Author's Note
I apologize for the resubmit, but the formatting wasn't quite working, so here it is again. Please, enjoy the ride. I took a look at things differently from the typical "It's another dimension." Hopefully it works for you. As a famous person once said, "Excelsior!"
Whispers From Afar
Whispers from Afar
By
Night Fire
The little mare had been hiking for a while now, the hills outside of Ponyville proved to be a fun and exciting place to spend a day off. She sat down and sipped a bit of water from the container in her pack, looking around and enjoying the sunny day, flowers blooming everywhere bright and colorful, filling the air with wondrous scents. She stretched a bit, looking upward for a moment, slipping her head from side to side, popping the vertebrae and relaxing the long muscles, hiking took a good bit out of a pony.
Chewing on a cookie, bought that day before her trip, from Mr. Cake, she was looking around at the trees, the leaves turning pretty colors this fall, the animals in and about the underbrush. Her eyes scanned for anything interesting to go look at, when a small, dark crevice caught her eye. It seems as if it went a little deeper into the hillside than it should, the darkness catching her eyes, with the hint of something glinting inside.
Packing her water away, and munching happily on the last of the cookie, she walked toward the inviting opening. It didn’t quite strike her as something bad, she did not get that feeling, but the unknown held a fascinating appeal to her, she loved discovering new things, and telling her friends about them back home. So after a few minutes, she stood before the opening, looking into it; seeing once again, the hint of something glinting.
Leaning forward, she stuck her head into the crevice and realized it was far too dark too see once she got inside, the interior cool, and dry as far as she could tell, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t come prepared to explore! Twisting her head back, she got out a present a friend had given her, a neat little glowstone, that, when deprived of sunlight, gave off a steady illumination; allowing one to read by it’s light, or just feel safe during a thunderstorm at night. She flipped her head once, ducking to let the stone on it’s chain wrap around her neck snugly, making sure it fit tight, she didn’t want to lose it.
Checking her packs, and the strap between them, snugging the girth strap once more before she stuck her head back into the crevice, followed by the rest of her. The crack was a bit snug, but with some tugging, and not the loss of a few hairs, she managed to make it through with her tail intact. The glowstone gleaming brightly now, showing her a flat floor that sounded funny when her hooves tapped it, she took a look around what seemed to be a tunnel, leading off a few hundred yards deeper into the hillside. The floor, slightly slanting downward, was not slippery nor was it a problem to walk along, even at the slight angle.
Her hooves made a slight ringing sound as she proceeded down the tunnel carefully, always wary, for things slipped out of the Everfree Forest occasionally, and ambushed the unwary traveler. But it seemed as if nothing awaited her, as she continued down the slope, the tunnel dry, and surprisingly, free of dirt and dust as was usually found in caves. The air was a bit cool, but nothing unremarkable, it seemed a bit stale, but that was to be expected underground she was sure.
Getting farther in, the glowstone was lighting up the walls really well, showing what looked to be regular marks along them. She wondered if somepony hadn’t tried to make a home out of this nice place, seeing as how they took the time and trouble to work so hard. The wondering stopped though, as she ran smack into the glinting thing she had glimpsed from outside.
It softly flexed, pushing her backwards, ending up sitting down in front of what looked to be a huge, silver bubble. Her eyes followed it all the way to the ceiling, and side to side looking as if it went into the walls themselves; they went wide as she sat for a moment, remembering the feel as it gently pushed her back when she walked into it like a friendly shove, setting her on her flanks, sitting and trying to make a bit of sense from it all. So much to tell her friends!
Shaking her mane out, she stood up and faced the silver bubble, looking at it from every side she could, although, only the front really. Tentatively, she reached out one hoof and gently pushed forward on the bubble, feeling it give just slightly. Digging in her back hooves she pushed a bit more, feeling it give again, then suddenly burst! Her outstretched hoof in midair, eyes going wide, pushing forward with nothing to push against; causing her to lurch forward, landing on the floor with a solid thump, rattling her a bit.
She blew her mane out of her eyes, struggling up to a sitting position, opening wide once again as she took in the area that opened up before her.
The new part slowly lit up, something glowing from the ceiling as it moved downward along the sloping tunnel. It illuminated the whole of what appeared to be a room. The light was a bit different, it was soft and warm, but you could see everything! What it revealed was wonders! Her mouth fell partially open as she was dumbstruck. Shelves lined the walls of the short area, and on them books! Tens of them, lots of them! Books thick with pages and decorated with colors that were warm, softly glowing in the strange light coming from the ceiling.
At the end of the short area, another bubble!
Stretching the same as the other, but more solid this time she thought as she approached it, ignoring the treasures beside her for just a minute. This one, she could see her reflection in, solid, imposing, a wall not to be breached by the simple push of a hoof she thought. Push she did though, for a moment, until she realized there was absolutely no give whatsoever in this wall, it was solid as the best rock quarried out of Equestria.
Her curiosity assuaged for the moment, she turned to the books! The shelves were sort of high, but not high enough to be an impedance to getting them down; returning them might take a bit of a struggle, but that was fine with her. She wanted to read one so badly!
As she stood on her hind legs to reach one of them, something struck her as a bit odd. The air, heretofore stale, was now fresh and clean, a slight breeze blowing through the little room, hardly felt if it were not for the fluttering of her mane. It took her a second to realize it and looked around to find the source, but none was noticeable. A second thing she also felt, was the air was somehow...thicker. Almost like a humid day, but not uncomfortable, just a bit heavier.
“As long as I can breathe, I guess I’m alright,” She thought to herself.
Reaching as high as she could, she nabbed one of the thick books off the shelf, gently lowering it to the floor. But, before she got to looking she thought she might as well be comfortable! With that thought, taking the blanket out of her left side-pack, she spread it to make a cozy place on the floor, bringing the book over to peruse.
Settling in with her glowstone, and water, and of course, more cookies. She took a look at the book she had brought down from the shelves. She stopped for a moment and looked at the shelves, not even noticing them before, that they were a soft color as well, looking like they were part of the walls, not rock, but not wood or metal either. It was something she had to think about later, when the book reading was over. Finding new things was always exciting, it was something to share and talk about!
She looked down at the closed book in front of her for a moment, taking in it’s plain cover, a smooth material she hadn’t seen before, but soft to the touch. She tilted her head to look at the spine closer, seeing some printing but not quite understanding what it meant. She thought for a moment, then a light bulb lit up in her mind! She dug around in her side pack for a moment and brought out another charm a really good friend had given her, it allowed her to make sense of languages, it was really neat because it was Unicorn Magic inside of it!
She settled it down by the book and looked at the charm for a moment, the gleaming gem glowing gently under her gaze as she felt the unlocking phrase come to mind, then the magic blossomed, filling her mind with a bit of power to help her understand things.
Now her gaze returned to the book, along the spine was still a bit unreadable, but it was fast becoming not so. She waited a bit, as the magic flowed, uncompressing in her mind and making the letter or words shake themselves out slowly. It turned out to be a number, nothing more, it said “3“.
Slightly disappointed there was nothing more, she opened the book, hoping for some real treasures inside of it, she wasn’t let down this time. Writing scrawled over the first page, looking like it was hoofwritten like so many books in Equestria are. But the pages were shiny and slick, she tugged on the first one, noticing it didn’t give, nor rip or tear in any way. It certainly was a marvel!
Somepony must have spent alot of time, or magic making these books, they were really wonderful, she thought.
Settling herself down, she stared at the pages now, waiting as the magic worked it’s..well...magic... on the writing inside. The letters and numbers slowly rearranged themselves to her into something comprehensible. She smiled, reading the first few lines happily.
October 30, 2364
I am staring at the truly incredible. I really am. I’m sitting here in the laboratory late this night and looking through the viewer. I see wondrous things, different universes, planets, things mankind has never before imagined, and now, we can see the underlying fabric of space time. Using an altered Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge, we managed to punch just a little hole, a very tiny one, throughthe membranes that separate a myriad of universes! Each separate bubble, and there are so many,contains another place, or universe, or just a solar system! It’s incredible!
The little mare scowled at the gem, wondering if it was malfunctioning, the hay was an Einstein-Rosen whatsits? Sighing to herself she continued to read on, as un-comprehensible as some words were, it was still quite fascinating.
We managed to rig up a viewer, a camera lens if you would, to take a peep into the other places we found along the quantum foam. It was amazing, let me say that again, it was AMAZING! We haven’t quite got the resolution fixed yet, but from what we could see, there are a myriad of star systems, planets, whole galaxies to discover out there! By stretching or altering the power, and the feed to the viewer we can zoom along at almost unbelievable speeds to check planets out nearby, or farther!
