Beyond The Impossible

Lampyria, 68,000 light-years from Earth

Lily Elosia lands in front of the temple of Zeus, moving past the flock of Lampyrians that circle the building like vultures. Once there, she meets with the Demon stepping out of a flaming pentagram and a man turning his body from radio waves to flesh and blood.

<Man, this place stinks like crazy. No wonder Lampyrians don’t have a nose> Quantum complains, adjusting his helmet. He could remain a hologram and avoid the need to use the environmental suit, but there’s no way he would pass the opportunity to interact with an alien world.

<I’ll be there in a second, let me secure the place> Lily tells them, talking with the other Lampyrians in an incomprehensible language.

<We should have waited for Null> Torn complains, to which Quantum answers:

<She’s not exactly in her best shape right now, and in case you forgot the Oracles will be here soon.>

<And?>

<And they seem pretty determined to kill us.>

<We can kill them first.>

<Torn, you’ve seen what they can do. They have my powers.>

<And?>

<I’ve missed you, Torn> Quantum tells him, patting his back.

<No, you haven’t. You just hit my back.>

<We’re in, guys. The others will make sure we’re not disturbed> Lily informs them, landing again while the other Lampyrians form a barrier in front of the temple.

-They seem pretty chill about having aliens and Oracles around> Quantum notes.

<I’ve recruited them in the Covenant. I trust them completely> she says.

<Lily… that doctor you left in charge of Noriko? Are you sure she knows how to treat a human?>

<Don’t worry about Null, Liralia will take care of her. This is why I called the Vanguard> she says, kneeling to remove a rusty manhole. Noticing she’s struggling with the weight, Quantum helps her and is surprised by how light the metal object feels in his hands.

<Check it out. Lower gravity> Quantum says, throwing the manhole in the air and catching it when it falls. He repeats it a couple of times, then Torn snatches it from his hands.

<We’re not here to play> he chastises him, folding the manhole in half and throwing it away.

<Follow me, but don’t touch anything> Lily instructs them, getting inside the secret passage.

They follow her, expecting to see the lower floor; Quantum is even ready to create a light to illuminate some dusty old room.

What they find is nothing short of amazing. It’s hard to tell where they are, exactly: they’re standing on a hill overseeing a valley, but there’s still a ceiling complete with endless rows of neon lights.

Only half of them are working, and most of those that do flicker erratically. It’s basically one gigantic room, slightly more than a hundred square miles, and it’s mostly covered in snow. There are Lampyrians flying around in the distance, cataloguing the enormous amount of artifacts.

There are entire buildings, ships, even temples scattered everywhere, and they’re distinctly alien.

<Holy s#it> is all Quantum can say.

<Indeed> Torn concurs, whose stoic demeanor is the opposite of Lily enthusiasm as she exclaims.

<Incredible, isn’t it? A secret Lar city, hidden inside a superimposed dimensional layer!>

<Bigger inside, smaller outside?> Quantum asks.

<That’s an oversimplification, but close enough. From what I could gather, the city is at least a million years old; that’s over ten times older than the entire existence of my species!>

<Have you recovered any Lar technology?> Torn asks.

<No, whoever left this place made sure to get everything except this> Lily says, flying towards the black monolith near the secret passage. It has two silver symbols: one looks like a key, the other like the symbol for infinity.

<When Null told me she was looking for the Key of Heaven, I thought this might be related. Besides, it’s not the only occurrence of the symbol; come look at the statue> she says, flying farther away from the hill.

<What statue?> Quantum asks, following her as a ray of light. When he stops and looks back, he realizes that one side of the hill has been carved to show a man holding a key in his hands. And the man has the infinity symbol sculpted on his forehead.

<Let me guess: that’s not an actual key and you have no idea what it means> Quantum says.

<Yeah, I wish it were that simple> Lily shrugs.

 

N07-Naraka, hidden beneath a swamp

A duplicate of Kari Zel activates the teleporter, and three people appear in the infirmary: Vesta, another Kari sitting on a wheelchair, a Lampyrian woman, and an unconscious Noriko Null laying on a stretcher.

<What happened out there?> Kari asks, checking on the other Kari while creating an additional duplicate to look more closely to Noriko.

<Alien technology. Lily told me about this stuff, but this is far more than I even imagined> Doctor Liralia comments, her jaw dropping as she looks at the medical equipment.

<Do you know how to use this stuff? Lily seems to think you can help Noriko> Vesta says.

<I hope so. Do you have one of those machines that can see inside a patient’s body?>

<Like an X-Ray machine?> Kari asks, uncertain about the doctor’s qualifications.

<Yeah, that. I’ll need your help as well, I’ve never touched anything more complex than a scalpel.>

<I have some medical training, but most of this place is fully automated> Kari explains, moving Noriko to the medical bay. At the press of a button, it takes the infirmary a couple of seconds to record her vital signs and transmit them over a holographic screen.

<Wow. Just imagine what my hospital could do with this tech on my planet…>

<A full examination will take a little longer> Kari says, setting up the machine for a body scan.

