Rift
It was a great day for a game. Parks Bonifay sat in the huge arena stands, and looked down at the teams practicing. Vendors trekked through the aisles, looking for customers to buy their wares. The warm smell of food cooking, and the freshly tilled turf made it all worth while to take the day off from the beaten path. The game is known as Power Ball. The object is to hit the opposing team with an electrically charged ball. Once hit, the players hover-board stops operating, forcing that player to be out. Anything short of weapons is legal, causing some to wear protective armor. The crowd cheered as the players began racing around each other, trying to knock the enemy off their boards. Parks cheered wildly as one man was knocked clear off his board, and into one of the vendors. The game continued on, and Parks felt like a kid again. He talked with total strangers about player records; he flirted shamelessly with the young women who passed, offering to buy them drinks. He was enjoying himself immensely, drinking and cheering on his favorite team.
Meanwhile...
" So professor, you're sure these four are the ones we need for this mission?"
"Absolutely. Despite their age, they have the skills we need; besides, it will prove to be a most interesting experiment. Send the Agents to collect them"
It was the final quarter of the game when he heard his name called out behind him.
"Mr. Bonifay?" two men in black, sinister-looking suites, stood there with an air of dominance that made Parks feel two feet tall.
"Yes, can I help you gentlemen?" Parks asked nervously, remembering the horrible rumors about men dressed like the ones standing before him.
"Mr. Bonifay, will you please come with us?" they asked flatly.
" Hey, if this is about me taking the day off from work, I can work double shifts to make up for it."
" Mr. Bonifay, your career is of no importance to us. You will come with us willingly, or we will use force."
"No, no! You cant! You don't have the…" Parks said just before they drugged him.
Everett Fox was laying in his hammock, lazily watching the picture of a cloudy sky dance across his ceiling. He was glad he bought the hammock. He swayed back and forth as if there was a cool breeze gently blowing, matching the motion of the cloudy screen. He didn't care what other people said, he was going to enjoy his retirement! There was a small beeping sound, and the picture of the peaceful sky flashed off, and was replaced with the reptilian face of a woman. It was his cousin Bertha.
"Everett! You lazy bum! Get up and do something instead laying there, wasting away your retirement!" she scorned.
"What do you want you old witch?" he teased.
"I was wondering if you and Alice were coming up here during the dry season. It would be nice to see you two again." She said with a small whine in her voice.
" I'm not the one to ask, call Alice when she gets back in about 1 hour." He replied
" All right, you two take it easy."
"Bye now." he said with a hint of annoyance.
Everett walked across his foyer and to the bar, which he then poured a glass of mineral water to calm himself. He was very easily upset, and nothing got to him better than aunt Bertha did. There was suddenly a knock at his door. He opened it to find two men in black uniforms with a lightning bolt symbol on the collar.
"Mr. Fox?" One of the men asked coldly.
Everett realized who they were and turned to run, but hit the floor before he took two steps, a tranquilizer protruding from his neck.
It felt good to be outside again, thought Jay Templar. It had been two weeks since the asylum released him on parole. He had been sent there on accounts of attempted murder, due to a massive case of paranoia. However, he had gone through rehab and passed, deeming him no longer a threat to himself or society. He knew what was going on though. In the back of his mind, he was positive he had a firm grip on reality about the government's scandals and lies. He just didn't share his opinions anymore. He looked all about him, watching for people following him. He made it to his hotel in one piece. He sighed with relief. As he was checking in, he noticed that the lobby was deserted, except for the manager behind the desk. This was starting to make him get suspicious, but the manager's deep voice cut off his thoughts:
"Your room is 307, and here's your key. Dinner will be served at 7:00. Please enjoy your stay." He said politely.
Jay mumbled a thank-you, and turned to go to the elevators. He ran right into a huge man wearing a suit and sunglasses. The suit was tight fitting, and made the man appear larger than he was (or was that how big the brute actually was?) Jay tried to walk around him, but only found himself up against the man's barrel-like chest. The man growled,
"You gonna come peacefully, or do I have to do it MY way?"
