TRICUNIUS 2533

TRICUNIUS 2533

This book is dedicated to my son, Alexander George Semenyuk. 

 TRICUNIUS 2533

In the 2500s, humanity is on the brink of extinction. Humans’ technology is incredibly advanced, yet they are no longer able to reproduce. The natural ecosystem is dying and the sun is growing dim.

There is something resembling a small black hole that has formed at the edge of the solar system and after many years of research and development, scientists concluded that this mysterious area is affecting the planet and its inhabitants. A space station, Tricunius, was sent to initiate closer examination of the mini black hole. Tricunius has new gravitational technology and is able to exist next to the hole as its own planet. However, after just half a year, all communication with Tricunius was mysteriously broken. The last messages received by the command center were very disturbing. 

In 2530, a brilliant astronaut and investigator, Noah, is sent to find out what happened. He is sharing his ship with an android, who is meant to wake him from a stasis condition within six months before reaching their destination. The rest of the crew, six men and six women, are to be woken by Noah upon reaching Tricunius. Target date of arrival is January, 2533.

Chapter 1

 Awake at Last

Waves slowly caressed the sand and brushed my feet. I was smiling, in fact I almost cried with joy. The sun was slowly going down, bringing with it the most gorgeous colors. I raised my hand against the light, wishing I could make actual contact with it. So beautiful…

I have been experiencing a life of peace and calm for some time, and I cannot even remember what life was like before this. What was it? I am curious.

Suddenly, in the sky appeared a large pelican. He watched the water and circled. Then he suddenly dove. I laughed with excitement as I watched him emerge instantly with a fish in his beak. 

“Yes! Well done!” 

I heard more laughter behind me. My wife and child were back from the store, and our big shaggy dog galloped toward me in the sand. 

Suddenly, the sky changed to a color I had not seen before. It was almost dark grey…no, dark silver perhaps, almost metallic. 

“What’s happening?” 

I turned to my family, but they were no longer there. 

First came the distant buzzing…

It was slowly drawing me away from the beauty I was so wonderfully enjoying. From my world…which wasn’t a world at all. 

As my eyes opened for the first time in two and a half years, I felt sharp pain and stinging, and I felt tremendous dizziness. I closed my eyes again as real memories began to slowly crowd in, destroying the beautiful world I had gotten used to. 

“Time to wake up, Noah.” 

It was a pleasant female voice. I tried to open my eyes again. Same result. I closed them. I wanted to tell her my problem, but I couldn’t speak. 

“What you are experiencing is normal. I must change your nutrient intake tubes and then perform multiple massages and pressure techniques on your body. It’ll take about two hours to sit you up and for you to speak. After that, you’ll take your clothes and will be transported to the shower. Noah, while your muscles were stimulated inside the chamber, you’ll still have trouble walking the first few days, and for another two weeks you won’t be completely recovered from stasis.” 

I tried to take it all in, to remember more. It was as if she could read my mind. 

“You will be shown videos after you are fully awake to bring you up to speed and to update you.” 

That beautiful world…I remembered how Earth looked now, for real. Desolation. My wife, her sad face as I left…I remembered it now, and my son, one of the last children who was born. Twelve years old, a young man in need of a father. I am doing this for you, my boy, whatever it is.

“You are the best, Noah.” 

“You are the only one we can trust, Noah.”

“There is no other astronaut with your investigative skills, Noah.” 

I could hear their voices now. I remembered. My lips shook as I attempted to speak again.

“Try to relax, it’ll be fine.” The woman’s voice again. Who is she? Wait, yes…AA37, the highest Advanced Android model, female version. A skilled doctor and pilot. 

God. I had wanted that world to be real so much! Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe there is still hope. 

“Haaaa! Aaaa!” My lips split involuntarily as I felt a terrible jolt of pain. 

“This is normal. It’ll pass,” said the voice, reassuringly. Calm and melodic, yet artificial.  

I felt pressure around my ribs and chest next, I opened my eyes again, and this time the dizziness wasn’t so harsh. However, my vision was a bit blurry. I tried hard to focus.

I could see her hands moving rapidly. She wore a long-sleeved dark blue outfit. As I began to see properly, her face was as I remembered it, but somehow it was different. She had dark long hair and brown eyes, and her skin looked smooth. 

“Your memory serves you right; I can tell by the focus of your eyes on my features. I changed the color of my hair and my eyes. It’s boring not to.”

Boring? How can an android be bored? How can she even understand what boredom is, truly? 

She stepped away and quickly came back with some plain white clothes. “You have all kinds of clothes in your room, but this will do for now.” 

“Tha..nk…” It was still hard to speak, but I was starting to manage. 

The android smiled. “Good work, Noah, you are progressing faster than calculated.” 

I nodded as she helped me sit up and get dressed. Only then I realized how long my blond hair had gotten, and I felt a thick beard and mustache. These will have to come off as soon as possible, I thought. 

She then helped to get on  a hover chair device.  It seemed as though we spent about ten minutes going from one dimly lit black metal hallway to another. Finally I reached my room. She placed a box on the side of my device as the door slid open.

“Take your time. Inside the box is the pad with all the videos, messages from the station, plans, instructions and Tricunius map. Inside your room you’ll also of course find food, water and vitamin tubes. The closet with all the clothes is on the right side. Try to begin moving your legs and walking as soon as possible. Here is your communication watch. Call me anytime. I’m going back to the command center.” 

I nodded and took the watch, and as she left I hovered into the room and the door slid shut. The first thing I noticed was that the far wall was made of special glass, allowing me to see the space around us. For a moment I was frozen in astonishment. I had never been this deep in space before. It was a view to behold. 

Chapter 2

 Strange Messages and the Command Center

The first thing I did, after staring at the stars, was to activate the grooming machine. The flying robot zoomed around my head, and performed the job quickly and neatly. I looked at the mirror and recognized my proper self. Clean shaven, short hair. 

