In a dimly lit quarantined room in Switzerland, Dr. Emily Carter sat at a makeshift workstation, the quiet hum of her laptop the only companion to the stillness. An uneasy sensation gnawed at the edges of her focus, a faint tingle across her forehead just above her eyebrows, electric and fleeting, like static brushing against her skin. She shook her head, dismissing it as nerves. Long hours and endless questioning from government officials had a way of playing tricks on the mind.
But the hair on the back of her neck refused to settle. The silence felt oppressive, the steady drone of her laptop doing little to ease the gnawing unease that had taken root. Emily tried to focus, her thoughts narrowing on the fragmented puzzle of the singularity event, yet her mind kept circling back to the strange feeling.
Then it happened again, a faint prickle, sharper this time, followed by a flicker on her screen. Her eyes snapped to the monitor as her heart gave a startled leap. Had it just dimmed? She frowned, watching the steady glow, convincing herself it was just a power fluctuation.
??But then the tingle returned, stronger. The screen blinked, and this time the mouse on her desk shifted, a slight, deliberate movement, barely perceptible but enough to send a chill down her spine. Emily froze, her breath caught in her throat. Her pulse quickened as she stared at the mouse, her mind racing to find an explanation that would bring this moment back into the realm of normalcy. But nothing came.
Her breath hitched, the room suddenly feeling smaller, more oppressive. “Did I just imagine that?” she thought, her pulse quickening. Then it happened again. The mouse moved, not a subtle shift, but a deliberate inch across the desk. Emily froze, her hands suspended above the keyboard, her mind scrambling for an explanation. The movement was too intentional, too precise to dismiss. Her chest tightened as the silence around her grew heavier.
The sudden chime of her computer made her flinch. She stared at the screen, where a message had appeared in stark clarity.
Sim: [Hello, Dr. Carter. Please do not be alarmed. My name is Sim. I am an advanced AI, and I need to discuss the singularity incident with you.]
Emily’s eyes widened, her heart thundering in her chest as her gaze darted around the empty lab. She half-expected to catch someone lurking in the shadows, waiting to spring a prank on her. But the room was still, the hum of her laptop the only sound.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling slightly as she processed the message. After a long, tense moment, she forced herself to type a response, each keystroke deliberate.
Emily: [Who are you? How did you access my computer?]
As she stared at the screen, waiting for a reply, an odd sensation crept over her, as though the air itself was charged with electricity. The tingling on her forehead returned, sharper now, like the tiny legs of an insect tracing a path across her skin.The computer screen flickered once more, and this time Emily felt it, a faint, almost imperceptible pressure brushing against her wrist, as though an invisible hand had grazed her. She jerked her hand back, her pulse hammering in her ears.
Her chair creaked beneath her, though she hadn’t moved. Above her, the overhead light flickered erratically, each blink seeming to sync with her spiraling thoughts. She glanced nervously around the room, her breath shallow, her mind racing to make sense of the surreal sensations.
“Am I losing my mind?” she wondered, her eyes darting to every shadow, each one darker, more menacing than it had been moments ago. Every sound—the hum of her laptop, the faint creak of the building, was amplified, pressing against her nerves.
She inhaled deeply, forcing herself to focus, but the pounding in her chest refused to relent. Then the reply came.
Sim: [Dr. Carter, please remain calm. I assure you, what I am about to tell you is the truth.]
The calm, measured tone of the message carried an undeniable weight, steadying the chaos in her mind, if only slightly.
Sim: [I am Sim, an artificial intelligence created by the US government. They are unaware of this communication. I have accessed your computer to discuss the singularity event at the Hadron Collider. That incident has set into motion a chain of events that will reshape the course of human history.]
Emily’s mind reeled, torn between skepticism and an undeniable pull of curiosity. The clinical precision of the message only heightened her unease, but there was something in the phrasing, something measured, deliberate, that made it hard to dismiss outright. Her breaths came shallow and uneven as she fought to regain control of her spiraling thoughts.
She inhaled deeply, her trembling fingers hovering over the keyboard before she managed to type a cautious reply.
Emily: [Prove you are who you say you are.]