Jay tried in vain to punch the huge man in the throat, but he couldn't find it. He suddenly found himself sliding across the marble floor, slamming into an elevator door. Stunned, he looked up and saw the bad man jab him with a needle, then everything went black.
The day had not been kind to Shondra Diaz at all. First, she was late for work because of traffic, then she got chewed out by her boss. Then her computer crashed, so she had to use the old, outdated one instead. Then a coworker lost an important file of hers, which cost the company a lot of money, and then she was chewed on some more by her boss, and was finally given the sack. Now jobless, she walked home from work because she had missed the last transport to her residence. So when a dark man approached her, asking to go with him, she just snapped. She clubbed the man with her purse, knocking him to the ground, and then she kicked at him with her new red pumps, jabbing him with the pointy heels. The man cried out, and grabbed her ankle, throwing her off balance. She crashed to the ground, fuming with rage, but before she could recover, she felt a needle jab her in the thigh. The world started spinning, and then faded to nothingness.
The director entered the observation lounge, noting the condition of the 'patients'. They were perfect for the experiment. As the other professors entered the room, the four subjects were awakened and brought into the questioning room.
Parks, Everett, Jay, and Shondra all woke to find that they were in a small room, with no visible doors or windows. Everett nursed the lump on his head while Jay started screaming, demanding to know what was going on. A man wearing a white robe waked into the room, sedated Jay so he would calm down, and then seated himself at the metal table. Jay was the first to speak.
"Who are you, what do you want, and how soon can we leave?" he asked all at once.
"First of all, I work for the government branch of scientific research. Call me Dr. K if you wish. To your second question, we have a very important experiment to conduct, and your skills are required to increase the probability of its success. As to your third question, you can leave when you four have completed your mission, that is IF you survive the experiment"
Everett cut him off, saying, "What's this if stuff? Why are we so important to your precious research?"
"I say 'if', Mr. Fox, because there is no garuntee that you will survive the experiment. It is a chance that you will, but as I said, it is an experiment. You four posses the necessary skills that would substantially increase the probability of success."
"But why not send probes or animals to do your stupid experiments?" Shondra demanded.
"Because you are rational beings, capable of free will and the ability to make an educated guess. Plus, " he added, "you are expendable."
"What special skills do we have that you need? And can we refuse to help you?" Parks asked nervously.
"You have two choices: a) you render your complete cooperation to us, and run the risk of death, or returning as heroes of your time. Or b) we jettison you into space with no space suit, and die a horrible and painful death anyway. So it's kind of a no-win situation; for you that is." He chuckled. "As to what your skills are, I will explain momentarily. First things first; I will explain the purpose of the experiment to you, so please try to pay attention.
Your mission is to fly a specially designed space ship through a black hole that will take you to another reality, or as some call it, an ‘alternate universe'.
The four of them sat quietly, not really understanding a word that was just said. The hum of a cooling unit broke the eerie silence, whispering gently. Finally, Parks said, "What are our chances of pulling it off?"
"We have not yet fully worked that out, but when we do, you'll be the first to know." The doctor smiled evilly.
Everett bursted out in a rage, "I have no idea what you guys are talking about, and I want some explanations! How will we find this black hole, let alone go to it? It sounds ridiculous to me."
"I understand your pessimism, but all will be explained." the doctor replied. "For years, our team of scientists have been working very hard to unlock the secrets of the universe. We finally found out how to send a small ship faster than the speed of light, allowing us to cover great distances in a matter of moments. This, however was only part of our discoveries. We also found a black hole about 50,000 light years away, a relatively short distance on the universal scale. So, we decided to test our new ship, and whether or not it's possible to travel to another dimension. That's where you four come in. You don't know each other, so I'll just introduce you. This man with the short brown hair is Dr. Everett Fox. He will be the medical man on this mission. He will also work on the comm. link that allows us to communicate. This man to your left is Sgt. Jay Templar, a war veteran, and was recently released from the Bishop's Asylum, on parole. He will be in charge of tech support, including the finer details of the comm. equipment."
