The Man From Taured (33 page)

Until the darkness slept.

It was then that the void was trapped, the center of the onion that was the multiverse. In Whitten's mind, the creation of those layers, the new dimensions and their seemingly endless supply of life forms, created over the millions upon millions of years flashed by in an instant. Worlds exploded into existence and lived and then died in fire and explosions to vanish. Each time one vanished, another world, another dimension bloomed into existence with more lives.  Beings were born, lived, loved and died. Thousands upon thousands into uncountable billions flashed into his mind. Each dimension was an entire universe, infinite, with thousands of planets and worlds, spinning around blazing suns. All of it contained in dimensional walls that were both tissue paper thin and as thick as armor holding each dimension at bay. They circled around each other, nearly all unaware of each other's existence.

The blackness wanted to change that.

For centuries the Void slept, content with its dreams. Dreams of revenge and conquest. Dreams of tearing down walls, returning the universe and every universe back to darkness. Its power drained, dozing, waiting.

Then it happened. After the untold centuries a tiny pinhole ruptured in the membranes between one dimension and the Void dimension. The hole was so small, but it was enough. Enough to wake the Void up and for the Void to gain energy. It thrashed within its prison, opening the hole even more, allowing it to leak through and reclaim it, absorbing it into its substance.

And the Void had raged since, seeking holes, creating holes, finding ways into each dimension to absorb it. It had forever to seek out those holes and infinite patience. But there was something unique about this dimension, the one Whitten called home.

For some reason the energies within this dimension were different, as if the Light had made this dimension its favorite. The Void could find holes and seep in a bit at a time, but not gain a foothold. This intrigued the Void and made it angry. Why was this world so important? Perhaps it was the lynchpin for all of it. No matter what the Void tried, it could not break through. It could influence and grab and possess, but not fully absorb or take control.

But the Void could find those within that dimension it could trust, it could use as avatars. It could find people that believed what it believed. People who could help it find a way further in, perhaps eventually all the way in. Perhaps, just perhaps, it could find a good way in, perhaps produce an offspring that was part Void and part human, that would be a way. Perhaps it could find a genius to help him accomplish that or at least help find, exploit or create more holes into this dimension.

Whitten saw all of this in seconds. Had his brain been anything less than what it was it would have been turned to mush. He felt the Void inside his brain, pouring that knowledge into him. He felt his entire world, his existence, change. Yes, he could be the Void's familiar here. The Void was eternal and it would share that eternity with him. He could become one with this being and achieve greatness.

He gagged and choked and then he fell to the ground. His entire body heaved and he opened his mouth and vomited the blackness. It streamed from his mouth and nose, pooled on the floor, twisted and twirled into the air and then blasted back into the mirror. When it was gone Whitten felt emptiness in its place so profound that tears sprung to his eyes. He felt weak and his head throbbed. His nervous system felt on fire, every limb, all of his fingers and toes tingling.

"Now you see," the Void said from beyond the mirror. "I can see into your world and I have heard your calls into the night, searching for answers. You are all so small, and yet you are favored by the Light. Protected for reasons I cannot fathom. Taking this dimension would be the ultimate victory and lead to the collapse of all the walls. I would rightfully reign and those that helped me would be rewarded with that which
you seek so much. Immortality. Power."

Whitten tried to get to his feet, but his legs were weak. He fell back down and coughed, his breath hitched and he tried to stand again. The world tilted and teetered and he nearly fell. Whitten quickly reached out his hand and grabbed a nearby table. The world went out of focus, but he stayed on his feet. He raised his head to stare into the mirror, the Whitten in the mirror had changed. It was made of the black substance. He could see his features within it, but the skin flowed like black water. The outline of the mirror-Whitten shifted and changed.

"Can you show me more wonders like you just did?" Whitten asked.

"You have barely glimpsed the wonders that await you," the Void replied.

"Can you make me immortal?" he asked.

"You shall have it."

Whitten smiled. The smile did not extend up past his nostrils like his reflection, but it was wide and he bared his teeth. He could see the world laid out before him, the people bowing at his feet. He could crush those who had opposed him. He would not have to grovel for money or to anyone ever again.

"Give me power," Whitten demanded.

"More than even your mind could comprehend."

"Then I am yours."

***

What happened next was lost to Whitten. One moment he was standing there in front of the mirror, staring at some all-black, negative space version of himself. The image was smiling at him, the surface of the creature's body rippling like black water. Whitten felt his heart swell and as if his entire life, everything he had been hoping for, dreaming about and wanting was about to come true. Then, the next instant he was in bed.

The bed was just a cot thrown into another corner of the barn. Often he would have to fight off barn spiders and other creatures that had decided they would like to live in the very warm space that was his lab. The machines around him would hum and vibrate all night long. The electrical bolts would crash from one sphere to the next, but to Whitten it had all become music that his brain needed to sleep.

His head was spinning. He could still remember the visions that had pelted him when the black substance entered his mind. The world was vibrant with colors that he had never noticed before. He felt giddy like a kid on Christmas.

He had to get back to work. He had to continue his experiments with radio waves and vibrations and see if he could punch a hole into another world. If he could just tap into the world right next to this one, the dimension next door, then the rest of the walls could be breached.

He stood and ran fingers through his tangle of hair. He also found his glasses on the floor, the frames bent. He didn't remember when that happened. He also had dried blood on his nose and chin. He must have looked like a ghoul.

Whitten walked to a sink in another corner and ran cold water over his face. There was a tiny square mirror over the sink and he was indeed terrifying-looking. He had bruises under his eyes. When had that happened? His lips were cracked and dry.

