JANUAE

(coughing, spitting out water)

VOICES

ethereal, like a telepathic echo

No. Restrain. Hold. REST. Reservations? Curious.

Existence? Drowning? Observe.

JANUAE

(panicked)

HELLO? HELP ME! PLEASE!

VOICE

Dilation, Anomaly. Searching. Curious. Land. Insignificant. Agitation.

Hypothesis. Illumination. Imminent.

JANUAE

(frightened)

I can’t see you! Please Help!

JANUAE

(narrate)

I’m in the sea. As I spit out the salt water and try to stay above the waves, I can’t see any constellations in the night sky. Everything around me is black. I swim forward a meter.

VOICES

Relics. Fisheries. Echoes. Ancestral. Evolution.

Curious. Underdeveloped. Finite.

Usable?

JANUAE

Please! Help!

JANUAE

(narrate)

The water is freezing, and I remember the time when I’d reached my eighth year when I had fallen off a boat and nearly drowned. As I sank below the surface, I felt a tug on my hands, as my father pulled me back to the surface and onto the catamaran.

Am I near the City of Bridges?

My limbs are already exhausted as I try to swim toward the voice I heard. The voices calls to me again from another direction.

VOICES

Aportation? Constellation. Eons. Position. Hunger.

Fear. Rage. Unimportant. Details. Unintentional. Disappointing. Clues.

JANUAE

(narrate)

I feel myself slipping below the surface, and as I kick, something brushes my foot before wrapping around my leg. Then another creature snakes around my chest and squeezed. I can feel the undulating suckers probing and exploring me as they hold me fast.

It’s not several creatures, but one.

A cephalopod!

I remember the small octopuses of my youth, the ones my father would throw over the side and back into the sea. He had told me to never eat them. His stories of them taking revenge on fisherman for killing their young was another superstition I used to mock.

But at this moment, as I’m being crushed, all I can think is, “I’ve never eaten one of you.“

The arms around my body flex and twist and I’m tossed out of the water. I crash into something hard and cold before being dragged over the rough ground. I’m released and hear a splash behind me. Small droplets of water drip from above.

Am I in a cave?

I fumble in the dark, sliding my hands across the wet ground. The brackish smell of the air inside this place is nauseating. The walls of this place are extremely smooth and cool. It reminds me of the massive snail shells on display in one of the Church’s historical lab.

I stand up carefully, keeping my hands on the wall, hoping to get a sense of the dimensions. Whatever is in the water below is waiting for me. I can’t risk falling in.

I blindly trace my hands on the wall until my palm scrapes against something jagged. It’s a bolt!

I’m in some sort of vessel. I move 10cm to the right, and my fingertips squeak across something.

Glass! I’m on a ship of some kind.

There’s a sudden glow from the window. I crouch to get a better look.

There is a light approaching from what appears to be a great distance.

Is it another ship?

Its approach is slow and steady.

It can’t be a searchlight, it’s too diffused.

As it gets closer it appears to be some sort of lantern, hanging on a thick cable in front of the boat that must be carrying it.

I begin to wave frantically, hoping they see me!

Yes! It begins to get ever closer… and then I see the shape just below the lantern, not of a catamaran or ship but a massive, alien mouth.

It’s a massive angler fish!

Its open jaws contain two rows of long, sword-like teeth.

It’s on a collision course for the hull of this ship.

I feel the air around me tingle and feel myself beginning to jaunt. I am so grateful as the world around me is slowly fading.

Wherever I go next, at least I won’t be eaten.

VOICES

Stimuli. Salvation. Instinctual. Manipulation. Imitable? Suppress. Inspect. Transplant? Replicate. Recall.

JANUAE

I’m wracked with an excruciating pain, as though something is pulling me violently back into reality.

I collapse onto the floor.

I couldn’t jaunt away. Those voices! Whoever is watching me stopped it. I’m trapped.

JANUAE

(upset)

Who are you? How are you doing this?!

JANUAE

(narrate)

The phosphorescent glow of the angler fish is just outside the window. Instead of attempting to ram the ship I’m in, it’s become calm. As though it’s been put in a trance.

The pale green light from its lantern illuminates the room.

I see the skeletal remains of a human being on the floor. The remains are kept together within what appears to be a some kind of synth-lined diving suit. The clues come together in an instant. The angler fish, the diving suit… I’m in a ruined, submersible vehicle of some kind, far below the surface of the ocean. When I thought I was at the surface, I was just in another air pocket of this shipwreck.

