A.R.: Beyond the Universe
Chapter 21 - The First Reality

When the lights in the bridge come back on, Sara looks around to see if everyone is OK. No injuries, no one missing. She asks navigation to check the alignment of the stars to see if there is any change. They confirm that the star alignments are completely different. Then she asks for any reports of damages or injuries in the Complex and the Ark. Everything and everyone seem to be OK. She sits back and tells communications that she would like to make another announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after a short delay to allow the system to build a charge, I think we have just become the first humans to travel to different reality. I have just confirmed that the stars are not in the same alignment as we have in our universe. If you are experiencing any medical problems, injuries, or notice any damages, contact your level controller immediately. We’ll inform you of what we see and know in this reality as soon as we know something. Sara out.”

“It looks like we made it. Anyone want to be the first to see what another reality looks like?” Alex asks.

Everyone in the bridge raises a hand, including the cameraman. They are all anxious to see what is out there. Alex knows from previous experiences that an AR can be at best not what you would expect. They can also be very dangerous.

“On second thought, until I can verify what is out there, the best thing you can do is to stay here and start doing some scans,” he tells everyone. “I’ve been in many AR’s. Some are empty, some are total chaos, and some are fully charged with particles that, if you as a biological non-resident, comes in contact with that space, your life will be very short. I am going out there to see what I can find out. As soon as I know it is safe, you can join me.”

“Oh, no you don’t, mister!” Sara tells him. Her face shows that same determination Alex has seen before. “What if something really bad is out there? I know you’re a Traveler, but what if you run up against something more powerful than you are? Listen, bucko, you’re not going out there by yourself. You are going to take Kate and me with you. What you can’t handle, we can!”

Her eyes were flashing as if on fire.

Alex did not want to take Sara and Kate with him, but she did have a point, and a very good one at that. Having a living energy collector with you was like having a military-trained bodyguard, a whole army of them. He could not see a flaw in her logic. And, with Kate standing right beside him, he felt maybe it was not the brightest of ideas to tell Sara to hold off.

“OK, you two can come. Everyone else, you need to start scanning this reality for any signs of the Void. Before we left our home reality, the detectors on the Ark indicated the Void is either in this AR already or is about to enter it. I need you all to start looking. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Kate,” someone calls on Kate’s PDA. She sees Dale’s face.

“Kate. You OK?” he asks.

“We’re all fine up here. Alex, Sara and I are going to take a little look-see out there to see what we can find out about this place. Who knows, I might run into myself.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Kate,” he tells her. “I once read that two of the same beings cannot exist in the same space. There will be big explosions or the end of the universe or something if you two meet and touch.”

“Dale, its Alex.”

“Hi, Alex. You’re taking Sara and Kate with you out there?” Dale asks him.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. It was Sara who made the point that if we run across something I cannot handle, Kate and Sara can. Between the three of us, we should be safe. And, as to Kate meeting herself, don’t worry about it. If she does, nothing will happen. No explosions, no end-of-the-world scenarios. That would only occur if there were two exact Kate’s, down to the exact same number of cells and DNA and everything. The way the AR’s work, nothing in any two AR’s can ever be the same. That includes people. So, don’t worry. We won’t be gone long.”

“Alright,” Dale tells him, “but don’t let anything happen to her.”

Alex looks at Sara and Kate standing next to him. Now he sees the same look of determination in both sisters’ faces. “Somehow,” he tells Dale, “I get the feeling that protecting Kate is not exactly going to be a problem.”

Alex looks back at Sara and Kate to see the same snide grins on both their faces.

“I’ve created a monster,” Alex sighs.

“No, two, unless we get going,” Kate tells him.

“Kate,” Dale calls again.” Make sure you take your PDA with you. I’ve modified it so it uses the type of energy you produce. If you’re holding it, the PDA will always have power to operate. With your almost unlimited power supply, you can be anywhere in this reality, in any galaxy, and we’ll still be able to receive your transmissions. If you get into some trouble or need help, just send an SOS and we’ll be there in seconds. I already have the cannons and the space-folding generators fully charged, so we’ll be ready if you need us.”

“Space folding generators?” Sara asks.

“That’s how this thing moves within a reality” answers Dale. “It generates a field that folds space. When operated, it allows the Ark to move light years in distance while moving the length of the ship. As it moves forward, anything moving thru the folded plane is moved to the new location until the entire ship has been moved.

