Here it is...
My first work of sci-fi.
Hope you'll like it...
Note: If you read one story of mine, you'll get the last part...
The Gateway
*Beeeeep*
"The vortex will open in 2.5 seconds," the mechanical voice coming from the Master AI declared.
*Beeeep*
"Time has elapsed and vortex will now open�"
The research room, which was also their field room was filled with high-pitched noises coming from both the computer consoles and from the gigantic whirlpool of anti-matter. The vortex gateway was contained in a huge, about 5 meter radius circle of a semi-permeable alloy, of course if it wasn't, then all forms of matter in the room would be sucked up within the whirlpool. Strange winds started to blow inside the pressurized room, and it could only be explained by the immense, gray and purple lights emitted from the vortex.
The room had two divisions. One was the field room, which there were other scientists in their pressurized suits, monitoring the huge vortex itself, prepared for any malfunction that may occur within. There were also several meds in the room, and also some military people. The other division was separated by an unbreakable glass, which could define itself. The people on the other end were safe from whatever circumstances that may happen on the field room. The people there were top government officials, some Nobel Prize winning physicists, and some other scientists which were skeptical about the entire operation, the existence of other dimensions.
And sitting on a comfortable sofa was the man who started it all. His research on inter-dimensional travels and the infamous occurrence of the black hall made all these possible. He was already an old man, in his late sixties and was seated in the most comfortable chair in the room. Beside him was his daughter. It should have been his wife who was sitting there, but she died twenty years ago. His name was Dr. Gabriel Johnson.
He just sat there and stared emptily at the growing whirlpool on the other side of the room. There was silence even in the watch room, and everybody's eyes were fixed on the phenomena. Forty years ago, nobody thought this was possible, but today, everyone was experiencing it happen before their very eyes.
Strange electrical surges dimmed the lights, and brought it back to normal. The occurrence said to be normal, because of the huge amount of power which was needed to open an inter-dimensional gateway.
*SWOOSSHHHHHH*
The vortex was now in its full size. It towered all the people inside the field room, and everyone stared in awe. What was going to happen?
All of a sudden, a body was thrown out of the whirlpool. There weren't any screams but as the human body was thrown out, it seemed like every bone in his body broke. The meds in the field room heard that. They rushed off towards the platform before the closing vortex, with their first aid kit rattling with them as they rushed. Dr. Johnson pressed his gray-bearded chin with his thumb and index finger. He could only watch.
The room shook and the lights flickered for some time, until finally, everything stabilized. The beeps coming from the console reported that everything was normal now, and the vortex had closed fully in a relatively small amount of time.
The man, who was thrown out of the vortex, was an army officer was sent into the black hole to gather information from the other side an hour ago. He, and three others had volunteered to do so. They were the first to go through the inter-dimensional black hole and surely, they had marked themselves into the history databank. But he was the only one who came back at this time.
Or perhaps he was the only one to survive?
The med officers removed the man's helmet and untangled his hard, heavy pressure suit. As only the man's bare chest was shown, the meds discovered something strange in the man.There were no physical evidences of fractures, and the man appeared normal. Only it were his eyes. His eyes were rolled back further up so that only the whites of his eyes were visible. He wasn't choking or registering some sort of body malfunction, but it were only his eyes. His lips started moving, and it looks as though he was going to say something.
"It�. was�."
"What is he saying?" One of the scientists rushed towards the small metal platform. Afterwards, the crowd of military personnel, with their weapons rushed towards the man. Everyone on the *safe* zone were on their feet, trying to take a look of the man. Dr. Johnson just sat on his comfortable sofa and looked at the holo-screen in front of him.
"What is he sa--"
"�beautiful�"
One of the military officer rushed towards the man. He was a friend of his.
"Johnny, speak to me, Johnny, wake up!" The officer shook Johnny violently on the shoulders, as if driving some evil spirit out of him. But Johnny didn't respond.
"�beautiful�"
"Johnny, listen to me�"
The officer might have shook Johnny so hard. He started choking.
"GHACKKK�AHHCCKKKK�"
"Jesus Christ! Medic!"
The Med Officers frenzied at the officer's cry. Johnny was violently convulsing. He was shaking, but still, the blacks of his eyes wouldn't appear. His mouth threw out spit all over the officer's glass helmet.
"Goddammit!"
