Jyra Page 5

  And I will crack it open. Mark the day, my friend. This is the day that I turn everything around. I’m going to find Andi, and I’m going to save our worlds.

  With great determination,

  Dr. Jyra

  Mabden 12th, 4715

  Everything has been a whirlwind the past week. I moved fully into my new quarters and set up my lab to my own specifications. That, however, was the easy part. It had somehow slipped my mind that I was going to have to interview an entire staff. Research leads, engineers, technicians, assistants, and interns. Not to mention, one or two high-clearance facility workers. Each little detail of my lab was up to me, including the biodegradable wipes for the washrooms.

  And you would not believe the fight I had to go through to allow kodadt to be even able to be interviewed!

  So, I did the only thing that made sense. I hired Zkkyv to be my Co-Head of Research and put her in charge of administration. She had been attached to my side since the incident, and it didn’t seem right to just abandon her. Once that was all settled, I could finally focus on my work.

  I mean, I haven’t actually started my work yet, but I am ready to.

  Well, almost ready.

  I still have several more pieces of equipment being shipped, as well as some personal things I had created in my own time.

  If you are worried about my being stationed on another space experimentation lab, please do not. I am now aware of the danger, instead of blissfully unaware as most of my fellow off-worlders. I realized that, in this day and age, the beauty and terribly cold expansiveness space was lost on many of us. It took nearly being sucked into it for me to realize the great power just beyond the pressurized and shielded windows.

  I will not make the mistake again.

  Anyway, my friend is sending me a holo. She wants to meet with me to discuss the final round of hires. I’m sure I’ll agree with whatever she says.

  Industrious as ever,

  Dr. Jyra

  Mabden 31st, 4715

  Research has not progressed as I had hoped. After what seemed like ages, I finally had my staff, my supplies, and my protocols, and we were ready to go. I had leaped in feet first and started with trying to identify the exact frequency our reality vibrated with. I thought it would be relatively easy. After all, we had known about the particular musicality of space radiation for over a generation now.

  I was wrong.

  Very wrong.

  It turns out our universe was very noisy. Isolating the specific sub-atomic frequency at which the very foundation of our galaxy was comprised of was like finding an inoculation injector in a scrap bin on a waste junker in unregulated space. But every day, I kept at it. Peeling back layer after layer. Unraveling the tapestry of our reality one fiber at a time.

  I know the names of almost all of my staff, too. I also try to force myself to remember one thing about them that sets them apart from others. I have found that, although we all tend to follow the same general mannerisms and habits, most sentient beings liked having their individualism acknowledged. Perhaps it was something about being set apart from everyone else or not being treated like a nameless microchip in the compiler. Either way, it definitely increased morale, and everyone knew that higher morale meant higher productivity.

  I will say, though, perhaps it is just all the changing and planning lately, but I cannot help but feel as if I am being watched. The dreams are ever more persistent, and the Strangers are certain that my realm’s Great Choice is rapidly approaching. I am ever vigilant for another attack, and I am taking the necessary precautions.

  I just pray that the dark, volatile, insidious being I had met long ago was occupied in some other far off corner of the multi-verse.

  Optimistic but cautious,

  Dr. Jyra

  Vrycus 7th, 4716:

  It’s here.

  That thing – that creature is here. And I’m afraid it’s found a way to hide from me as one of my own.

  It’s been three months. Three months, and we have been progressing beautifully. I can feel in my very bones that we are just a step away from the exact frequencies. I’m talking less than a half decibel.

  We’re so close that I couldn’t help staying past our allotted research time and disrupting my sleep schedule tonight. I sent the rest of my staff to their quarters – no need for all of us to short circuit our circadian rhythms – and settled myself in for a long night of experimentation.

  I was deep into pinging the subatomic particles we have in experiment Group B, when my personal data-pad gave a faint beep. I paused my work and pulled up the alert to see that there was something approaching the warning zone proximity of the lab.

  I looked outside of the window into the great expanse, my eyes searching the void, then they landed on a spot that was slightly warped. I knew a cloaking device when I saw one, and I pulled up my full defense programming that I was very grateful I was paranoid enough to install off the record.

  With a few clicks of the button, one of my hidden turrets let out an electro-magnetic pulse that rippled out toward the distortion. It hit, and I found myself looking into the cockpit of a security fighter. But, instead of a person in there, it was the same churning, shifting being that had been haunting my dreams. Once it knew that I saw it, the mass solidified and morphed into a humanoid figure with a wide mouth and sharp, sharp, sharp rows of teeth. It smiled at me, and gave a little wave.

  Then, without warning, the lights flickered out, and the room went disturbingly quiet. It took a moment for me to recognize that the familiar hum of the station’s shield was gone. The bastard had somehow hacked the mainframe. And it wanted me to know.

  Then it opened fire.