It almost makes me wish we could have broken the light speed barrier in our universe, we so wanted to reach the planets, the stars! But it seems we couldn’t quite get the equations right. We’re still working on it, but as my team was tasked with finding a shortcut to plodding ships, it seems we’ve discovered not a way to OUR stars, but a way to OTHER stars, other whole universes in which the laws of physics are sometimes not the way we think.
The little mare rubbed her forehead, some of these things were words, she knew that, but she didn’t have the basis on which to understand them... and it made her head hurt.
All further information regarding the equations we used and equipment, we’ll place in the Scribes, I will continue to write this journal as well, going along with the information we can put down. It’s an exciting time for us, the team is celebrating down below, but I sit and wonder what we’ll see and experience along the way. The frontiers of knowledge are about to be expanded, by quite a bit.
Turning the page, as the hoofwriting was a bit large, she noticed that the pages, which she had thought filled the book, were actually quite thick, not as many inside as she thought, given her first impression. Nudging it a bit, trying to fold it, brought no result, it was slick, and solid. Shrugging, she flipped the page and read on....
November 2, 2364
We’ve found a solution to the resolution problem, we can see, crystal-clear now, in definitions and resolutions down to the foot. It’s amazing, the myriad of worlds we can see just from the opening wemanaged to make in one membrane. It’s a galaxy, a large one, and we’re currently moving the apertureas fast as we can, it’s going to be a few hours though, so we’re waiting right now. I sit and watch the sky right now from the observation dome here on the Moon, staring at the stars, wondering if someone is out there watching us, but can’t reach us as well. I also wonder if we can use this Quantum Bridge as a shortcut back into our own universe. Stanley is working on the parameters now, perhaps we can alter the Bridge to make it usable here, to us, to our now, so we can reach out and see the wonders contained in our own space and time. It takes a lot of power to punch through the membranes surrounding the other places, but that’s not a problem. What we are wondering though, is are we leaving traces, can we be tracked back to our own universe? Can someone on the other end of the viewer see us as well as we can see them. Considering it’s just a microscopic pinhole in space, I would imagine it would be hard to track or maybe see. But haven’t we been proven so wrong in the past? Our arrogance, our greed, sometimes blinds us to the realities that are staring us in the face. Can we ever get past our own importance, and truly see the amazing things that the stars hold? I’ll never know, maybe my son will figure that out when he gets old enough. I’m just an old physicist looking upon things that will make me wonder till the day I die.
The poor pony must be really sad, she thought, wondering about those things, and worrying so much. And what was a foot?
She flipped the page and continued on....
November 7, 2364
Finally reaching the star system we saw a few days ago, it’s got the geologists and the others utterly confounded. It appears there is a form of life there, but nothing we’ve ever seen before. Even on the deep space probes we’ve sent out, there’s nothing like it. It’s a lichen, but it appears from spectroscopic analysis..
Her head hurt again, what did these words even mean?
It appears it’s a silicone type of life, but mobile, building small cities or villages, we’re not sure, but it seems to be intelligent. The viewer controllers zoomed in, viewing the “houses” and buildings, quite tall if we measured correctly; looking inside, and out. It appears our little peephole can’t be seen or if it is, that maybe these beings see in a totally different way. We have millions of questions though we are only just starting!
The resident Director of the base came by and looked at our findings, we assured him of it’s relative safety, and requested more resources. If we could somehow enlarge the opening, could we mine deserted universes? Ones with no life? Make our species a bit better off?
It depends, we’d have to make sure the physics and constants of the universe we were going into were
comparable with ours, otherwise, it would mean a slow, painful death, or a very quick one dependingon how our bodies reacted to the new worlds.
We have multiple viewers online now, searching through the quantum sea foam for more to look at, they are getting quite skilled at traveling around universes, they’ve modified the peepholes so now they can translate to a target almost immediately.
Beats waiting for a few hours travel time.
The power requirements are enormous though, the Corp of Engineers is putting in four more Helium 3 fusion plants to provide the necessary amount.
What will we see next?
The pretty mare flipped the page and realized she was at the end of the book. Who in blazes writes books with three pages? Rolling her eyes, she closed the tome, getting to her hooves and bringing it with her. Using her mouth, she pushed and shoved the book back into place, the thing was heavier trying to put it back for crying out loud..
Looking along the row, she picked “4“, of course, logical, and it was next anyways.
Settling once again on her blanket, she opened the book and read...
Nov 10th, 2364
The government has decided to stick it’s nose into what’s going on here now. It’s a sad day when a company of Marines is stationed in a scientific outpost “Just in Case”, isn’t that their excuse for everything nowadays? I admit, having those men and women around do make me feel a bit better, I had wondered what would happen if we encountered an inimical race throughout our viewing of the other places.
Men? Women? Strange terms for somepony...
The resources they have brought to bear are astronomical, we have more power and new facilities going up even as I write this. The Engineers are boring more tunnels for expansion under the Lunar surface, of course the director got into a shouting match with the company Commander, making it absolutely clear we were NOT under military rule. Good for him.
November 30, 2364
I apologize for the lateness of this entry, but the rest is in the Scribes, reference them. Stanley and his team have figured out a way, they think, to widen the aperture, to send people through. Imagine, our first steps on another world in another entire universe. I envy the ones they’ve picked to go through if it works, I would love to stand under a different sky, and see the stars from another place and world.
December 2, 2364
Stanley did it, see Ref 4-21-Aperture. We had followed a viewer down to an uninhabited planet, making sure by direct survey we could see nothing on the surface but what appeared to be plants, some odd fern like things as well. No cities, no villages, nothing. A perfect test base for stepping across the Bridge. We are now preparing to send one man across, the teams are making sure the constants of this universe are comparable with our own, or close enough that a person could survive. The lucky guy will be in a full EHS Environmental Hazard Suit, the best we can develop, always worry about those little microbes which might come along with him when he returns. Stanley, is an extremely clever AI, I have to admit, he astounds me sometimes.
December 10, 2364
I watched the explorer, Wells was his name, walk across the threshold, it was a moment I’ll never forget. The suit worked, there was a few glitches as we hadn’t got all our calculations correct, as usual, always a bug in the machine. Electronics works a bit differently in that universe, we’ll make allowances next time. I had held my breath for I don’t know how long, watching that brave man step across into a whole new world, hoping we had covered all the bases, that the physical constants of that place matched ours.
But it worked, we cheered, we cried, we hugged. Yes I know, such staid and boring scientists acting like little children, even the soldiers were welcome to our little party of success.
Sighing, she flipped the page, all these short entries, where was the rest of the story? Kind of like telling an old mare’s tale with just the beginning and ending. But oh well, it sure was fascinating, reading something like this. Although, the dates were very different from Equestria’s. Maybe it was an ancient pony that wrote it before we even got here! Wouldn’t Twilight be amazed! She settled back into the warm blanket and thought for a moment. She got the feeling that the pony that had written these words was very sad, not in a depressed way, but grieving for something. Maybe the Unicorn magic in the gem, also conveyed a bit of the feelings of the writer as well. She wondered about that, thinking back to previous books and caught a glimpse of it happening before. She’d have to ask Twilight about that, after all, she was a Princess and read alot of books as well!
She got up from her warm blanket, heaving the book back up on the shelf with a soft thump. Her hooves weren’t making much of a sound across the floor, the little things coming to her attention now that the excitement had died down a bit. She prodded the floor a bit, feeling it flex under her hooves and distinctly remembering it wasn’t so when she walked inside this room.
A look of confusion crossed her face for just a bit, before shrugging it off as another unknowable, grabbing for the next book. Slipping it off the shelf, she flopped back down on her blanket and opened the cover.
Jan 5, 2365
A new year, and much more to see. Stanley and his AI team have really advanced out viewers to the point where we can see living universes and such faster, and more efficiently. It’s allowing us to scan and peek quickly enough we don’t waste time on lifeless bubbles, places where nothing ever formed, or is forming, or will form... This could drive a person crazy I think.
You’re telling me, the mare thought.
Jan 25, 2365
Stanley has informed me privately, we are being scanned from somewhere in the Quantum Sea, we are being watched, something is out there looking at us, even as we are looking around. This is disturbing to me, and I asked Stanley to keep it between us for now, though it does make me wonder why he brought it to my attention, other than the Director or the Marine Commander.
Jan 30, 2365
Stanley and I have been talking a bit more since his revelation to me. Whatever is out there is far beyond us, it is powerful, and it is watching us. It appears to Stanley that he and his compatriot AI’s were scanned somehow through an aperture, nothing harmed, just appeared that whatever it was read the databanks and left. It’s odd, maybe I should contact the director on this, but Stanley is advising me to wait, something is up with the Director, and Stanley is suspicious. AI’s are known to be a bit paranoid, but Stanley has always been reliable and trustworthy, I’ll wait.
