The twenty-third enclave, named Kuvata. Also known as the Artistic Community. Absolutely everything related to art and the cultural heritage of the planet is stationed there. At the very entrance to Kuvata, there is a complex of museums and buildings that can be visited by all interested. Those interested in dedicating their lives to art are allowed free, unrestricted entry and passage through the entire territory. Once they reach a sufficient age, they settle there and attend schools related to their future artistic career.

Irta was very excited. She was shifting from foot to foot, waiting in line to enter the museum specialized in the written word. Her hand in mine, nervous, from time to time caused me pain, squeezing me tightly.

“Easier, please, you know my hands are more sensitive.”- I said with a painful sigh.

“Hmmph, sorry. I wasn’t even aware I was squeezing you.”- Irta looked at me sideways, with an apologetic smile. “Look, Treol, they’re moving, two more and it’s our turn.”

The museum dedicated to the written word was by far the largest in Kuvata. It stretched across nearly one quarter of the museum complex. To fully explore it you would need at least four days. We of course didn’t have that much time, although Irta emphasized that idea as completely legitimate. Irta was a future resident of Kuvata, as she kept repeating endlessly. And I was glad for her. But that meant that I too had to dedicate my life to art, so that we wouldn’t be separated. It seems that for love I will do exactly that.

That thought, somewhat frightening, that I would dedicate my life to art, somewhat confined within one territory wandered through my mind, while I was trying to listen to the guide’s explanations.

“As you can see, here we have examples of messages carved into stone. Somewhat clumsily written messages, in some places somewhat unclear. Do you know why that is so? Because the ancient Virteleonians carved those messages with stone tools. Now follow me into the next room.” - the guide gestured for us with his hand.

“Here there are much clearer and more precisely written messages. They were carved into stone using wooden twigs - setretia. Although it takes more time to write messages in that way, you will agree that the method is much more efficient and better. The technique by which they did it is now unknown to us. But those writers were considered, and still are considered, the first true artists of the planet. Today, in the modern age, we truly have no need to communicate in that way, so it is logical that there is insufficient knowledge of the exact technique.”

In the next ten or so rooms we passed through, all the books ever written were arranged, but the original versions, first editions.

I did not share Irta’s fascination, although I had maximum respect for the size and genius of the works presented there. All the time, the thought lingered in my head that I would sacrifice freedom for something I was not fully interested in. Love certainly was the motive. But was I truly ready? For Irta there was no doubt. She had already resolved everything in her mind.

The guide was already explaining the methods of sending messages between the ancient Virteleonians when a huge statue caught my attention. It was a statue of Boroi, the greatest writer of all time. A powerful statue, twice the size of a natural one. Boroi held a massive scroll in his left hand which extended from his hand to the floor, while in his right hand he held a writing tool. The expression on his face was captured in a moment as he thoughtfully explained his thoughts to himself or to someone else.

Turning my gaze toward the guide, I saw Irta carefully observing devices in the shape of squares in which our ancestors left messages, which were then delivered in various ways. The main methods were by land. Someone would receive that package and set off toward the desired address, delivering it to the recipient. There were also methods over water, as well as through the air but they were so complicated for our ancestors that they were practically neglected and soon abandoned methods of delivering letters.

There was not much progress until the discovery of the energy that allowed messages to be sent instantly in any direction, in the same second. The energy that enabled that we simply call - kelek.

The guide was finishing his presentation talking precisely about those latest achievements. Irta turned toward me at the end and pulled me slightly aside.

“Thank you for being here with me. You have no idea how much it means to me.” - she said, kissing me, placing her finger over my mouth at the end, not allowing me to speak.

I understood her, it was her dream. She wanted it so much that she didn’t even want to hear a contrary opinion. And she saw from my expression that I was hesitating a bit.

In the end we briefly entered the part of the museum complex dedicated to painting where what fascinated me the most was the depiction of the Great Drought, a period that was the darkest in the history of Virteleon. Temperatures reached such heights that more than half of the plants, trees and other vegetation were destroyed by fires or simply withered due to lack of water. The painting showed all the horror of that state. A Virteleonian who, because of the wasteland, looks toward a tree that stands half dried in front of him. He tries to touch it, but from exhaustion he only manages to helplessly await the inevitable end with both hands in the air. The painting was simply called Thirst. The author unknown. It was believed that the author also died of dehydration.

In a way I was sorry that we did not have time to visit the museum dedicated to music as well.

I knew what was coming. Unprepared, I heard the guide’s words.

“Dear visitors, is there perhaps among you someone who would like to join us here in Kuvata and dedicate their life to that sacred act of creating art?”

Irleona raised her hand. One long moment passed. Another passed as well. The guide was already scanning the crowd for the fifth time, searching for someone else.

I raised my hand upward. Irta looked at me, spreading her lips into a wide smile.

End.

Here you can check first part of Lore AN INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING VIRTELEON

Here you can check second part of Lore SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIRTELEONIANS AND EARTHLINGS

1. Tears

Leara was sitting in front of the mirror. Tired from a sleepless night, she rested her head on her left hand, slowly running her fingers through her already quite messy hair with her right one.

Worries troubled her. Whenever her husband Ksaetar and her brother Lean were on night watch, sleep would not come to her. She did not know what the cause of her worries was. There were no enemies, no one who could threaten their lives in any way. Her mind, it seemed, did not share that view, persistently disturbing her attempts to rest.

The shy rays of the Blazing Sphere began to appear above the level of the window, gently touching her head, tired from tossing and turning on the pillow.

She knew exactly the little spot on the wall that, when the rays of the Blazing Sphere reached it, as if on command, marked the arrival of her loved ones. There was still some time before that moment.

They won’t be here for at least another hour, maybe even a bit longer.
I need to prepare water for bathing, to heat it.
Get up, Leara, and do something.
It will be even worse if they come back exhausted and you are sitting here wasting time.
Why am I crying?

Leara’s face was full of tears, which as they streamed down entered her mouth. Their saltiness startled her. She wouldn’t have even noticed them otherwise. She took a cloth to wipe them away, casually glancing into the mirror, which until then she had been staring at blankly, focused on her thoughts.

What she saw made her recoil and almost fall off the chair. A beautiful, young, blonde girl was smiling at her from the other side of the glass. She waved shyly, revealing a small mark on her right palm. Leara dismissed the next thought without even considering it. She too had a mark on her right palm, from birth. Reddish-brown in color, no larger than her little finger.
She rejected the thought that the girl in the mirror was her. Leara had black hair, always had.

The girl patiently waited for Leara to calm down and focus on her. She used sign language. Of course, sound was not available, so sign language seemed perfectly logical. Leara, concentrated, followed her every movement, memorizing them in her mind.

After sending the message, the girl turned behind her as if expecting someone to come. She sent a final goodbye to Leara and vanished from the mirror.

2. The Message

She searched through books looking for a manual on sign language. She had read it once when she was very young. She had an imaginary friend, Trob, with whom she liked to communicate that way. But as she grew older, she had less and less time for him, eventually completely neglecting that period of her childhood.

She finally found it. She sat on the floor, placing the book in her lap. She found the explanation for the first movement, the second, the third…

Tears welled up. She wiped them with a cloth and continued studying sign language.

No, this is impossible. The doctor said I can’t. But the birthmark. And these tears, which flow without sadness to support them. I am full of worries, but I am not sad. I must go to the doctor again.

She looked at the message she had written on paper:

Mother, I am your daughter, Saba. I will be the light of your life in the days of indescribable sorrow.

Outside, the cheerful voices of her loved ones. She crumpled the paper and tucked it into her robe. She would not say anything until she was absolutely sure.

“Why are you crying? Are you sad again, my dear?” – Ksaetar called from the entrance of the house.

“It’s nothing, just… I don’t even know why. Some sadness came over me.”

That entire day Leara spent with the thought that the next day she would have to go to the village doctor, secretly. She did not want her husband to gain false hope that would later be crushed by bad news. Tomorrow he would not be on watch, but he would go to report to his superior, Tumin. Her brother had no obligations, but fortunately when he was not on duty he slept quite long. With him it would be easy. And his room was on the upper floor of the house; he wouldn’t even hear her when she left.

That night she had a terrible dream.
In the dark, stumbling through the room, she lit a lamp. Only to see her eyes, crying blood.
She woke up with a scream and tears that flowed like streams over her tired face.

3. The Girl

Foem, the village doctor, was a very busy Virteleonian. The lines were long. Patients came from all surrounding places.

He was a doctor for everything, examining patients with physical injuries as well as those who came just to check if they were healthy. Of course, he was not entirely alone. He had assistant doctors, but he was the main one. All diagnoses were made exclusively by him.

Finally reaching her turn, Leara nervously knocked on the door of his office.

“What troubles you, my dear Leara?”

“Uncontrolled tears.” – she replied.

“Lie down on the bed, we’ll see what’s going on.”

After several minutes during which Foem examined her body, occasionally sighing loudly, the doctor gestured for her to get up.

“Congratulations. You are pregnant. I don’t know how, I already told you the reasons why you cannot conceive. Rejoice in this miracle. This is a gift from God.”

Tears rushed even stronger, this time accompanied by pure happiness.

***

Lean, who had woken up, teased her as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting to tell them both the good news.

“You, Leara, are truly something. First, you cry while waiting for us to return from watch, and now you can’t wipe that smile off your face.”

“Leave me be, wait for Ksaetar to come.”

When Ksaetar finally arrived and heard the news, he invited the entire village to a great celebration. His Leara was the first woman who was infertile to receive news of a child. Not hiding his excitement, he ordered that from now until the birth she must not do any work around the house. He would find someone to help and take over her duties.

That evening, when they finally lay down in bed, exhausted from the celebration and emotions, Leara said to her husband:

“We should go early tomorrow morning to the Lake of Pebbles. It is time to choose a name.”

“It’s still early, my dear. We don’t even know the gender…” – said Ksaetar.

“I know the gender.”

Ksaetar looked at her, confused.

“How do you know? What is the gender?”

“It will be a girl. I simply know.”

4. Saba

Regardless of the fact that she already knew what her daughter would be called, Leara watched Ksaetar with excitement as he took a pebble from the Lake of Pebbles. She had not told him anything about the mirror and the message she received. That would remain her secret. Perhaps one day she would tell him.

When they brought the pebble to the interpreter, he confirmed what she already knew – “Saba”.

***

Pregnancy among Virteleonian women lasts exactly one Virteleonian cycle. But it is believed that at a quarter of that cycle, the child becomes recognizable, in terms of gender, possible defects, or even predispositions it will have at birth.

Saba developed well, there were no complications.

They prepared the house so that everything would be ready when their daughter came into the world. As the day of birth approached, Leara became sadder than usual. More and more, Saba’s message came into her mind, which she had been suppressing all this time. But so far everything had been correct. It was confirmed that it was a girl. That her name would be Saba. But there was also the second part of the message: I will be the light of your life in the days of indescribable sorrow.

What sorrow awaited her?

The birth was scheduled in three days. She begged Ksaetar to postpone his watch for a few days when his wife would give birth. But he did not listen.

“What would I do here, rest and sleep. I would only bother you. Don’t worry, we’ll see each other tomorrow morning.”

That morning never came.

Virteleon was attacked by insect-like creatures, causing devastation that left the planet without all adult men. Defending their homeland, they gave their lives. There were male children, but they were so young that it would be unrealistic to consider any serious role until they grew up.

Saba cried at approximately the moment when her father and uncle were heroically leaving this world.

Leara never forgave herself for not telling Ksaetar about the message from the mirror. Had she done so, he would have gone to his eternal rest at least having some idea of what his daughter would look like.

5. Decision

Saba’s childhood was woven with her mother’s love and care. Although Leara spent every free moment mourning the loss of her husband and brother, she was always ready to sacrifice everything for her daughter.

The first few Virteleonian cycles showed that Saba would not be an ordinary girl. She learned to read much faster than usual. She developed an interest in martial arts.

Although she never had the chance to see her father and uncle, she kept their pictures beside her bed and imagined going into battle with them against the enemy. She dreamed of becoming a warrior, defending her homeland. She knew that she would reach her dreams through hard and painful work. That is why every morning before dawn she would go out and train. She had a wooden staff that had almost grown into her hands. She never parted from it. Since only women remained and they were not skilled in combat, Saba was a self-taught warrior. At first clumsy, but then more and more confident and better, she became a true little master of martial arts.
After her morning training, she would go to the local library and read books until the lights went out.

Her mother did not look favorably upon her interest in fighting, but she was too overwhelmed with grief to stop her. She knew that everything related to her daughter was predestined. Her resistance would not turn Saba away from what she had set her mind to.

When she started school, Saba already knew how to read and write. She also developed an interest in painting, but it was still in its early stages.

At the age of fifteen Virteleonian cycles, Saba, looking at the stars scattered across the sky, made the decision that had been forming ever since she started on this somewhat lonely path. Why lonely? For the simple reason that she was nothing like her peers. Smarter, more knowledgeable, stronger, more agile and above all braver than all of them. That was what she trained for, what she prepared for. She sacrificed her free time. She cried, lonely, but proud of her progress.

Turning her gaze away from the sky, she looked toward her house where her mother was surely already asleep. All the lights were off. Darkness, which somewhat ominously covered the entire landscape was pierced by the light of celestial bodies.

She straightened up, looked at the wooden staff in her hands and quietly said:

“It’s time.”

-End of part 1-

You can also read these two stories that are connected to this one.

Story in which the events of a battle are described. The Legend of Turlumin

A story in which the tradition of naming newborn babies is described. Lake of Pebbles

KESTI(K) “Sorry for making you wait Rion. I’ve grown old. Reading doesn’t go as it used to. My memory even worse.” - Kesti said in a tired voice.

RION(R) “Don’t worry Kesti. It felt good to slow down a bit. A lot of things have happened in the past few days. And the botra juice suited me as well.”- I looked at Moit nodding to him as a sign of gratitude.

K “Yes. Moit knows how to make that liquid, perfectly balancing the ingredients. But let’s get to the point. Who will start?”

By pointing my hand towards Kesti, I let him know that I was giving him the floor.

K “Reading these scanned documents from the expedition, I was shocked by some discoveries. Humans, through their development, are becoming more and more destructive. Both towards themselves and others. They exploit nature and its resources. Of course, some reasons are valid, considering that they must eat in order to survive. But the tendency is not only survival, but the accumulation of resources. In that way, they reduce the chances for others who do not reach those resources first to live normally. Then conflicts arise that lead to violence. And as I can see, dear Rion, there are enough resources for everyone.”

R “I agree. I don’t know what the cause of all that is. Maybe fear. But that fear was instilled in them by someone. Ignorance and unawareness that there are all necessary elements for everyone. Also, I am not sure what it is in our Virteleonian nature that we do not have such problematic thoughts and behaviors.”

K “We do not exploit nature because its products are not necessary for our survival. We have no need for food. We do not eat. Animals as well. And then we come to the key of this first thesis. There is no law of the stronger, nor a food chain. There are no dangerous animals. There are no evil Virteleonians, who would kill and destroy in order to have more for themselves.”

R “I must propose a second thesis. Differences among humans and the lack of respect for those differences. There are deviations in many segments. Languages, the color of their skin, religions, sexual orientation stand out as some key differences. Instead of valuing and respecting them, it becomes a way and a means for them to divide even more. It is sad, Kesti. What do you think, why is that so?”

K “A difficult question. I would have to think about it a bit more. But the statement stands. We can come to a temporary conclusion that perhaps it is again about fear and ignorance. Or simply an excuse to do evil.”

R “We also have our own problems, Kesti. Although not among Virteleonians, but with the planet itself. According to our estimates, the planet has reached half of its lifespan. And we have no idea how to extend its lifespan. Secondly, we do not have Controllers that Earth has. Regardless of the fact that the goal of the Controllers is to limit chaos and destruction which does not exist here. We have no one who can help us. On top of that, we must help the Earthlings as well. If they allow us.”