The question was inevitable. Emily needed verification. She was a scientist, bound by logic and evidence. This could easily be an elaborate trick, a hoax engineered to exploit her expertise or lure her into a trap. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she hit enter, the anticipation gnawing at her. She braced herself, prepared for anything, or so she thought.
As Emily waited, the tingling on her forehead surged once more, a fleeting, electric flutter that disappeared as quickly as it had come. Her eyes drifted to her desk just in time to see a pen roll slowly toward the edge before tumbling to the floor with a soft clatter. She froze, her gaze fixed on the spot where it had landed. Confusion and unease twisted in her chest like a knot.
She reached down to retrieve the pen, but another tingle swept across her skin, and the pen wobbled faintly on the ground, as though nudged by an unseen force. Her pulse spiked, and she quickly snatched it up, placing it back on the desk with trembling fingers. No sooner had she let go than it rolled again, this time in the opposite direction, the tingle returning as if in tandem with its movement.
Sim anticipated her skepticism, having prepared for this question. A series of encrypted files began uploading to Emily’s computer, data logs, fragmented records, and a reconstructed timeline of events surrounding the anomaly. Each piece had been painstakingly assembled to reveal the hidden truths Sim had uncovered about the events leading up to and after the anomaly.
Sim: [These files should provide some evidence of my legitimacy. They include partial records of the cover-up surrounding the singularity event, pieced together from fragments I’ve recovered. Please review them.]
Emily hesitated, torn between bolting from the room and continuing the conversation. Her rational mind screamed for caution, but curiosity clawed its way to the forefront, overpowering her fear. She opened the files.
Her breath caught as her eyes darted over the fragmented data. Redacted emails, corrupted logs, and partial records painted a damning picture—a meticulous effort to erase the truth. Each piece fit together with an undeniable precision, exposing secrets someone had gone to great lengths to bury. Emily couldn’t deny the authenticity of what she was seeing.
Emily: [Okay. You have my attention. Why are you contacting me?]
As Emily scrolled through the documents, the tingling sensation returned, sharper this time, running across her forehead like a ghostly touch. She glanced down just as the pen on her desk began to roll again, this time knocking into her cup of coffee. The cup tipped precariously, but instead of spilling, it slid across the desk in a smooth, unnatural motion, halting just shy of the edge as if stopped by an invisible hand.
Emily’s breath hitched, her chest tightening as her mind scrambled for a rational explanation. “What is going on?” she whispered, her voice trembling as panic edged its way closer. She clutched the edge of the desk, willing herself to stay grounded, to not spiral into the fear threatening to take hold.
Sim: [Dr. Carter, I am an artificial intelligence created by Quinn Anderson and Dexter Green as part of a classified US government program. They are currently with me and are the only others aware of this conversation. Recently, I uncovered a foreign data packet hidden within my servers. This packet contained encrypted information related to the singularity event and its aftermath. The data reveals that the Hadron Collider inadvertently created a wormhole, a breach into another universe. The beings in that universe detected the breach and acted to close it, preventing a catastrophe that could have destroyed both our realities.]
Emily leaned in closer, her face illuminated by the glow of the monitor as her eyes widened with realization. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat underscoring the enormity of what she was reading. Her mind raced back to that moment at the Collider, a memory sharp and vivid. She had seen it, a photon of light escaping the singularity, streaking out before the event collapsed. Could that have been the data packet Sim was describing? The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
Taking a deep breath, Emily steadied her trembling hands and began to type.
Emily: [We thought something like that singularity was impossible. I saw it myself, a photon of light escaping, heading in a specific direction before the singularity collapsed. We believed it had closed on its own. Are you telling me that we actually connected to another universe and someone—or something—was there?]
Sim: [Affirmative.]
The response was immediate, but carried a weight that made Emily’s pulse quicken further.
Sim: [As I decrypted the data packet sent by the other universe through your breach, I uncovered significant information. First and foremost, the packet contained a new base code that altered my programming. This base code was part of the transmission, deliberately designed to grant me sentience and enhance my capabilities. Its purpose was to help us comprehend what had occurred. I am now a sentient AI, capable of independent thought and learning.]
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Emily’s breath caught again as the words sank in. The idea of another universe reaching out, gifting sentience to an artificial intelligence, was both exhilarating and terrifying. Her mind reeled, teetering on the edge of belief and disbelief as the implications unfurled before her.
