Scission

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. They were wrong. Joe’s breath is sluggish. Little clouds of air slowly seeping from her lungs become more ragged as rigidity from the cold sets in. Transient as it may be, birth is painful, but beautiful all the same. The Disa heard her call. The only way forward, is to evolve.

-Journal entry 187 Dr. Josephine Bryndís

Sound waves have negative mass, a form of antigravity, and gravitational waves move through our universe. Gravity exists all around us, as well as in the deepest reaches of space. Since dark matter is present everywhere gravity is, can space still be defined as a vacuum?

Perception lives within a frame of reference, and ours, is severely lacking. Astrophysicists focused on gravitational wave astronomy and particle physics have sought an explanation of dark matter, but our knowledge of its existence hasn’t brought forth a concrete explanation of its composition. An unknown 27% of our universe leaves tremendous room for potentially unrecorded interactions.

My newest hypothesis may greatly impact the results of our test runs; if sound waves repel mass, and dark matter has no detectable mass, it is reasonable to hypothesize that sound waves and dark matter may be interacting. If that currently undetectable interaction facilitates sound being carried into those deepest reaches of space, what may these waves be heard by? What if those sound waves attract the undetectable observer? How might that being, or beings interact with us? What if the testing of specific sound waves through space is the gateway to the unknown, the unlocking of dark matter and its potential inhabitants?

- Earth Side - Pulse Test #43

Josephine’s focus is drifting again. Staring at the computer screen she’s lost in the memory of another dream. Report writing is best left for days unlike these; those where the memories stay locked away far from the forefront of her mind. The gravitational pulse currently running should be enough to keep her focused, but the darker turn her dreams have taken lately give them credence to overtake her typically iron clad focus.

“How is it only 10:30?” she groans. Eyes glazed over and slowly blinking for longer intervals each time her lashes touch, she finally stands. “Another coffee is out of the question. I think running is my only option at this point.” Turning, she sees Freyja is not in her corner bed as she thought. “Damn this glass box, crazy boss talking to herself again.” She stretches from toe to the tips of her fingers before releasing and heading to the breakroom where Freyja is surely charming someone out of their food. “She already had breakfast Aidan. You’re going to make her fat if you keep spoiling her.”

Aidan’s lip ticks up, “We both know that’s not going to happen with you nagging me all the time.” Freyja doesn’t acknowledge my presence or budge from her spot while staring down the ribeye Aidan is slicing. A puddle of drool is steadily forming beneath her as she impatiently waits for her mid-morning snack.

“So, I get to play house wife this week huh? That could be fun.” Joe’s taunt was barely discernable through the mouthful of pastry she was gulping down while hiding her smile. She waited to see what Aidan’s response would be, a dagger in the wall, or maybe threats of poisoned food. Aidan had been the chef longer than any other current employee had been at the compound, and his volatile temperament was one of his more endearing attributes.

“That’s disgusting. How are you going to run after eating, much less after eating like that? Did your latest simulations bomb out already?” Aidan glared over his shoulder while placing the steak on the ground.

Ignoring the comments about her food choices and methods of ingestion Joe coolly responds, “They’re still running, and I can’t sit there staring at the clock anymore. Freyja, let’s go.” Now that the steak is gone, all of 10 seconds after hitting the ground, her ears perk up and she saunters over with her head down and eyes blazing. Freyja is a truly majestic wolfdog, and with her intelligence she knows it. This is definitely how she suckers Aidan out of so much expensive steak.

Once outside Joe and Freyja set off in the direction opposite the housing units. With legs and lungs burning, thoughts of the bone deep cold from her dream begin to dispel. Often dreams are the mind occupying itself while we sleep, other times our subconscious is working out unresolved issues, but sometimes dreams are windows which become access points.

The dream state is a time when our mind is open to impressions from our world or beyond. Joe has always had an affinity for dreams of the precognitive sort. After trying to ignore them for years as a child she was forced to face their legitimacy. She found herself standing in the future she was shown more times than she could ignore.

