Twin Earth

Chapter 47

"Maybe we should go find the creators?" I mumbled, looking around the circular chamber to try and identify some way of exiting it.

"But where would we go? These walkways seem to go on forever. How would we know which way to go to find them?" Rachel replied. "I mean, is this even where they are? Maybe this is just an illusion as well."

"What? So we're stuck in some kind of infinite illusion loop you think?" I retorted.

"How would we know?"

"No. I don't think we are. Not this time. Why would they show us this place? With all these creatures, in these chambers? It wouldn't make any sense."

"Because everything so far has made perfect sense," Rachel grumbled sarcastically.

"Now who's not being helpful," I grumbled.

"I just want this to be over that's all. I want to go home. I want to go back to my normal life, in my normal house, doing normal things."

Turning to look at Rachel, I softened my expression. I knew how she felt, but I also knew that normal back on Earth probably didn't exist anymore.

"I don't think our lives are ever going to be normal again," I replied gently. "This is what we wanted more than anything, to explore the universe, isn't it?"

"But at what expense Tom? To lose everything we have ever known before? What if we never find these creators? What if we never save Earth and our two planets go back to destroying each other in some kind of cataclysmic event, and we get to watch it happen? I don't think I can do this anymore."

I could see the tears appearing in Rachel's eyes and I fought hard to stop my own from bubbling up. Turning away, I continued to look for a way out of the chamber, but failing, I kicked the pile of food across the room and stormed to the other side to stare at yet more chambers and creatures. Then it hit me.

"These rooms," I whispered as an idea began to form in my mind.

"What?" Rachel asked wiping her face.

"They disappear and come back right?"

I pointed to one particular chamber that continuously disappeared and reappeared as a frantic green blob like being inside of it bounced around.

"So?" Rachel asked, walking over to join me.

"I think these rooms are like a holodeck of sorts, but I also think they enable us to travel back to wherever we came from," I replied excitedly.

"What? The nasty planet place being sucked up into the sky?" Rachel grunted. "I fail to see how that helps us."

"Don't you get it?" I replied, turning to look at Rachel with probably a crazed look in my eye.

"Get what? Will you just say?"

"These chambers, what if they are the creators?"

"What?" Rachel asked, clearly confused.

"All this time, we assumed the creators were beings like us. Our subconscious has been bombarded with images of alien creatures for decades. My Dad always said I watched too many movies and he was right. Look at that thing, and that black metal blob over there. They certainly aren't humanoid, so why would the creators being any different? That's why they had to show us that turtle thing, to communicate with us. Maybe it's the only way they can!"

"I don't get it. Why, how..."

"It's not a holodeck at such, but rather a conscious interaction between species."

"What? So like the mind travel things the Mochuvians used? You're saying that's the creators themselves?"

"No, I think that's different. A similar technology perhaps, but nothing like this."

"So, they're in the walls? I don't understand."

"Maybe an energy around us somehow. I have an idea," I mumbled.

"Here we go," Rachel retorted sarcastically.

"Don't you see, I asked to see the creators and that's exactly what they showed us. We don't have to go anywhere. They were here all along."

"So what is this place then? If not some kind of alien space zoo," Rachel asked, still clearly confused.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll never know, but I don't think the creators are beings, waiting on some kind of spaceship. I think it's just a place for creatures to come and go, to interact with the creators and learn about each other."

Moving back to the centre of the room, I cleared the now messed up food away and stood motionless.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked nervously.

"Creators, we have come from Earth and our twin planet Mochuvia, from the galaxy The Milky Way," I stated calmly.

"And they're going know exactly where that is, will they?" Rachel scowled.

Frowning, I ignored Rachel and continued to pour my heart out.

"Whatever you did to save our two planets thousands of years ago, is slowly being destroyed, pulled apart by a black hole merging with another in another dimension. If you don't help us soon, all life on our planets will be destroyed."

Breathing heavily, I wobbled on my feet from either exhaustion or the pain still emanating from my head and damaged hand, and waited. With a bewildered expression on her face, Rachel too waited, looking around the room and balancing herself as if in anticipation everything would move again.

Then a single solid black box appeared on the floor. It was small, maybe a foot or so in length and half that in width and depth, but it was so smooth and reflective that I almost found it difficult to look at. Bending down I went to pick it up.

"Wait," Rachel shouted. "Is that safe to touch?"

"I don't know," I panicked, pausing slightly as Rachel's high pitched voice echoed around us. "What should I do then?" but before either of us could make a decision the walls around us began to fog up and the endless chambers disappeared, giving way to a view so terrifying I literally began to scream.