The Chimera Project by Taber A.P

Author:Taber, A.P.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InkBound Press
Published: 2023-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The Fold

The moment our ship entered the fold in space, my stomach lurched. It felt like every cell in my body was being stretched and compressed simultaneously. I gripped the armrests of my seat, trying to maintain some semblance of control. The world collapsed in a blinding display of brilliant colors, strobing lights, and iridescent hues as the ship activated its FTL—Faster Than Light—drive. The moment the threshold of normalcy shattered, the contents of my stomach made an earnest attempt at staging a rebellion. Each cell of my being, it seemed, was contorted between the cruel symphony of spatial elongation and abrupt compression, as if my genetic code were nothing more than a cosmic accordion played by uncaring forces of the universe.

Every inch of the cold, metallic armrest bit into the clammy skin of my palms as I clung to my seat. My eyes, wide with terror and awe, absorbed the unfolding cosmic panorama with morbid fascination. Everything was warped beyond recognition—the rigid lines of the spaceship’s interior architecture were distorted into funhouse mirror versions of themselves, melting and reforming in the ship’s translucent force field. It was as if reality was being sucked into a colossal Van Gogh painting, only to re-emerge at the other end of the spectrum with a refreshed palette.

Through the panoramic viewing panel, space wasn’t just black anymore. We weren’t merely traversing space. We were punching through the fabric of reality.

Beneath my feet, the ship hummed a symphony of raw power, its quantum engines manipulating the very nature of space-time. The feeling of quantum entanglement was hard to explain; it was a prickling sensation and a sense of oneness with the universe.

“Everyone all right?” Mac asked from the pilot’s seat.

“Define ‘all right,’” Blair muttered. With a pale face, she struggled to focus on the console before her. Trella and Fender exchanged uneasy glances.

“Engaging sub-light engines,” Mac announced. “We’ll be at Luehiri in approximately ten klicks.”

A cold pit of anxiety opened in my chest. Ten klicks to save a species.

“Remember, we have one shot at this,” I said. “If we don’t rescue Yohzak and the other Vihilians from Z’hleena’s stronghold, their entire race could be wiped out.”

“Failure isn’t an option, Neo,” Fender growled. “We won’t let you down.”

“Preparing for atmospheric entry,” Mac warned. The ship shuddered violently as we hit Luehiri’s atmosphere, but Mac expertly guided us through the turbulence.

“Neo,” Trella whispered, leaning toward me. “You must focus on your empathic abilities during this mission. It may give us the edge we need.” I nodded.

As we touched down on Luehiri, the alien landscape loomed before us, covered in a dense fog that seemed to swallow everything in its path. The soft hum of the ship’s engines faded away, leaving us with only the eerie silence of this new world.

“All right, listen up,” I said. “The first step is to locate Z’hleena’s stronghold. Even without the chip, I believe we can get there. Yohzak showed me that it’s hidden beneath the surface as a subterranean maze of cells.

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