The Evaran Origin Read online

  Dr. Snowden gestured up. “Can we go to the roof for this?”

  “Not this time. I do not know what might happen with your form,” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden sighed. “I wish we could see more than just the big screen in front of us.”

  “Perhaps … ,” said Evaran, rubbing his chin, “a portion of the top and the sides could be merged into the front, making it all one screen. Then we could see out through the front and top and to the sides.”

  “Like a convertible,” said Emily.

  Evaran nodded.

  “That works for me,” said Dr. Snowden, “but I’m guessing that’s something that’ll take some time to do.”

  “I will add it to my list of Torvatta upgrades,” said Evaran. He motioned at V. “Take us out of the timeline.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Dr. Snowden gripped his chair arms.

  A small grin crept onto Emily’s face. This trip was just the change in scenery to get Dr. Snowden’s mind off of Jane Trellis, the time refugee who almost ended up traveling with them but instead ended up living in a new timeline. Although he would rationalize it, she knew he was hurting still. She could see it in what he ate, his listless shuffle in the mornings, and the long nights alone on the roof. A warm feeling spread out from her heart at seeing him excited about his true love, science, even if what she saw was beyond the science either he or she knew about.

  She watched as the front screen showed everything outside fading away until there was nothing to see. From a previous adventure, she learned that this meant they were outside the timeline, but still in the same universe.

  “Analysis. We are now in the timeline void.”

  Dr. Snowden raised his hand. “Is there any way to see the other timelines, or do they even have a structure?”

  “They do, but it is more of a flow. V, highlight them,” said Evaran.

  “Acknowledged,” said V as his claws flew around the front console.

  Emily’s eyes widened as the screen showed the outlines of cylindrical flows. It reminded her of wispy smoke on a dark night. Timelines did not intersect, but used the same space, from what she understood. Although one could be updated, they did not affect the others. Evaran had called it localization. She wrinkled her eyebrows. “There’s so many … I can’t even see how far a single one goes up or down.”

  Evaran raised a finger. “Remember, this is just a visualization by the Torvatta. To actually go to any other timeline, we would need a portal to it.”

  “Huh,” she said. “So if we traveled in a straight line toward one, what would happen?”

  “It would appear that we were moving for a bit, but once outside the small space around a timeline, there would be no movement. Space has a different meaning out here.”

  She shook her head. “Okay …”

  “We are currently in the small space around the timeline, so we can form a portal here. However, outside of that, there is nothing to travel in.”

  Dr. Snowden snorted. “That just sounds crazy. Different physics, I’m guessing.”

  “Very different,” said Evaran. “Now, are you ready to exit this universe?”

  Dr. Snowden ran a hand down his pant leg. “Umm … sure.” He glanced at Emily. “You ready for all of this?”

  She met Dr. Snowden’s concerned look. “Always.”

  “V, take us outside this universe,” said Evaran.

  “Acknowledged.”

  The Torvatta shot out a white beam that began to form a blue-bordered portal with a rippling dark-gray surface.

  Emily remembered that the portal and the beam had colors to represent the different types of destinations. A gold beam with a silver-bordered portal and light-blue rippling surface was used inside the timeline. It was the one she was most familiar with. She had seen the colors change for going to a pocket universe.

  “New colors,” said Dr. Snowden. “I’m not too surprised about that. This portal seems to be taking a bit to form.”

  Evaran nodded. “It requires more energy. As powerful as the Torvatta is, and how quickly it can form a portal inside a timeline, this should give you an idea of how much is needed.”

  “Yeah, it does,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Emily could almost see the gears winding around in Dr. Snowden’s head. This was definitely something he would be interested in. As of late, due to her physical and mental training, it was something that interested her now too. She understood why he liked science as much as he did. While she had been a history major in her sophomore year of college, she had never given much thought about studying the harder sciences. Traveling with Evaran and being stranded on a prison planet for nine months alone changed that.

  The Torvatta flew through the portal once it was fully formed after a minute.

  She gasped at the milky-white environment that the Torvatta emerged into. Her eyes were drawn to the semitransparent walls that boxed in not only the Torvatta, but also what appeared to be a soap bubble. Changes in the striations of the environment made her think they were moving.

  Evaran studied Dr. Snowden and Emily for a moment. “Interesting. Your three-Ls are not degrading.”

  “So if they were degrading, what would happen physically?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “Your subconsciousness would take over as your higher-level consciousness would fade away. However, it would take some time, more than enough to head back to our universe.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” said Emily.

  “It is not.”

  Dr. Snowden harrumphed. “Well, at least there’s that then.” He pointed to the screen. “What exactly … are we seeing?”

  Evaran placed his hands together with the tips of his fingers on his lips. After a moment, he asked, “Are you familiar with the concept of cell walls?”

  Dr. Snowden furrowed his eyebrows. “I’ve read about them.”

  “The semitransparent walls you are seeing are similar in concept.”

  “And that bubble thing … is that our universe?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “You are correct. It is one of many in the plane. We are in what is known as a universal cell.”

  Dr. Snowden licked his lips. “How … how many universal cells are there in this plane?”