I took the communication tablet and tried to stand, and almost fell over. Holding on to the wall I made it to my table near the window. My wobbly legs got me there, so that was a good sign. I’ve got this.

I pressed the activation button and the tablet’s screen lit up. I was pleased and relieved as I tried to speak, to find I could do so again.

“Tricunius crew records, final ten messages.” 

The tablet began playing the first recording. There were incoherent screams from several people. Then it got quiet. The tablet indicated that a video was available. 

“Show it.” 

On screen appeared a young woman. I recognized her; she was the doctor of the mission. Her face was pale, she had scratches on her cheek and forehead, and her lips were shaking. 

“He…he…is inside their heads…inside my head…soon I won’t be able to fight it!” She began to cry and the video was cut off. 

The next several recordings were more incoherent screaming and talking, and there were phrases in a language I did not understand. 

There was one more video recording. The screen showed an older man with grey hair. His posture was hunched and he looked exhausted, with large dark circles under his eyes. 

“The deceiver…Belammon…” His hands shook as he said this. “Don’t come here, don’t come here!” 

The final message was from the captain. It was strange and cryptic. 

“In the depth of the black sea of the cosmos, we find the voice and it guides us to our destiny. For my eyes are of darkness and my hands are of stone, I serve only one master. We all must be gone.” 

What? I shook my head after listening to these recordings. Had I heard them properly? Maybe I should have rested more before listening. 

I once again used the wall as I moved over to the closet. It was a walk-in type and as I entered, a light turned on inside of it. At first I reached for a simple light blue outfit, but remembering the recordings something stopped me, and my eyes were drawn toward a thin black bodysuit. It was an armored suit, but very light. We were still some time away from our destination; was it wise to allow any paranoia to set in? 

I went ahead with the casual blue outfit. I also decided to look at the map of Tricunius later. I pressed the button on my watch. 

“Yes, Noah, how may I assist you?” the android’s pleasant voice answered.

“37, will you come here? I’d like to walk without the hover chair, but will need assistance. I want to speed up the process.” 

“Certainly, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

Would she run? The command center was about ten minutes’ walk away. Maybe few minutes for her meant a few more than it meant for me. 

Yet only three minutes later she was at the door. Since these androids do not get fatigued it was impossible to say if she had indeed run. 

Then I realized how ridiculous this line of thinking was. Why did I even bother considering these details? Perhaps that’s why they had chosen me, the detail-orientation. 

“Let’s go, Noah.” 

“Yes, please.” 

Holding on to her shoulder, I ventured into the long black metal hallway. I noticed she was about the same height as me, however, my thoughts quickly switched back to the hallways. 

“Why couldn’t they have made a happier design?” 

“Would that make a difference in our mission?” 

“Who knows?” 

“I believe it wouldn’t. Your prior testing indicated no mental issues.” 

“Ah, well, good to know.” I was somehow relieved at this reassurance.

I realized that for an android such a complaint was complete nonsense. No matter how advanced you make them, there are things that only humans can comprehend. Isn’t that a masterstroke of God?

“How are your legs, Noah?” 

“In pain, but it must be done, I’ll make it.” I gritted my teeth, and in less time than I would have thought, we entered the command center. I sank into a soft black chair and leaned back. 

“So, 37, any updates? By the way, I saw your file said that you may be addressed as Alice as well. Which do you prefer?” 

“It makes no difference to me.” 

“Alice it is.” 

There was no acknowledgement from the android. “Now to the updates, here are our coordinates and trajectory. We might get there sooner by two weeks. It’s not a major factor as you should be fully recovered very soon.” 

“No issues with the ship? Crew capsules?” 

“No, but we have been receiving unusual vibrational activity.” 

Should I be alarmed or not? “Hmm?” 

“Frequencies, our main computer can’t quite decipher them. They seem to be messages, but sound like static. We do indicate that the frequency of these messages goes up and down very irregularly.” 

“Can you send some of those to my room please, to my tablet.” 

“Instantly.” 

“Do we have coffee? Board games?” 

“Many types of coffee are available in your room. And your favorite games. I assume you have not eaten anything yet. You would have seen everything you upon entering your kitchen section.” 

I sighed a little. “Ha. Yes, just a vita tube, but I will check everything once I’m back. Maybe after I get some more rest, tomorrow we can play a game.” 

“After I run all the basic daily analysis.” 

Well, naturally. “Of course, Alice, of course. I am starting to feel dizzy again. Let’s use the hover chair after all, to get me back.” 

“Will you be all right on your own?” 

“Yes. I will see you later.” 

She nodded as the chair took me into the hallway. Just like that I was mostly caught up with our mission. But before I did anything else, I lay down to rest--as if I hadn’t done enough resting for the past two-and-a-half years. 

Chapter 3

Map and Games

The white metallic section of the wall slid to the side, revealing a small cozy kitchen with a tiny round blue table and a smooth chair. There on the side stood the coffee maker. Right above it was a transparent cabinet with all the coffee selections. 

I went closer and ran my finger over the logo of the coffee maker. It was an old Italian company. Impressive that it had survived this long.

Memories of sitting on the porch with family, drinking coffee, came rushing in. 

Maybe I should have said no to this mission and stayed with them. Earth would still survive for several generations. Then I shook my head. No, those are bad thoughts, got to get them out. I have a big task ahead of me. 

Let’s see now. I began to look over the brands of coffee. 

Brazil medium roast. I took it off the shelf and opened the lid. The smell was wonderful. It reminded me of my life by the ocean. Should I have this one?

French roast, Italian, Middle East blend, all available. No, it’ll be Brazilian. I thought of the ocean again as I placed the coffee into the machine. It made a grating sound and then there was a tall cup with dark coffee in it. I opened the giant fridge on the opposite wall. It was stacked with various sandwiches. I wondered what kind of preservatives were used to keep them fresh for this long. But did it matter at this point? 

I took a roast beef sandwich and leaning on the wall tried my best to walk straighter than before. I placed my drink and food by the window and then brought the tablet over as well.

