"Behold!" Sang the Hosts of the Skies!
"How great was that exaltation!" The stars rejoiced so brightly that they almost touched, the skies shimmered with infinite arrays of light!
"Behold!" Sang the Hosts of the Skies!
"How great was that exaltation!" The stars rejoiced so brightly that they nearly touched, the skies shimmered with infinite arrays of light!
The celestial witnesses that stopped time itself to recognize the beauty that would outshine any immaterial concept or any material reality!
The sounds of trumpets that gave way to the majesty that would elevate the heavens in sincerity and purpose!
So, tell me!
Why?
Why was it so that those eyes which looked at me with such beauty and splendor, turned cold at the thought of my cries for sincerity, for truth?
Those eyes that said: "you and your blasphemous actions are not wanted here"!
Why was it so that my differing thoughts were assumed to be imperfections, assumed to be a danger—even though it was meant to save them?
Suddenly, entire facets of reality: dreams, emotions, energy, time, history…
All of it—even existence itself, had shattered!
…
…
…
Flip!
"…"
Astra Sera suddenly ceased all of her movements as a sharp, electric pain split through her skull. It was akin to a terrible migraine that was forged from static!
It was like something had forcefully entered her head, jamming itself inside!
"What the hell? Argh…" Holding her head, she let out a groan of pain as indecipherable and abstract images—symbols that defied structure or language—flashed through her head and behind her eyelids.
"I hallucinated again. Looks like migraines are now paired up with it. What a lovely combo…" She painfully sighed as she casted her gaze downwards, her messy golden hair draping over her like a curtain.
"This had to happen while I was on such a good part too…" She muttered to herself as her creased golden eyes stared at an open book on her lap, its lined text feeling warped due to the stinging in her head that didn't seem to want to go away.
Flip…
She didn't mind the pain, though. After all, she had a borderline novel addiction—especially while reading works like Lord of Mysteries. She would never admit this, though.
Flip…
Then, a soft thud.
Astra had finally finished reading the volume. Cold sweat softly poured down her face as she pushed through the pain. Fortunately for her, it was beginning to recede.
Wiping the cold sweat from her brow, she leaned back, the shadows of her room closing in.
Only the monitor's void-like blackness and the open window allowed in any light, which came from the soft, warm glow of the distant night sky.
She picked up her phone from the pile of physics notebooks beside her. Some of the journals threatened to topple over the edge, weighed down with equations about celestial mechanics and quantum gravitational theory.
Then, she opened her phone, as the light of a thousand suns was finally unleashed on her eyes.
Well, that's what it felt like.
"July 1st…2027…3:33 AM…" With squinted eyes, Astra read the text on her phone that was placed in front of a wallpaper of the night sky.
She had the urge to open it and find reactions of the volume, but she knew that spoilers were abound for such a series.
She sighed, rubbed her eyes, and turned off her phone. In that instant, the room was covered in darkness again, with the only illumination being the warm gaze of the night sky peeking out from the window.
She turned her rotating chair toward the bed—if the tangled mountain of discarded outfits and astrophysics articles could still be called that.
"Messy. I should clean this," She frowned as she muttered. Then, a silence ensued as she genuinely contemplated the action.
"Tomorrow." Immediately, she gave in to the spirit of procrastination.
…
Thursday, 9:17 AM. Kennedy Space Center, Main Research Wing.
Noise came from the conference lab as many scientists discussed the upcoming visit to the Atacama Desert in chase for the Polaris Shift. Flat-screen monitors displayed orbital charts and star maps. And, a group of researchers were huddled near the coffee station.
"Man, I'm so excited for this banquet. I hear it'll be two nights after we land," someone spoke with visible excitement.
"It'll have scientists all over the world to see if this Polaris Shift is so accurate. Not gonna lie, I'm more excited for the vacation part of it," Another scientist replied.
Astra yawned, coming out of her coffee-induced daze as their words swirled around her like light warping past a black hole. She was seated on a rotating chair near the edge of the conference area, sipping from a black mug with the equation for gravitational lensing etched into it. She wore a white lab-coat over a casual black shirt. Her eyes, while it was open, wasn't fully there.
Despite this, her mind was far away, watching the sea of little blue stars that floated around the room. However, these were only hallucinations.
"It's literally in the desert," she thought in a nearly delayed response. "What vacation is there to be excited about…?"
"Astra~!" Aria Brown's bright voice cut through the air as she approached, green eyes gleaming with anticipation. "You got a second, or…?"
"Of course..." Astra nodded without looking.
"Not gonna lie," The light brown-haired Aria said as she sat next to Astra, who later turned her head towards Aria. "I'm a little scared about this thing. The Polaris Shift…it'll literally upend the scientific community if it happens. But if it doesn't…"
Aria paused. Seeing this, Astra's lips curled up slightly.
"Well, I guess it'd be back to the drawing board. But still, the calculations and the simulations…all of it is insane. How do you feel about your chances?"
At that, Astra's eyes looked as if they had finally returned to her. She leaned forward slightly, somewhat energized by the science.
"I feel pretty good about my chances, to be honest. I checked everything again last night using the telescope and some of my orbital equations. It confirmed exactly what I thought. There's a distortion in the stellar cluster that moves like something is manipulating it."
"It's almost like a dance, like the heavens are playing with us."
