A distorted horizon glimmered up ahead. Russ couldn't make sense of it, and even Genly seemed confused.
The way the math told it, the next jump point was two months away. Yet, the computer sounded warnings, prompting all passengers to harness up. It could only mean the anomaly was near. Russ strapped in, deliberating on entering the dura-sleep chamber or not.
In the end, she decided not to half-ass the adventure. No one had ever seen the inside of an anomaly, and she meant to be the first. The computer would record whatever the instruments would allow, but she wanted to know.
Tiptree had expressed interest in anomalies. Russ stood over her dura-chamber, wavering between waking her or leaving her be. After some time, she held off on pressing the wake button. The woman needed her sleep after what she'd been through. Tiptree remained in stasis, a shortened lock of hair sticking out to the side amongst the bubbling oxy-water.
Besides her eyes, there had to be another concrete way to record the event. Then she remembered the communication device in the pilot's station. It rested on a stand near the interface used to steer. She hefted it in one hand, back and forth. So small, like an old cell phone.
The design was foreign and complicated, but the execution produced a simple electronic beacon capable of communicating instantly over any distance through time or space. Whoever sent the instructions called it an ansible.
Arrival of the ansible instructions sparked the movement for deep-space travel. Unfortunately, the dream proved impossible due to a lack of resources and available tech. Until someone switched on an ansible, and a voice filtered through, whispering the secrets of hyperdrive construction. The message looped, and even as many tried, no one but humans answered back. Someone, or something wanted them to travel, but without much info.
Perhaps stupidly, humanity accepted the invitation.
And I'm no different, about to ride out my first anomaly.
If she survived.
Concerning internal activity, theories abounded, the most popular being disassembly and death. Most quantum scientists, including Guin, believed anomalies were a mechanism of travel, rips in the galaxy, and if approached properly, they could be navigated.
"Is the ship to proceed?" Genly asked, lucite fingers splayed at the ready near the command interface.
Russ nodded.
She tightened her harness straps and rested the ansible on the empty seat next to her.
"Entering the anomaly in two minutes," Genly said.
Up ahead, asteroid dust scattered as they passed. Amethyst and coral scatters of color filled the view. From what Guin had boasted, the color was left-over metals and minerals from the creation of nearby planets, or from the destruction of one. Another popular theory surrounding anomalies: they were old stars or planets, collapsed in on themselves.
Russ thought back to the Observation game, and how particles materialized of their own volition. Appearing suddenly as it did, the anomaly reminded her of the game. Here, but not. Only here when it wanted to be, or when someone stumbled across its path.
A thought struck her, and she struggled to get free of the harness. The interface would know.
"How may I assist you?" Genly asked.
She quit wiggling and averted her gaze to the monstrosity swallowing the ship. A yawn, and they floated inside. Form bent, and the seconds stretched on into hours. Any object not bolted or strapped down, and there weren't many, rose up and spun in the air.
Russ watched as guiding and medical instruments free-floated around her. She reached for the nearest object, but her arm went up in a series of waves, like an old movie with choppy frames. By the time her hand raised above her head, the object had moved on. An unanchored Genly rolled by in a blur of white and grey.
"Is this the anticipated anomaly, or a new one?" Russ yelled.
Or did she?
The room was devoid of sound. Had she screamed in her head? Genly floated on, not forthcoming at all.
Suddenly, the spinning stopped.
What once was a blur elongated into strident blocks, stacked haphazardly out of order. Russ imagined her head, a layered mess coming apart, pulling open. Her legs seemed to detach, and she thought she would never walk again, let alone have a thought with half a brain.
Everything tipped to black.
~*~
A/N: Short chapter, but hopefully a sweet one.
I'm working on way too many projects at once, putting off grading papers, and staying up way too late. First world problems, yes, but thought I'd share all the same :D
Stick with me and you'll be happy you did. Then go and read Chaos Effect by decadently, which is shaping up to be one of my newest favs in fantasy lit.