Chapter Text
The Fermi Paradox asks us, if the universe is so vast, so limitless, then why aren’t we seeing signs of life outside our own planet?
There are theories, of course. There’s the idea that life is so rare, so unique, that only Earth has managed it after all this time.
Other sentient life could be so different from us, in appearance or genetic makeup or function, that we can’t detect them. They’re invisible to the human eye, and we don’t even realize they’re right under our noses.
Others think that extinction-level events are far too frequent to allow life to flourish for long. Earth has survived a surprising amount of them, at the loss of entire species, of course. It’s only a matter of time before it runs out of road.
Maybe we were the aliens all along, remnants of genetic material left here by another civilization long ago.
Humans are also prone to driving competing species to extinction. Others could be aware of us, but are keeping quiet to protect themselves from humanity’s selfish, expansionist inclinations.
Perhaps they are out there, but we aren’t reaching out, or they aren’t trying to receive, and between the two of us no one is talking.
And then there’s the possibility that none of it is real, that our reality is just a simulation or mass hallucination. We haven’t met anyone else because those in charge won’t let us.
But even if these are true, there is still a possibility that something could happen. That more than one civilization will beat the odds. If the conditions are right, if they reflect the statistic of space being 99% empty, a man will go into space and come in contact with nothing but the immense nothingness of the universe. He will return home, maybe with some data or rock samples, having met only stardust.
And if that’s the case, then it would take everything going very, very wrong for a man to go into space and find six more waiting for him. Either that, or there’s an amateur writer out there who understands absolutely nothing about statistics. One of those is probably more likely. But that would also relate to statistics, so don’t take my word for it.
*****
The Hail Mary has long been prepared for a launch that its caretakers never intended to carry out. It has instead served as a memorial, a museum for Eridians to wander at leisure and learn about the first contact that saved both planets. The ship was refueled with astrophage anyway, the incredibly efficient energy source now in abundance. Dr. Ryland Grace has expressed his desire to stay on Erid many times, but they want to cover all their bases, just in case he changes his mind. He did save their planet, after all. He tried his best to not let it get to his head.
For now, the Hail Mary sat in orbit, a long shot no more. The winning point scored in the name of Erid and all of humanity. It had earned a lengthy rest.
It just wouldn’t get to enjoy it quite yet.
*****
The thrum had lasted a solid 36 hours. All of the greatest minds on Erid had spent that time discussing the implications of a far off (but slowly approaching) signal from an unidentified point in empty space. Not necessarily a distress signal. Just something trying to communicate. Was it benevolent? Should they attempt further contact or leave it be? Were there other stars being dimmed by astrophage? If so, could they offer assistance? There was much to discuss.
But the strangest part?
It had managed to enter the thrum, even from that distance.
And it spoke the same language as the human.
*****
Grace hurried down his steps to the beach, pulling on his cardigan as he went.
“Rocky, I know you want to go right now, but this is a big deal. We need to talk about it first. Are they sure it was a human language?” That was the part he kept getting hung up on. “Specifically English?”
“Of course sure. Human language so slow and simple, is easy to identify. Different pitch but so are all humans in movies. Spoke words already know from Grace.” Rocky had left anxious prints in the sand, walking in circles as he waited for his friend to get up. He had taken off as soon as Grace had appeared.
“But it was part of the thrum. That shouldn’t be possible.”
“What other Eridians could be in space, question?”
“I guess no one. Do you think they…” Grace could barely form the words, his mind reeling. “Could they have sent someone else from Earth? We didn’t mention anything about the thrum in the beetles we sent back. They wouldn’t have been able to understand anything about its function.”
“Would be good news,” Rocky mused. “If Earth organized enough for space travel, conditions there are very stable.”
“I can only hope,” Grace sighed. They knew that Earth’s sun had stopped dimming, but without contact, they had no idea of the extent of the damage on Earth. Grace prayed constantly that they had done enough, quickly enough, to help more people survive. He held out hope for his students, for the others who were working on the project, and yes, he even held out hope for Stratt, wherever she was now.
“Eridians considering launching another ship. Make contact with visitors, find out if in danger or friend.”