“Remember; contact us if you see anything.”

“Will do” Kate tells him.

Alex begins to glow and changes into the translucent version of himself. In this form, he can travel and exist in the empty, cold depths of the vacuum we call space. He looks at Sara and Kate and concentrates on them and their DNA. In doing so, he can reorganize their DNA, allowing them to make the same transformation as him. In seconds, the two sisters are shimmering ghost-like images of themselves floating inches above the floor.

“Wow, I forgot how good this feels,” Kate says. She looks at Sara and then at Alex.

“Are we ready to see what’s out there?” Alex asks them.

“Lead the way,” Sara says. “You’re the Traveler.”

Alex pictures himself, Kate, and Sara outside the ship. Being a Traveler, he can move to any place he wishes, but the sisters, even in this form, cannot. He must bring them with him. As soon as the image in his mind of being outside of the Ark is clear, the three instantly find themselves not on the bridge but floating in space, just meters from the top of the Ark.

“Wow, the Ark really is something to see” Sara says, using only her mind to create the words. “We need to let everyone see it from this view if possible. That’ll cement their idea of just how big it is”.

“Sure” Alex thinks back to her, “as soon as we can. For now, we need to look around to make sure it’s safe for the Ark.”

They look around to examine their surroundings and look for anything interesting or threatening. Other than possibly having the stars in different places, everything looks the same as it did in their reality. Alex begins scanning space in one direction. He locates many things that can be used as weapons against the Void should they find it. He widens his scan to find many populated worlds. He is trying to see if there are any other Travelers in this reality. If the Ark’s sensors have detected the Void in this reality, hopefully the defense and control units in this reality also have and the Travelers have awakened. His scans prove successful. He locates all four Travelers in this reality. They must have already found each other because all four are in one place, probably discussing the barrier setup.

“Ladies, I have located the other Travelers. I suggest we meet with them to see what they know and get them caught up to speed on you two and the Ark. And, I suggest that you stay here for now. I have no idea how they’ll react to strangers. I’m a Traveler – they’ll know it. But you two are not – they may think you are a threat. I bring you to them as soon as I feel it is safe.”

“See you in a minute. Be careful” Sara tells him.

With that, Alex concentrates on the four other Travelers and instantly finds himself among them, floating in empty space. As the system has always been set up for a total of four Travelers to stop the Void, they are surprised to see a fifth Traveler show up beside them. They may be surprised, but they also know another Traveler when one is near. Travelers do not share the same feelings of resentment, suspicion, or guarded feelings that humans do. So, when Alex appears beside them as they are planning their defense against the Void, they merely carry on with their plans as if Alex is supposed to be there.

“Greetings,” Alex introduces himself. “I am from another reality and I am here with help that was, until now, not available to any Traveler. With this help, we cannot only prevent the Void from entering this reality, but we can hurt it.”

This is indeed a surprise to the other Travelers. Their mission is to stop the Void. It had always been so, but they also know that if they can hurt it, they will. Until now, there had never been a way to hurt the Void, only stop it. Alex explains who and what Sara and Kate are and what they can do. He proceeds to tell them about the Ark, its cannons, and what affect that they have already had on the Void.

“This is indeed very good news,” one of the Travelers says to Alex. “Word has long been spreading that the time is drawing near when a group of warriors will emerge who will aid us. They will bring with them a weapon of great power that will be used to stop the Void.”

“Yes,” another Traveler adds, “but it says nothing about these two,” referring to Sara and Kate. “They look like Travelers but do not feel like Travelers. You say they can be used as a weapon. Can they show us a sample of what they can do?”

Alex concentrates on the sisters and they appear beside him. Sara and Kate recognize the familiar, translucent form of Alex. They also see 4 other shapes, mere wisps of what appear to be shimmering, translucent clouds of vapor.

“Alex,” Sara asks him, “is that what a Traveler looks like?”

“Yes,” he answers, “that is our normal form.”

“If that’s so, then why don’t you look like them?” Kate asks him.

“Not sure,” Alex says. “The image you see when I appear as a Traveler seems to mimic the form that I had. I’m not sure why.”

“Sara,” Alex asks. “The Travelers would like to see what you two can do to help them with the Void. Kate, how much of a charge are you carrying?”

