CHAPTER 8

Delving deeper into the source code, the only thing keeping the scientists at bay is increased determinacy at making things right again. Anyone else would be suffering from a nervous breakdown, this is unlike anything they have encountered in their scientific careers. From Naoto's vantage point on the outside, it is better to let things run their course because tampering with unknown power will bring its consequences. Total immersion leaves a lot to be desired for Naoto who wants to protect the volunteers at all costs.

"I'd be damned if we can find anything wrong with it at all," one of the scientists says, still recapturing his normal balance inside virtual space. There's not much to see."

When the simulation code reveals itself, the scientists begin to examine all the repetitive patterns. The researchers also keep a social distance from one another, leaving ample room to examine layers of code embedded deep within the CCS hard drive. A few feet at a time, the group's monotonous walk from their starting point dissipates everything behind them into the background blur. An elongated box is extended in the direction they are moving and as they get closer, the volunteers are jarred from their composure for the first time.

"Hey, Ronny," someone calls. "What's going on over there? Looks like some distortion."

The broken line of researchers is split in two, where they have backs turned to one another in the great void. At the end of the simulation, the tunnel is only blackness within a white square of light framing the grid. The further down they go, the more the tunnel appears to be collapsing in on itself, shrinking. Their bodies are not the most vivid, sometimes coming in and out of focus due to a holographic disruption of the processing channels. But things are getting subtly more tangible to real-life acuity, and less blurry.

"I'm starting to feel my hands," Ronny responds.

With hair that extends to her waist, the stature of a short woman near gets his attention. Sarah's second from the front, just before Ronny whose hands are full of a complicated pattern that he is trying to decipher. He does and moves on. Sarah decides to walk up to him with a puzzled look, she is concerned about something ahead. Her Spanish accent rekindles a recent memory for Ronny from when he visited her Costa Rican family at a reunion, months previous. It is company culture to have a companion on vacations, especially for team researchers. It keeps bonds tight.

"Is that the end of the line?" Sarah asks.

"I doubt it, this is nothing compared to what's left. It's more likely an infinite band."

Sarah is more aware of her surroundings. The computer program may contain infinite replications of code, but what they have been subjected to seems more akin to what Delphi Corp. has been anticipating corrupted software. They are being taken somewhere else.

Naoto gets a text transmission.

"The tunnel is closing in on us."

Ronny is unresponsive, and Sarah's met with silence. In the closed chamber to the outside, Naoto's message from Sarah specifies the danger ahead. The message confirms Naoto's suspicions of something mysterious. He responds briefly, letting them know that the dreaded Wall is being reached. Something immensely wrong has indeed happened to the software, and there is little they can do to avert it, now.

"What in the world is this Wall everyone's talking about?" another researcher asks. This is a completely unexpected obstacle.

Frustrations push them forward in hopes of reaching an actual barrier, unaware that this is a Wall unlike what they have encountered before. As they reach it, subtle pixels of increased detail come closer into the frame and the volunteers' bodies are more like when they were not uploaded to a simulation but awake in the real world.

"Guys, is it just me, or are we getting more, full? I don't think I can wake up from this." Ronny says, completely immersed in his virtual consciousness.

Sarah thinks the same. She and Ronny have been locked in step while the rest of the group lingers behind. "Yeah, but by what? What's causing this strong attraction?" she asks. Each of them is poised to reach the end, squishing them closer together in the process. "We have to bend over or else our heads will be compromised."

The peculiar apparition of a condensing frame around the tunnel forces them to avoid a stint of dizziness due to the visual illusion of a shrinking passageway. To their eyes, nothing appears normal anymore, but the distorting image ahead changes shape the closer they get. Everything is a new normal, and they are adapting to new laws of physics—though when they are standing still the changes to their environment become more obvious. Sarah stops to turn around, not wanting to leave the group behind. Ronny likewise decides to rest.

"Well, are you all just going to stand over there or what? Come on!" Sarah says, waving a hand toward herself.