“How would we even track down where it’s coming from?” Grace peered up at the sky, squinting for any sign of a disturbance in Erid’s atmosphere, before remembering that it was just the biodome’s projection.
“Can find.” Rocky answered. “Is close now. Barely out of Erid’s orbit.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Grace rubbed his eyes, thinking. “If there was a human ship that close, you would be able to see it somehow.”
“Cannot explain how. Only know that Eridians can hear, and can find. Is important that we check.”
“Okay.” Grace blew out a tense breath. “Okay. If it is a human ship, I need to go up to meet them.”
“No no no.” Rocky stomped. “Grace not need to go back into space. Does not have to leave if does not want. Grace body no longer efficient in space. Eridians can handle.”
“I know, Rock, but whether they watched the video logs from the beetles or not, I have no idea what they’ll do if they make contact with other Eridians. If they’ll make… the right choices.”
“What choices, question?”
“I don’t know what has changed on Earth, or how trusting a larger group of humans will be. Maybe they’re still in trouble, and they knew that Erid would have information and resources. I need to brief them on how to move forward. And ensure that they’re going to respect Erid and everyone here. No landing without express permission.”
“Fine. Grace go, Rocky go too, statement.”
Grace didn’t even bother to argue. He put his hand on the faded burn scar on his opposite arm. Despite their hopes that it wouldn’t ever be necessary again, there was an unspoken agreement in place. If one of them were in trouble, the other had the choice to help, even if it risked themselves. Rocky knew that choices were very important to Grace, though it wasn’t a decision that took him long to make. Grace would go back into space to make sure Erid was safe. Likewise, Rocky would follow him. Their choices tended to work hand in hand.
“Excited to meet other humans!” Rocky bounded along happily, the stern tone fading from his voice. “Speak to Earth anthropologists. Meet Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.”
Grace snorted. “I am 99 percent positive The Rock will not be on that ship.”
“What other one percent, question?”
“Celebrity space tourism was an idea in the works before the whole astrophage debacle.” Grace shrugged. “Who knows, maybe it really took off afterwards.” He did his best to hurry after Rocky, who eventually slowed to match his pace.
“Need to go back for cane, question?” Rocky asked.
“No, I think I’m good right now,” Grace replied. “After we’re briefed by the others, we can go back to get what we need. What’s more important is that you could understand what the signal was communicating. What did they have to say?”
“Oh! Is confusing. Not sure if different meaning from individual words. Said variation of ‘Intercourse friend’. This other human word for mate, question?”
“Intercourse friend??” Grace asked, aghast. “That’s it?”
“Not exact translation, and not all words clear. Thought best to use scientific term, since this is scientific discovery. Exact words are ‘Sex Pal’. Did not think Grace would like that version.”
“Yeah, I mean, the connotation isn’t great.”
*****
Thanks to the Eridian’s xenonite elevator, and their natural proclivity for getting things done in record time, it didn’t take long to get things ready for launch. The Hail Mary’s interior was as it always looked, with the exception of a few additions and improvements. In preparation for the trip, the hull had been fortified with xenonite. It was sturdier, sleeker, more efficient. The Eridians had also figured out how to make running water function while the centrifuge was active. Grace liked actual showers too much. There was an unspoken agreement that it was essential to his wellbeing. (Unspoken was relative, Grace had his suspicions that it was brought up during thrums on occasion. The thought of his personal hygiene being discussed by a council made him immensely uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as he would have been without hot running water.)
Rocky had also added a bit of Eridian decor, small carvings inlaid with gems, lines of metal chimes. It helped to dilute some of the tense atmosphere of the place. Yes, it was where Grace and Rocky had first met and discovered the solution to saving their planets. But it also was tinged with memories of terror, danger, claustrophobia, starvation. Rocky had suggested they build an entirely new ship, but Grace thought it would be best that they use the ship made on Earth. Familiar sights could make communication with any possible humans less jarring.
Many Eridians desperately wanted to join the crew, which Grace argued firmly against. First contact shouldn’t be overwhelming. He didn’t know how a human crew would react to multiple Eridians scurrying aboard their ship. After negotiations and precautions were taken care of, they’d get many more chances to meet the other humans.