She frowned a bit at that, feeling the twinge of fear the writing brought her, she knew it now, the feelings of the writer comes through with the magic. So strange, feeling something that was more than just words on a page.
Jan 31, 2365
I will not be adding notes to these Scribes anymore, I’ll be switching to my private log books, hopefully that will keep my thoughts as private as I can. Stanley gave me some disturbing news today and I think things are not as it seems here. More later....
The little mare scowled, now really feeling the fear in the writers words. She closed the book with a slight exhalation, wondering what would cause this nice pony to feel so bad, then be so scared. Lifting her head, she scanned the shelves, noticing that the next book in line, looked like a normal parchment book, found anywhere in Ponyville. It struck her as odd, this pony switching writing from these magical books to a plain paper one, but maybe she just didn’t understand what was really going on. Hopefully, this next book would explain things more carefully? She hoped so, some of this stuff would cause headaches in any magic user, much less a simple pony like her.
She heaved herself upwards, dragging the book along with her, she was getting a bit tired and needed to rest. Between the excitement of this place, and the reading, and the new things all around her; the newness was wearing off and leaving her weary. This seemed like a safe enough place though, she hadn’t heard anything roaming around outside, or sniffing inside the little cave here.
She plunked the book into place on the shelf, and grabbed for the next one, it gave under her teeth, and she realized this one might be a bit more fragile than the others. Carefully, she tugged it out of place, letting it hang from her mouth as she walked over to her blanket. It was heavier than the others, it had the feel of age if not the look of it. She happily settled down again, and opened the cover, inside was an inscription on the very first page.
Log of Dr. Marcus Teller
Lunar Research Team 4, Aristarchus Base
Her eyes went a bit lidded as she read that, not fully grasping the rest, after the name. Though, what kind of a name was Teller? He told people things? Told on people? She shook her head and laid her chin on her hooves, just a moment’s rest, she thought. Then we’ll get back to reading, it won’t take long. Maybe after a nap, she would understand things a bit better, when she wasn’t so tired.
Her eyes closed, into the land of dreams she went. The air, a bit thick while she was reading, thickened even more as it enveloped her. Warmth stolen was returned, she was kept comfortable, her body relaxed as she softly snored. The bubble, outside the entryway, slowly closed while she slept, keeping the cave and all it’s precious contents, including the little mare...safe.
Stretching out along the blankets, she opened her eyes and realized she had slept longer than she realized. Blinking the sleep out of them, she took a look around, seeing the book, her blanket, her stuff. Her neck popped a bit as she stretched some more, working the kinks out, heaving herself up off the blanket and walking around for a moment. Her hoofsteps soft on the floor, a pattering sound in the still air as she worked out the knots in her muscles. But, enough time, she wanted to read more books! Plopping down on the blanket, she grabbed a cookie and munched on it, while flipping to the first page.
Feb 2, 2365
This is my private journal, Stanley will be keeping it, and any subsequent volumes, safely locked in storage, away from any private eyes. So from now on, nothing will be put into the Scribes, for safety.
Things have been getting strange here, it appears, the Director is doing something that Stanley is extremely suspicious of. He has reported to me that the Director is making transmissions on the Entanglement Line to Earth, what it is, Stanley’s not sure, but it appears it’s not to Lunar Headquarters back in Houston. I’ve chatted with the Marine Colonel, a Lt. Colonel Satterfield, he doesn’t appear to have any knowledge of anything besides his job here. There are people back on Earth, that would love to have all the knowledge about the Apertures and what we’re doing for personal gain. So whether it’s a private Earthcorp, or some government, I don’t know. I’ve asked Stanley to go to Hyper Awareness mode, this let’s him have priority on computing power, for surveillance on the Director. I despise having to do this, but it’s for the best. I’m worried.
Feb 14, 2365
Sitting here in the observation dome, I’m looking at the stars, wondering what can of worms we’ve opened here. The Military has boosted forces here in Aristarchus, the Director is making calls to an unknown person on Earth, and we are still being scanned by an unknown presence from out of the Quantum Sea. I have kept this from my colleagues, and it’s only Stanley and I that are in the know. I’m not sure what to do, and I dare not talk to anyone right now. I try not to let it affect my work, but it drifts in. It affects ME. But I so love my work, I do, seeing new places, for the first time. (I Hope) I admit, I’m learning more of things outside my own field, than I dreamed possible, planetary geology, plasma and particle physics. So many different things to learn in universes that are so different from ours, it boggles the mind.
We recently were observing a small universe, where the speed of light was actually 600 ft/sec, it was something to frazzle your nerves, when you realized that by changing that one constant that we know as 186,000 ml/sec, it changes so many things, how you see, how you perceive colors, how the eye has to adapt to a slower photonic hit. Beyond that, it gets complicated, far beyond what we could adapt to as we are.
The little mare sighed once more, as she felt a headache starting again...
But with it, wonders and discoveries. The majesty of a universe forming before our eyes, planets and suns coalescing out of the ether, the materials slamming together in titanic impacts that would dwarf any of our nucleonic weaponry even now. It makes one believe that it is all infinite, that so much we see, is probably less than 1% of what we COULD see out there. Just looking through the viewers some day brings a gasp and a thrill up your back. I have looked upon the face of all creation, and I wonder no more that there might be a direction to all of it.
But alas, the power of seeing things so beyond our scope, always comes back to the petty things we have to deal with in real life here. Stanley has found out that the Director is selling us out, he is in contact with our enemies, and is feeding them information that would allow them to build their own Apertures or Bridges. It cannot be allowed. Not out of the sense of patriotism, but the protection of those innocents in universes unknown if these cruel people decided they wanted the mineral wealth of an entire planet, deciding that the population was in the way.
Yes I know, it seems selfish, and we have been, but this, this knowledge which we have must be safeguarded for all of us, ALL of us. One day when the wars are gone, and the petty squabbles that divide us are worked out, maybe we can all go exploring the wonders of an unlimited universe of possibilities. As it is now, it would be used to dominate their fellows, put them under a yoke of which there would be no option but extermination. I have decided to confide in Colonel Satterfield, and Stanley concurs, there must be someone we can trust, and this knowledge is far, far too dangerous to every-one on the planet. I have been enjoying the miracles of space and time, we all have, and little time has been spent wondering of the impact such a thing could have on the people back home.
I wonder no more, I go to see Colonel Satterfield tomorrow.
“He was a good pony, “She said out-loud in the quiet room. “He was a pony of quiet strength, and he believed so much in what he was doing.” She looked upwards, wondering why she had spoke into the room, the walls absorbing the sound gently, listening to the little mare.
She stood up for just a moment, not quite understanding why and said firmly to the walls, “He was a good pony! He was a kind and gentle pony that cared! He cared enough to risk everything!” With that, she sat back down, embarrassed a bit that she would do that, but it felt right.. it felt right..
The walls, silent and ever watching, took it all in in silent agreement.
She lay back down on the blanket, settling her chin on her front hooves and continued reading.
Feb 15, 2365
I have returned from a meeting with Col Satterfield. Amazingly, he is a man of depth and breadth I had not imagined. He confirmed to me he had his suspicions of the Director for some time now, but that my revelations and Stanley’s tapes have confirmed it. He is setting up now to move on the Director before he can do any more damage. I hope it goes smoothly, who knows what the Director has up his sleeve in case he gets caught, but we must prevent this information getting into the wrong hands.
She flipped the page and hoped for the best, she was coming to care about this kind, and sad pony, whoever he was.
Feb 16, 2365
It seems the Director was not the only spy in this place, he had compatriots. Colonel Satterfield went yesterday with a squad of Exo-Armored Marines to arrest the Director, ship him immediately back to Earth, and were ambushed by someone. Another traitor had gotten wind of the plan somehow, and ambushed Colonel Satterfield and his Marines. it was a Nano-Weapon, and it’s effects were horrible. The device was a bomb, set for when they passed by, it scaled out and ate half the squad, reducing them to a goo, their screams came through control as people panicked. The walls were breached by the device, it depressurized an entire section with it, taking 23 people from the planetary ecosystems group.
I had friends there, and now, all I can do it write down what happened to them, nothing much is left after the weapon deployed and ate through the sector.
The depressurization alarm went off, and thank heavens for lots of practice. We scrambled into our suits, heading for the safety of the Vaults. Every section has one, tough durasteel vaults in case of meteorite bombardment, or in this case, losing air.