Just as she turns around, some fast-moving projectile flies right past her face. The sound of its momentum and rustling leaves from a field blow air around her ears. The volunteer closest behind is pierced through the chest with a guided arrow. It darts straight through his heart, and the beeping sound at the sharp needle's handle lights a small bulb before injecting him with venomous poison. The volunteers' entire physical bodies have been fully reconstructed with teleportation technology. Ronny and Sarah scream for help as the others run to assist their fallen partner, but it is too late.

"Shit, we've got to go back, now!" Much like the Martian colonists, commotion inside the computer mainframe has brought them near capture of some alien race.

"Go back? One of us is dying in a pool of blood. And to make matters worse, we don't know how to get out of the computer grid," someone reminds the others.

Meanwhile, Sarah is scrambling to alert Naoto of the ruckus, but cannot seem to move quickly enough.

Naoto watches intently as the wounded scientist's vital signs go haywire before withdrawing into a lingering tone no one wants to hear. He cannot believe that one of his people has just lapsed into a semi-permanent comatose state. The Neural-Link is supposed to disengage, but this unlucky volunteer cannot be brought back. A mental stroke of monumental proportions, it does not take long before he stops breathing completely.

"No . . . no, no, no," Naoto says harshly. He runs to the volunteer's portal where he is fully connected. "What?" he examines the insertions from every angle before realizing that this is no fluke. He never considered death inside the simulation, not this way.

The researchers in total immersion crowd their partner who is gushing with blood. The heaving rash from the poisonous dart has consumed the skin where light blinks on and off to an automated detection device that is being tracked by whoever, or whatever, launched it toward them. Other volunteers begin to turn back, but before they can retreat a stampede can be heard in the distance. The tunnel is no longer in their control, but really, they never had control at all, and the converging of space is finally collapsing around them. The teleportation portal they entered is closing.

Ronny and Sarah are still close together, but the crowd of researchers who started to run disappears when the light of day engulfs the two. In a quick sweep, their cover behind dark virtual reality is blown when dinosaurs infiltrate the computing code. Around them, darkness dissipates to reveal open plains. All that is left for Ronny and Sarah are cawing dinosaurs plodding around them.

"For the love of God, what is that? Run!" Ronny screams, but Sarah pulls his shoulder to the brush of tall grass. They duck for safety.

The other volunteers take off when they see the light coming their way but are inevitably caught by it. All along, Naoto contemplates simply turning off the simulation with the simple touch of a button. The problem with that, the brain-computer interface is so strong that any alteration could send all of them into epileptic shock.

It does not take long for the tunnel to disappear altogether as bipedal dinosaurs run into the distance. As Ronny and Sarah lay in the barren dirt, the wild brush tickles their sinuses. The high-pitched screeches continue as dinosaurs run past. If only they could tell Naoto what was going on, but communication lines have been lost.

Ronny peeks his head above blades of grass, spared from having a reptilian foot scrape his forehead. "Are those what I think they are?"

"Shh!" Sarah demands. "Get down."

With their ears covered with cupped hands, loud careening steps are heard trampling over others in the brush, before Ronny senses the same rush of arrows that poisoned the first bunch, now whizzing over them again. The screams of scientists further away make Ronny sick. Sarah is still beside him, and he forces himself to keep an arm around her upper back for support.

He whispers to avoid capture. "Don't . . . move," he says, putting a hand to her mouth. They quiet themselves in a frightful hush that comes over the prairie.

Total immersion brought them across the Wall just as Naoto had warned. The powerful computing of Delphi Corp. has latched onto another platform of similar or greater magnitude across the cosmic web. They are in Pangaea millions of years ago, and Yhemlen supercomputing allows the materialization of matter with a wireless teleportation signal, going for miles around the city's ancient civilization. Embedded in the dirt are docking stations that formulate organic material within a holographic force field.