  “I do not know,” said Evaran. He tilted his head. “I stopped counting after a hundred, but I suspect the true number is beyond comprehension.”

  Dr. Snowden gulped.

  Emily narrowed her eyes. “What are we floating in? I feel like we’re moving.”

  “That is pure universal energy. It behaves much like a liquid in some regards,” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden pointed to multicolored strands that connected the outer walls to the universe bubble. “And those are …”

  “Energy strands.”

  “Like … Daedrould?”

  Evaran nodded. “They appear in our universe as exotic energy and are responsible for the unusual characteristics you would associate with exotic energy. I am still unclear as to why your planet has such an abundance of its manifestation. The parallel timelines I have seen have it as well, but none as powerful as the one you are from. The distribution of these exotic energies is an unknown process to me.”

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes traced the energy strands for a moment. “There’s so many of them.”

  “I am still studying the various effects of each strand and its representation in the universe.”

  “So Earth could actually have more types of nonhumans then, outside of Daedrould, Wildborn, and Outsiders,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran nodded.

  Dr. Snowden gulped. “Absolutely fascinating. I’m guessing that the strand that is touching the Torvatta is from the life link layer.”

  “I believe so. Even through the Torvatta’s shielding, it should be able to reach you.”

  “Have you been out here often?” asked Emily.

  “I have, actually,” said Evaran. “Seeing the strands gives me a good idea of what type of universe I will be ente
ring. One of the reasons I chose this universe in particular is due to the amount and variety of strands. It gives the universe a signature, one that I was looking for. Once inside the universe, I searched for a timeline and planet where these energies would manifest in the population. The other requirements were that the denizens were of humanoid form and the dimensional walls were weakened.”

  Emily licked her lips as she pondered Evaran’s words. After a moment, she faced him. “Why was that important to you?”

  Evaran placed his hands in front of him, touching at the fingertips. “I was looking for the ancestral birthplace of some cosmic entities. The goal was to stabilize the timeline so that the event that allows them to escape the universe, and then the plane, occurs. It has taken me a while to find it, but I believe I have.”

  Emily raised her eyebrows.

  Dr. Snowden cleared his throat. “So humans exist outside our universe?”

  “If humans are what I think they are, they do, but they call themselves the Hoxscarus. They exist outside the plane. Obviously, I would like to verify that Earth is where their ancestral form started, and that is one of my goals,” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes searched the ground for a moment before looking at Evaran. “If we are the Hoxscarus’ ancestral form … you really are going out of your way to help them.”

  “It is what I do.”

  “Well, will we get to meet these cosmic entities?” asked Emily.

  Evaran nodded. “Our next step is to leave the plane. I will monitor your three-Ls, and you will hopefully have a chance to meet at least one of them and possibly one of my cosmic friends.”

  “Let’s do it,” she said.

  “Very well,” said Evaran. “V, take us outside the plane.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Emily stared at the screen as a blue beam shot out, forming a black-bordered portal with a rippling white surface. She flexed her right hand several times while sneaking occasional looks at Dr. Snowden.

  The portal took longer to form this time. Once the portal was formed, the Torvatta flew through it.

  After examining the screen, she was not sure what she was seeing. Morphing shapes floated in pitch-black space and were connected by long rods. It was the absence of any starlike points that caught her attention.

  “What is all this?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “The large shapes are the planes,” said Evaran, observing them both. “The connecting rods, as the Torvatta is visualizing it, are direct connections between the planes. They are the scaffolding, if you will, of the plane system, which I call Synesia.” He perused his augmented reality interface.

  Emily wished she had an ARI she could access without having to use her PSD. Evaran’s was natural, and he used it a lot. Maybe that was an eye enhancement she could ask about someday. “So we’re in the plane system, I mean, Synesia, now, right?”

  “Yes. It is one of many, but this one is the Core plane system that all others spawned from. It has many planes in it.”

  “Synesia is a cool name,” said Emily, glancing at Dr. Snowden.

  “Your three-Ls are still not degrading. Very interesting,” said Evaran.

  “That sounds good,” said Emily.

  “It is, although I am not sure I understand how that is possible. We are outside your universal cell, which is where your three-Ls are tied.”

  She found it refreshing at times to know that Evaran did not know everything.

  “One worry down,” said Dr. Snowden. “Going back to the planes … is each one similar to ours?”

  Evaran shook his head. “Each has a different structure and set of rules. Some are sentient, others are not.”

  “Huh. So … the space,” said Dr. Snowden, making air quotes, “is some type of void, I’m guessing, where you’re from.”

  “It is the Cosmic Medium and, yes, where I am from. Everything in existence is formed from it, from living beings to dimensions,” said Evaran. He rubbed his chin. “I see a problem.”

  Emily wrinkled her eyebrows. “And that is …”

  “I am not here,” said Evaran, rubbing his chin. “I will need to go find myself.”

  Emily and Dr. Snowden laughed.

  Evaran tilted his head at them.

  “We’re not laughing at you. That just … sounds funny,” said Emily, catching her breath.

  Dr. Snowden exhaled. “Given all we’ve seen, though, I’m not too surprised. So what do we do then?”

