Twin Earth

I followed James and Yuki back out into the corridor and outside to their car and sat silently in confusion as they drove ten minutes further into the space agency grounds. The whole situation was baffling, apart from the fact that James had grown into a middle aged man and had a wife, the idea that he didn’t trust me reminded me of how I was made to feel when I was sacked for killing that woman in space. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, especially after everything I had done to effectively save the world.

‘Where’s my hero welcome home?’ I wondered sarcastically as I watched the rain lash against the car window.

Passing through a heavily patrolled barrier I hadn’t remembered being there, I was curious to see a new complex of modern buildings and towers, some with satellite dishes that looked bizarrely futuristic with their shiny discs and flashing green lights.

‘What is this place?’ I wondered, staring up at them.

We pulled into a small car park just beyond another security barrier and getting out I followed Yuki and James into a large building that was at least five stories high. It certainly was nothing like the decrepit building we had just been in and I wondered for a while if they even used the old agency headquarters any more.

‘It certainly explains why I literally saw no-one working there,’ I mused. ‘They’re all here.’

As we approached a clear glass door, I watched as Yuki pressed her thumb to a small display to her right, which caused an electronic voice to announce her arrival in confirmation and the door to open. Bewildered, I followed her and James down a long corridor, which was milling with scientists and into a lift at the end where she again pressed her thumb against another panel and selected a number on the screen.

“What the hell is this place?” I finally asked to James as the doors closed.

“The YM Institute of Space and Time is what replaced the UKSA, approximately five years ago today in fact.”

”Did Robert build all this? I don’t understand”

Laughing, James replied, “No, Robert was sacked pretty much after your memorial service. He was deemed responsible for the failure of your mission and your deaths. Probably as a scape goat, not that I’m complaining. I still hate him for what he did.”

”Failure?” I asked confused. “And can you stop saying memorial. It’s kind of creepy.”

“Sorry,” James grinned. “I’m just so glad you’re back. I’ve missed this.”

”Yeah, well, I guess it’s been a bit longer for you. I’m still trying to get my head around all that has changed.”

“You know what’s really funny though?” James continued.

”Go on,” I muttered nervously.

“You still look like you’ve aged twelve years.”

“Oh fuck off,” I replied, slapping James hard and causing him to laugh loudly, much to Yuki’s surprise. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. Literally, no idea,” I added.

“You might be surprised,” James stated in response.

Frowning in confusion as the lift stopped and the doors open, I followed James and Yuki out of the lift and immediately into a huge laboratory, similar to the one I had first met Yuki in, but on a much bigger scale.

“Wow,” I breathed as I scanned the room.

Lots of scientists and people in white coats milled about the room, either studying glass computer screens that were suspended from the ceiling or chatting and discussing things in groups whilst looking over boards of data. Then I recognised something on one of the boards. It was the same DNA symbols I had seen on the small black box. My DNA symbols.

Confused, I kept quiet and instead followed Yuki and James over to a familiar face in the corner of the room.

“Hayden,” I stated in surprise. “I thought…”

”Yes, sorry Tom. We had to be sure,” James interrupted.

“You said you didn’t know where he was? What the hell is going on?”

”Okay, let us sit down. We have a lot to discuss,” Yuki replied, motioning us to sit down at a round white desk and finally opening the well-used folder she had been carrying since she’d arrived.

“Tom, it’s good to see you,” Hayden smiled, shaking my hand vigorously and grinning from ear to ear. This is beyond exciting.”

“Indeed,” I replied, confused.

“Hayden returned to England with us after Magnus and Trevor disappeared after the explosion. We believe they were involved in a secret American military experiment that you were unfortunately used in as a guinea pig. We believe that the mission to the ripple in space and Magnus’ technology were linked,” James stated, pulling out some of the sheets from Yuki’s folder. “The data from the explosion however was something quite extraordinary and we have been studying it for the last twelve years. We then had a huge breakthrough seven years ago on what we believe the ripple to be and the UK government finally gave us the funding to set up this laboratory in my wife’s name I hasten to add,” James smiled.

“I am sure Tom can do without that unnecessary information,” Yuki quipped.

Laughing, James continued, “We believe that the ripple in space was in fact some kind of barrier that had been hiding something and it was the deterioration of this barrier that led to the problems on Earth.”

”Go on,” I whispered curiously, not wishing to give away that I knew all this already.

“The breakthrough came when we linked the data from the explosion to the signals we had been receiving and we discovered an Earth-like planet just beyond the barrier.”

”I know,” I finally whispered.

“I knew it Yuki, I freaking knew it. You found it didn’t you? You found the planet?” James replied excitedly. “When I told Yuki you had reappeared after all this time she was convinced you were in cahoots with Trevor and Magnus, but I knew she was wrong. I knew that you would never do something like that. We’re convinced that the Americans and possibly the Chinese and Russians knew about this planet and were developing ways to gain access to the resources on it although they’re all denying it now.”

“It’s called Mochuvia,” I replied with a hint of excitement rising in me. It was all starting to make sense. “You really thought I was in league with Magnus and Trevor?” I asked Yuki sarcastically.

“You have to admit that your sudden reappearance after leaving in a space craft designed by a man who was finally arrested only last year for espionage after being on the run for years, isn’t a little suspicious?”

“It’s a cover-up though,” James added. “When we detected space activity from America heading towards the suspected planet, the UK government intervened and a world investigation took place behind closed doors. We couldn’t let the public know about this. It was finally leaked via Russia that we were indeed correct, but shortly afterwards Magnus’ fortune was confiscated and a warrant was put out for his arrest for, I don’t know, whatever they felt like making up. They had to cover up whatever they were doing as soon as possible.”