*****
Several days earlier, but maybe not because it was in a different universe and also taking place in someone’s mind:
(Actually, time is relative and reality is inconclusive so kindly ignore everything I just said. It happened, take my word for it.)
The Warden gasped as all the air was knocked out of him for what felt like the hundredth time. The hooded attendant that suplexed him moments ago looked down at him. Its face was nothing but a void, and he suspected it was just a skeletal construct. He stared back at it and sighed in annoyance before returning his glasses to their proper place.
“Are we done yet?” A pale woman with blonde, nearly white hair sat nearby on a chaise lounge, looking unimpressed. She emphasized her apparent boredom by drawing out each word much longer than necessary. “Honestly, Warden, what is your approach here?”
“Sheer tenacity,” he groaned, carefully getting to his feet, “and the assumption that you are expending an irresponsible amount of energy by repeatedly designing ostentatious outfits for yourself.”
“I apologize for being born into a House that prefers not to dress as if they’ve just crawled out of a ball of lint.”
“The ruffle on your bodice says otherwise.” He dodged another hit from the construct.
But Palamades did have to admit to himself that there was no clear plan. Well, there had been one, but he was already at the end of it. Ianthe and his cavalier would duel and Camilla would lose. The struggle would allow for the brief physical contact he’d need to jump from the body he shared with Camilla to Ianthe’s. He’d infiltrate her mind, and that would be it. The plan had worked smoothly up until that last point. Now it was just a matter of perseverance.
He sighed and steeled himself for either another thrashing, or more of Ianthe’s bizarre murder mystery roleplay. He already knew which he preferred.
At that exact moment, as Ianthe launched into another condescending and lengthy quip, Palamedes felt an odd pressure in his inner ear.
For a moment, he was sure it was just tinnitus, or Ianthe inflicting some kind of new, sadistic trick. But as he raised his hands to his ears, he recognized that the sound wasn’t necessarily harmful or unpleasant.
It was oddly melodic, like hundreds of instruments being played in unison, the sounds produced by all these voices coalescing into a faint hum.
Ianthe seemed too lethargic about the events unfolding around her to care. “Because if you’re just going to keep showing up and asking the same question, I’m not interested in—”
“Shh.” He hissed. “Did you hear that?”
“I’m sorry, maybe I misheard. Did you shush me just now?”
“I did, Tridentarius, and it’s a habit I would love to devote more practice to in time, but I think I need to step outside for a moment.”
He couldn’t figure out exactly where the sound was coming from, but as he reached out into Ianthe’s mindscape, he could detect something pulling him in one direction. It was like water swirling down a drain, bringing everything down into the abyss. Palamedes took a few steps away from Ianthe, facing the endless darkness that ringed her fabricated stage.
“Finally giving up? Lovely. As little as it means to me, I wasn’t looking forward to sullying Babs' body by wiping up all of your cavalier’s blood, so thank you for this very drawn out diversion.” Ianthe gave an exaggerated yawn.
“No, I should be back in just a moment.”
“By all means, feel free not to!” She called after him as he hopped off the stage and wandered toward this strange magnetic pull.
*****
He felt his way through the darkness, pushing away his suspicion that he had made a fantastic mistake. When he was finally considering turning back, he glimpsed something in the void. It wasn’t a light source, not exactly, but there was a discrepancy in the air in front of him, as if the depth of the nothingness ahead had shifted. The hum grew louder as he approached it, but layered on top of the noise was the familiar sensation of passing through to a place the living were not supposed to go. That in-between place that could go by any number of names depending on who you asked. For the necromancers of Palamades’ world, it was known as The River.
“This again. Alright,” he sighed. “I really, really wish I had brought a different book.”
After entering through the rift, Palamedes did his best to recreate the room that had isolated him from the The River for all those months. He had been here before, naturally. You weren’t a Sixth House Necromancer without messing with the realm of death just a little bit. The construction of his sanctuary was much more haphazard this time around, but it held. After that was done, he dusted himself off and took a look out the window. The River rushed by, as foreboding and torrential as ever. But something was off about this particular stretch.
