Beyond The Impossible

Humans are lucky enough not to remember their own birth.

Noriko Null is not that fortunate today: she can feel her body grow from a few cells to a fetus, her bones and skin stretching as she ages faster than any human being has ever experienced.

And instead of being gently carried to the hands of a loving mother, she’s greeted into a strange new world by hitting a pile of dust.

She powers through, digging through the dust like her life depended in it. When she finally manages to break free she takes a deep breath, and she immediately regrets that: the air is thick and makes her lungs burn.

<Where the hell am I?> she wonders. Her voice is more high pitched than it should be: looking down at herself, she figures her body has less than ten years old at the moment.

She should be glad that there’s nobody around to see her, but what she sees is too disturbing to give her any positive thoughts. It’s a wasteland, covered entirely in dust and barely distinguishable garbage, under a sky that looks like a static signal occasionally interrupted by stormy clouds.

<Okay. Calm down. I don’t know how I got here, but if there’s a way in there must be a way out.> she tells herself, walking through the wasteland.

She already looks twelve by the time she finds something to cover herself, some kind of clothing half hidden in the dust. It resembles a trench coat, and once she pulls it out bones fall out of it.

She unwillingly leaves out a scream as she stumbles back. She covers herself with the coat: it’s too big for her, but at this rate she’ll grow to her real age soon enough to fill it.

Then she carefully inspects the bones. It doesn’t take her much to realize they are not human.

<This is a Lar skeleton.> she says out loud.

<Oh yeah, the place’s littered with them.> someone behind her replies.

This scares Noriko for a couple of reasons: she didn’t expect to see anyone else, much less to hear her own voice come from someone else… least of all, this particular person.

She has the same body of Noriko, but she has several tattoos all over her body and her long hair has been dyed green. Unlike her, she didn’t bother with any clothes.

<Viper!? How are… you’re supposed to be dead!>

<And how do you figure you ended up here, sister? Welcome to the recycling bin of the Nexus.>

 

Somewhere warm

Max Black wakes up feeling just the worst. Every muscle and bone in his body aches, and he feels drowsy to the point that he gives up any hope of leaving the bed.

Not that he has many incentives; his girlfriend Jane is lying next to him with her hand on his chest, and they are both naked.

<How did I end up here?> he wonders, keeping his voice low to avoid waking her up.

<Does it matter?> she replies, clinging close to his body.

<The last thing I remember is fighting Ares. The Ragnarok must’ve picked me up.> he reasons, getting out of bed despite Jane’s protestations.

He looks around: this is definitely not a spaceship, but a tent with just a bed and nothing else. There aren’t even any clothes laying around.

<Come back to bed, love. Ares is dead and you deserve a reward.> Jane says, posing seductively.

<I’m not really in the mood.> he admits, peeking through the tent: all he can see is a large meadow under a pleasant sun.

<Maybe this would help?> a different voice asks; Max turns around and finds that Jane has been replaced by his former blonde girlfriend Kristen Lynn.

<What the heck!?> Max exclaims, covering himself by pulling the tent over his crotch.

<You fall in love so easily. But you don’t have to limit yourself with me.> “Kristen” adds, by changing form once again: her flesh is covered by pink energy and reassembles himself in the Lampyrian body of Lily Elosia.

<Okay… that’s both creepy and hot at the same time, but I think I’ll leave now.> Max replies, preparing to leave the tent in the form of radio waves… and staying right there, because his body doesn’t respond to his wish to transform.

<Do you really want to leave so badly? You can spend eternity with the woman you love.> “Lily” says, getting out of bed and transforming again into Jane.

<Love? Listen, lady, that’s a very… interesting power you have there, but I don’t even know you.>

<Sure you do. You already love me, everybody does.> she says, her body changing once more.

The pink energy completely replaces her body, which also sprouts wings. Max finds himself facing a winged silhouette made of pink fire, and much to his disappointment it takes a male shape.

<You can call me Eros.> the fire says.

 

Nowhere

Noriko tries to get away from Viper, but the trench coat proves to be too much of a hindrance; the clone grabs onto it, then pulls it to make Noriko fall on the dust.

<You’d be funny if you weren’t so pathetic!> Viper mocks her, jumping on her to keep her on the ground taking advantage of her older body.

<Let me go!> Noriko protests, struggling to break free; she gets really agitated when Viper places her hands on her throat and begins to squeeze, hard.

<Remember when you choked me to death, Null? Because I do. How does that feel!?>

When trying to break her hold doesn’t work, Noriko opts to take a fistful of dust from the ground and throw it at Viper’s face. It’s enough to let her go, and Noriko wastes no time to get away from under her.

<You stupid little…>

<Nothing.> Noriko says.

Viper wipes the dust off her eyes, ready to chase Noriko… but she’s not running away.

<I didn’t feel anything. This is just a simulation; none of this is real, including you.> Noriko deduces, looking around.

<It’s not a dream either. I’ve been here before; this is the Mindscape, isn’t it?>

<I should be so lucky. Us common folk don’t have access to your precious Nexus heaven.>

<What is this place, Viper or whoever you are?>

<Oh I’m Viper, believe me. Well, rather I’m a copy of her mind. Just like you’re not really Noriko Null, just a copy of her thoughts and memories. As for this place…> Viper sighs, raising her arms and then letting them fall in a gesture that says “I have no idea”.

