Under a Starless Sky

Jon woke to find himself in a space they called ‘High Conference.’ He was not on the circle, a line on the floor that was illuminated and loosely defined a place where people stood during meetings. It was a ‘virtual’ space, a place where crew avatars met when it was too inconvenient for the body to be present in an impromptu meeting. He was near the dome, looking out into space. The outside view didn’t have to be space. It could be anything they wished to project. Alien world landscapes, or underwater environments. It usually reflected where they were in space-time. The ‘space’ looked familiar, like he should know it, and he struggled to make it fit. A portion of a nearby nebula sufficiently illuminated by nearby stars- could have been a mountain only there was clearly stars to one side. It looked alive, flowing, shifting. Lightening illuminated it from the inside. He touched the dome, tracing out a square and retreated the section out so that he saw more of the nebula- and recognized the Pillars of Creation. He was no longer interested.

The dome responded to his request- suggesting he was really back on the ship. As he focused, though, he realized he could see his reflection on the dome. He must have been all of 8. He would be 52 years old in a month, and here he was, in 8 year old body! The recoil nearly had him running for help.

What stopped him from running was the reflection beyond him. A brunette, Egyptian styled haircut, a bit longer than she usually wore it, touching her shoulders. Her smile moved constellations of freckles. He turned, and she was still there. Solid real. Her uniform suggested Star Trek, only the gold top was comprised of two tone sequins, and if you rubbed her, she’d have a streak rainbow heavy on the violet instead of the gold layer. She was fit thin, yet well endowed. Her eyes were upturned, hooded, almond shaped- mesmerizing, emerald green, a noticeable artifact in the right eye, a feature of central heterochromia. She was brunette, bold, dark eyebrows, freckled with discernable constellations on her cheeks; the right cheek could be the Ursa Major. The prominent left constellation sometimes changed, likely a trick of perspective. Sometimes Jon thought he saw the ‘Chameleon Constellation.’ At the most direct angle, he clearly found the ‘star point’ “Capella,” and then the Constellation ‘Auriga’ naturally fell prominent. Capella was fitting, Latin for female goat, as Jon was a Capricorn. Auriga was intriguing because it translated into Charioteer, as their team call sign was Solarchariot. Her nose was slightly upturned. If she pouted, the fullness of her lips made a heart shape. If she smiled, rooms noticeably brightened.

Loxy was an enigma. The love of his life. The First Officer of his ship. He hugged her. It was beyond strange because his head met her stomach, her hands came to his shoulder, then cupped his head, holding him close. She withdrew, holding his arms at shoulder, and knelt down.

“Don’t fucking do that,” Jon said.

She smirked. “Come to eye level?”

“Oh,” Jon said. ‘She’s not treating you like a child,’ he told himself He frowned. He sighed. Tears welled and dropped. “Sorry. Ship status?”

Loxy nodded. Business first. “We’re good,” Loxy assured him.

“We’re not good. What is this, episode Rascals, TNG?” Jon asked.

“Much more complicated, I assure you,” Loxy said. “Likely less fun, considering your present emotional state.”

“My emotional state is appropriate,” Jon snapped. He frowned, clenching fist. He forced himself to unclench, and a hand came up. “For being all of eight, and the contextual confusion. I have been trying to reach you.”

“We know,” Loxy said. “You’re aware that you’re not here.”

“Oh, fuck me. Yes I am. The computer responded…”

“It recognized your presence,” Loxy agreed.

“Hence, here,” Jon said.

“High Conference is sublime enough to reach you even there,” Loxy said.

“If I accessed the virtual deck, why am I still 8?” Jon asked.

Loxy smiled. “You like being 8?”

“No!”

“Better 8 than your original 8?” Loxy asked, probing into his life situation.

“It’s different,” Jon said. “Okay. Yes. Remarkably improved. Not the point.”

“Jon, your avatar is likely a projection of how you feel. Eight. Confused. Not in control.”

“I don’t have to be in control,” Jon argued.

“Yeah, you do. Don’t get me wrong. You’re good at letting go, more than most people, but you also hold onto stuff,” Loxy said. “You can be any age here. It’s just a matter of doing it.”

Jon nodded. “Okay, I accept that. Now let’s talk about recovering me.”

“Okay,” Loxy said. “First, how much do you remember?”