It was actually a bit embarrassing that it had taken him this long to notice something was wrong. Wild threads of thanergy stretched off into the distance, the ends of them nowhere in sight. The branch leading to him went back a ways before meeting an even denser thread, like roots breaking off of a tree.
Palamedes looked back over his shoulder. Camilla needed him now, and he couldn’t afford to make this diversion. But as he looked back at this stream of thanergy, the implications were clear. Something was tearing apart the The River itself, and it was speeding towards him, fast as lightning. He had to know what it was. If it truly was what he feared, there wouldn’t be a Dominicus System to go back to.
He knew time passed differently in the River, as well as Ianthe’s mindscape. If he was lucky, he could cross over and return with only seconds passing in his world.
He muttered an oath under his breath and pressed on.
*****
They had barely left Erid’s orbit before Rocky announced that they had reached the point of broadcast. Not a single ship in sight, not even bits of space detritus picked up by the onboard computer.
“Rocky, I don’t know if this is—” Grace began, but was startled as he heard a faint voice pipe up.
“Hello? Is there anyone on this ship who can hear me?”
“What?” Grace looked at Rocky, who stomped twice.
“Oh, good. Finally.” The disembodied voice laughed in relief. “Yes. I can work with this.”
The voice seemed to be coming from every angle, all around them, with no discernible source.
“How are you doing that?” Grace turned in a circle. “Do you have access to the ship’s speakers? Are you…speaking from a different wavelength? Radio waves? How can we be hearing this?”
“I’m speaking to you from the River. The afterlife, so to speak, although that’s still up for debate. Technically I’m right on top of your ship. But also not. It’s all very interesting and simultaneously quite stupid.”
“What comes after life, question?” Rocky was turning as well, confused. “Are you in the decomposition phase, question?”
“He means the belief that there is another life after this one,” Grace muttered, a feeling of unease creeping into his thoughts. “But if he’s telling the truth, it’s more than a belief.”
“Well, to be fair, it’s our afterlife bleeding into yours. I can’t guarantee that you will get one of your own. Or maybe yours is far superior to ours. Less ghosts, more trees, and more than one book.”
“You’re not from Earth,” Grace said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.
“That’s up for debate. But no, certainly not in the way you are thinking. I had to hunt around for an unfortunate amount of time just to confirm that your system had anything resembling my own.”
“So who are you?” Grace asked warily, eyes still darting around the room.
“Palamedes Sextus. Master Warden of the Sixth House, but that title would mean nothing to you. You don’t have the Houses or The Cohort here, and no necromancy, presumably.”
“So…Sex Pal?” Grace made a face. “Are your parents a little odd or is it just a rude nickname?”
“Well, I won’t argue my parents being odd. And yes, it is a nickname. Given by a friend.” The voice went silent for a moment. “I had no idea who I’d be able to make contact with from here, so I was just trying every possible variation. It was a shot in the dark, honestly. I was looking for something else, but I stumbled on something much more dire.”
“Which is?”
“Are you the individual who prevented this star from dimming?”
“Yes,” Grace said. “Rocky and I did it together.”
“That’s what I thought. This is the only habitable planet nearby that is developed enough for space travel. And it’s the only solar system that doesn’t reek of death.”
“So you know about the astrophage. The microorganisms that are spreading from star to star.” Grace looked at Rocky. “There are others out there trying to find a solution.” One more reality bending discovery. They didn’t sparkle as brightly anymore if you had come across so many in succession, though. So the realization just hung heavy in the air, reaffirming the knowledge that trillions of stars were out there, dying, and they would not be as lucky as Eridani and Sol.
“Yes. Your star eater isn’t in this world alone.” Palamedes confirmed, his voice now moving around the room as if he were pacing. “The thanergetic bloom coming off of your galaxies is so immense, it’s tearing through to other universes. Powerful necromancers from our side are beginning to tap into it. It shouldn’t be possible, but it is. And it can’t. Not if you want to keep those universes intact.”
