Prologue

Space. Vast, seemingly endless, and filled with some of the most beautiful and puzzling phenomena known to our kind. Through mirrors, lenses, and probes, we’ve seen the history of the universe. But we knew it was just that. History. We wanted to know what the universe was like in the present. Whether we really were alone in the universe. But as with everything else, there were hurdles. While humanity became enveloped in their crises over energy, pollution, famine, disease, and the changing climate, there were a select few devoted to discovering a way to traverse space in less than a lifetime. Eventually, in the 26th century, their patience was rewarded.

At first, they didn't know what it was they had found. It looked like nothing but a white void that led to nowhere. But as they began to probe it, sending in cameras and small robotic devices, they discovered other holes, openings that led into strange and amazing places they could never imagine. Trackers attached to the devices gave them no indication as to where they were. They were too far away, off any map we had at the time. The only thing they could conclude was that they had punched a hole into something special. Something leading to other dimensions. They named it White Space.

It was something that defied all logic, all scientific fact. It was devoid of light sources, yet was bright, almost blindingly so. There were no visible distinctions as to where an opening could appear, as there were absolutely no native particles in the void that could be observed. Some openings required a structure to form, others just appeared as tears in thin air; visible from one angle, invisible from another. Most puzzling of all was what happened to the atmosphere when the tears opened. Nothing. There was no atmosphere in White Space, yet no sign of any decompression upon opening. Living analogs suffered no damage upon entering, as they would in space. There was pressure, as though from an atmosphere. Just no atmosphere. White Space seemed to be nothing. Just nothing in between everything. It had no atmosphere, no light, no substance other than what the humans sent in, yet openings were either appearing on their own or reacting to their equipment at random.

As they explored the openings they found in White Space, they started to place sensors and cameras on planets they encountered to chart star constellations and planetary positions, not to mention to observe any native life they found. When they began to receive data from the far reaches of the galaxy, they started to hypothesize that White Space was a means of folding space, effectively creating a ‘shortcut’ through it. Whether it was natural or artificial was indeterminate, but now they knew for certain that they had achieved a goal centuries in the making. A way to travel to far planets and systems in less than a lifetime.

At first, they could only open small portals large enough for their small unmanned machines. Through these, they began to make contact with other species. Strange creatures. Some seemed to have something resembling what we would define as culture, even language, but none of them seemed to be intelligent enough to decipher any of Earth’s languages, even with assistance through teaching devices sent through the portals. It seemed that the teams would be hard pressed to find intelligent life they would be able to communicate with, but still they continued forward, hoping they would someday find a species they could truly make first contact with.

It was now the year 2510. The scientists in charge of White Space established first contact with an alien species. They were called Risous. They were intelligent, carnivorous creatures who called their planet Resisa. They were hulking reptilian monsters with large membrane wings growing from their arms much like the bats of Earth. Their heads were long and narrow, their mouths lined with many wicked teeth. Their scaly skin was a deep crimson in color, matching the redness of the plants growing in their ecosystem, with an odd sheen that covered every scale, even those on the soles of their feet. Their olive colored eyes held a sentience that easily matched any human’s.

As the scientists watched the Risous, they observed the creatures creating sophisticated tools from wood and bone, each piece carefully harvested and kept from touching the ground. Most of their tools included hunting weapons, though some were used to improve the shelter of their cliff-side dwellings and add doors for privacy. They wore no clothing, as they didn't need clothing. Their bodies were perfectly suited to adapt to whatever kind of weather came along, be it cold or heat, dry or wet. The only sign of decoration was a long red crystal embedded in the ends of their tails.

The scientists, of course, were awed by the aliens, who were equally curious, considering the Humans strange with how small and weak they looked, yet were intelligent and able to build machines beyond anything they themselves had been able to create. Soon, the humans began learn more about the Risous through physical communication as well as symbols and gifts of peace.

Since the Risous could understand Humans, that made things slightly easier for the two species to communicate. Armed with this, Linguists began to create translation machines by first recording the word in English, the common trading tongue on Earth, then had the Risous repeat the word in Risousan. As they worked their way through the English Dictionary, the Risous began to provide new words as well, ones that helped identify objects, words, and concepts native to the alien planet. The Risous were patient with the Humans, who for the most part could only imitate most of the language and had to create Human versions of Risous words that would translate into the proper word through the translation matrix.

