Chapter Text
378 EIC / 2370 AD
In the back of his mind he knew that he was probably going insane.
The chances of somebody else being alive down here were slim and even if the C.O.I. had sent people down before him (which they were still refusing to admit) they should be dead by now.
Their oxygen should have run out by the time they had built a new sub and dragged him out of prison.
But still, hope was all he had left so Simon refused to think about it too hard as he whiteknuckled the steering towards the coordinates the voice had given him.
Whatever was waiting for him, he would face it head on.
He steadily ignored the weird sounds surrounding the sub.
If he refused to acknowledge them they didn't exist.
Simon still didn´t understand what the C.O.I. thought to gain from any of this.
What did they think to find down here that would help them in any way?
There were only around 550 people left in the universe, maybe three space stations and there were no planets or stars left.
There was no point to any of this.
Still, he soldiered on.
The voice had told him to go to these coordinates, so he´d do it.
He was only a short distance away from his destination when the whole sub shook violently.
“Fuck”, he cursed as he fought to keep upright and in the chair.
This whole being thrown around shit was getting old really quickly.
“We´re almost there.”, the voice rasped over the intercom. “Oh. there it is! It´s so beautiful. How could we have forgotten this? A tiny glimpse of answers greater than our infinite. It burst our mind like a tank. Oh, what would we give to see it again!”. It sounded almost adoring, like it was looking at something precious.
The air around him felt like it was getting hotter, something he hadn´t thought possible.
He got up and walked to the back of the ship to press the camera.
It was a weird feeling every time he pressed it. The anticipation and dread of not knowing what to expect, but at the same time feeling like ignorance might be safer.
The photo developed.
“What the fuck is that?”, he asked, not sure what he was looking at.
It looked like a light, but that couldn't be possible. They would have seen this when they had scanned the surface of the moon. What the hell was he looking at?
“We will see, Simon. We will see the answer together. They're calling us. This is our salvation. Our promise.”, the woman said.
Simon froze.
“I didn´t tell you my name.”, his voice was barely above a whisper, as his fears were confirmed.
The only answer he got was silence.
“How the fuck do you know my name?!”, he demanded again.
Suddenly the submarine started to shake under his feet and it felt like it was tugged towards the light.
Without waiting for another response that wouldn't come he moved back to the front of the sub and tried to move it backwards, away from the weird glow, but I felt like he was getting sucked in. He barely moved backwards.
“What is going on?!”, he was trying not to panic, which was getting harder by the second.
“Simon.”, all air left his lungs as the world seemed to slow around him.
He knew that voice. He knew it almost better than his own. This wasn´t possible… How?
His voice sounded small and broken, the steady pull forwards forgotten.
“Mom?”, he whispered, desperate.
It couldn't be. His mother was dead. This really was the end, if he was hallucinating her voice now.
“Listen to me, my son. There's nothing to be afraid of. Not anymore. This is our salvation. Help us. The answer is right there.”.
This was wrong. It wasn't his mother's voice. It was overlaid with distorted sound. But was it so wrong to pretend it truly was her.
A small tear ran down his cheek as the submarine imploded.
Time moved fast and slow after that.
One second he was gripping the steering for dear life, then next the left side of the sub was gone and blood poured in.
Without really thinking about it he turned his head to the left, when he detected movement out of the corner of his eye.
There was something looking at him through the blood.
“I see you.”.
No, it couldn´t end like this.
“I see you.”.
He refused to let it end like this!
I don´t want to die.
“Agreed.”.
He gasped as he emerged, warm liquid running down his face and he didn't need to see to know that he was covered in blood instead of water.
He coughed as he tried to get the irony liquid he had accidentally swallowed during his inhale out of his lungs and mouth.
His hands moved to rub his face, so that he could see.
He panicked, once he realized that he couldn't move his left arm, but brought his right hand to his face to wipe the blood away enough to see.
He blinked slowly, confused why he was still breathing. He should be dead. The submarine had flooded. He should have downed.
Maybe this was the afterlife.
But no, he was still breathing, and could feel his heart beating in his throat.
His vision was still streaked with red and it was hard to keep his eyes open.
He squinted to be able to see his surroundings.
All he could make out was red surrounding him from all sides and could feel that he was standing in something warm and wet up to the waist. Once again, he didn't need to see to know what it was.
He tried harder to get his eyes to work when a voice sounded from his right.
“Geez Louise. What is this place?”.