"...Say unto Our Sist'r, 'Prithee, harken unto Our supplications! Dearest Sist'r, We art s'rry! We shalt declare this to the heav'ns and even unto Harm'ny, Herself, to the end of Our days: We art so s'rry..."

**Unknown location**
**Incursion Day minus Twenty, current year**

"With that vote being unanimous, we hereby agree to leave behind our old names. Amongst ourselves, we will henceforth use codenames. We will use the codenames for each other here and after egress. We are in this together, but the odds of us arriving together is very low. These will be how we recognize one another on Equus, because we will in all likelihood have brand new names given to our new selves soon after arrival."

"I will be One," said One.
"I will be Two," said Two.
"I will be Three," said Three.
"I will be Four," said Four.
"I will be Kevin," said Kevin.
"I will be Six -wait. Kevin? What the hell, dude."

"The Roman numeral for five is 'V,'" Kevin said, "and there is a 'V' in Kevin. See? It works on several levels."

Four laughs.

Six asks, "But what if we change sexes after?"

"These are just code names, Six," Kevin answers. "We should get names from Harmony or our new parents or whoever to match our new selves. Right?"

“Harmony willing,” Four says.

Everyone nods and seems to follow Kevin's line of thinking, who continues, “So, the code name is just a code name."

Four adds, “Harmony willing.”

One asks, "Can I change mine, then?"

"To what?"

"I don't know," One says, "Something cool like... Solo or -no!- Optimus."

"See what you did, Kevin?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't think the number convention was all that clever is all."

"Didn't you see that episode of Star Trek?" Two asks.

"No."

Three starts lighting a cigarette and says, "These code names have to be very short -like one or two symbols. Numbers make the most sense. We're going to be trying to contact each other through public channels without alerting the local indigenous populations; so, we need things that are both innocuous and inconspicuous while hiding in plain sight."

Two adds, "We also do not know how much information we will transfer across with us, so keeping it as short as possible seems like the safest bet."

"... Okay," One concedes, "I'll be One... but 'Kevin'?"

"He'll use 'V' when we have to write it," Two says while looking at Kevin. "Is that acceptable?" Kevin nods. "Okay." Two points at the next in our group.

"I will be Six," said Six.
"I will be Seven," said Seven.
"I will be... The Ocho," said Ocho. Six sighs. Several heads just shake.

"So... You actually did it?" One asks.

"...We did, yes," Kevin answers. Several backs get congratulatory slaps after a round of applause.

"Oh my!" The Ocho vibrates, "This is exciting."

"...You guys are geniuses..." Four declares.

Kevin says to Four, "We wouldn't have sought this goal if we weren't inspired to do it."

Six asks, "And you can actually get us there? Like, there there? Equestria?"

Three starts to explain, "I mean... that depends on your definition of 'there' but-"

"Wait, what does that mean?" Asks One.

"Well," Three continues, "the problem deals with both possibility and probability."

"What does that mean?" One asks again.

"Keep it simple," Four adds, "please."

After a moment of thought, "Not everything that can be conceived exists physically outside of the imagination," Three says, "however, there are places related to the imagination which can exist physically outside of Here; therefore, There is a there to get to."

Kevin adds, "The trick is locating it."

"You're talking about possibility here?" asks The Ocho.

"Yes... well, mostly yes," Three replies.

"As in: infinite possibility?" The Ocho seems to be catching on, at least.

"Yes. In theory."

Two clarifies, "We didn't exactly try to count."

"So..." Six inquires, "how do we know the place we're trying to get to is the one we're trying to get to?"

Kevin says, "That is where probability comes into the mix."

"What does that mean?" One asks.

"There is something of a range of probabilities," Two says to One.

"..." Seven seems to be following the conversation but is not volunteering to add to it.

"I think I see," The Ocho says slowly, "you guys are saying there's multiples of it?"

Three answers, "I mean -technically- there are multiples of everything everywhere-"

"But you can actually get us to the real one... or one like it?" The Ocho asks.