K “I know you are busy and full of questions. And you want the best. We don’t have much time left. Two more theses are very interesting. The first is reproduction and lifespan. The reproductive organs are similar. The way of reproduction is almost identical. Although they have much more creative methods that they use along with the process of procreation. They look at it from the perspective of pleasure. Here, you cannot think of sex as something connected to pleasure. Yes, it is nice, but not at that level. Here it feels like doing what must be done. There, it almost reaches the level of art.
Their lifespan is much shorter than ours. If our and their years were compared, we would live on average around 350 to 400 of their years. And some would reach even 600. Your opinion, why is that so?”

R “Primarily, lifestyle. A huge amount of stress, consumption of elements harmful to health, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, poor diet, lack of physical activity. In addition, I believe that when part of the Colony was sent to Earth, they did not have much freedom and possibilities during genetic engineering. They could work with what they had available.”

K “The last thesis for tonight would be art and culture. Here Earthlings are at a much higher level than us. Is that the balance that we all have. Someone is better in one part, another in another.
The amount of works and creativity that we had the opportunity to see is truly very impressive. Here we are focused on science and constant development and improvement in that regard. In a way, we are like machines. Work without any relaxation and giving the opportunity for other talents to express themselves. Of course, as you know, there is art and some extraordinary achievements here as well in that regard. But incomparably less than on Earth.”

R “I agree. But not only culture and art. There is also sport. A very popular thing there. That is what unites people. Personally, one of the most fascinating phenomena there to me. There all differences and diversities are neutralized. We do not have that here at that level. It is more directed towards playing social games, purely for fun.”

Kesti looked at the clock.

K “Dear Rion, we will end the conversation here. We will continue in a few days, if that suits you.”

R “Of course Kesti, thank you for this pleasant conversation. Greetings Moit. Thank you once again for the botra juice.”

As I was leaving Kesti’s office, a few more things that we did not mention came to my mind.

-Virteleonians have no body hair, only on the head.

-They designed and created a machine that became so intelligent that it became a threat to humanity. Unfortunately, the part about further consequences is unclear because it is located in the unscanned part of the documents.

Outside it was already dark. Waiting for transport to go home, I scanned the starry sky with my gaze. T, our Moon-satellite, of an imposing appearance, reminded me how small we Virteleonians are compared to the vastness of the Universe.

End

Here you can check first part of Lore AN INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING VIRTELEON

This story can be read in two ways:
First – you start from the first chapter and read to the last.
Second – you start from the last chapter and read to the first.

Duel

From my diary Day 17.

This might be my last entry. I am writing this in short pauses while hiding from four green glowing flying spheres. I had incredible luck that I immediately understood the mortal danger, as I would certainly die in contact with them. Hiding under the table on the left side. I noticed that while floating around they did not touch any surfaces, only occasionally colliding with each other from time to time.

When they collided, they produced a horrifying hissing sound, at the same time releasing a physical cloud of energy which I undoubtedly knew would kill me.

The flight patterns were predictable but changed after every collision between them, so I had to learn each next once again, as it would appear. I moved from the left table to the right one whenever they came dangerously close to me. The good thing is that they had no eyes or ability to see me. I was not sure about hearing and did not want to risk it. I was as quiet as I could be.

I had to endure the entire Reset. Avoiding the glowing spheres was not a big problem. What was, however, was the fatigue, which slowly defeated the initial adrenaline. Dizziness was no less significant an obstacle.

I do not know how much time has passed. This is the fourteenth movement pattern I have noticed.

I will not surrender. They will not defeat me. Those spheres were sent by the Anomaly, I am sure. This was our duel. A fight chest to chest. But that coward sent four of its fighters against me. Four against me alone. Pathetic.

Barely… Ha...

I am slee…

IS

No one noticed that I left the Library and went back to the dormitory. I returned because of the diary. There were still many empty pages left in it. It will serve me later. I also found the other thing I was looking for: A map of the complex. This might have been stupid and with little chance of success, but the plan was the following:

I will return to the original corridor where three doors stood: Was, Is and Will be. I will enter Is (I absolutely have no idea whether that will be possible, or the plan will fail before the attempt). I will try to find out what is happening with the papers there. If there are plenty of them, I will take as many as possible and deliver them to Will be. Why will I not call the others to join me? Then we could deliver far more paper. A very simple rule – only one person can pass through some of those three doors in the time between two Resets. I would not know that if I had not spent an entire day carefully studying the walls of the dormitory. And I would forget all of it if I had not written things in my diary.

It is good that no one noticed my separation. They would probably try to dissuade me from the idea, out of fear or some other stupid reason.

Entering the room that precedes the corridor with the doors I saw that the vault slowly began taking on a yellowish-red shade, announcing the end of the day and the beginning of the Reset. I quickened my pace determined not to let it disrupt my plan. I exited Will be. In the corridor an icy cold. Teeth chattering. Absolutely not wanting to prolong the inevitability of the next steps I pulled the handle on the door of Is. Locked. I pulled again. The same.

I was convinced that I had to pass through Is. I did not dare to try with Was. That might disrupt some order of things here.

The cold, now seriously undermining my convictions, creeping into my bones, forced me to stop worrying about consequences.

Pulling the handle of Was I experienced the same failure. But I heard a click. A click that was not accidental. Some mechanism started.
Now already with trembling hands, angry because of the stupid situation I found myself in, I leaned with my full weight on the handle of Is. The door opened, revealing that same room with the large open vault. With the difference that the vault was dark, covered with countless stars, which however beautiful they were did not promise anything good.

And as if on command a strong, sharp sound marked the beginning of the Reset.

PAPERS

Ten days have passed.
The wall of the dormitory filled a little more with glued notes. H and K were still sleeping. I put the reminder paper aside from next to the bed while still lying down. My vision blurred slightly. Dizziness. Discomfort. I closed my eyes and the comfort returned. I opened my eyes and the dizziness and discomfort appeared again. I woke up earlier than usual, something here must not allow early waking.

I tried to remember anything beyond what was written. Who am I? Where do I come from? What is my name? Nothing. Emptiness. Sad, surrendering to the void I drifted into sleep again.

“Hey, B! B, wake up!”

A woman, with a visibly shaken face stood above me, her look filled with inescapable horror, hair disheveled, eyes tearful.

“What is happening, why are you shouting?” – I asked.

“The papers are gone!”

“How gone?”

“It’s not there anymore; it does not come out anymore. How is that possible?”

I sat up in bed, having no idea who that was or what she was talking about.
She handed me the reminder paper. Reading it, I realized that it was K.
The disappearance of papers will represent a big problem. Without that tool we are left only with what has already been written.

We searched the dormitory. Right next to the dormitory door there was a small opening through which the supply of new, blank sheets of papers was delivered. A red button above the opening is pressed and within a few moments, a new bundle of papers is delivered. Today that was not the case. Desperate, we decided to go to the Library and see if we would have more success there.

We did not have success in the Library either. H rummaged through the shelves hoping to find some papers but with every new attempt I increasingly had the feeling that we were searching in the wrong place. That we were acting wrong. I sat on a chair holding my head with both hands, leaning on the table.

There must be a reason for this. Although I did not know why we were in Temnem at all, the memory of that had long evaporated, I knew that we were here for a reason. Was the Anomaly playing with us. Showing its presence, deciding to make things maximally difficult for us. We were aware of it, of course, but considering that our life here was reduced to routine, breaking that routine represented a serious problem. In no book, note, was it written that something like this had happened, nor that such a possibility existed.

I completely disconnected from the outside world. Virteleonians passed by me, shouting while searching for a solution. Feeling peace after a few moments of inability to neutralize distractions, I surrendered to thoughts. Whatever they were.

LIBRARY

I curiously watched H while she explained to me how the Library works. I wrote on paper that she has red hair. But not today, this was not red. Or maybe it was. I shook my head to drive away the doubts and thanked her for handing me the book titled:
Is the Anomaly a living thing? Practical advice on how to recognize it.
The book had 1551 pages. Quite a lot of illustrations, the font slightly larger than usual. I will manage to read it today.

K took to studying the book which described attempts by scientists to explain what will happen when the Anomaly is eliminated.

We had a habit that when we returned to the dormitories, we would along the way recount to each other what we read that day. Since memory lasted until the Reset, it was not a problem for us to support the story with an extensive number of details and to have a good philosophical conversation. It is a pity that the next day only what was written on paper would remain.
I asked her if there was a device that records voice. She said she was sure there was but that it was somewhere in the Was rooms. And we still did not have access there. According to her story, the reason is that the seven who reside there have advanced in discovering the Anomaly but still without concrete results. Which told me that we who are in Will be must make some progress in order to move into Is, and then finally into Was.

The Library in Will be was a huge room, by far the largest in this part of the complex. I would dare say that the number of books exceeded the number of one million. Countless shelves, stacked with books, marked with numbers. The numbers essentially represented how many books had been read so far, how many had been transferred into notes. So that future readers would not waste time reading again what someone had already analyzed.

In the middle of the room there was a table placed exactly long enough to seat one hundred people at the same time. It seems that there was some sacredness in that number. I did not like at all that I was the hundredth member. The pressure and tension because of that, unpleasant and ever-present, reduced my concentration.

But 1551 pages had to be read today. I do not want to waste time.

DIARY

From my diary – Day 6.

Now, after five shifts of day and night spent here, five Resets, I can describe our daily routine to you. I wrote everything down, do not worry. If I had not, probably no one would ever read what is happening to us here. An interesting observation: No one writes a diary except me. They think it is a waste of time.

Waking up is a shot into the void. No one remembers anything upon waking. But everywhere there are various notes, papers, glued onto the walls of the dormitory. The only thing that is not forgotten is reading and normal functioning. By that I mean that we know how to move, speak and all those probably normal and necessary things.

Now I no longer remember how I came here. I only know why. But about that a bit later. Too much information, I will forget something…

In the dormitory there are a total of three beds. There are some rooms that are divided so that they are only female or male. I shared a room with H and K. I am very glad because of that. Two very kind and nice girls.

K – my mentor who made my beginning here immeasurably easier. I am not saying that others, if they had been assigned to it, would not have done the same. But still, the gratitude goes to her because she offered to be my guide here.

H – wonderful and always ready to hand me the book I need. She is in charge of the Library. And since that is the most important place here, that makes H perhaps the most important person among us. Because speed is of great importance. There is a lot of material and as much as possible must be achieved with the limitations we have. Plus, there is the Reset. When the warning rings everyone must return to the dormitories.

Now, to explain a little about writing and papers.
As soon as we wake up, we have the opportunity to see a pile of papers glued onto the walls of the dormitory. Out of four walls, two walls and approximately half of the third are covered from top to bottom. But that is not the first thing that comes to our mind. Because we wake up totally disoriented, knowing nothing, just pure forgetting.

Someone smart thought of proposing that before we fall asleep, we place a paper next to our head on which the most necessary information that a groggy person must know immediately is written. Where we are, where the information is located, what everyone’s name is – by that it refers to the letters glued onto our robes. Also, a mini sketch of the corridor, which helps us find the way to the Library and back.

And for the end of this initial entry, one interesting piece of information. There are three variations of the complex. Was, Is and Will be. Three Libraries. Everything that I have written so far applies to Will be. Here there are exactly seventy-three of us. The remaining twenty-seven are distributed in Is (twenty of them) and Was (seven of them). This is not one hundred percent verified information, do not hold me to my word.

Until the next entry…

-End of Part 3-

From the writings of the most renowned researcher of Virteleon, Kesti. His insights and comparisons with the planet Earth provide a rare basis for understanding the similarities and differences between two celestial bodies, quite distant from one another yet still so similar.

It is believed that one branch of the Colony was sent with the task of inhabiting multiple worlds, dividing itself in accordance with the plan assigned to them before departure. Some went to Earth, others went to Virteleon. It is possible that other planets were also part of this endeavor. Such assumptions fall into the realm of speculation, and here we will concern ourselves only with facts.
Kesti’s records are quite extensive; this section presents the most important similarities and differences between the planets.

The significance of Rion’s expedition team

By the task and duty entrusted to me after our expedition to Earth, I write this in order to make things easier for future researchers, record-keepers, and historians.

The fascinating records that Rion and his team brought back to Virteleon have opened new horizons. A region of space which, for reasons unknown, we had not explored turned out to be a place where life exists. A place inhabited by beings very similar to those on our planet.

A detailed study of the records has allowed us to briefly describe all the similarities and differences between the two planets. Here we will not go into comparisons between Earthlings and Virteleonians, as that will be the subject of another document.

Distance:

32,627.00 light years.

For the inhabitants of Earth, this distance is unattainable due to insufficient progress in high-speed travel.

We will not fully reveal our method of rapid travel: I will only say that in addition to antimatter, a significant number of wormholes are involved, further shortening the journey.

We believe that the visibility of our planet is almost nonexistent to Earth observers due to cosmic dust that obstructs it. Still, despite all this, the signal arrived without interference.

A very interesting detail is that the signal sent from that distance traveled for exactly 32,627 Earth years. This means that the civilization that sent it has long since perished. We are not certain of its origin. There is something somewhat tragic in the fact that one civilization sent a message, while the one we had the opportunity to visit was unaware of it. We know nothing of that ancient civilization, as records on Earth do not go back further than approximately 6,000 years.

Galaxy, system, atmosphere, gravity, age

Here we arrive at an impressive conclusion. The similarity reaches its full expression, revealing the essence of the connection between the two planets.

- The galaxy in which we are located is the same. They call it the Milky Way. Our name is the Sovereign Spiral. The names are not that important: of course they differ.
-System: Theirs is the Solar System. It consists of 8 major and several dwarf planets. Ours is called Nmat - after the scientist who achieved the first breakthrough in understanding the planets around us. It consists of Virteleon and three other planets, as well as the Burning Sphere. There is also a natural satellite of Virteleon, simply named T. It is similar to Earth’s Moon, with the difference that it is 1.5 times larger. The distance of Virteleon from the Burning Sphere is greater than the distance of Earth from the Sun. For this reason, the length of a year differs in a ratio of 1.5 - 1.

Atmosphere and gravity: Here we find a similarity of 80 to 90 percent. This suggests that mutual visits would be possible without difficulties that would affect normal functioning.

Age of the planets: Earth - approximately 4.5 billion years. Virteleon - slightly older, around 5 billion years.

Surface ratio

Our planet is slightly larger, by 6.4 percent. The ratio of land to water does not differ much either. On Earth, the ratio of land to water is 29% - 71%. On Virteleon it is 33% - 67% in favor of water. The territory of Virteleon is somewhat different. There are no continents as on the comparison planet; There is one large landmass surrounded by water on all sides, like a single vast island.

Additional notes:

The average temperature on Virteleon falls within a range optimal for the stability of life forms that inhabit it. It does not differ significantly from that of Earth, although there is a slightly greater presence of warmer regions.

Although there are no tectonic plates as on the comparison planet, the surface is not entirely stable. Volcanic activity has been recorded, but it does not follow typical patterns - eruptions are less frequent, but longer-lasting and more spatially widespread.

The presence of a stable magnetic field further confirms the similarity between the two planets and allows for the preservation of the atmosphere despite exposure to cosmic radiation.

Finally, one interesting detail, so that these are not only dry facts. We too have pyramids. A total of 1,445. And yes, there is also a region here where pyramids exist that are strikingly similar to those in the land of Egypt on Earth. This further suggests that the Colony was sent to multiple worlds simultaneously.

End of Extract

Everything began with one simple thought.

1. Paralysis

I listen and wait.

With my eyes closed, I hope the danger has passed.

The noise produced by my attackers fell silent the moment I closed my eyes. That of course does not mean the danger has passed. Inside myself I feel pounding, beating, accelerating.

My thoughts are stirring, not allowing me to grasp them and become aware of them. Like a whirlpool that quickly slips away, not allowing even the slightest chance to catch and tame it. And then nothing. A great emptiness. The thoughts are gone and left desolation.

At this moment I hear nothing, see nothing, feel no smell. The sense of taste undefined. The sense of touch… well, I cannot move! Horrified by this realization, I frantically try to open my eyes. It doesn’t work. My eyelids seem sealed, standing immovably. I felt like in some kind of balloon (am I the balloon?) waiting to explode.

