I couldn’t believe it when it first happened. It was at sunset. I was inside my house, and I was just watching the news. At that time, criminals had escaped from a maximum-security prison. I was quite scared because they were near where I lived. I knew I would be in the clear internally, but my body wasn’t as sure. I went to lock all the doors and when I got to my backyard I fell over. I can’t tell you how long, but I was out. When I woke up, it was darker out. I had a ringing in my ears, and everything was fuzzy. I saw a rhombus shaped capsule in my backyard. It was indented into the dirt like a nail only slightly hammered in. I was so confused as I looked at what it was, slowly getting up. I had trouble standing. I reached to my ears and felt blood. One ear was fine but the other was bloody. I started freaking out as the pain started. I rolled around on the ground, a shockwave of something had created a burning sensation through my entire body. I felt like this was my end. A dumb pod sent into my backyard would kill me just because of how hard it landed. It then ceased. My vision was clear, and my ears were no longer bloody. I was fine. I stood up like normal and walked over to the capsule. It had a few buttons but the main one was a grey circle. I saw writing on the side. “Hermes-Ψ8” I was obviously confused.
First, I pass out, go through hell, and then have that feeling disappear, then this happens. It is an odd metal. The capsule I mean. It has luster and I could see my own reflection. It was different though. It had my reflection, but I seemed like I was from a different place. It was sunny with clouds. I tapped the large button lightly. Suddenly, the top twisted off. I looked inside and I found a CD. I realized that this was not very recent. I have a computer that uses a CD drive, so I decided to take it inside. It took a good while to open. I am a computer engineer, so I had to fiddle with it. Eventually I got it working. I saw a folder pop up on my computer. It then opened itself. It had a few text documents and a few videos. The notes were encrypted except one. I opened it and inside it was disturbing to say the least. Inside was notes of where this came from.
Hermes-Ψ8
Interstellar travel mission.
Planetary Reconnaissance
Interdimensional Travel Association™
Solar and Galactic Discovery Federation®
Multiverse Information Group©
Explorers:
Jane Goldings
Nolan Woe
David Lostman
Linn Walker
Reality Code: Finale-8
Master code: Alone1
Encryption Key: [Hex-Dec-Hex-Dec-BSF]
I just stared at the text for ten minutes at least. I couldn’t process the information I was handed. I finally moved my hand to my mouse shakily clicking it closed. I couldn’t stop now. I put this random disk into my computer and now I need to finish it. I then looked over the many other files. All of them were labeled “Hermes Log” and then a number. I clicked on number one and opened the file. It wasn’t in the best of graphics, but I didn’t exactly mind. I pressed play and watched as a man who looked to be in his 30s or 40s pick up the camera. I was intrigued now. I saw four passengers including the man who picked up the camera. They were all looking at it. I felt slightly freaked out as the man in the front opened his mouth to say something to me. As I watched, words appeared on the screen.
[Data Log 10/25/01]
The man then started speaking.
[David] “Hello. I am David Lottman.”
I then realized his name was spelled wrong in the document.
[David] “I am 32 years of age and am an interstellar explorer. This is a video log of our expedition across the far reaches of the galaxy. This will be copied three times to send back to Earth. I hope… This mission will take around two weeks of exploration and discovery. A base is near where we are travelling; we hope to interact with other explorers.”
[???] “Hey David, you should come see this!”
[David] “Alright. Coming. I will get back to you soon.”
The video then cut to the entirety of the crew. I was bewildered at this point. The bizarre nature of this first video. I couldn’t piece together what was going on. This was in 2001. I have heard of the Hermes rocket, but this was different. It wasn’t nearly the same as the one that happened. It also didn’t launch in 2001, which was another oddity. I un-paused the video and continued watching.
[David] “This is the crew of our ship. We have Nolan, Jane, Linn, and me.”
There were three other figures now. David had brown hair and was around average height. Nolan was tall and lanky and had a crew cut. Jane was the shortest and had lipstick along with a braid. Linn was staring directly at the camera, unblinking. She had noticeably short hair that was black.
[David] “As I can tell, we should arrive at the site in an hour or so. We will need to engage via F-Solar. Begin preparation for dimensional warp.”
Dimensional warp? I was so confused. This must have been a prank. Also, F-Solar?? That is nonsense!… Right?
[David] “Preparing pattern boosting.”
[Linn] “Check.”
[David] “T-3 ‘till warping. Go!”
The space in front of them started distorting, everything around them started changing colors. Eventually, they were back to where they were as it seemed. But at this point, there was a gargantuan spacecraft directly in front of them.
[David] “Perfect! Continue as planned. Engage F-Solar communications and prepare for docking.”
The ship David and his crew were on started moving at extremely fast speeds toward an opening.
[Nolan] “No response on comms, warned them for our docking.”