Once inside the Vaults, the command teams took over, directing the fusion plants into shutdown, going to solar backups. Over the channels, the screams of the wounded and dying rang in our ears like banshees from the darkest hells. It was a nightmare.
Colonel Satterfield, that brave and deadly man, led what was left of his squad into the thick of it, the Director was holed up in Hydroponics 1 with a team of his compatriots. The Colonel split his team up, one went outside to cut through a wall, as the others advanced down the hallway. It was a nightmare, I’ve never been in combat before, but those young Marines stood fast, the plasma frying the air as it flew thick and heavy. The spies throwing more nanoweapons, reducing sections of the station to nothing but dust in seconds, they were vicious things, the engineered nanites nothing but hungry, programmed to consume everything in sight and burn out..
We watched, helpless in the Vaults, as those young men and women didn’t throw their lives away, but gave of themselves more than anyone should. It was Iwo Jima.. Guadalcanal.. a thousand other places where brave Marines died so others may live.
The outside team had managed to make it to the roof of the Hydroponics Bay, cutting through with a plasma torch, the air steaming out into the vacuum of space. We watched them throw grenades into the hole, then jump in as the explosions gave them some cover.
It was over quickly after that, there was no mercy in those stone faces as they tramped the heavy suits through Hydroponics 1, shooting anyone who didn’t surrender immediately, and some we saw surrender.. We civilians didn’t care, we saw the horror of what happened and held no grudges.
I assisted with the cleanup, the Colonel didn’t want us anywhere near the battlefield, but our engineering group neutralized the remaining weapons efficiently from a distance, assuring the Colonel that it was fine to go in.
I helped. It wasn’t much, but I tried. There wasn’t much left of the friends I had known, and what was, we laid to rest outside in the lunar surface.. I can’t write anymore...
She wiped a tear from her eye, she didn’t know what half the words meant, but she could feel the agony, the pain and despair this poor pony had gone through. So much, for one life.
Mar 5, 2365
It has been a hard few weeks, work has been stopped while engineering crews gave the base a thorough going over, checking seams and seals, making sure we could resume operations. Regardless, the show must go on, too much is riding on us finding some way to bring resources here to a starving planet, or to find a shortcut to another in our universe so we can move and grow. We threw ourselves back in with a renewed dedication you’d call it. A fever burned bright in us now, that we would find or do something to make all this worthwhile, the loss, the pain.
Colonel Satterfield stopped by to chat with me over a glass of bourbon he had smuggled up on to the station. I just shook my head and accepted gratefully. We talked, of his Marines, of my friends, we sat and remembered together. He was certainly not the man I had thought he was, he was so much more.
Mar 10, 2365
We have encountered our first civilization in a bubbleverse. Well at least one we might possibly under-stand. At 0400hrs this morning, one of our viewers tunneled it’s way into a new bubble, showing us huge constructions that dwarfed some of the very stars nearby. It seems as if it’s what we’d call a Kardashev type 2 Civilization, probably a 2.3 as they seem to harness the power of a few suns surrounding their home system. We haven’t quite found that yet, but we are observing the traffic in space.. sublight I’m afraid.. and where it goes. So we may have a chance to make contact!
I talked with Colonel Satterfield, and the new Director, told them, we need to be very cautious, it wasn’t quite like me I’m sure. But after explaining my reasons, they both agreed, we will view for now, nothing more. And no direct contact.
Mar 15, 2365
I myself have been using the viewer for a personal project. Totally against the rules of course. But as a senior researcher, I have a bit of leeway. Stanley and I still haven’t revealed yet that someone in the Quantum Sea scanned us. I went looking for them, with Stanley’s help. We had narrowed down the signal to a few new areas, taking a slow look around, there was no hurry of course.
We found something, very odd, and very large from what Stanley was telling me, it was slightly different from the surrounding sea, so it drew Stanley’s attention immediately.
It appeared as just another bubble, in a foam of them, making it’s way serenely across the plenum. But from the readouts on my console, it was looking like this bubble was something different from the sea around it, some flux in it’s physics, I’m not sure, but something was very different about this place.
Stanley has just reminded me it’s time for bed, more tomorrow I’m sure.
Mar 16, 2365
I actually found myself excited this morning, the prospect of something new and different had taken its hold on me. Stanley remarked that I was whistling on the way to work as well. I’m sure I got a few odd looks, as the battle was not long in the past, and people are still grieving I’m sure. But we learn, we try and move on, or find something to take away the pain. It’s what I am doing, it’s the only way.. It’s that, or lose myself utterly to despair, and that, I won’t do.
But to continue..
She flipped the page, so much writing now, and she was glad she didn’t have to haul those heavy books down anymore for Celestia’s sake..
Stanley and I, during the early morning hours, all the other viewers were off shift, which was a perfect time to delve into our little mystery bubble. It was different, there was no doubt about that one. But how, and why, when we prepared to tunnel into it, it was taking quite a bit of power, enough so the Fusion Supervisor called and asked what the drain was all about. I soothed his nerves with the usual platitudes they expect from such lofty heights. ...Well actually I lied to him... but hey, I wear a lab coat and talk in ten syllable words... Trust me, I’m a physicist!
She actually laughed, feeling the impishness of the last few sentences, as if the writer was expressing some silly childhood glee at doing something and not getting caught for it.
But, we did get through, and to both our surprise, were stopped dead in our tracks. Something grabbed ahold of the viewer and stopped it dead, it wouldn’t move, nothing was wrong on our end, it was just held in place.
It was strange, but then it was let go and we resumed zooming into the nearest planet. Very odd, it appeared to be one of those single solar system type bubbles, usually not much to see, but what the heck, it was new, and I had found it, well, Stanley and I, credit where credit is due..
This one, however, was odder than most, it boasted a single sun, a moon, and one planet. The outer reaches of the system held asteroids, quite a few of them, but in stable orbits. This entire brane, consists of just this and nothing more, it was very much a puzzle. Stanley and I sat and discussed whether going forward was an option, but I guess curiosity got the best of both of us.
I am afraid though, curiosity will have to wait, it is late, so more tomorrow.
She flipped the page, amazed how this pony could hold off on wanting to know something. She knew alot of ponies would just die not being able to immediately know what was going on... Especially a certain pink one...
Mar 21, 2365
Well, myself and Stanley have finally decided to take the plunge. We’re going to sneak in tonight and see what we can see through the viewer. I’m excited, another new place, one a bit odd mind you, but a new and different place. Not just the constants are a bit off by our measurements, but the system itself is odd. One planet, a sun, a moon in lunar orbit like ours. Rings of heavy, metal rich asteroids in stable orbits far out from the planet. Sort of like a Oort Cloud, but no comets we can detect so far, nothing we can see within scanner range is a threat to the planet at all. It’s a stable system. Which is very odd, because noting the asteroids around the outer limits of this system, there are no ice balls.
Nothing like what we have in our own planetary environment. Its stable and secure. Which in itself is puzzling. Well at least to me, I’m sure Stanley has his own thoughts.
Planetary? She’d definitely have to ask Twilight about all that stuff..
As for the other civilization we encountered and have been watching, it’s been decided by those much higher than myself and Colonel Satterfield, that contact will be attempted. I myself am not sure of this,
I don’t know quite why, but I am not that enthralled with seeing us contact someone who so out powers anything we have. Maybe it’s an odd feeling, being the primitive tribesmen contacting a more powerful nation and saying hello, only to get consumed and overwhelmed.
Will we be? I don’t know, but the exchange of technology would change alot of things. They appear to have energy sources that far outstrip our Helium 3 Fusion plants, Zero-Point Energy maybe? Sucking from the Dirac Sea? That endless supply all around us. Or just something else we haven’t even thought of. The thought terrifies, but excites me as well. Maybe I worry too much about things that aren’t, or..well.. shouldn’t be, in my purview. As Colonel Satterfield mentioned to me. “Some things, we must shrug and accept. But we don’t have to do it blindly.”
So on to what we best! Sneaking a peek at other places!
We had tuned the viewer to present the least spectrum it could, the analysis of the planet verified that it had chlorophyll in the plant life, the usual gases for a civilization as well, and a couple other things that did not quite register on our scanners. Stanley admitted he was puzzled as well. But, onward! For science! And all that claptrap, I was just intrigued now, and, by listening to Stanley, he was showing an immense amount of curiosity for an AI.
She looked at the bottom of the page, it was quite empty, as if the writer had somehow just stopped in the middle of it. Her brow furrowed a bit, as she shrugged and turned to the next page.
Mar 22, 2365
I am stumped. Bamboozled. Frustrated, and completely aghast at what I’ve seen.