Some time passed. I became aware of one thing. I breathe. It must be so, although I do not feel any stimuli, the air, even if I inhale it, due to total paralysis, I do not feel.

Inside myself I scream at the top of my lungs, but no sound. I must calm down.

What is the one thing I certainly know I can do? To think. Will thoughts pull me out of this situation?

And then another cold shower. I do not remember how I ended up in this situation. What preceded this, where was I, what was I doing? My name has also disappeared, who am I at all?

All that remains is to get out of this trouble with my mind.

2. Pain

I start from the beginning. I learn from mistakes. I quickly forget everything I learn. Memory fades with such speed that if I do not stop a thought, it inevitably goes into irreversibility.

Finally I found a way. I will repeat every new piece of knowledge I reach. It will be exhausting but I will succeed. I know I will.

A fight for life. If I forget and fail to find a way to remember, emptiness will eat me and take me with it into nothingness.

I breathe and think. I breathe and think. I breathe and think. While I repeated those words, a new truth came to light. I live. Therefore, I breathe, I think and that is why I live.

It is unclear to me what is pounding below me. I cannot hear it, but I feel the strikes, unpleasant ones. Does that mean I exist below as well and not only in this place where I persistently repeat – I breathe, I think and therefore I live.

I exist in two places at the same time or in one but larger space. I must simplify that definition so it is as short as possible. Space. I breathe, I think and therefore I exist in space.

The next dilemma was – do only I exist, or does something outside of me also exist? Independent existence would be very sad and unfair. I want to share existence with someone or something. Others.

I breathe, I think and therefore I exist in space with others.

If I share space with others, that means there must be a way to communicate with them or interact in other ways. Silence subtly whispered to me that communication cannot be only through thoughts. Movements.

I breathe, I think and therefore I exist in space with others with the help of movement.

Movements are certainly established by my extended part that is located below the thoughts, where that pounding I feel becomes stronger and stronger.

All remaining mental strength I concentrated on movements, constantly repeating how I breathe, think and therefore exist in space with others with the help of movement. Those two mental actions were next to each other. They must be, one is concentration and the other is repetition so I would not forget.

Maybe I am wrong, but obviously some form of duality must exist. If I stand, then I can move. Forgetting and remembering. Breathing and not breathing. Me and others.

All of this is exhausting. I feel some unpleasant stimulus. Right in front of my thoughts. The stimulus becomes stronger, causing discomfort that I did not know how to explain. If only I could remember. I will call it pain. That word seems familiar to me, from somewhere.

I breathe, I think and therefore I exist in space with others with the help of movement and pain.

I am progressing. And pain is progressing as well, discovering something fascinating. The contours of my physical existence in space. I cannot feel pain where I do not exist. I accept pain and want it. It gives me the boundaries of my existence.

3. Branching Parts

I established my contours. Pain spread everywhere, precisely determining how much of me there is. Although it became unbearable, I rejoiced in it. It makes me physically alive.

It was time to make the next step. Step. That is the movement I must make. Space exists forward, backward, left and right(my conclusion – it does not have to be correct). If I stand now, the step must be in one of those directions. It does not matter which, I only want it to happen.

A slight twitch down right. Vibration. I touched something. Myself, in two places. That is the movement I needed. I focused on that place, forcing it with my thoughts to continue moving.

What I have learned so far about my physical existence:

– Above are the thoughts. Around those thoughts there is a circular physical part of me.

– Immediately below there is a small bridge, not large, which connects the upper part with the lower part.

– The lower part consists of five parts. The central, the largest, that is where the pounding and beating happens.

– From that central part left and right branch two parts, smaller and narrower.

– The same applies below the central part, two narrower parts that go downward.

That is where my physical existence ends.

The goal is to make the parts move. That is possible only with thoughts. I must convince the physical part to move.

The twitching became more frequent.

The left and right branching parts were now already flailing everywhere. It was time for the lower parts to be put to work.

My physical shape suddenly dropped down, onto the place of the lower branching parts. I cannot flail them like the left and right parts without something happening. As I dropped down, I felt some resistance. That is another space that touched mine. That is proof that other things exist, that I am not alone. Happy because of the discovery, I began even stronger to flail the left and right parts, searching for new spaces.

A new dimension of pain. While flailing I came into contact with other spaces. During contact pain appeared on the left and right branching parts.

Meanwhile, without any announcement, in the upper part, approximately in the middle, as if a part of me opened, actually two parts, small ones. They draw in air.

That is proof that I breathe. During breathing I was bringing into myself something besides air, something not very pleasant. I cannot comprehend what that is. (Smell?) Soon I became aware of another part. A bigger one. It was drawing in much larger quantities of air. Happy because of progress, I pushed my limits even stronger.

The lower branching parts were still useless to me. I did not understand how they functioned.
But the left and right ones, coming into contact with spaces, opened views in the form of shapes and space around me. Some spaces were smaller, some larger. Some caused stronger pain, some even pleasure.

Some time passed, until I finally found a way to move forward. The left and right parts touched an exit. The only shape that differs from everything around. (Door?)
If I push them forward nothing happens. Left and right also give no results. Maybe it is necessary to pull the small extended shape below. Yes. It started. Mixing of happy thoughts and those that show fear. What was I afraid of? Well everything is better than this curse.

4. “B”

A flash of memory. For a moment everything returned, catching the mind unprepared to receive a mass of information. The moment passed and took most of it back into forgetting. But some information I managed to keep.

In my head there was an image of an enormous water surface in front of me. A person, woman desperately tried to grab onto something so the current would not take her with it. I stretch out my hand to help in that. I grab her hand, which slowly slips from my grip. In the end the person inevitably goes into the nothingness of the dark water but in my hand remains a small object, circular in shape. The object was smooth, of fine material to the touch, with something written on the surface. I brought the object closer to see what was written. “B”.

Maybe she did not want me to save her but to hand me the object that should tell me something. The letter B.

Returning to reality, suddenly, the discomfort became unbearable.
Multiple negative stimuli at once.
The sudden possibility to use my existence fully.
Concepts that I used descriptively now received names.
Eyes. Mouth. Nose. Ears. Heart. Hands. Legs. Fingers.

^{_{Try to imagine the establishment and then the physical reaction of all senses in the same second. Suddenly opening your eyes after a long time of darkness. Noise after long silence. Pain that replaces the bliss of comfort. Unpleasant smells after neutrality. The taste of internal secretions that stayed in the mouth for a long time, unnoticed. All of that in the same second. That is what I was experiencing.}}

Eyes that upon opening saw a bright white light, then quickly closed again. I needed some time to come to myself. Thoughts, if there were any, crouched in some corner, observing and allowing me to deal with the given situation.

After some time, each time gradually, opening my eyes in small steps, I finally managed to see the contours of the world around me. I was looking toward the door. Right hand on the handle with fingers that could not form a grip.

I turned behind me. Five very happy persons were running toward me, arms wide open, producing inarticulate sounds. Sounds that as if were never before formed into words. Which are only now learning the emotion they need to articulate into certain words.

The horror I felt before returned, seeing the same scene. The choice was to face them who seemed threatening. Or return to nothingness. I will not return to the darkness.

5. Number 100

It turned out there was no reason for fear. It was not an attack but a sign of welcome, uncontrolled, loud, somewhat twisted, strange but finally pleasant. My new “friends”, colleagues, companions, hugged me, while patting me on the shoulders, maybe a bit stronger than desirable.

The introduction could not go further than the letters written on the notes attached to their robes. Two letters K, two letters L and the letter T.

Girl K joyfully handed me an empty note, with a questioning look forcing me to write my letter. B, I must start like that.

“Welcome B, our savior. How happy we are to see you. Number 100, finally!” – said girl K, the only female in that small society.

“How do you mean savior, from what?” – I asked.

“Well from what else? It is generally known that number 100 will solve the question of the Anomaly and neutralize it. That is written in…” – she stopped turning toward the others. Silent looks.

“Never mind, it is written somewhere, probably that book is in the Library. We could find it. H surely knows which book that is, she is responsible for the Library.”

Woman K established herself as my mentor, someone who will introduce me through the internal structure of the complex.

“I am specialized for Will be, the door through which you passed. Do not worry, I know quite well also Was and Is. But leave that now. Soon Reset comes, we must return to our rooms. Time for sleep. You do not want to re.main in the corridors when Reset starts. Not at all.” – said K.

“And what if I still stay?” – I asked.

She looked at me shocked, put a finger on her mouth as a sign that I must not even speak about it and pointed with her hand the direction in which one goes toward the dormitories.

Reluctantly, wanting to learn everything at once, I followed her and the others.

A sigh of relief and peace escaped from my existence. I survived a nightmare. Maybe I entered a new one. But certainly less horrible than the previous one.

And everything began with one simple thought.

-End of Part 2-

The thirteenth enclave of Virteleon. Temnem. Population 99. 59 men and 40 women. All are exactly 31 Virteleonian rotations (years of life) old. Immediately before their thirty-first birthday every Virteleonian, regardless of which enclave they live in, receives a letter containing an offer to settle in Temnem.

Whoever accepts, goes to live there. Whoever refuses never receives the same offer again. Acceptance is not mandatory, acceptance is courage as a virtue that can bring success and glory, and at the same time can be a road of no return.

The notoriety and unpredictability of Temnem are the reason for the number of only ninety-nine Virteleonians who dared to step into that wild and harsh reality. With the hope of fulfilling the goal. And the goal is to neutralize the Anomaly.

1. The Decision

My name is Mbar. I live in the sixtieth enclave – Ptatneum. Today I turn thirty-one Virteleonian rotations. I had plenty of time to think about what I should do. And many times, I changed my decision. But not anymore.

Sleep would not come to me. My head was a torrent of all available emotions. Fear, anger, happiness and helpless sadness prevailed. The final moments were passing before that fateful one when a message would appear on my leafon screen.

The sound of the message cut through me as if I did not know it would inevitably appear. With trembling hands, I took the leafon in my hands and began to read.

DO YOU WISH TO MOVE TO TEMNEM?
YES | NO

I clicked YES.

As if someone on the other side was confused by my answer. Nothing appeared on the screen. I already thought that I had accidentally clicked NO when the next message appeared:

ARE YOU SURE?
YES | NO

YES.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU WILL SOON RECEIVE ALL NECESSARY INFORMATION. BE PREPARED.

I waited for that soon which did not come quickly enough to prevent me, after several sleepless hours, from sinking into restless dreams.

The next day nothing. Nor the one after it. Is this unbearable anticipation some kind of preparation? On the third day I decided to continue as if nothing had happened. I could no longer sit and lie at home being on standby, I was afraid I would lose my mind.

I got ready to take a walk and along the way talk to the Virteleonians I would come across when I heard the doorbell.

Timidly, with short steps, I approached the door and pressed the unlock button.

2. Departure

On the other side of the door a sizable package awaited me. The one who had knocked was no longer in sight. I took the package and brought it inside.

Only one document in the box, written in beautiful, neat handwriting.

INSTRUCTIONS

Pack the things you think are essential. Put them in the box and bring them with you. ONLY ESSENTIAL ITEMS. The vehicle will wait for you at the gate as soon as you are ready. When you arrive at the entrance to Temnem further instructions. Good luck!

At the yard gate an unmanned aircraft was waiting for me. Estimated travel time – one and a half hours. Soft music and dim light in the cabin were a perfect touch, relaxation before future unknowns.

I did not properly manage to say goodbye to my beloved Ptatneum. Watching the now final outlines of the enclave, I thought about my life and the decision I had made.

My parents are no longer alive. I have no wife or children. I have not worked for a little more than a Virteleonian rotation. I have no friends, only acquaintances. It would be said an unsuccessful, wasted life. Is that why I decided to accept this adventure? YES. But I cannot say that I am unhappy. I could have stayed. I had enough resources not to have to work for a longer period of time. Gratitude goes to my parents who through hard work provided a comfortable life both for me and for themselves, while they were alive. But the desire for something new prevailed. The decision is made, now there is no turning back.

Exactly an hour and a half later, the aircraft landed on the ground, with a slight jolt and a sharp sound marking that it was time to get out and face my fate. Two tall, strong Virteleonians greeted me in front of the gate of Temnem. One of them handed me a document with instructions, waiting for me to read them before escorting me through the tunnels at the end of which was the beginning of the thirteenth enclave of Virteleon.

3. Mojra

Here nothing exists, and everything is present. Time – does not exist. It stands motionless, one cannot have awareness of time that does not flow. Space – unstable. At any moment it can physically change, pulling the observer to follow it in its instability. Memory – does not exist. Everything must be written down in order to be preserved from oblivion. Discover the source of the Anomaly, study it and neutralize it. Until then there is no exit.

These unpleasant pieces of information were contained in the document I received upon exiting the aircraft. Did I regret embarking on this path. YES. At the same time NO. With every moment I increasingly felt the need to belong to this place, although I still did not have even the faintest idea what awaited me. And many more YES and NO awaited me.

We reached the end of the corridor and waited for someone on the other side to open the door. It was another guard, who nodded to his colleague in a quiet greeting.

Imagine the ground of a territory where there is no vegetation, no life. Only wasteland as far as your sight reaches. The air is thin, the atmosphere unsuitable for life. No matter how much the Scorching Sphere heated the surface of the land it remains cold. Now imagine that beneath the surface of the land there exists an entire complex of rooms where some Virteleonians live and work. That is Temnem in short.

“Mbar, if memory serves me.” – a young girl greeted me with a wide smile, gesturing with her hand for me to sit on the chair.

“Yes, that is me.”

“My name is Mojra. To keep it short, I will immediately get to the point. We are beneath the surface. This complex serves so that the inhabitants determine the source of the Anomaly. Our assumption is that the source is located on the surface. But until the exact location is determined with certainty there is no exit. We already had two random attempts which ended fatally, we no longer take risks.”

She paused for a few moments expecting a question, and since she did not receive one, she continued.

“There are three parts of the complex. First: What was. Second: What is now. Third: What will be. You have complete freedom to move through each part; every room is accessible to you. Everything you see you may use for research purposes. Do you see this door behind me? When you pass through it you officially enter the Anomaly. You will see a corridor with three doors. It is up to you which one you will pass through. You will certainly return and pass through each of them countless times.”

Another short pause.

“That is all you need to know at the beginning; besides the information you read before coming here. I greet you and hope we meet again. Good luck.”

I sat for some more time, looking at the door, wondering whether I had made a mistake.

4. Records

In the corridor there were, as Mojra had mentioned, three doors, on which from left to right was written Was, Is and Will Be. On the walls around the doors red arrows were painted as signposts. There were so many of them that every meaning was lost, it was not possible to follow each one. Someone had obviously been making a plan of entries through the doors. Or many of them.

I was already in the Anomaly. But I felt nothing strange. The lack of thoughts I did not take as a negative thing. I noticed that it was much colder than in the room from which I had come.

I decided that I would go in order, therefore from Was, I pressed the handle. Locked door. Is – also locked. Will Be – the door opened with a creak. I entered a room of magnificent appearance. It was enormous. In the middle there were large, long tables and chairs filling the spaces on each side of the tables. The walls were glass, providing a view of the territory of Temnem. The ceiling revealed the Scorching Sphere which was at the very peak of its daily cycle. Beautiful blue sky gave me a feeling of warm welcome. But this is surely artificially generated. We are beneath the surface, are we not?

I approached the nearest table, noticing a pile of papers, messily stacked. I sat down, curiously going through the documents.

“We have two M, four L and as many as seventeen T. Who will remember faces if oblivion is present. We cannot distinguish them by face, only by letter. Impossible…”

“Today I remembered the second letter of my name. I am K and O. For now, they call me only K, I am not yet sure where to place O. I will remember, I know I will. As I remembered these two letters…”

“I give up for today. I thought the source was in front of me in the recycling sector. But no. It is only a hair dryer, which with its strange sound and vibration made the situation surreal. “

“I do not know which day it is today. I am afraid that I am slowly losing my mind. I can write, but reading is becoming harder and harder for me.”