<Okay. Let’s start with what you do know: how long have you been here?>

<Not a clue. How long have I been dead?>

<You don’t know?>

<How the f#ck WOULD I know!? There’s NOTHING to do here!!!>

<It’s been a couple of years. You must’ve been doing something.> Noriko presses her.

<I’ve been exploring. I’ve examined every inch of this place.>

<And you didn’t find anything to wear?>

<You’re just jealous because I wear this body better.>

<As if.> Noriko replies, rolling her eyes.

<No wonder you showed up as a child. Clearly you can’t stand to compete with…>

<You mean you showed up as an adult?>

<I’m a clone, genius. I’ve never been a child. Why does it matter anyway?>

<Well somebody showed up here wearing clothes.> Noriko points out, by making a gesture towards her trench coat. She examines the ground a little further, taking one of the bones in her hand.

<You said you examined the place. How many skeletons had their clothes on?>

<Most of them. Why, you’re itching for a shopping session?>

<Because we have one thing in common, Viper: we were both naked when we got in contact with the Nexus for the first time. My mother inserted it into my brain when she was pregnant with me, and you were built from scratch when I used the Heart Of The Universe to push my alternate personalities out of my head.>

<Thanks for the history lesson. And…?>

<All the people who ended up here were rebuilt by the Nexus exactly as they were the first time they came in contact with it… clothes and all. But why would they end up here instead of the Mindscape like regular Nexus hosts? Unless… unless they were not hosts?> Noriko thinks out loud. She reflects a bit more, then snaps her fingers when she gets the solution.

<It’s a recovery program. This is where the Nexus saves copies of its failed installations.>

<Are you calling me a failure!?> Viper protests.

<You only had limited access to the Nexus because of our connection. These must be the people who tried to use the Nexus without becoming real hosts. That must be why there are so many Lar, they had it for a long time. You probably saw more Eden skeletons, but you don’t even know what the Eden are, so you’d naturally miss them.>

<I have no idea what you’re talking about, Null. But I do know one thing: I wasn’t lying when I said I explored every inch of this place. There is absolutely no way out.>

<Unless we end the program.>

<Oh yeah, like that wasn’t the first thing I tried! Hey Nexus! Shut down the program, right now! See? Nothing happened!>

<The Nexus must be saving the failed connections for a reason. Maybe if it needs to restart an installation. If that’s true… maybe I’m not a simulation. Maybe the Nexus saved my mind inside the recovery program in attempt to repair damages!>

<Keep telling yourself that. I’m sure all these people had the same idea!> Viper exclaims, gesturing towards the vast wasteland of dust and skeletons.

<Probably. But I have something that they, and you, don’t.>

<And what’s that?>

<I am Null. Nexus, update.>

The sky releases a thunderbolt that hits Noriko, and continues to supply electricity as if a circuit was just closed.

<HOST IDENTIFIED. ATTEMPTING REINSTALLATION. PLEASE WAIT.> the sky says.

<I f#cking hate you so much.> Viper

growls between her teeth, shielding her face from the light.

<I know. The feeling’s mutual.> Noriko replies.

<CLEARING THE CACHE. PLEASE WAIT.> the sky adds. The dust begins to vanish, followed by the skeletons. Even Viper is deleted, erasing her from the inside out in a way Noriko hopes can still be painful. The trench coat and the dust clinging to her skin vanish as well, leaving Noriko completely alone in the middle of a vast ocean of static… when the lightning disappears.

<INSTALLATION FAILED.>

<What do you mean failed!? I’m right here! Just try it again! Hey! Do you hear me!?>

The static creates a door, which doesn’t seem too much stable: it appears and disappears from one moment to the next.

<This is probably a bad idea.> Noriko sighs, opening the door.

 

Kythera, 950 light-years from Earth

In order to get away from Eros, Max rushes out of the tent; he doesn’t even care that he’s naked anymore, especially since they are in the middle of nowhere. The winged pink elemental follows him, with his fire passing harmlessly through the fabric of the tent.

<Stop following me! What did you do to my powers!?> Max yells.

<Nothing, I swear! I just found your particles spread all over my mother’s sector and reassembled your body. You have nothing to fear from me! I love you! You don’t have to be ashamed in front of me…see, would this help?> Eros asks, transforming his body into an exact copy of Max’s.

<That actually makes things worse. Look, can’t you conjure up some pants?>

<What are pants?>
<Clothes! And can you please turn into someone I don’t know? This is weird!!!>

<Anything for you, my love.> Eros says, snapping his fingers. A white chiton covers up Max, while at the same time Eros transforms into an African-American woman wearing a pink peplos.

<Better now?> his new female form asks. She looks a lot like Max’s sister Kayla, but it’s actually just his body with a different gender.

<A little. Now… where exactly are we?>

<Kythera, one of my mother’s many brothel-worlds.>

<I think I’ve been here before. Will you help me leave this planet and go back home?>

<For what reason? You don’t want to be with me?> Eros asks, her eyes shining pink with anger.

<No no, it’s… uhm… I want you to… meet my… friends?> Max improvises.

<Oh. Okay! The city’s this way!> Eros replies excitedly, grabbing Max’s hand and beginning what will be a very exhausting journey for Quantum.