The octopus that attacked me threw me into this room. But why? Is this where it stores its food? Around my feet there are the bones of several fish.

One of the jaws I recognize, the Sea Bishop. My father used to cook this for me when…

(jaunt begins again)

VOICES

Recollection. Relocation. Emotion. Feeding.

Drawn. Echoes. Return? Negative. Resonance.

Recognition. Resonance. Return.

JANUAE

I hear you! Who is there? How are you stopping me from leaving?

Come out of the darkness!

JANUAE

(narrate)

I look around in the pale light for a corridor or entryway where someone could be hiding. An ancient control panel stands near where the corpse lay. I walk over to it and find a steel panel with several small holes drilled through it. This type of communicator I remember from my studies as an Aeon Priest. In some parts of the Ninth World, people can still use these to talk over long distances. I place my hand underneath it and attempt to activate it.

JANUAE

Hello? Can you hear me?

VOICES

Distressed. Underdeveloped. Insignificant. Useful. Assimilate.

Educate?

JANUAE

I don’t understand. Hello? Who are you? What do you want from me?

VOICES

Response? Conceptual. Nonlinear. Observe.

Frustrate. Provide.

JANUAE

(narrate)

The light outside the window begins to dim. The angler is leaving the window. While the massive fish could likely swallow me whole, its light is all I have down here to see.

Without it, I’m trapped with a finite amount of air in the pitch black of the deep sea.

No vest, no working artifacts.

I don’t want to die down here.

I sit for hours in the blackness.

I hear occasional movement from outside. Every few minutes, I see a small light or two in the window. They’re likely deep-sea fish that are either nearly microscopic or too far away. I’m hungry. Thirsty. In the darkness of this hull, I fixate on the memory of my brother and I sitting on the docks at dusk. We ate prawns, seasoned with a red curry over rice from what country has rice near the City of Bridges. I had been so hungry from our afternoon work that I had finished mine in less time than it had taken to get it from a vendor and sit down on the dock. My brother offered me the rest of his. The smell was so delicious that I can almost smell it now.

I focus on the memory again. I use all of my will to try to send me away, toward food, even toward my family. I start to jaunt again.

VOICES

Fascination. Uncontrollable. Emotional. Necessary. Unlocked. Useful. Survivable?

Duplicated? Duplicitous. Wasted. Simpleton. Creatures. Irrelevant.

Destiny. Release? Eventually. Continue.

JANUAE

(to those listening)

Why are you doing this to me?!

I don’t want to die here.

JANUAE

(narrate)

The cold, wet deck feels almost porous. My right hand feels as though it’s caught in some muck. It takes effort to pull it out, but when I’m released, I look down and there is no puddle. The floor looks solid. What?

VOICES

Flailing. Empathy. Disappointing. Simple. Complex! Evolved. Evolved? Fantasy. Reality.

Aportation. Memory. Drive.

Desperation. Need.

Control.

JANUAE

(narrate)

Desperation? Aportation? The voices aren’t coming from the console. They’re not even echoing in the hull. They’re in my head. But they’re not hallucinations.

I’m so hungry. Standing up again, the floor of this wreck feels porous, like rotting wood. But I am fairly sure it’s metal. I lean on the console and nearly fall as my arm passes through it!

VOICES

Unexpected. Admirable. Curious. Deadly. Mutation. Evolution! Sympathetic. Untrainable. Instinctual. Novel.

JANUAE

(narrate)

I try to touch the console again. My hand sinks into the surface like it was mud. I retract my hand. In the darkness, it almost looks translucent.

JANUAE

(narrate)

I notice a flickering light on the far wall. It’s coming from a small window at the top of the door. When I reach it, the window is eight centimeters above where I can see, even if I stand on my toes. Frustrated, I try to hit the door, waiting to feel the pain of my fists hitting metal. My hands pass through the door.

With my arms now through the door, up to my elbows, I throw caution to the wind. I may not be able to jaunt, but I will escape. As I pass through the door, I feel the rusty chill of its insides. My belt almost snags itself on the locking mechanism. I nearly panic, but decide to push through. When I make it to the other side of the door, I find the light source.

It’s some sort of display case, but instead of trophies or relics, it appears to be filled with food.

There’s a keypad to the right of me. I recognize the glyphs from my studies. They seem to correspond with the same characters that are underneath each displayed item. I attempt to press two of the buttons, but my finger passes through the keypad. I want to punch the glass, to take what’s inside. But wait, maybe I can selectively use my new ability.