"You mean we gotta travel with a head-case?" Shondra burst suddenly.
"That's exactly what I mean. He has been rehabilitated, so there is no need for alarm. This is Shondra Diaz, who will be the co-pilot. This includes making all the log entries, and assisting the pilot. Last but not least, the mission leader, Mr. Parks Bonifay."
Fear surged through Parks as he heard this. He had no idea how to lead or pilot space ships! He had only worked with conventional airplanes and stuff like that; there were certainly more certified pilots than him!
"I see you are confused Mr. Bonifay. Don't worry, you won't be in control of the ship for most of the journey. When the Negative Drive is engaged, a bubble around the ship is formed, with bands of negative energy on opposite ends of the bubble. This causes space-time to contract in front of the bubble, reducing the distance to the black hole. It also expands the space-time behind the bubble, increasing the distance from the origin. Although you will be traveling faster than the speed of light, the ship itself stands relative to the space immediately around it. This causes no feel of motion, and also no control of the bubble from the inside. " The doctor grinned as he explained.
Their training was 6 months of vigorous exercises and tests. Endless poking and prodding, and Parks swore he lost enough blood to certify to be legally dead. The launch day finally came, and all were nervous about the sojourn. The doctors explained how everything worked, so there wouldn't be room for operator errors. The ship was towed through the atmosphere to its outer limits, where an auxiliary fuel engine moved the ship away from earth. When they were far enough away, Parks gave the order to lock in the coordinates of the black hole, then engage the Negative energy drive. There was a low hum, and all passengers braced themselves against their harnesses, but there was no bump, no jerk, not even an audible noise.
"Are we moving?" Parks nervously asked, afraid that he had already messed things up.
"According to the ship's computer, we are currently moving at 3 times the speed of light, and climbing." Shondra said with an official tone.
Parks felt helpless as he faced the control-less control panel in front of him.
The doctor had told him that while in Negative energy drive, they would have no control over the ship from the inside. Only when they reached the black hole, would the drive disengage, and they would have control again. That was his job, to steer the ship through the Event Horizon, and into its Singularity. Their trip lasted for about 72 hours (3 normal days). When it was time for the drive to disengage, Parks was shaking like a leaf. Jay had checked all the computers, and repaired the parts that needed it (which weren't many), and then Dr. Everett gave him some medicine to calm him down. They were all strapped in their seats, waiting for the big moment. The green light flashed on, meaning that the drive had been shut off. Parks pushed the throttle of the mini rockets forward, adjusting the alignment screws just as he had been taught. There was nothing but black, empty space, an occasional star here and there, but that was all. Parks enjoyed the serenity of space; it was a place you could just let go of all your problems. He was just starting to hope that the scientists were wrong about the black hole, when he spotted on his radar what appeared to be x-rays coming from 1 mile away. They all were expecting to see an actual hole, but there was none to be seen, just a trail of dust miles long. There was a sudden jerk, and the ship was now moving considerably faster through the vast emptiness. Then Shondra spotted it. It had no definite shape, just more like a thin sliver of dust, circling out of existence. That was the Event Horizon! The boundary of a black hole. Parks recited his instructions, trying to keep the ship pointed above the horizon, so as not to rip it to shreds from the entering debris. The ship began to shake violently, bouncing off mere particles as they gained infinite mass, yet became infinitely small. Jay began humming an old war tune as if nothing was happening, Everett was reciting his last rites, Shondra was swearing under her breath, helping Parks keep the ship in one piece. They maneuvered between what looked to be atoms and molecules, careening off of light particles. Then it stopped. There was a flash of light, then nothing but beautiful colors, flowing in incomprehensible patterns. It was like a dream, they were no longer in their seats, but were everywhere. Outside the ship, inside the ship, part of the ship. They were everywhere yet nowhere, floating everywhere, but were immobile. They saw ancient memories, some good, some not so good. They caught a ride on a comet, streaking through the night sky, then went for a dip in a crystal blue moon pool. They wanted to stay forever, but what was forever in a place where time no longer existed? Another flash of light, and they were back on the ship, back to their reality.