  I’m sure it was ready to sit back in utter satisfaction as my lab was obliterated without its protections. That didn’t happen, of course. Otherwise, I would not be here to tell you about it. I suppose that takes a bit of the suspense out of the moment; you know that if I’m speaking to you, then I survived the situation. Such is the way, I suppose.

  But, instead of blowing up into a spatter of unfulfilled pieces, my lab was fine. The plasma bolts ricocheted off the back-up shielding I had installed myself, dissipating into space. Another few taps on my data-pad, and the lights came on.

  Another tap, and the same turret fired a direct shot to the ship.

  The creature was a lot less smiley now.

  The ship limped away, but I fired after it again. And again. With each fire, I repeated the names of those I had lost years ago and Strangers who had disappeared since. Finally, it came to a dead stop, floating crookedly in space like a forgotten, abused toy. Granted, a toy that was smoking toxic fuels.

  To my surprise, the inky mass suddenly expanded rapidly, surging outward until it exploded out of the front of the ship and into space. I watched, too stunned to react, as it wormed its way toward the hangar.

  I gasped and took off. Even now, I don’t know what I planned to do. I had no containment device, no weapon, nothing but my data-pad. But that didn’t seem to matter. I wanted to face my old foe again. To tell it that it would never win.

  I bolted through the quiet station, heading toward the supply dock that the strange mass had been surging toward. I waved my ID chip at every security door, but they just couldn’t open fast enough.

  And when I finally arrived, panting, disheveled, and sweaty, I found several of the maintenance staff and two interns doing inventory of a new shipment.

  “Did…” I gasped. “Did you guys see, um…” How should I explain it? A monster? A presence? The physical manifestation of malice? “Anything?” I finished lamely.

  “Um… Rajsanji slaughtering us in the last round?”

  I looked to the human who I recognized to be one of my technicians, and he shrugged sheepishly. “This game is basic probability; I just happen to have a knack for it.”

  “All right, well, carry on. Make sure you get your recommended amount of rest.”

  “Of course. Thank you, Ma’am.”<
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  I left, knees weak. There was the slightest chance that the dark mass was dispersed in space, doomed to drift throughout the cosmos until it found its next soul to terrorize, but it was improbable.

  And that’s why I’m sure it’s in the station and may be able to shift into one of my crew. I would have to keep an eye on everyone, and lay even more precautions now. It knew its element of surprise was gone, and it would no doubt go for all-out war.

  That is not very conducive to my experimental environment. Nevertheless, I shall persist.

  I’m setting an alarm in you. If I do not deactivate it every thirty-six hours, it will send all your data to a secure data-pad in another location I have secured far from everyone’s knowledge, and you will be destroyed. I hope you understand. I cannot have you falling into the wrong hands.

  Forging forward,

  Dr. Jyra

  Vrycus 9thth, 4716:

  I am concerned.

  Something happened today that was not terrible, and perhaps even particularly mundane. But something about it bothered me. You know I don’t have time to be bothered, but something about the encounter made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  Our corporate sponsors came in. I’ve never been a huge fan of money; I’ve found it carries entirely too much weight against people’s lives and futures. Unsurprisingly, that distaste carried over to these men and women in professional wear.

  It wasn’t that they made a grand entrance, or were rude, or even disruptive at all. It was just that, whenever they were around, I had this terrible feeling that I was being hunted. Like I needed to run before it was too late. It’s not exactly conducive to a productive work environment.

  And later, when it was revealed that two of them would become permanent residents on our wing of the station to oversee the experiments and deliver reports to their superiors, my stomach dropped back down into the atmosphere.

  I will try to pay attention to these feelings, as illogical as they are. I promise to keep an eye out for anything to confirm or disprove these premonitions. I just pray that I find the answers I seek before that thing that’s so set on destroying me strikes again.

  The sand is running through the hour glass, as the Strangers like to say.

  And I’m inclined to agree with them.

  Suspicious, but hopeful,

  Dr. Jyra

  Vrycus 25th, 4716:

  I’ve done it!

  I’ve found the frequency!

  Well, it’s more that I, and my entire experimental staff found it, but I figured that was implied.

  Nonetheless, we have it!

  We’re so close to the answer. I know it. Now I just need to find the frequency of Andi’s dimension, then a way to travel between the two. Sure, both of those tasks are daunting, but I have faith in our ability to solve the impossible. We’ve gotten this far, haven’t we?

  The Strangers were equally shocked. Their numbers had dwindled even more, and it was clear that we were all beginning to have run-ins with the…whatever it was that was so set on our destruction. The ability to hop realms could be a real asset to our survival. The only issue was that someone – or multiple someone’s – in our group were either the creature itself or facets of it. And while we were all aware of that fact, none of us knew who it actually was.

  Naturally, that made it hard to disclose everything to my allies, and they knew as much. We all tried to keep the balance of informed enough not to die, but not enough to tip off the enemy to too much.

  It takes much more energy than I would like. I wish I had an ally to tell everything to. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, of course. But it’s just that in actuality, you’re just a data-pad that I’ve personified after years of use. I need…I need Andi.

