Gateway to The Nothing: The Turned Gods, #3

Introduction

Gateway to The Nothing, book three in The Turned Gods series, takes place approximately two hundred years after the end of book two, Immortals in the Everything .

Chapter One

Grace always got homesick long before Ivan did. He had lived in isolation for most of his life but understood Grace had always been among people. While she needed more social stimulation, he didn’t feel the urge to be with anyone except for her. He did like the few friends he had, and since they were all immortal, the time away didn’t bother him much. He was, however, looking forward to savoring a fine bottle of scotch when they got home.

The first thing I want to do when we get back is to submerge myself in a long, hot bath. Grace passed the thought to Ivan.

Grace relished the idea of soaking for hours until her shell was waterlogged with shriveled fingertips and red-hot skin. The tactile sense of touch didn’t exist in her energy state, and she yearned for it. Steaming hot water enveloping her skin with scents of eucalyptus and mint, a glass of rich red coating her tongue and throat, and something decadent to read was her version of having a perfect evening to herself.

The first thing? Ivan joked.

Well, the second, she replied salaciously.

Before heading back to their individual ideas of heavenly bliss, they had one last stop to make. There had been something unusual a few sectors back that they wanted another look at. They shifted within sight of a black hole that had formed on the border between The Everything and The Nothing. There was a certain peculiarity about this one that made Grace uneasy. It faced outward toward The Nothing. It took them a few seconds to notice that there appeared to be a thin stream seeping in from the border that separated The Everything from The Nothing.

As they approached the stream, they could sense it was made of molecules of matter, energy, and waves of light. Maybe the matter was only coming close to the border, curving over the event horizon, and only appeared to be coming across from The Nothing. The closer they came to the origin, the more they realized their initial thought had been correct. Particles were streaming out of The Nothing, feeding through the black hole into a lower dimension. They never imagined something like this could happen. From everything they understood about The Nothing, it should have been impossible for the membrane to be open in this way. Their perception seemed unreliable. Were they seeing what they thought they were?

Grace asked, Is your sense of the situation the same as mine?

If you mean the impossible particle stream coming through an impervious border? Then, yeah. We’ve either both become dazed or we are witnessing an unprecedented occurrence. Ivan wasn’t certain they could rely on their senses when it came to The Nothing. No one knew anything about what it contained.

The event that followed made them wonder even more. A small entity came through with the stream. It was the elusive eternal child they had been seeing for centuries. The silent, empty vacuum of space burst to life with the sound of his laughter, a unique blend of a soft whisper and a resounding echo, as he joyfully chased after a small asteroid. Due to the lack of sound transmission in their environment, they could only detect auditory stimuli through telepathy. He must have seen them in the same way that they saw him. He came to an abrupt halt, and for a moment he seemed to waver, turning away from them before finally turning toward them. In his hesitation, Grace sensed uncertainty and confusion.

He appeared as a luminous swirling mist with an opaque core, the same as they did, only dimmer. With lightning speed, he dashed toward them, took an unexpected sharp turn, and squeaked out a high-pitched giggle as he resumed his pursuit of the asteroid heading toward the center of the black hole.

Ivan and Grace were taken aback, needing a moment to catch up to the event they were witnessing. A hole in the membrane, a black hole, and now the appearance of the child. Were the events related somehow?

I think that was an invitation. Grace was almost certain at this point they were experiencing some maddening disorientation. Could their proximity to The Nothing be causing it?

Ivan remained unresponsive to her assumption, pulling her into the chase. They followed the child over the event horizon, speeding deep into the anomaly of the black hole.

The surrounding space seemed to have frozen in place, and the progression of time ground down to a near standstill. Everything around them was being pulled in. They seemed to move so fast compared to their surroundings that they couldn’t discern planets and asteroids from stars. The scene before them was a chaotic blur of color and light. Gravity didn’t affect Grace and Ivan when they were in their risen state. They had no physical form. No mass, only energy and consciousness. All the surrounding matter became deformed, stretching and pulling into thinner, sinewy strands. The deeper they went, the more they sensed the strands surrounding them being ripped apart, stripped down to their most microscopic particles.

