The Path

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Yet, how would they define a scream? When I take in a breadth, have I screamed? When I exhale the force from my chest, have I screamed? When my throat tears and rips the muscles of the vocal cords, have I screamed? If the sound reaches your ears, but not mine, have I screamed? Does a scream need to be heard to count as a scream?

Electromagnetic vibrations can carry sound through space. Disruptions by solar winds, planetary magnetospheres, and other sources can reach the vibrational level of the human ears. Recordings of the sounds of planets exists, allowing the listener to feel a glimmer of chilling awe like no other. Yet, we are curious creatures, always wanting to learn more. For our species, genius is not defined by the number of foolish attempts one makes to answer a question, but the by the number of questions that can be raised by the often serendipitous answer. As such, we often perform many odd experiments in the pursuit of answers burdened with more mystery.

One such example is the MR- RIVC, also known as the Mixed Reality Robotic Inertia Vibration Conductor. As technology advanced and so did space travel, some foolish genius created a device to allow a person to experience the vacuum of space. Expecting nothing more than to create an advanced ambient noise generator, the award-winning dunce stumbled upon the most fortuitous discovery of all time.

A simulation that created an excitement and horror never experienced by the scientific community.

Despite intense data analysis showing that the only perception the user should identify while in the MR-RIVC stems from quantum noise, the observer notices more. No recordings exist of these observations, in fact no evidence exist at all of what the observer perceives, yet all reporters are consistent.

The system speaks.

After the inevitable First End came, we began our search anew. Drifting through the vast emptiness, the Arks eventually separated as unity, leadership, and hope eventually depleted itself. Some stayed in contact to spread out the search. Others, we may never hear from again. If it wasn’t for this discovery by the MR-RIVC, I don’t think I would have been able to carry on.

I enter the simulation now, and my colleagues darken the room. Audio feedback is the strongest reported sense, so I close my eyes. The chamber is silent. As learned from past experiments, the body soon begins to hear itself. Blood rushing through veins, heart pumping, the mechanical motion of breathing, the swallow of saliva, even the blink of an eye can be heard. Yet, after a time, the body’s processes become background to a new sound.

Chills, my flesh bristles, muscles tense, I breathe in, agony begins but I can’t take it off I need to listen.

The user begins to hear “The Call” after a period of time. It starts as a low rumble, barely audible over the user’s body, and grows into guttural tone that dips and sways. Eventually the user notices a pattern. Once the pattern is identified, the visions begin.

Jaw clenched tight, head splitting, tears swelling, breadth leaves my lungs, I feel the skin on my bones.

At first, the images do not make sense. Amorphous blobs of black, grey, and red. Ill-defined shapes silhouetted against minimal light. Complex geometries rotating, undulating in unperceivable degrees of freedom. The user will be tempted to open their eyes at this point but nothing changes. The visuals remain, and all users report a sense of dread. An innate fear of the vision occurs followed by a wave of nausea and the user begins to question their depth perception. Some have compared the images to an optical illusion, appearing small until they reach out to touch the object and find that it’s massive. Others report it as being forced to view the universe from angle they never knew existed, like 90 degrees from the x, y, and z axis.

Cold sweat, back arching, throat hoarse and torn, uncomfortable warmth behind the eyes.

At this point the large majority of users evacuate the trial, but the few that remain for another recorded hour eventually see it. Until then, however, the visions continue.

An acrid smell of burnt vinegar invades my senses. I encounter the swirling masses, yet my reference frame misleads me. I can see in front and behind, yet what I pass does not appear where it should. The visions awaken a synesthesia of spiraling madness. My ears shown me more, the gnashing of teeth, I feel the grip and it tastes putrid.

Time drags. Years, Days, Minutes, all feel the same and so distant. Do they hear nothing, I hear everything.

Then, the center reveals itself. But only for a moment. Yet that moment is filled with joy, elation, relief, and calm. For a brief moment, I perceive it all. I understand. This is home. This will be New Earth.

But it lasts only for a moment, before it evaporates in my memory, gone until the next trial. All the prior experiences return at once as a culmination of terror beyond anything I could imagine. Then, nothing. There is nothing left except the path. When I close my eyes that’s all that’s left.

I fall to the ground, unable to stand. They surround me ready to assist. The last image I saw is the path. The path that every user has seen. The path to every positive emotion humankind has ever experienced. The path we will take to our second beginning.

But first I scream, and everyone hears.