The moment the "Odyssey" passed through the shimmering gateway, reality as they knew it hit the brakes, swerved into a ditch, and burst into flames.
The calm, predictable space of Sector Gamma was gone. Outside their viewscreen was a swirling, endless soup of color and chaos.
There was no up or down, no left or right. Giant, ribbon-like clouds of purple and green energy drifted past them like lazy cosmic whales. Strange, geometric shapes made of pure light would form out of the nothingness, spin around for a moment, and then pop like soap bubbles.
"Okay," Emma said, her knuckles white as she gripped the console. "My sensors are officially having a nervous breakdown. I'm reading temperatures that are both absolute zero and hotter than a sun, at the same time, in the same place. That shouldn't be possible."