Finally, communication was established as translator buds were created for both species, modified from similar ear pieces that were already in use on Earth. The ear buds resembled hearing aids that had already been in use for those hard of hearing for centuries. The primary difference being that the buds were wirelessly connected to language databases established all over the planet. It didn’t take long to fashion a series of buds that could fit the Risous’ feline-like ears and send them across White Space using a drone.

Once easier communication between species was achieved, the human scientists decided it was time for an attempt to cross White Space, a challenge in itself. Then there was Resisa. They knew from soil samples that the surface of the planet was highly corrosive, which was why the Risous harvested everything so carefully. The Risous themselves seemed immune to the corrosive effects, something relating to the odd sheen to their scales.

Many attempts were made to identify the source of the corrosion. The substance was similar in many ways to some super-acids that were already known to humans, but there were enough differences in the chemical structure that they weren't entirely sure how it would react with existing protective gear.

Tests showed that brief contact of less than a couple seconds with acid resistant Hazmat suits was harmless, but once the protective surface was damaged, the substance would eat away anything it touched almost immediately, then continue to spread.

They tested many methods of neutralizing the substance, using Base materials of every PH level. Some levels worked better than others, but they couldn't find anything that would entirely neutralize the corrosive effect. They attempted neutralization by studying Risous scales, however they found they were unable to replicate the effect in the lab.

The agent in the Risous scales was produced naturally in their bodies, and the chemical structure had many elements that they either couldn't identify, or simply couldn't replicate in a lab. The neutralizing effect in the scales also deteriorated within an hour once it was detached from the living body. The neutralizer required the biology of the Risous to be effective.

The team put together a suit that they hoped would be resistant enough to the substance that it would would allow a volunteer to walk on the surface of the planet without being harmed. The plan was for the Risous to carry him on their backs and fly him up into their cave homes where he could be safe.

The Risous and humans worked together to create a pulley system, as neither species had the technology needed to both send him through the void and keep him above the ground. The man stepped through the void and was pulled by the Risous to the planet, where he was placed on the back of one of the stronger members of their tribe. But the acid resistant chemical on its scales turned out to have a slickness to it, much like oil. Without a way to gain a solid grip on the Risous’ body, the man slid from the creature’s back and fell to the ground.

The Risous around him scrambled to try and pick him up off the ground, afraid of some unseen force, but he felt something tightening around his ankles and holding him to the ground, he looked down in terror to find that vines camouflaged into the surface of the planet were wrapping tightly around his legs, holding him there to let the acid do its work. He reached up towards the Risous, trying to remain calm and remind himself that the acid couldn’t hurt him through the suit. But his calm was short lived as he began to feel burning pain spread through his legs. The acid had eaten through his suit. The Risous managed to pry him from the ground, snapping the vines that held him, and rushed him to the portal home.

The man barely escaped back to Earth with his legs as the acid ate away at every bit of his body. The acid was relentless as it ate everything, parts of his flesh and suit melting into viscous pools of gore. Screams came to fetch a nearby fire hose and try to neutralize the acid and save the man from his agony. The fastest among them managed to pull the hose over, ready to spray, but it was too late. The man was barely breathing, using that little breath to beg for death. After a moment, the team leader took a letter opener off of one of the desks, removed the man’s helmet, and sank it into his temple, killing him instantly. Every man and woman present swore that they would never forget his screams of agony and terror.

After these events, those on the original discovery team were afraid of Resisa, refusing to even go near the portal to the planet, even though the Risous promised they could devise a way to carry the humans on their backs without fear of harm. There were also those who were afraid of the Risous themselves, afraid that they would sink to their carnivorous roots and attack those that crossed.

Several decades passed and the presence of First Contact was kept secret from the people of the Earth. Meanwhile, the teams continued to study White Space. Some began to wonder if travel in White Space was limited to our own universe, and if the Risous were indeed a part of ours. Theories had abounded for centuries on the idea that new universes were created every time an event was pushed towards one end or another. What if White Space could take us to those universes?

Many more probes were released into White Space, searching for the answer to this question, equipped with the most advanced star mapping technology, able to identify its location no matter where it came out in the universe. As the probes emerged from White Space, images of the universe never before seen began to return to Earth, increasing our reach beyond previous imagining.