There are simply no words for what Stanley and I saw through the viewer yesterday.
Let me begin from yesterday...
We had slowly moved the aperture into orbit around the planet, there was no signs of any satellites nor installations as far as we could see. We scanned down as far as we could go, not knowing if a race might have made smaller satellites than we would, or we were just overly cautious.
Stanley says overly cautious.. He really should stop reading this over my shoulder as I write..
We did receive some strange power signals from below, but nothing recognizable. So, we both gave a silent nod and moved the viewer to a landmass directly beneath us. Beautiful seas along the planet, varied terrain. Colorful in a way, as the spectra of the suns output was slightly different from our own G2V classification, with some unusual properties along the hydrogen and luminosity lines. Those we recorded faithfully for further study. But the light, was warm, and very pleasant from what we could observe. It was 76F, and very nice weather from the looks of it.
We skirted along a mountainside, looking at the rock formations, which didn’t match any geological layering that matched ours. Along with everything else, the questions were piling up.
And then we saw it.
Something flew right by the viewer, fast and brightly colored, heading towards what we thought was the beginnings of a village. It appeared to be a camp, maybe some intelligent beings forming a society, and finally getting into the agrarian age of their own, but then I am making the mistake of comparing other civilizations to our own, but what other baseline did I have really?
We followed the trial down into the area of tents and small buildings, and once again, I am stumped. Of all the things we expected, or might have expected to see, they were equines.
Intelligent, industrious, equines. They were in all shades and colors, beautiful in the scanners view, the colors bright and noticeable among each one of them.
And the second thing, there were pegasi. I am shaking my head as I write this even.
Flying equines, swooping and drifting through the air as if not a care in the world. It was amazing, a society, based entirely upon intelligent equines. I was stunned, and from the lack of comment by Stanley, I’m sure he was amazed as well. These were things straight out of our mythology..or was our mythology based on them?
I just don’t know, I have no answers thus far, we can only observe and marvel.
Us? Was he talking about us? She wondered.
And the final blow, Unicorns. I couldn’t but not believe it.
There on the screen was a brightly colored horse about the size of a large pony really. But the horn was clear, it was prominent, and it appeared there were more around it as well. It appeared, to be using some form of telekinesis to raise a slab of wood up for others to attach to a framework.. The other, well equines, didn’t have either wings, nor horns, but appeared to be enormously strong, and quite without measure actually, lifting and hauling what would put a team of Clydesdales to shame here.
It WAS us!
Stanley and I watched for hours, fascinated at the building, the industriousness going on. It appeared to be almost a Medieval level of technology, if it wasn’t for the apparent use of Telekinesis, and even Pyrokinesis! We saw them start fires, use levitation on objects. It’s astounding, and a bit disturbing as well, it makes me wonder what else they might have up their sleeves so to speak. But then again, Stanley’s paranoia must be rubbing off on me.
More tomorrow, must think on this, it’s just amazing.
Mar 23, 2365
I have rigged up a personal console here in my quarters, using some extra equipment, where I can use a viewer and just view from my station. Stanley has arranged one viewer to be lost from the logs, so I can view without worrying if it will be traced. I worry, as I am bringing Stanley into this little cabal of one.
I worry it might affect him, if someone were to enquire about the missing viewer logs and specs.
He advised me not to worry, as he enjoyed looking at what we are now calling Sapientes Equorum, to use a vulgar term, “Wise Horses.” And they are wise. There are three distinct classes of them that we can observe so far, the Unicorns, the Pegasi, and ones without wings or horns, regular ponies one might say.
They are amazing to watch, putting buildings up, working in teams that take advantage of their various talents you might say.
We did notice another odd thing, there appear to be marks, or pictures along their hindquarters. We’re not quite sure what it symbolizes, but there are so many, and none quite the same. From animals, to plants, to tools, to other symbols we haven’t quite deciphered yet. It doesn’t appear that slavery exists here, or maybe it has, and these are the marks left from the revolt? We have no way or knowing without more research.
Time for me to do regular work today, it appears our beloved higher ups are initiating contact with the race I had discussed previously. I worry too much, and it would be exciting to see an exchange of technology that would benefit the world. Patience is the key I believe.
She flipped the page, feeling Teller’s apprehension in his words, he truly was worried about meeting those other ponies whoever they were, it sounded like he wasn’t all that trustful of them. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking of the sky beyond, and the stars at night, wondering how far that person was away from here.
Mar 26, 2365
Well, contact was made, it was a bit anti-climactic. An exchange of knowledge, maybe an ambassador or two, it was all very hush hush of course. Can’t let the plebes know it wasn’t all out exciting or anything.
It appears they are called the Cindirak, a hybrid race of machine and organics. I think back on that old 2d movie, The Terminator. They appear to be fairly well off in their universe, not having much research into the Quantum Sea. From what the Colonel told me, they were very interested in what we had found, and how we had done it, seeing as their universe is huge, but they haven’t brokenthe lightspeed barrier yet as well. They have been looking for a way to cross vast distances, to reach other systems in their brane, and maybe our breakthrough can assist them in doing so. Or they can help us reach the same thing. It’s all very non descript, and frankly, I’m glad.
Think I’m getting gray hairs from worrying so much about things. Time to take a break, go and kick on the viewer in my quarters, maybe we’ll see something new today.
Mar 26, 2365 continued.
Sitting here, writing as I observe this wonderful planet. It appears to be so much more than I had thought.
The landmass on which we had made planetfall, was not just a village, there are whole cities out there! Almost a 20th century technical scale. There are medieval type villages, but then there are solid cities on the coast. Buildings of stone. It’s such a paradox.. We see them building these edifices, but can make no sense of the disparity of the tech levels. Is it chosen by community how they live? Does someone dictate to them? We don’t have the answer to that one, yet.
Stanley is now working on their spoken language, yes, they speak and communicate quite well actually. We have found tomes and scrolls as well, a written language. By sending in a few nanoprobes, we have scanned and copied what we have found and stored them in the databanks locally, hopefully Stanley can decipher them.
It appears, though I’m not quite sure, that either our world was influenced by theirs, or theirs was influenced by ours. It’s a very odd toss-up. I see evidence of Roman influence, Greek and Greco-Roman styles, in further cities, 20th century americana, it’s all quite confusing, as if someone had a dream, and decided it all looked good together. Sort of like the Jackson Pollack of a living world.
The different architecture, styles and usage of things is a polyglot of earth societies and styles, but it does seem to work fine for our friends.
A couple of other things of note. The equines with no wings or horns, seem to have a green thumb,or hoof, or whatever. Whatever they plant, grows, it’s instinctive it appears. They know how much water or nutrients, and those plants grow faster than anything I’ve ever seen. Are they engineered somehow? Or is this normal in this universe? I don’t know, but we’ll be dedicating a few probes to looking at the plant genetics themselves.
More tomorrow...
She cocked her head to the side, recognizing some things from the description, Earth Ponies.. Unicorns, Pegasus, all of them were there. And how far did this good pony have to travel to see them? Was it far across space? Like Luna did when she traveled from the moon? How alike they must be to us, she thought. Always wondering, looking, exploring.
She read on...
Mar 27, 2365
It appears talks with the Cindirak are going well, some technologies we could use to boost our own nanotech is coming across now. We can slow, or even halt aging with this, making folks healthier, and live longer than the normal spans now. Wouldn’t that be something to see? Maybe these old bones wouldn’t creak as much when I got up in the morning? Along with manufacturing techniques, and some different food manufacturing, we can feed billions off of it, without more than the land we have now.
I was wrong to worry, but I still do. In my experience, when something looks too good to be true, it usually is. I have shared my concerns with the Colonel of course, we have become close friends actually. A doddering old academic, along with a military man, who would have though a few months ago?
Continued...
In my quarters, Stanley has been keeping records of the probes, and all the video we’ve shot so far of the new world, this land of the Equus. It’s exciting, and also, pure in a way that you don’t see, except for books, or magazines. Something about this land, and yes, we’ve seen fights, wars actually, but the concensus seems to be one of cooperation and goodwill. If only we could spread that.
That’s not to say there isn’t evil in the land, a forest nearby the village is chock full of nasty things it appears, though not to bother the village much. Stanley and I have observed a very different equine take the brunt of battle, a very pure white one, who seems to be the leader of this village, if not the entire continent.
She is radically different from the three races we have seen so far, she possesses both wings and the horn of a unicorn. What this means bears some scrutiny, but she appears to be more powerful by orders of magnitude than the other folk.
Is this genetics at work? Is this what evolution might do in a different place and time from ours? Nothing I have noted here is so far off our baseline that it would account for anything like what we’ve seen. It’s truly a mystery, and one I’m happy to delve into.