Outside was another ocean, even more mysterious than the one on our planet. An ocean of stars, black holes, meteors, nebulas…and secrets beyond what the human mind could comprehend. 

Somewhere in another place God looked upon everything. But how about the darkest depths of it all, tucked away in the far corners of the universe, perhaps the most incredible and terrifying black holes, hiding within them things unimaginable. Things that I did not wish to meet. 

I took a sip of coffee and activated the hologram map of Tricunius. It was huge, overwhelmingly so. I first located all the places that the final messages had come from. They were all located near the giant command center, a circular structure. That place alone was almost as large as our ship. 

Tricunuis was the size of a town. A town which had gone silent. Was there anyone left alive there? I looked into the distance. In less than six month I would find out. I’d have to investigate upon arrival and then, once I figured out what was going on, I’d wake the others. 

“Only after you find the root cause you transfer others into the station and wake them.” That was the instruction I had been given; however, the commander did say if I couldn’t handle it on my own, I could wake them earlier. 

“If you begin hearing things, or hallucinating, wake them. Don’t overwork.” 

Why would I hallucinate? Hear things? It made no sense. With my experience? I just wondered why the colony had gone silent…

I drank more coffee and dug into the sandwich. The hologram was slowly rotating and zooming in on each room and public area separately. 

I needed to watch the history and the building process videos. I had to know each area of Tricunuis to perfection. I’m sure Alice already did, and I wouldn’t want to be outdone by an android now, would I?

Speaking of which, I checked the time. Soon she’d be available to play games. I pressed the button on the side of the table and a box slid out from underneath. 

Go, Chess, Dominoes, playing cards, several puzzles. One of the puzzles was of the cosmos. I chuckled, grimly. Whose idea was that? Better not have been mine…Dear Lord. Well, at least there were a few others as well. A farm town--those were almost extinct--and an ocean sunset. Now those two I would invest time in. 

I pressed my watch. 

“Alice, how about a match of chess?” 

“I can be there in one hour.” 

“Perfect, I’ll have another coffee and watch a few Tricunius videos.” 

“How is your walking?” 

“Much better.” 

She did not say anything else. I looked into my cup. It was empty already. Time for one more coffee, indeed. 

After enjoying the smell and the process once again, I was back at the table. The cosmos outside kept drawing me in, distracting me, in a good way. It was scenery that not many humans in history ever enjoyed. 

Well…let’s see. I pulled up the assigned videos. Start from the basics: the Tricunius crew selection. 

The video was long, and there was no way I’d finish it before the game, but I could start. 

They went over each crew member in the most painful detail. All the best had been chosen for this mission. There were 200 of them. All dead? 

Mark Darstuffen, a famous young scientist, passed all the exams and training for the mission. I had even forgotten he was one of them; I had actually read one of his books, Hole and the Dark. He was an expert on black holes. 

Then there was Mikkel Simonssen. He disagreed with Mark’s assessment that this was indeed a black hole, just a tiny one. Mikkel claimed it was something completely different. He was another top scientist who had made the trip. 

Now that I thought about it, I remembered…

“After focusing on it and recording the noise coming from this hole, I can tell you it’s not like other black holes; in fact, it should be called something else. The sounds coming from there are something strange.” When pressed to explain these sounds, he said he couldn’t with science. The church claimed that these were the sounds of a demon. 

I couldn’t say I’d discard anyone’s theory at this point. The whole station had gone silent, 200 people. And not one could make contact now? 

It went on and on, each man and woman incredibly impressive. Earth’s finest, sent away. I could not imagine that all these, the best and brightest, were dead.

Maybe it was something else? Silenced somehow, for some reason…

I leaned back. I still had some coffee left on the side. I indulged myself once again, taking a long sip. 

Hmmm, finished. A third cup, perhaps? A profile of a woman came up on the hologram. Hers was one of the last messages sent. 

Her name was Lisa Dexter, a combat expert, one of the so-called space soldiers. That’s what I was too, besides an investigator. I paused the feed and quickly looked at the names on all of the last ten messages. They had been sent by total of six people. Five of the six people were part of the soldier elite, the space soldiers. What did that mean? 

Had they faced something there? Had someone gone insane? More than one, perhaps? 

These soldiers had gone through intense psychological training, not just physical. One might argue the psychological training is even more stressful and taxing than the physical component. 

Hmmm…I continued the hologram feed. Time was dragging, yet the voice of Alice came from my watch. 

“I’m on my way now. Chess, correct?” 

“Yes.” 

I stopped the feed and put the tablet aside, setting up the chess board. It had been a while. I wondered if I could even compete with an android on a low level. 

The board was set. She was across from me, wearing a thin smile upon her perfect face. I could never understand the androids. Why they imitated emotions like smiles, or laughter. They didn’t have feelings. I suppose it was an emotionless imitation of emotions, of humans...

“At what level would you like me to play?” she asked politely.

I let my ego get the best of me. “Just do your best.” 

It was a big mistake. 

The games were fast, and after losing five games in a row quickly I was convinced, though I felt embarrassed, to ask her for a lower level. Why? Why be embarrassed in front of an android? A machine? Perhaps it was the way she looked.

“Are you well?” she asked me after I had sat there for five minutes, staring at the cosmos outside. 

“Yes, yes. I guess I’m way out of practice. Let’s see what a medium level would look like.”

“You want a semi professional? High ranked amateur?” 

I winced. “Let’s go a bit below the high ranked amateur.” 

This level was still tough, but at least it was a match, not a slaughter. After two more games I was done. I still lost both. 

I stood and stretched. “That was good, very stimulating. I’d like to finish my first video viewings now.” 

Alice moved toward the door. “Of course, I will be checking all the systems. When would you like to visit the other crew members’ pods?” 

“Soon, tomorrow. I’ll practice more walking in this room. I’m starting to feel very good.” 

“I’m glad to hear it. Your well-being is key to this mission, Noah.” 