“So, do you believe this is still happening? Even after Magnus was arrested?” I asked.

“All activity stopped around eleven years ago, but it has only come to light now. The political meltdown has been huge. Trust between governments has decreased massively and it was probably why we got funding so easily for this place,” James replied.

“I think they see us as way of spying on foreign government activity under the guise of space exploration, but we’re fine with that,” Hayden replied happily.

“I see,” I replied. “Well, you’re right. Magnus was using the deterioration of the sphere, that’s what we called the barrier, to experiment on his technology. A form of portal transportation.”

“Portal transportation?” Yuki queried, finally looking up from her notes and paying attention to the conversation.

“Magnus had developed a way to transport between worlds. It’s a form of technology that was developed by the creators of the sphere. It’s a long story, but effectively it only worked if the sphere was decaying, which meant that was what he wanted to happen. When I left that planet only days ago, I saw American jets, Russians, all fighting against the people of Mochuvia.”

Wheezing in amazement Hayden leant back in his chair.

“This is a scandal all over again,” he replied.

“I have so many questions,” James replied excitedly.

“Yes, like how did you get back to Earth and why twelve years later?” Yuki asked, eyeing me curiously.

She still didn’t believe me, but what else could I do other than finally blurt everything out that had happened. The planet, the Mochuvians, how they got there, what Apo did, what Magnus had done, how I saved our two planets. I must have ranted on for hours to three wide eyed scientists who got more and more amazed the more I told my story. I finally trusted them. I think they finally trusted me and it was exciting to know that we could finally swap notes and share everything we knew about the sphere and Mochuvia.

“That is truly incredible,” Yuki finally replied. “We suspected that there was some force near to the second planet that was affecting the barrier, but we had no idea that it was two black holes, and these portals you mention. They can travel between planets?”

“Yes. I believe the creators used a technology to not only protect our planets from each other, but also to stay connected with us and to allow us to travel and meet other species in the universe. It was how I got back, although that seems to be a one way exit only because when I looked back it was simply a rocky door formation.”

“Incredible,” James wheezed, with his mouth open, staring at me in awe. “And you believe there are some of these portals left on Earth?”

”I do, at least the Mochuvians seem to think there may be some. They were surprised we didn’t use or even know about them.”

”But why? Why protect our planets? Why go to all this effort just to see what life would develop?” Hayden asked.

“I believe that the creators’ own world was destroyed somehow and that they now live on a living space craft, probably the size of a planet itself, which is moving through space. I think they did travel to various worlds and plant DNA in the hope that their species could be saved.”

“Yeah, but that sounds scary,” James replied. “It sounds like they plan to come back and harvest our planet for everything it’s got. I mean why else would you save our two planets. It’s been twelve years already, who’s to say they aren’t already on our doorstep.”

”I don’t think that’s their motive. When I was on their home world, or wherever that place was, there were species from all over the universe. It felt more like a collective, a meeting of minds and cultures. I don’t think the creators’ need a home, they have that already with the incredible technology they’ve developed and I think they want to share that with the universe so we can all come together and learn from each other,” I stated.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Hayden mused thoughtfully. “It’s exciting either way.”

”So do you have any indication of where some of the Earth portals might be? Other than the one in Peru, which by what you’re saying only goes one way and to a black hole it seems,” Yuki asked, turning our attention away from philosophy and back to practical theory.

“To be honest I didn’t have much time to look into where the portals might be, but from looking at the diagrams on the portal I did go through they could be in either South America or Egypt, perhaps,”

“What about Abu Ghurab,” Hayden interjected. “It’s an ancient relic in Egypt, a type of platform made from alabaster. It was regarded by the ancients as a precious stone of the sun, in sync with the vibrations of the Earth and perhaps Mochuvia. In ancient texts it was said to elevate spiritual awakening, to communicate with sacred energies of the universe. I mean it’s a plausible place as any.”

”And gaining access would be extremely difficult,” James retorted. “What about somewhere a bit closer to home, say Stonehenge?”

Pouting, Yuki cast James a frustrated look.

“It’s a good a place as any,” he retorted in response.

“I think we’re clutching at straws,” Yuki replied, closing her folder and standing up. “I think we should focus our attention on studying the data we have here and liaising with Tom to see if he can help decipher anything we don’t know. We can leave the fairy tales to the mystics.”

”Okay, okay, I was just putting it out there,” James replied, waving his hands in the air in defeat.

“Tom, I want you to run through some images we’ve collected to see if anything makes any sense to you. You mentioned the DNA symbols on the black box are the same symbols we have written down here?”

”Sure, whatever I can do to help, but I need to know something first. The signals you received from Mochuvia, did they continue after the sphere closed? What happened after I left the black hole and returned to Earth? For you that was twelve years ago, but I’m still trying to piece the jigsaw puzzle together. Have any of you heard from Rachel?”

“Tom, do you remember the asteroid that hit Morocco, before any of this started?”

“Of course I do, you forget that was last week for me.”

”Yes, yes, forgive me, but do you remember the unusual fluctuations that you and James discovered here in the old lab.”

”Yeah, the sand was dancing. I experienced the same thing by the sphere, before I crashed on Mochuvia. It was caused by whatever it was made of, dark matter we concluded.”

“Well, we found something embedded in one of the fragments, within the dark matter. We didn’t notice it for years because we didn’t understand dark matter like we do today. Out of pure desperation at the lack of any further data we went over the asteroid samples again. We have developed a deeper understanding of dark matter from the data on the barrier and so we started some experiments on the fragments and the fluctuations started happening again. We realised that they had a mathematical sequence, a pattern of sorts.”

“A message?”

“Exactly.”