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Celestial Study

By Archangel Vulpine

Chapter Three

Having successfully convinced my colleague to leave me in isolation, I examined the systems aboard the station and contented myself with the knowledge I would manage quite well until his return. Hours passed and, without anything requiring my attention, I elected to turn in. That is when I saw it. Through one of the small, round portholes, I watched as space itself tore open. The rip widened, a hole with edges in reality, and what should come out? You would never guess, dear friends, but if you be true companions you shall believe me in every word I say. A colossal creature, devoid of face and features, though I suspect it has seen more than we ever shall. Fins adorned its sides, and its body ended in a long tail. It appeared to swim through the empty void, at ease in an environment deadly to infinite others. I cursed my inadequate portal. Every sensor aboard the station was pointed away and solo reorientation would take time I feared I did not have. Action was required. Sealing myself in an EVA suit and readying the remaining shuttle, I departed the safety of the station and met the impossible lifeform.

At first I maintained a cautious distance, but, perceiving no change in the being's temperament, I approached to aid the shuttle's limited sensors in gathering what information they could. I confess, I could but tremble as I observed my discovery. However large you are picturing, double it, for I cannot overstate its sheer size. Up close, I noted sections of the body were adorned with large, thick scales. The head, or rather the forward-most aspect, came to a round, smooth point. I was constantly aware of that long, trailing tail, ensuring I maintained a safe distance. The shuttle's sensors, ill-suited as they were, collected what data they could on the behemoth before me. The danger came without warning. The creature turned its visage upwards, then, arching its body, plunged down. That long, pointed extremity pierced the galaxy, for there is no better description of the event I witnessed. All I could do was gaze in wonder at the tearing of reality. The pitiful computer of the shuttle could not even begin to register what was happening, yet it endeavoured to record what it could. By the time my sense of self-preservation kicked in, it was already too late. The creature's rip acted as a spacetime singularity. The pull grew stronger with every second. As my quarry vanished into the hole it had created, my ship, too weak to resist, was pulled in with it.

I can scarcely describe it. The impossible disparity between the place I had been and the realm I was stolen to lends itself to no imagery ever shared before. The ship was dead but at the time I did not care. Only now do I understand the mercy of its fate. The entity had become my guide, my travel companion, as it journeyed through that reality between realities. Pulled along like a satellite in orbit, I was destined to follow and I resolved myself to seeing all it could show. I wish you could know it, to realise it without having to look upon its truth, but I fear a mortal soul like mine lacks the power to honestly convey it. Beyond the canopy of my craft, the light of every source in the galaxy, in past, present, and future, kaleidoscoped before my eyes. I witnessed a spectrum beyond comprehension: every colour imaginable cascaded together, but I saw even more. Ghostly ultraviolet hues arrived in waves to wash over everything, while infrared flames smoldered and singed at the corners of the overwhelming tapestry. Whether my guide possessed the receptors to witness, let alone rejoice at the splendour, I shall never know and make a sustained effort not to fathom. I found the situation to be equal parts exhilarating and fascinating. I was determined to witness everything my friend had to show me and share as much of it as I could upon my return.

Eventually, as my guide showed no signs of moving on from that space, seemingly content with its surroundings, the magnificence of it all began to wear. Finally taking action, I delved into the workings of my ship, examining power conduits and emergency batteries, processing units and redundant backups. I could identify no fault. Every attempt I made to diagnose the error and rekindle some life into my vehicle was in vain. Far worse, though, was the gradual realisation which came while I toiled. I saw the error in thinking myself a companion to the incredible creature beside me. Hubristic and foolish. I was but a grain of sand caught up in the spacial winds caused by its passing. It knew not of my existence. Even if it had, it likely would not have cared. It was my fault I was there and the creature had no intention of showing me anything. Once every avenue of repair had been explored, and with no other course of action, I resolved myself to simply watch and wait.

I know not how long I spent there, gazing at the unfiltered fabric of the cosmos, stuck in that cramped cockpit, alone save for my silent escort. Were it minutes or years, I would accept and believe either answer. Eventually, I came to the realisation there was no change in myself. I did not hunger, nor thirst, nor sleep. That was the worst. To pass so long deprived of any relief, unable to rest, you cannot imagine it. Then, in a moment no different to any other, the knowledge came to me with the speed of a whip crack. The beast, still beside me, never leaving as we travelled, was anything but benevolent. Before I had conjectured it knew not of my presence but at long last I knew better. Travel companion it was not! Jailor! Warden! Keeper! All and more were better descriptors for that monster. At once I raged against it, shouting and gesticulating from the confines of my prison, caring not whether it had the ability to perceive, let alone understand. I threatened to toil further with my erstwhile vehicle, to reach into its guts, tear out its innards and cannibalise it into a weapon: an explosive capable of ending us both. In saying it, I was immediately reminded of the futility of such action. Forgive me, I should have better explained… My inability to restore functionality to the shuttle was not due to failure in my efforts, limited though they were. Despite careful examination, I could find no error or damage. It simply refused to begin, energyless. The effect was not lost on me. The influence that rainbow mid-space had on the craft was the same it had on me. There could be no beginnings, endings, or even continuations of what already was. Everything within the realm stayed exactly as it was forevermore.

The beast could have kept me there for eternity. Maybe it did, for I had no means of determining the duration of my stay, nor how that time would translate into our mortal existence. Finally, finally… my tormentor rose, piercing a colour with its pointed front, and I was dragged along in its wake. Tumbling back into reality, my ship turned over and over itself. Undaunted, I fixed my eyes on that cruel creature, wishing any number of fantastic and terrible fates would find it. No such event came. I watched it swim and I spun away until, eventually, it dived once more, vanishing into light. My so-called rescuers would hear none of my tale, but that matters not. My charge is known to me and my purpose is clear. No other shall suffer my same circumstance. I shall hunt and seek and track until I find my accursed quarry, and I shall—

This marks the extreme of information collected from my colleague. At once he shrieked and retreated to the furthest corner of the room, utterly losing conversation. After a moment, I spied it. On the floor, cast by that segmented window, a streak of light was dispersed on the floor in a small rainbow.

His story is complete. If the scientific world shall have it, those versed in the furthest reaches of astrobiological study may debate its legitimacy.