As the teams began to examine the data, cross referencing our own star charts with those found by the probes, their theories began to gain light. Many locations shown had star formations that couldn’t be matched with any others, no matter how many possible variations were devised. Others still emerged in universes that bore little to no resemblance to our own.

The amount of information continued to grow exponentially, and it became almost impossible to deny that White Space could, indeed, travel between universes. While this was an amazing breakthrough, it could also mean trouble. Tampering with alternate universes could bring danger to our own. They had to find some way for the computers to easily identify non-native universes, as to avoid any accidental multi-universe tampering when opening portals.

Several scientists stood up as volunteers to study this new development, leaving their compatriots to continue their previous avenues of study. After many years of trial and error, the team managed to find what they needed. Through carefully studying data from the alternate universes they had explored, they managed to identify specific types and levels of radiation present throughout our own universe that were consistent enough that they could be used as relatively quick identifiers to determine whether the probe had emerged into native or non-native space.

With this information, the team created devices capable of sampling and identifying native or non-native radiation through micro-portals, only open large enough and long enough for samples to be taken. If the device identified a non-native universe, it denied permission to open a larger portal, telling the probe to move on to another area. Armed with this, the scientists turned their gaze back to Resisa.

First contact had remained in the memories of those working on exploring Resisa. Though it had been many years, and many new team members had joined on, nobody ever let his death fade from memory. Those who knew him in life wanted to be sure his death wouldn’t be in vain. With reverence, the first probes of a new generation were sent through to Resisa. Within moments of the probe’s arrival, detailed tests of all parameters set to identify universes gave them no room for doubt.

The Risous were a part of our reality. With this information in mind, they forged an alliance with the Risous. Allying with the species they’d made first contact with would only help in the future when they came in contact with even more new species. Taking the translation matrix they’d developed during their initial encounters, they refined it into an entirely new system that would record words and phrases from newly encountered languages, translate them, and adjust as needed to reach an approximation. Armed with this new technology, they turned their gaze to the rest of their galaxy.

300 years later. Earth had been exploring the galaxy, often one portal at a time. It was slow, but the Department of Galactic Study, built around study of White Space never gave up hope that they would find space faring races. They had made contact with several more intelligent species in their searches, however few had progressed beyond exploring their own solar systems. Some begged the humans for the secret to White Space, yet the D.G.S. had set down rules after encountering the inter-universe capabilities of White Space. They couldn’t risk other races gaining this technology, even with the Native Universe Identification Device. Any race worth their intelligence classification could easily disable the NUID and wreak havoc on parallel universes.

So Earth moved on, their search seemingly endless as they tried to find someone in the universe they could share knowledge and culture with. Then one day, a portal opened onto a vast cathedral-like room that seemed able to hold thousands of creatures of all sizes. They thought it empty as their probes hovered through, but as the probe turned to explore behind the space where the portal had opened, they found a long crescent table with alien creatures of several species seated behind it. All were momentarily surprised at the appearance of the probe, but that surprise turned to calm joy moments later.

One stood and walked around the table to the probe, all eyes on the small machine as it followed the alien’s progress around. The creature was tall and well muscled, with short, dark black fur covering its humanoid body. Its slender hands were webbed, showing it was possibly an aquatic mammal in its natural habitat. Its face bore a short snout, much resembling a seal, though its eyes were large and emerald in color, two shining gems amidst a sea of black. It was clothed in simple blue robes with little design stitched in, yet it was obvious that this creature was the leader in this place.

When it reached the probe, it waved its hand in a gesture, speaking a strange gargling language that sounded to be coming mostly from the back of its throat. A robotic device approached, a small metal capsule in its hands, and presented it to the creature, who in turn took the capsule and carefully held it for the probe to take. Wary, but optimistic, the scientists told the probe to take the device.

Upon contact with the capsule, a surge was sent through the signal connecting the probe to home base, causing their computers to go haywire until dictionaries of all Earth languages began to scroll past the screens. The team realized the machine had accessed their database and was copying information. Whatever kind of council this was, they were obviously highly advanced. Techs kept a wary eye on their computers, watching for any sign of malicious intent, but there was no attempt to upload, only download, and the only information being downloaded was the myriad of dictionaries in their system.