They focused on the child ahead, who was descending rapidly into the vortex. He was giggling as if this was the best game of tag he had ever played. The asteroid had long since broken down to dust. Should they stop? Should they follow him? Grace wondered what would happen when they got to the bottom. She felt Ivan wanting to press on. This may be their only chance to capture him, to find out what had happened to him. How had he managed to be out here alone for so long, surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse of cold, dark space? They felt compelled to follow the child.

The closer they came to the core, the slower things around them moved. They, however, remained unaffected, as if they weren’t really there at all, except for the electrical sensation of passing through particles. Even light was grinding forward inch by painstaking inch into the deep abyss. Particles compressed themselves into a dense mass as they approached the core, like grains of sand under pressure at the bottom of the oceans.

The child began moving in random patterns, zigzagging back and forth. A thought occurred to Grace that he was playing. They were experiencing his emotion.

With a suddenness that matched his arrival, the child promptly disappeared, leaving behind only bewilderment. Despite their heightened senses, Grace and Ivan couldn’t pick up any trace of him through the tightly compressed matter. Had he shifted or taken another direction? Grace tried to connect with the child, but she couldn’t. Through the compacted opaqueness, something manifested in front of them. The tiniest aperture was at the exact center of the constriction, barely large enough for a single quark to fit through. The contents of the black hole had compressed so tightly that particles were being forced through the fissure. If they wanted to catch up to the child, they would have to go through. It was their only way to the other side. They couldn’t shift to the other side, since they did not know where it led.

Do you think this is a smart idea? Grace asked.

She was typically the impulsive one and this time even she wasn’t convinced they should go through. She wasn’t certain if they even could go through. The anomaly hadn’t affected them so far, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t scatter them into oblivion if they tried to pass through.

We’ve come this far. May as well see what’s on the other side. Ivan’s thought returned to her.

As they moved forward, Grace’s apprehension grew. The concept of particles on such a microscopic scale was foreign to her, making the experience entirely new. The speed at which the quarks were pushing through was akin to funneling a raging river through a keyhole. Grace wasn’t claustrophobic, but even with no form, she felt compressed. Grace and Ivan squeezed through and were immediately hit with an intense, combustive sensation.

The other side was a mass of pulsating explosions. Particles were crashing together, forming combinations of elements and creating new masses, which were hurled into existence all around them at speeds that left them feeling they were the ones standing still. It took Grace a few seconds to realize the other side of the black hole was a white hole in a brand-new, blossoming universe. In this fresh-forming canvas, all they could identify was the white hole and deep ebony space. The dimensional bridge was a single quark-sized opening between the two sides. One draining, the other exploding outward.

They already understood the process of how dimensions drained and formed. Knowing was one thing, experiencing it was quite another. They felt flushed with excitement, able to appreciate why the child liked this game. Space was his amusement park. They sped up, passing through newly forming galaxies being propelled outward on their way to other places in this other universe.

Ivan noticed the child first. He had stopped to peer back at them. Negative energy waves curved their routes around him, repelled by his own negative energy. His polarization was like a magnet for positive streams, and they changed in their paths as he increased or decreased their electrons. That action must have been why Gaia and the others thought the child was seizing bits of the dimensions. He didn’t seem able to prevent it. It happened because of what he was. He wasn’t doing it on purpose. He couldn’t control it like Nyx could. Compared to Grace and Ivan, he seemed to have very little positive energy. But they possessed enough of a balance from Ivan’s creation to enable them to manipulate either type. Ivan wondered if there was a way for them to help transform the child’s energy the way Ben had changed Nyx when she encased him.

Ivan experienced the child’s sheer delight and his warm innocence. As he watched the child shift away, Ivan equally felt the child’s underlying sadness. He emanated a yearning to stay and play with them, but something unseen was pulling him away. Ivan noticed the child’s apprehension and concluded he was hoping for their help. There was no doubt he had captured their attention.