The little mare sighed, so many things she didn’t quite grasp, even with the help of the language stone. Some concepts seemed to just be out of reach, if only she knew more, understood the deeper meanings. But one thing she did recognize, was the description of Princess Celestia!
April 3, 2365
The lateness of my entry comes with a baleful revelation I am afraid. Early on April 1, a message was sent to my personal viewer setup, it contained one sentence. I feared it was just a silly prank by the others on my team, but from asking around, discreetly of course, it appears my setup is still unknown and untraceable. It consisted of one sentence only, no destination address, nor was a source address found by Stanley...
“Do not trust the Cindirak.”
And with that, a whole new adventure started. This couldn’t be held back, I had to trust someone again. With no hesitation I went to Colonel Satterfield, I explained to him about the scanning, the odd bubble in the Quantum Sea, I showed him pictures and video of this wonderful world Stanley and I had found. I was not sure what was going through his mind at that moment, but I saw his face, watching these folk go about their daily lives with a longing I hadn’t seen before. He sighed and shrugged, pulling at his sleeves before speaking.
“I don’t think anyone needs to know about this place Doctor...ever. As for the message, let me take care of it.” As he got up from the chair, he stopped at the doorway, and turned to me with a final thought..
“And Doctor, would you find it rude of me to ask...well.. if maybe I can come along with your adventures in this new world? Just as an observer of course you understand!”
I was flabbergasted right down to my feet. I nodded and told him he was always welcome here, he was my friend, and Stanley’s. He was more than welcome, more than!
He nodded politely and walked out of my room, leaving me flatfooted and totally speechless. I chided myself, for constantly underestimating this man, this friend of mine over these last few months.
It is time for bed, more later....
She could feel the pure amazement of Teller, at the other pony’s revelation, and wondered why he was so awed at what that pony had said. It’s not such a big deal is it? To share in things? To discover and wonder at what life has? Was that so hard for some folks?
April 6, 2365
Colonel Satterfield and I sat together, observing this strange world together in my quarters. He observed my viewing, asking pointed questions about a few things, which brought some things into place for me.
He was quite the interested observer, I believe, seeing a bit of peace when all he’s known is probably war. It was surprising, a man of his skill and dedication, given over to watching something out of a fairy tale. But onward with more observations.
The equines in the makeshift village, are hardly the same as ours here, their brain cases are much larger, along with their eyes, seeming to take in and process more information than normal. They are far from stupid, or machinelike in anything they do, intelligence is rampant.
Stanley has informed us just now, he has deciphered their language, it happens to be a form of English. I am amazed we didn’t pick this up earlier, but then, I wasn’t really listening to the audio, I let Stanley handle that. I am more interested in what he’ll find in those books, scrolls and whatnot we’ve taken files of. He says he’s almost got the written language cypher solved, but is looking for more examples to compare it to.
As for myself and the Colonel.. We sat and watched a campfire, around which the ponies sang.
The little mare sat quietly, wondering how long ago this was,. She reached a forehoof out, bringing the language gem a bit closer, feeling a warmth from it as she set it under her chin, resting her head on her forehooves, reading onward into the book.
April 8, 2365
Watching the scanners, as I sat in my quarters, reviewing the films previously taken of the Equine World, I noticed something. I conferred with Stanley, and he agreed, for some reason, each one of those Equines, were emitting a quantum signature. All of them, some stronger than others, but all to a one, they had them. Which was raising more questions than it answered. There was no high tech anywhere we had seen, and we had scanned constantly, nor was there any indication they had such a leap in technology anywhere!
And of course, to add to my consternation, Stanley brought to our attention something we had not even noticed in our rush to make planetfall with the viewer. I do wish sometimes he wouldn’t be so polite about things, but once again, I am old, with a stubborn mind, it’s not Stanley’s fault, it is my own blinkered ways.
The planet was not rotating.
It was not moving, nor was it rotating, but we had seen the day and night cycle happen. This was truly something to shock. The SUN moved. I look at what I just wrote and still cannot believe it.
The sun, and the moon, were keeping a day/night cycle, by moving. The planet was not rotating on any axis, nor was it moving it all, it was the reverse.
This wasn’t just strange, nor odd, it was pure madness.
Any planetary physicist would go absolutely stark raving bonkers seeing this. It defied the very meaning of any theories of planetary development we’d even thought of. All our models, all our theories and thoughts, go right out the window. This was absolutely unprecedented in all the other places we had viewed, this was something out of science fiction. But there it was, the planet, serene and comfortable, not rotating at all.
I shook my head, and looked up at a knock on my door, the Colonel coming for his weekly visit and chat. I told him what Stanley and I had just discussed, his eyes widened with ..shock? Amazement?,, I wasn’t quite sure. But he did set down heavily and put his chin in his hand.
“So, Marcus, what would this mean?”
I thought wildly for a moment as a myriad of things came through my mind, were discarded for other ideas, thrown away and left with...
“It was made.”
Even that revelation threw me into a quandry, taking everything I knew, and tossing it aside, making the assumption that it was so. It was, to my small mind I’m sure, incomprehensible. Why? Why would someone take the time, and not to mention a titanic effort, to make one world, one.... And then it hit me..
“It’s a Dyson Sphere! On my god, it’s a Dyson Sphere!” The Colonel looked at me quizzically for a moment before I replied.
“Not the way we think of a Dyson Sphere Colonel.. look..”
“Dyson Freeman postulated that a technological society, within a few thousand years of reaching industrialization, would possibly be living in a biosphere, which completely surrounds its parent star. Olaf Stapledon, a sci-fi writer, coined the term sphere for which folks have credited Dyson..and I’m sorry, I digress.. It’s not the planet itself, it’s the WHOLE UNIVERSE! This membrane universe was created to hold this planet Colonel!”
I stood up and began pacing the floor while the Colonel watched me, a bit of amusement crossing his features, I’m sure seeing a scientist do the typical “Eureka” moment was quite something to see.
I was sure I was waving my arms around like a madman, eyes probably wild, pacing the floor as I postulated my theory on this.
“That’s it, it explains everything! The planets non rotation! The strange absorption lines from the sun, the stability. Can you imagine what it would take to MAKE this whole thing? I bet the planet was made as well. My god, someone created all this! Colonel this is absolutely stunning!”
He just looked at me for a moment and chuckled, so serene even in the face of this revelation, which to any scientist would mean the complete destruction of his own view of the universe as a whole.
“Well Doctor, I think after flapping your arms for the last five minutes you’d be quite tired, please have a seat if you would?”
I must have gobbled at him, then sat with a heavy thump on my chair.
Continued...
She flipped the page, chuckling a bit at this pony flapping his hooves around, as she understood it, and making funny faces as he tried to explain to that other pony, the Colonel.
He stared at me for a few seconds before letting the smile slip from his face. “Doctor, that’s the most animated I’ve seen you in months. Could you be wrong about this?”
I thought furiously, matching everything we’ve found, there were a few outstanding questions that nagged at the back of my mind, but for everything else, it fit, perfectly. All the puzzle pieces fell into place. This was a Dyson Universe, someone had MADE this..
“No Colonel,” I turned my face upwards, “Stanley, can you concur or no?”
Stanley replied in his sonorous voice, “Yes Doctor Teller, as far as the data I have goes, it matches the facts quite well. I have no objections so far.”
The Colonel and I stared at each other for a few minutes I’m sure. It was a bolt out of the blue, something I’d never thought of even during this project. A Dyson Universe, who or what, could have possibly wanted to some project like this, just thinking of what it would take to make the basics of such a thing, it boggled the mind!
We stood up at the same time, it was late, and I’m sure the Colonel had matters to attend to, but with a parting farewell, he looked at me most seriously.
“Do not tell anyone of this Doctor.”
I sputtered! Why not?
“A world unspoiled by people like us, is a rare thing, and whoever built it, may not look kindly on any person or race that would disturb it.”
And with a nod, he was off to do his rounds, leaving me thinking most seriously on what he said.
I need sleep, and time to think of course. More later.
She could feel the frustration, some fear, and a clear mind in this pony. She knew it now, somehow that gem was passing on the feelings of the writer, which in itself was amazing, but was it supposed to do that?
April 10, 2365
A couple days off was what I needed I believe, thinking about the conclusions Stanley, I and the Colonel had come too. So many things by the wayside as this took all my concentration. So I turned my regular duties over, to concentrate on a few things with this. Leaving aside the strange marks the Equines had on them, all the other data we had recovered appeared to fit the hypothesis.