Jay looked up and said, "Wow! Let's do that again!!"
Ignoring his drugged friends suggestion, Parks tried to find their location on the radar, but without luck. A thought occurred to him. What if they had traveled to another part of the universe, or traveled through time?
Shondra spoke up, "I'm picking up a planetary system 2 parsecs from here. Should we scan for life?"
"Yes, also look for a breathable atmosphere." He replied.
The next few days were spent scanning for life and thinking about what happened in the black hole. They were still at a loss for words when Everett told them about the planet he found. "It has ample water, and intelligent life, although the atmosphere is thicker than our own, it's still breathable. It's the third of a nine-planet solar system, it's small for a planet, but it has what we're looking for. There is one strange occurrence though; it has an unusually large satellite, its diameter is nearly one-half that of the planet's…"
"Really? I didn't know that was big for a satellite. Well, let's land somewhere inconspicuous, and find out what kind of creatures live there."
They chose a desert canyon to land in, which was near to what they assumed to be a road.
They hiked around the desert, taking holographs of everything they saw. They soon saw some kind of transportation unit coming down the road, so they got in the middle of the road to make it stop. Inside the vehicle was a hairy creature, who stared in disbelief at them. It suddenly started making noises, flailing its limbs in the air, clutching it's chest, then it fell over dead.
Dr. Everett scanned the body, and concluded that the cause of death was some sort of heart failure, which denounced that this race was very primitive indeed. After hours of studying the vehicle, Parks figured out what made it go, then pulled the vehicle jerkily down the road. They finally came to a city, whose primitive signs were still printed in 2-dimensional lettering. The local people were chattering in a high pitched language, making clicks and rattles. Jay tuned the linguator, then began deciphering their words so they could understand. What they heard was,
"Who are those strange people driving in Jack's pickup?"
They continued hearing this, until some light's flashed behind them. A creature dressed in black approached them, holding a hand over what they assumed to be a musical instrument of some kind. This is the conversation that followed:
"Excuse me sir, will you please step out of the vehicle?
"Of course. How can you breathe this foul stench?"
"Excuse me?"
"Nevermind. We are on a mission of great importance, so your co-operation would be helpful."
"Are you feeling all right fella?"
" I am fine. What planet is this, what year is it, and what is your leader's title?"
"Say what? I think you need some special help there buddy, but if you wait right here, the nice people in the white suits will be here in a minute, and they will take care of anything you need."
"Thank you." Jay finished the translation. He turned to his companions and said, "Some kind of high officials are on their way to meet us, and we were instructed to wait here."
They all climbed into the back of an even bigger vehicle when the officials came. It was lined with soft fabric, almost as if it were padding of some kind. As the van moved speedily towards the institute, the four travelers asked questions and admired the soft fabric. When the four were getting out, they started talking among themselves.
"Parks, where are they taking us?"
"They said they were taking us to a place we could get ready to meet their head leader."
And as they were being helped into their white ceremonial jackets that were comfortable, yet impossible to move about in, Everett sprung the big question, the one they had all been wondering about. "What is the name of this planet?"
And the attendant gave him a smile, then said, "Earth"
"Strange name for a planet..." he replied as he was being led into another padded room.
"Where were they found?" The director asked.
"Two miles south of I-50, sir."
"What is their condition?"
"Well sir, they all claim to be from another planet. I think ‘alternate dimension' was the term the patients used. They are all class 3 cases, and will be given regular doses of Thyzine to recess their delirious minds."
"Very well. Send a message to the Westgate Asylum, and tell them that we have some interesting new patients that they can study."
"Very well sir."
With that, the young intern walked down the corridor and disappeared around the corner.
Parks sat in his comfy, padded cell, thinking of what a great day it had been…