The 13-Minute Universe

Chapter 7 — The Universe Before Ours

Elias refused to believe the source was Earth.

Not because it was impossible.

He had stopped using that word.

It was because the implication was worse.

If Earth was generating the signal, then the phenomenon wasn't coming from distant space.

It was coming from humanity itself.

Mara stood beside him.

"We need to find the source."

"How?"

"The signal."

"It originates from Earth."

"Then trace it."

They followed the frequency through ORION's network.

The signal passed through satellites.

Then lunar relays.

Then deep-space probes.

Finally, it appeared to originate from beneath the Earth's surface.

Elias entered the coordinates.

His expression changed.

"Antarctica."

Commander Malik looked at the screen.

"There is no facility there."

"There is now."

A hidden structure appeared beneath the ice.

Its dimensions were enormous.

Mara stared.

"How did we not know about this?"

"Because it wasn't here yesterday."

The team traveled there aboard a military aircraft.

The journey took hours.

When they arrived, the facility was already active.

The ice around it had melted in a perfect circle.

A massive metal structure rose from the ground.

Above the entrance was a symbol.

A circle divided into thirteen sections.

Elias recognized it.

It had appeared in his dreams.

They entered.

The facility extended far underground.

Rows of machines filled the chambers.

At the center was a massive sphere surrounded by rings of light.

The Continuity Engine.

Mara walked toward it.

"It can't be."

Elias noticed another structure beside it.

A transparent chamber.

Inside was a human body.

Mara stepped closer.

"That's me."

Elias stared.

The woman inside looked exactly like Mara.

But older.

Much older.

A monitor displayed:

ORIGINAL ARCHITECT — DR. MARA CHEN

Mara touched the glass.

"I don't remember this."

A voice came from behind them.

"You weren't supposed to."

Elias turned.

Adrian Vale stood in the doorway.

"You again."

Vale smiled sadly.

"I told you we'd meet again."

Mara looked at him.

"Why is there another version of me?"

"Because the first Mara created the Engine."

"What happened to her?"

"She discovered the Engine wasn't saving humanity."

Elias looked at the machine.

"What was it doing?"

"Replacing us."

Vale explained.

The future civilization had believed it could migrate into another universe.

Instead, every migration destroyed the original continuity.

The Engine didn't transport people.

It copied information.

Every new universe contained a slightly different version of humanity.

The original was erased.

The process had been repeated thousands of times.

Mara stared at the machine.

"So the resets are copies."

"Yes."

"And the people we lose..."

"Are versions that failed."

Elias felt sick.

"Why am I the anchor?"

Vale looked at him.

"Because the Engine needs a consciousness capable of recognizing the difference between realities."

Mara looked at Elias.

"That's why you remember."

"Yes."

"But why him?"

Vale hesitated.

"Because the first Elias volunteered."

Elias frowned.

"I volunteered?"

"In the original universe, you and Mara worked together."

Mara looked toward the older version of herself.

"You built this."

"Yes."

"What happened?"

Vale answered.

"You discovered the Engine would eventually consume every continuity."

Mara stared at him.

"So we tried to destroy it."

"And failed."

The facility shook.

The Engine began spinning faster.

A warning appeared.

FINAL CONTINUITY SELECTION.

Elias looked at the timer.

03:20.

Three minutes.

He ran toward the machine.

Mara followed.

"What are you doing?"

"Ending this."

"You don't know how."

"I know enough."

He examined the control system.

The Engine wasn't powered by electricity.

It was powered by probability.

Every possible outcome fed it.

That was why it could choose between realities.

Elias understood.

To stop it, they didn't need to destroy the machine.

They needed to make it impossible to choose.

They needed all possibilities to become equally probable.

Mara looked at him.

"Can we do that?"

Elias smiled faintly.

"There's one way."

"What?"

"Give it no future."

He reached toward the control interface.

The Engine responded.

ANCHOR IDENTIFIED.

The facility lights turned red.

ELIAS VEY.

The screen displayed one final message.

CHOOSE YOUR UNIVERSE.

Elias stared at the options.

Thirteen realities appeared.

In some, humanity survived.

In others, it didn't.

One contained a peaceful Earth.

One contained a world ruled by machines.

One contained no human life at all.

Mara whispered:

"Which one?"

Elias looked at her.

"None."

He pressed the final command.

REJECT ALL.

The Engine screamed.

And reality broke open.