Unable to follow his shift, they changed their focus. Realizing the importance of the fracture in The Nothing’s membrane, they doubled back to the border to examine it. They did not take the path back through the white and black holes, opting to shift instead.

It was a bizarre sight. The fracture in the dividing border between The Everything and The Nothing wasn’t a fracture at all. It had a flawless, spherical shape, as if someone had taken a puncture and blown it up to the size of a small shuttle. Grace wondered if the matter that was pouring through was what had disintegrated back into Chaos from The Everything, or if The Nothing had never been empty at all. If it had been desolate at the beginning, how could The Everything have emerged from it?

We need to go in, Grace said.

Her statement disturbed Ivan. I don’t think that’s a good idea at all.

Someone has to. We may be the only ones who could survive The Nothing.

Ivan considered her statement. Surviving isn’t the only goal. We need to learn about it. Nyx and Ben would have a better chance of entering without disrupting anything. They’re neutral when they rise together. We’re not.

Grace couldn’t resist her curiosity and pulled him closer to the edge.

Grace. His tone was a warning. This was by far the dumbest idea she had ever conceived. NO!

Fine! We won’t go in. Can we at least move a little closer? I mean, everything is streaming out. And it’s not like we can get dragged in. Even the black hole couldn’t drag us in.

Grace couldn’t explain why she felt more comfortable with the idea of passing through this barrier than she had been with the black hole. An inexplicable force was luring her in, beckoning her forward. A powerful urge surged within her, persuading her to break away from Ivan and bolt through the opening. If she had been in her physical form, she knew she would have succumbed to the temptation and Ivan wouldn’t have been able to stop her.

Ivan was open to compromising, but only to a limited extent. He could feel her urge, her need, but he couldn’t let her go headlong into an unknown chasm. If you try to take us inside, I am splitting off from you.

That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me! She had had the idea herself, but hearing the words from him hurt her. What could be so frightening that he would leave her behind without a second thought?

This is the worst idea you’ve ever had! I mean it, Grace. Do NOT try to drag us in.

I know you’re scared, Ivan, so am—

He cut her off. Don’t try that BS line with me. I know you better than you know yourself.

Fine. She pouted. Two hundred yards then.

Two hundred yards closer or two hundred yards from the edge? He wasn’t about to let her get away with anything at this point. He tapped into her thoughts, unsure of what was captivating her into such a reckless act, and grew anxious that it might be a trap.

She sighed. Two hundred yards closer.

Not that I don’t trust you with my life, but I want full control. Relinquish it, Ivan demanded, feeling her anxiety increase.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to your sense of adventure.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to your sense.

Ouch! That hurts. Deeply. Her tone feigned profound injury. She had no argument she could win here. Deep down, she knew he was right. She needed to let him hold her back. She acquiesced and transferred power to him, handing over full control, including her ability to break off. It was almost a relief knowing she couldn’t give in to her urge.

Thank you.

Ivan moved them forward with a significant amount of caution. They didn’t feel any difference in the material coming out of the puncture at this close distance. It was identical to what was present in The Everything. Perplexity consumed Ivan, leaving him at a loss for words. It prompted so many questions in his mind.

They made a wide circle around the perimeter of the hole. Nothing changed. Nothing felt altered. The material comprised a nearly balanced mixture, equivalent to every other dimension they had visited. Several hours had passed from what they could estimate.

They went forward in time a little and backward a little, always returning to the exact moment they had left. They witnessed the child come through the barrier into The Everything, watched him look at them in their current, time-altered position, then saw him turn to look in the other direction where they had been when they first encountered him. It was odd they didn’t see themselves when the child clearly could. Could that have been why he had paused? Was the sensation of having them simultaneously on either side of him the thing that gave him so much delight before he chased after the asteroid? Did they themselves look in his direction because they sensed their own energy? They had no memory of detecting any energy, aside from the child’s. Ivan’s mind had wandered. Those were altogether different questions and not ones that were likely to be answered soon, if at all.

I think we should head home. Brighter minds than ours need to work this out.