Now we know what we’re looking for, Stanley and I have discovered the evidence of nanotechnology at work in the place. It is everywhere! Throughout the plants, the planet, the equines and other creatures themselves. This, this is the discovery that pieces it all together.
When we first saw the Unicorns, we saw levitation, telekinesis, even some teleportation. Unexplainable so far, but now, now we can see whats happening. These nanites infesting everything are working at the quantum level, maybe even beyond that, to a heretofore unknown level of the plenum. We’ve only just started ourselves, so what do we really know?
But after looking at some of the books, and scrolls those equines refer to as “magic” it’s clear. It’s not magic, it’s that the spells contained are command codes for the quantum nanites. The Unicorns horns act much like an antenna, directing the nanites through the command codes, and using them to create effects much like spells! I believe it was Clarke that said it correctly, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
These “spells” are arranged in such a way, they give direction and intent to the quantum nanites, directing them to do certain things. The more proficient one is, the more one can do.
This goes far, far beyond anything we’ve ever imagined for nano technology. Can these nanites be able to alter reality itself? I’m not sure, but in this particular universe, which is literally infested with the little buggers, I wouldn’t doubt it. They are everywhere, throughout the peoples and lands, even through the limited space between the planet and the moon and sun. Once we knew what we should be looking for, Stanley ran the scanners faster than I ever could, and bingo.. we were in business.
Looking back at the three races we’ve mostly observed, I can only assume, within every one of them is a host of nanites, giving them their properties. We’ve seen Pegasi fly, interact with the weather, actually dispersing clouds, or bringing in rain, oh how it all fits together! We got lucky and found a Unicorn we could scan, and it proved to be mostly correct, we’re not sure what, exactly are the parameters, as we see varying numbers of the Unicorns, the Pegasi, and the regular equines.
Is their genetics determined by something else? Is it randomized? So many questions I would place to the person, or persons who created this marvelous universe.
I’m not sure, but now,everything falls into place, is the sun actually a huge fusion generator? Or something else? We must get scanners on those, we’ve got to see what actually is going on with this universe, so many questions to be answered!
I deride myself for not paying more attention, more watching than anything, and of course, Stanley had his usual pithy comment to make..
“Hmph”
And along with his sparkling conversation skills, it makes me feel SO humbled..
She laughed, this Stanley pony must be a bit uptight, she could feel the good natured humor even without the gem.
But so many questions of course, and think of the technology, setting up artificial suns! What we could do on those lifeless planets in our own system! Bring life everywhere! Oh the possibilities are so endless.
But with that, it is time for this scientist to sleep, more tomorrow.
She could feel the language gem underneath her chin warming up, it was getting very hot now as she reared her head back a bit, looking at it. It glowed, more brightly than it ever had when she’d used it before. But it drew her eyes to it, reflecting them in the gems facets as she stared intently into it...and suddenly.. she was THERE! She was inside that pony Teller! Sweet Celestia!
Marcus woke up that morning, an odd ominous feeling he just couldn’t shake. But the Colonel had advised him of what to do, and he proceeded apace. Collecting copies of all the data cubes, he condensed them, along with copies of the Scribes, made to look like books with thick pages, but they were so much more. Information stored in the molecules of each one, could hold more data than most computers or systems in the 20th century. He brought a cart into his quarters, stacking it as neatly as he could, just in case of trouble, he could take his work with him, save what remained. Putting a small case on top, he strapped it down very carefully, for inside, was the cube that held a complete copy of Stanley, the AI, with all the knowledge and experience he had gained over the years working here, it was priceless in case anything happened to the original.
The little mare was astonished, understanding a bit more about those odd books.
Marcus sat to catch his breath, feeling his chest heaving a bit as his internal medical nanos took care of him, slowing the adrenaline and keeping him balanced. They could not stop aging, but they helped tremendously with the elderly. He grabbed his cane and hobbled over to his computer, directing it to see if he could bring up any cameras around the base. As the pictures started coming up on the monitor, the base rocked! A rumbling sound came through the floor making Marcus tilt and grab for the counter!
That was not a quake he thought, that was definitely NOT a quake! He turned to hear his door banging open, Colonel Satterfield was in the doorway, heavy Exo Armor making him appear bulky and huge.
“They lied Marcus, they lied to us!”
“Who Colonel?”
“The Cindirak! They had quantum technology like ours all along, this diplomatic crap was nothing but a tactic to get information on us and how powerful we might be. God we were so STUPID Marcus!” He slammed an armored fist into the doorframe, denting it heavily.
“They have somehow translated ships above the base, we’ve got Earthguard Cruisers on the way, boosting to Lunar orbit, but it’ll be a few minutes. Marcus you need to leave now! That rumbling were some sort of kinetic strike packages, they seem to not want to irradiate anything, so they’re tossing mass driver packages..”
I knew about those things, I knew exactly what he was referring too.. I had made those things, designed them for war, for destroying everything.. My inventions had killed millions.. and I still grieved. I turned to look out the window onto the lunar surface, there in the distance, the muzzles of plasma weapons, the iridium barrels shining, rose into the night, rapidly firing death at anything they touched. Further on, the rail guns, and mass drivers rose into play, the field come alive, and I, I was it’s creator. Hypervelocity missile launchers spat their payloads, intercepting incoming kinetic packages, or anything they could lock on to. The Lunar surface had now become host to what I, in my sadness, had designed.
She knew now why he grieved, creating those things. She could see the flash and silent thunder of the things lighting up the black of space. Beams of colored light shot from the surface upwards as explosions tore through the velvet dark. In the back of these memories, she saw the real reason, his wife, gone so many years, but still remembered by him. Killed needlessly in an attack, and that’s why he turned to weapons, his anger, his outrage. His sorrow.
“Marcus, get your stuff and get to the shuttle bay, we’ve got to clear the base, we...” He tilted his head, listening to the radio implanted in his mastoid as he received updates from his marines. “They’re dropping some sort of troops or tanks, we’re not sure, Marcus you need to leave NOW!”
He nodded his gray head, fastening the helmet on his armored suit, he checked the oxygen supply, making sure he was powered up and followed the Colonel out into the hallways, the big Marine making a hole for him and his precious cargo.
Clicking his own radio on, “Colonel, is everyone else on their way?”
“Yes, we’ve got most of the shuttles gone, I came looking for you. We started evacuating as soon as we saw an aperture open, thank god you warned me Marcus, I had troops positioned for just this thing, we’ve got most everyone away, but for you, we need to hurry.”
His old bones creaked as he pushed the cart forward, the precious cargo in his sight as he made way through the corridors, very few people still there, slamming against the walls to make way for the Colonel and the scientist behind him. They recovered quickly, heading for their own escape craft. He could feel the rumble, and thunder of explosions near the base as they turned the corner to the launch bays. The corridors and floors tilting dangerously, the crust of the moon suffering massive upheavals.
“Doctor Teller.” The voice was a polite contralto, soft and soothing, emanating from his mastoid radio implant.
His head snapped upwards, looking around for the speaker, realizing it came over his radio.
“What?”
“No Doctor Teller, it is not your friend. You must listen to me and quickly.”
Marcus looked around, stopping for a moment, then resuming the rush towards the launch bays.
“What? What do you want? WHO are you?”
“Time for that later, you and your friend must listen to me. I have arranged a way out, it is temporary and it is imperative you use it.”
“Why should I believe you? You are probably the Cindirak tapping our communications links!”
“No, Doctor Teller, I am the one who warned you of them. They are slavers, they are aggressive and very deadly, your Earth will have it’s hands full fighting them. But you, and your friend, must use this escape path. I need you to trust one more time Doctor Teller. It is crucial you do this.”
The little mare, observing all this from inside his thoughts was speechless, all the things happening around was like a magic show. Too much happening to get a grasp on what was going on, she was just along for the ride it appeared.
“I.... I can’t, we must use the shuttles! Stop trying to distract me!” He grabbed the bar on his cart tighter, pushing forward, the power assisted legs on his armor digging into the floor to carry him along faster.
“Doctor Teller, if you do not use this path, they will take you. They will strip your brain of it’s knowledge, and use it for the taking of other races, other universes. Do you want this?”
He stopped dead in his tracks, the Colonel in front stopping as well when he noticed Marcus wasn’t following him. He was walking back to him while the voice went on.
“Take the next corridor on your left, trust me, there will be an opening, step through it and you will be safe, I promise you this.”
He sighed to himself, and nodded. WHat he knew could not get into other hands, he motioned to the Colonel, “We need to take a left Colonel, please, trust me on this, next corridor.”
“What’s going on Marcus?” He was scanning the now deserted corridors for trouble, his weapons up and charged, bleaming in the reddish glow of the alert lights.
