The 13-Minute Universe

Chapter 5 — The Dead Astronaut

Elias opened his eyes on a floor made of metal.

Emergency lights flashed overhead.

Mara was beside him.

She was unconscious.

He sat up.

The room looked like a spacecraft.

He immediately recognized the design.

AEON-1.

The ship supposedly lost thirty-seven years ago.

"Elias."

Mara opened her eyes.

"Where are we?"

"I think we're inside the ship."

She sat up.

"That's impossible."

"Yes."

A metallic voice announced:

CONTINUITY TRANSFER COMPLETE.

Elias stood.

"Transfer?"

The ship's interior was dark and damaged.

Panels had been ripped from the walls.

Wires hung from the ceiling.

A window revealed nothing but stars.

Then a man appeared at the end of the corridor.

Adrian Vale.

Older than the transmission.

His hair was almost completely gray.

He held a strange device.

"Don't move."

Elias raised his hands.

"We're not here to hurt you."

Vale laughed.

"You say that every time."

Elias stared at him.

"What does that mean?"

Vale looked at Mara.

Then back at Elias.

"You really don't remember."

"Remember what?"

"The first twelve attempts."

Elias felt dizzy.

"What first twelve attempts?"

Vale approached slowly.

"Every time the universe resets, most people lose their memories."

He pointed at Elias.

"You're different."

"Why?"

"Because the first transfer changed your brain."

Elias looked at Mara.

"Why doesn't she remember?"

"She does."

Mara frowned.

"No, I don't."

Vale looked at her.

"Not consciously."

He tapped the device.

Images appeared.

Mara saw herself standing in different versions of the observatory.

In one, she had short hair.

In another, she was older.

In another, she was wearing a military uniform.

In another, she was dead.

She stepped backward.

"Those aren't me."

"They are."

Elias stared at the images.

Each showed a different life.

Different choices.

Different deaths.

Different histories.

"How many versions are there?"

Vale answered:

"At least thirteen."

The ship shook.

Warning lights turned red.

Vale looked toward the ceiling.

"We don't have much time."

"What is happening?"

"The reset is approaching."

"Why thirteen minutes?"

Vale hesitated.

"Because that's how long the machine needs to choose another continuity."

"What machine?"

"The one you built."

Elias stared at him.

"I've never built a machine like this."

"Not you."

Vale pointed at the window.

"Humanity."

He explained that decades after AEON-1, scientists discovered evidence that the universe was not singular.

There were countless possible realities.

Each universe followed slightly different histories.

Some developed life.

Some didn't.

Some collapsed almost immediately.

Humanity eventually discovered a way to communicate between continuities.

Then came the disaster.

Someone attempted to move matter from one universe into another.

The result was catastrophic.

Reality began losing its boundaries.

Universes started overlapping.

Stars appeared in the wrong locations.

Memories crossed between people.

Time became unstable.

And eventually, the resets began.

"Who caused it?" Elias asked.

Vale looked at him.

"You did."

Elias felt the room spin.

"What?"

"In twelve versions, you were the scientist who completed the Continuity Engine."

"I don't remember."

"You wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because in this version, you haven't built it yet."

Mara looked at Vale.

"Then why is he remembering?"

Vale stared at Elias.

"Because you're the anchor."

Elias frowned.

"Anchor?"

"The universe needs something stable while everything else changes."

Vale stepped closer.

"You."

A warning alarm sounded.

RESET IN 60 SECONDS.

Elias looked at the countdown.

"How do we stop it?"

Vale shook his head.

"We don't."

"Then what do we do?"

"Find the source."

"Where?"

Vale pointed toward the black window.

"Beyond the dead universe."

Elias looked outside.

The stars were disappearing one by one.

"What happens if the reset reaches zero?"

Vale's voice became quiet.

"You will forget this conversation."

"And then?"

"The next version will begin."

"How many versions remain?"

Vale looked at the countdown.

"One."

The timer reached 00:00.

Everything went white.

When Elias opened his eyes again, he was back inside ORION.

Mara was beside him.

She looked at him.

"Elias?"

He couldn't speak.

Something was written across the main monitor.

VERSION 13

And beneath it:

ONE RESET REMAINING.