Beyond The Impossible

Null Zone

Even after a couple of days, Ganos Lal isn’t comfortable floating around in zero gravity; she’s lost count of how many times she has bumped her head against the ceiling.

She slowly approaches what used to be the residential area of the original Null Tower, which is now unrecognizable. Gone are the couch and the TV, replaced by every piece of technology that could be transported here by the Nullbots. The robots have also been dismantled and wired into the large metallic object that is occupying most of the room: it’s a ring large enough to let two people inside.

<Lady Null?> she calls.

Noriko Null is floating above the ring, busy welding the final pieces together; she has secured her position by tying one foot to the ring using an optical cable.

<There you are. I asked you to come here like fifteen minutes ago! Where have you been? Raiding the closets?> Noriko asks, lifting her welding goggles to take a good look at Ganos Lal: she’s wearing one of Kari’s pink T-shirts and one of Vesta’s red leather pants.

<My apologies, Lady Null, I tried to wear one of your outfits but they are too small for me.>

<Yeah, uhm, maybe next time don’t even try, okay? It’s creepy.>

<As you wish. May I ask what is this… device?>

<The solution to something I’ve been thinking about since I ran into the Eden. I’ve known about parallel dimensions for a while, from the Null Zone to one connected to the Winter King’s armor, but I didn’t have enough data on how to pinpoint an access. The Eden’s ability to turn intangible gave me an idea on how to shift mass into… are you following me?> Noriko asks, noticing the utter confusion on Ganos Lal’s face.

<I will always follow you, Lady Null. Are we going somewhere?> the Supreme Pontiff asks.

<I was getting to that. To make things simple, now I know how to achieve cross-dimensional advanced hypertargeting.>

<I see.> Ganos Lal nods.

Noriko rolls her eyes as she unties herself from the optic cable and continues:

<You have no idea what I’m talking about. How do I make this simpler? I’ve known for years how to move things between dimensions, but I had little to no control where they would end up; now I’ve solved that problem.> Null explains, floating towards the nearest control panel.

<You may want to hold on to something.> Noriko then suggests, flipping a switch.

The metallic ring glows and hums a low frequency that Ganos Lal can feel in her bones.

It lasts for a few seconds, then it’s followed by the return of the force of gravity. Every object that wasn’t tied to something else falls to the ground, and Ganos Lal stumbles to keep her balance.

<Ah, so the device is a gravity generator?> she asks.

<What? Haven’t you listened to anything I said? Come on, give me some credit, did you seriously think I needed two whole days just for that?> Noriko complains.

Ganos Lal doesn’t respond; instead she shields her eyes from the glare that is coming from outside the building. Only now she realizes that the room is far brighter, and a glance at the windows explains why. They’re no longer floating in the void: from Null Tower, she can clearly snow and ice extending into the horizon.

Noriko takes her N-Phone out of her pocket and smiles proudly.

<Well, how about that, we missed the target by just 47 kilometers! Considering my calculations had to include planetary rotation, the orbit around the Sun and the center of the galaxy, not to mention that we were jumping from another freakin’ universe, I would say that’s an acceptable margin of error, isn’t it?>

 <Are we on another planet?> Ganos asks, trying to distinguish any features in the white landscape.

Noriko rapidly goes from excitement to just sighing in resignation.

<I just made one of my most ridiculously groundbreaking scientific discoveries and the only person to talk about it is the space Pope. Just my luck.>

<Perhaps if you could make it simple again?> Ganos Lal humbly asks.

<We’re in Antarctica, just outside Midgard City. Welcome to Earth, Ganos Lal.>

 

Argos, 100 light-years from Earth

Following the destruction of the Mortal Senate, the Republic’s government is in disarray. The few surviving members have been transferred to an underground bunker, where they set up the temporary headquarters for what’s left of the people in charge.

Kari Zel is escorted towards its center, closely guarded by two heavily armed women; judging by the shoulder tattoo of a deer sported by one of them, Kari recognizes them as former members of the Artemis Hunters.

<Madame President, the representative of the Vanguard is here.> one of them announces.

This gets the attention of the tallest person in the room, the seven feet tall Aura Syzar, Acting President of the Mortal Senate.

<In my office.> Aura replies, walking towards the nearest room. Kari takes notice that she’s quite armed herself: in addition to the gun she carries on her side, her belt holds several small daggers and she has an assault plasma rifle secured to her back.

<You didn’t carry so many weapons when you were a space pirate.> Kari tells her once they’re alone. Aura doesn’t seem to appreciate the friendly banter.

<When I had my own ship I knew I could trust everyone under my command. My husband was assassinated in a church: I’m not taking any chances. Why isn’t Null here?>

<We don’t know where she is. She was kidnapped by the same group that killed Syzar.>

<But they didn’t kill her?>

<I don’t think so. They would’ve bragged about it by now.>

<Did Null kill my husband?> Aura asks, with her hand slowly going towards her gun. Kari has no doubt that a wrong answer would result in her head being blown off.