After first contact was made, the council integrated the languages of Earth into their own translation technology and, after much scrutiny, welcomed Earth into their space-faring community. The council was the controlling head of the Consortium of Planets, where all members were species who had proven they were worthy of membership. It took many years and much scrutiny, but Earth finally agreed to request membership.

The sordid past of humanity gave the Consortium pause, but after careful study and observation, the leaders of the Consortium concluded Humanity would be a welcome inclusion to their ranks. With this decision, Earth was allowed all the privileges of new membership. The Consortium shared their technology for traversing White Space, showed Earth methods of creating energy that could last lifetimes without being renewed, and introduced us to ways to improve integration and interaction with our local flora and fauna. Ushered by the Consortium, Earth entered into a golden age of peace and prosperity.

The year 3100. The Consortium decided to make a major venture into completely alien territory. The place we had once named the Andromeda Galaxy. The closest galaxy to ours and therefore the next logical choice to explore. Choosing carefully, the Consortium appointed the best scientists and diplomats from each species to make the journey. Along with the scientists, diplomats, and the various crew, their families were to travel as well, for it was speculated that at least to reach their destination would take a journey of many years. As for what would happen when they arrived, there was no way of knowing what they could encounter. All they knew was that the families as well as those on the journey would need support and love to accomplish their mission.

For many years, the journey was simply a political possibility as they attempted to create a ship large enough to carry all the families while leaving room for the inevitable increase in population, be it from the families living on the ship or from returning with new species to add to the Consortium. Many of the arguments branched from the appearance of the ship. Several species wanted their superficial designs to be the dominant designs.

By 3150, the Consortium had reached an agreement on the design and began their work. The ship was mostly open and roomy so the occupants wouldn't feel entirely trapped in their artificial environment. There were even many areas with various plants grown right in the ship for herbivorous races, such as the Danu, a small white and blue birdlike species with small hands and long, nimble fingers. They were the primary technicians in the Consortium, so they were one of the key species in the ship. These areas were also used as a major supply of oxygen for those species that breathed such an atmosphere.

There was a section that was entirely underwater for those aquatic and amphibious species, such as the Brinte. Their hands and feet were webbed and their long, strong tails had fins running down them to propel them through the water, making them strong fighters in aquatic environments. Several living areas were converted for different atmospheres, also populated with plant life that created the necessary gaseous elements needed. The rest was made up of vital systems, tactical areas, weapon stations, scientific laboratories, and the bridge. Once it was finished, it was an amalgamation of several different planets, all rolled up into one planetoid sized ship.

At last in the year 3200, the ship was no more just blueprints and theory, it was reality. It was spheroid in shape with a shell decorated with symbols covering nearly every inch of the surface, each one representing a different species in the Consortium. It spun, generating gravity from the center with each long turn. Rather than sift through colors and shades to fit each species, everyone agreed on a simple metallic silver color. It was neutral enough that nobody felt it was insulting nor praising any specific species. As the ship was filled with atmospheres and water, celebrations rose throughout the galaxy. The collective species of the Milky Way Galaxy were finally reaching out to the universe.

Reviews

[ThePiercedWriter]

This was great! I loved it, though it could do a little less redundancy. It would be even better if you made it more... original, I guess? I can't really think of what I'm trying to say, but there needs to be more detail on the new findings you're speaking of. Like the device, they put in their ear, how it works, and what it's made of would have been great. Linguists would not use an English dictionary, by the way. If they would, let me know where you found that! I truly enjoyed the journal/timeline style you have going on here and look forward to reading more.

[ThePiercedWriter]

I think splitting this into shorter chapters would be even more fantastic :)

[Fauna Joy]

I appreciate your feedback, it's much appreciated. I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing. This is actually a very old version of the book, and have since revised it quite a bit.

I'll think on your idea to put more detail into the translator buds. My thoughts were primarily based upon the Universal Translators from Star Trek, where they broadcast the listener's native language during conversation, and analyzed new languages as they're encountered and worked to translate them.

[ThePiercedWriter]

Definitely! But since you got to SEE how it worked, they didn't need to explain much except what it's called. You know? Readers are not in your head so you have to find this "happy-medium" where you detail it to get a good picture but not too much detail to the point readers start skipping sentences. Lol. I have issues with this, so it's definitely not easy. But, one of my biggest issues is flow, but you pretty much have it!

[Fauna Joy]

Thank you very much. :)