  Evaran paused for a moment. “I will need to leave the Torvatta and find out what is going on. You will be safe onboard while I do this.”

  A muted thumping bell sound echoed out.

  “Analysis. A set of coordinates has been entered into the Torvatta. Activation is in thirty hours,” said V.

  “Where does it go?” asked Evaran.

  “Unknown.”

  “Can you override it?”

  “It is locked.”

  Evaran narrowed his eyes. “I see. The Torvatta wishes for us to go somewhere. I am guessing it was triggered upon exit from the plane. In that case, I will need to be back here before it activates.”

  Dr. Snowden snorted. “That spices things up a bit.”

  Emily bobbed her head. “If there is anything you need us to do, let us know. I’m gonna head to the roof and get a better view, assuming the roof is safe.”

  “It will be,” said Evaran. “I will not be gone for long.”

  “I would like to join you on the roof,” said V, looking at Emily.

  “Me too,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran chuckled. “I will exit from the roof then. Shall we go?”

  Everyone nodded.

  Dr. Snowden gazed around the roof. He had come to understand that the space between the shielding and the roof was a specialized holo room. Matter could be generated, such as consoles, chairs, benches, and the like, on demand, and there was always a waist-high light-blue guardrail on the edges.

  Evaran stood next to V, in orb mode, who was interacting with a console in the middle of the roof. To the side was a bench where Emily sat.

  Dr. Snowden spun around in a circle as his mind attempted to make sense of Synesia’s structure. Something about it seemed familiar to him. He walked in front of Emily and Evaran and said, “Molecules.”

  “Huh?” asked Emily.

  “Synesia. It reminds me of a molecular model. You know … like in chemistry labs. You have those little plastic spheres with connecting rods.”

  Emily peered around with an intent gaze, then focused on him. “Oh … I see it now. I guess it does kinda look like that. The planes aren’t spheres, though. I’m not really sure what shapes they are. They seem to … change. Some have different colored regions too.”

  Evaran raised a finger. “A molecular model is a good analogy. As Emily has observed, the planes are not perfect spheres. Remember, what you are seeing is how the Torvatta is visualizing it. It is just a projection based on my input that is being displayed on the interior of the shields. If you were to step outside the shields, you would see nothing, since there is no light, or even the concept of it, out there.”

  Dr. Snowden took a seat next to Emily. “Amazing. I guess since we’re out here, that means you will open more information in the Torvatta’s database to us?”

  “At this point, I will. You have knowledge that only a cosmic entity such as myself would have.”

  Dr. Snowden gulped and nodded.

  Evaran eyed them for a moment, then strode to the guardrail. A portion of it disappeared, and a small walkway extended from the roof to the edge of the shielding. “I will not be gone for long, from your perspective.”

  Dr. Snowden slid to the edge of the bench and bounced his right knee.

  “Do not worry, you are safe here,” said Evaran.

  “I know. It’s just … you’re just going to walk out into the Cosmic Medium?”

  “I am. I will revert to my true form, but you will not be able to see it.”

  Dr. Snowden cle
ared his throat. “Because the Torvatta has no visualization of it, right?”

  “Correct. Your vision is based on the concept of light hitting your retinas. With no light out there and no record of my true form, there is nothing to visualize,” said Evaran.

  “So you become a part of the Cosmic Medium?”

  Evaran’s ancient eyes glistened. “I exist as a separate entity within it.”

  Dr. Snowden shook his head. “Well, I guess all we can do is wait for you to get back at this point.”

  Evaran nodded. “I will be back.” He walked to the edge of the shielding and stepped through it.

  Dr. Snowden hustled over to the guardrail and peered out. Although Evaran had said there would be nothing to see, he half expected to see a gaseous cloud or energy form or something. It was pitch-black other than the Torvatta’s visualization of the planes and their connecting rods. He sighed and tossed a hand in the air. “Well, we wanted to see his true form. Seems it is … darkness.”

  Emily shrugged.

  “Analysis. I do not believe Evaran is darkness,” said V.

  Dr. Snowden chuckled as he walked over to V. “Has Evaran ever talked to you about any of this?”

  “Not with my current incarnation, although there was some discussion of it in my predecessor’s database. This is a new experience that I am processing, and I am privileged to share that with both of you.”

  “The feeling’s mutual,” said Dr. Snowden, raising a hand.

  V paused for a moment. “High five. A physical expression of celebration or greeting.” He extended one of his claws and tapped Dr. Snowden’s hand.

  “That’ll do,” said Dr. Snowden with a smile. He pivoted around. “This just makes me feel so small. I mean … we’ve seen a lot, but this … this is out there.”

  “Imagine having to explain this to your students,” said Emily.

  He snorted. “I’d have to fully understand it first. I wonder how long Evaran will be gone. V, can you scan anything outside the Torvatta?”

  “Analysis. The Torvatta has cosmic scanners, but I am unsure how to interpret them.”

  “Oh,” said Dr. Snowden. He bobbed his head as he wandered over to the guardrail. After a moment, he pointed out. “I think I see something. V, you picking that up?”