brought me here?” Shen asked.
“We had consensus,” Tamoa said. “Oa was involved, but not I. Tama was involved, but not she. You were involved, but not you.”
“That’s confusing,” Shen said.
“A magician of your caliber, confused?” Tamoa said.
One of the conjoined brought him another warm drink. “It will help.” She exchanged cups. “Drink it while warm.”
He drank. They seemed happy that he was here, as if this were nothing more than a surprise family get together.
“What happens now?” Shen asked.
“We wait and see.”
“Wait and see what?” Shen asked.
“How the world evolves,” Tamoa said.
“What happens to me?” Shen asked.
“What would you like to happen?” Tamoa said.
“I want to return home now,” Shen said.
“We intend to send you home,” Tamoa said.
“To Shangri-La,” Shen said.
“You cannot go back to the surface,” Tamoa said. “Not in this present form. You may become spirit, and through the trees find a family and be reborn. You may remain here with us as you are, become one with another. There are many who are interested in a joining with you.” She displayed a face of amused confusion. “We are surprised by your deliberation. We thought you wanted to return to origin point.”
“I have family here. People I love,” Shen said. He was angry. ‘Fuck, how can I be angry after death?!’ he asked himself. “If I chose to reincarnate, or remain here in a joining, I will cease to be?”
“You will always remain, even if encapsulated by new form. You are not the child you were, nor are you the adult you will be, but you are in your becoming, accepted and wanted,” Tamoa said.
Shen cried. “Do you know how painful it is to decide? I have people I love here. I people I love there. Why did you do this to me?!”
“You wanted to know how much love you had in you,” Tamoa said. “You brought light to our world. If you tarry, you will change, and be unchanged. You will return to origin changed, but unchanged.”
“I will return to origin?”
“Whether you tarry here or not, you will return, changed but unchanged,” Tamoa said. “It is the way it has been forever.”
“I have to return.”
“You don’t HAVE to do anything. Everyone returns.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Shen said.
“No rush. We can wait,” Tamoa said. Another drink was brought. “I am sure you have many questions.”
“You’re damn right I do…”
“Clear!”
The uniform applied Defibrillator pulse. Jon gasped. Hands came up automatically to push the light out of his eyes. The light was attached to a hand. It took a moment to focus. Normal room lights filled him and saw a new reality. Medical bay. It was all so damn familiar he suspected it to be unreal. He felt his arm stretched, and a Velcro arm band secured snugly. ‘Lactic ringer’ the nurse said. Loxy was suddenly in his eyes.
“Welcome back,” Loxy said.
Jon tried to get up, but hands kept him down. Loxy touched him. “Shh, we got you. I am here.” She took his hand in hers. A mobile, doctor’s stool came to her, adjusting itself for the appropriate height, and she sat with a knowing that she wouldn’t fall. Once in under her control, she adjusted her proximity the old fashion way, pulling the chair to where she wanted. She smiled into his face, wiped tears. “Shh, breathe, we got you.”
“Are you real?” Jon asked.
“You mean really here?” Loxy asked.
“Loxy?”
“Yes, Jon,” Loxy said.
“I am not Jon,” Jon said.
“Confusion is to be expected after an event of this magnitude,” the Doctor said. The Doctor’s voice was familiar. His face was too familiar.
“Fiction…”
“The fact that I am here, or that I save you?” the Doctor said.
“House,” Loxy said.
“Seriously, the existential banter that pseudo explains my presence in his world is overplayed,” House said. “We got it, Jon. I am an admired hero in your world. Thanks for allowing me to bring you back one more time. Get some rest. Stop fucking dying on my shift.”
“Why do you keep calling me Jon?” Jon asked.
“Who do you think you are, Ion Light?” House asked.
“Maybe we should wake Jung,” Loxy said.
“He is sleeping. Most normal folks are sleeping. You should be sleeping, Jon,” House said. “We got you. The ship, the nurse, your suit’s AI, the bed’s AI, we all got you. You’re not going anywhere. Now rest.”
