The 13-Minute Universe

Chapter 2 — Thirteen Minutes

Elias did not sleep.

For the next eleven hours, he watched the recordings from ORION.

Every copy was different.

That was the first thing that frightened him.

The original recording showed a signal at 2:17.

A second copy showed the signal at 2:21.

A third contained no signal at all.

The timestamps changed.

The data changed.

Even the observatory's own system logs changed.

Only one thing remained constant.

Thirteen minutes.

Elias wrote it across the wall in black marker.

780 SECONDS.

Below it, he wrote:

RESET.

Dr. Mara Chen stood behind him.

"You've been awake all night."

"So have you."

"I was investigating your theory."

"It's not a theory."

"Then what is it?"

Elias turned.

"I don't know."

Mara folded her arms.

"That's not like you."

"I've never seen anything like this."

"Neither have I."

She pointed at the wall.

"You think the entire universe is changing?"

"I think our measurements are."

"That's different."

"Not when independent instruments detect the same changes."

Mara looked at the clock.

11:16.

"Then we wait."

"For what?"

"The next event."

They waited.

11:17.

Nothing happened.

11:18.

Nothing.

At 11:25, Elias began to relax.

Maybe the phenomenon had stopped.

At 11:29, Mara left to get coffee.

At 11:30, Elias heard a beep.

He looked at the clock.

11:30:13.

The monitors flickered.

For half a second, every screen displayed static.

Then they returned.

Elias looked toward the door.

"Mara?"

She walked in carrying two cups.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

He pointed at the monitors.

She frowned.

"Nothing."

Elias checked the star map.

HD-99173 was in its original position.

Everything looked normal.

Then he noticed the cup in Mara's hand.

It was blue.

He remembered it being white.

"Why are you staring at my coffee?"

"What color was that cup yesterday?"

Mara looked at it.

"Blue."

"No."

She smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"I've seen you use that cup for years."

"It's always been blue."

Elias said nothing.

Mara walked toward him.

"Elias?"

He opened the archived footage from the previous day.

There she was.

Holding the same cup.

It was blue.

He opened another recording.

Blue.

Another.

Blue.

His memory told him it had been white.

The data told him otherwise.

He felt something break inside his certainty.

"What if my memory is wrong?"

Mara sat down.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"No. Something happened."

"What?"

"I remember something that doesn't exist."

Mara's expression became serious.

"Like what?"

"The cup."

She sighed.

"That's not enough."

"I know."

Elias looked at the clock.

11:43.

Thirteen minutes after the last flicker.

The monitor suddenly displayed a new message.

CONTINUITY SHIFT DETECTED.

Mara stood.

"What's that?"

"I didn't program it."

The message disappeared.

Then another appeared.

VERSION: 7

Elias stared.

"Version seven?"

Mara stepped closer.

The screen changed again.

PREVIOUS VERSION ARCHIVED.

Then the entire room went dark.

Elias closed his eyes.

When the lights returned, Mara was standing near the door.

She looked terrified.

"Elias?"

"Yes?"

"What is your name?"

He stared at her.

"It's Elias."

"Your full name."

"Dr. Elias Vey."

Mara shook her head.

"No."

"What?"

"I know someone named Elias."

She looked at him carefully.

"But he died."

Elias felt his throat tighten.

"When?"

"Three years ago."

He stepped backward.

"That's impossible."

Mara's face was pale.

"You don't understand."

She pointed toward the window.

"The observatory has been closed for four years."

Elias turned.

Outside, the desert was gone.

The ORION complex was surrounded by snow.

Mountains rose in the distance.

The observatory looked older.

Abandoned.

Mara whispered:

"We're not in the same world."

Elias looked at the clock.

11:56.

Another thirteen minutes were approaching.

His hand went to the sheet of paper from the previous night.

The sentence was still there.

But underneath it, another line had appeared.

VERSION 7 WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE.

Elias stared at it.

The clock reached 11:56:13.

The lights flickered.

A sound came from the speakers.

A voice whispered:

"Six minutes remain."

Elias looked at Mara.

"Six minutes until what?"

The voice answered.

"Until you forget this world."