She walked out of the room, and I once again felt confused by the android. She looked like a pretty woman, yet in fact she wasn’t even really a she. A program, more of an it. Programmed to act like a woman, designed to look like one, but she wasn’t one. 

Hmmm… 

I sighed, and stretched again. My focus was all over the place. I had to lie down in bed and sleep once again. The videos would have to wait. 

Chapter 4

Butterflies and Dreams

I was lying in a dark cave. The darkness was cold and merciless. In in the distance I could hear a faint voice. I stood up, and holding on to the cave’s uneven rock wall, began to walk towards the voice. 

Light…there was an orange ray coming through a crack at the top of the cave. I climbed frantically. As I emerged from the aperture, a powerful feeling of being freed engulfed me. The space suit and helmet I was wearing no longer felt heavy. I stood upon a large rock and looked around. 

There were fields as far as the eye could see. Red fields? With light blue and teal bushes and small trees all around. I climbed down and stepped upon the red surface. It was grass! 

I fell to my knees, running gloved hands through it. So soft! The ground was soft and welcoming. I lay upon it and looked up. 

In that moment thousands of yellow butterflies descended upon the fields. I could not contain myself. My helmet was filled with laughter. Joy was exploding from my heart. I raised my hand and one of them landed on my fingertip. I slowly sat up. Amazing! It turned towards me and flapped its wings quickly, then flew away to join the others.  

“Don’t wake them.” A voice from the distance spoke to me. A soft and kind voice. 

“Don’t wake them…” 

I stood up. The yellow butterflies swarmed around me as I looked to find where the voice was coming from. 

“Wake up, Noah!” 

It was a woman’s voice now. I felt my body moving. 

“Wake up, Noah!” 

“Don’t wake them…” 

My head began to spin.  

Then I opened my eyes. I was in my bed and Alice stood right above me with her hand on my shoulder. I felt cold sweat running down my face and my back. I turned my head towards the large window, to see the beautiful cosmos…

I turned back to her. 

“Why did you wake me, Alice?” This was not usual.

“The central computer sent me a signal of a possible coma situation.” 

“What?” I sat up slowly, confused. 

“Sometimes after a long stasis, upon sleeping again the body might slip into coma, if there may have been brain damage during the stasis. I wanted to make sure you had not fallen into such a coma. You seem all right; was it just an intense dream, or a nightmare?” Alice’s voice held concern.

“I don’t think so…it was beautiful.” 

Don’t wake them…I remembered the voice. So kind, soothing…Don’t wake whom? 

“Noah, I’ll leave you to your breakfast and then we can go to the crew pods. I’ll explain to you how each is doing and we can check their dream patterns as well.” 

I swung my legs over the side of the bunk. “Fascinating…I’d love to. Let me watch a few more videos while I have coffee and eat.” 

“Of course, Noah.” 

After she left I still felt very confused. Being in a dream state so long surely must have had something to do with all of this. Especially that strange voice. It didn’t feel human, yet it was so welcoming, so trustworthy. 

Coffee, a strong one. That’ll clear my head fast. 

The French roast was strong and bold. I ate some dried jerky meat to go with it. Probably wouldn’t be great for my stomach, but it gave my focus a boost. I finally finished watching the background of the Tricunius crew and played the next video. 

This one presented the technology being used to examine the hole. The presentation was done by the scientists on the mission, but the most intriguing one was a segment done by Mikkel, who has been testing and examining the hole while still in flight towards it. This video was recorded when they were already in space. 

“I’m not quite sure how to explain these occurrences, but I’ll attempt it,” Mikkel addressed the camera.  “There seems to be some sort of a dimensional rift, a tear, never seem by humans before, at least not on this scale…or perhaps we’ve just been ignorant for centuries. The reason why I say this is because the way we are receiving information from the hole does not fit into any modern scientific criteria. Vibrations are both low and high, frequencies combine in inexplicable ways.

“For the last two weeks I’ve been examining some of the crew members as they slept. The brain patterns were extraordinary, as if rewiring of the brain was occurring on a small scale. Upon testing some of the subjects, I saw that their answers to certain questions changed from what they were before the trip. This change in psyche could not possibly be described as anything normal, even with this travel. Of course, only a few of us are awake during this journey. Everyone else is in constant state of stasis, inside their pods.

“How will that affect their brains? As I observe those in the long-term pods, I see some of the strange dream patterns as well. However, to be sure I need to do more testing. I’ll comment on the results in the next recording.” 

However, there was no next video on this subject from Mikkel. It was hard for me to draw any conclusions, but I called Alice again. 

“I’d like to see the sleeping crew members now.” 

“I will meet you on the way there.” 

“Okay.”      

A long and narrow hallway with red lights on each side led directly to the chamber where all twelve pods were located. A circular black reader at the front scanned my retina and the thick glass doors slid open. As I entered, I saw Alice already standing there with her tablet by one of the pods, analyzing it. This pod held Maximin, an experienced middle-aged tech, and a brilliant engineer. I walked up closer and looked in. He had a beard now, but his head was still as bald as ever. I smiled. 

Alice spoke. Her voice held no note of concern. “I find that in last few weeks his dream patterns have gotten more irregular, unsteady.” 

“What do you mean, Alice?” 

She pointed to the different-colored lines on her tablet, which was connected to the pod. 

“Normal is steady; these lines should be close to each other and in a straight line.” 

Maximin’s lines were all over the place and not close to each other at all. 

“Don’t wake them…” 

I quickly turned around as I heard the whisper. Alice put her hand on my shoulder. 

“Why did you react like that, Noah?” 

“You didn’t hear it?” 

“Hear what? Are you hallucinating?” Now her voice was concerned.

I breathed in deeply, trying to relax, and answered, “No, no, maybe I’m just still tired, you know, just misinterpreting some noise.” 

“Perhaps it is the sounds of the ship; you’re not used to them yet. Shall we continue?” 

“Yeah, no problem.” 

I felt goosebumps on my arms as we walked to the next pod. I didn’t want the android to think I was going crazy, so I was trying my best to stay calm and controlled. I knew she could detect my breathing and heartbeat. 