Born with an insatiable desire for knowledge, Joe is consistently reaching out for explanations while awake and dreaming. The pathways generated by these ephemeral extensions create distortions in the gravitational field. Humans view this as threads of time. Time spent researching, time spent learning from a mentor, time spent preparing a grant proposal. In wakeful times the impact of searching for knowledge and answers is visible and therefore valued more highly. However, neither the threads created via wakefulness or dreams dissipate quickly. The dream state is not so unlike that of the waking world. Our perception, our mind, is what drives existence. Like in the waking world, when reaching out for answers, that which she seeks is sometimes able to reach back. Those entities which exist beyond our perception may gift glimpses into potential futures through these remaining threads, or footprints. How strange that in her current circumstance Joe is ignoring her precognitive gift, when in all prior instances it was never more necessary than the present.

- Recondite Side – Preparation Day 42

Scryer and Echo’s attempts to reach the Earth side have shown little success. Earth and the Recondite have coexisted for a millennium; atop, within, and alongside one another. Stories of gods and monsters, fae and demons, all come from the oral history that grew from interaction with the Recondite realm. There has been no need for interaction for a time longer than Earth’s written histories. Forty-three Earth days ago that need changed. The tool known as LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) hidden in their Alaskan Range emitted a coupled pulse of infrasound and gravitational waves. These pulses have persisted at intermittent intervals but have not abated. The wave velocities are sufficient to propagate via the Namtilla Erish bridge to the Disa.

During her stasis, the realms have known peace. It is unknown how long she will remain dormant if the pulses continue. All that is known, is that she is a chaotic power which facilitates change, similar to what the human’s call entropy. One cannot perceive the Disa as evil as she is a neutral force. What one species sees as detrimental may be beneficial to another. Advantage or disadvantage live only within perspective. She is the force of change, of disorder, of birth. It is essential that we contact Earth, for all visible strings of time now lead to both our worlds’ demise.

Sage approaches the anechoic field but doesn’t enter. He leans against the wall after a quick inspection to ensure its cleanliness. He patiently waits for Echo to exit the field while brushing invisible lint from his suit. “Have you completed your task?” he asks as Echo emerges.

Echo replies flatly, “Scryer continues to increase the dreams intensity while I ensure they stay with Josephine in all waking hours. It isn’t working. We’ve never pushed this deeply into a human’s mind. If we continue, she may become lost in the dreamscape.” Echo’s typically monotone voice highlights her frustration with a slight lilt at the end.

Sage stares at Scryer’s immobile form. “It’s unnerving to see her so still, and without any weapons. I think I prefer her projecting into enemy’s minds over this.”

Sage was not aware the field had dissipated and Scryer could now hear him. “Good to know you like my violent streak.” Scryer jumps to her feet with more agility than any human, draws back her teeth revealing her venom filled fangs, and projects the venom toward Sage. She follows up with a terrifying smile of too many teeth.

The cast has been immunized against her venom, so Sage simply stares down at his newly clean clothing with distain. “How is it that I’m filthier now than I was after a full training session?” Of all the magic Sage wished he could have inherited; atomization was at the top of his list. He despised being dirty.

Scryer drops into a chair and blows out an exasperated breath. “Why did the fucking human have to start this experiment that only a handful of people in their world understand well enough to shut down, in the middle of nowhere, and where she turns out to be our only access point? If we don’t break through soon, we’ll have to cross the barrier.”

Sage is still staring down at his suit with disgust, “You know we can’t do that. If the Lugal found out, they would drop us in their world permanently.”

That is a fate no Recondite could survive with their sanity intact. Knowing their home is flowing around, and through the Earthly realm without being able to access it is more than even their minds can take. The Recondite exist in what humans call dark matter, the direct opposite of light down to a microscopic level. As dark matter does not interact with matter there is an overlap between the two realms. There are a few exceptions to this. One of which is trees. Trees look very different in the Recondite realm, but their essence is firmly planted in both. As one of the only naturally occurring entities that crosses the barrier between realms, they can be conduits. While all trees essence is present in both realms, few have the molecular makeup required to facilitate transport.

Unlike her name implies, Echo does not reflect magic creating repeating patterns. She absorbs magic releasing it in the same form it arrived or manipulating it into specific variations. Using this skill, she is able to traverse the bridge. Typically, she wouldn’t be able to bring anyone with her, but the bonding of the casting ceremony linked her essence with Scryer and Sage. They are a unit in more than name.

“The Lugal need to understand the seriousness of the situation. You know I’m not an alarmist Sage. With each new pulse sent out the distortion amplifies. It is not that there are potential futures that lead to our demise, it is that all I can see in every future is the destruction of both our realms. You know the Disa does not respond to reason or pleas. She will spread disorder. It is her way.” Scryer’s previously playful demeanor had completely vanished.