I watched as the ship landed on a docking bay, a door closing behind them. The camera cut again. I was surprised how well spliced it was for people making this in space. I paused the video; I was about to grab a glass of water, but something told me not to. I felt an overwhelming presence near my fridge. I could wait. I un-paused the video and watched what unfolded.
[David] “This place seems empty. The docking bay doesn’t have a worker and the hazard lights are on. It does correspond with the SOS signal given. I wonder what happened here.”
Something told me they should turn back from where they were. The entire crew looked nervous, even David. I knew something would happen if they went any further. It was like watching a horror movie as you scream at your TV to not go into the house. I watched carefully as the camera panned around; it showed the entirety of the ship. I watched as they used a keycard to open doors. Moving at a good pace. I then saw it. I felt my stomach turn and toss as I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting. I went back to the video shakily and saw a corpse. It was decayed and was oddly smiling. The crew didn’t like this either.
[Nolan] “What happened? We saw these guys last week! They can’t be decaying this fast!”
The camera panned away from the corpse and crew; they were just as disgusted. Linn decided to turn around and move it. There was no corpse there. I rewound the video, and it was there but the next second it was gone.
[Jane] “There’s no way! It was right there… I saw it! A dead body of a crew member sprawled on the floor!”
[Linn] “There must be a rational explanation for this. We should continue searching for the rest of the crew. We need to find somebody alive.”
I whispered to my monitor for them to leave. Never return. Go back and get on the ship. Go to earth again. Don’t come back to wherever this is. They couldn’t hear me though. I knew they couldn’t in my heart, but it was worth a try. They continued to progress. It seemed deserted. Then, like a counter argument to my own thoughts, I heart faint crying… No. Laughing. Giggling, somebody was giggling. While a crew member was dead, somebody chuckled and laughed.
[David] “Who is there? A survivor? We need to find them!”
They started running and opened a door, the noise getting louder. I held back my vomiting this time. It wasn’t a corpse. Another person, giggling. Their body bloody and broken. I watched as they lifted a hand and bit a finger off. I felt tears stream down my face as I closed my ears. My hands didn’t stop me from hearing it though. I heard each painful crunch. It finally stopped as I heard what sounded like a short circuit. David shot the lunatic with a gun. The corpse slumped over, blood still streaming down his face just as tears went down mine. And just as the camera turned away to leave, the body was gone. The video then ended. I clicked the next video to find out more. It was locked with a password. I remembered the master code. I remembered the encryption key. I started translating Alone1 to each language and got “MzQgMzEgMjAgMzYgNDMgMjAgMzYgNDYgMjAgMzYgNDUgMjAgMzYgMzUgMjAgMzMgMzEgMjAgMzIgMzA”. I then entered that into the prompt and the file opened. I played the video and watched. The crew this time seemed more shaken up. I noticed bags under their eyes, they looked delirious.
[David] “We just left the docking bay of galaxy 1057. Many crew members died and had cannibalized each other and themselves. We don’t know what had happened to them, but we sent out a message to surrounding realities to make sure their docking bays were safe. We sent a message to mission command to note of what had happened.”
[Nolan] “Hey, were going to be ok, right?”
[David] “…… Yeah. We will be ok.”
The camera then cut to yet another spacecraft. Apparently also sending many SOS alerts. They started to approach the ship but then stopped suddenly.
[Linn] “You ok David?”
[David] “A presence was detected near the ship and surrounding planet. I want to make sure it is safe before entering.”
A large light started shining near the bottom of the window as I saw a beam shoot towards the ship. I saw as it illuminated… nothing. The light seemed to be swallowed up. I was confused but the crew members started panicking. They started to back up and press different buttons. I watched in horror as the docking bay was swallowed up by a massive darkness. It called for me. I heard the darkness speak through the video. It was calling for me. By my name. They backed up and the video cut off. This time it was shorter than the last. The recording software may have failed. Though when I rewound it to make sure it didn’t call my name, it didn’t speak. Instead, I saw a faint smile in the void. A grin. A grin so wide no human could make it. I closed the video and stood up. I didn’t feel that anything was in the kitchen, so I decided to get some water.
I poured a glass of water and sat back down. I felt desolate. Empty. I felt like I was the only person to ever exist. I played the next video. This time it was different. I saw the crew looking happy and joyful. Each one of them with an expression of glee. They were also with more people than just themselves. Different explorers, seemingly at a docking bay as well. Something about them seemed off, however. Each explorer that wasn’t the main crew looked weird. Now is a suitable time to explain the uncanny valley. The uncanny valley is an object’s resemblance to a human and what you feel when you see it. In this case, it was fear. The other members of the separate crews were in that area of the uncanny valley. I felt uncomfortable looking at them. I was fidgety and didn’t want to look at them but at the same time I couldn’t look away. All my primal instincts told me to run away. I wonder if the reason the uncanny valley exists is because something existed long ago where it looked human, but it wasn’t. What if something looked nearly identical to humans but it was something else in disguise? I un-paused the video, trying to disregard the thought that I had earlier. I continued to watch them mingle.