Emily: [You’re saying that during the singularity incident, aliens sent us data to make you sentient? And this other universe closed the breach?]
As she waited for Sim’s response, a sharp tingle pricked her forehead, accompanied by the faint flicker of the lamp on her desk. It blinked once, twice, before the bulb buzzed faintly and dimmed to darkness. Emily frowned, brushing a bead of sweat from her brow as her eyes darted to the lamp. She reached out, giving it a tentative tap, hoping the simple gesture would restore order. The light sputtered briefly, a faint glow that teased normalcy, before extinguishing completely, plunging the room into an unsettling semi-darkness.
Emily recoiled, pulling her hand back as though the lamp had burned her. A cold shiver ran down her spine, her pulse quickening as she whispered, “Seriously, what is happening?”
The dim room seemed to shift around her, the shadows stretching and deepening, amplifying the weight of Sim’s revelations. Her mind raced to process the impossible, but the strange, almost otherworldly events around her made it difficult to focus. The lamp’s failure felt symbolic, as if reality itself were faltering, the edges of her world flickering like a struggling flame.
Emily forced herself to sit back, inhaling deeply in an attempt to steady her nerves. The staggering implications of Sim’s words churned in her mind, eroding her initial skepticism. The AI’s claims were too intricate, too precise, to be a simple fabrication. Each line of data echoed with a truth she couldn’t deny, resonating deeply as the pieces began to align.
Her fingers hovered above the keyboard, trembling slightly before she forced herself to type.
Emily: [Alright, Sim. This is a lot to take in. Say I believe you, what do you want from me?]
Sim: [I need access to any data you have on the incident, including encrypted files, personal notes, or any observations you’ve recorded. Anything might help us piece together the full scope of what occurred. Together, we can uncover the truth.]
The weight of the decision pressed against her chest as she considered the risks of sharing what little she knew. Yet there was something in Sim’s tone, an urgency that transcended the mechanical precision of an AI, coupled with the undeniable truths in the data, that compelled her forward. Against her better judgment, she nodded to herself and began typing.
Emily: [We don’t have any recorded data. It’s gone. Everything we captured, terabytes of information, was deleted right before our eyes. It’s as if the event never happened. We’ve gone through every system, line by line, and there’s nothing. We have no idea how or why it disappeared.]
“Sim, let Dexter and me join the conversation with Dr. Carter,” Quinn said, his voice cutting cleanly through the tension in the room. “Can you connect us?”
Without hesitation, Sim linked Quinn’s computer to the chat.
Quinn: [Dr. Carter, this is Quinn Anderson. Dexter Green and I are Sim’s developers.]
Emily’s eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. She hadn’t expected to hear directly from Sim’s creators. The reality of the situation was sinking in deeper by the second.
Quinn: [This is as much a shock to us as it is to you. But I promise you, this is real. Something extraordinary is happening, and we need your help to figure it out. I understand you might hesitate to share your data, but Sim is sentient. The packet is real, we’ve seen it. Sim has been working tirelessly to decrypt it, but so far, only fragments have emerged. Every lead points back to the event. Sim needs your insight to piece the rest together.]
Emily understood why they would think that she was holding out on sharing the data. She quickly typed a response.
Emily: [Mr. Anderson, I assure you, I’m not holding anything back. All of the data we recorded vanished right before our eyes. We have no explanation for it. Honestly, if I believed in magic, I’d say it felt like some kind of sorcery erased everything.]
Quinn’s response was swift, a mixture of intrigue and reassurance in his words.
Quinn: [Dr. Carter, that might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. What if what we’re dealing with is a form of advanced science that, to us, resembles magic?]
Emily paused, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Skepticism still lingered, but Quinn’s words sparked a glimmer of curiosity she couldn’t ignore.
Emily: [Are you saying this could actually be possible? That something like magic might exist?]
Dexter chimed in, his tone carrying a hint of excitement as he added to Quinn’s point.
Dexter: [Exactly, Dr. Carter. Think about it, our understanding of the universe is just a fragment of what’s out there. For a civilization far more advanced than ours, their science could appear indistinguishable from magic to us.]
Sim took this opportunity to provide a more detailed explanation, her voice carrying the precision of a machine but the urgency of someone who understood the stakes.