"Like the show?" One is catching on.

"The show?" Two states, "No. That's just a show. Fiction."

Becoming confused now, One starts to say, "But you said-"

Two interjects, "-We said we can get us there: to Equestria. Equus. No one said anything about going inside a cartoon. We're talking about the actual place."

Six says, "But... I can conceive of the possibility that the show is a place..."

"It doesn't work like that." Three answers Six flatly.

"But," Six insists, "isn't it somehow probable if it's possible?"

"You're thinking about this too hard," Three says.

"We could just strap up to a VR headset if we want the cartoon," Kevin tries to clarify, "we're talking the actual place."

"Let that brain of yours rest for a minute. It has enough stress going on."

"Don't be mean to Six," Seven says, "The Ocho."

The Ocho mumbles an apology.

"The actual place, you say?" Four is looking off beyond the walls of this place at something no one can see: hope... for a dream so close to realization -a dream all eight of them have dreamed.

Kevin turns to Four, "Relative to a range of probabilities, yes."

"How?" Asks One. Kevin walks over to a curtain blocking off most of the room; and with a flourish, he removes it in one clean motion.

"..."

"That?" Several of the group exclaim.

Six exclaims, "It looks like a hand-me-down TARDIS crossed with a homemade Stargate which had a baby with an emotionally stunted passive-aggressive electric chair!"

The Ocho says quietly, "... several electric chairs..." Which gets a few chuckles from everyone.

Two says with pride, "We have been calling it, 'The Gondola.'"

To clarify -mostly to The Ocho- Kevin says, "We weren't exactly aiming to submit it for a beauty contest..."

One asks, "And it works?"

Kevin tries to answer, "Uh~"

"Not sure about that hesitancy..." Says Six.

Three states, "I mean, the math works..."

"You haven't tested it?" Asks One.

Kevin starts, "That's~..."

Three continues, "So, there is a catch..."

"Here we go," mumbles Six.

Sighing, Two adds, "So, it's ki~nd of a one-way deal."

"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What?" Asks One.

Kevin says, "Um~ think: Terminator rules."

Four laughs, "... Ha ha ha~ do you mean we're going to end up naked?"

"..."

"...I mean... probably," states Kevin.

"Wait, seriously?" Four asks.

"Well," Kevin starts to answer, "most of the cultures There -as we know them to be- don't operate under the same cultural-clothing rulesets; so~"

"Okay, question," One interjects, "so~ if we wanted to come back -if- then, how would we-?"

"There is not a way back," Three states.

"Yeah," Six says somewhat hopefully, "but they have magic."

"This is not magic," Three says pointing to the device, "this is possibility and probability -or more specifically a range of possibilities within Possibility as a whole and a range of probabilities within Probability as a whole."

"What do you mean?" Asks One.

Kevin tries to help, "We are Here, and Equus is There. 'There' as a place exists as a Possibility. Going there is also a possibility within that range of Possibilities relative to a limited range of probability within the total set of Probabilities. Following?" The silence from everyone was deafening. "So, if coming back was possible -which I doubt it could be- then it would also be contingent upon a relative range of probabilities of Probability within a relative range of possibilities of Possibility."

"..."

"My head hurts from that," One says.

Four asks, "Does anyone else smell purple right now?"

Lighting another smoke, Three says, "It's like looking for a single drop of water in the ocean. We can isolate a bay or a cove in that ocean which would likely have that single drop contained within it, and any drop in the vicinity would be close enough to the One that it wouldn't be all that noticeable."

The Ocho asks, "But if every drop were like that One, then why would it be necessary to isolate any portion of the whole?"

Kevin answers The Ocho, "The range of all Possibilities as a whole are basically the spectrum of infinity -vast beyond imagination and measure- and we here want to get as close as we can to the real deal. Right?" Everyone nods or verbally agrees with Kevin. "Well, in order to make the math manageable, it was necessary to select a portion of that infinity for us to aim for."