"We're losing him, sir�"
"Johnny, wake up� Johnny!"
"What the FUCK is happening to HIM?!"
Too late. Johnny's body was slowly growing backwards. His eyes had rolled back, for an instant, and Johnny looked at his friend with a mixture of pain and pity. It was unexplainable. The body looked like the air, and other things inside Johnny's body was being sucked out, like what could happen if someone were to step outside a shuttle towards a vacuum without a pressure suit on. Johnny was shaking. His bones were breaking by themselves, and blood was pouring out from every opening in his body discharging in great quantities. The red ooze that was coming out of his looked like portions of his brain.
And finally, the eyes popped out like a balloon.
"�Johnny�"
After the horrifying event, all screams were reduced to mere whispers. Everyone just stared at the bloody meat that was Johnny, staring in disbelief. The top officers standing in the *safe* zone were gawking at the bloody sight. Even they could not fathom that such a thing could happen to someone. All of them had the same question in their minds, but were too proud to ask for themselves. Why did he explode suddenly? What happened?
But Dr. Johnson stared at the bloody meat through the hologram. Even in blue and white, he could see the disgusting meat that splattered across his incredible machine. But it wasn't the meat which he was interested in, and he had a different question in his mind.
What has he seen?
Dr. Johnson's sixteen year old daughter, Mella grabbed his left arm. His arm was frail, and was weak to even feel his daughter touching him; or maybe it was just too filled up with thoughts now.
"Daddy�"
Dr. Johnson stared right through the hologram, but in reality, he saw nothing. He was in thoughts. He was thinking deep. Everyone in his side of the room were debating about the extreme incident. On the field room, the meds carried Johnny, or pieces of him in a medical force field. The scientist were in a delirium. Either they did not know what to do, or they were just too shook up by the occurrence. Nobody could really tell by now. As Johnny's body was being carried towards the Med Room, the remaining people in the field room went back to their computers. They were still waiting for the three other soldiers who were sent in that horrible mission. A mission towards the unknown.
A week ago, they had sent a robot unit to report back. But upon its return, all data, the cameras, among other things were undisturbed. But the camera just seemed to refuse the amount of data given. It would just play back static. But there were sounds. The recorded audio were far too strange, that describing it in words would be an understatement. And they finally decided to send *real* humans to do the exploring.
"Dr. Johnson�" a voice suddenly erupted the silence. It was General Davis, the army man. Somehow, that man really was strange.
"You do know by now that the government couldn't fund this operation anymore. We've already lost a respectable Army officer, and who knows what happened to the three others? If word about this reaches the President, he would personally see to it that you'll lose your license, and your lifelong research. Dr. Johnson, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, General. That will be all. Thank you." Dr. Johnson sounded boisterously. He didn't even defend his case. He still stared through the hologram, at the huge circle frame that he had constructed himself, which was supposed to be the Gateway.
------------------
Everything was dark. The corners that surrounded him felt really close by. He was constricted to such a small space. He was in a tunnel, a very dark tunnel. The only thing he could see from such a far distance was a tiny source of white light. Surely it was the exit from whatever tunnel he had gotten himself in to. Dr. Johnson hadn't even had the slightest idea of how he had gotten in here. Where was he? Even he could not answer that. Why was he even here?
And then there it was again. It sounded like whispers. No, more like cries. Well, actually it was a mixture of both. A crying whisper. But who could it be. Especially when there was no source of life in this strange, dark tunnel. He could only hear his own breathing and the constant voice that was calling, echoing throughout the vast regions of this tunnel. Aside from that, there was nothing else. The voice was getting louder and louder, and more distinguishable. Yes, it was it. That was it. It was his wife's.
Dr. Gabriel Johnson, for a short moment felt happy. It was the happiness that he had long forgotten. The happiness to hear his wife's voice again, no matter how strange it sounded. He felt the urge to call back, and he did.
"Gina� are you there?" Dr. Johnson heard his own voice echo through the tunnel, and it trailed off slowly. He yelled back again, constraining his own voice from getting to be a harsh whisper.
"�where are you?"
There was no reply. Once again, he was enveloped in that awful silence, that awful emptiness that now enshrouded him. He felt his heart sank, but�
"I'm here, Gabriel�"
Suddenly, a shadow cast itself upon the tiny bead of light that seemed miles away. Dr. Johnson didn't see it there before. But he had realized that it was his wife. He had definitely no idea on why she was there, after all these years. After all these years of her being buried to the cemetery.