Aria paused again. She only smiled as she struggled to digest Astra's words.
Even as her fellow coworker and physicist, and even her assistant, Aria found herself in this position far too many times than she would like to admit.
"That's…poetic and terrifying." Aria finally responded. "I kinda like it. I mean, that's why we're here. To discover the unknown, right?"
Astra shrugged with a smile, somewhat enjoying the conversation.
Then, Aria spoke again, saying, "How do you feel about meeting new people at the banquet? You are the guest of honor…"
Keeping her smile, Astra didn't respond. She only closed her eyes as she shook her head. Then, without a word, she got up slowly and left.
"…" Aria's mouth widened slightly, but she wasn't surprised. Rather, she knew in her heart that such a reaction was expected from someone as introverted and reclusive as Astra.
Sighing, she thought to herself, "Talking to her about anything other than space is like asking a telescope to talk about dinner. Ah well…at least I'm doing better than the rest of the world.
"But still. It's so hard to get how she thinks…"
"It's almost like she's been traumatized. Well I wouldn't know, since she never told me…or us." She said while glancing to her side for a second, attempting to look at the corner of the room.
Again, she began to stare at Astra who was almost dodging the people approaching her. She muttered to herself with a tilted head, "And it looks like she doesn't understand it herself…"
At the other corner of the room, Xavier Hale leaned against the window, watching the exchange between Astra and his fellow coworker. His somewhat spiky brown hair and casual clothing almost glowed due to the sun's rays.
"Is she really trying that again…? She should know by now that nobody is going to get much out of Dr. Sera…" He thought, almost ridiculing Aria.
In his hands, he held a half-eaten protein bar as his platinum eyes followed Astra's retreat. He then glanced towards Aria, who was currently laughing despite no one being with her.
Suddenly, he heard a mature, female voice that came from the back.
"Xavier! How are you?"
Xavier turned his head towards her as she came at his side. He replied, later taking another bite, "I'm fine. How is your research with dark energy?"
"Well," She said excitedly. "We found that it's becoming more constant, not accelerating like it was before. Anyway, that's not what I came to you about." The young researcher nudged his side with a grin.
Xavier's eyebrows raised slightly.
The young reacher gave a cute giggle and said,
"How's it feel being chosen by the Astra Sera as one of her two assistants? I mean, the chief herself? That's got to be surreal, right?"
He swallowed his bite slowly. He stared for a second, almost tiredly, and said, "I guess she's even more brilliant up close."
"Come on," She persisted. "What's it like? How does her brain work, especially with all the talk about the heavens?"
Xavier opened his mouth as he contemplated his next words. He didn't know exactly what to say, despite appearing close to Astra from an outsider's viewpoint.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "You ever look at the stars, admire them, and want them to talk to you despite them only speaking in energy and visible light rays?"
The cosmologist stared at him as a long pause ensued.
"...No?"
"It's like that." Xavier said with a smirk that almost seemed forced. "Heh. But yeah, she's…fascinating."
His tone slowed down. "Just think of what you normally see at those meetings, conferences, and events, but amplified. She's sharp and quiet, but she rarely sleeps. She also talks to herself, but rarely speaks to anyone else. That includes Aria and I."
Without waiting for the researcher to respond, he turned back to the window, finishing his snack.
No more questions came.
…
Cocoa Beach, 11:57 PM.
Crash…whoosh…
The waves crashed in rhythmic bursts as wind swept over the shore, blowing some littered debris.
Astra sat on top of a ten-meter lamp post. She wore a dark blue hoodie, however the hood was not over her head. As such, her blonde hair blowed in the wind as light bugs shimmered and danced. A faint shadow was casted on her face as the buildings behind her emitted faint yellow and blue light.
Her golden eyes reflected another novel that she began to read. They scanned across each line with a fastened pace, but she still read attentively and carefully.
She whispered as she smiled softly.
"This one's good. Reminds me of the heavens."
Then, her voice became even softer.
"I know for a fact that Xavier and Aria wouldn't be interested…"
Closing the book, she let it lay on her thigh as she stared out toward the dark sky.
Due to the light pollution, many stars couldn't be seen, but Astra still felt the sea of constellations reflect off of her pupils.
She stared at this sight for a while. She had long learnt to feel comfort in the stars. She had long learnt to feel comfort in the unknown. In the isolation. In the lack of connection that was ever so abundant.
"What are you trying to tell me?" She whispered to herself, as though she was asking someone.
"…" But, there was no response. Only the sounds of ocean water crashing onto the shore, and the sounds of wind sealing the silence.
Closing her eyes, she sighed as she moved her head downwards.
"The flight is leaving in the morning. I think my daydreaming session is done now." She murmured.
And, in that instant, something had moved beyond the sky. It was almost as if the sky had turned into glass, and it had cracked.
Stars looked as if they were spilling, like rain drops falling on a window.
From the grass fragments and the spilling stars, an eye without a pupil had formed. It was a beautiful eye—almost like it represented that concept.
Like if something was waking up, it slowly began to open as it started to lock its gaze towards Astra.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, Astra couldn't have seen it. She had closed her eyes, after all. She didn't look.
As if it was turned down, the eye closed itself in a similar manner, as if its motion had been completely reversed.
And just like that, it had disappeared.
Astra had jumped down from the lamp post, walking leisurely toward the Kennedy Space Center.