With Kate being a living collector of energy in the dead of space, Alex is never sure of how much energy she is carrying at any one time.

“About fifty percent, so far. This place is full of energy. I started collecting as soon we entered it.”

“Good,” Alex says. “Travelers, find a target suitable for your demonstration. Pick something that is large but not needed in this realm.”

“I’ve found a small asteroid not far from here. Show us what you can do with it,” one of the Travelers says.

“Show it to me,” Sara tells them. “Put its location in my mind.”

The Traveler does what she requests.

“Got it,” Sara tells them. “Kate, ready?”

“After what we did the last time we went up against the Void, I’m always ready,” Kate says. “Any time...”

Sara closes her eyes and pictures herself being inside of Kate’s mind. There, she sees the energy orb, just as she had seen it in Kate’s mind during the last encounter with the Void.

“Sara, I am going to create an opening on the orb,” Kate tells her.

Sara watches the sphere and detects a small opening in the surface of the energy orb, Energy immediately begins shooting out of it, but not before Sara can stop it. Sara concentrates on the opening to hold its size steady. If it opens too much or too fast, the beam released from them will vaporize an entire solar system. Sara concentrates on the asteroid and pictures a beam of energy hitting it. Even as she is picturing the beam in her mind, a narrow beam of pure living energy, the likes of which the other Travelers have never seen, shoots from between the sisters and hits the asteroid, vaporizing it.

The other Travelers are experienced in the unknown, but this is something entirely new to them. They had no idea that something like this could be done.

One of the other Travelers asks Sara, “How much power did you just use, in terms of what you are capable of storing?”

“Kate, you want to tell him?”

“I barely touched it,” Kate responds.

“And if you used 100 percent, what would the effect be?” asks another Traveler.

“We have no idea,” Alex tells them. “When we first experimented to see what they could do, we accidentally vaporized a small star. That was with a one percent beam. The most that we’ve ever used was ten percent.”

“Then you are indeed a most welcome addition,” one of the Travelers tells her. He looks at the sisters. “The new Traveler says that you, by yourself, are capable of receiving all of the energy from the defense units needed to create the barrier?” he asks Kate.

“Yes, I can” Kate tells them.

“When she absorbs any energy, se has the ability to filter and refine it. The result is an energy unlike anything that I have ever witnessed.” Alex says. “When we used it to create the barrier, the resulting barrier created established itself many times quicker and stronger than what we normally expect, giving less time for the Void to try and penetrate it before it solidifies. This one (Kate) collects and refines the energy from the control units. The other one (Sara) controls the energy, its intensity and direction. This (Sara) is the one that will direct the refined energies to the barrier generator.

“Now I need to locate and modify the barrier generator to accept and use the refined energies. We will need everything we have to stop it this time. On my last encounter with it, I sensed that the Void was stronger than it was when I stopped it previously and it was much quicker. Thanks to these two and the collector, it may have been weakened during our last encounter. The energy that the collector uses is malevolent to the Void, as well as the new form of energy in the barrier that is created by this one’s (Kate) modified energy.

“With the help of it and exploding supernovas, the Void can be kept at bay until the barrier solidifies. With our combined knowledge and skills, we can stop the Void in this space in less time than it normally takes and hurt it at the same time. Once the barrier is established and holding, you can come with us to help in the next space if you wish. There, we plan continue the fight.”

“But it has never happened like that,” one of the other Travelers says. “We all know what to expect when the barrier has been created and the Void is stopped. We all sleep and awaken in the next reality.”

“If I am correct,” Alex tells them, “that will not happen. I do not know why it did not happen to me in the last space after the Void was stopped. I suspect that, when the new form of energy was used on the barrier, it may have triggered some type of cascading effect throughout all spaces. If I am correct, you will also not move on to the next space; you will remain here in this space. We will have to stop the Void first and then see what happens.”

A plan is set. Sara and Kate will, as before, receive the energy beams from the defense units in lieu of the barrier generator. Kate will absorb, filter and refine the energy. Sara will control and guide the energy toward the generator, which will create a stronger, faster forming barrier than what the Travelers are used to seeing. Alex will modify the barrier generator to accept Kate’s form of energy.