“I must find a way out of this cursed dungeon. I was lying nicely in bed and then space decided to place me in a cramped room where I cannot move even a single meter.”

There were many more similar records. They were not written by the same person, different handwritings, color of letters.

I searched the room with my gaze, hoping I would see a Virteleonian. But no, there was no one. At the very end of the room a new door. Perhaps there I will have luck.

5. The Encounter

Finally, I saw the first Virteleonians. They stood in the middle of the room quietly talking. Happy to see someone I raised my hand greeting them. Their gazes were expressionlessly cold, posture slightly hunched, as if they were discussing some painful topics. Dressed in white robes. On each of them in the stomach area was attached a note on which one letter was written. Are those the letters of their names they could remember?

Instead of greeting their faces began to twist into a very strange and eerie expression of a smile. But with distorted faces and a chilling gaze. A slight shiver ran through my body like lightning.

First one and then the others spread their arms, still smiling, and began to run toward me. About thirty meters separated us, no more. Now already in a stance for escape, I turned toward the door through which I had come and grasped the handle. But my hand did not obey me. My fingers could not form a grip, limply flailing on the handle. Had I forgotten how to open a door?

I closed my eyes.

Maybe if I do not look, they will not exist.

Maybe reality will change.

-End of Part 1-

Artifact series beginning - Artifact Part 1

Back to the first published story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

1. Markaria

I opened my eyes and realized that the darkness remained identical regardless of the movement of my eyelids. A paralyzing pain shot through my head. It was the same pain that struck every time I lost consciousness suddenly. I had no other choice but to panic and shout, hoping someone would hear my cries.

Footsteps echoed - first faint, then increasingly louder. The door opened, revealing an intense light that blinded me, making it clear that my eyes had been open the entire time. Only then, as I tried to shield the light with my hands, did I realize that I couldn’t move. Angry and terrified at the same time, realizing I was restrained, I let out a loud sigh.

Why was this happening to me? I remembered the strange old man who spoke of waiting for a traveler. Supposedly, that traveler was me. When he struck me with his staff, it felt as though he paralyzed me and knocked me unconscious. The question was - why?

“Forgive us, we thought you wouldn’t wake up for several more days.”

A young woman entered the room, dressed in a red gown, nervously smiling. She carried a large bowl and a glass of water. Once my eyes adjusted slightly to the light, I noticed that the bowl appeared to contain food.

She set the bowl and the glass down, then untied my hands and feet.

“We tied you up for your own safety. You were trembling in your sleep. We were afraid you might fall from the bed.”

I remained silent, absorbing the experience. She offered me the bowl of food. The sense of smell – my first encounter with food. I don’t know how to describe it. First experiences are always difficult to explain. Seeing my expression, she asked:

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“It’s not that. I don’t eat.”

“You don’t eat? How is that possible?”

“I simply don’t eat. I have no need for food. But water is fine.”

As I drank the water, I observed her more closely. A young woman with black hair, quite tall, radiating a certain positive energy. Despite everything unpleasant that had happened to me, her presence was calming.

She waited for me to finish drinking, watching me with curiosity.

“How rude of me. I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Marta, at your service.”

“Ortol Viel, also at your service. Can you tell me where I am, and what year this is…”

I almost added that I had just traveled through time and space, but that didn’t seem like a wise idea.

“Hm. Planet Earth. The state of Markaria. The year seven hundred forty-nine since the settlement of the Sixteenth Generation of Engineers.”

I hadn’t expected such an answer. Nowhere in the documents I had studied about Earth was there mention of Generations of Engineers, nor of a state called Markaria. My next question followed naturally.

“What happened to the previous fifteen generations of Engineers?”

“That is a very long story. In any case, you’ll soon be meeting the Exalted, and they will answer your questions - professionally and precisely. My task is simply to welcome you and see you off.”

“All right. I’m ready. Take me to them.”

She brought me shoes and a jumpsuit. Once I finished dressing, my gaze wandered around the room. The only light still came from the doorway. I noticed several beds lined up side by side - some kind of hospital room, if I were to compare it to anything familiar.

“Before we go, I must give you this. The Exalted do not speak – they communicate through thought. This device will allow you to communicate with them. Place it on either ear.”

I placed the device on my right ear, feeling a slight jolt as it touched my skin. At first, a cacophony of noise made me stagger, then came blissful silence.

“I think I’m ready.”

I followed Marta through long corridors twisting left and right. From time to time, we passed people walking through the halls. Marta greeted them politely, while I merely nodded in silent acknowledgment.

After several minutes of hurried walking, we reached the end. The corridor ended at enormous gray metal doors marked:

— Exalted Only and Those They Have Summoned —

“This is where we part, Ortol. Good luck.”

“I hope we meet again, Marta. Thank you for your hospitality.”

2. The Engineers

A vast room with a massive round table at its center. Curtains covered the windows. The room appeared clean and sterile. No one was inside. The light illuminating the space came from an unknown source. I wondered what sight would be revealed if I were to draw back the curtains.

EXALTED (E): Do you believe in God?

^{(The room was empty - at least physically, except for me.)}

ORTOL (O): So this is what communication through thought feels like.

E: Do you believe in God?

O: Yes, I do.

E: Please elaborate.

O: Very well. I believe in God as a Creator - someone or something that created everything that exists.

E: Ortol, we, the Exalted, have brought you into our physical chamber to share several facts of great importance to you. Allow us to explain. This physical chamber is the place where we communicate with the chosen – those whom the Path has led to us. You believe you discovered a way to travel through time and space. And you are correct. But it happened solely because you were permitted to do so. You have already noticed that the artifact is no longer in your possession. Have you wondered how you might return to where you came from? Do you believe you even can?

O: Ah, yes. Amid the shock and everything that’s happened, I didn’t even think about the artifact. Mathise, do you know Mathise? Has she come here as well?

E: All in due time. What is the purpose of exploration if everything is revealed in advance? We will tell you only this: you will seek her, and therefore, there will be a chance to find her. The same applies to your father, Rion.

O: My father is alive?

E: Hahaha. You rush again.

_{(The laughter sounded like a melodious instrument, soothing with kindness and compassion.)}

Do not worry. Those who seek, find… an answer, whatever that answer may ultimately be. We have little time, so listen carefully and remember every word.

At this moment, the physical chamber has only one door, the one through which you entered. By the end of this conversation, there will be another door. You will pass through it, but not before you form a precise idea in your mind of what you wish to achieve and where you wish to be. We already know that you wish to find Mathise and your father. But know this: they are not in the same time, nor in the same space. And logically, since you are of material form, you cannot be in two places at once. You can exist in two timelines, but that is not important at this moment.

A brief pause, clearly intended to allow me to process the information.

We have consulted among ourselves, and seeing potential in you, we will offer you advice. If you follow it, it will become your Path, a Path upon which you will surely find all the answers you seek. Of course, you are entirely free to ignore us and choose your Path at random, along with the chain of cause and effect that follows it.

Our advice is that you wish for the doors to take you to the foothills of Mount Sumtra. Your task will be to climb to its summit, where you will find what you need to uncover all answers. But know this, the ascent is extremely demanding, painful both physically and emotionally. Only those with the greatest strength and will succeed. Those who fail - you will encounter them along the way.

Another short pause.

Do you have any questions?

I had a million.

O: Why did you ask me whether I believe in God?

E: Hahaha. You will know, if you manage to climb Sumtra.

O: I have another question. Who exactly are you?

E: We are the Exalted, creators of the Engineers – beings that exist outside material reality, which we enter only when necessary. We know everything, but we must not reveal that knowledge to everyone, nor in its entirety. Think of us as guides - those who set you upon the Path, which you must walk alone.

You have time for one final question.

O: What happened to the previous fifteen generations of Engineers?

E: Nothing. Engineers are immortal beings. They have their duties. They create worlds, create beings, create galaxies. Here is one example: the First Engineers existed in the First Universe, the second in the Second, the third in the Third, and so on. This current Universe is the Sixteenth.

Farewell, Ortol. Good luck on your journey - whichever Path you choose. We are quite certain that we will meet again.

I removed the device Marta had given me, the meeting was over. I felt weak and disoriented. I closed my eyes, trying to calm the storm inside my head.

After a few moments, I finally steadied myself and opened my eyes, already expecting what I saw.

On the opposite side of the room from the door through which I had entered, another door stood. Black. Slightly intimidating, not because of its color or any special feature (it was an ordinary black door), but because of the decision I had to make. Whether to follow the Exalted and take the mountain path, or to seek Mathise and my father.

The decision was made – to follow the Exalted. Perhaps they had deliberately led me down this Path because both Mathise and my father stood at its end. They had promised answers to all my questions.

Curiosity would not leave me in peace. As I approached the door, I turned right and pulled back the curtain from one of the windows.

A magnificent sight - the bustling city of Markaria, Enormous structures, similar to those I had seen in documents about Earth, yet resembling buildings from Earth’s ancient era, though far more massive. A precise association crossed my mind: an ancient city like one from old Greece, advanced into the Industrial Revolution. It seemed these Earthlings were far more advanced.

Another thought followed: I had no idea how far into the future I had traveled. Was this another civilization from the same Universe? Or one beyond it?

With a tired smile, shaping the wish to appear at the foothills of Mount Sumtra, I grasped the door handle and pulled.

-End of Part 3-

Previous story in Artifact series - Artifact Part 2

First story in Artifact series - Artifact Part 1

Beginning of new series - Temnem Part 1

Back to the first published story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

When I started writing Virteleon, I had zero readers.

Zero subscribers.

Zero audience.

Just a feeling that this universe needed to exist.

Virteleon is not just a setting.

It’s a long-form experiment in worldbuilding, philosophy, and slow storytelling.

I’m not writing standalone sci-fi pieces.

I’m building a living universe, story by story.

There are artifacts that bend space.

Enclaves where time doesn’t exist.

Engineers who record the final days of civilization.

Travelers who choose the Mountain instead of power.

This isn’t fast content.

It’s architecture.

And architecture takes time.

I don’t know how big Virteleon will become.

But I know this:

If you’re here early, you’re not just a reader.

You’re witnessing the foundation.

Subscribe if you want to watch a universe being built in real time.

George Wayne - author

1. Records

I sat in the living room, arranging papers. I gathered everything I judged even remotely relevant. There were loose sheets, a few sketches, and a notebook I had only skimmed, realizing it was Mathise’s diary.

I placed the artifact in the middle of the table so that I could keep it in sight even with my peripheral vision. And if it had to be so, let it keep me in its sight as well, I thought, my lips stretching into a nervous smile.

The idea was to see what Mathise had written about the artifact. After some time, I managed to arrange the papers into something resembling chronological order. I left the diary for last. I felt it would provide the final touch.

The parts mentioning the artifact were fragmented. Some sections were crossed out, then rewritten.

…one day I simply noticed this strange object in front of the entrance door…

…the warmth prickles my fingers, but it’s very pleasant to the touch…

…I touched it by accident, the light blinded me…

For several days now the object has been glowing with some strange light. I still can’t grasp its purpose. I have a few ideas, but I’m afraid of the realization. It makes me procrastinate. Tomorrow I must finally decide what to do with it. _{(I’m very sorry she didn’t specify the exact day she wrote this—just like on all the other papers).}

…I think that’s it. I activated some mechanism, by accident. I pressed everywhere, tapped it with my fingers, even spilled a bit of water on it. Nothing. Until it slipped from my hands by chance. It opened and revealed a display. There’s nothing written on it. I’ll leave it like this—I need courage to go further. Tomorrow…

I’ll start writing in the notebook. It will be clearer.

I moved on to the sketches. They were drawings of the artifact – first in its inactive state, then once it began to glow. The last few sketches explained its control mechanisms in detail.

Still, I had to read the notebook first. What I was seeing in those sketches wasn’t entirely clear to me.

2. Instructions

The first half of the diary consisted of Mathise’s calculations – research into the concept of time travel. I noticed a mild frustration, caused by constantly hitting a wall when it came to finding a solution. Understandable, given that no one had yet discovered a way to travel through time. It probably seemed to her that she was close, only for it to turn out to be a dead end every time.

The second half began from the moment the artifact appeared at her doorstep.

I singled out the most important observations:

Someone—or something—has limited this object’s full capacity. It shut it down…

I managed to turn it on completely by accident, pressing something… now, if I wanted to turn it on again, I wouldn’t know how…

The object glowed for several days. I tried everything—shaking it, pressing everywhere, tapping it with my fingers—nothing happened…

One morning, when I wanted to move it into one of the guest rooms, angry, I accidentally dropped it… It opened…

At first nothing appeared on the display, but I discovered the code to activate it… Two light finger taps and shake it twice… It took me a full two days to figure out that code…

I was so frightened when I realized the display read PAST and FUTURE that I panicked, put it in the guest room, and locked the door…

I gathered my courage… There’s a third button – LOCATION… I’m not sure, but it seems that under Location there are all existing planets, galaxies, every little stone arranged in the Universe…

There’s an option to choose the name or coordinates of the desired place. For time, there are no options other than past and future. That must mean the object throws you in the chosen direction but into a completely random moment in time…

Is it possible that after so many years of searching for a solution, one day an object appears that represents some kind of portal through time… If this isn’t a joke, of course…

I’ll need a few more days to gather courage…

After reviewing the sketches following the diary, I understood what she meant when she wrote that message in her room. Just rub it firmly and hold it tightly with both hands. That was the final step – after choosing the destination and the direction in time, it was necessary to shake the artefact and grip it firmly.

I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if I failed to hold it tightly. An image flashed through my mind of my body splitting in half – one part staying here, the other traveling who knows where!

The artifact, as I called it, was in a pre-activation state when I found it – just glowing. I knew what I had to do. I picked it up and let it fall to the floor.

3. Location — Earth

A simple message appeared on the display (one Mathise hadn’t mentioned): Traveler, the time has come.

A few moments later, a field formed on the right side reading PAST, and then on the left, FUTURE. I rubbed my eyes, thinking that all the stress had finally driven me mad. I hadn’t seen it wrong. Normally, what comes earlier chronologically is on the left. Here, that wasn’t the case. After collecting myself, I let the third option appear as well – LOCATION.

I was definitely going into the future. At first, I wanted to follow Mathise—she had written in her message that she was going into the past. Deep down, I knew the chances were slim that the artifact would take me to the same time as her—unless it always sent travelers to the same moment along the timelines. Unlikely.

As for the location, I hesitated briefly: Virteleon or Earth. My father had spoken to me often about Earth when I was a child—the first time he discovered life at a remarkable intellectual level. His fascination with it, and his horror at what he found while exploring it.

Later, when I grew up, I studied the entire documentation. I believed I knew enough to visit that planet. I knew most of the languages, the accessible history, how the most important systems functioned—both human and natural. I was fascinated by the fact that, aside from a few not-so-great differences, we were quite similar. On Virteleon, we don’t eat food as they do. That concept is unknown to us, because it’s unnecessary. That would be a major difference.

Another major difference is their concept of body hair. Virteleonians have none—on any part of the body, except hair on the head.

And a third major difference—their lifespan is incomparably shorter than ours. Their year is half as long as a Virteleonian cycle. Their lifespan ranges between seventy and eighty years. Ours is ten to fifteen times longer.

There are also certain differences in reproduction, but they aren’t of great importance. So, considering all of the above, I could relatively easily blend in and stay on that planet without major issues.

The decision was made. Firmly resolved, I clicked on FUTURE, then selected EARTH. At first, I just stared at the display in confusion, forgetting that I had skipped the final step.

I rubbed the artifact with both hands, then grabbed it tightly. I closed my eyes in anticipation. At first, I felt a powerful current surge through my body. Shortly after, the air began to swirl, as if I were in the midst of violent windstorms.

As the noise wrapped around me, growing louder and louder, and my heart pounded far harder than recommended, I imagined a beautiful, peaceful place where I wished to arrive.