“Multiverse theory,” Grace sighed. “Sure, why not. We just discovered that all life in our universe may be seeded from the same original organisms. So why not other universes.” He collapsed into a chair, suddenly feeling years older. “So how do you know all this? Have you been watching us?”
“The Sixth House has spent hundreds of years perfecting psychometric reading. And with the amount of pure, unfiltered thanergetic energy coming off your universe and bleeding into ours, your ship reads like a timeline from my point of view.” He hummed a bit in realization. “Oh, and thanergy is the energy given off during death. Don’t worry too much about it. I don’t want to introduce the concept to your civilization too soon. Ah, I shouldn’t have said anything at all.” He rattled this off so quickly and nonchalantly that Grace didn’t bother to parse it.
“So why aren’t you here in person?”
“I am unfortunately lacking a body at this exact moment, which I can assure you is a matter I have been taking very seriously as of late. Considering it was my fault in the first place. I just can’t seem to help my combustive qualities.”
He laughed, but Grace just looked ahead with a blank expression. “Hm. Had to be there, I guess. Anyway, this is the preferable method regardless, since I would have more trouble getting around with an organic body. And it makes it much easier to do this.”
Grace felt the hairs on his arms stand on end. There was a staticky sensation in the air, making him dizzy and slightly nauseous. He could tell it was bothering Rocky too, who was scuttling around anxiously.
“What are you doing?” Grace hissed. “What is this?”
“You will not be able to see the River itself as you enter it,” Palamedes explained, “But I can promise you it is real. We’re going to have to travel somewhere distant, but it shouldn’t take long, so I suggest we—”
“Nope. No. We are not going into your ghost river.”
Grace immediately turned away and started to pace in frantic little circles, weaving between the tables and going nowhere in particular. “No thank you! I’ve had my limit of speeding blindly into unknown space. You gotta draw a line somewhere.” He mindlessly tried to pick up Rocky to hurry them both out of the lab. To no one’s surprise, he did not succeed.
“Two people died on this ship,” Palamedes interrupted, his voice stern. “I can see the remnants of them both. You couldn’t do anything to stop that. You don’t deserve to be surrounded by death any longer. But they’re there regardless.” Grace could hear his voice more clearly now, as if Palamedes were standing right in front of him. “Dr. Grace, you’re the reason these planets are surviving. If I’m correct, you have helped prevent mass planetary death from astrophage already, so only you would know—”
“Stop it,” Grace snapped. “I get it. I’ve heard the ‘you’re the only one right for the job, people will die otherwise’ speech before.” He sat down again, just trying to breathe and organize his thoughts. Rocky moved to his side and gently bumped against his knee. Grace sighed, put his hand on top of Rocky’s xenonite shell.
Rocky had already spent a long time considering the likelihood of another civilization affected by astrophage. He had spent those forty six years alone on the Blip-A, running the math that would render him so entirely alone, the low probability of ever finding anyone else out there. And then The Hail Mary had come into range, throwing all those statistics out the window and opening up a universe of possibility.
To Grace’s credit, he knew there was a possibility that they would need to do this all over again. That was why he and Rocky had arranged for the continued breeding of Taumoeba on Erid. But he had pictured another ship, another alien race. Not an omniscient being that resembled his own. It brought up too many existential questions, and he wasn’t in the mood.
“I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared right now to start believing in God,” Grace said finally, his voice strained.
“I can promise I’m nothing of the sort. I just tend to peer into histories I’m not supposed to.”
“Then how can you know all this about us?”
“Psychometric reading,” Palamades began, “is the ability to read the history of an object or person. In this case, I can read your ship. I can see where and how your crewmates passed. The life cycles of a large population of the star eater and the organisms you bred to stop it. I can see where your ship was struck and burned, even though it is repaired now. But most importantly, I see the thread of death reaching across this universe, all leading back to you and the thalergenic halo surrounding your planet, sheltering it. With so many stars dying, you stand out like a spark in a cave.”
“I just don’t know why it has to be us again. I don’t know what this means.”
“The rift led me to you for a purpose. You’re where it all begins. It’s not a very logical approach, but I think it’s a good enough reason to start.”