The Ark will do its part by helping to keep the Void from getting to the barrier before it can form. Dale and his crew will fire the Ark’s cannons at the Void, keeping it away from the new barrier. The energy used by the Ark is similar in nature to the refined, altered energy created by Kate. This type of energy is toxic to the Void and will hurt it. The five Travelers will do their part by locating and bringing the black holes and the two types of suns--those ready to go supernova and those younger with a lot of unused energy in them. As before, they will arrange the black holes and use their massive gravity wells to help spread out the barrier as it forms. The smaller ones will be closest to the barrier generator, the center of where the barrier will form. As the distance from the barrier increases, so will the strength of the black holes. The Travelers will also send exploding supernovas and black holes against the Void in front of the forming barrier to keep it at bay until the barrier solidifies.

With revised battle plans set, the other Travelers begin scanning for they will need. Alex scans for the barrier generator and finds it. He travels to it and brings it back with him.

It is huge – several times the size of our sun. It is designed to receive energy and uses that energy to combine with the materials already stored inside it. The result is a modified energy that it sends out in two directions up and down and right to left. The energy spreads like a huge wall; resembling ripples on the surface of a still pond after a rock is thrown into it.

The other Travelers immediately head out to locate what they need. Alex begins making the necessary alterations to the barrier generator so that it can accept Kate’s altered energies.

Kate sends her call to the Ark. In a matter of moments, the call is received, and the space-folding generators are turned on. The Ark vanishes and reappears just a few thousand miles from Sara and Kate. Since the cannons can produce beams which can span light-years in distance, a distance this close will be a bonus and will produce very damaging results to the Void. Dale sends word that they are ready to fire the cannons at a moments notice.

While the other Travelers are away, Sara and Kate get in some more practice with their energy beams. Kate has already collected large amounts of energy from the surrounding space and she is now carrying a 90 percent charge. They practice producing energy beams of greater and greater intensity. Then they practice widening the energy beam while keeping it at the same energy levels. They then concentrate on what they will be using to send the energy to the generator: keeping the beam constant while increasing the energy if it becomes necessary.

Dale and his team also take a moment to get in some practice with the cannons. The Ark is equipped with the several sizes and types of cannons. The largest and most devastating are the sixteen half-dome-shaped protrusions on the surface of the Ark, eight on the top and eight on the bottom. The rest of the cannons are recessed into the hull. They extend out when needed and retract back into the hull when not in use. Thanks to Kristen and her skills with understanding and translating the files left by the Newens, Dale knows what each cannon can do. He chooses one of the big cannons, aims it at a group of dead, empty planets a half a light year away, and gives the command to fire. A massive beam of incalculable amount of energy emerges from the cannon. Space around that beam crackles and boils for many thousands of miles out from the beam. As it hits the first planet, the planet ceases to exist in a flash of light. Nothing is left. It takes less than only seconds to destroy all targets. Then Dale chooses a smaller cannon to get in some target practice.

When three of the other Travelers return, they find the space around them to be littered with the debris from the target practice by the Ark, Sara, and Kate. The debris field goes on for thousands of miles. The Travelers were successful and have brought an array of various black holes, larger suns and smaller, compact suns about to go supernova.

With four of the five Travelers in attendance, including Alex, the Void makes its appearance. It is as black and frightening as Sara remembers, with nothing inside of it: no light or signs of life anywhere within it. They watch as the Void comes close to a cluster of stars and then moves though them, canceling them out completely, leaving nothing where they once were. It does not consume or eat them. The makeup of the Void is such that anything in any space or reality will cancel itself out when it encounters the Void. That object, whether it is a star, planet, or entire galaxy, just vanishes, leaving nothing.

As the last Traveler returns, the Void’s path and speed changes. It is now on a direct path towards the Travelers, the Ark, Sara and Kate. Alex wonders if it has detected them and tells the other Travelers to start the defense units located on planets throughout the galaxy. They send their stored energy in beams to the control units. The control units collect what is sent to them and, on command, transmit their energy in large, powerful bursts. Thousands of these defense units are already sending their energy supplies to the control units. When commanded, the control units will send their collected energy in massive beams to Kate, who will refine and alter it before sending it on to the barrier generator.