Ronny and Sarah squint their eyes hard, opening them intermittently to see footsteps around them of green giants. Hazards on either side of reality will leave both debilitated if disrupted. Here, or in the neural ports that they are seated in within the chamber inside Delphi Corp.'s vault, they need to remain healthy. The green giants have legs perforated with prominent serrations. The hairless reptiles stand tall. Well-defined muscles contribute to their strong stance, feet planted firmly with each step.

In a swift motion, they are caught in a snare. A strong hand pulls each of them up, throwing them back onto their feet.

"Hmm," the cold-blooded creature crackles.

The eyes are not too prominent, covered by a thick membrane of skin. Linear slits of elliptical irises are hard to miss, like a cat, or a snake. Ronny's and Sarah's loose-fit clothes are standard recreations from the simulation, ruffled at the edges—white t-shirts and jeans both. The creature in front of them wears a suit that is aligned to the curvature of large muscles. Luminous streaks of power stream along the threads of its entire body.

"What in the world?" Ronny takes a step back before being accosted by another creature from behind. The sneer of gargling saliva spews from the Yhemlen's mouth.

With the other scientists gone, for the time being, Ronny and Sarah stand in terror when caught from the front and rear. Naoto himself is having a panic attack in the vault, slamming a fist into loose furniture due to the failure. Despite the setback, the future is still up for grabs.

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Ronny and Sarah are left with only prolonged tonal sounds that resemble nothing back home; the reptilian giant is approaching. Surrounding them are the humanoid descendants of the dinosaur lineage, telepathically communicating. The frequency waves are rattling Ronny and Sarah's heads from the brush. Ronny considers interrupting a conversation between the two creatures.

"There's no way we could have just manifested out of thin air like that. This must be some publicity stunt by Ellis. Or are we hallucinating?" It isn't so frightening anymore, being trapped in an alternate reality.

Sarah remains suspicious. "If you think that's impossible, try counting all the numbers from 0 to 1 and tell me how long that takes. We shouldn't have walked so far into the grid, there's an infinite number of possibilities the software could have propagated."

"That's impossible!" Ronny replies.

"To hell with the laws of physics." Sarah is spooked by a sudden silence that overcomes the open grasslands. "Whatever we used to believe has been thrown out the window, and now we're about to pay," she whispers.

The two creatures have ragged scales along a green and brown membrane of skin. If they sweat, it does not require much moisture wicking from their suits. The lead reptilian enforcer makes a strong move forward to gain momentum, thrusting a strong punch to Ronny's gut. They have tails that are extended to the bottom half of their legs, propped up to give maximum leaping ability. Ronny is pulled up by the strength of the Yhemlen's tail wrapped around his frail human body. Then, the Yhemlen surprises Sarah and Ronny when he speaks directly into their mind.

"You do not belong here," it says with a groan and gargle of saliva. He spits out a wad of muck. The other creature comes to his side. Sarah realizes that the other is female. The feminine Yhemlen pushes Sarah's back into the ground and raises a guided arrow to her chest while Sarah shakes in terror.

"No!" Ronny screams, before feeling the strength of the Yhemlen tail's constriction getting tighter around his abdomen.

The Yhemlen as The Concord calls them average about seven feet tall with snouts close to their jawline. Their teeth, however, cannot be mistaken for humans'—sharp fangs protruding through elongated jaws. Horns line the ridges of their head and shoulders, but some have longer spikes than others. Looking at the Yhemlen squeezing him to near death, Ronny takes notice of its features. The horns appear filed to blunt ends like groomed nails. Without hair, the Yhemlen is smooth other than their horns with scales given to a brownish tinge.

Eventually, Ronny gets thrown down to the dirt beside Sarah. Diverting their attention is another Delphi Corp. scientist caught in the distance. He is also tossed into the mound that Ronny and Sarah are in, making the plot of grass even more muddled.

Another third Yhemlen arrives late to the confrontation. "Is this a friend of theirs?" it asks. Harmonious tonal words mixed with shrills and gutturals make up the reptilian dialect.