Gina was wearing the silk, white gown that she wore during her accident. There were no bloodstains on her dress, as when Dr. Johnson had seen it after the accident. She was as beautiful as the first time he had set his eyes upon her. Like an innocent child. His love never left her, even after she died. Even until now, that he was seeing her once again. He knew that she was dead, but somehow, she had been alive for this special moment. He was willing to let everything go to get back with her. He was ready to believe anything as he was seeing her, right before his eyes - alive.
As he was approaching his wife, he kept repeating the words.
"I'm sorry� so sorry�" Tears rolled down his eyes. The feeling that had left him for such a long time was back with him again. The memories were painful, but they were worth remembering, as he was now going with her.
"No�. No, don't be�"
"Gina� I love you so much, and I'll never leave you again�" He caressed Gina's face with the utmost tenderness that he had once done. Once, and never again, not ever. Not until now. He had felt the warmth of her, the love of her which was long missed and forgotten.
"Gina�Gina�.Gina�"
"Shhhhh�."
-------------
"DAD!"
Dr. Johnson awoke to see the face of his teenage daughter staring at him in a way that made his heart sink. Mella looked a lot like his mother, she was as beautiful as she was. If only she was alive to see her grow up like this. If only - he had wished for a lot of things for Gina to see.
Dad, you're crying again in your sleep," Mella said, wiping the tears and sweat from his face with a soft face towel. Tears just kept fighting back, wanting to end his sorrow, but it was impossible. He wanted to fight back the tears, to hold back every emotion. But they kept haunting him for the past twenty years. In his dreams. It was hard to forget. Especially as she looked at him through those innocent eyes right now.
"Gina�"
"No, Dad. Mommy's gone� you know that�"
"Gina�"
"Stop it, Dad. Please, just stop it." Mella felt her eyes becoming terribly heavy with tears. They were filling up, and they were triggered by her father's emotions. Even she couldn't stand his being like this. She tried to control them, and she tried to be strong.
"Dad, you need your rest. Please just sleep�"
Dr. Johnson closed his eyes as his daughter pulled up the blankets for him. But the painful memories were still there.
----------------
"Peterson, prepare the vortex�"
"But sir, you saw what happened to Johnny LeBlanc. You don't wanna end up like him, sir."
"Yes, I'm aware of that, now prepare the vortex�"
"But ss-sir--"
"JUST DO IT, DAMMIT!"
"Yy-yes , Doctor!" The cowering scientist turned around on his seat and faced the monitor. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and the computer beeped. Everything was being set-up. There were only the two of them. Dr. Johnson had called him just thirty minutes ago, 2:30 in the morning. Everyone was fast asleep. Nobody was in the field room to prevent him from doing otherwise, except to obey the mad doctor.
Dr. Johnson had just completed pressurizing himself in the pressure suit. He was on the platform directly facing the frame.
"All systems are go, Doctor Johnson, and initialization will start at your -"
"Initialize on my mark, 3�2�.1�.Go!"
The room shook and the lights dimmed due to the power surge. The various scientific instruments rattled in the field room. Everything shook, including the platform on where Dr. Johnson was standing.
*Beeeeep*
"The vortex will open in 2.5 seconds," the familiar computer voice declared.
*Beeeep*
"Time has elapsed and vortex will now open�"
Strong gusts of wind started to blow. Dr. Johnson's theory was that the atomic particles that were being manipulated by the anti-matter in the vortex was the cause of all this. He definitely had prepared himself for this. But what is out there is the unknown. But he DID know something. It was his wife.
The room was once again filled with noises.
"Peterson, tell my daughter I love her�" The noises were too immense, that Peterson didn't catch the doctor's message. But he gave a thumbs-up towards the doctor to make sure that he heard it, even though he didn't.
The vortex slowly grew. It grew large enough to be powerful. The strong force tugged Dr. Johnson himself. In an instant, he found himself travelling through the stars. Everything was so fast, it all happened in a blur. The stars, or whatever those bright colored lights were, came fast towards him. But none ever found their way to even give Dr. Johnson a scratch.
Dr. Johnson held back his breath. For the moment, all that he could think of was his wife. Somewhere, in the stars, she could be there, waiting for him.