The four other Travelers finish placing the last of the black holes. They will use the gravity wells of the black holes to attract the barrier as it spreads. Before the barrier can reach the black hole, the hole is removed from the network and sent hurling toward the Void as a weapon, sending it to a point between the Void and the barrier generator. With that black hole gone and the barrier spreading, the next black hole’s gravity well, which is stronger than the previous one’s, takes over and draws the barrier further out. As the barrier grows, more and more black holes are removed from the network and hurled at the Void to protect the generator.

With everything now set, one of the Travelers sends the command to the control units to start transmitting their energy. The beams hit Kate from all directions, all at once. Though she experienced it before when she helped create the previous barrier, it is nonetheless extremely painful. She feels like she is being burnt alive from the inside out and ready to explode. She tries to concentrate, forcing herself to absorb and refine the energies being shot at her, but the pain becomes unbearable.

Then the feeling of the pain begins to lessen dramatically and finally ceases. Sara has entered and taken control of Kate’s senses. With Sara controlling the pain, Kate is free to concentrate her efforts to refine the energies being directed at her. Her system goes on automatic, refining the energy over and over and then storing it in the energy orb inside her mind. As the energy beams continue to hit her, she refines and stores more and more of the energies. The orb in her mind stores the refined energy until it reaches a certain critical point in capacity. Either it explodes, or it expands. Sara has been watching the orb for this moment. She wills the orb to expand, allowing it to grow and store more energy. The orb continues storing and expanding, leaving the confines of Kate’s mind and engulfing her and Sara. Then the energy beams hitting Kate stop. The control units send everything they have. Sara tells Kate to open the orb. Sara focuses her will to control the opening, allowing the energy within to leave in a controlled bean directed towards the barrier generator. As the beam hits the generator, huge bolts of energy similar to lightning explode from it in all directions as the generator begins the process of creating what is required for the barrier. Most go harmlessly into space. Twice they hit the Ark. Alarms inside the Ark go off as the Ark’s system attempts to affect repairs.

The barrier generator is working flawlessly as the living energy spreads from it, creating an impenetrable, shimmering wall of energy.

As the barrier of energy begins to form a wall of energy, Alex sees that the Void’s forward progress has increased towards them. He sends the command to Dale onboard the Ark to start firing its cannons.

Dale fires one large cannon at the Void to see the result, and the result is not a good one for the Ark. The Ark’s cannons have indeed gotten the attention of the Void. The large black mass has quit moving towards the barrier generator and has changed course, toward the Ark. Alex relays this information to Dale, who opens fire with four more cannons then with eight. Then the Ark fires all sixteen of its massive cannons at the Void, with each cannon targeting a different place on the Void.

The Void’s change in direction to go after the new attacker provides the barrier with the time needs to reach a critical point in its growth. Once that point is reached, the rest of the barrier’s formation cannot be stopped, even by the Void. The barrier has now reached the place in space between the Ark and the Void, and it continues to grow, separating the Ark from the Void. The Void tries to reach the Ark but to no avail. The barrier, a wall of living energy, has formed and solidified to sufficient strength to prevent the Void from advancing any further.

Alex sends the message to Sara that she and Kate can cease transmitting their energy at the generator and then sends the same message to the Ark to stop firing. Even the Ark’s massive, combined cannons cannot penetrate the barrier once it has reached the strength it has now attained.

Alex looks at the barrier and asks Dale to check on its status to verify that the barrier is indeed intact and fully functioning. Dale’s tech crews relay the message back to Alex that the barrier is holding and stable. With a sigh of relief, Alex takes a moment to gather the troops and examine the results.

The five Travelers, Sara and Kate watch the shimmering, translucent barrier with admiration. They watch as the Void tries to attack the barrier and penetrate it. But it does no good. When the Void contacts the barrier, it is not only repelled by the barrier but also damaged by it. Its attacks result in massive explosions many times that of the largest of supernovas. When the bright flashes cease, that part of the Void has vanished. The result is what appears to be a very angry, violent Void. The Void’s normal appearance of being a solid black, placid mass changes; massive swirls, currents, and eddies can now be seen in it. However, this lasts for only a short moment as the Void makes one more attempt at attacking the barrier. As with previous encounters, the barrier is not damaged and damages the Void once again. The Void backs off, begins to fade and then vanishes completely, phasing to another reality.

With the Void now gone, the other Travelers wait for the transition to occur. Normally, they would sleep in this reality and wake up in the next one. But, as Alex had predicted, that did not occur. Something has indeed happened to change the normal cycle that had lasted since the beginning of time.