4. The Old Man

I missed my father. Three Virteleonian cycles had passed since his disappearance. No message, no warning—nothing. Just disappearance and emptiness. My mother still believes he was kidnapped and that he’ll simply reappear one day. I didn’t share her belief. I don’t think he’s alive anymore. If he were, after all the searches, I would have found some trace of him by now. All I know is that one night he went to bed. The next morning, he was gone.

Secretly, as I surrendered to the artifact’s will, I hoped it would throw me to the same place and time where he had been.

I opened my eyes, unsure of what to expect. A vast sandy expanse. Turning around, I saw the desert surrounding me on all sides. The Sun – as they called the Burning Sphere – was just rising on the horizon. A translucent blue sky, without a single cloud, greeted the newcomer. A space bound by silence.

The heat of their Sun forced beads of sweat to dance across my face. I removed my suit, remaining only in a thin, one-piece garment. I wasn’t worried about Earth’s atmosphere. The climatic and atmospheric conditions matched Virteleon’s with an eighty-eight percent overlap – more than enough for me to be fine. The air was slightly thinner than at home. And this heat. The only two discomforts.

I headed toward the Sun as it rose ever more proudly on the horizon. I have no sense of how long I walked before finally seeing, in the distance, first a dark spot, then an increasingly green one. The spot became a small patch of land enriched with grass. And in the middle of that modest patch stood a tree. Equally green, it radiated life and defiance amid this endless sandy beast.

And at the base of the tree, seated on the grass, was a man. Long gray hair, an even longer beard. Bare to the waist. He wore only short pants—yes, that’s the term Earthlings use—white in color.

He didn’t notice me until I approached within a meter, nearly touching him to check if he was alive. Startled from his doze and seeing my face so close to his, he sprang to his feet, grabbing the staff that lay beside him.

“Not a millimeter closer!” – he shouted, stepping back.
^{I don’t know which language he spoke, but I understood him perfectly – my study of the planet through millions of documents from my father’s expedition helped.}

I raised my hands—their sign that I wasn’t a threat.

“Who are you, spea—”
A wide smile cut the sentence short.

With a wave of his hand, he signaled me to say nothing. He sat back down on the grass and closed his eyes. As if nothing had happened. I waited. Until I lost patience.

“Hey, you do realize I’m still here?” – I asked, somewhat irritably.

The old man opened his eyes, frowning, with a slightly disappointed expression on his face.

“Ahm, I had just begun to think I’d gone mad—or that I was dreaming. I wasn’t that lucky.”

I sensed melancholy in his voice.

“They spoke to me about you. They said the day would come when you’d meet a traveler of somewhat strange appearance. Just be patient and wait. Bring him so we may host him properly.” – he finished with a loud sigh.

“Who spoke, whe—”

I didn’t manage to finish the sentence. With a swift motion, he struck my left leg with his staff. A powerful pain shot through my entire being. Then helplessness.

I lost consciousness before I hit the ground.

-End of Part 2-

Next story in Artifact series - Artifact Part 3

Beginning of the Artifact series - Artifact Part 1

1. The Visit

A voice, muffled, echoing, fragmented, loud, yet at the same time so distant that it felt as if it were coming from another dimension.

Vibrations. I felt physical stimuli; my body swayed left and right, while my head, slumped against my chest, bobbed up and down.

My mouth was dry, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I tried to swallow, to moisten my lips with saliva, but without success.
My senses of smell and sight remained incomplete, as if they had briefly shut down.

“We’ve arrived, boss.” – the driver said in a hopeless tone, already slapping my face harder after the first unsuccessful, timid, gentle attempts.

When I opened my eyes and looked at him, I had no idea where I was or what day it was. I only saw his eyes and his frightened face, which pulled me back into one-dimensional awareness.
With a hand gesture, I signaled that I understood and asked him to give me a second to collect myself. I searched for a bottle with some liquid, but none was within reach or sight. Realizing what I was looking for, the driver hurriedly pulled out the first bottle he found from under the seat and handed it to me, his hands trembling.

“Thank you, my good Tol. There’s no waking up without a few slaps.” – I laughed, refreshed by the water.
“I don’t know how long I’ll stay here, you don’t have to wait for me.” – I said, closing the vehicle door and waving to him.

Mathise. An elderly woman. My mentor. The one to whom I owed my career, my knowledge, and the experience I had accumulated over the years. I hadn’t visited her as often as I wished.

She lived on the very edge of the 33rd territory of Virteleon, called Sobnem. The poorest territory, sparsely populated, mostly by those who had chosen to spend the last years of their lives far from the fast pace of the main settlements.

The morning was still somewhat dark and chilly, streaked with gusts of cold wind, forcing me to pull a cap from my coat to protect my ears from freezing. I had about a fifteen-minute walk to Mathise’s house.

Vehicles couldn’t pass through because of the inaccessible terrain, overgrown with tough vegetation that would first slow a vehicle down and then bring it to a complete stop. On foot, however, one could easily overcome every obstacle along the way.

It took me a few minutes to reach the first house, dilapidated and covered in thick greenery that silently informed passersby that no one lived there anymore. The second-floor windows were shattered, releasing the ominous darkness of dirty, dusty rooms where someone had once spent hours and days. To reach Mathise’s house, I had to pass ten more houses. Hers was the twelfth.

Walking along, slightly hunched to shield myself from the wind, my mind was flooded with a memory of Mathise from earlier times. More precisely, one of my earliest memories of her is our second meeting. The first hadn’t been particularly significant; we met in passing. Good day, good day, I’m so-and-so. Back then, I had no idea she would become one of the most important women in my life.

The second meeting was far more substantial. It determined both the course of my career and my life. She often told me that its importance was mutual. I believe she said that more out of kindness than pure truth, but I never corrected her.

2. The Results

I was waiting for the results. The exam was difficult; only a small number passed with high scores. They were immediately sent for advanced training.
The rest, those who barely passed, were sent for additional tutoring and then assigned to slightly lower professional positions. Those who failed had to look for a new profession altogether.

The topic of the exam was Time Travel: A History of Failure – A Future of Possibilities.
The goal was to describe, in our own words, why there had been no progress so far and to present our ideas on how advancement might be achieved.

To be completely honest, I followed the flow of my thoughts rather than writing dry, generic answers.

Instructor Mrol entered, holding a list of results. His hair was disheveled, as if he had spent the entire night running his fingers through it while reading our essays. He didn’t even look at us as he walked to the center of the classroom. He was short, so he stood at an angle where I could no longer see him past the colleagues sitting in front of me.

The worst part – reading the names of those who passed.

“Forty-four candidates in total. Eight passed with high marks. Five must attend additional tutoring. And one…” – he paused for a moment, slightly confused.
“We’ll get to that one at the end. Unfortunately, the others did not pass.”

He read the names of the first eight candidates. Not mine. Then the next five, still not mine. I was already thinking about what I could do with my life now.

“Ortol Viel. Your result is undefined. Go speak with Mathise; she’s waiting for you in her office.” – Mrol said, his voice failing to hide his displeasure.

I looked around and noticed identical expressions of shock on my colleagues’ faces. This had never happened before, at least not that I’d ever heard of. One only went to Mathise if something was very wrong: a disciplinary issue, disobedience, a violation of the school’s moral or ethical rules.
You did not want a meeting with her unless it was absolutely necessary.

The deafening noise of absolute silence tore at my ears as I closed the classroom door behind me.

3. The Most Important Mistake of My Life

I sat in the empty, half-dark office of the headmistress, waiting for the final judgment.
Outside light timidly seeped through half-lowered blinds, adding a sense of anticipation. Even though I knew I hadn’t committed any disciplinary offense, I felt like a defendant at trial.

After some time, Mathise entered the office, speaking to someone on the leafon.
“Yes, yes, I know it’s not proper, but this is one in a billion… Rules exist to be broken by better rules, don’t you agree? No problem. Goodbye.”

She sat down in her chair and only then looked at me properly.

“Ortol Viel. Son of the renowned Rion Viel and Vantela Viel. A young man who finds himself in my office. You’re probably wondering why.” – Mathise said.

I remained silent, unsure what to say.

“You know that Instructor Mrol reviews the results, evaluates them, and delivers his judgment. But you probably didn’t know that I read every essay as well. My judgment is final.”

“Your paper, Ortol, is, according to Mrol, average, barely qualifying you for tutoring. Mistake after mistake, he told me. Nothing major, but little by little the quality drops. However, that doesn’t interest me. Everyone makes mistakes; those can be corrected over time.”

She paused for a moment, measuring me with a gentle look, a faint hint of a smile on her lips.

“You, Ortol, made one major mistake. In the part where you described the failed attempts of Virteleonian scientists, you omitted all the artifacts they used in their search for the secret of time.” – Mathise continued.

“Spherical artifacts have the potential to open portals in time, you wrote in your essay. They were not used to their full potential due to fatigue, loss of focus, and declining confidence among scientists.” And then you wrote something that made me summon you here.

I knew what I had written, but I waited for her to say it.

“Spherical artifacts possess enormous acceleration potential compared to other artifacts, like a snowball that crushes everything in its path. It can move forward, backward, and rotate around its axis. Other artifacts cannot do this with such capacity and speed.”

“Although you were wrong, dear Ortol, that mistake is so brilliant! You truly offered something practical, something vivid, in a sea of philosophical, pleasing answers.” – Mathise concluded.

We stared at each other for several seconds, as if playing a game of staring where the first to blink loses.

“From today on, I will personally be your mentor. You will not attend any advanced training. You are coming with me on a journey. Today! Be ready in two hours!” – she said, extending her hand.

4. The House on the Hill

Mathise’s house appeared in my line of sight. The only house resting atop a small hill, nestled between two trees whose canopies stood like guards, signaling that one was approaching an important, powerful member of the community.

A feeling of warmth flooded my mind, the kind that always arose whenever a meeting with Mathise drew near. I loved that woman. She was like a second mother to me.

In the middle of the hill, right by the entrance, steps eased access to the house. Fallen leaves lay lazily across the marble steps, which gleamed from what I assumed was recent rain.

The yard was enclosed by wooden posts, not out of necessity, but for aesthetic reasons. No one broke into another’s property here with criminal intent. Doors were left unlocked unless you wanted privacy, unless you wished not to be disturbed.

I knocked, not too loudly, so as not to frighten her. No answer. I knocked again, slightly louder. Silence. I pulled the handle, and the door opened with a creak.

Inside, it was dark, the air somewhat stale, the house’s energy calm. Every sign suggesting no one was home. I ignored those signs; perhaps she was sleeping upstairs.

It had been a long time since my last visit, yet nothing had changed significantly. The entrance hall was exactly as I remembered, with pictures from Mathise’s youth lining the walls, vividly guiding the guest from her earliest days onward.

Beyond it stretched a large room where guests would sit and drink a welcome beverage. A large table and chairs stood in the center, with big windows on each side. The curtains were drawn, allowing only a small amount of light to timidly creep inside.

As I climbed to the second floor, the creaking of the wooden stairs irritated me, seeping discomfort into my very being. Upstairs were three bedrooms, two for guests and one belonging to Mathise. Opening the guest rooms, I found them empty.

Approaching Mathise’s room, I noticed a small note partially protruding from beneath the door. I picked it up and read:
Be careful when entering. Very unstable reality. A lot of turbulence. Don’t be afraid. Everything is fine.

5. The Sphere

I took a deep breath and opened the door. A wave of vibration hit me, rippling through my entire body and forcing me to step back for a moment.

Mathise was not there. Objects were scattered across the floor, books, a lamp, papers. Only the bed remained in place. As if a vortex had disrupted everything around it.

Glowing fluorescently beneath the bed, shining so intensely that I couldn’t discern its shape, an object seemed to call out to me. Hesitantly, with my eyes closed, I reached down and felt around until I grasped it. I sat on the bed, its sheets crumpled beneath me.

I opened my eyes. After a few seconds of adjusting to the light, I saw that the object was circular – spherical. It felt pleasant in my hands, as if I were holding the finest, softest material, gently caressing my palms. Slightly cold, yet radiating an invisible warmth.

From sheer shock, I hadn’t even noticed the note placed on Mathise’s pillow, right in front of me.

Ortol, if you find this, don’t show it to anyone. Only to someone you trust completely. I think I succeeded. I don’t know where it will take me. I hope to the past. I fear the future. There is no dial-time seems entirely random. If I don’t return, it means there is no way back. Just rub it firmly and hold it tightly with both hands.

Had she truly achieved what no one ever had? Time travel. Fear, euphoria, an adrenaline surge – a whirlwind of emotions. I didn’t even notice the tears streaming down my face. One tear, bravely leaping onto the spherical object, triggered a vibration that almost made it slip from my grasp.

Something slammed loudly in the hallway outside the room. Startled, artifact still in my hands, I rushed to see what it was. Footsteps pounding down the stairs. Someone was there. If it was Mathise, why was she running from me?

The intruder was much faster than I was. I followed the sound, unable to catch sight of them. I reached the ground floor just in time to see the front door closing. In two large strides, I rushed to it and flung it open.

A girl, wearing a black cloak that did not cover her head, ran past the neighboring house at lightning speed, leaving me unable to catch her. My voice failed me. Only one thought remained – sharp, merciless, like a nail driven into my mind.

Was that Mathise?

-End of Part 1-

Next story in the series Artifact - Artifact Part 2

Back to the first published story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

1. The Signal

I clenched my hands in my lap, struggling with a sense of defeat.
The mission had been successful. We had found resources for studying yet another planet we encountered during exploration.

And yet, we had not found a form of life, one that would have warmed my heart, reignited the hope that we were not alone. That there were other beings out there who shared joy and sorrow, success and failure with us.

During expeditions, we had a habit of giving random names to planets and galaxies. The galaxy we were leaving at the beginning of this story was named Umpan. Erind’s idea.

The vessel streamed through the Cosmos, slowly but steadily carving its way home, toward Virteleon.

The expedition consisted of Toren Vox, Talem Oris, Erind Solen, and me, Rion Viel. In the vast majority of cases, it was always us, the same crew. A well-oiled unit. We knew each other perfectly; we practically communicated with glances alone.

I heard them commenting on my dissatisfaction. They agreed to leave me alone. They couldn’t comfort me, and it would have been pointless to waste energy trying.

Some time passed as we traveled silently through the boundless black interior of space. Finally, I rose from my seat, deciding to set my hopes aside for later. One day, somewhere, we would find life.

Seeing me approach, my companions smiled, happily welcoming my return to harsh reality.

And then a distant flash.
The light appeared and vanished instantly.

“What was that?” – I asked, intrigued.

I didn’t wait for an answer, and if there was one, I didn’t hear it. I checked the control panel there were no indications of any planets ahead that we hadn’t already scanned thoroughly.

At the time, I didn’t know though I would soon learn in a fateful way that the planet from which the light flashed had not always been there. It was moving through space by some strange energy, beyond all protocols and rules.

“Wait… this can’t be possible!” – Erind said, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“It’s coming from the direction of Htutron.” – Talem said the knowledgeable one, well-read, always ready with a fact. “The galaxy we mistakenly believed consisted of seven planets.”

The light flashed again, stronger this time, lingering longer before fading away.

“Log this, Toren. Exact coordinates. We’ll inform command and prepare for a future expedition there.” – Erind said firmly.

“What future expedition? We’re going now!” – I said louder than I intended.

“No chance. You can see we don’t have the fuel. We can only head home. Any deviation from course is risky!” – Toren replied, shooting me a disapproving look. Things always had to follow the rules when it came to him.

“Fine. Then I’ll go alone. I’ll take a capsule and head straight there.”

There was no room left for debate.

Every ship carried a single-person capsule, designed to eject in the event of catastrophic failure. It had all the capabilities of a vessel landing and takeoff from any surface.
It could also be launched manually, if someone chose to do so, regardless of any malfunction.

Erind slammed her fists against the console, realizing she wouldn’t dissuade me from this insane idea. Temperamental but rational, she knew there was no point in stopping me though she made sure to show her disapproval, at least with a gesture.

I said goodbye to my companions, leaving them grumbling behind me.

