passage
Kurama looked around them. "There's just nothing here. It's just black."
Hinson was still unblinking. "I have proximity sensor reading to port, continuous, a wall ... ?" There was a delay. "Similar, more distant to starboard, all around, no pretty lights in Nagas's tube."
"Anything ahead?" Kurama was relying on her eyes, which saw nothing.
"Nada so far, looking .... geezas, I think we're between folds." Hinson was starting to feel disoriented, as if something which normally guided her was missing.
Kurama was frustrated. Physics had never been her long suit. "How is that possible?"
"Who knows? But I just realized if that's true, I have a guess what we might be looking for." Hinson's voice was tinged with wonder.
Kurama was basically just flying straight ahead. "What?"
"A rift from the other side. It's like we're in a mousehole. Wherever light shows up, that's where we go." Melanie was getting strangely excited.
Celia Kurama looked at Hinson. "Okay, let's say I like that theory. What if we shut off the interior lights?"
"Good plan!" Hinson flipped the low light overheads down, then unbuckled her belt.
Kurama looked at her. "What are you doing?"
Melanie now wished she'd not turned the lights off. "We need a cover for the instrument panel."
Kurama thought a second. "Blankets on the cots."
"Yeah, good." Melanie grabbed two thick dark ones, pulled herself through the air and splayed them over the instruments as best she could.
"That's frackin' scary dark." Kurama wasn't smiling.
Melanie had made it back to her seat. "Yeah, I don't think there's anything here, photons, gravitons, you name it, it ain't here."
"No EMF here, either. Feel it?" Kurama was experiencing her own disorientation.
Hinson didn't like that at all. "My brain feels like it's dissolving in warm water."
Kurama nodded. "Yeah, mine too." A pause. "The instruments will be crap."
Hinson had a long, slow realization. "Oh, no they won't!"
"Why?"
Hinson was beginning to see clearly now it was absolutely dark. "Because out here, we're all there is."
Kurama's instincts struggled to the surface. "Shit! Weaps!"
Hinson grinned. "Yeah! Heat-seekers!"
She picked up the transceiver. "CAC, Flight, do not be alarmed, we are activating all weaps' heat-seekers right now."
Not so much as a crackle. Hinson realized all the comms were out.
"Geezas, Hinson!" Kurama sounded awed.
"What? What?" But Melanie saw the only light there was the instant she turned back.
Under the dark, thick blanket, a faint orange glow, flashing, a target acquired.
Hinson ripped away the blanket. "Geezas!"
Kurama was working her controls. "It's a ways off ... couple of hundred thousand kliks."
"Five hours?" Melanie was approximating.
"Who knows out here?"
"But if there are no photons here ..."
"What?"
"We've brought dust in here from space, maybe garbage residue fired out of the docking bays ...?? "
"And now we see light." Kurama was impressed. "You are one smart chica."
Hinson's voice was low. "We may be God."
Kurama had clearly followed her train of thought. "So a rift is where ..."
Hinson sounded dreamy, speaking as if in slow motion. "Fullness meets emptiness, fullness moves into emptiness."
Kurama felt it was like pulling teeth. "So garbage plus light equals ... ?"
Melanie said it softly. "Genesis."
Melanie Hinson & Celia Kurama, godz in this part of MultiVerse.
Kurama had little respect for most religions. "Great, only five more days of this and we get a day off."
Melanie Hinson chuckled until it happened.
The rift they couldn't see because they were inside it ended abruptly and the humble vanguard of Earth's privileged and powerful popped back into existence half a million kilometers away from what appeared to be a blue planet.
Hinson was still unblinking. "I have proximity sensor reading to port, continuous, a wall ... ?" There was a delay. "Similar, more distant to starboard, all around, no pretty lights in Nagas's tube."
"Anything ahead?" Kurama was relying on her eyes, which saw nothing.
"Nada so far, looking .... geezas, I think we're between folds." Hinson was starting to feel disoriented, as if something which normally guided her was missing.
Kurama was frustrated. Physics had never been her long suit. "How is that possible?"
"Who knows? But I just realized if that's true, I have a guess what we might be looking for." Hinson's voice was tinged with wonder.
Kurama was basically just flying straight ahead. "What?"
"A rift from the other side. It's like we're in a mousehole. Wherever light shows up, that's where we go." Melanie was getting strangely excited.
Celia Kurama looked at Hinson. "Okay, let's say I like that theory. What if we shut off the interior lights?"
"Good plan!" Hinson flipped the low light overheads down, then unbuckled her belt.
Kurama looked at her. "What are you doing?"
Melanie now wished she'd not turned the lights off. "We need a cover for the instrument panel."
Kurama thought a second. "Blankets on the cots."
"Yeah, good." Melanie grabbed two thick dark ones, pulled herself through the air and splayed them over the instruments as best she could.
"That's frackin' scary dark." Kurama wasn't smiling.
Melanie had made it back to her seat. "Yeah, I don't think there's anything here, photons, gravitons, you name it, it ain't here."
"No EMF here, either. Feel it?" Kurama was experiencing her own disorientation.
Hinson didn't like that at all. "My brain feels like it's dissolving in warm water."
Kurama nodded. "Yeah, mine too." A pause. "The instruments will be crap."
Hinson had a long, slow realization. "Oh, no they won't!"
"Why?"
Hinson was beginning to see clearly now it was absolutely dark. "Because out here, we're all there is."
Kurama's instincts struggled to the surface. "Shit! Weaps!"
Hinson grinned. "Yeah! Heat-seekers!"
She picked up the transceiver. "CAC, Flight, do not be alarmed, we are activating all weaps' heat-seekers right now."
Not so much as a crackle. Hinson realized all the comms were out.
"Geezas, Hinson!" Kurama sounded awed.
"What? What?" But Melanie saw the only light there was the instant she turned back.
Under the dark, thick blanket, a faint orange glow, flashing, a target acquired.
Hinson ripped away the blanket. "Geezas!"
Kurama was working her controls. "It's a ways off ... couple of hundred thousand kliks."
"Five hours?" Melanie was approximating.
"Who knows out here?"
"But if there are no photons here ..."
"What?"
"We've brought dust in here from space, maybe garbage residue fired out of the docking bays ...?? "
"And now we see light." Kurama was impressed. "You are one smart chica."
Hinson's voice was low. "We may be God."
Kurama had clearly followed her train of thought. "So a rift is where ..."
Hinson sounded dreamy, speaking as if in slow motion. "Fullness meets emptiness, fullness moves into emptiness."
Kurama felt it was like pulling teeth. "So garbage plus light equals ... ?"
Melanie said it softly. "Genesis."
Melanie Hinson & Celia Kurama, godz in this part of MultiVerse.
Kurama had little respect for most religions. "Great, only five more days of this and we get a day off."
Melanie Hinson chuckled until it happened.
The rift they couldn't see because they were inside it ended abruptly and the humble vanguard of Earth's privileged and powerful popped back into existence half a million kilometers away from what appeared to be a blue planet.