House walked away. He didn’t have to say, ‘notify me if there is any change.’ He said it, ‘you expect me to say it to comfort you but you should be comforted by the fact I can’t get any sleep because all these damn bells and whistles are always calling me to comfort someone, which just stupid because everyone knows my bedside manners suck, but you didn’t hire me for bedside manners…’ the door shut behind him.
Loxy smiled down at him. “You can stay here, or our quarters. Do you have a preference?”
“Are you real?” Jon asked.
“Yes, Jon,” Loxy said.
“Forever?” Jon asked.
“Yes, with caveats,” Loxy said.
Loxy’s uniform pulsed, heart badge illuminated; the chime for being notified.
“Yes?” she said.
“Commander, your presence is required on the bridge.”
“Are we about to go into battle?” Loxy asked.
“No, Mam…”
“Then you got this. Loxy out,” Loxy said. A reassuring smile was offered. “See, not going anywhere.”
“It might be important,” Jon said.
“It’s always important,” Loxy said.
“I want to get up,” Jon said.
“Tomorrow,” Loxy said.
“And if there is no tomorrow?” Jon asked.
“Then we’ll do it the next day,” Loxy said. She kissed him, squeezed his hands, and he slept.
Recovery included bed rest. There was always someone with him, even though he didn’t need a physical person with all the AI partnerships. Loxy, Fersia, Alish, Keera, and Lester took shifts. The nurse visited him. Jung came and visited him, asking him if he had any experiences that he wanted to share. He declined sharing.
“When you’re ready, son,” Jung said, unoffended.
His memory of this life came back in stages. It was supplemented by ships logs. Simple things caused flashes, impartial memories. Their ship approaching the nebula. An object came out of the nebula- unseen by sensors. It had impacted the ship, puncturing it, and opened up like flower inside. It dumped its contents out, submerging Jon in a pile of slime. It had operated as a living things that had simply punctured the ship and vomited over him. The contents also moved as if alive, flowing faster than lava, a liquid storm that captured him in a glittery, golden, greenish slime. The outer edges of it hardened in the air. He and the command chair were completely encapsulated, like an ant stuck in amber. The reports said he was so encased for about an hour.
“Lie,” was his first thought. “I was gone for…” He couldn’t put days on it. Years. A life time. He had to resist not to fight it.
The reports also revealed that the moment Jon had been revived, the nebular dissipated and was gone. In its place was a solar system. One moonless planet orbited one star. That star, in turn, orbited a miniature black hole. Loxy caught him up on his walks.
He walked every day. Usually, he walked the continuous corridor on the saucer section. The never ending corridor, one of the few that completed an uninterrupted circuit. Others used it for the same purpose, stretch the legs, talk. The faster folks tending to be on the outer wall. A person could be a celebrity here and still walk unmolested. Here, on the ship, he held celebrity status, and he was the Commanding Officer. And he was allowed to walk in peace. They neither avoided eye contact nor made eye contact. He was treated normally. It felt surreal. He wondered if the weirdness was just being back, or that he craved attention, or he wanted to tell his story, or he wanted to test reality.
Loxy came out of his blind spot, tagging him. He stopped, closed his eyes, and shook it off with his hand. “Don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” Loxy said. “There are people on the planet.”
Jon resumed walking. Loxy accompanied him. They went a quarter of the walk without talking. “Okay, this is weird. You’re being weird,” Loxy said.
“How so?”
“You’re not curious?” Loxy asked.
“They’re human,” Jon said.
“I was under the impression, you weren’t reading the reports,” Loxy said.
“Did we hail the planet?”
“No response.”
“You’re sending an away team?” Jon asked.
“Yeah, First Contact team has been chosen…”
“I would like to go,” Jon said.
“I bet you would. Not going to happen,” Loxy said.
“Command Staff, High Conference, please,” Jon said.