I agree. We may possess unique skills, but analyzing the physics of deep space isn’t one of them. Grace knew full well she was out of her depth.

As Ivan pulled her away from the opening, Grace felt a pang of longing to stay behind. The pull she felt gradually diminished when their distance from the anomaly increased.

Chapter Two

The child had been toying with them for well over a century, popping up here and there long enough to be seen, but never long enough for them to get close to him. Grace and Ivan were still as puzzled by him as they had been the day they first learned about him. Today had been their first significant interaction, and it had produced more questions than answers.

Chaos was the sole individual capable of furnishing them with explanations, yet she appeared to be avoiding them. It would be so much easier if they could receive some guidance from her. They had gone to her conscious space many times. Ivan especially enjoyed spending time with the children she protected in that place. They had become surrogates for the ones he and Grace didn’t have. Each visit was brief, so as not to give in to the temptation of staying forever. They could only remain for a day at most.

Within the space Chaos had created, everyone had physical form. Grace’s and Ivan’s bodies were obviously virtual, but having physical form allowed them to interact and play with the children. The fields came alive with the sound of the children’s little hearts racing as they squealed and ran with excitement, filling the air with joy. They would pick sweet-scented bouquets of wild flowers to place throughout the bright farmhouse. Grace and Ivan could hug them and tuck little ones off to sleep before returning home. If only they could bring the children safely back to Rasa, they could be quite content. The children could grow up and have lives of their own instead of being trapped as children for eternity. For now, Ivan and Grace cherished the moments they could steal with them.

Grace and Ivan returned from their latest adventure in The Everything to their shells. Since they had realized their purpose, Grace and Ivan had dedicated most of their time to it, working hard to establish balance. When they woke, only Leo was there to greet them. Their bodies ached as they came out of stasis, although not as much as they had in the past.

How long this time? Grace asked.

Seventy-four days, Leo said.

Rasan or Universal? Ivan asked.

Universal.

That was two days shy of six months in Rasan time. Leo cast a disapproving glance in their direction. How are the shells?

Grace twisted her back and cracked her neck. Her fingers brushed over the warm skin on her face, noting the dryness of it. Not bad. We’re recovering quicker this time. Did you do something different with them?

I increased the stimulation levels for the muscles. The organs and other tissues maintain themselves at this level of stasis. Sadie keeps the brain functions stimulated. You’ve both learned how the water reclamation system works this time. Leo smiled at them before continuing.

I’m working on something to manipulate the joints inside the pods. Full stasis would be best since partial stasis doesn’t work long term with your shells like it does with other turned. It suppresses some of your natural healing functions the same way it slows your hair and nail growth. I’m just not quite certain you could come out of full stasis on your own if no one was here when you returned.

Can’t you program Sadie to bring us out when she senses us coming back through? Ivan asked.

What if something happens to Sadie while you’re up there? Leo asked, pointing up.

What if something happens to you while we’re up there? You can’t save everyone all the time, Leo. Ivan gestured toward the ceiling, mocking him cheerfully.

Leo smirked, shaking his head at him. Bringing someone out of full stasis is a complex process. Unlike a biological process like turning, which only involves accelerating the natural state, it requires more skill and presents greater challenges. Losing one of you would be far worse than some unknown person dying from a botched turn.

All loss is painful, Leo, even if we don’t know the individual personally, Ivan said.

I didn’t mean it like that. Leo realized the statement sounded callous regarding the loss of any life. He stroked his chin. I could program the pods to come out of stasis if they lose contact with Sadie. I guess if you can’t rouse them up, you can always rise again.

True. And we can always get to the ones in cryo-freeze if we need to. It’ll require a few additional hours, but they’re already set up to thaw when activity is detected. Ivan shrugged like it was no big deal. He was taunting Leo just a little. He had a reason to be in a good mood. Despite their inability to communicate with the child, he felt optimistic about the day, thanks to the brief moments of interaction they had.

That’s supposed to be more of a fail-safe than an option. The shells are in full cryo, anyway. It’s a radically unique process. It’s more like bringing a newborn into the world than bringing someone back from the dead. Leo shook his head at Ivan.