Echo doesn’t directly respond to Scryer’s comments, but unexpectedly offers, “I will speak with the Lugal on our behalf. I will try and gain permission for a bridge jump if the subject doesn’t respond after our next session.”

Echo’s lack of emoting isn’t due to deficiency of feeling. Her stoicism is a testament to age and self-control. She studied for centuries before she was allowed onto the field. Her power is too immense for her to make decisions based on the interests of the few. She has been trained to only act on the benefit of the masses.

“I thought for sure it was going to be me chatting them up. We all know I’m the most lovable.” Scryer’s leg strap is back in place and filled with knives. She’s moved on to her back sheaths and Krabi style swords. Sage’s sneer could disarm a lesser woman, but Scryer loved to piss him off. It made the sparring more fun.

Sage sighed and began walking away. “Let us know when you can get in Echo. I have a feeling they will want us all present for this discussion.”

-Journal entry 275 Dr. Josephine Bryndís

The gravitational pulse tests have been running for over a month without any statistically significant deviations. It is a bit strange to perform tests without a measurable outcome. Rather than recording and reporting the output we are limited to input only. While these unique parameters have taken myself and the team time to adjust to, I think overall things are going well.

We will continue to run the pulse every day from 07:00-15:00 AKST for a total duration of 60 days. At the very least, our observations of coupling will be immensely beneficial to our Livingston and Hanford partners once declassification occurs. Although we are not producing a traditional output for analysis, we are gathering a multitude of data that will be invaluable in the years to come.

On a personal note, my dreams have been increasingly problematic as of late. I don’t know if it’s my body adjusting to the new altitude again, or the blackout curtains I’ve needed to help me sleep with the long hours of light we’re still getting, but they are more vivid than ever before.

Although they change slightly almost nightly, I always end up back in the same position as the dream progresses. I’m colder than I’ve ever been, my breath coming in sharp painful pulls. I’m freezing where I sit. I’m not anywhere I recognize. I’m dressed in scraps of clothing. I realize my perspective is from the outside looking in, as though I’m viewing myself in a mirror. I’m not though. I’m looking at myself. I see the crystalline clouds of breath leave my lungs, slower and slower, while my body becomes more rigid. As I start waking up my gaze travels up my face and I notice my eye sockets are empty. Realization sets in that although they still work, my eyes are no longer attached. They have been removed and are facing my freezing body.

I don’t know, maybe I have a vitamin deficiency or something. I keep trying to ignore them, but it’s getting harder. I just wish I could shake them during my working hours. They are starting to make it difficult to complete my workday.

- Recondite Side – Preparation Day 44

Scryer is more annoyed than usual, “I can’t believe they made us wait for their next available sit down rather than expediting our meeting.” She is sitting on a bench outside the Lagul’s meeting hall bouncing her leg hard enough her knives may wiggle loose.

Sage is dressed as immaculate as ever in a pin striped suit complete with a cane and hat. He is standing next to the bench to avoid any grime that may have been left by its last inhabitant. “Scryer, if you don’t calm down you will do or say something you’ll regret once we’re in there. You don’t want a repeat of your last meeting.”

“Fuck them and fuck you too. I was right and you know it. There was value in saving the Mertix. They deserved to live just like we do. You know I saw a way to make it happen.” Scryer’s voice was raising, and her eyes were beginning to black out.

“If you don’t calm down you’re going to silk yourself darling. We wouldn’t want the bench getting caught in your web, now, would we?”

His arrogant prickish attitude was not welcomed. This was not the time for pre-sparring antics. “Say one more thing and I may accidentally seal your fucking mouth shut while silking myself.”

Echo opened the door for us to join them, walked out presumably so we could enter as a unified front for the verdict, and halted. “Do I need to reinforce the seriousness of this conversation to you two before we walk in?”

“Please do, I so love being lectured.” Sage’s smile was saccharine sweet.

Echo turned to face the entrance once again and the cast walked into the Lagul’s receiving room. Scryer was only half paying attention to the walkway and was more focused on the rib vaulted ceiling. A secondary set of doors began opening, and then paused. Both Echo and Sage lingered confusedly, but Scryer could already see what they could not. Crystalline filaments were spreading across the ceiling and down the walls.

It was too late. The Disa had already arrived. She would show us all how chaos is born. The universe does love disorder, does it not?