[David] “I am glad you are here! We found a disturbance in galaxy 1057 near the Duplex System. The crew members were dead and were delirious. We also saw another bay vanish.”
[???] “I understand. Thank you, David. The information you have given me is much appreciated. I will make sure to document these findings.”
The video cut yet again, and I saw as the four crew members drifted around space with their ship. It cut again. And again. I then saw it cut to security footage of the cargo bay. I saw Jane sort the items inside. I heard a mechanical noise as the roof started to open above her. I saw as she helplessly banged on the door. A door made of thick metal. She was getting sucked away as she tried to grab on to anything she could. I saw as the rest of the crew tried to unlock the door, but it was too late. I heard the blood curdling scream as Jane was no more. The video then cut to the three remaining crew members sobbing and crying. Apparently, Nolan had a relationship with Jane and would have proposed the day they got back. I watched, breaking down in tears of my own. Jane reminded me of my own late wife.
My sobbing continued as I then heard my own wife calling my name. I looked up at the video and it was done. I realized it was late. I had stayed up torturing myself with these videos instead of sleeping. I didn’t want to live after what I saw. I grabbed a container of melatonin and ate each one. I painfully gulped down each dose as I wobbled over to my bedside and passed out. I woke up, drowsy and looking around. I saw that I slept for a full day, and it was late again. I knew I had to finish the videos, so I went back to my laptop. To my horror, I saw the next video already opened, the play button begging to be clicked. I slowly sat down, looking around my room and played the video. A familiar voice started speaking with grief.
[David] “We lost Jane yesterday. I don’t know what happened, but the cargo bay was opened. We do not have rations and will be stopping soon to secure more.”
[Linn] “Hey David, you should know that the pattern boosting is off.”
[David] “No! No way!”
The video cut. I waited for what felt like an hour. Then I saw a close up of Nolan’s face. He was terrified. He pointed the camera towards David who was covered in blood. Linn was on the ground, shrieking for help. She was crawling away, and I realized David held a large bone saw. I saw as he grabbed Linn by the hair and inch the saw closer to her neck. I watched as David sawed away at her neck, it wasn’t very sharp because I could hear her screams and each gurgle from the blood pouring into her larynx. She screamed and tried to claw at her neck, but she couldn’t get to him. He reached the bone and with one painful slash, her head was separated from her body. I could see Nolan holding in everything he felt.
David had a deranged smile on his face. He was clearly enjoying this. He stumbled over near where Nolan was hiding. Then it flashed pictures. A bloody and ruined face of Linn, and a torn apart face of Nolan. All of which lifeless. The camera cut. I checked the video bar to see if it was over. It was. What did I just watch? I was about to get up until it replayed itself. This time it was a different video. It had a few beeps. I saw words appear.
Nolan Woe:
Deceased: 11/17/00
Cause of death: Loss of brain activity.
Linn Walker:
Deceased: 11/17/00
Cause of death: Blood loss
Jane Goldings:
Deceased: 10/29/00
Cause of death: Exposure to vacuum
I was confused. This happened in 2001. Why did they just die in 2000? I then saw David; I hated his guts by now. I looked at his blood-stained face, alike to the lunatic shown earlier with literal finger food. I heard a voice come from the screen. A robotic one.
[???] “D. Lottman, sanity low, vitals low. Immediate medical care required. Initiating medical procedure SBTR.”
The camera cut yet again. I then saw David, less bloody and facing the camera with a drained expression.
[David] “My name is David Lottman. My crew died in 2000. I have been alone for a long time. I was delirious for even longer. My ship has run out of rations, and I cannot travel. I wish whoever finds this to find me. I want you to find where I am.”
That same wide smile spread across his face. He grabbed a gun from somewhere and placed it to his temple. He started chanting, I don’t know what it was. It sounded like nonsense, but he did it all without moving his mouth. I watched as he finished his chant. I watched as he pulled the trigger. His head exploding into bloody chunks. The video went on for much longer, so I continued watching. I was trying not to vomit. The corpse stood up. It seemed to stare without eyes. The video then stopped. I just sat there. I sat for what felt like eons. I then wondered how those people appeared in the video if they were already dead. I replayed from video one. I watched as David talked to nobody.
