Friday, September 1, 2017

A Dancer in the Infinite - Chapter 54


Chapter 54 End of First Experiment

 

THE END IS NOT NEAR
IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED
WE JUST DIDN'T CARE
– David Wong

Or you may be such a thunderingly exalted creature as to be altogether deaf and blind to anything but heavenly sights and sounds. Then the earth for you is only a standing place- whether to be like this is your loss or your gain I won't pretend to say – Joseph Conrad

 

     First the Ain.  Then Ain Soph.  Then Ain Soph Aur.  And she was back in the Egg again.  She felt the comfort of the reclined seat beneath her, the close confines and screens around her, though blurred she knew exactly where she was.  She felt the IV in her hand and the sensors tug on her suit as she shifted slightly.  She remembered Chandler’s advice and concentrated on seeing more clearly.  Almost at once the burry screen in front of her became clear.  They showed and image an image of Barry and Jackie looking intently at the Egg.  Then Stan came within view and walked over to the intercom.

     “Welcome back.  Are you alright, Marie?”

     She focused on speaking. “I-I-I-m-m  o-ok-kay, I th-think.”

     She watched joyous smiles spread over their faces.

     “Open the Egg up, Stan” she heard Barry say.

     And the Egg opened slowly at his command as Stan pressed the control to do so.  Barry was standing there looking worried and happy all at the same time.

     “You sure you’re okay?”

     “P-pretty sure, yeah.  Wow.  That was more intense than the DMT.”

     “Get her out of there,” Barry ordered, surprising himself it seemed by his own demands.

     Doctor Who hurried over began disconnecting the IV as Jackie worked to unhook the suit sensors from the Egg.  Once Finished Barry reached over and offered a hand to Marie.

     “Best to give me another minute on muscular movements, Bar, that seems to come back last.”

     He stepped back.  Stan appeared nest to him.  “Well?”

     “Well?” Marie repeated, mockingly.

     “Some of us are curious as to what you may have experienced, this being our first attempt at this sort of thing,” Stan responded.

     “Are you sure, you’re feeling okay?” asked both Doctor Who and Jackie in unison.

     “Yeah, I’m fine, or I will be as soon as my muscle control returns, which I feel it doing now”

     She sat up, and looked around the Egg room.  It looked exactly the same as it did when she left, which felt like ages ago.

     “How long was I gone for?” she directed her question at Stan.

     “The Egg was gone for…” he turned and checked the chronometer, “eighteen minutes, twenty-one seconds.”

     “Yeah, that’s about what if felt for me too,” Marie said.  “I went to Earth II as the locals call it.”

     “So, you met Chandler then?” Stan excitedly queried.

     “I did, I was in this exact location, but in a different reality version of it.  There was no village, no chateau, just a grassy overlook on the mountain.  Chandler was there waiting for me, or he came over from his camp right away, whichever, I didn’t ask.”

     “Excellent!” Stan squealed with glee.  “Barry, get this girl some breakfast, ASAP!  Luke, check the internal readings on the Egg!”

copyright 2017 Diana Hignutt

No comments:

Post a Comment