Frigg had developed new shells for them a few decades ago and placed them in cryo-pods inside an asteroid in the newest dimension. Only Ivan and Grace could locate them because of the manner in which they were cloaked and blocked. Using a device combining the two techniques, one of Sadie’s developers, Harmon, had come up with a method to align the rock so it would repel passing space debris and be undetectable by other vessels. In the event of any damage to their present shells, they would be attracted to the new ones. In the last centuries, their community had developed an abundance of new technologies.

We bring people back from the dead all the time, Ivan said, flashing him a broad grin. He thought Leo could be far too serious sometimes.

Leo massaged his temples in frustration. It was like explaining fire to a Dryopithecus.

Stop provoking him, Ivan, Grace intervened, grasping Ivan’s rough hand. She made a mental note to ask Leo to add a bit of moisture to the air inside the sealed pods.

See you at the briefing tonight, Leo. We have some news. Ivan smirked, not waiting for Leo’s questions, and shifted himself and Grace back to their apartment.

Leo was in awe of Grace and Ivan’s remarkable talent for returning to their surroundings as if they had never left, even after long periods of absence. They slipped back in effortlessly, as though they had only been gone for a few hours instead of several months. He envied that about them. They always had each other and didn’t need anyone else. Coming back remained a choice for the pair, not a necessity. Seeing that kind of ease had been part of what made taking the turn a simple choice for Leo. The possibility of finding a connection like that was too alluring to pass up.

He had a family eons ago, but his children had grown and made families of their own. Throughout most of his life, adventures in The Everything had occupied a vast majority of his time. It was no surprise to anyone that his wife abandoned him. Least of all to him. She wasn’t the adventurous type, never once choosing to come along with him, although he often begged her to.

His work was the only thing remaining when he made his final decision to turn. He was glad he had done it. The connection to the community was something he hadn’t possessed in his life before. It was something he hadn’t recognized he missed. He belonged here. He didn’t need to seek adventures anymore. Adventures made their way to him.

Sadie, inform all Rasans of Grace and Ivan’s safe return, Leo spoke into the empty room.

~~~~

While Viv and Galin were in the terraforming lab, engrossed in a deep discussion on the intricate details of preparing Rasa’s second moon, Betis, for habitation, Sadie’s holographic form appeared. Grace and Ivan have descended.

Viv and Galin had already felt them come through. The unturned on the planet couldn’t feel them, so they set Sadie to notify everyone as a courtesy, so no one felt excluded.

That couldn’t have been better timing. Viv winked at Galin, extending her hand toward the hologram.

Thank you, Sadie, Galin replied as the image disappeared. He turned back to Viv. I guess that means we can get started in the next few days.

Viv nodded as they returned to complete their notes for the briefing.

Betis was large for a moon, with a mass about a third the size of Rasa itself. Rasa had grown to hold a dense population without becoming overcrowded, with hundreds of cities scattered throughout the planet’s central, climate-controlled band. Their goal was to keep it that way. The planet was the hub of the community, with a massive social club and cultural center hosting hundreds of events throughout the year. After Grace had stepped down, the community elected Galin as the new Administrator, and his primary goal was to ensure adequate living conditions and resources were available to everyone. The administration had also considered floating a few cities in the lower atmosphere but decided against it. Given the proximity of various choices for expansion, there was no justification for overcrowding one planet. The moon was also close enough to be included in their current defense array, as well as being a logical choice for the first extension of their home world.

Betis would be a full form effort. It had reduced atmosphere and gravity, but what made it most attractive was it had plenty of liquid water. They would need to speed up the rotation to match Rasa’s gravity and calendar. Grace and Ivan could complete that segment with little effort, allowing the forming team to take care of the rest of the arduous tasks. They were conservatively estimating having the first five cities complete within four months. Effects on Rasa would be minimal since they artificially controlled the weather along the most habitable band of the planet. The primary effect would be that the tidal flows would change, but even that would remain manageable.

