The Alien Orb (28 page)

Dexter realized that it was more than a
rupture in space. It had properties of suspending time! It was a
hole in the fabric of space and time, and a gateway into the depths
of time.

He had staggered when he had first
observed the pulsating alien sphere, when he had entered the
laboratory of the UN Space Agency
–
where leading scientists were
carrying out a series of basic experiments on it.

They had not been able to determine its
origins, so they had brought it back to the Earth, to allow leading
scientists to investigate it.

He had shuddered as he had studied its
cleaned surface and perfect sphere shape, with no blemishes or
openings.

The abnormal antics of the laboratory
scientists had captivated him
–
mystifying him with the depth of their
nervousness, and fear of something! Some still repetitively studied
the controls of an immense laboratory laser, with alarm
–
preparing
themselves!

What were they going to do? Had something
gone wrong in their earlier experiments?

A swift flash of light had exploded
out, and the laser
’
s flickering beam had blasted into the
sphere
–
silencing all the scientists.

It had triggered it to unlock, open
(with a deafening bang), and reveal its inner chamber, where it
was
–
by
the manipulation of gravitational forces
–
suspending a black hole.

Professor Bergman calmly raised his hand,
quickly giving a signal to a technician.

“
As you see,
”
he announced,
“
it manipulates perceptions
of space and time
–
within its outer radius! It suspends,
accelerates, and suspends it. And if you
’
ll look
–
to the clock
–
suspended at its outer
radius
– it decelerates
it too.”

The cable emerged outwards, pulling the
clock back, with its numbers going swiftly backwards, until its
numbers once again became motionless.

“
And if you examined that clock, you
would see that the numbers don
’
t move backwards!
”

Dexter copied Basinger, Burrell, Selina, and
the others, and clapped wildly.

He briefly wondered if it could be a form of
time machine.

“
Professor Bergman!
”
a scientist, next to him,
called out.
“
If something fell in there, would it go on a
quantum leap? Would you say that it would appear at some
stage
after
its
collapse?
”

“
I
personally
believe that it would travel into the
future. But where it ends up is not in my field of
knowledge!
”

Dexter wondered if in reality the black hole
was different from what they perceived. But he dismissed the idea.
He did accept their philosophy!

“
What are your
intentions?
”
another scientist called out, from behind the group.
“
Are you going to
send something in there?
”

“
We have investigated it little, so
far, and if we do, I can assure you that I shall have you all
informed about it!
”

“
What uses to industry do you think it
may have?
”
the scientist continued.
“
Could science not use it? It has the power to
stop time in its outer radius!
”

“
We do not know at present how safe it
is! We shall test it much further, and we may find a use for
it
–
as you
mentioned.

“
If you will take an observation of
its shifting movements, which we have been studying closely over
the past few days
–
which some of you may have observed
–
as its
constrained pattern of movements has dramatically
altered.
”

Dexter examined its lethal appearance.
It resembled a large black bubble of pure energy
–
buzzing wildly and
dangerously about
–
ready to discharge somewhere.

“
Do you believe that space is full of
black holes like this?
”
another scientist asked.
“
Is space full of them from
events such as the big bang? And how long do you think it will
last?
”

“
There may be many, scattered
throughout the universe, and a danger to any explorations of space!
Thus we can study this one, and learn to detect them.

“
The length of time that they exist
may depend on their size and the conditions that they exist in. We
just don
’
t
know how long they last! However, I can give you other details
about this one. Our fact sheets have all our findings, from our
experiments, which may interest you.
”

A technician entered, nervously listening to
everything, and began handing the documents to the scientists at
the doorway, and they queued up to the back of the laboratory.

While Dexter stood waiting for them to
finish, he sensed something peculiar, but he kept his sight on the
queue, where the scientists were captivating.

As he listened more, a gentle draught
appeared, and he discontentedly tried to detect where it was coming
from.

But it increased and he realized that
it was not a draught
–
the air was being sucked away
–
and he glimpsed
a hideous black shadow over the floor, with a horrific emerging
shape, and he stood frigid, watching the black hole crawl through
the laboratory
’s
protective screen material.

In an instant it vanished and
reappeared across his path, and he could not escape its powerful
pull, and the whole laboratory erupted into a frenzy of activity as
he plunged into it
–
hurtling into blackness
–
with existence rapidly
vanishing.

Chapter 2

The Fringes of
Eternity

In a blur, he was floating over all the
stars of the universe, and tumbling through the depths of
eternity
–
far from the nearest stars
–
out beyond reality.

Obscure illuminations endlessly shifted, as
he wildly spun around, with no real awareness of anything.

A tranquil abyss flowed surreally against
him.

A shape gradually emerged, of a stretch of
shininess.

He came to, from his state of disarray,
studying it.