“I know how to analyze microorganisms and can do EVAs with only occasional panic attacks. It’s a lot to ask a human with minimal skills to try and save an alternate universe, especially one that has fantasy zombie nonsense.”
“Oh, other worlds aren’t special in the slightest. You’d be surprised by how many of us have to rely on analysis and panic attacks to drive our progress.”
“I’ll take care of the rifts. You just trust your instincts, and do the work you always have,” Palamedes said in reassuring tones. “We’re men of science. If the solution was brute force, the people who rely on inconceivable power rather than method would have stumbled across it by now. We’re what’s left after the fighting is over. And we have work to do.”
His voice took on a warmer tone. “There’s something to knowing you’re the only one capable of doing it, isn’t there?”
Grace looked down at Rocky, still pressed against his side. They sat in silence for a moment. He sighed. “I’ve done things more complicated while not even knowing my name, I guess.”
They both got up and wordlessly made their way to navigation.
“You’re weirdly quiet about this, Rock,” Grace remarked as they made their way down.
Rocky paused for a second, then with a sudden burst of movement, he launched into a frenzied dash around the hall. It was clear that he had been trying very hard to keep calm, and it had become too much to contain.
“Other humans discover interdimensional travel! Amaze amaze amaze! Even more impressive than relativity and hearing light! Palamades very knowledgeable, am very excite to have him on Hail Mary.”
“Yeah,” said Grace, feeling jealous for some reason. “Yeah, he does seem pretty cool.”
“Grace cool too,” Rocky assured him, immediately catching his tone.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to say that.”
“No. Is true. So many Eridians love Grace. Rocky and Adrian do. Grace’s students too. All of Erid love Grace. Grace being silly.” He rolled along ahead of him.
Grace didn’t quite have the words yet to respond to that.
*****
Once they were in navigation, Grace and Rocky went about checking diagnostics for the ship.
“So I’m going to just… throw out a guess. If this is like any multiverse movie, the adjacent universes are like ours but with even more catastrophic scenarios. Astrophage is running rampant because Rocky, or I, or both of us died somewhere on the way to Tau Ceti or Erid. Or the missions never happened at all.”
“Not quite.” Grace could hear the cringe in Palamedes’ voice. “You all have a kind of ‘Earth’ in common, but that’s about where the similarities end. I’m not confident that you or Rocky even exist there. Although you’re not wrong about their apocalyptic nature. One of them is pretty much taken care of already, though.”
“So how many are there?” Grace braced himself.
“Six.”
A pause. “I thought multiverse theory meant infinite possibilities. There’s only six being destroyed by astrophage?”
“Only six that we have access to so far,” Palamedes corrected. “But they are six that are closely woven together. A string of fate.”
“So you’ve figured out how to see the Petrova frequency. The red line.”
“No. What’s that?” Palamedes questioned.
*****
After they checked and double checked that the Hail Mary was ready, Palamedes spoke again. “I should warn you, there’s one major thing you’ll need to prepare yourself for.”
“On top of it being an alternate universe?” Grace deadpanned, buckling himself into the pilot seat.
“That’s part of the problem. Not all human behavior will be precisely the same as what you expect. There will be tonal differences.”
“Tonal differences?” Grace wondered. “As in, they’ll be speaking in different pitches?”
“No, tonal as in overall mood. Their outlook on life. The way they speak. The hesitance with humor, or full hearted acceptance of it. The list goes on. Think of it like books. Scenes and conversations from one would be completely out of place in another.”
Grace’s thoughts cut a trampled path through his memory, looking for what he remembered from his literature class in High School. Not a very helpful recollection.
“We’re gonna end up in some kind of Looney Tunes Universe, aren’t we,” Grace grumbled as he sank into his chair, utterly resigned. “Are physics still going to apply?”
Palamedes made a sound that was the exact verbal equivalent of a shrug. “Some form of physics, anyway.”
“Rocky, if you walk off any cliffs, don’t look down,” Grace remarked drily.
“Can’t see. Will be immune to Wile E. Coyote shenanigans.”