The surface of the glass appears to ripple as my hand passes through. There’s a frosted cake with a clear, shiny bag surrounding it. On the surface of the bag is the face of a happy child. It’s within my grasp and as I grab at it, my fingers pass through the cake as though it isn’t there at all. I try again, and I can feel the glaze of the cake on my fingertips, followed by the sharp pain of the glass in my forearm as I start to solidify.

In my panic, I let go and stumble back, pulling my arm free. The glass is intact. There’s a painful ring around my forearm. But on my fingers is the glaze from the cake. I lick it off greedily.

VOICES

Desperation. Needs. Instinctual. Rally. Repeat. Refrain. Rest. Return.

Unfortunate.

JANUAE

(narrate)

The hull of the wreck begins to shudder.

My stomach turns. The ship is moving. I hear something banging against the hull and the groan of metal. Going through the door is easier this time. The room is filled with a warm, purple light. Outside of the window, massive phosphorescent jellyfish are all I can see.

Slowly, they back away from the window and seem to sink below it. The pressure in my stomach and ears quickly tells me that it’s the opposite. The hull is rising from the deep.

Something is pulling the wreck upward.

My ears pop under the pressure changing. The school of jellyfish has become more spread out. I peer out the window and a long tentacle, the width of my torso presses itself against the glass.

VOICES

Deliverance. Imminent. Species. Nearby.

Prescient? Present. Remorse.

Return.

JANUAE

(narrate)

As the ship continues to ascend, the hole in the wreck continues to bubble. While the air smells foul, it’s keeping the oxygen and pressure within the hull consistent. The movement stops for a moment, and I look out through the window. The water around me is no longer pitch-black. Through the murky blue, I see schools of fish swimming through the currents. I cannot see the surface, and while I feel slightly sick, the reason for this pause is not lost on me.

Whatever is bringing me to the surface understands that if it’s done too quickly, the decompression will kill me. Another suction cupped arm slides across the glass for a moment, probing its surface.

I put my hand to the glass.

VOICES

Unfortunate. Simple. Creature. Singular. Special. Destiny.

Agency. Untrainable. Instinct. Feed. Water. Memory.

Emotion. Memory. Pathway. Memory.

JANUAE

(narrate)

It’s now clear to me, that they’re not actively trying to communicate to me directly.

They’re talking about me. Each word I understand is just the impression behind each of their thoughts. Most of our domesticated animals can learn a few dozen words, “lay down, come. Stop.” These creatures… to them I’m a simple curiosity. Like a pet, or an experiment. But they’re letting me go. Like the octopus we’d throw back into the ocean when I was young.

The hull begins to scrape on something, quietly at first, and then screech under my feet. I feel the tugging of the ship and I nearly lose my footing, but when it stops, I go over to the hole in my shelter and put my hand into the water. I nearly cut myself on the coral shelf they’ve placed me on. I try to gently touch the coral again, and my hand passes through it. What is happening to me?

Outside, the ocean here is bright, its water nearly clear. The arms of my captors are nowhere to be seen. If I’m on a coral shelf, that puts me at the most 12 meters from the surface. Although I haven’t dived in some time, I believe I could hold my breath long enough to make it.

I practice my breathing exercises to prepare for my escape. In, hold. Out. In. hold. Out. I carefully explore the hole in the hull and find that there is just enough room for me to slide into the water and then swim out and up.

I am almost about to do it, when I decide to try something. I think of my vest. I concentrate on the way it felt the first time I used it, the energy signature. The certainty I could travel back to a fixed place. But nothing happens. Okay. Time to swim.

slides into water

It’s cold, but I’m ready for it.

I take in a few more breaths, and with a final, huge breath, I dive. I swim out from the hull and then straight up, kicking hard toward the surface. My lungs burn while I make my way up. I was not the strongest swimmer in my family, preferring to swim through data and history rather than the actual sea. But I can do this, I’m sure I can.

Until I see the shark cutting through the water, headed straight for me. In the billion years of this planet, fossils and records show that this beast has been relatively unchanged through every era. As it’s a meter away, I can’t escape. All of the past twelve hours have been for nothing. I think about the suckers on the glass window, the experimentation and I’m angry. They reached into my mind, toyed with me, just for me to die?!

As it opens its mouth, I’m no longer afraid. Just certain. I will not let it end like this.

The shark passes through me. The monster swims through, confused, and I turn in the water to see it circle back and try again. I feel the water around me, as though my sense of touch had regained its focus. I’m solid. I may not get another chance. As it torpedoes toward me, the arms of an octopus reach out from below me and envelop the shark, pulling its writing, confused predator down.