Then suddenly, everything was put to a halt. Everything stopped.There was silence. Terrible, ear-erupting silence. There was also that infinite blackness that he had beenn familiar with. His eyes tried to focus on something where light could be, even the most tiny bead of light. It would give him hope. But there was nothing. The only reply he could get was that piercing silence. It was giving him a headache. He tried to yell.
Nothing.
He couldn't even hear his own voice. He knew that he was struggling to say something, even just a mere whisper, but there was just nothing.
But slowly, he heard voices. Sounds, finally. The voices grew, and the voices were becoming familiar. The voices were calling to him.
"Gabriel�"
That was all he needed. His eyes were soon contented because they finally visualized a tiny speck of light far away, maybe miles away. But that was better than nothing. Because of that, he was given hope. And there was the voice again.
"Gabriel, come back�"
"Gina!"
"�Gabriel�"
The voices were again starting to fade away.
"No. Gina, don't leave me�"
"�Gabriel�" The voice was getting far away. They were voices which were somehow restricted.
"Nooooo!!! GINA!!!"
And all of a sudden, he couldn't hear his own voice again. He could not even feel himself anymore. And the silence was broken when�
"Daddy�"
--------------
"He tried his best�"
The doctor returned his glance to the elegant woman in her late forties, whose slightly wrinkled face was down with the usual lose of hope.
"We all know that he tries his best� all the time, but�" his voice trailed off as he stared into the woman's beautiful eyes, that even in her age, glowed so amazingly.
"�but he just could not make it�"
"We have to do everything we can, Doctor Peterson." The woman said.
"Yes, we do, and I assure you that we ARE�"
She just looks so pretty�
"Well, thank you anyway, Doctor. Maybe next time, he'll make it," she finally said.
"We certainly hope that, Mrs. Johnson�"
Gina Johnson left the intensive care facility. Dr. Johnson, who was in bed for the last eight weeks was found in a train tunnel outside the city. Nobody knows why he was there, but they found him already like this. In a comma. Back in his chair, Dr. Peterson smiled sinisterly. He slowly stood up, relieving every little tension in his body. He went towards the force field mattress where it was safe for Dr. Johnson. Peterson stood right above the sleeping doctor, who was looking so peaceful, but looking as though he was hopeless.
"You shouldn't have walked through the gateway, asshole� If you'd been more patient, then you would have survived," Peterson talked to the ailing doctor, as if he could hear him. But couldn't he?
And he continued.
"Take me for example, I waited ten years� you hear that? Ten whole fucking years for this. I knew all of it was true, and look who's smiling now, you stupid bastard. And by the way, I never realized how intensely gorgeous your wife was."
Dr. Johnson's eyes were rapidly moving inside those closed eyelids. It was as if he was struggling to get out. But only he couldn't.
Peterson had noticed it. His hands revealed a black instrument, and he waved it directly in front of the doctor.
"Oh, don't go there, doctor� If your wife only knew about this here thingy�"
Dr. Johnson was convulsing violently. His body was shaking. But his hands had managed to get hold of Peterson in the neck. Dr. Johnson tried to get out of the tunnel, but it was impossible. Instead, he forced Peterson to accidentally press the button on the black instrument.
"NOOOOOO!!! You FUCKING BASTARD!!! NOOOOO!!!"
--------------
General Davis stepped into his car and stretched his neck. On his right hand, he was holding some sort of a remote control. He closed the door and started the engines.
He pressed the button on the remote and it made a beep.
*BOOOMMM*
Thunderous explosions filled the air before the angry flames slowly consumed the top secret research facility.
He drove his car away from the burning facility. Slowly, mysteriously, shadows covered him. The only things which were visible were his eyes. Eyes which were held further back into their sockets that light could not enter. General Davis slowly transformed into something else. His army hat had changed into a huge brimmed hat. His uniform was changed into a long black coat. And his army shoes became a shiny leather shoes. The shadows disappeared.
"Only I can change destiny�"
His right hand reached for his right breast pocket inside his cloak. Out of it came a rolled parchment. The crisp parchment unrolled down by itself.
"People these days are too useful, and I thought people who were useless were the worst�"
The End
Copyright 2001 by Miedo.
Comments are welcome!
Did you like the story? How could it have been improved? I personally think that
it sucked, well not too much, but it's my first work of sci-fi. Help me by
telling me why it sucked, or maybe why NOT?
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