A thought occurred to him.

How long had he been out?

It was not uncommon for him to lose track of time. There were times when he lost days out here in the barn. He had never lost consciousness, though.

Whitten straightened his shirt and tucked it back into his pants. He thought about putting on a tie and a coat, but decided it didn't matter. He had to see if the rest of the world had changed already. Maybe the breach in the dimensional walls had already allowed the Void into this world. Maybe the world was dark, controlled by the entity he had met last night.

He decided he was presentable enough. Perhaps he should head into the house and take an actual bath and change into clean clothes. Did he have clean clothes?

Whitten headed for the barn door. He grasped the door handle and yanked the door open. The bright sunlight pierced his brain like a thousand jabbing knives. The cool air blasted through his shirt and chilled his skin. The sky was a brilliant blue and the leaves were a bright green. It was, to anyone else but himself, a beautiful day. Although the air was cool, the world itself was bright and sunny. Some of the leaves were starting to change along the tree line that was the end of his property.

It was then that he noticed the strange bulky black vehicle parked in his driveway.

Whitten felt the saliva in his mouth dry up instantly. When had he last had a visitor? It had been a long time. No one came up to the home of the crazy man where the strange sounds came from the barn.

He attempted to smooth his shirt a bit, but it was all hopeless. He was a mess and in no mood or condition to receive visitors. Yet, there they were. From where he was standing he couldn't see actual people inside the car. He also had never seen a car quite like it before. Cars were still enough of a novelty that seeing them was relatively rare. It had four doors and everything about it was coal black. Whitten had never seen a car that black.

"Dr. Whitten?"

The voice startled him. He tried not to show how much, but the sputtering that came out of his mouth pretty much showed that he was startled. That was not a good thing. That immediately gave the speaker the power and that frustrated Whitten.

Whitten turned to see a tall and thin man in a black suit and vest standing to his right. The young man also wore these strange dark glasses that were just black discs right in front his eyes, held together by wire frames.

"Y-yes," Whitten replied. "That's me."

The young man stepped forward and extended a hand. Whitten took it and they shook. The young man had soft hands, but a very firm handshake.

"I'm with the government, Dr. Whitten," the man said. "My name is Ezekiel, by the way."

"I have worked with the government before," Whitten replied. "What branch of the government are you with?"

Ezekiel smiled and looked at the ground. "Well, that's hard to explain, Dr. Whitten. The division I work with is sort of off the books. We check on things that we find a bit strange. We're familiar with the work that you've been doing with the long-distance radio transmissions. That's good work."

Ezekiel's smile faded and he cast his eyes toward the open barn door.

"The problem is the work that you've been doing lately," Ezekiel finished. "That's what we need to talk about."

Whitten felt a thousand butterflies in his stomach. How long had he been out? He looked down at his hands. Even though he had just washed, he noticed that the fingers and fingernails were filthy, crusted with dirt and grime and grease. Had he been working in his sleep? What had he been doing?

Whitten turned and walked back to the barn door, grabbed the handle and closed it.

"Shall we go inside?" Whitten asked, indicating the house.

Ezekiel attempted to see around Whitten, the young man's face fixed in a serious expression. Then he gazed up at Whitten and a smile broke out.

"That would be fine," Ezekiel said.

Whitten nodded, his insides quaking and shaking from nervousness. What was this about? How did they know anything? What was happening? Had the world started changing?

They entered the back of the house. The place smelled like dust, mold and mildew. There were dishes in the sink with rotting food. The place was a bit of a mess, but Whitten was rarely in the house. He had little need for the food in here because he had food in the barn. They passed through the kitchen and into the living room where there were two dusty couches in maroon fabric. Those were hand-me-downs from his mother and he had sat in this room a total of three times in the five years he had lived here. Whitten brushed dust off the fabric and removed some papers that had been stacked for ages on the old coffee table.

"Please, have a seat," Whitten said, indicating the love seat. He brushed more dust off of the full sofa across from that and sat down.

"Thank you," Ezekiel said. He had removed his round dark glasses. "Nice house."

"It's a mess," Whitten said. "I spend most of my time in the lab out in the barn."

"I could have guessed that. So, what experiments have you been working on lately, Dr. Whitten?"

Whitten cleared his throat and crosses his legs. He smelled a foul odor, but he wasn't sure if it was himself and his lack of showering or something in the kitchen.

"How is that relevant?" Whitten asked.

"I am a duly appointed representative from the government, Dr. Whitten," Ezekiel replied calmly. He removed a small notebook from an inside pocket of his jacket. "I have been appointed to this position by the President himself."

"But you work for some secret organization that has no name," Whitten replied. "What am I to make of that? Can you even show me identification? Do you carry a badge? A gun?"

Ezekiel smiled. Then he reached into his coat pocket and removed a small billfold. He handed that over to Whitten. He opened it and saw an identification card inside. Inter-Dimensional Enforcement Agency.

"What does this mean?" Whitten said, handing it back.

"Dr. Whitten we are living in an amazing age," Ezekiel said. "Humanity has never advanced as fast or as far as it has in just the past few decades. The world is becoming a smaller place as we find new and faster ways to travel. It is not ridiculous to think that humanity will soon conquer space and nearby planets. These were the stuff of books, fantasy stories, Dr. Whitten, but no longer. Humanity may be growing faster, developing faster, than the world can handle. We are one of the organizations that tries to make sure the advancement is right and appropriate."