A Turtle's Heart

The Utopiosphere

"To the Utopiosphere!" 'Christine' announces.

She leads us through the doors, and all we see is reflection. Everywhere. A room of mirrors. Really big ones. I look around, and all of the sudden one of them changes. I see blackness and two women, one with red hair, the other wearing a dark cloak. I turn my attention back to 'Christine' and the other strange people, only to find they're gone. I look back to the changed mirror; I can see them there with the two women.

"Ah, our guests have arrived! Welcome, friends," the woman in the cloak says. "We have gathered you all because each of you has fallen through the void and gotten stuck in a time cycle. We have found that usually people who fall into the void are fine at first... But their minds deteriorate and they become insane."

"As if they weren't already," 'Christine' mutters.

The woman ignores her. "We founded the Utopiosphere project to test the minds of the people who have fallen into the void.... To see if it's safe to let them live. The project creates virtual realities- anything from a frigid wasteland to a desert. Sometimes it creates utopias... But only some can enter them. It is intended to push people to their limits-"

"You mean drive them insane? You aren't protecting our world from people like us! You're driving us insane by any means possible, and then you'll probably kill us!" I interrupt. "You want us gone! I bet no one has ever made it out of your "project" alive!"

"That's not true!" The red headed woman retorts. "There was someone who made it out! His name was.... I think it was Jerry. He was in pretty bad shape though..."

The cloaked woman rubs her temples. "We have had survivors. Minimal, yes, but there were those who stayed sane. We set them free."

"I'm pretty sure it was just Jerry...." the red headed woman adds.

"Kathrine..." The cloaked woman says in a warning tone.

"Sorry," Kathrine says.

"Now... Let the process begin!" The cloaked woman announces.

We hear a whirring, some clanking, and eventually all of the mirrors change into a wooded landscape. A few prehistoric millipedes scurry around, leaving behind round, heart like footprints. More odd creatures flew and crawled around.

"I suppose now is a good time for introductions..." One of the women (the second that woke up) says.

"I'm Flapjack!" The young boy says.

"How did you fall into the void?" The second woman asks, her voice taking on a motherly tone.

"Oh, I didn't," Flapjack says. "Knuckles put me in the project in exchange for candy."

The second woman frowns. "Well then... Duchess Satine of Mandalore, at your service. As for how I fell into the void... I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Happy to make your acquaintance," I say, putting on a false mask of happiness, even though the memories of Christine are once again fresh in my mind and hurting. I take her hand, placing a small, polite kiss on it.

The first woman sighs. "Well, if you must know, my name is Evanora. I fell into the void after I... fell... out of a window." To herself, she mutters, "And oddly enough it restored me to my former self."

"And glad to meet you as well," I say, greeting her as I did to the Duchess. "I... I... Well, my name is of no importance."

"Well, we must be able to call you something," Duchess Satine says.

I sigh. "I have been addressed by many names. I've been a phantom. An opera ghost. Red death. An Angel of Music. The Devil's Child. I believe my actual name is Erik... You may address me however you wish. I do not wish to talk about my time before and in the void."

All eyes turn to the last woman. "If you must know," she says, "My name is Lydia, ex-Muse of Music. And if you must know, I fell into the void when I was sucked into the whirlpool of my creation." I try to take her hand, but she pulls it away saying, "No formalities. Please."

I look to the 'sky'. The 'sun' is already beginning to set. "I'd guess now would be a good time to make a camp?" I say, a bit of an unsure tone working its way into my voice. The others look around at each other and state their agreement.

By the time the virtual sun sets completely, we've made a small camp with whatever we could find in the forest... whatever we could find that wasn't poisonous. We all settled in for our first night in the Utopiosphere....