Drain Space

Chapter 1 - J'kelri

"The universe moves in strange and mysterious ways."

I stood before a towering creature. They sat on an equally impressive throne, tall and ornate. Though it was dimly lit, the creature's chair and the room around it were the same stony gray color. The legs appeared to meld into the floor, as though carved out of a single piece of clay. The throne and walls were covered in large angular marks that intersect each other, dug into the rock wall.

My heart had jumped into my throat. The room was comfortably warm, but I was still in a cold sweat. Their sheer size was enough to intimidate me, but my anxiety started well before I entered the room; when I was told I was to meet with the Grand Elder.

They wore beautiful robes, clearly ceremonial and tailored perfectly. The garment was gray, as though the room had wrapped itself around the Grand Elder, as gilded thread raced along the seams. Thin gold stripes connected to large hexagonal panels on either side of the Grand Elders breast that caught specks of light from the ceiling, giving the illusion of liquid gold pooling. Before I entered, I was given gray ceremonial robes. They were well made, but lacked any of the accoutrement of the Elder's dress.

In the middle of the room, between myself and the Grand Elder, was a small plateau with a crystalline top. With a snap of the grand elders' four thin, taloned fingers, it sprang to life, projecting a solar system in the air above it. I watched as the hologram, stylized in an amber glow, showed five planets with at least two moons each. They danced around the center of the display, where a large bright ball sat. Their sun. An asteroid belt and a cloud of gas separated the farthest two planets from the rest. The grand elder stepped down from their throne and continued speaking with slow, shaky breath, "As I'm sure you've learned by now, the Universe has no room for coincidence. These things, often referred to as fate, karma, luck; they are just the Universe imposing its will on us." I watched as a bright ring with a deeply black center suddenly shot through the planets' orbits. Anything it touched or got too close to was instantly destroyed. I watched this happen to one of the 4th planets' moons and several objects in the asteroid belt. The 4th planet itself was pulled apart by the gravity of the black hole, leaving only debris behind. But as the other moon was pulled towards the singularity, it was going too fast and ended up twisting around the black hole and ejecting out of view of the projection. "The Universe does this to set right various wrongs or to help the mortals in its ever expanding reach achieve their own actualization. The Universe is kind in this way." the grand elder continued, "Tell me, what is your name?"

"C-Cat." I stammered out.

"Cat, " the grand elder repeated, though the last letter was pronounced with the sound of teeth clicking together, "You have been on this planet for how long now?"

"Five years," would be a rough translation of what I actually said.

"Do you know why you are here? Why the Universe chose to bring you here?" the grand elder inquired. This was not my first time being asked this question. The rumination on this topic is the focus of meditation in this society.

"No, I do not." The same conclusion I had come to time and time again.

The grand Elder nodded patiently. "As I suspected. Let us reflect, so we may meditate on your experiences. Our combined intuition may make the Universe's intention more clear."

The grand elder moved closer and stuck their head through the hologram between us. The gold light danced around the Grand Elder's white sclera and caused their red irises to shine. They almost look like human eyes, but much larger. The room must have looked much brighter to them.

I recalled my initial landing on this planet for the grand elder. "I'm sorry, my memory of this part is hazy, but I remember I was stranded. It must have been in the vicinity of J'kelri. One of your space ships sort of swallowed up mine. Your people tried to take me in." I spoke slowly as I shook my brain to try to remember. "I was scared, but after a long journey and all of my rations consumed, I had no choice and left my shuttle, hoping for kindness." The Elder looked inquisitive, so I quickly added, "Which I did receive."