“A friend has contacted me, we’ll be safe down the next corridor, please Colonel, do this for me.”
A rumbling traveled down the corridor, almost knocking them off their feet, the Colonel swung around, facing a huge thing in the corridor, it had just broken through the ceiling and was crushing it’s way inside, baleful eyes..scanners? Whipping around to face the Colonel as the armored marine unloaded his weapons on it.
“GO Marcus, just GO, do what you have to, but go!” He kneeled down, aiming his plasma rifle down the corridor and unleashing a firey hell towards the monster in the way. Splashes of sunfire rained across it’s carapace, it’s legs skittering like an armored centipede as it rushed towards the Colonel, blisters melting and burning through as the soldier held it back from getting closer. It raised something along it’s length and fired back, the colonel’s armor rang with impacts.
Marcus hesitated for only a moment and pushed the cart down the left hand corridor, the colonel following him, backing up as he did, ripping off a torrent of grenades, the nanites inside the explosives eating holes through the hideous thing tracking them both. Smoke rose as the programmed weapons did their jobs, eating through the ravenous machine, it hesitated, then rushed forward again, getting to within arms length of the colonels armor before it dropped burning in the hallway. The colonel reloaded as they both rushed to what seemed an opening, in the middle of the hallway, he pushed Marcus towards it.
“Go on, I’ll join you in a second, run my friend.”
Marcus stepped through the doorway with barely any thought, turning around to see the Colonel get smashed to the floor, another machine dropping from the ceiling as it started ripping through his armor with spiked arms. The colonel screamed, pushing his rifle into the things belly and pulling the trigger, hot plasma burning both him and the attacker, sparks and actinic light filled the hallway as the opening closed on the horrific scene.
“NO, nonono, open it, get him!”
The soft voice came back on his radio implant once more, soothing, in control, “I am sorry Doctor Teller, he is gone, he triggered the self destruct in his suit as soon as he saw the portal close, I am sorry. Truly, I am.”
Marcus fell to his knees and banged one hand on the cart, his mind reeling, another friend, a companion, gone. Why was this happening?
“Doctor, please, I am sorry for your friend. But he was protecting you, and I believe, that was his duty, as not just a friend, but as a soldier?”
Marcus nodded, sobbing quietly in his helmet, the voice let him be for a few minutes, until he sighed once, tears flowing down his face as he looked about, seeing where he was for the first time.
A room, simple, and bare, metal walls, floor, ceiling, nothing to distinguish it from any other room in the moon base. Except for the warm light filling it, it was just him, his cart, and the voice.
“Where am I? Who are you?”
“I am that which was set over to watch and keep safe, the universe you discovered Doctor Teller. When the Cindirak attacked, I had to move quickly, I would have preferred contacting you another way, but it was expedient to do this. I could not let your knowledge of this place, get into the possession of them, nor any other inimical race.”
“Couldn’t you have warned us earlier? Told us SOMEthing?” He banged a hand against his helmet, trying to wipe away the tears covering his cheeks, “Couldn’t you have helped us?”
“The atmosphere here is fit to breathe, and is warm for you Doctor Teller, you can remove your helmet.”
Marcus reached upward, unfastening the clamps and seals, feeling cool, sweet air flow along his face, one gloved hand raising to wipe the tears from his face. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, feeling the loss so deep and rough inside his heart.
“You could have told us.. you could have done something..”
“I could not Doctor Teller. My one job, my only purpose, is to keep this universe and it’s environs safe, from any, and all hostile, or inimical beings. Those that live here shall do so, without outside interference or direction. Your “viewer” attracted my attention, as I attracted your machine intelligence when I scanned your data banks. I had to know who, and what you were. When the Cindirak attacked, I had to devise an alternate plan to what I originally was going to do, which was contact you, and convince you to erase any and all information concerning this place. But, the slavers prevented that, before I closed the portal, I delved into Stanley and the other machine intelligences banks, and deleted them permanently, the Cindirak will not get ahold of any information from them. If you had not listened to my direction Doctor Teller, I am afraid I would have had to harm you, and your friend. I am loathe to do so, but my one purpose, within limits, overrides all else. Once again, I am sorry for the colonel, he was a good, and brave friend.”
“He truly was, good and brave, and honest, “ Marcus sighed again, rubbing his forehead and taking a few moments to himself before asking. “So what do we do now?”
“You are currently on one of my defense platforms in the outer reaches of this small pocket universe doctor, you cannot stay here. The weaponry I employ in defense of this place, is far more than you imagine. No matter what I did to protect you, it would kill you, and as I said, I am loathe to do so. You trusted me, I will repay that as best I can.” The voice hesitated for just a moment, “There are things in the Quantum Sea Doctor, far more powerful, and to use your term, evil, than you can imagine. The slavers are a miniscule bother compared to some out there.”
Marcus rubbed his eyes, to clear them, putting on his glasses as he stood up, leaning on the cart. “Then what shall we do?”
“As we speak, my machines are constructing a dwelling place for you on the planet. You will be comfortable there, with as much as I can give you. It is underground, near the village you were watching with your viewer. But, I cannot let you interact with those who live there, I am sorry, truly. But the knowledge you possess is not for them. I know it is not much, but it is all I can offer. “
He nodded in agreement, silently accepting his imprisonment.
“I have also started replacement of your medical systems with some of our own devising, they will keep you healthy, and aware for as long as you wish, though there is a decision you can make...”
The voice waited quietly for him to ask it seemed, “And what would that be?”
“I can remake you, into one of them, but your memories, your self would be gone, you would be another among thousands, a simple soul living among others. “
He thought seriously about that for just a moment, being one of the village ponies, living, a life fulfilled, but not himself. “Any other choice?”
“You can be my eyes down there Doctor, sleeping away the years between checks, and reporting to me and the others who are here watching and protecting, those like myself. You could watch them to your hearts content. And also...”
“Yes?”
“We, myself and the others placed here, are lonely, it would be nice to have someone to talk to.”
Marcus smiled, his heart warming for the first time in, he didn’t really know how long, but it was something. Watching over these good folk, seeing them work their way up to whatever the future held. It was something, it was everything now.
“I can do that. I truly can, I don’t know if you or I are allowed to help, but surely, we can find a way down the road?”
“That might be a talk for later Doctor, are you ready?”
“He grabbed the carts handle, and with a determined look on his face, nodded, and then stopped, “Oh! But I want one favor before all this.”
“Yes Doctor?”
The little mare snapped into herself, shaking her head and looking all around to make sure she was still in the room, the books, the shelves, the light, her blanket, everything. She blinked a few times, clearing her eyes of tears it appeared, feeling the warmth from Teller, as he accepted the voice’s proposition, but was sad she didn’t know what he wanted, until she looked downward.
The book she was reading, was on it’s last page, and there was one last entry...
My name is Marcus Teller.
I stand here, on a hill above the town, of which the watcher informed me, is named aptly, Ponyville. The grass is soft, and the breeze is gentle, as I look up into an unknown sky, seeing stars, the moon, the whole universe at hand. I look out among the quiet houses one last time before my exile from this place, breathing the scented air, and taking in a look, at what I’d only seen from afar. I see new orchards being planted, houses going up, even a railway is being built. So many questions and time to find the answers now.
To those who read this, these journals contain not what they once did, but new magic, and things for you to learn, and they will come in time I’m sure, released out into the world bit by bit. As it stands, you cannot take them for now, but know they are here.
As for this place, know this. Someone loved you, loved you so very much, they built this place for you, protecting it as best they could from all harm, from the outside, to let you develop and become something on your own. Never lose sight, that to be loved is one of the greatest things in this universe or any other.
I go now to my rest for a while, and wish, whoever reads this, my very best.
The little mare closed the book, replacing it gently on the shelf and went back to pack up her things. Putting the blanket inside her pack, making sure she had everything, tightening the straps once more, she stopped, and looked towards the mirror one last time.
Approaching it, she reached out a forehoof touching the impenetrable surface, softly saying, “Rest well, good and brave pony.”
She turned to leave, noticing the lights turning off behind her, the bubble slowly replacing itself to block the entry way. Squeezing outside once more, she realized, the rock crevice was also closing. But, no one would believe her now, no one, not without showing them the bubble inside!
She sat and looked as the rock wall slowly relaced itself, ending up looking just like the rest of the hill, seamless and undisturbed. Lowering her ears, she figured at least she could tell her friends about the adventure, and whether or not they believed her, she’d know it was real.
She trotted down the hill, eager to get back to Ponyville, tales to tell, and besides, from the look of the sun in the sky, it was evening, and Mr. Cake always had something nice to buy at the store in the evenings..
End.