“Did you know, Noah, we have a device that can show us their dreams.” 

This revelation was disturbing. “Really? Where? Aren’t those illegal?” 

“That’s why it’s only for use in an extreme situation. I don’t have the code to the cabinet where it is stored. You have it. It’s in your code files from the company.” 

“On my tablet?” 

“Correct.” 

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that. That’s a big invasion of privacy.” 

“Of course, Noah. My task is to simply keep you informed as much as possible. You are the mission commander.” 

I nodded, now feeling uneasy about that on top of the whisper I had just heard. Wonderful…just wonderful. 

She plugged her tablet into the next pod. 

I watch the examination. The screen showed past and current patterns. This crew member was Lisa, a soldier and security expert. Her dream lines were almost exactly the same as Maximin’s. A frisson of alarm snaked up my spine.

“Okay, Alice, go check the others at a faster pace. Let’s see if all the graphs are similar.” 

As each set of results came in, I began to worry. All twelve crew members had disturbing dream and sleep patterns. Alice and I left of the room and sat in a small office, by its large window. 

“Alice, what do you calculate this means? Why are all of their patterns the same? And why might they be disturbed?” I rubbed my temples with my index fingers.

“I have to run many diagnostics with the ship. Air quality, sound quality, the pods’ air, simulation analysis, all need to be examined,” the android answered calmly.

“So, it’s possible that, let’s say, if the air quality is bad, it would affect them all the same? Wouldn’t there be differences, from person to person?” 

Alice was silently looking at me. It was the first time I observed a state-of-the-art android appear confused. After long pause she finally gave an unsatisfactory answer. 

“I’m not sure.” 

Chapter 5

Five Months Later

I dimmed the lights in the cabin after finishing my push-ups, and then sat near the window with a fresh cup of coffee. I had finished every hologram, studied the space station to the tiniest detail, even raised my level in chess while playing Alice. However, these month had been a time of torment, not from boredom or lack of activity, but quite the opposite. There was too much activity in my mind. 

Every time I had fallen asleep for the past thirty days, I had the same dream. Red grass, blue bushes, yellow butterflies. I knew one thing well now. 

“Don’t wake them…” 

“Don’t wake them…” 

During the day I had constant visions. Something was warning me. I had visions of the crew betraying me. 

And Alice…programmed to kill me. 

Was it just my intuition? The deep knowledge inside, the years of experience that had made me such a great investigator. Maybe I had been sent away because the powers that be knew I’d sniff something out, something that’s wrong with the whole ordeal, the plan.

No. It made no sense. Why had they sent me to the station, then? I snorted to myself. Perhaps we were all expendable fools, including the ones in the pods, and I was the chief fool. 

I had to hide my nervousness around Alice; I knew she could analyze everything. She often asked questions. Uncomfortable questions. 

I finished the coffee, got dressed in my armor and went out for a walk. I would walk through the entire ship. It had become a routine. 

As I passed through the main hallway I saw Alice standing over the billiards table in the recreation room. She of course noticed me, and waved me in. 

“One month today until our arrival. Are you excited, Noah?” 

“Excited or exhausted.” I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “What will we find there?” 

“We will succeed. You are a good in investigator.

“How about a game of billiards?” Alice picked up some chalk and rubbed it on the end of her cue.

I grinned. “You never miss. The last few times we’ve played, you haven’t missed a single shot.” 

“But you always go first. So, you can win.” 

“I always miss at least once.” 

“That’s how you can get better, right? You learn from your mistakes.” She moved around the table, removing balls from the pockets.

“Humans will make mistakes no matter what, Alice. Even if he trains for twenty years, some fly will land in the best player’s eye at the very moment he’s is about to strike the ball, and he will miss. If that happens to you, your shot will still be the same. The element of surprise, unpredictability, is not there. Humans are too vulnerable to it.” 

“So, there can be no perfection then?” 

“Yes, no perfection, of anything.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the table.

“What if you’ll need perfection to succeed on Tricunius?” 

A whisper came into my head right then.

“Play…play…” 

I was silent for a moment, went up to the table and picked out a stick. Then I silently organized the balls. I took a deep breath and broke. 

Something was almost guiding my body as I made shot after shot. I even saw Alice’s face change. An android, surprised? 

I had one shot left. I wanted to wait a moment, but I took the shot anyway, as if my hands were not my own. The black ball was in and I had won. I slowly put down the stick, feeling confused, then a terrible pain crashed into my head. I felt like something was crawling under my skin. 

The last thing I remembered was falling, head forward, towards the floor. 

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on my berth. Alice was sitting next to me.

Was there something inside of me? What had happened? I looked at her, puzzled. 

“Noah, have you been sleeping well? I checked your sleep and dream patterns. They are even worse than the crew’s.” 

I slowly sat up. I was reluctant to tell her about my dream.

“No…don’t you trust me?” 

The soft voice, so calm, yet pressing and powerful. I could sense a presence so clearly in my head now. I felt tears forming in my eyes from the pressure. 

“Noah?” prompted Alice.

“What the hell…get out of my head!” I shouted. I pounded my head with my hands as Alice observed me. 

“Noah, who are you talking to? If you are having hallucinations, or hearing voices, we must take measures. There are perfectly good medicines on board. This can happen out here in space.”

The voice came again. 

“She wants to kill you…kill you…” 

I looked at Alice, shaking my head. 

“Not to me. I don’t need any meds. I’m fine. It’s the fatigue. I have to eat better, that’s all. My diet is off. I’ll get right on it.” 

“But your nutritional analysis looks fine.” 

I sighed, then said, more forcefully than I probably should have, “I think I’d know my own body best, okay, Alice. Leave me alone, please.” 

“As you wish Noah. Take care of yourself. You are responsible for the twelve others, and this mission.” 

As she left I felt great build-up of anger towards her. A damn android…trying to take control, order me around. 

I tried to sleep again, yet the moment I closed my eyes I saw a strange face. I jumped off the bunk and made another cup of coffee. 