Two says, "Otherwise, we'd might as well launch ourselves completely blind. We'd end up at eight completely different places within the whole of all Possibility."

"And," Three adds, "as I said, 'the math works.'"

"Okay," Two tries to go back to answering One's question, "Supposing we were able to come back, we might come back to a place like this one, but there is no way to pinpoint this one specifically."

Three mumbles, "And I don't know how we would build circuits or microprocessors from scratch -let alone the other components..."

Kevin loudly whispers to Three, "They might not have silicone there, or gold might not be an electrical conductor, the periodic table could have a completely different electron count for each item, or maybe their laws of physics are beyond our ability to construct any form of replication for another Incursion anyway!" Three nods at Kevin.

Two adds, "And there is no guarantee Here will act as a stationary target. If we could replicate our current location from There in the Possibilities, there is no way to know that Here won't get nudged to a different space and some other Place will be sitting in our current spot."

"Okay. Unknown alien environment. One-way," One admits. "Got it. And we can't take anything with us?"

Kevin starts, "Assuming the math is right-"

"-the math is right-" Three mumbles so everyone can hear while clicking a lighter.

"-we will probably have our memories..." Kevin does not sound fully convinced.

"Probably?" Asks Six.

"Yes," answers Two, "as we're essentially detaching our aiúa, transporting them to a different place Outside of this one, and reattaching them to a zygote."

"..."
"..."
"..."
"What's an ai... ai..wha~?" Asks One.

Three answers, "There is approximately one-tenth of one per cent of the body which cannot be accounted for. We are calling that unknown quantity our Aiúa."

One looks at Kevin who says, "The soul." One starts to understand what Kevin and Three said but stops as other questions are expressed on One's face in succession. "The math does not work without it. If we send 99.99% of someone but the most essential component of one's being is left behind, then there won’t be much at the Incursion point but a pile of useless elements which would likely present as 'goo.' Smelly goo."

"A system rejection," Three states over a freshly lit smoke.

"But if we send just that one piece," Two takes up where Kevin leaves off, "then attach it to a zygote then there is a significant chance our beings will be successfully integrated into the foreign system... Harmony willing."

Four repeats, "Harmony willing."

Kevin further explains, "We just do not have a way to determine how much information is stored in the aiúa. Maybe it has full access to the mind or maybe it's separate. That's why we are being sticklers about the single-character names." Kevin just shrugs with arms open wide.

"So," Six tries to add some faux positivity, "we can do some survival studying, and cram for potential career knowledge-"

"-What if we don't have any memories after Incursion?" One asks.

"We~ uh," Two starts to answer, "are either deposited with our old bodies, given new bodies, or reborn with new ones. The latter is most probable because it would cause the least disturbance and cost the least amount of energy-"

Three picks up for Two, "-either with your current mind... part of it, or a new one."

"A new mind?" Asks Six.

"Dendrites without connections. Think something like amnesia or just a blank slate..." Three states.

Slightly disturbed, The Ocho asks, "What is the range of probability that we'll lose the mind we have in this?"

Kevin says, "Um~"

"I mean," Two says, "the odds of actually getting there is really close to improbable already so~"

"Would we still be us if we're given a new mind?" Asks The Ocho.

Kevin says, "Um~"

Three attempts an answer, "Your aiúa-soul will be the same. It's not possible to know how much of that will translate to neural transposition without actual testing which we can't do. The only way to find out for sure is to take the plunge."

"What do you mean by 'survival' studies?" Four asks Six.

"Well," Three answers Four before Six can explain, "we found a way to get there: A to B. Going somewhere is wa~y different than both a general location within that somewhere combined with a somewhen..."

"So, that whole 'spawning in the Everfree' trope-"

"No," Two interrupts Four. "At least, we don't think so. Like Three said, tests would have to be done to know for sure; but we think that whole wild magic thing would most likely serve as a repellant -or a probability multiplier- rather than an improbability attractor. Again, there's no way to know for sure without actually going There to test it."

"How much um~" One slowly asks, "uh, danger...?"