Jon surrendered his body to his suits AI, and kept walking, while mentally he arrived at the virtual conference deck, on the circle. On the circle reminded him of the Candace and the ritual. He was able to track that while the other officers and staff members were arriving. The dome afforded a view of the planet they were orbiting. There was nothing particularly noteworthy. Nothing that looked like home. Was it all a dream? It became apparent that everyone had arrived and he had their attention.
“I should go on the Away Team. I might know these people,” Shen said.
He was not bombarded with a bunch of questions. Loxy spoke for the group.
“You’re going to have to give us more than that.”
Jon summarized his experience. They listened to the whole of it without interruption. “So, you had a death experience,” Jung said.
“Near death experience,” House said. “He wasn’t dead. Dead is dead.”
“He was dead,” Loxy said. “No heartbeat. No brain activity. Not some, zero. That’s dead.”
“The material he was engulfed in created a stasis field that slowed time within the gel,” House said. “That’s not dead.”
“From our perspective, he was dead over an hour,” Jung stated.
“Even if you don’t include the time he was encased, it took us ten minutes to revive his heart. His brain activity didn’t resume until the heart resumed,” Loxy added.
“That qualifies for dead.”
“And so, he went through a tunnel and saw a light. It doesn’t mean…”
“No tunnels,” Jon said. “Except in the cave. I guess that’s a tunnel. But no. No light at the end of the tunnel. Except the birth canal sort of counts as a tunnel, and there was a light at the end of that. No. I am not saying I had a NDE. I had a full life. On a planet.”
“Yes, you’re Picard. This is an episode of Next Gen,” House said. Jon nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “There is that.”
“I don’t see any reason to dismiss this,” Jung said.
“There is no evidence for superior tech on this planet, not the kind Jon is alluding to,” Tesla said. “And anyone that could master the three-body problem, creating a stable orbit of a star and two black holes, that would leave a footprint.”
“Not necessarily,” Loxy said. “They could have a gateway, or structure attuned to that other universe. It could be a temple or a simple stone.”
“It could be a single isotope,” Tesla said.
“You’re going to find a single isotope…”
“This planet didn’t just come from nowhere,” Sacagawea said. “Are you factoring that in? And the timing it arrived, well, auspiciously concurs with Jon being revived. That’s something.”
“Coincident,” House said.
“Could they have beamed their planet out of the pocket universe through the black hole?” Jon asked.
“You’re talking about tech far greater than anyone in this galaxy has access to,” Tesla said.
“We were aware of the black hole inside the nebula. Isn’t it interesting that the missing nebula has the same mass as the star and planet that has arrived?” Loxy asked.
“I would like to address the odds of us finding humans on a planet,” Jung said.
“If we agree the planet didn’t evolve here, then the presence of humans is explained,” Chan said. “They were placed. Maybe seeded. Maybe kidnapped.”
“Or knowing Jon, his offspring,” Uhura said.
Jon didn’t argue. Loxy seemed amused. “Grandchildren? Great grandchildren?”
“Maybe. If a species from another universe wanted to explore this one, or communicate with life forms in this one, it would need a proxy. It captured Jon. It made a copy of him, transmitted it into the void between universes. It then also created an environment for him to exist in.”
“It was more than that…” Jon said.
“Maybe,” Uhura said.
“Definitely,” Sacagawea said. “If you assume we are souls, born into this universe, then it seems reasonable to speculate there are other souls, other places with other people that also want to commune with us, the way we come here to commune with each other.”
“That’s reaching,” House said.
“You have seen enough in your life time to affirm the possibility,” Loxy said. “Yes, but here, and now, we are overly speculating,” House said. “There is no evidence that this is anything other than a dream he had while in suspended animation. Or, here is a crazy idea, a memory implant.”
“It could be a download,” Jung agreed. “People get information in all sorts of ways.”
“The planet doesn’t look familiar. I don’t see any evidence for the Great Ridge,” Jon said.