I feel an unspoken command for me to swim to the surface. Nearly out of air, I push myself toward the blinding light above the waves. I see a dark shadow above me. Through the water, I can hear the echo of voices from above, and feel the impact of someone diving into the water.

As my eyes adjust, I see they’re holding a rope with a small weight attached to the end. They lower it to me, and as soon as I grab it, I’m hoisted up.

The fresh air in my lungs is welcome, even if the coughing fit is not.

I’m pulled onto the vessel by its crew.

Out of the water, I lose consciousness.

SHOUM’S ABODE

SELM

Yes?

COLRED

Yes, hello. I was told this is where I can find the Reverent Shoum?

SELM

Yes, but she’s… can I help you with something?

COLRED

Mind if we come in?

SELM

As a matter of fact, I-

Hey! Excuse me! You can’t just barge in here like that!

COLRED

Penner, close the door.

(beat, looking about)

This place is an absolute disaster. You need to keep a tidier place, Shoum.

SELM

I’m not Shoum and she’s no longer with us, so if you don’t mind-

COLRED

A girl who looks to be about nine years old? I know you’re the Reverent.

SELM

No, I’m the Paramount. You obviously don’t know as much as you think you do. Now please leave me to tend to her affairs.

TEOLNIS

Colred. Over here. Take a look at this?

COLRED

Well… what do we have here?

SELM

That’s it. I’m fetching the sentries.

COLRED

Penner, mind the door. So this must be the teleportation device. Would you mind explaining how this works, Shoum?

SELM

I told you already, I’m not Shoum. I’m Selm, her double. Shoum is dead. I’m here to sort through her things.

COLRED

Teolnis, check out the machine would you? Do you think that’s it?

TEOLNIS

It does look to be the teleportation device, yes.

SELM

You need to leave right now, or I’ll–

COLRED

Or you’ll what, little girl? We’re not going anywhere until you explain how this thing works.

TEOLNIS

I believe I have an idea as to how it works. There’s a lever here that when engaged appears to create a contact between an electro-stone and a small crystal in this chamber. This small disk above it must magnify the field the crystal generates and transmit it to the dais. When this plunger is pressed it projects the field around whomever is standing on the dais.

COLRED

Can you verify this is correct, Shoum?

SELM

I’m going to say this only one more time. I am not the Reverent Shoum. I am the Paramount Selm. She was my duplicate. She was murdered a few weeks ago, she’d been… strangled to death. I had the pleasure of finding her body. When she was killed she took the knowledge of the workings of that thing with her. So I can’t help you, and if I could, I wouldn’t. Now if you don’t mind–

TEOLNIS

Strangled? Who would do such a thing to a child?

COLRED

Who indeed. Selm, is it? Are you familiar with a dark skinned man, just under two meters tall, goes by the name of Januae?

SELM

Januae. Yes.

COLRED

He had been coming here to see the Reverent, hadn’t he?

SELM

He’d come to see her, I’m pretty sure. I don’t know to what extent he worked with her, though.

COLRED

I think the extent to which he “worked with her” is evident. That much is pretty clear. A horrific death by a shatarak was too good for him. Now is there anything more you can tell me about this device?

SELM

I told you-

TEOLNIS

There appears to be some adjustments that can be made to the device, some settings, maybe? The markings are in a script I don’t recognize, likely ancient writings. We would have to study the writings and obtain the core materials to reverse engineer it and create a large scale version of it. All in all, I do believe this is the teleportation device.

COLRED

Excellent. See about disassembling it so we can transport it back to Qi for study.

SELM

Hold on a moment! You’re not taking that! It’s not yours to take!

COLRED

I have an order from the Amber Pope himself that states otherwise. This is numenera that is now property of the Order of Truth. Would you like to examine Pope Durranet’s signet on the document?

SELM

I don’t need to because it doesn’t belong to you. I’ll make sure Empress Challadian hears about this.

COLRED

We’ve already sent word to Archbishop Iijeo that the device is to be remanded to the Order. This device was employed to assist in the escape of a fugitive upon which we had placed a bounty. So if your empress wishes to take it up with the Archbishop she is more than welcome. In the meantime we have a long journey ahead of us. Teolnis, you may proceed with disassembling the device.

SELM

You’re not taking it! This is all I have left of Shoum! Do you understand me? You can’t take it!

It’s my property now, all that she owned now belongs to me!