As I entered the chamber where the capsule awaited, a thought echoed in my mind:

The light is a signal.
Someone is calling me for help.

2. The Bag

The capsule accelerated as I drew closer to the signal. A powerful light flooded my field of vision, blinding me. The capsule trembled but continued its steady course. The acceleration didn’t worry me there was a braking system that had never failed.

When I finally approached the source, the sight before me took my breath away.

First, when we last passed through Htutron, there had been seven planets arranged in a circular formation, like a ring.
Second, all of them had been dark gray, metallic in color. Cold. Lifeless.

It felt as though this was no longer the galaxy I remembered. There were still seven planets but now six of them formed the ring. Their color was no longer dark gray, but brownish-red.

At the center stood the seventh planet, the source of the signal. It resembled a torch that had been extinguished yet still glowed faintly, retaining heat from the fire that once burned.

Still unsure of what I was witnessing, I instinctively decided to land on one of the planets forming the ring. The capsule touched down. I checked that my protective suit was fully functional.

As I opened the capsule, a wave of heat struck me completely unexpected. I began sweating instantly, even though the suit was perfectly operational, resistant to all weather conditions and atmospheres. I wiped the visor, fogged from the sudden temperature change.

Stepping onto the planet’s surface, I felt heat radiating from the ground itself. It wasn’t just the air that was scorching. One reassuring thing was that the planet’s gravity was strong enough to keep me stable, even with sudden movements.

Raging winds constantly changed direction. Dust battered my suit and visor. Sweat poured down my body.

About fifty meters from the landing site, I noticed a protrusion resembling a large rock—ideal shelter from these harsh conditions. I decided to rest there and think. I hadn’t brought anything with me no paper to record observations.

There was nothing useful inside the capsule either; it existed solely for ejection. Communication systems were present, but I was saving them for my return. I would contact my team once I took off again so they or whoever was available could intercept me.

Inside the shelter, it was slightly more tolerable. As I examined the stone structure, my left foot struck something heavy.

Looking down, I realized it was a bag.

Someone had been here. Someone other than us we had never landed here, only flown past, scanning data.

It really was a bag. It had handles. A simple opening mechanism threads that, once untied, revealed the interior. Without hesitation, I opened it.

Inside was a single blank sheet of paper.

Everything felt strangely natural. Finding a bag in the most random place in the universe, amid violent atmospheric phenomena. And yet I felt absolute peace. Freedom. No fear. No doubt.

I was exactly where I needed to be, at the exact moment I needed to be there.

3. The Paper

Of course, I took the paper out of the bag.

Made of a strange, unfamiliar material, it seemed while in my hands to exist simultaneously behind and in front of me, to the left and the right. It’s difficult to describe. It felt as though it surrounded me.

Black in color, just large enough to cover both of my palms. I felt as if I were holding something fragile, something that must not break at any cost.

Then, as if following perfect logic, yellowish bold letters began dancing across the black surface:

Greetings, traveler.

You have found the object you call a bag, so we shall call it that.

I cannot tell you the truth in the way you understand truth.

I can give you certain information some of it true, some of it not.

Why? Because truth, as an objective phenomenon, becomes subjective upon contact with living beings. Everyone has their own truth. Let us begin:

The bag has traveled through the universe since its creation.

The Creator carried it during the formation of the universe.

The primordial particle of the Big Bang was inside the bag. When it opened, the particle was allowed to explode.

God laughed upon witnessing this and sent the bag to drift through the universe, enabling its continued expansion.

Whoever finds the bag always witnesses an event that changes their life forever.

Only two of these statements can be called objective truth. I will not tell you which ones – you will soon recognize one.

We do not have much time. Some decisions must be made. When I speak of time, I have plenty of it – but you do not, because you are a subjective being, limited by it.

How amusing this looks to me being burdened by something you do not understand.

Tell me how much time has passed? What year is it? How long have you been here?

“I don’t know.”

Exactly. And you know what? It doesn’t matter. In the universe, everything happens at the same time. There is also a timeline from point A to point B simultaneously. Do not try to understand it. It is irrelevant.

What is relevant is this:

You are standing here, sheltered, missing a magnificent moment. I won’t allow you to miss it entirely. Unfortunately, I had to distract you from the full experience you wouldn’t have survived. First blindness, then burning, then death. I call this danger the Setting Spheres. If you don’t see them, they cannot harm you.

On this planet’s surface, time flows irregularly. We have stood here for fifty rotations of your planet – yet not a single minute has passed on it. Your companions are only now landing on Virteleon.

Why am I telling you this?

You longed to find new life in your travels through space. I heard your pleas, your despair, your sorrow. And now you stand here, unaware that you are about to witness something divine.

I will disperse now, leaving you greeted.

Leave the shelter and look at what you called the central planet.

The paper disintegrated into dust, slipping through my fingers.

So much information. Most of it beyond my awareness. As if in a trance numb, emotionless I stepped out of the shelter, feeling the heat once more.

4. Birth

The most precise explanation of what followed:

I had been in a kind of limbo while inside the shelter.

The configuration of the planets had changed drastically. There was no planet at the center of the ring at all. I had mistakenly assumed there was, unable to imagine what it truly was. Initially extinguished, lost in absolute darkness, it hadn’t appeared any different from the others and it had only later separated from the ring.

Another flash stronger than all before. Instinctively, I covered my visor, avoiding certain blindness. Pain in my eyes. But my vision remained intact.

Cautiously, I looked up.

At the center stood a gaseous sphere, radiating with increasing intensity. It was no longer the size of the planet beneath my feet or of the five surrounding it.

It was several times larger, looming proudly over the horizon, filling most of my field of view.

I still hesitated to acknowledge what I now knew was the only objective truth.

I sat on the ground, ignoring the intense heat biting into my skin. Sweat poured from me. I activated the suit’s drying system to remove all internal moisture.

Slowly, steadily, the thought emerged.

The truth.

Emotion flooded in. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision. I didn’t activate the system to remove them.

Let them flow.

The thought became solid calm, powerful, magnificent.

I was witnessing the birth of the Blazing Sphere, as we Virteleonians called the heat source of our galaxy. The Blazing Sphere the galaxy’s core spread warmth to the surrounding planets, and with it, life.

I was witnessing a cosmic birth.

Htutron my name for it, inspired by childhood tales of the Seven Fields of Htutron, an ancient Virteleonian enclave had already been a galaxy, but it was lifeless. Without a source of life, its planets were dead.

What unfolded before me now tears streaming down my face was the possibility that one day, life might arise on one of these planets. Intelligent beings. Beings we could meet. Teach. Love.

The capsule awaited me. Virteleon awaited me. My companions were surely worried, waiting for my signal.

Let them wait.

This is a moment you experience only once in a lifetime.

-End-

This story is connected with the first story - Journey to the Unknown Part 1

The next story is the start of the Artifact series - Artifact Part 1

Previous story - The legend of Turlumin

In ancient times when Virteleon was, for the most part, uninhabitable and unsuitable for any kind of life across much of its surface, Turlumin was born, the last warrior of Virteleon. The son of Tumin, the greatest warrior Virteleon had seen in its multimillion year history.

Due to harsh living conditions, caused by poisonous gases that occupied the largest part of the planet’s surface, there were only three small regions where conditions were suitable for life. The primary goal of the inhabitants was to preserve and expand the species by giving birth to new offspring. That goal also had to be carried out through the defense of territories against various enemies who periodically attacked Virteleon from nearby galaxies. It was not possible, given the level of knowledge, to determine which galaxies; they recognized them by shape.

The last battle for the defense of Virteleon occurred when Turlumin was still small and unfit for combat. Worm like creatures with growths on their backs that allowed them to fly were a challenging opponent, but Tumin, Turlumin’s father, eliminated them with the help of his army. The battles lasted exactly seventeen days.

Turlumin, now already a grown warrior, the strongest and most capable, stands in a clearing welcoming the morning, unaware that the day ahead will change the entire history of Virteleon turning upside down certain established postulates.

1. Monument

I stood tired from the night watch, not far from the monument to Virteleon, our progenitor, whom we considered a deity. On the plaque at the base of the monument it read:
A sacrifice is noble and pure if it is made for the benefit of others, and not for one’s own benefit. Then it becomes selfishness.

A huge flaming sphere was rising on the horizon, marking the beginning of a new day. End of the shift. Time to report to the next guard on duty.

Looking at the small stone tablet on which the names of those on duty were carved, I saw that the next one was Mramona, the only woman among us, the guardian-warriors. She was distinguished by extreme courage and endurance. She could spend the coldest night or the hottest day singing, without a single cry. I admired her.

She waved at me with urgent motions as I descended the sentry clearing.

“I have terrible news.” – she said instead of a greeting.

“I’m listening.”

“We received information about a new invasion! We still don’t know who it is. What we do know is that certain beings have settled on a meteor that is passing by us. Since the meteor will pass very close to the surface of Virteleon, they will very easily be able to jump to the ground and begin their campaign.”

She sized me up for a few moments, and then, not seeing any reaction, continued.

“They are very resilient. You can imagine how much, when they have no spacecraft at all, nor any protective suit. Please, don’t ask me how we know this. I am only the messenger, and you know they rarely give us those details. Supposedly, so our morale doesn’t drop, so fear doesn’t spread, and other stupid excuses.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder, seeing that she was somewhat unsettled by the whole situation. I smiled.

“Don’t panic, please,. We need you focused and ruthless.”

She nodded, relaxing her shoulders, clearly lifting a heavy burden off herself by telling me the bad news.

2. The Enemy

The sky, across its enormous expanse, was streaked with black specks, which were our attackers.

We deployed tactically across all three territories, roughly ten thousand guardian-warriors in each. We counted on the poisonous gases in the surrounding parts of Virteleon to kill a large portion of the attackers. Even so, the number of black specks in the sky suggested there were several dozen times more of them than us.

When they reached the ground, I managed to shape their at first only vague contour. Ugly insect-like creatures. Their bodies were made of a material that looked like metal, but the surface was patterned with some sort of scaly form. I would say that was their armor.

The head was fleshy, black, with two antennae set above huge, equally black eyes. The antennaes looked like flexible needles that swayed in the wind, but could stiffen, ready for attack. The limbs, arms and legs, were long, four in front and four on the back part of the body. That number, a total of eight, contributed to speed, as well as flexibility, because they could abruptly change direction of movement as needed.

The poisonous gases did not kill the insect-like beings, but they significantly slowed them down, affecting their motor skills, which would greatly ease our task. In the first few minutes they were not aware of our presence. Maybe they didn’t even expect there to be life on Virteleon. I think that because the moment they noticed us and saw how many of us there were, they stopped, pulling back a little. They grouped up, probably deciding on their next steps.

A feeling of dread and fear flooded me. What am I afraid of? Their disgusting appearance? Death? The destruction of the Virteleon race? I must focus, otherwise everything is over.

Not much time passed when, having made a firm decision, they started toward us. Moving slowly due to impaired motor skills, they gave us time to see the way and direction in which they would attack us.

Our three territories stood on the same plane next to each other, picturing, vividly, the last bastion of Virteleon. We had an enormous responsibility to protect the civilian population that inhabited the interior of the territories. Women, children, men who were unfit for warfare or had simply decided to do other work useful for the development of the planet. And of course the old, who were also very important members of the community, primarily because of their immense accumulated knowledge and experience.

Mramona was silent, staring at our aggressors, with a mixture of anger and disgust. I am sure that, like me, she was thinking about how we could kill those creatures. Resistant to terrible weather conditions. Are they equally resistant to the cold metal of our weapons?

In my right hand I held a metal whip, five meters long, flexible, very light and effective in combat where the opponent is several meters away from me.

In my left hand an axe, which clears the path in front of me. Ideal for close one-on- one combat.

I was ready. With a dose of fear, but determined to defend my homeland.

3. The Beginning of the Battle

The last moments before the battle began passed in questioning decisions. Is the defensive formation set well enough? Given their numbers and, at first glance, not a very precisely formed method of attack, by which they simply charged toward us, randomly arranged, as if in haste.

Our formation consisted of fragmented little groups of about a hundred of us, who formed defensive positions. In that way we were quite strong frontally, allowing the enemy to pass us on the sides, where we then attacked them from the left and right, approaching laterally with the neighboring group of soldiers.

The field where the battle was to be fought was initially good for us. On such a large space we could determine all weaknesses as well as the strength of the enemy. Behind us were mountain ridges that formed a solid fallback. We knew every pebble of those mountains, every passage between them in case there was a need to lure them into narrow passes. Although we used the phrase among ourselves – if there is a need, I was unpleasantly convinced that it would surely come to that, given their numbers.

Silence, a mind without any thoughts, concentration and focus. I managed to remove all sounds from my head and outside it, after a few minutes in which the thud of the enemy’s steps was becoming ever more audible. Fear of the insect-like beings was still present. I decided to use it, transforming it into disgust with which I could freely give myself the much needed confidence.

I did not see my father, Tumin, before the battle. We were deployed in two different areas, although not too far apart, enough that time and duties did not allow it. And I loved to fight alongside him, even if only in training, because the last attack on Virteleon was long ago, when I was still a child.

Mramona, screamed, breaking the silence in my head. I turned toward her and saw that together with another hundred soldiers she was drawing a bow and releasing the first contingent of fire metal arrows at the enemy.

Some of the arrows bounced off the metal armor. Those that hit the head were fatal for the enemy. Convulsing, they rolled onto their backs and died, spasmodically waving their legs in the air.

The insect-like creatures, caught off guard by our first arrow attack, stopped for a moment. And then, quickly adapting to the initial shock, continued more fiercely and faster toward us. That was still quite slow, given that their motor skills had not yet returned, due to the poisonous gases.

With fire arrows we achieved no results, because they were obviously resistant to every kind of damage, except metal through flesh.

It took me a little time before I discovered the perfect combo of moves, which later turned into a routine. I would swing the metal whip, with which I would wrap the antennae on their heads, tighten it, and with an energetic movement to the left or right break the antennae, throwing them onto their backs that way. Under the armor that was placed on their backs, flesh was revealed, which was vulnerable. While they lay on their backs, the axe would do the second part of the task, finally killing them.

The problem arose when we established two very unfavorable characteristics. First, given that there were several dozen times more of them, they formed lines that were initially straight, and then as soon as they drew near, they surrounded us from all sides, properly tormenting us in defensive tasks. Second, as soon as they died, they would disintegrate, vanishing, thereby preventing us from having a potential fallback and the block their dead bodies would represent, making it harder for new enemies to surge in.

On the horizon the glowing ball slowly descended to its rest, leaving us at the mercy of the night. Its last light cast elongated shadows over the heated, bloody battle like an ominous sign that a culmination was coming that we refused to think about. Until it crashed down right on our heads.

Ten days passed. Heavy losses on both sides. The mountain ridges that had initially been designated as the final point of defense became the only refuge and hope for defending the territory. Of the three regions of Virteleon that were initially the bastion of defense, they shrank to one, the one in the middle. About a thousand Virteleonians and three thousand insect-like beings entered the final phase of the fateful battle.

4. The Leader

The labyrinth of mountain caves was the scene of the last battles. The cold that ruled in them due to the unavailability of the glowing ball’s light was unpleasant, sharply seeping into the bones. Exhaustion from days of fighting became a burden I could barely overcome. The routine moves with which I defeated opponents were no longer easy and fast.

The way the enemy fought, almost changing tactics in an instant, horrified me and fascinated me at the same time. I could not comprehend how such primitively looking beings had such a strongly expressed intellect.

The antennae on the head proved to be a lethal weapon. They hung limply from the head, but in combat they became rigid needles that stabbed into the bodies of my comrades, leaving them dead after a few stabs. There was no defense against it. They pierced any armor with dreadful ease.

Staggering through the cave corridors, killing enemies, a horrific sight appeared before my eyes. The body of Tumin, my father, lay in a pool of blood while a creature much larger than all the others stabbed him manically with antennae all over the body. He was already dead, but that did not prevent the creature from continuing to stab him. I shouted in absolute despair, preparing the whip with which I would break off those antennae, when the creature turned, hearing me, and with one of its eight legs struck me hard on the head. Dazed, lying on the ground, I noticed the creature approaching me, wanting to finish the job. Already ready to perish, I heard a scream and a powerful blow.