“That could have been a feature a million or billion years ago,” Tesla said. The look he got seemed to warrant him continuing. “We’re dealing with black holes, then we’re dealing with time dilation. Also, any other universe, even a pocket universe that originally twisted off from ours, will likely have either a different temporal signature, or be looped to this universe, or possible even double entry and exit points.”
“So, he had a NDE with time travel,” House said.
“Time travel is par for the course with NDE’s,” Jung said. “Most people report some temporal anomaly, whether it is existing a timeless space, or having experiences that seem to last longer than their physical near death experience lasted.”
“Just sitting on your couch prolongs time,” Jon said. He had to address the looks.
“What. That was funny.”
Loxy shook his head.
“Glad you’re feeling better, son,” Jung said, not offended.
“At any rate, I am on the Away Team,” Jon said.
“No, you’re not,” Loxy said. “If we assume nothing else, this world’s genetic template was either based off or influenced by your genetic code, and your presence could trigger something.”
“He’s not leaving the ship,” House echoed. “Not while he is under my care.”
“I am better,” Jon said.
“Drop and give me fifty,” House said.
“I couldn’t do that before the event,” Jon said.
“That’s my measure,” House said.
“Captain,” Chan said. “You had an experience. It’s probably safe for you to go. It also reasonable to allow your staff to do their job. That’s what they were trained for. That’s why we’re here.”
“Okay,” Jon said. “Unless there is anything else, go low.”
Nothing else, the returned to their bodies. Jon and Loxy were walking together. They came to a halt. She hugged him, then kissed him. “Don’t worry. I got this.”
“I am not worried,” Jon said.
“Then don’t be jealous,” Loxy said.
“I am not… Okay, a little envious.”
“Don’t be that,” Loxy said.
“You never let me do anything fun,” Jon said playfully.
“Oh! Just wait till I get back, young man,” Loxy said.
“Come back,” Jon said.
“To you? Always,” Loxy said.
His eyes lingered on her until she turned out of sight. An officer approached and asked for his signature. Ordinary schedule adjustment. Departmental requests for priority access to expand and or optimize local research based on preliminary findings. Authorizing outgoing mail packets, which contained recognition of latest incoming packets. And that was just the outer-reality function. There was a whole inner domain, the many worlds of the Dyson sphere that comprised the forward section main hull relied on the ship’s exchange; personnel rotation came from an inner Fleet base. A Dyson Sphere that held a star, a known hundred worlds, a million world spaces yet to be assigned and terraformed, and dimensionally shifted so that the outer edges of the sphere was only slightly noticeable as the forward portion of the main hull. The star gave power to the million worlds, it sustained life, and was the primary power source for his ship. Most crew had shore leave inside the sphere. They had second lives in the sphere. Some people had doppelgangers that maintained the inner life. They were transporter clones and they linked brains to get ‘life updates’ so that they had the best of both worlds. He was signing off on mundane, routine stuff- from this life’s perspective, but his life on origin, Earth- still relegated this to fantasy, sci-fi, and wishful thinking. Routine stuff. He signed it and proceeded to the Bridge. Back to work.
Jon heard one of his inner voices say, ‘for an imagined life, there sure are a lot of details to attend to.’ He even had to use the toilet. He got lectures when he used alternatives to waste evacuation, such as beaming it out. “Muscles atrophy when you don’t use them, like your brain is atrophying when you stop using it,” House would say.
He arrived on the Bridge and came away from the door. He was acknowledged and he motioned for people to continue. Officer on the deck came directly to him and asked if he was relieved.
“No,” Jon said. He looked at the man as if trying to remember and then it was there- “Lt. Armagost. Michael E. Sorry, I don’t remember your middle name.”
“Eugene,” Armagost filled in. “So, it’s true. You remember everyone’s name?” There was just the hint of Canadian accent.
“Pfft,” Jon said. “Not even. Don’t perpetuate myths. I just happen to like your last name, so it stuck. Probably doesn’t mean what I imbued it with, but I will keep my ideas about it, if you don’t mind.”