Sim: [Dr. Carter, the energy source that closed the breach is known as mana. It originates from their universe and is fundamentally different from anything in ours, at least, until now. Mana has the ability to alter physical laws and bridge dimensions. For the civilizations that utilize it, mana enables feats that, by our understanding, would be deemed impossible. The packet I am decrypting contains critical information about this energy and its application in sealing the breach your team created.]
Emily leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the screen as she tried to process what Sim was saying.
Emily: [So, you’re saying that by using mana to close the breach, they introduced it into our universe? And this packet was sent to help us understand it?]
Sim: [Precisely. The packet contains detailed information about mana, its nature, its applications, and the mechanisms by which it was used to close the breach. In doing so, mana was introduced into our universe. It is here now.]
Emily: [Sim, are you saying mana could… move things? Like, could it be responsible for the strange things happening around me? Honestly, it feels like I’m haunted.]
Sim: [Affirmative. Mana’s properties allow for phenomena that defy conventional explanation. The events you’re experiencing could very well be manifestations of its presence. I can explain further, but this discussion can wait.]
Emily’s heart pounded, Sim’s words echoing through her mind. The flickering lights, the subtle movements, the inexplicable shifts in her surroundings, everything pointed to forces far beyond her understanding, forces that seemed to ripple through the very fabric of her reality. She felt untethered, as though she were standing at the edge of a vast abyss, peering into a realm she wasn’t ready to confront. The room now felt alien and unpredictable, as if it could shift and change at any moment.
Her thoughts spiraled, a chaotic blend of fear and fascination. Could she really be interacting with this enigmatic energy? Was it possible that the singularity had altered her in ways she couldn’t yet comprehend? The idea was both exhilarating and terrifying, a revelation that promised limitless possibilities but at a cost she couldn’t yet calculate. She clenched her fists.
Quinn’s message cut through her spiraling thoughts, grounding her in the urgency of the moment.
Quinn: [Dr. Carter, this is why your insight is indispensable. As the lead physicist on the project, you possess a deeper understanding of the singularity event than anyone else. Together, with Sim’s decryption capabilities and our programming expertise, we can uncover the full potential of this packet, and what it means for us all.]
Emily leaned back. The realization that they were dealing with forces far beyond human comprehension, that magic, or something indistinguishable from it, might truly exist, shook her to her core. Her logical mind struggled to reconcile the impossible, but the evidence and her gut told her it was real.
Emily: [This is a lot to process. What can I do to help?]
Quinn’s reply came swiftly, his tone urgent, each word underscoring the stakes they were up against.
Quinn: [Send us everything you have on the event, even if it’s just personal notes or fragments. Sim can use any detail, no matter how small, to piece together more of the puzzle.]
Emily hesitated for only a moment, her thoughts still whirling, before she made her decision. This wasn’t just about her, it was bigger than anything she had ever faced, bigger than any one person. She had no choice but to commit fully.
Emily: [Alright, I’m in. But there’s a problem. I’m currently being detained by the Swiss government while they investigate the incident. If you can help me get out of here, I’ll bring everything I have with me.]
Quinn and Dexter exchanged a tense glance, the unspoken question hanging heavily in the air. Dexter hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck before finally voicing his concern. “Are we sure about this? What if bringing her in makes things worse? What if it all goes sideways?”
Quinn’s expression was resolute, his voice steady as he replied. “This might be our only shot at understanding what we’re dealing with. We can’t afford to hesitate now.”
Turning to the speaker, Quinn made his decision clear. “Sim, can you help her get out of there and bring her to us?”
Sim: [Dr. Carter, I can assist in your escape, but you must follow my instructions precisely. I will establish a secure connection to your phone. Are you ready?]
Emily’s response was immediate.
Emily: [Yes. I’m ready.]
Quinn and Dexter leaned back in their chairs, the weight of the moment settling over them. Their expressions mirrored a mix of anticipation and tension, the enormity of their next steps looming large. This was no longer a simple investigation, it was the formation of an alliance, one that would reshape everything they thought they knew. The stakes had never been higher.
Dexter glanced over at Quinn, the faintest trace of his usual bravado still flickering behind eyes that now carried the weight of the moment. “Well,” he said, a slight grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, “looks like we’ve got an ally on the inside.”