No sleep right now. No sleep. I’ll just watch the stars. 

Chapter 6

The Space Walk

I finally had a different dream, but I wished afterwards that I’d had the same old one again. I sat next to the window shaking my legs nervously, trying to read ship analysis updates. One of the panels on the right wing had an issue. Just as I noticed it, Alice called me. 

“I know, Alice, I saw the problem outside. I will gear up soon.” 

“How did you know I would call about that?” 

“Because I know you don’t have a program for a space walk or outside repairs.” 

“Are you feeling well?” 

“Never better.” 

This was the first time I would have to go outside. It was a surprise, actually, that it had taken so long for the ship to develop a problem. This spacecraft was incredible. 

Back to the new, different dream.

It was Humwig, one of the crew members in stasis. He had a long, sharp knife and was following me around the ship, which was dark. I finally found a room to hide in, when suddenly the lights came on. Other crew members stood there, all laughing at me, watching me. Then they grabbed me and held me. Humwig entered the room, brandishing the knife.

I caught myself squeezing my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. I shook my head. How could I get rid of these thoughts?

Get up…let’s go. I willed myself to think of the mission in front of me.

My space suit hung next to my other clothes. Brand new and beautiful. I examined it very carefully, searching for any defects, but it looked fine. I put it on and went to meet Alice at the door. 

She was standing there in a new green suit. Why did androids do that? Ah yes…imitation. Humans did not wear the same thing every day, so the android changed as well. For some reason, I found this irritating. 

“Are you ready, Noah?” 

“Yes, but I just have some pain in my right hand.” I flexed the hand, trying to relax it.

“What happened?” 

“I hurt it during training, but not badly.” 

“Do you want to visit the med room first?” 

“No, I just might be a little slow, that’s why I’m telling you.”

“Very well,” she said. “Gear up.” 

I put on my helmet and entered the corridor. The door closed behind me. I attached the cable and magnetic boot soles and signaled for Alice to open the exterior door. 

What if she cuts my cable? 

I shook my head, dismissing the alarming thought, and exited the ship, clinging to the exterior. The feeling was magnificent and exhilarating. I was out among the stars, deep in cosmos. Suddenly something small moved in my peripheral vision. I quickly jerked my head and almost yelled in astonishment. 

Yellow butterflies! They were here, flying next to the ship! How was this possible? 

I reached out to grab one, but they moved farther away. 

“Noah! What are you doing?” Alice asked me through my headphones.

The butterflies were beautiful, swirling around, leading me somewhere! 

“Do you see them?” I panted.

“Noah!” 

Suddenly a strong tug on my cable brought me back to reality. I realized that I was floating in space, with the long cable being my only savior. I looked back, and Alice had emerged from the ship and was retracting the cable.

“I’m sorry, I lost my balance, I’m fine, Alice.” 

I reconnected my magnetic boots to the wall of the ship and was about to continue toward the wing when Alice put her hand on my shoulder. 

“What were you seeing?”

“I’m okay, please, let me fix this. Go back inside, Alice.”

She couldn’t disobey me, but there was one thing that would override my command over her. Insanity. Maybe that’s what she was analyzing. 

The rest of repairs went smoothly and the problem was fixed. I was back inside and pleased. However, I knew Alice was watching me more closely now. She stood there, staring into my eyes, trying to pick up some sort of data to enable her psychoanalysis. 

I smiled and attempted to reassure her. “I’m okay, Alice. We’ve been a long time in space, so strange things will happen once in a while. Go check on the pods. I’ll go eat and rest, all right?” 

She seemed to be placated. “That is good. Rest well, Noah.” 

Rest, however, didn’t come so easily. I wondered about the butterflies. What if I were indeed going mad? 

I made a coffee and placed a wooden Go board on the table. The black and white stones were beautiful, of exceptional quality. I began to slowly play against myself, taking my time with each move, allowing my mind to fully be absorbed by the game. This seemed to qualify as rest better than other things I could think of. 

Chapter 7

Meteors and Malfunctions 

Dark eyes were staring back at me in the mirror. My eyes…but they were usually green, even bright green, I should say. 

They’d turn dark green sometimes back on Earth, on my bad days. However, now they looked almost black. I guess I was having more than just bad days. 

Throughout all of this time I sent back the same reports to Earth. “Everything is perfect. Mission is progressing without any issues.” 

It was actually true, somewhat. The ship was fine. The android was fine. The sleepers? Me? The humans on board…I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions in the reports. 

But still. The unpleasant, even sneaky feeling about a conspiracy grew inside my mind as the voice kept warning me. The pleasant voice carried so much conviction and calm power, overwhelming my senses at times. Yet, after my more recent dreams, I had further doubts, even about the voice. Maybe I couldn’t trust anyone. Not even myself. 

“Kill or be killed…” 

“Do not wake them…” 

“Kill or be killed…” 

I heard these warnings over and over each time I went to sleep. Perhaps I didn’t understand it yet. The voice might be warning me about something at the station, not on the ship. 

The voice could also be lying to me…but why? 

I covered my reflection with my hand and looked down. 

I had to sort things out in my confused mind. I had to know what I, myself, stood for first of all. I breathed in and out, slowly and deeply. As these thoughts swirled through my brain, a beeping sound filled the ship. 

“Noah, we are going to fly close to a massive meteor cluster,” Alice announced.

“Any chance of damage?” 

“Very small, but we are also entering a strong magnetic field. The combination of these things could cause internal disruptions.” 

Great. Internal disruptions. “Okay, a field from what?” 

“I’m not sure.” 

Again, the android had no answers. “How is that possible?” 

“We are close to that hole now, Noah. Remember that many things won’t make sense in the usual way, according to the original team.” 

“Okay, Alice, let’s meet in the command center and observe together.”

“I am already here.”

Alice had remembered something I had not. Well, she hadn’t remembered, exactly; all the information she accessed was part of her saved date. She couldn’t forget, could she?