The Yhemlen and scientists look at each other with suspicion. This is not the first time this has happened; other humans have crossed over before in experiments that were classified, or in other alternate realities. That explains the English.

"Wait... Wait!" She puts her hands into the air. "We can explain."

"We don't want your explanation," one of the Yhemlen declares. "This was not supposed to happen again. The prophecy is coming to fruition. Simulation upon simulation has told us that these would be the days of reckoning, a new group of Overseers would come."

"Our families are in grave danger," the Yhemlen says. "Heinemann and his henchmen are coming."

Another of the Yhemlen adamantly concurs. "It is time, then."

The most intimidating of the group exhales vehemently. He extends a hand to the ground. "Very well, come with us."

This is not the first time. Each time prophecy has been near fulfillment, the Yhemlen have spared themselves from annihilation by keeping the humans at bay. Yet they understand that their final fate cannot be averted. The Mariner Station in low orbit keeps these other humans safe from ever returning home because if they do, the dinosaurs and their reptilian kin will go extinct so that the mammals will arise in their future timeline. None of these human travelers have ever escaped Pangaea, however.

There's one duty Ronny, Sarah, and now another researcher must accomplish, and that's to return home.

"Our Earths are alike," the lead Yhemlen says from mind to mind. "We must be in the 10th sector of the zodiac. Capricorn, as you would call it. The place where cosmic interference is greatest. There have been many proxy wars on the fringes of the solar system, and Earth with these Grey minions. Each time, like nuclear weapons we tore through the quantum fields. The 10th sector has been the most lethal. We have mapped each constellation for life, and Earth is an anomaly we can't find anywhere."

"Why the 10th?"

"It's where we have fought many battles before. Cosmic radiation is heavy, leftover from the war. Think of it as like your Area 51. Accidents like yourselves spill over all the time, but what is coming now, that will be no accident, it's prophecy."

They are headed for the clear biosphere covering their gigantic city that stretches for miles. Pangaea's metropolis city is safe within the transparent dome's ecosystem. Successful in their attempt to cross the Wall, these three humans represent one of the last opportunities the Yhemlen will have to extend the half-life radiation of their power stones to battle The Concord and their Grey Order.

"We must hurry before all is lost," the lead enforcer mentions. He stops their trail midway. "We are all synoptically connected to an invisible network of simulated worlds. When the extension of our minds becomes too powerful, they always interfere with the cosmic web. The teleportation docks back there recreated your form with organic replication—precise copies of you from the other side. If you all want to live, then your consciousness must return to your reality or you will remain comatose. But first, you must fulfill the prophecy.

"We're clones, go figure," Sarah says.

"I've got a proposition, how about we teleport back out of here," Ronny suggests.

The female Yhemlen chimes in. "Not yet, computer boy. Before you go, you'll have to ensure that the alternate timelines stay consistent. Look that way."

The pressure is on to return home. Hundreds of feet in the distance, dinosaurs roam the open plains freely. Elongated necks and loud shrills echo for miles. Extinction for the dinosaurs is imminent if these three scientists have their way.

"Where are you taking us?" the third volunteer demands an answer. Dimitri was pulled out of the rummage of dead bodies after playing possum.

"To a place where you'll be safe."

For the other volunteer scientists, the deadly virus from poisonous arrows didn't kill them but infected them with a severe disease that replicates a radioactive genome, making them into living-dead zombies. At least that way, the Yhemlen can use their bodies for research. The virus spreads its genetic mutation from sequenced material. In no time, they will be stalking the wilderness as wild carnivores lusting for blood. At least for Sarah, Ronny, and Dimitri, all of them are stuck in total immersion until they can safely return home.

Dimitri spots a few of the other scientists waking from their coma, where he was picked up. He yells to get their attention.

"No! Stop this right now." The enforcer Yhemlen corrals him back toward the group. "They are no longer the people you knew."