Mramona jumped onto the creature’s back, trying to drive her sword into its skull. By an unfortunate twist of circumstances, slipping on the metal armor, she missed and fell to the floor. The creature trapped her arms and legs with its limbs and began to stab the needle-like antennae into her violently. She did not utter a sound, although in my numbness I clearly saw her blood spraying across the cave walls.

With my last atom of strength I grabbed the whip and axe that had fallen from me. In the distance behind us, light was emerging from the cave exit. Maybe if I manage to reach that exit I will have a chance in a fight with this creature. Because, undoubtedly, this was the leader of the insect-like beings, larger, much stronger and tougher than all I had encountered until then. And I needed strength for that fight. In the cave, where the space is small, I was not able to perform the necessary maneuvers. My idea was that, if possible, I would avoid his blows until I gathered enough strength to deal him the final blow.

5. The Last Death

Behind the mountain ridges, in the middle of a huge field, I waited for the leader of the insect-like beings. I had time to get here, since the creature clearly wanted to see what my next move would be. He was playing with me. He knew he was stronger, he considered himself superior.

We stood facing each other, measuring each other, in silence. Who would move first? I was perfectly focused. Until the moment a terrible thought occurred to me. I and this creature are the last ones left. We will decide who will take the victory. But what victory? The entire defensive force of Virteleon, even if I win here, is gone irretrievably.

– Surrender. All your fighters are dead. You have no chance against me!

The creature was getting into my head. Communicating with me. How is that possible?

– It is possible. How do you think I could control such an army of primitive, low-intelligence beings?

– Alright, we are communicating through thoughts. What is your name?

– Does it matter? No matter, let that be your last wish, for me to tell you my name. In your language it is pronounced – Krehtkog. I don’t know if you knew that I don’t actually look like this. I took over this body so that I could fulfill my ambitions. To be king of Kutrop, the most powerful warrior race in the known universe. What I am, I will not tell you. Unnecessary knowledge given that you will die now.

He began to insert into my mind images of his reckoning with my father. The fight was completely unfair, given that about ten of them surrounded him, slowly driving their antennae into him, wanting him to suffer as much as possible before the final death. They wanted him a painful death, as revenge for the enormous number of slain comrades. Of course, since they were primitive beings, Krehtkog planted those ideas in their minds. And in such an unfair battle he managed to eliminate all but their leader, who was finishing the job when I ran into them.

One idea smoothly slipped into the ever more occupied spaces of my mind. I had to distract him so that I would have time to land the first blow. I prepared the whip in my right hand, wrapping it tightly around my fist.

“I fear you and I am disgusted by you at the same time!” – I said aloud, laughing loudly.

Confused, thinking that we had established conversation through thoughts, at the same time seeing the contradiction between the spoken words and the emotions I expressed by laughing, Krehtkog stumbled back in confusion. He left me just enough time to swing the whip, catching his antennae on his head. I yanked hard to the left. The antennae broke off. A loud howl tore through the inside of my thoughts. It hurt him. But he did not fall onto his back.

Two new antennae grew from his head, leaving me in shock. Unprepared for such a development, I was not ready for what followed.

First one, then the other antenna plunged into my chest. Blood spurted, painting the grass in front of me red. I dropped the axe from my left hand. I felt no pain. Some processes in my organism did not allow me to feel pain. Not at this moment.

Thinking he had finished the job, that my final fall would now follow, he did not expect that the whip, which I still held tightly wrapped around my left hand, would dance its last dance. With a powerful motion, with my last atom of strength, I swung and tore off his remaining antennae. This time, he fell onto his back, fiercely waving his legs in the air. Our mental conversation stopped. This time he did not scream loudly in my thoughts.

I picked up the axe from the grass, approached him and drove it into his body. Once, twice, ten times! I knew I had killed him only when he began to dematerialize before my eyes.

My strength failed me. I fell to my knees, watching how the blood that had spurted from my chest, in ever smaller jets, flowed, releasing the last amounts of red liquid.

Lying on the grass, half-conscious, ready to leave this dimension, knowing that I had done the task and defended my beloved homeland, I released my last thought.

Why wars and destruction, killings and hatred instead of peaceful, nonviolent coexistence with others?

-End-

The second and third enclaves of Virteleon were named after Tumin and Turlumin, the greatest warriors of the planet. Billions of Virteleon rotations later, there were no wars, nor attacks by races from other galaxies, allowing the inhabitants of Virteleon a peaceful life and the possibility to equip their planet with all possible defense mechanisms that prevented anyone from attempting an uninvited landing on the planet.

The story of Tumin and his battle against the worm-like race still waits to be told…

Next story - Setting Balls

Previous story - Lake of Pebbles

Back to the first story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

Excerpt from a newspaper article:

…In connection with this, we also arrive at the ancient concept of naming newborn babies in Virteleon. Mothers and fathers, a few days before the birth of the child, come to the Lake of Pebbles in the enclave of Oveum, which has the symbolic number 1, as the first enclave of Virteleon. The one in which new life begins, immortalized by the sacred act of giving a name…

…By taking a precious stone from the lake they choose the child’s name, seemingly at random. The name of the sacred stone becomes the name of the child.

The question arises, does the stone choose the parents or do they choose the stone?…

…The sacred stone is kept in the house, well protected from all external influences. The chosen stone cannot be changed…

…It is strictly forbidden to take stones from the lake by those who are not on the threshold of parenthood. The punishment is undefined, because so far no case of theft has occurred…

1. Meeting

The agreement was that Sharta, Irleona and I would go to the Lake of Pebbles after school. We often played there, gossiped about other children or teachers. It was our oasis of peace and companionship.

My class ended a little before theirs, so I waited in front of the school, greeting until the next meeting the other colleagues who, passing by me, headed toward their homes.

Irleona came out first, waving at me cheerfully.
“Hello Ekmi, hasn’t Sharta come out yet?”
“No, you know she always stays the last, she bothers the teachers.” – I replied.
“That’s why she’s the smartest.“ – Irleona said in a serious tone.

After a few minutes of waiting we finally saw Sharta coming out with the teacher, questioning him about something, writing down in her notebook the answers she received. Seeing us, she greeted the teacher and, smiling cheerfully, ran toward us.

“You’re late again.” – I tried to make my voice strict.
“That’s not true, you came out earlier.” – Sharta replied half jokingly, half justifying herself.
“Come on, we have only three hours before dusk starts.” – Irleona said in a commanding tone.

Irleona could be said to be the main one in our small group. The fact that she was older by one Virteleonian rotation was not even decisive. She had that quality within her that captivated like a true little leader.

Sharta was like a small crystal that you had to protect so it wouldn’t accidentally break. The youngest, she obeyed us two without question.

I was the bridge between Irleona’s strictness and Sharta’s innocence, a balancing leveler.

We arrived near the lake quickly, following Irleona’s fast walk with light running.

2. Lake

To reach the lake on foot, and that was the only possible way, you first had to pass through the forest, which surrounded the entire area in the center of which the lake was located.

It was always a beautiful sight and a contrast when, passing the last tree, you stepped out into the clearing and saw the lake full of the most beautiful colors radiated by the pebbles. There were various theories about the depth of the lake, some claimed it was over a hundred meters deep, some that it was not more than two meters.

The lake was protected by an invisible dome, which prevented unwanted people from taking a pebble from the lake. And besides that, two guards walked around, as additional security.

Our idea certainly was not to take sacred pebbles, but to rest, talk, play some games and then return home before our parents angrily searched for us around Oveum.

We sat on the grass, admiring the beautiful view before us.

“My mother told me that the left part of the lake is intended for female names, and the right for male.” – I declared proudly to my friends.
“I didn’t know that.” – said Sharta.
Irleona stared thoughtfully into the distance, giving no sign that she had heard me.
“We must not get closer, the guards will scold us.” – she finally spoke as well.

After some time and Sharta’s persuasion, we agreed to play hide and seek. One of us would hide, the other two would search for her. When the first round passed, which lasted until the seekers gave up or the hidden person was found, we would switch. The winner would be the one who avoided being found the most times.

Sharta was first to hide.

“Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Let’s go”. I said to Irleona. ”Will you go left through the forest, and I right?”
Irleona nodded in agreement, putting a finger to her lips, suggesting we be quiet.

After three rounds, Sharta’s dominance stood out, we hadn’t found her once, they found me once out of three times and Irleona, clearly not too interested, was found every time. I noticed something was bothering her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be with us, but as if her thoughts were somewhere else.

“Alright, we’re playing one more round.” – I said after Sharta’s pleading. ”Only one more, then we must go home.”
Sharta gratefully stroked my hair and ran into the forest waving her arms like a bird in flight.

3. Stone

We gave up the search. We called out to Sharta, already somewhat angry that she wasn’t responding and wasn’t coming out of the forest. Dusk was approaching, warning us that it was time to go home.

“What do we do?” – I asked Irleona desperately.
“Wait, stop, do you hear that?” – she replied.

In the distance, barely audible then louder, Sharta’s frightened voice was calling us. We ran toward her, relieved, ready to properly scold her.

Sharta was crouching next to a large bush, deep in the forest on the opposite side of the lake from the one we originally came through after school.
“Come see this.”
Running up to her, breathless, we saw a black round… stone?

“What have you done?” – Irleona shouted angrily. “You know it’s forbidden to take stones, are you normal?”

“I didn’t touch anything, I hid here and noticed this object.”

The black, round object, resembling a stone, symmetrically patterned with white dots, lay right next to the bush, ominously honoring us with its presence.

“Don’t touch it, not under any circumstances!” – I said fearfully.

I grabbed Sharta by both hands and pulled her away from the object. The energy of ancient, somewhat dark and mysterious divinity occupied the space around the object. You wanted to take it in your hands, while at the same time expecting some fatal consequence if you dared to do so.

Sharta wouldn’t be Sharta if, silly and naive as she was, she didn’t decide to do what we all feared. She took a twig fallen from a tree and flicked it at the stone. Irleona let out a muffled scream, trying to stop her. A chill, the realization that we may have done something unforgivable, ran through my body.

The closest I can describe is that the object… came alive. The white dots on it opened, releasing a strong light, blinding us all for a moment. The next moment is hard to explain. The light flowed out of the object, transforming into a transparent gaseous form of a very tall man’s body. Fluttering as if he coughed. And then he raised his hands in a gesture by which he greeted himself. Somewhere in my thoughts, which were racing at the speed of light-years, I remembered that this was the ancient greeting of Virteleonians which had disappeared over time.

4.Virteleon

“Greetings, Virteleon girls. I am extremely glad to see you. Just a moment…” – the being began.

“Ekmi, Irleona and Sharta. Beautiful. Sacred stones radiate from you. You probably do not see it, but with practice and focus you would learn how to see the holiness of stones. But how uncultured of me, I haven’t even introduced myself. Virteleon, The First Of Many.

My legs, more precisely my stomach, had the honor of being the first to touch the surface of our wonderful planet. Just a moment…Yes, about seven hundred fifty two billion rotations of Virteleon ago.

Our mission went wrong, but the risk paid off. We had just enough time either to land on this planet or to return back to Ktokneum. In the end we decided to land here.

But we had to jump out of the spacecraft, the weather conditions at that time did not allow us a landing maneuver on the surface. So I landed on the soil of Virteleon with my stomach.”- he said in one breath, as if he hadn’t spoken a word for millions of years.

“A lot of information at once, I know. Ask me freely whatever you want.” – he laughed loudly.

“What is Ktokneum?” – I asked, stunned.

“You are Virteleon, the planet was named after you?” – Irleona added, watching him fascinated.

“How were you named that if the rule is that the name is obtained from the lake?” – Sharta asked suspiciously.

“Hahaha, slowly girls, one by one.

Ktokneum is the planet I came from. Together with 17 other engineers. After we used all the potential of our planet, as well as all the resources known to us at that moment, we decided to set out in search of completely new and distant planets. That’s how we came here.

I cannot tell you precisely the distance between Ktokneum and Virteleon, because the universe is expanding. At that time the distance was a little more than fifty light-years. Now, I do not know exactly.

Second question. Correct, this planet was named after me. When we arrived there was no life, if we do not count the energy of furious and merciless meteor storms that attacked Virteleon from time to time. For us, as we consider it, every energy is life, even the energy of a storm. Thus we consider storms to be living beings.

Third question. Haha, no, dear Sharta, there was no Lake of Pebbles when we arrived. My name originates from Ktokneum.”

“Are you…alive?” – we asked him together as if by command.

He was silent for some time, trying to find the right words that we would fully understand.

“No, what you see is a hologram, but not a predefined one, where I would tell you something already stored on some machine. Perhaps it will be easiest for you to understand if I say- a hologram in real time. A projection of me, approximately in the period immediately before my death. I had to sacrifice myself for the survival of the mission and my companions. During one particularly furious storm, my colleagues settled in a protective structure we built to shield ourselves from storms. But that one, under circumstances unknown to me, sucked into itself everything that was on the surface of the planet, instead of crashing onto it. The doors of the protective structure could not be closed from the inside because of that, only from the outside. I decided that I would be the one to stay outside.

After some time the storm pulled me toward itself and ended my life.”

We were silent, moved by his heroic act, looking at him with admiration. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t exist. He is our forefather, a deity.

Reading our thoughts he added – ”There is one interesting story. When the storm pulled me in and killed me, my body scattered into a million pieces. The particles of my body, after the storm ended, fell across the surface of Virteleon. Over time my colleagues collected most of the particles and placed them in a hollow in the ground, thus creating what you call – the Lake of Pebbles. But of course that is just a story. Or maybe it is the truth.”, he smiled, winking at us at the end.

The hologram disappeared, returning to the black object.

5. The day we will never forget

We ran toward home. Dusk was already turning into darkness, which marked the end of the day. A day we will never forget. We did not touch the object again, we left it in the place where we found it.

In the distance I saw my parents standing in front of the house, probably wondering where I had been until now. But that was not important to me, nor whether and how big my punishment would be. I would probably spend a day off from school studying, instead of playing outside. If only I could go to the library before that, to take all possible books about the history of Virteleon.

Saying goodbye to Irleona and Sharta, I suggested that in a few days we return to the Lake and contact Virteleon again. They silently confirmed, nodding their heads.

Was that black object one of the particles of Virteleon’s body that were not found during the collecting?

We never saw it again.

-End-

-Next story - The legend of Turlumin

-Back to the first story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

1. Harbingers of the end of the world

I was staring at a small white dot that was the goal, a source of mixed feelings, smoldering hope, distant worry, sweet anticipation. The distance was still considerable, enough that only the outlines of the planet could be seen. Silence reigned in the cabin, as if it were mirroring the space we were passing through. Not much time passed before the white dot became a point that slowly transformed from white into a blue white color.

“We need to slow down a bit now, just to be cautious.” – Erind said in a voice that was quiet but in that absolute silence sounded like a distant shout, an echo bouncing through vast expanses.
“We don’t know what we’re dealing with, we can easily speed up if there’s an opportunity.”

The sound from the control panel slowly began to grow stronger, like when a machine is turned on and starts revving up from some lethargy. It was receiving some signals that disturbed its slumber.

Huge blue surfaces were reflected on the planet, creating an incredible contrast against the blackness of the universe that surrounded it. Beside it, not at such a great distance, there was also some grayish planet visible, which seemed to be following planet, reminding me of a child holding its mother’s hand, afraid of a painful fall.

A much larger glowing mass, which illuminated planet, frightening, like a teacher observing the behavior of students, waiting for an opportunity for criticism or praise.

“We’re approaching the protective layer, this may be uncomfortable, under no circumstances get up from your seats, strong turbulence is possible.” – Erind’s quiet echo vibrated through my brain again.