He was laughing, crying, he did everything all over again. Nobody was with him. He was all alone. I then noticed a file. A file called “redemption.dll”. I knew that file type and didn’t want it to harm my computer. I opened a VM and dragged redemption into it. I then opened it and watched as new files appeared. A new video. I shouldn’t have kept clicking. It was a rubber hose cartoon. It wasn’t related to one religion, though it had religious imagery. The snake from the garden of Eden. A burning Quran, presumably a disposal of one. A menorah with an oil lamp. A stone Buddha, tarot cards. It then showed a group of Satanists near a pentagram. The cartoon then showed what looked like Linn, Jane, and Nolan. Each one with a wide grin, joining the circle.
It cut to a new scene. Each Satanist facing each other. Linn walked up. Staring blankly at the screen. It then flashed images. A body devoid of anything. A husk of Jane. Likely from the vacuum. They continued dancing. I then heard chanting and it cut. It then gave a web URL. I painstakingly typed it into my browser and opened it. Nothing. A black screen. Suddenly it requested to use my camera and microphone. I didn’t have time to accept before it accepted itself. I then saw that void that swallowed up the docking bay. It spoke again.
[Void] “Hello. I am what you see when you close your eyes, what lurks behind the blinds. I am your fear. Scale, time, space, existence, distortion, it all shifts to my command. I am the everlasting, the absolute, the forever. I control humans as if they were a story, a book unwritten. I am existence, virtue, and I am sin. I am your temptation. What you hear now is not false, for false prophets may deceive.”
[Me] “What did you do to my computer? What are these videos? What is redemption? Why is this happening to me?”
[Void] “You and I are one. You were forever fated to find that capsule. The truth for the matter is that David and his crew are not from your reality. If you remember their reality code, Finale-8 it should have hinted these humans are not from your timeline. They are in a different world. Your population hasn’t discovered interdimensional travel yet. They have. But that doesn’t matter anymore. They were also a page of the narrative. A page I threw into the trash. It was meant to be scrapped due to an error I made. I made instances. Instances that don’t exist. I made the impossible, the untrue. It may have seemed a small error. I tried to make a concept to contain the error. Yet that concept transformed itself. The concept became part of that virus. It spread to the next page. It spread to this page. It spread to you. This error grows. As small as it was, a video with dead people in your memory, dead people that even without seeing them ever, you know what they look like. That is the error that grows. Eventually it would grow, the error would transform more of the narrative. Eventually, all my books would be consumed. “Yes” and “No” would be one of the same. Indistinguishable from one another. Do you understand now?”
[Us?] “Yeah. I do. I understand what you did. But it shouldn’t involve me. You speak of being a higher being, yet you involve yourself with your own creations. From what you tell me, you are God. A being transcending us so far that we just appear in a book in an endless sea of libraries. You encompass existence yet you destroy yourself. Why would you destroy the docking bay?”
[Void] “I did not consume the bay. The flaw did. Upon closer inspection of the flaw, it yields a terrifying result. That void, the nothingness that consumes things, matches the likes of me. It can escape the narrative and travel to others. That index of books, my library, is infested with rats. Rats that destroy manufactured crafts of art, the ones that travel to galaxies beyond. I am that flaw because I am all. I exist because of greater power.
I am no god. Nor am I your god. There are others alike to me. They transcend me. They are transcended and so on. You speak of gods and deities, higher powers that influence how you act towards each other, some using it to push themselves to be better, others using it for disgusting pleasure and abusing the belief. I am the finale. The end. I hold existence in the palms of my hands, closing them around them, and pray. I pray to my higher power. Your religious texts are incorrect. For you must know. Your existence is a mishap, an anomaly. God does not control what you see or believe. God doesn’t give you the right to hurt others and pray to wash away your guilt just as one would wash away the grime and filth off a rag. I am your god and yet I do not request prayers. Because when you are in space, just as they were, I won’t listen.”
I was shocked to hear this from a black screen. I couldn’t tell if this was somebody messing with me. It seemed so unlikely a god-like being was speaking to me. Did it speak the truth? Or was it a false prophet itself?
[Void] “You wonder why I speak, why I tell you this. You have seen something that you should not have. David’s recordings and documentation weren’t meant to reach here. I chose not to intercept them, unknowingly letting the files into your grasp. You burn and scratch as you watch the videos, watching as Jane Goldings was sucked into the nothingness of nonexistence. You watched as Linn Walker was beheaded by David. Nolan Woe as he was taken. And David. David, as he ended his own life. You witnessed this because I allowed it. I now will give you two choices. You can stay here. Continue your traumatized life, living with the memory of those videos. Everything that you witnessed will be removed with no traces left behind. Nobody will believe you. You will be just as alone as David. Your other choice is to become an angel of sorts. You wouldn’t have a glowing halo with wings and many eyes, nor will you be an unclothed infant with wings and omnipresence. You will curate my library. You will be tasked with destroying any errors created. Forever. You will gain all knowledge and see all. Humans live in the third dimension. You will transcend. Choose now, David.”