<So, uhm, Liralia, what kind of doctor are you exactly?> Vesta asks.

<What do you mean?>

<I mean… actually, I don’t know how to put it more simply> Vesta admits.

<Do you have a specialization? This looks like a job for a brain surgeon or something> Kari adds.

<Why would I need to… oh, I see. Human doctors must need to take care of far more many issues because of all your diseases.>

<What?> Kari asks, confused.

<I remember now, Lampyrians don’t get sick. Like, ever> Vesta comments.

<You bring it up now? You never thought to mention it?> the Myridian complains.

<Hey, you try to remember something you’ve casually heard five thousand years ago!>

<Lampyrians may be physically weaker than humans, but our immune system is far superior: physical trauma and old age are basically the only way we can die> Liralia explains.

Both Kari and Vesta have a million more questions, but the medical scanner demands their attention when it shows an X-ray of Noriko’s skull.

<Remarkable> Liralia comments. The Nexus can be clearly seen in the scan, as a metal bar twisted in the shape of the infinity symbol, right inside Noriko’s brain.

<Benign cerebral hypergrowth stimulated by a symbiotic Drylon device. And I think your Demon friend was right… the device has been damaged> she says, pointing at a microscopic dent in the device. Kari can’t see anything, but Vesta can barely see it if she squints hard enough.

<How? I thought Drylon devices were nearly indestructible; Myridia’s Monolith sits on a planetary core> Kari recalls.

<I’m more worried about your friend: her brain is highly mutated, but I can still recognize intracerebral hemorrhage when I see it. We’ll need to operate> the doctor reveals.

 

The Mindscape

In a huge triangular room, with dark stone walls illuminated by torches, a door opens. The Scribe leads the way, followed by Noriko Null; he’s still just wearing his loincloth, but now she’s back to wearing her trademark leather jacket. She recognizes the place: they’re inside an exact replica of the Dark Pyramid, the Scribe’s mothership before she destroyed it.

<Are we still inside your portion of the Mindscape?> she asks.

<Not entirely. When my original body died of old age and radiation poisoning, I transferred my consciousness into my first clone; however, whenever I tried to install the Nexus into a clone, he would die. When two hundred years of experimentation gave no results, I tried something more creative> the Scribe explains, pulling one of the torches.

The wall retracts, showing five dead bodies inside separate pods: four men and a woman, each one of Ancient Egyptian descent, and everyone with a twisted and terrified expression on their faces.

<Subject #1 was an abject failure: he died six minutes after installation because his brain couldn’t handle the massive amount of information. I spent twenty years mentoring Subject #2 to shape him into the most intellectually gifted person in human history, myself excluded; he survived seventeen hours before killing himself. Subject #3 was the first truly successful installation, possibly because it was carried out shortly after birth.>

<You put the Nexus inside the brain of a newborn?> she asks, happy to have already killed this monster before. The Scribe continues his emotionally detached history lesson:

<He survived until his twentieth birthday, when his Abyss state manifested and he revolted against me. I had to kill him, of course.>

<His “Abyss state”?> she repeats.

<Many Nexus hosts manifest a malignant and extremely violent alternate personality. The same happened to Subject #4, although she managed to reach the age of sixty-seven. Subject #5 wasn’t as lucky: he died three years after installation when the robotic servants he created accidentally achieved sentience. Subject #6 also fell to his Abyss state; he reprogrammed the last remaining robots before I could process his mind and escaped.>

<What do you mean with “process his mind”? And where is he?> Noriko asks: there are only five capsules after all.

<When a host dies, the Nexus downloads all his or her knowledge into the Mindscape. I was able to siphon that knowledge into my own mind; they don’t truly exist here.>

<Why are you telling me this, Scribe? Do you plan to steal my mind as well?>

<I’m not really here, Null, I’m just a shadow of the real Scribe… who is now dead. I couldn’t steal your mind even if I wanted to. But I can send you to the Mindscape of Subject #6.>

<You’re not exactly the most generous person I know, Scribe. What do you want in return?>

<Discover the true history of the Nexus. I couldn’t do it by myself; but I’m a part of you now, so in a way it’ll be a revenge against the subjects who rebelled against me> he explains, pointing at the other end of the room: another door has just appeared out of nowhere.

<I’m already searching for the Key of Heaven: I don’t have the time to investigate another mysterious ancient artifact, not even one that’s inside my head. Why don’t you just tell me how to get back to reality?>

<There… may have been a misunderstanding, Null. I’m helping you finding your place in the Mindscape, but you can’t escape it.>

<Let me guess: it’s impossible, nobody’s ever done it before, that kind of thing? Please, that’s just an excuse for people who aren’t me.>

<You may be the latest host of the Nexus, but you’re still the host. The Mindscape is write-only for us: I told you, when a host dies… oh. I see where this could get confusing.>

<No s#it. For the second smartest person in the galaxy, Scribe, you really suck at explaining things.>

<Null, haven’t you noticed that you’re dead?>

<WHAT!?>

<You’re here because the Nexus can’t sustain your mind anymore. In layman’s terms, you’re currently brain dead.>