The Door 3: Reality of Psyche-16

SF surrealist story of mining metals on Psyche-16, eternal Unity, and exile from Eden.

1. PSYCHE-16

Sony stopped the engines as they landed on the metallic surface of Psyche-16. The spacecraft had three main areas — a studio-style quarter, a bridge, and a big storage compartment. Glady listened to the reports of the last routine safety checks from her virtual Commander3. The AI detected no abnormalities, so she jumped off her chair and ran to get her EMS*. She hastily stripped down in the middle of the cabin, donned the tight-fitting silver suit, and looked at Sony impatiently. He was still sitting, programming the vehicles and executing some technical checks. Finally, he stood up without showing excitement.

“I can’t wait anymore! Hurry up, Sony,” Glady cried out, looking at her husband, undressing casually. She detected a smug grin on his face, indicating satisfaction. They both knew that sending a probe from the orbiting ship was a far more logical idea, but Glady wanted to go for a stroll, so there they were, wasting time and precious resources to make her happy.

“Get your EMS on, and let’s go,” she shouted. Finally, they entered the airtight lock they had called the hall. They kissed. He loved her immensely. Glady appeared unexpectedly in his life a year ago, and to his amazement, she became as obsessed with the metal mining on Psyche-16 as he was. When they married after three months of an intense love affair, she took courses in medicine, astrophysics, and asteroid mining. Sony taught her advanced robotics, and soon, they worked side by side, making his dream a reality. When they put their helmets on with smiles, the hermetic door behind them closed with a yanking sound. The spacecraft’s bright lamps illuminated the darkness of the giant asteroid beyond the outer sliding gate. A six-wheeled RV for two passengers emerged from the cargo lock adjacent to theirs. Following behind was a second vehicle that carried a deep-drilling device and two space trucks that were fully loaded. Glady and Sony stepped outside cautiously, finding themselves on the glittering metallic surface of the asteroid’s sharp edges. Glady moved slowly, yet she bumped directly against the rover. The gravity on Psyche-16 was far less than what they were used to.

She chuckled, “Who cares about grace when mining for metals 150 million km from Europa?” Sony laughed and took his seat beside hers. Thanks to his skillful programming, the convoy advanced smoothly. Sony spent four months of their tedious journey studying the asteroid’s geology, looking for the best drilling spots, and refining the mining machinery with a replicator. At the same time, Glady was responsible for the logistics and trip safety. She created numerous droids and robots to help them accomplish their mission. Ultimately, they aimed to open the galactic trading post in nickel, gold, and iron on Europa.

The RV stopped where they were supposed to build the drilling side near Gargantus Canyon, a large crater. Glady stepped out of the vehicle with a few security robots programmed to follow and protect her constantly. She strolled up to the crater’s edge, admiring the night sky dotted with stars. Sony sat on a folding chair beside the rover, gesturing like a conductor to set up the base and drilling site while a digital blueprint hovered before him. Droids and the construction robots quietly executed his orders, and the trucks unloaded themselves. Glady stood at the edge of Gargantus Canyon, watching images of the crater sent by a drone.

“Stop,” she suddenly said. “Scout5, identify the abnormality”. S5 immediately sent the enlarged image and replied, “I can’t identify the object. Physical properties and chemical composition: unknown.” Glady gazed at the screen showing a square basin filled with a glittering liquid shrouded by a hovering white mist. “The Grand Butterfly Attractor,” she whispered, and her heart beat faster with excitement. Glady breathed a few times deeply and went back to the rover.

“Sony,” she announced matter-of-factly, “We have to return to the aircraft.”

He looked at her glowing eyes and smiled broadly: “Sweetheart, I have a surprise for you. We will spend the night on Psyche-16. The HermeTent is almost ready”.

He stood up to hug her, but Glady responded coldly, “We must leave now.” Sony protested with a frown. Shocked, he looked up at the robots. The security droids standing around aimed their deadly laser weapons at him.

“Disarm,” he commanded, but the robots didn’t move. “What the fuck is going on?” Sony shouted, looking with disbelief at his wife.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, avoiding his gaze, “I needed to reach Psycho-16. I had no choice but to take advantage of you.”

“What are you talking about? Remove these guns pointing at my face!” he barked but the droids remained motionless.

“My name is Gladia, and I came from another dimension.” She paused.

“Glady, look at me, I’m your husband” Sony interrupted, confused and angry.

Gladia resumed calmly: “Trevor is my entangled opposite. He freed me and collapsed my consciousness into your reality.” Sony looked at her strangely but remained silent.

“Step into the RV,” Gladia said firmly as she sat on the rover seat. An armed droid escorted Sony to the vehicle, flanked by two other security robots. The RV drove them back to the spacecraft.

“Why Psyche-16?” growled Sony.

“Because, in this reality, the Grand Butterfly Attractor exists on Psyche 16,” Glady answered calmly. “There is only one of them in every Universe.” She paused. “I need the Medium of All Possibilities to reunite with Trevor.” she whispered.