Two answers One, "It is a real place, One, just as real as Here; there's just as much danger There as there is Here. The types of dangers are different, because magic and other things exist There which do not exist Here the way some dangers exist Here which do not exist There."

"Wait," Six says, "Three, about the when and where, you're saying we could end up... Pre-Unification? Or during the conflict between Celestia and Luna?"

Kevin answers, "We're saying we could end up pre-G1 or post-G5 or anywhere in between."

Two adds, "Supposing all of those are contiguous."

"Dear, GOD..." Seven whispers.

Three says to Seven, "Yeah, we took Him into account, too," and lights another smoke and takes a slow drag.

"Wait. What?" One asks.

Soberly, Three says, "The math does not work without It."

With some awe, Four breathes, "Fascinating."

"... Are you serious? GOD?" One looks to hope someone is going to claim 'gotcha!' and have a good laugh. This does not come.

"Well, I mean, it depends on your definition of GOD," says Three, "but, yes, there has to be a connection or... omnipresent condition with some degree of sentience between the Here and There through the infinite possibilities for transverse transposition to be mathematically possible."

Kevin says, "Some kind of regulatory force must exist between dimensions to prevent them from bumping into one another, right? Otherwise, that would be a normal thing. It is this that we will attempt to travel through."

Two adds, "We also think this connective force may make our target timeframe more probable, but that does not negate the whole spectrum of possible entry points."

"Entry points in time?" Six asks.

"Correct," Three drags.

"..."

"...This is heavy, guys..." One says.

"Um~ do we bring space suits?" Asks Six.

"Again: Terminator rules," Kevin answers Six. "Even if we left with space suits, you'd end up there without them."

"And supposing the air at the destination is not breathable," Three explains, "and you could get there with them there would not be a way to replenish your air tanks once those got used up."

"We don't know if the air is breathable?" The Ocho asks.

Two says, "It's a different dimension or reality or whatever. So~ we have no idea what to expect."

Kevin sighs and adds, "And it's not like we can send and retrieve a probe..."

"The whole one-way thing..." Four says.

"Ri~ght..." says One.

"So," The Ocho begins to summarize, "we can get there, but we get There only with our own minds, and there is still a chance we won't have those? We can get there, and we don't know when or where?"

"Basically," Three affirms, "yes."

"Yeah... supposing we don't get vaporized." One jokes, "Right?"

"..."
"..."
"..."

"Right?" One asks again.

"It's not like we went there and came ba~ck." Kevin states.

"One-way, remember?" Four reminds One.

One says to Three, "But you said-"

"Hey." Three stops One right there, "The math works! Okay? It works."

Kevin claps once good and loudly, "... Any more questions?"

"..."

After a moment of thinking, Six points to the devices for the Incursion and asks, "What about those? What happens to these after we go?"

One adds, "Yeah, that would be bad if someone came along after us."

Three waves this off with a new cigarette, "Ah, don't worry about that. I put in a fail-safe."

"What does that mean?" Asks The Ocho.

Four asks, "Did you guys seriously?" Two nods.

"What? What did they do?" Asks One.

Kevin says to the group, "There is a self-destruct. It will begin the countdown after the Incursion completes the cycle on this side."

Three adds, "Didn't really want to discuss that detail."

Seven asks, "Will it affect anyone?"

Two answers, "There's a reason we built all this way out in the middle of nowhere. No one will be able to follow us without recreating everything from absolute scratch, and I mean, 'from scratch.' All the equipment, our notes, everything is going bye-bye after we all ride The Gondola."

"Well! When do we go?" Asks Four, clapping two hands together.

"You seriously still want to go?" Seven asks Four. "After that explanation?"

With a growing smile, Four says, "Oh~ yea~h!"

Kevin claps Four on the back, "I like your enthusiasm."

Three answers Four's question, "Whenever we're ready. It's ready right now," indicating the device, "but... I mean, we should all fill out a will at least..."

"Just in case," adds Two.

