Read Online Mobius by Vincent Vale - Free Book Online

him.

    I ate a light lunch in the dining hall and then dressed myself in a flight suit. Just as I was about to make my way to the pod-ship, I paused. “What the fuck are you thinking, you fool?”
    I quickly returned to my apartment.
    “What’s the matter?” asked Sensimion.
    “Nothing,” I replied, moving straight to the dining table.
    I retrieved the picture of my dead wife and took it into the bathroom, away from Sensimion. I breathed a sigh of relief as I relished her image.
    “I almost forgot, my dear Cassandra.”
    I removed the back of the picture frame and retrieved the thin silver necklace hidden within. I held it up and admired its delicate pendant—a fine, filigreed, cobalt-blue metal in the shape of an infinity spiral. I had given it to her instead of an engagement ring. After accepting my marriage proposal, she wore the infinity spiral over her heart, never removing it—until death.
    “If anything happens...” I placed the necklace around my neck. “...we’ll be together soon.”
    I tucked the pendant under my flight suit and left my apartment.

    I went to the docking platform of the pod-ship, where I at last found Atticus on-hand to see me off.
    “We’ve worked hard for this day, Atticus.”
    “Nothing will be the same after you pass through the dimensional gateway.”
    “Allienora and I were just talking about that.” I looked down on the ring of eighteen dimensional augmenters. “Humankind will see great change.”
    “You have no idea, Theron,” uttered Atticus.
    I found Atticus’ response a bit perplexing. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You seem tense, my friend. When I return, we’ll calm your nerves with toasts of champagne.”
    Atticus’ stomach growled. He clutched his abdomen with both hands, as if to contain any further volatility. “Excuse me.”
    “Don’t be nervous. I’ll see you soon, Atticus.” I waved farewell to the hundreds of spectators sitting within the many observation rooms surrounding the chamber of the dimensional gateway. I heard their muted cheers from behind the glass windows. I boarded the pod-ship, and sat comfortably in the control chair. Looking through a porthole, I discovered Atticus had departed the docking platform.
    Over my communication node came the voice of a technician: “We’ll be activating the dimensional gateway in exactly thirty minutes, Mr. Mobius.”
    “Very well,” I replied. “My neural implant is interlinked with the pod-ship. I wait for your signal to descend into the dimensional gateway.”

    With only thirty minutes until the dimensional gateway’s activation, Sensimion continued to search for anything out of the ordinary. His ocular device allowed him to see through walls and spy into every corner of the station. He saw Theron in the pod-ship, the many spectators sitting on the edges of their seats, and the engineers, scientists, and technicians carrying on with their duties. Nowhere did Sensimion detect, with his synthetic eyes, the sapphire-blue glow of the Fume’s manifestations, or any other exotic energy or unnatural dimension.
    All seemed fine, until Sensimion scanned the personal apartments of the live-in staff. There, he saw something in the hollow space of a wall—the inactive figure of a man slumped into an awkward pile. Due to the angle of the man’s position, Sensimion couldn’t see his face.
    Sensimion grabbed a plasma gun and headed to the apartment. He bypassed the lock on the front door with the access codes Theron had given him. Within, he noticed a wall panel slightly askew. He pulled it open and found the inactive man. Beside him sat a bizarre organic mass that Sensimion couldn’t classify. It was shaped like a giant egg. Its outer husk had the texture of charred flesh. A fracture ran up its length, allowing Sensimion a view of its insides. The husk was hollow, almost as if something had been hatched from within. Sensimion turned his attention to the incapacitated man. He was still