I got dressed in my combat suit and went ahead. The ship was pitching and shaking a bit already. I had to slow down my pace in order not to trip. 

Just ten days before we would land on Tricunius. 

As I entered the command center it took a moment to adjust as the light seemed much brighter than usual. Alice stood by the main screen, observing the ship’s activities. 

“Is it brighter here, or is it my eyes?” 

“It is, it’ll be back to normal in a moment.” Alice replied.

Indeed it was, but that concerned me. “What happened?” 

“There was a slight malfunction due to the meteor shower.” 

“Anything else?” 

“There seems to be slight function problem in sector 77.” 

“Wait…isn’t that where the pods are powered from?” 

“Yes, but the pods look normal right now.” As she said this the screen in that sector began to flash a red light. 

“Not anymore.” 

Alice turned to me. “You stay here, Noah, and let me know if anything else goes wrong. I’ll fix it. If any of the pods are shown to be affected, let me know immediately.” 

Alice sped out of the command center and the door slid shut behind her. I turned back to the screen. 

“They want to kill you…” 

What? I quickly looked around. The voice sounded so close!

Suddenly another alert appeared. One of the pods evidently had an issue with its ventilation system. Cold sweat beaded up on my forehead. Should I alert the android?

“They want to kill you…” 

No, no…no. I shook my head and hit my temples with my hands. The screen flashed faster now, and the crew member was about to enter critical condition. I pressed my watch. 

“Alice! Hurry! One of the pods is damaged!” 

“I will address it immediately!” 

I sat back in the command chair, breathing heavily. I had almost let one of my crew die.

We got through the area and the flight grew smooth again. That problem was solved, but the feeling of doom remained. 

Chapter 8

Tricunius 

It was beyond my wildest imagination. No amount of videos and photos could compare with seeing it with my own eyes. 

The giant space station, Tricunius, was as impressive as ever, but it was the space around it that was stealing the show. 

I stood glued to the window. As far as the eye could see around the space station, the atmosphere consisted of red-orange swirls, that seemed to congeal within the giant black hole. While by outer-space standards it was small, by human measures it was enormous.

Finally, we were docking at the space station.

“What is that sound?” I asked aloud. It was like a million voices moaning in pain in the far distance, inside that hole. It had begun the moment we landed, and went on and on. 

“What noise?” Alice was next to me.

“How can you not hear it?”

“The space station’s main engine? It’s still working.” 

I started to tell her no, but then it occurred to me that she, an android, could not hear the noises. Only I, or another human, could hear the sounds, because they came from inside my head. They were not external. I felt my eyes grow big. I remembered other noises recorded from this hole, but nothing like this. No machine could record this, droning on and on, inside the brain. 

Why…? How…? 

I took a deep breath and as the noises kept on filling my head, I turned to Alice. 

“We are in luck indeed. All the lights should be functional. I’ll eat, and we will begin the investigation immediately.” 

“Do you wish me to stay on the ship and wake the crew?”

“No, you’ll come to investigate with me right away. Once we have looked around, we can come back and begin the awakening process.” 

Alice seemed to give a brief nod. “I will wait for you to call me. Enjoy your meal.” 

As she left I turned back to the window The hole could be seen clearly from the landing pad. It was massive…enchanting…pulling me in. 

With effort, I turned away from the scene and went back to my stateroom for coffee and a beef sandwich. The sound went on and on, sad and frightening. As I sat to drink and eat, I felt as though millions of suffering eyes were watching me. My every bite…every sip of coffee. It was even hard to chew. 

They had all gone insane, hadn’t they. I pushed the thought out of my mind.

After I finished my meal, I put on my combat suit and called Alice. It was time to set foot upon Tricunius.  

With my full space suit on, I walked through the airlocks, onto the landing platform, and entered the main building’s red doors. Most of the surfaces here were red. 

“Is it safe to take the suit off now?” I turned to Alice, who had accompanied me.

“Yes, the air system is functioning well. In fact, it is at full capacity,” she answered.

A sinking feeling swept through me. “That means no one is breathing.” 

In the area designed for space suit storage, I hung up my suit and placed my helmet on a bench near the door. As we moved through the storage area, we found ourselves at the entrance of a massive wide and tall hallway, leading to a long staircase upwards. It looked more like a metal palace than a space station. 

“How will we begin, Noah?” 

“Firs, we will go upstairs to the command center. You’ll stay there, checking the station’s camera recordings, and I’ll begin the physical search.” 

“Okay, Noah. It’s good to see you are holding up so well.” 

I smiled grimly. She had no idea. The noise…the voices…and now, the whispers.

“Kill…kill…kill…kill..she will kill you…they will kill you…stop them…kill them…” I pushed aside my fear and, shaking my head, motioned for us to get going.  

At the top of the steps we observed photographs of some of the crew hanging on the walls. To the right was a long red hallway leading to the command center. If not for the noise in my head, this place would have been silent. 

“Alice, are you detecting any sounds?” 

“Only the technological systems. Nothing unusual.” 

We walked into a large, circular room with a high ceiling. A walkway with railings on both sides led to the center of the room, where there were banks of computers. On each side of the walkway was empty space sloping downward. I leaned over the railing and looked down. There was a massive computer system below with some other equipment. It was quite a drop, and it seemed to me, a waste of space, inefficient. 

“What a strange design,” I mused.

“You’ve seen it on the map and videos, correct?” Alice stated.

“Yes, but seeing all of this in person is absurd. It’s all so massive, and different.” 

“This station represents the best humans could come up with.” 

I turned to look at the android. “Is it, now?”

“You don’t think so?” 

I set my mouth in a grim line. “Something devoid of deeper inner strength, regardless of how advanced…may fail.”

“I am not sure I understand,” she replied.

“That’s what happened on Earth, Alice. Strong in technology, weak in spirit.”

I could tell this information was beyond the understanding of the android. She turned and approached the central panel, activating it.

