The tension in the control room was thick enough to choke on. An artificial being — ancient beyond imagination — stood among them, her glowing form surrounded by the quiet hum of the ship. Every word she spoke carried the weight of forgotten civilizations, the kind of knowledge that could humble gods.
Bjorn had been the first to ask the question."What are the gates?" he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Zoma turned her gaze toward the window, where the enormous ring drifted in the void like a broken halo. Her expression softened, almost nostalgic.
"The so-called rings of the Baraka," she began slowly, "were once known as Corridor Gates. Built by my creators long, long ago — far before your recorded time. They served one purpose… multi-world travel."
The room fell silent. Multi-world travel — the words hung in the air, absurd, incomprehensible. There was only one world they knew: this universe. The closest thing anyone had ever spoken of beyond it was myth — Heaven and Hell.
Zoma noticed the confusion in their faces and sighed, resting a hand upon the glowing terminal beside her. "It seems you have no knowledge of parallel worlds. I suppose I'll need to explain that as well."
She paused, almost amused. "Your technology is quite simple. I'm honestly surprised you've managed to travel the stars with it. What you call leap is nothing more than the bending of space-time — folding the fabric to pierce through and reappear on the other side. But there are limits to what you can bend, aren't there? Because your systems rely on Biron energy, a finite source."
Her glowing eyes turned toward Oscar, then Bjorn."You need fuel to move through the void. We… did not. My creators discovered a system far older than themselves — a network of corridors already woven into existence. We merely learned to use them. Funny, isn't it? My creators were millennia old, yet even they borrowed paths that predated them."
Her voice almost sounded like laughter — distant, mechanical, haunting.
Shock no longer felt foreign in that room, but the depth of it grew heavier with each passing word. Everything they thought they knew — about the universe, the stars, even creation — was unraveling before their eyes.
Zoma continued. "You see, the Barakens stumbled upon the corridors by accident. It began when there were more black holes than stars in this galaxy. During one of their early voyage, a ship was swallowed whole. Logic says they should have been crushed by gravity, but instead…" She smiled faintly. "They emerged elsewhere. In another world."
She stepped closer to the viewport, her projection reflecting the pale glow of the distant ring."They called it Sacros. A world without stars, without void — only endless spiral mountains stretching beyond reason. By your religion's description, you'd call it Heaven. But it was not."
She turned back to them, her tone quiet, reverent."They met the beings who ruled there. The so-called gods. Celestial intelligences from another plane of existence. It was they who showed my creators how to leave the corridors… and return home. Together, they built the gates. What you call rings."
Her eyes glimmered as she spoke, the rhythm of her words hypnotic."In your terms, the gates are controlled black holes — artificial ruptures in the fabric of reality. Unlike your leaps, they don't bend the fabric… they crack it."
The words landed like thunder.Even Bjorn looked shaken.
Bjorn adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling."So you're saying these rings are black hole generators — links between worlds?"
"In theory," Zoma replied, "yes. The rings fracture the universe's fabric, creating a gravitational corridor. Ships pass through it, travel the corridor, and emerge at another gate. But we were never the only ones who used them. Other civilizations… other worlds… found the corridors too. One wrong calculation, one deviation, and you could find yourself in a place where the very laws of reality cease to exist."
She looked at them each in turn. "My function was to guide ships through the corridors safely — to navigate between worlds."
Her voice softened, almost kindly."If you are ready to face the dangers and mysteries of the corridors… I can escort you through."
Oscar's face darkened with thought. Before he could speak, Youri took a step forward, his tone calm but firm."Zoma, isn't it? You've seen the ship, haven't you? You know she can make it back from anywhere. So tell me… what are our chances of making it through safely?"
Zoma's eyes brightened. She leaned closer, a faint smile curling across her luminous face."So you do know what you're flying."She paused, as if calculating."All right. I'll tell you. There's a fifty percent chance you'll make it without incident. If you do, you'll arrive at the next active ring."
She raised her chin slightly."So, crew of the Tartarusios… what is your decision?"
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to Oscar.He glanced around — at Halley's steady stare, at Bjorn's barely-contained curiosity, at Youri's defiant smirk. His voice was calm, deliberate.
"Judging by our situation," he began, "this is reckless. Dangerous. Maybe even suicidal. But others before us took risks like this — and conquered worlds doing it. What matters most is that I trust this ship. She's saved our lives before, and I'll bet everything she'll do it again."
He turned toward Zoma, his voice ringing with conviction."We're ready. Open the gate. One way or another, we're getting to base."
Zoma's expression softened. A strange, almost human warmth crossed her face as she nodded."Very well," she said quietly. "Then let the journey begin."
Outside, in the dark expanse, the Baraka Ring began to turn.Slowly at first — then faster, faster still. The colossal structure groaned as ancient mechanisms awoke from their slumber. A deep, resonant hum rippled through the void. Light bled from the cracks of the ring's surface — black light, darker than night, swallowing the stars around it.
Then, in a single flash, space tore open.
Before them, where the void had once been, there now burned a swirling maw of shadow and flame — a wound in the universe itself.
The Gate of Worlds had awakened.