How had he managed to end up in such a
far-out place? Where was he? How could he survive?

He felt as though he had been falling
through something, and he tried to grasp the concept, and where he
had been.

There was no longer any light of the outer
universe!

Large stars magically appeared about him,
with incredible dimensions, and shone with blinding rays.

Howling air suddenly blasted at him, and
around him, and he plunged down, and he saw the night sky, swirling
about him.

He was over water, and falling out of the
sky.

He realized he could survive, and prepared
himself.

A roaring and blinding surge of water hit
him, and he dived through it, swiftly sinking downwards. And he
automatically put out his arms, pushing away water, stroking and
tugging, pulling himself from the endless depths of water.

Chapter 3

The Shifting
Jungle

The rhythms of the waves, skimming over the
surface of the black sand, gently brought him out of his sleep.

He felt the warm air tenderly caressing his
lifeless body.

He had vague recollection of him swimming
ashore, the night before, and then hearing Selina, screaming, and
her splashes, and him pulling her ashore. Then, before he had
rested, and had fallen asleep, a dog had come splashing out of the
water, at them, and he had discovered that she had brought her dog,
Darwin, with her, which she must have had concealed in her luggage
in the laboratory.

He watched her, with curiosity. Her
laboratory jacket was ripped to pieces, and she held it around
her.

He was sure that they were the only two to
go through.

The warm colors of the red sun blazing down,
and the bright celestial objects shining through the sky, turned
the world about him into a wonderland.

The stars, and color of the sun, made
it apparent that they had traveled further into
world
’
s
future than he had imagined possible. He estimated the length of
time that had passed as being at least many millions of
years.

What would humans have turned into over such
a long time? Would there actually be anything left ...?

With astonishment, he focused his eyes
further, to view the tropical beach, with the crimson glow of the
sky over it; and, at the end of the beach, he saw an immense
perpendicular cliff, curving out to the sea.

With an abominable thud, Dexter felt
something crash against him, and he swiftly rolled sideways, to see
a chunk of vegetation.

He shaded his eyes, and clabbered upwards,
startled at the fascinating sight behind him. A jungle of unknown
variations of trees and plants went along the beach, in both
directions. Many overhung the shore like palm trees, with types of
fruit clustered at their tops. Some nearby plants resembled strange
forms of cactuses, with animal-like hairs thickly scattered over
them, instead of spines.

The sun was blazing, and the air was turning
roasting hot. Golden patches of sand, through black sand, glowed in
bright red sunbeams, while the turquoise sea sparkled it.

He stretched out his painful limbs, feeling
slightly dizzy, and he turned his blank expression to a smile. He
had actually survived, and he was on an island.

Their main task now would be to find
food!

Why had he not seen any fish ...? He
had to check again
–
there had to be some.

Sounds of rummaging came from behind him,
from something strange in the undergrowth.

“
Where are we?
”
Selina suddenly groaned,
rubbing her eyes.

“
We
’
re resting on the shore of an
island!
”

Why had he not seen or heard any birds?
Surely there would still be forms of seabird on an island.

“
There
’
s something peculiar about this
place!
”

“
How far in time do you think we have
traveled?
”
she asked, holding her head, looking at the bright tints of
the sun.

“
At present, I don
’
t have a
clue!
”

“
Is there anything to
eat?
”
she
spoke, throwing a pebble along the sand.

Darwin shook himself, and he ran after it.
Once he reached it, he smelt about the sand, looking for things to
eat.

The sand was starting to burn the soles of
their feet.

Splashes of water sprayed over the sea, at
his side.

“
There
’
s a giant fish!
”
Selina shouted, gaping
outwards.

“
A fish ...!
”
Dexter answered, moving to the
water
’
s
edge, looking downwards.
“
It is more like a sea snake! It looks
dangerous
–
it has spiked jaws!
”

His eyes stayed on the clear water,
where the creature
’
s orange shape, covered in thick scales,
floated by.

The fantastic island glowed with
fabulous spectral colors, in the intense red sunshine. It was
fantastically surreal
–
there was vegetation everywhere behind the
beach. Colors of nearly every conceivable variation of the entire
spectrum glowed all over it, like a mind-bending cartoon.
Vegetation of all shapes and sizes mingled. Loud eerie sounds
appeared, from creatures within it, which he felt vibrating in his
ears.

He was sure that they were nearby, watching
them, in hidden places.

“
We better find
spears!
”
Dexter warned.
“
This place could be
dangerous!
”

“
That
’
s probably just some bird
...!
”
she
answered, while adjusting her pieces of clothing.

She walked to him, and she balanced herself
against his side.

There were no proper fish, but there were
insect-like green plankton. He found them edible, and a good source
of nutrition. The water on them tasted strange, and it was
surprisingly consumable, which was peculiar, as he had not heard of
a slightly salty sea.