The walls in front of us slid open, exposing a large window. It revealed a clear, direct view of the black hole. As I gazed into it, the noise and voices intensified. My knees began to shake. Sweat dripped down my face and back. I steeled myself against the cacophony in my head.

“Alice, I’m going to begin.” 

“I’ll find the recordings.” 

I slowly turned around and left the command center.

Chapter 9

 Bloodbath  

The noise, the voices…was there any way to escape this phenomenon here? I doubted I could, at least not while I was near this horrific black hole. 

As I ascended the steps leading away from the command center, I came upon what looked like a large elevator. On the right side were five buttons to choose from. 

Heading down brought one to the cafeteria. 

Moving across gave access to the crew quarters. 

Going up was labs. 

Taking the elevator to the right would bring me to the secondary landing area.

Another option, also leading up, gave onto the observation center and storage areas. 

I knew each floor was massive, and I figured it would be best to begin with the top floor. 

The elevator traveled smoothly and I was there in an instant. The giant space before me, with various machinery and telescopes was completely empty of life. Yet I again felt as though many eyes were on me. 

“Kill…they want to kill you…” 

It’s all in your head, I assured myself as I took a deep breath and walked around the room. Everything was abandoned. I looked for any hint of what might have happened. Had they all just thrown themselves into space because of the insistent voices, the whispers?

The noise was incessant. If I stayed here for too long, I’d do that too. 

My frustration and puzzlement continued as I toured the lab section. Everything was clean, perfect, and appeared untouched. The cafeteria was the same. There was plenty of food in the freezers and storage cabinets, but no people. The secondary landing housed a few small ships and another tiny cafeteria. Nobody was there.

My final stop was where the crew (had?) lived. There were many rooms, each like a small apartment. In the corridor there were some guns hanging on the wall, with spaces for more, but they were missing. Had the crew used them against something? Was there something on the ship I had not yet encountered? 

I took one of the guns, made sure it was loaded, and attached it to my combat suit on the left side. 

As I searched the apartments, it sadly continued to be the same story. At least here it appeared that there had been some human habitation. Some rooms were tidy, others messy, yet all were empty of crew members. 

“Noah, I found something. Come back to the command center.” Alice’s voice came over my communication device.

“On my way.”

I felt a tiny flame of hope. I was anxious to see what she had found in the videos. I hurried back to the command center.

Alice looked up when I entered the room. “Look at this video.” 

The noise increased as I watched the screen. I was a recording from the secondary landing. First, it showed one woman climbing down inside a gap in the floor, then another person, than a soldier with a gun. It appeared to be a mass evacuation. There was a break between days and Alice showed me another video where this pattern continued. 

My jaw dropped in amazement. “A secret area? Not on the map?” 

“Yes. It must be below the floors we know about.” 

I turned to leave. “I’ll head there. You stay here.” 

“Are you sure, Noah?” 

“Yes, stay here.” 

Walking became more difficult as my head filled with the terrible mix of voices. It took all my willpower to concentrate on putting one foot in front of another. But this was nothing compared to what I was about to witness. 

I made my way to the secondary landing and carefully looked around until I found the gap in the floor. Indeed, there was a ladder inside the gap and beneath it, a small platform with a red door. I descended and pushed it open.

I was in a long dark hallway with dim red lights on the walls. With one hand on the gun I moved forward slowly. 

“Kill them…kill her…she will kill you…she will kill you…”

The whispered voice was now much louder than before. As I neared the end of the hallway all the noise amplified. As much as I wanted to flee back up and out of Tricunius and back to my own ship, never to hear these voices or feel this dread and revulsion again, I had to finish this mission. I ignored the voices and forced myself to move.

I could see a bridge leading to a narrow spiral staircase. Just as I stepped forward I looked down. 

I froze as my body filled with sheer terror. 

In the space below, all I could see was blood and mutilated bodies. Twisted, damaged, torn…

They had all killed each other, and themselves…here…

Something in my head snapped, and with a shaking hand I lifted my gun. 

“She will kill you…” the voice continued, insistently. I squeezed my eyes shut. Then I pressed my watch.

“Alice, please come down here.” 

“On my way, Noah.” 

I situated myself near the exit. The moment the android appeared, I shot her in the chest. Some sparks flew as she spun her arms. Before she could take further action I shot her two times in the head. She shook and fell over the edge of the bridge, down onto the bodies below. I looked down.

Alice was destroyed. 

Chapter 10

The Last One Standing 

My thoughts whirled as I stood at Tricunius’ command center. looking directly into the black hole. The noise and voices swirled all around me, filling my whole being. 

I was cold and sweating, trying to snap out of it. I slowly turned my back to the hole. 

“Don’t wake them…” 

I had forgotten about my twelve crew members in stasis! I ran back to my space suit, put it on and sped through the airlocks back onto my own ship. Out of my space suit. Then I hurried to the pods.

I had a plan, and that thing knew it.

I keyed the manual wake-up codes into each pod. As I stood near the pods the voice became overwhelming and powerful.     

“Kill yourself.” 

I dropped to my knees, feeling excruciating pain inside my head and heart. 

“Kill yourself, now.” 

No…no! I shook my head and stood up.

“Kill yourself…kill yourself…kill yourself!” 

It filled my head. It was all I could hear now. Then horrific images began to appear in my mind--shooting myself in the head, hanging myself, falling into blackness, cutting my wrists. 

Sweat was dripping into my eyes. I ran to the fueling dock, and set a line to refuel from Tricunius. Once it was finished, I detached it and ran inside. I detached the pods from their docking stations and pushed them, one by one, out of my ship and onto Tricunius’ landing pad as fast as I could. Then I ran back inside the ship. I threw my helmet off as I hurried into the command center. There I set a course back to Earth.

The voice became frantic and angry. “Stop! Stay! Stay with us!” 

I strapped myself into the command chair and initiated the launch. The ship was back in flight. 

The further I got from the space station, the weaker the noise and the voices became. I looked at the main flight screen where there was an image of Earth. 

“My love and my son…I’m coming home.”