~~~~

Meanwhile, Ben sat in his office above the Council chambers, reviewing yet another dispute over who possessed rights to an inhabited planet. He hated this part of his job with the Council, constantly quelling one ego or another. He knew they had assigned him this task because other Council members were unwilling to risk their political standing by making the wrong person angry. There were uncountable habitable planets and moons throughout The Everything. Yet, as always, these pompous narcissists would rather bicker over one planet than seek another. Compromise was outside the vocabulary of these unenlightened, self-proclaimed gods. Looking back, he found it difficult to fathom he had once been exactly like them. They had an inane habit of seeking conflict, frequently going out of their way to create it where it hadn’t already existed.

As Ben stared at his data screen, he could see neither party had claim to the world. A lower-level mortal species inhabited the planet. Neither pantheon staking a claim represented the predominant religion practiced by the people of the disputed planet. Most of the populace was agnostic, worshiping no specific gods. Many appeared to covet nature as their higher power, which gave Gaia rightful claim. Ben denied both claims and tossed his screen on his desk. Their pettiness as they vied to improve their positions on the Council irritated him. The sole focus of both leaderships was to acquire power and control, with no consideration for other factors.

Council meetings had become almost intolerable for him. The disdain Ben smelled oozing from the others was suffocating. The turned were decimating the Council’s constraint of The Everything. In response, Council members were becoming desperate. They had resorted to unscrupulous measures, including utilizing methods that were haphazard and unreliable, in their desperate attempt to regain control. Ben had always been wary of their intentions. Now he could see they were close to becoming dangerous to themselves and mortals throughout The Everything.

Ben pulled his vibrating TAC from his pocket. It had received an upgrade a few days prior. The new systems worked on telepathic waves. Sadie, their species’ artificial intelligence, read the user’s intentions or questions and allowed them appropriate access depending on the user level. He wanted to check the source of the notification from Rasa. Sadie recognized what the most significant news would be for him.

Greetings, Ben. Grace and Ivan have descended. There will be a briefing in one hour. Shall I respond with your intention to attend? Her communication had been inaudible to anyone except him.

Affirmative, Sadie. That will be all. Ben voiced his reply, folded his TAC, and returned it to his pocket.

He leaned back in his chair, breathing a deep sigh of relief. The news of their return had made his outlook somewhat brighter. It also provided him with a reason to leave.

Chapter Three

Grace and Ivan shifted into The Six. There had been a few minor changes over time and one major recent addition to the command headquarters since they had been away on this last undertaking. An enormous display of the dimension stack hung overhead. Each dimension showed every planet, space station, and ship containing turned members, who were identified with a dot. Every individual in the community had their own dot representation. Thoth had altered the device they had first seen in their cabin so long ago, on a grand scale.

As they were looking up at the display, Viv was the first to approach them. She gave them each a hug. Physical contact was essential for the turned. Their bond almost demanded it. Before Grace and Ivan had merged, Viv would have never hugged a stranger and had seldom displayed any emotion with those outside of her family. Now, she needed contact almost as much as she required the blood that flowed through her veins. They all did. The original community had always been closely bonded, but Ivan and Grace’s merge had created something deeper, reverberating through the entire species. Something that spread their connection outside the clans to knit them all into the same fabric.

You like it? Viv asked, pointing toward the ceiling. The display screens were becoming so cluttered. We had to do something. I think Thoth outdid himself on this one.

It’s amazing. Grace unconsciously touched her chest as she inspected it, brushing her fingers over the ghost of the amulet that had once held a position there.

Isn’t it cumbersome looking up at it all the time? When you need to use it, that is. Ivan considered it a curious place for the stack to be displayed. It was a proficient use of space, but how did they present it when they required it for a briefing?

A smile played across Viv’s lips. That’s only where we store it. We can examine any portion on the table or pull it down in front of any space in The Six. Alerts display on the screens. She paused, pointing to the wall of screens at the head of the conference table. We can drill all the way down into a specific individual if we want to. There’s another one in the grand hall, minus the individual markers. We simply couldn’t keep something as magnificent as this to ourselves.

Grace squinted upward,