Someone announced the Away Team was prepared to beam down. Armagost looked to the Captain. “Carry on, A,” Jon said, mean ‘eh.’ It was taken in the spirit he was offering it. Armagost performed an eye survey all the command team stations and nodded towards one of the live cameras. “Away Team, be safe. You’re cleared for transport,” he affirmed.
Jon had come forwards, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn’t glass, but it allowed light to pass through. Eight beams came to a center point. A lifetime ago he had been sitting there, minding his own business, with an artifact rammed the ship just over head.
It puncture the ship without loss of atmosphere. It was strategic. They knew. They knew!
“Sir?” Armagost asked.
“They fixed it pretty fast,” Jon said, recovering.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Armagost said. “The probe is presently being studied on the hangar deck. It’s a pretty sophisticated piece of tech.” A Yeoman arrived with a cup of tea.
“I didn’t ask…”
“Sophia recommended I bring it to you,” she said. She wore the uniform with green highlights, denoting life science and or civilian track. Her collar held a distinction pip for merit in the line of service. The ‘Sophia’ she was referring to was his Suit’s permanent AI personality, assigned to him.
“Thank you,” Jon said, accepting the drink. “Poviach. Joan.” He found very little else to go on. His eyes were moist. “I am sorry. I feel like I should know more…” Simultaneously, he was holding an internal conversation with Sophia- ‘if I want a drink, I will ask for it.’ Sophia responded: ‘you’re showing signs of anxiety, and I am offering non-medical remedy in an attempt to be proactive in combating what could be evidence for PTSD.’ ‘I already hold the DX.’ ‘Oh, so, drink the tea. Breathe deeper.’
It became apparent that Poviach had asked something. Sophia translated ‘Do you want anything else?’
“Oh, no. No, thank you,” Jon said. “Sorry. Multitasking.”
“I know the look,” Poviach said, and went about her business. Administration had their own station, aligned with communication.
Jon walked the bridge. There was a bridge station that tracked the Away Team, and somewhere there was a War Room where ‘angels’ watched over individual Away Team members. Their reports flowed up to this station. Between angels and AI suits and AI on the ship, Away Teams had never been so safe. He compared to the days he grew up on origin, no seatbelts, laying in the rear window, riding bikes without helmets, no kneepads. Away Teams today were not coddled, just extremely sophisticatedly protected.
Jon paused at the science station, studying terrain and recording life signs. There was a discussion going on. A cavern was discovered that contained an atmosphere different than the surface life. It also had an abundance of life forms that would not be compatible with surface life-forms. The officer at station realized he was being observed and smiled. ‘LT. Cundy, Ransom’ explained what he and the ‘under-bridge’ teams were looking at it.
“If I am not mistake, there is an Origin analog. A cave in Romania that was discovered with pre-historic life-forms. Atmosphere heavy with sulfur? They thrive in a sunlight space, living off a floating mat of bacteria…”
“I am impressed that you know that,” Cundy said.
“It’s science. It’s cool,” Jon said. “And to think humans discovered that and managed to get in there and take samples and leave without destroying that small ecosphere.”
“That was huge, considering the tech they were using, and the fact they really didn’t understand what they had stumbled into,” Cundy agreed.
“So, why is this strange?” Jon asked.
“It may not be anomaly, but we’re curious. We assume this planet was created with your biology as a template. The nebula went away and the star and planet arrived, and there is no apparent loss of mass for this region- which means this planet was created. Why create a pocket ecological system that by its very nature is isolated and not necessarily contributing to the whole?”
Mystery. “Maybe the planet evolved?”
“In an instant?”
“The blueprint came from my inner knowledge of earth?” Jon asked.
“That’s a theory, but the level of knowledge you would hold, or the amount of data a entity would need to reconstruct a planet to this level of precision is unparalleled, unprecedented…”
“I get it,” Jon said. “They didn’t just have me. They had Sophia. Perhaps access to the ship’s data base.”
“True,” Cundy said. “But why is this level necessary.”
“If you were going to establish first contact, wouldn’t you want your guests to fee