  I have a plan, though. Or a theory, rather.

  You know how I forgot about her? How could I have possibly just conveniently not-remembered my best friend I’ve ever had?

  Well, I don’t think I did. I mean, I did, but I didn’t.

  Ugh, I’m explaining this terribly.

  Basically, Andi is from another dimension, so we should not have been able to speak with each other outside of the unconscious meeting place that the Strangers and I assembled in. And yet, we did. Almost every day.

  I think, somehow, we opened a sort of wormhole between our consciousness’. When she suddenly disappeared, that wormhole – our connection – was cut, and since I no longer had access to her frequency, all my memories of her were indecipherable. It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Strangers and our meeting place that my brain remembered how to interpret the alien frequencies locked within it, and Andi returned to my memory.

  Anyway, why I’m telling you this is because I think I can use my own brain waves to find her. I just need to hook myself up to a neural scanner and try to remember everything about Andi I can and then isolate the exact brainwave that carried our connection, then somehow convert it to the corresponding vibrational frequency, then figure out how to use those frequencies to establish contact again.

  Should be easy, right?

  That was sarcasm. Neither of us have been very good at that, so I thought I should clarify.

  It’s hard not to let the anticipation get to me. I can feel Andi just beyond my reach. And of course, all the other massive benefits would come from my discovery. But at the same time, it seemed like there was a primitive guillotine above my head. Someone was watching. That thing was waiting. I just had to make sure I beat it to the punch.

  Feeling Triumphant,

  Dr. Jyra

  Vrycus 30th, 4716:

  I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS MOMENT HAS COME!

  Cheer for me, my digital friend! After all these years I have finally done it!!

  The brainwaves worked, and I was able to isolate the frequency! And now, tomorrow, it’s finally time to test out my machine!

  I still feel like there are eyes on me, though, and I worry that I might be too late.

  But never fear! I have some of the best minds behind me, both in the lab and in the meeting place. I have hope, my friend.

  The next time we speak, Andi will be by my side! We have so much to catch up on. I wonder, is she searching for me as much as I for her? Does she even remember me?

  It doesn’t matter. I’m going to show that awful, evil presence that it’s not going to win.

  This is it. A new chapter in my life.

  I can’t wait for what it will bring.

  FAR TOO EXCITED,

  Dr. Jyra

  Mattin, Unknown

  So, it has been a while.

  A year? Two? Three?

  It’s hard to recall. After spending so much time with no way to track the solar cycles, I’m afraid my perception of time has slipped.

  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

  I looked up my previous logs to see where I left off. It wasn’t until now that I realize my last entry had been corrupted by what I now know is the nemesis of both myself and the rest of the universe. If only I had looked back, perhaps things would have worked out different.

  But if I had, then things wouldn’t be as they are now. They’d be a different story entirely, and I’m not sure I’d want that.

  Oh dear, I’ve become so terrible at sticking to a narrative. I will try to force myself to stick to this in a sensible timeline.

  So. My last entry.

  I was excited because I had everything I needed to power up my dimension-machine for the first time. Now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t quite a portal to the other side yet. That would take years of more gathering data.

  But it was a distress signal of sorts. My hope was that if I found a way to just establish vibrational contact with the other side, I could at least summon Andi to me. We had done it when we were children, after all, how hard could it be?

  How ironic, considering what happened.

  You see, although I was optimistic, I was cautious. We had a whole presentation to our corporate babysitters scheduled to s
how them the illustrious boot-up of our cross-dimensional gadget, but since I was fairly sure that darkness was lurking around, just waiting to sabotage me, I decided to secretly start up the machine two nights before the date.

  That’s how I ended up creeping down the very dark hallway to my lab in the middle of the night cycle.

  I wish you could have seen it. The invention that is. It was so beautiful…and vaguely phallic shaped now that I think about it. I wanted to turn on the lights to look at it in all of its beauty, but secrecy was of the essence.

  As stealthily as I could, I slid off the coverings from the reflective white and chrome paneling. It was a little retro, but what could I say? I dug the old-timey space exploration aesthetic. The interface, however, was as modern as it could be, with a light panel and control system. I stood there, emotions surging through me in a most illogical manner as I held my control pad for the lab.

  All I had to do was turn on the power.

  Turn on the power, and I would be reunited with Andi again, and one step closer to solving the puzzle of who or what the creature stalking us was, and why it was hell-bent on our destruction.

  I never quite got that far.

  My finger hovered over the widget on my data-pad, heavy with the weight of what could or could not be, when I heard a slight shuffling behind me. I tried to turn, but I didn’t quite make it before someone pulled me into a tight chokehold and jabbed a needle into me.

  “That’s enough of that now, Jyra.”

  I tried to say something, but suddenly my tongue was heavy in my mouth. Impossibly heavy. I quickly lost the ability to stand, and as I fell to the ground, I had the realization I had just lost.

  It wasn’t a good feeling.