I was fascinated by the colors, the vast blueness, the white contours of atmospheric forms. Staring at those colors and expanses, I was jolted by the trembling of the ship as it passed through the planet’s last defensive systems. Instinctively I grabbed the armrest with both hands, somewhat dazed by the visual experiences. In moments of passing through layers of planetary defense I used to close my eyes, focus my thoughts on some calm place, often practicing deep inhales and exhales.

This time, my eyes were wide open, staring into some orange haze. The turbulence was unpleasant but nowhere near as bad as the sound impulse I felt in my ears. More precisely the lack of it, a situation that occurs with a sudden change in pressure. Given the shaking of the craft I couldn’t see much, and I’m not sure how reliable my visual functions were. And then suddenly calm again, the trembling stopped and embodied probably the most beautiful moment of my life. All those colors that I had until then watched with admiration became many times more beautiful and vivid.

On the small screen mounted to the left side of my seat there was a notice about a large amount of gravity, which could be a potential problem. I had to focus on the task and not on aesthetic pleasure. Erind was watching me with a probing look, seeking a reaction from me.

“Stop the ship, but don’t shut down the engines. Activate stealth mode, we don’t want anyone to perceive us as a threat. We don’t know if they’re friendly.” – I said, perhaps too commandingly. No one reproached me. I heard Toren’s muffled laughter. Nervous laughter.

For several minutes we remained stationary, observing the planet. We were about 50 kilometers away from the planet’s surface. A huge blue water surface lay beneath us, illuminated by the light of the glowing sphere.

A thought, unexpected, not mine, sharp. You are not welcome. There is great fear of the unknown. You are intruders. Harbingers of the end of the world. We don’t want you here, you threaten us.

That was not my thought, nor the thought of the crew members. It wasn’t even a thought sent by the planet. It was a thought sent by some other life forms that inhabited the space around the planet, invisible just like us at this moment.

I looked at my companions and all of them nodded in unison, signaling that they had received the message. I laughed out loud, pressed the button on the screen that marked the operation of scanning all possible available information, waited until the sliding indicator on the screen climbed to 66 percent (it stopped, it went no further) and waved to Erind to slowly take us back home.

2. 1,28 percent

Seven hundred seventy four trillion pages stored in a device the size of a child’s fist. Four hundred twenty six trillion video recordings and a trillion fewer audio recordings. I had my hands full.
After the report we submitted to the Supreme Council we were given the task of reviewing the documents. I considered it a great honor given the magnitude of the mission and certainly a historic moment in the history of Virteleon.

Of course the documents first had to be translated. But that was a job for experts in that field who had also translated the initial message.

I was given a few days off to prepare for the magnificent undertaking of extracting all the information we had gathered. Those few days refused to pass, spent in boredom and sleeping so that time would go by as quickly as possible.

Waiting for the last few hours to pass before reporting for the job of reading, listening to, and reviewing documents, lying in bed and watching two black dots on the ceiling of my room, a thought came to me. 34 percent has long since died. Destroyed. Dust and ash. The end is near. It’s a shame you didn’t arrive earlier. We know only 1,28 of those 34 percent. We will contact you if we deem you worthy to receive that knowledge.

Was that the thought of those same beings? A quiet chill and shivers ran down my spine. I was paralyzed in bed. I desperately wanted to get up, grab the leafon and check with my colleagues whether they had received the same thought but it wasn’t possible. In that struggle I slowly lost strength and consciousness. My eyelids became heavy like weights, I had just begun to feel dizziness when I lost consciousness.

I was floating over a vast yellow expanse, covered with the tiniest and finest spherical forms I cannot describe otherwise. The heat of the air and a strong wind that lashed my face. Tears were running down my face, not caused by sadness or happiness.

Fatigue perhaps. On the horizon some silhouette was emerging, a tall being, in motion, running toward me. The closer it got it seemed ever larger and more energetic.

Threatening. It was getting closer and closer, causing discomfort and fear throughout my entire being. As it came within just a few meters of me I realized it was me, a face distorted by anger and despair. Mouth open in a silent scream that faded somewhere in the distance, now already inaudible.

I regained consciousness thirsty, sad, and with a throbbing pain in my head.

3. The clock

Reading the last few pages of the documents I noticed that my hand was trembling slightly, that my heart was pounding much harder than normal and that my vision was blurring from the mild horror of the realizations I had come to.

Since the content is vast and I wouldn’t be able to recount it even briefly, I will reflect on a few of the most interesting observations.

The destruction that reigns on Earth (as they named the planet), whether directed mutually between humans or that which man inflicts upon himself, is devastating. An endless list of wars, killings, crimes. The constant expectation of some kind of end of the world. Wasting time on trivial things and ignoring everything that would lead to progress. Secrets that a small number of people (as they called themselves) keep to themselves in order to control their subordinates through lies.

But there are also heroes who sacrificed their lives in order to save humanity, a huge number of very wise scientists who made breakthroughs in understanding the world around them. Art and culture that uplifted millions and billions of people, making their lives more meaningful. Love, as an emotion that is inexplicable, that connects people, as opposed to hatred which destroys.

According to the records, on the planet Earth it is, by their reckoning, the year 2271 of the new era. The zenith, the peak however you want to call it, passed 100 years ago when they managed to simultaneously send their spacecraft to all the planets of their solar system, as they call it. They encountered no life of any kind. The planet Mars, which they had always been fascinated by and viewed as perhaps a potential exit, a solution from the destructive nature and politics they had pursued for centuries and which led to their eventual destruction. But they failed to realize that if destruction is within you, viewing life as mere survival will follow you wherever you go.

And Earth is surrounded by some entities that are inconceivable even to us from Virteleon, some controllers, who either created Earth and its inhabitants or serve as controllers of chaos, ensuring it does not leave its place. And for precisely that reason, their mission to relocate a certain, not small number of inhabitants to neighboring planets was not viewed favorably by the controllers.

Those evil, wealthy people, who had also led to the downfall of human civilization, were the first to board the spacecraft that carried them to new places they would be able to destroy. Every single one of them perished, failing in their intent. Realizing they were not alone in the universe, the most powerful of the inhabitants panicked. They had no way out anymore, they created chaos on Earth, from which they could not relocate because they were prevented by a force they did not know how to explain. They could not hide the fact that a large number of people died during attempts to relocate to other planets. And when that became known, panic, anarchy, rage, fear, horror took hold among the population.

In almost every part of Earth civil wars began, slowly destroying the principles on which the methods of rule of the elite were based. States slowly disappeared, and man as an individual became the sole measure, the ruler of his own destiny. There was no longer anyone to tell man how to behave, what he could and could not do. Now he discovered all of that himself according to his own will.

Currently there are 108 civil wars on the planet Earth, 97 wars between states. Of the 9 and a half billion who lived on Earth, three billion one hundred eighty eight million six hundred fifty six thousand people have ended their life’s journey in the past 100 years. Forty one million three hundred forty four thousand of them have disappeared, it is currently unknown where they are or whether they are alive.

All those somewhat dry data, while I was reading them, seemed not particularly important to me, pure statistics and mathematics when viewed that way. As living beings, such a number of dead, that perspective was catastrophic.

I took a calculator, I could have calculated it in my head, but a dull pain in my head, caused by elevated pressure from excitement, did not allow me to concentrate.

And here I come to the discovery that horrified me. Forty one million three hundred forty four thousand is exactly 1.28 percent of 34 percent dead. That 1.28 percent is known only to the sender of the message who so invasively entered my mind, almost flaunting the knowledge of that information.

Finishing the last few sentences of the documents, already somewhat dazed by everything, on top of it all extremely thirsty, I reached for the glass of water. Drinking that much needed liquid, I looked at the shelf with reports in front of me.

The clock on the shelf was once again showing the exact time.

-End-

- This is the end of Journey into the Unknown mini-series. But this is not the end of Rion and his crew’s adventures. Some future stories will be connected to this series.

The first of those stories is - Setting Balls

- Return to the first part of this story - Journey into the Unknown Part 1

- If you want to follow the chronological order of the publication, the next story is a standalone story - Lake of Pebbles

1. Message at the Wrong Time

My gaze wandered over the shelf filled with reports I hadn’t yet read. Although the shelf was perfectly clean, not a speck of dust, to me it looked neglected and worn. The clock in the middle of the shelf showed the wrong time. I was too preoccupied with other things to fix it.

A strange feeling kept nagging at me. The workday was nearing its end, and I could tell by my colleagues, sitting on edge and eager to leave the office. I hadn’t read the reports, there was no time, and it wasn’t urgent anyway. Yet I felt the day was far from over. Far from it.

In the distance, a scream echoed, frantic shouting. The office door burst open with such force that we all jumped. “Urgent, everyone to the main square! The Supreme Council has a message for us. Transport is waiting for you in the parking lot. Hurry!”– said Erind, breathless but commanding.

Erind Solen, our shift supervisor, was strict and fair, but also warm and gentle. She could scold you when you made a mistake, yet console you in the hardest moments. Taking my coat, I hurried to the parking lot. The Supreme Council rarely sent messages this late. Early in the week, it was common, but never in the afternoons midweek. Clearly, something very important had happened.

Chaos reigned in the parking lot, but I remained calm. My colleagues were on the verge of panic. Across the street, I spotted my friend Elit waving his hands, trying to calm the gathering crowd. I couldn’t reach him, security led me to the transport.

In the vehicle were Erind, Toren Vox, Talem Oris, and I. An awkward silence. Each lost in thought. Toren nervously tapped his feet. Always tense, anxious, a pessimist, but in crucial, crisis moments, unusually calm and precise in every task. Someone who could give you headaches and transfer nervous energy, but also someone you could trust with your life when it mattered, a point between life and death. Talem gazed out the window, pensive. I couldn’t read his face or guess his thoughts. I was too excited myself to focus on others.

Erind held a finger to her earpiece, receiving some information. A slight horror showed on her face, but her posture remained calm. I had to break the silence “What do you think this is? Another meteor nearby?” – I asked.

“I don’t think so. You know last time, when a meteor passed by the orbit, the message arrived on time.” – Talem replied.
Toren just smiled and shrugged.
“Alright, transmission starts in ten minutes. We’ll be there in five.” – Erind assured someone over her communicator. The next five minutes crawled by. Each of us trapped in our own thoughts. Long five minutes.

2. An Expedition Awaits

The main square was packed. Everyone took their positions as they arrived. We were among the first, having organized ourselves quickly. A huge screen, fifty by thirty meters, was turned off. The Supreme Council would appear on it. The anticipation was almost unbearable.

Even for me, calm Rion Viel, who had been on countless expeditions, traveled the universe far and wide, and had been clinically dead twice, once for more than five minutes, nervousness shook me.

The screen turned on, with minor interference. The council of five members was ready to deliver important news. Their names and faces were unknown to us for security reasons, and to focus on results rather than personalities. But where was the fifth member?

“Dear inhabitants of planet Virteleon, we, the members of the Supreme Council, today at 15:58 hours received information from a distant, completely unknown galaxy. It consisted of a short text which we are still decoding, with our best translators working on it. The information was received in audio and text format. At first glance, it does not appear threatening, the tone was calm, friendly.”

The fifth member entered the frame, holding a slip of paper and handing it to the others
“The message has been translated. I will read it to you. Greetings, Universe. Can you hear us? End of message.”
A silence fell over the crowd. Erind, standing beside me, placed a hand on my shoulder, signaling that we should step aside.

“Are you ready?” – she asked.

“Always. Just tell me for what.”

“For the expedition, of course. The exact location of the planet from which the message was sent will be determined in a day or two. Be ready. You know you’ll be the main team member. Once the location is confirmed, report to Lior, who will brief you on all mission details. Go home and get some rest. You’ll need it.”

I lay on the bed, unable to sleep. What a dull day at work, and this at the end. Greetings, Universe. Can you hear us? The words echoed in my head from the moment I took off my shoes, realizing I was about to enter the greatest unknown yet. Preparing for every expedition I had participated in, and not only me but many before me, had taken weeks, months. This time, for the first time in my life, I was unprepared. My mind kept asking a simple yet terrifying question – How had we not known there was something else? Another planet we had missed locating on our endless travels through space. We thought we knew everything. But we had no idea.

3. The Meeting

Leafon woke me. Lior. As I raised the device to my ear, I saw I had a missed call.

“Are you asleep?” – Lior’s voice was half a whisper, half a quiet apology.

“Not anymore.” – I mumbled, half-awake. I had no idea what day it was, or the time.

“You need to come to me, urgently. I sent a vehicle, it’s probably waiting for you downstairs.”

Lior’s office was on the 67th floor of the main intelligence headquarters of New Virteleon which was the 67th enclave of planet Virteleon, but the first among equals, as it concentrated the entire political establishment, all key buildings necessary for the functioning of a planet. Each floor represented a separate enclave.

Entering Lior’s office, I thought of Auren, my best friend. That missed call was from him. I’d have to call him after the meeting Lior sat pensively at his desk, staring at the machine screen, not noticing my arrival.

“Good day.”

“What, how… Ah, it’s you, Rion. Take the folder, read the briefing. I need to check something.”

Briefing

Crew:

1. Erind Solen pilot, 22 Virteleon rotations

2. Rion Viel captain, 21 Virteleon rotations

3. Toren Vox chief engineer, 20 Virteleon rotations

4. Talem Oris assistant engineer, 20 Virteleon rotations

Mission Summary: Message received from unknown planet. Location established. Determine whether life exists there. If not, determine if it existed in the past. Identify the sender. If the above conditions are positive, establish contact with the planet’s main command. If life is primitive, the goal is to scan as much information as possible. Under no circumstances endanger the planet’s inhabitants or crew members. Return with all possible information and report to superiors. End.

“Any questions?”

“Just one. When do we leave?”

“Immediately. In the locker room, you have a suit, drink pack, and communication engineering tools.”

“How long will it take to reach that planet?”

“I’ll be getting ready to sleep tomorrow night when you arrive there, to give you a visual answer. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good luck.”

4. Beware the Setting Ball

Excitement was palpable. You could cut it with a knife, or make a sandwich with a spread of tension and nerves. This was my 434th expedition into space. The first 178 had been unsuccessful, either due to lack of anything significant in the search, or due to inaccessible planets. From 179 to 321, we made significant, almost historic breakthroughs in exploring other systems, planets, and galaxies, yet still found no signs of life. From mission 322 to 433, we discovered very primitive life forms on faraway planets, a measurable breakthrough. But never had we encountered a form of life that could communicate a meaningful, logical, rational message.

You can imagine the atmosphere in the cabin of the spacecraft VIR77, the most modern, adapted to all known atmospheric forms. Not a large ship; space for a maximum of six crew, ideally four: pilot, captain-tactical decision-maker, chief engineer handling all support systems, from life support to ship defenses, assistant engineer needed for more complex missions with unpredictable situations, often multiple bad situations at once.

“Ready?” – Erind asked.

“Ready!” – we shouted in unison.

“Fasten your seatbelts. We’re taking off.”

A brief jerk, minor turbulence, and departure from Virteleon orbit. Considering the expected travel time of one and a half Virteleon days, during which nothing significant was likely to happen in the first half, I had a choice: sleep or read. Sleep won, I didn’t need fatigue now.

As I drifted off, I remembered Auren’s message. Since I hadn’t had time to contact him, we exchanged short messages, which I now recount letter by letter.

Rion: Sorry, I was asleep when you called. Chaos here, we’re heading on an expedition. You’ve probably heard everything already.

Auren: No problem. I heard. What could it be? We’re ready to go if needed. _{(He meant the support team, always ready for emergencies).}

Rion: Just hope we don’t run into any intergalactic violations, or endanger lives.

Auren: Don’t worry. If it’s risky, you’ll return, and then probably we’ll all go on the new mission together.

Rion: Any advice?

Auren: Beware the setting ball.

“Beware the setting ball”. An inside joke between us, one from the void. But we hadn’t used it in a long time. It’s a wish for a safe journey, where any unseen danger won’t harm you. And the setting balls were one of the greatest dangers I encountered on the 179th expedition. But that’s a story for another time.

—Continuation in the next story—

Journey into the Unknown Part 2

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