Quantum Heartstrings
by;michimichiro
SHORT STORY
Zoe's fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The lab hummed around her, banks of quantum computers casting an eerie blue glow across her face. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what came next.
"This is it," she murmured, more to herself than to her AI assistant. "The moment of truth."
"Indeed, Dr. Chen," the AI responded, its voice unnervingly human. "Shall I initiate the quantum entanglement protocol?"
Zoe nodded, her throat suddenly dry. "Do it."
As the AI began the sequence, Zoe's mind wandered to how she'd arrived at this point. Ten years of gruelling work, countless failures, and one breakthrough after another had led to this moment. She was about to send a message through time.
The computer banks whirred louder, the blue glow intensifying. Zoe's heart raced as she watched the monitor, waiting for confirmation that the message had been sent.
Suddenly, alarms blared. Red warning lights flashed across the lab.
"Warning," the AI announced, its calm tone at odds with the chaos erupting around them. "Quantum instability detected. Temporal feedback loop imminent."
"What?" Zoe gasped, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "That's impossible. We accounted for all variables!"
But the alarms continued to scream, and Zoe watched in horror as the quantum field expanded beyond its containment. A blinding flash filled the room, and then...
Silence.
Zoe blinked, disoriented. The lab looked exactly as it had moments before, but something felt... off.
"AI, status report," she commanded.
No response.
"AI?" she tried again, a note of panic creeping into her voice.
Still nothing.
Zoe swivelled in her chair, surveying the lab. Everything seemed normal, except for a faint shimmer in the air, like heat waves rising from hot asphalt. She stood, approaching the phenomenon cautiously.
As she neared, the shimmer coalesced into a translucent screen floating in midair. Zoe's breath caught in her throat as an image formed on the screen: a young woman with tousled dark hair and paint-splattered overalls, fast asleep at an easel.
Zoe reached out, her fingertips barely grazing the surface of the screen. To her shock, ripples spread from the point of contact, and the sleeping woman stirred.
* * *
Amelia jolted awake, nearly knocking over her easel. She blinked groggily, trying to remember where she was. Her studio apartment came into focus—canvases strewn about, paintbrushes scattered across every surface, and the faint scent of turpentine hanging in the air.
She fumbled for her phone, squinting at the bright screen. 3:27 AM. Great.
As she was about to set the phone down, it buzzed in her hand. Amelia frowned. Who would be texting her at this hour?
She opened the message, expecting spam. Instead, she found herself staring at a string of uncomprehensible symbols and numbers.
"What the..." she muttered, scrolling through the seemingly endless message. Just as she was about to delete it, the symbols began to shift, rearranging themselves before her eyes.
Amelia watched, transfixed, as the chaos resolved into words:
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? This is Dr. Zoe Chen. The experiment worked. I've broken through."