"Maybe do some preparatory studying: survival methods, potential methods for financial security, communication methods for our group, et cetera," adds Kevin.

"I don't think there is a 'just in case' in this situation." One says to Two. "I think it's guaranteed."

The Ocho proposes, "And maybe write some letters to family or friends."

"Those of us who have those, you mean." Four says to The Ocho.

"Yeah~ sorry," The Ocho apologizes to the group.

"Don't worry about it," Four forgives The Ocho. "I don't have any reason to be sad now. None of us do."

"A fresh start," says The Ocho.

"A second chance," says One.

"A clean slate," says Six.

"A new beginning," says Three.

"A new world full of wonder," says Two.

"A way to find happiness," Kevin smiles and claps Two on the back. Three revels humbly in the camaraderie.

"... I'm scared..." Seven voices trepidation.

Six says to Seven and to everyone, "We might want to discuss some plans..."

"What do you mean?" One asks.

"Like what Kevin said," Six answers One, "what do we do if we're all scattered to the winds of time and space? Or just time? Or just space? We need to plan some ways to survive just in case."

Four proposes, "How about we work some of these plans out this week and tentatively prepare to depart next week?" Everyone voices approval of this and set themselves to their goal.

"Like, set up some rules?" Asks The Ocho.

One asks Three, Two, and Kevin, "Just to be clear: if this does not work, um~"

Three answers, "Regardless of what happens, when we hit the proverbial 'start button,' our current vessels will no longer be operative receptacles."

"What?"

Two clarifies, "It's a one-way trip. So let's take some time and think this through. Make sure everyone is without any doubts."

"Terminator rules?" Asks The Ocho.

"Terminator rules," confirms Kevin by opening up a new pack. "Come on, everyone. Let's get ready."

**Government agency, Unknown Location**
**Incursion Day, current year**

"Director Martin?"

"Ah, Mo. Do you have any updates?" the Director asks.

"Affirmative. Kahn's team confirmed the seismographs. These here are satellite images of the site. It's quite isolated."

"Small mercies," Director Martin breathes.

Mo continues, "Lee finished prepping the investigation team. They're awaiting the green light."

"Security?"

Mo answers, "Did you want to activate them?"

The Director points to one of the images. "Infrared shows no residual heat. If this were natural or a conventional weapon, then there'd be fire... Something feels off about this incident, and I think caution is warranted."

"Understood. Brown and Garcia's will be ready to go right away."

"Good. I'll brief the Capitol.”

Author's Note

They actually approved my story for publication? Wow! Welp, I’m in this mess now. I hope it is enjoyable to read as it is for me when I sit around laughing at stupid scenes I play out in my head. I think some of them are pretty stupid funny, but I am biased.

I originally wrote this to be the opening chapter back in March 2023. I've come back to edit it more than should normally be warranted, but I think it's much better now than it was on Draft #1. Originally, this was supposed to be a very quick gathering of shadowy figures like the intro to The Fellowship of the Ring.

I don't have a name to refer to this group of eight humans yet. The 'Others' maybe? Not very creative, I know. I'm open to suggestions. Their descriptions are very sparse in this chapter, but there are some bits to hint for character design and later reveals. Any guesses about who will be the primary protagonist? Wink.

"Aiúa," is a reference to Orson Scott Card's Ender series. It is essentially the soul -a measurable piece of the Eternal self- from where all things come before this life and to which all things return after.

The episode of Star Trek referenced is, TNG 05x18, "Cause and Effect."

I do not have a consistent publication plan. Sorry. Previously, I wanted to try to get some of the first chapters out by Nightmare Night 2023 or Hearth's Warming 2023 at the latest with a 10-chapter buffer and try to finalize something bi-weekly, but I failed that as thoroughly as one can. And then again in March 2024... I have no excuse. I'm just going to do what I can and hope for the best right now.

One may note that I did not use the term "multiverse." I avoided it purposefully. I'm definitely not smart enough to thread that needle. I think I did my best to limit the concept of Infinity plausibly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