<Of course no! You know it’s not her style.>

<It isn’t? Killing authority figures and replacing governments is exactly what Null does. When I joined the rebellion against Artemis, I didn’t do it just to replace one goddess with another.>

<Is that why you’ve outlawed Null worship within the Republic? You know she doesn’t want people to worship her!>

<But she’s not stopping them from doing it. I told Alexer we should’ve done something about it as soon as the Church of Null started to get some power, but no, that stubborn idiot wanted to exploit it for his own goals. I knew that trying to outsmart Null would get him killed.>

<Aura, I swear Null isn’t behind any of this. Don’t you see that someone is trying to destroy the Mortal Republic by turning us against each other?>

<What I see is a highly organized coup. If not by Null, by someone who wants a theocratic Republic. That’s not going to happen under my watch.>

<But by outlawing Null worship and enacting martial order you’re just making things worse, Aura. You’re starting a civil war.>

<I would rather see the Republic burn before I let anyone else take it over. If a civil war is what it takes, so be it. Which side is the Vanguard going to take?> Aura asks, this time taking the gun out of its holster. Kari knows at least half a dozen ways to disarm her, but she doesn’t move.

<We are not your enemy, Aura. But we won’t side with you either.>

<This isn’t the time to stay neutral, Zel. What would you do if I ordered an orbital bombardment of Earth? Or… of Myridia?>

<Stay the Hades out of my home, Aura. Myridia is under the Vanguard’s protection.>

<And Argos isn’t?>

The two women look each other in the eye, waiting for the other one to make the next move. There is no doubt on either side that Kari could defeat or even kill Aura without breaking a sweat, but also that there is far more than their lives at stake.

After what feels like an eternity, it’s Aura who backs down.

<You have three days. If my husband’s killer isn’t in front of me by then, I will order a military strike against any planet that refuses to outlaw Null worship.>

<Giving that order is just asking Null to depose you.> Kari points out.

<I know. If she refuses to do it, even if I have to lose everything, it will be the end of this ridiculous religion of hers.>

On the surface

Quantum has been exploring the planet for the past few hours, changing from radio waves to neutrinos to photons, bouncing from source to source. He’s looking for the very distinct energy signature of whoever destroyed the Mortal Senate, but it’s very hard: Argos is a very technologically advanced planet, meaning there is plenty of interference everywhere.

But constantly changing form is quite tiring for him, so he has to turn back human to catch his breath. When he does so, on the rooftop of one of the abandoned buildings that surround the crater that once was the Mortal Senate, someone is watching him from afar.

The man looking at him is alone on another building; he’s so far that he really shouldn’t be able to see him. He looks like an African man with a long beard, but there’s a great deal of cybernetic implants inside his body. One of them is zooming into Quantum’s position, while another one is transmitting radio waves directly into his brain.

<Vector. I ordered you to get back to the base.> he hears the voice of Ulysses say.

<Not yet. This is interesting case study, boss.>

<I told you: under no circumstances are you to approach a member of the Vanguard.>

<This one has been infected by Anubis necrobots and has fully recovered. A detailed analysis of his internal organs could allow us to decode and reprogram the necrobots.>

<Your scientific curiosity is getting tiresome, Vector. Return to base immediately or I will have Skorpios physically taking you here, am I clear?>

<Why did you hire the greatest cyberneticist in the Galaxy if you’re never going to use my talents?>

<Because you delivered the information stored inside Syzar’s brain. Once the civil war breaks, you’ll be free to go back to your experiments. But not now, Vector.>

<If you insist. But remember: this test subject is mine. Vector out.> he says, turning off the communication and turning away from the window… to find himself face to face with Quantum.

<Nice tech. Kinda like the Neural Transmitter, right?> he comments.

In response, Vector takes a step back and points his finger at Quantum: this causes the glass in the window to fly towards Quantum at several times the speed of sound. It’s not enough mass to create a harmful sonic boom, but Quantum would be hit by thousands of sharp projectiles if his body wasn’t made of photons at the moment.

<You’ve set it to a different frequency, sure, but I can hear a far wider range of signals.>

<How did a simpleton like you manage to find me!?> Vector protests, trying to send another signal with his implants. But Quantum is jamming it.

<I was scanning the planet for electromagnetic signals. When I noticed a blank spot, I thought maybe someone was using some kind of personal cloaking device. Is that what some of those implants of yours are for?> Quantum asks, looking through Vector with x-rays.

<You’re not as dumb as I thought. But my cloak also protects me from electromagnetic pulses, so you can’t disable my Drylon device.>

<The device that makes you accelerate mass? Good luck using that against someone who can turn into energy. I guess that’s why Ulysses didn’t want you anywhere near me. Go ahead, accelerate the entire building to the speed of light: I can turn into freakin’ neutrinos, you could literally throw a planet at me and it would go right through me. You wanted to use me as a test subject?> Quantum asks. As he talks, Vector’s wrist twists into an unnatural position to reveal the gun embedded inside the flesh of his arm; he doesn’t have the opportunity to fire it, because Quantum hits with enough electricity to both knock him out and disable all of his cybernetic implants.

<I guess you failed the test.> Quantum boasts before alerting the Vanguard.