“How do you know all of it? Are you a supreme being?” he asked with irony.

Gladia responded. “My body is mortal. However, the consciousness of every living being is an eternal part of the multiverse. I’m different from you as I have experienced the timeless realms of free will. The Grand Observer trapped me in a dimension I call Hell because immortality is unnatural for a physical being. Trevor released me from the agony of eternal separation, but he didn’t escape the gaze of the Grand Observer and is now imprisoned.

“Let’s play your crazy game,” Sony spat out.”Is your Grand Observer a God, the Creator?”

“I’m not sure,” Gladia answered. “I don’t know the nature of its existence. It causes our consciousness to perceive one reality in order of linear time, from ZERO as the moment of the Creative Universal Explosion to INFINITY as the moment of the Destructive Implosion to the Universal Nothingness. The event occurs instantaneously, yet it lasts for eternity in the illusion of time. In that aspect, the Grant Observer is the Creator of the Universes and Time.

“You are insane,” Sony snapped. Suddenly, he realized he was losing everything: the mining site, his dream of a galactic trading post, and his wife. “You can’t make me leave empty-handed!,” he shouted. However, the robots aimed their weapons at him while the woman who used to be his wife remained serious. She gave him a choice: either to return to Europa or to die on Psyche-16.

“I am not taking anything from you,” Gladia assured him. “For your safety, you must leave now, but you can return to Psyche-16 once I am done. The robots are securing the mining site and will report to you.” They arrived. Furious and powerless, Sony stepped out of the rover and carefully backed into the open lock of his spacecraft.

“I’m sorry I lied to you. Goodbye Sony,”Gladia said, and the doors of the outer gate closed. The spacecraft’s engines roared as it lifted vertically into the dark sky. A few seconds later, it vanished into the immensity of the cosmos.

Gladia reprogrammed the RV and descended to the bottom of the Gargantum Canyon. She sat on the metallic asteroid’s surface before The Grand Butterfly Attractor pool. The bright lights of the rover illuminated the landscape in front of her. The fog on the pool’s surface dissipated, revealing the Universe reflected in the golden liquid. Her consciousness must travel through the multiverse to find Trevor’s, shielded from the Grand Observer.

“How can I locate him in the infinite oceans of parallel universes? How do we avoid the gaze of the Grand Observer?” Gladia sensed Trevor’s presence yet didn’t know how to find him. Desperately searching for answers, she suddenly spotted a small, golden pebble.

“The Perfect Peach,” she whispered, “the solution is free will.” Without hesitation, she stood up and jumped into the golden swirls, enveloped by them like the warm embrace of her lover. She concentrated on the brief moment she saw Trevor in his human form. This time, Gladia would choose a different string in the multiverse of her free will.

2. EDEN

She was in the Manor-Von-Barron and held the Perfect Peach in her hand. Gladia bit into the fruit and glanced at Trevor beside her. She stretched her arm and offered the peach to him. Smiling, he took a bite and said: “Now you know the truth. Let me show you around Eden, my Love”.

“No, wait.” She kissed him passionately, and he reciprocated the affection. Their hearts raced excitedly as they caressed their bodies. Trevor hastily unzipped Gladia’s dress. “Please take off your robe,” she teased him, struggling to remove it. He laughed and followed her command, quickly taking off his clothes. Impatiently, he assisted her in removing her lingerie. They made love in a sensual embrace, kissing and exchanging words of affection. Their physical union embodied the entanglement of their minds, returning to the singularity of One.

Trevor and Gladia were so lost in each other that they didn’t notice when the reality of Eden around them shattered into pieces like kaleidoscope glass, reflecting their true love’s powerful energy across multiverses. Butterfly Attractors disappeared. The entire universe imploded into the perfect unity of nothingness, to explode into the ecstatic chaos of Everything.

3. EARTH

As Gladia opened her eyes, she glanced around her bedroom. She woke up with the memory of an intense dream but couldn’t recall any details about its content. She was lying naked on her bed. There was a knock on the front door of her apartment.

Gladia donned her bathrobe and asked, “Who’s there?”

“Hello, I’m your new neighbor. Earlier today, I received a delivery for you.”She opened the door slightly, and their gazes locked. She liked him immediately.

“Please come in,” Gladia said as an unfamiliar man entered her apartment. After a brief pause, he introduced himself.

“I’m Ton Gruber,” he said.

“Gladia Olivaw, Nice to meet you,” she replied. He handed her a square box she didn’t remember ordering.

“Strangely, both of our names were on the box. I didn’t order anything,” he said. Gladia opened the small package. Inside the box was a perfect peach wrapped in elegant golden tissue paper with a small note inscribed in gold:

“Enjoy Earth, From Eden with Love.”

*Extravehicular Mobility Suit *Roving Vehicle