“I remember everything up to a point. I don’t know how I got to Tamor,” Jon said.

“Tamor is the name of the world?” Loxy asked.

“I think so. Or the continent I am on. Much of the information is privileged to female gender,” Jon said. “I am listening. I am trying to remote view things. It would be better if they would let me write. I don’t feel very successful relying on new memories.”

“What do you remember prior to being there?”

“Nothing. That’s a gap. I remember all of my life. This life here with you. I remember my life before you. I remember several other incarnations, with you,” Jon said. He smiled. “I remember us, here….” He paused from realization. “I remember other lives with you. Away Missions? Some of these lives, I don’t remember remembering prior to being on Tamor.”

“That’s interesting,” Loxy said.

Jon’s look indicated he didn’t share her enthusiasm.

“Whatever your experience was, you didn’t lose your memory. Or much of it. You gained some memories. Almost like hypnosis,” Loxy said. “This is good.”

is this

“I don’t have to start your education completely

“Education?”

me assure you, you and I are still connected. Don’t go trying to make another tulpa me. I will come to you. You will experience full imposition

lonely now,”

incarnation of you,” Loxy said. “Kind of a theme of many of

his forehead against hers. He longed to hear her voice in his head, telepathic transmission, something stronger than the memory of

“They call me

said.

Jon retreated. “Do

“Are they Chinese?”

evidence in facial feature for Japanese

Loxy

“I am eight,” Jon

Loxy said. He glared. “Okay, maybe twelve-ish. But you are still

fifty one years old,” Jon said. He wrung out his hands. “In an eight year old body. I have wanted do-overs, but

said. “Not since Little Man.” Little Man was code for Jon’s son in

“Is this a

tangential universe,” Loxy said. “We’re still trying to

have heard rumor of another

wouldn’t be able to access the virtual deck. I

experience what they experienced. No one remote viewer ever experienced the same thing. Some were visual, others auditory, and some tactile. The more remote viewers on the ship, the greater the AI’s ability to bring coherence to the data retrieved. The ship’s ability to teleport to other locations was

the dome. She opened up several squares, putting faces inside. The first to come up was Lanore, followed by Tama,

Jon said, saying their names. He touched Lanore. “She gave

Loxy said.

thought you kept touching me, reassuring me, but in hindsight, I guess that was Tama,” Jon said. “How did you get

found you, we’ve been gathering intel,” Loxy said. “Tell us what you know of

the way. Every time I try to perceive the whole world, I get flashbacks to

seemed amused. “That’s

can’t get around that

an image of the Death Star on

answer was almost assuredly the correct one, but then he had second thoughts. “It’s not a space station.

we get, too. They don’t

but many of the names, they

a colony world?”

the abundance of rabbits,” Jon

“So they have familiar

you mean. There are stories of dragons and bears that walk upright,” Jon said. He sighed. “The thing that bothers me the most about the

evidence that Loxy was having an inner conversation with someone else, if her eyes going up and to the right meant anything. It was not uncommon when in High Conference to see someone ‘check out’ and then return. In this virtual space, they were avatars. When she focused, she had made a decision to respond. She didn’t look concern. It wasn’t like she was about to reveal, ‘you have cancer and six weeks to live.’ She was serious, however. Professional. Not her usual good humor,

wormhole.” She illustrated on the dome. “The black hole on this side is approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. The one on

a wasp trap? Souls are too stupid to go the narrow

single planet. It wasn’t hard to find them, as they’re only other significant artifacts other than the black hole. The size of the pocket, the stability of the pocket and the star’s orbit around the

what purposes?” Jon

“There is only one species in the galaxy with the technology capable of making such a space. Reasons for creating a space is for security. They establish pocket colonies to ensure their species survival. They do it for experimentation. If something goes wrong, they can cut the cord and set the pocket adrift. Pocket universes can come into existence naturally, but this feels contrived. Not sinister.

did I

entity. You were kidnapped,” Loxy

“Go on,”

engineer humans. Maybe it just needed you to be a child. For whatever

“Why?” Jon asked.

Loxy said. She looked up, nodded,

“No! Why?”

noticing a decay in

mean? Plot contrivance feel here,” Jon

“Yeah. Do you have any

can’t take My Enterprise through

cannot,” Loxy

you beam me

for you to build a

likely, not with their tech, in my life

that kidnapped you,” Loxy said.

when I find