When the four other Travelers realize the transition has not occurred, they approach Alex, Sara, and Kate.

“We are grateful to you for your assistance. We have never seen or experienced the type of power that you and the Collector possess. Never has the barrier established itself with such speed, and to see this new form of barrier actually hurt the Void is indeed impressive.”

“We saw similar results in the previous space, where Sara and Kate and the Collector are from. The result with the Void’s contact to the new barrier was similar. Both the barrier and the Collector’s defense weapons damaged the Void” Alex tells them.

“But now what will become of us? Do we stay here?” one of the other Travelers asks.

“You can stay in this space if you wish” Alex tells them, “You can stay here and help out here you can. Or, you come with us to other realities. We have taken it upon ourselves to use the advanced barrier and the ancient Collector to see if we can eliminate once and for all the Void’s menace. You do not need the Collector to exist, but if you chose to come with us, you will need it to move to another reality. You can use the Collector for this purpose if you wish.

Sara continues: “Or, you are more than welcome to use it as your new home, which the new inhabitants from the previous space have named the Ark.”

Sara and Kate float next to Alex. “What we say is true. You’re more than welcome on the Ark, to call it your new home. We’re going to spend a little time here looking around, but not much. Since we’re new to traveling to other realities, we’d like to see a little of what’s here before we move on. We would like to spend a little time exploring it. Would you be willing to show us around?”

“I do not understand. You want to see what is here?” one of the Travelers asks.

“Yes, we are a curious race. We like to investigate places we have not been to. Who knows, we might even find something useful. If nothing else, it would be good experience for the children to see other places.”

“Children? What are children?” the Traveler asks her.

“We reproduce by biological methods. The results are children--young, smaller versions of us who will mature into adults,” Sara tells him.

“I did not realize there are entire cultures of Traveler-like beings, such as yourselves,” the Traveler says.

“The rest do not look like these two,” Alex tells them. “These two are special; they are different. The rest of them cannot be here outside the atmosphere of the collector without protection from the cold and vacuum.”

“We’re not much to look at,” Kate says. “We’re also kind of fragile. But, as you saw, if need be, we can do a very good job of defending ourselves and anyone else who may need us. I know--that’s a weakness, but it’s also one of our greatest strengths. We have a need to defend others who are less capable or who need it. In doing so, we help ourselves to understand each other better. That is why we purposely left our world and reality. We know of the Void and are committed to stopping it, at any cost.”

“That is true,” Alex tells them. “This race is a young one. They are adventurous, curious, and even reckless at times, as are all youth. They can be dangerous, but they can learn, and their basic makeup is one of good. That is why I am with them. And, as you saw, they can be of incalculable help in the battle to stop the Void.”

“Very well, we will go with you. You said you would like to ‘look around’ to see what is here. Where would you like to start?” one of the Travelers asks Sara.

“Is there a planet here called Earth?” she asks.

“There once was, but the inhabitants were at war constantly. The rest of the inhabited worlds close by had been studying them for quite a long time. It was their opinion that the planet should be avoided. Not very long ago, I learned that Earth had come under attack by another race that also constantly wages war on others weaker than them. The inhabitants of Earth could not stop bickering and fighting amongst themselves long enough to establish a proper defense. Had they done so quickly enough, they would have won the war waged against them. But they were unable to do so and failed. To make a point to other worlds, the invading race covered the surface of the earth with a thick layer of radiation. This killed everything on the planet. It is now a dead world and one to be avoided.”

“What happened to the race which killed the ones living on earth?” Kate asks.

“They tried to interfere with us,” a Traveler says.

“What did you do?” Sara asks.

“We had to stop them. They could not be allowed to interfere with our mission and they were eliminated.”

“How many were there?” Kate asks.

“Their entire race moved from planet to planet on several large ships. It was their way of life. We had witnessed them destroying several other inhabited planets since attacking Earth. When they tried to attack us, it was determined that the race could not be allowed to continue,” a Traveler tells her.

“How did you stop them?” Sara asks.

“We moved their ships to the surface of the local sun.”

“You can do that? You can just eliminate an entire race of people, just like that?” Kate asks. Her eyes begin to glare at them. Sara sees this and steps in before Kate can have the chance to do something she might regret later.

“You can stay with us,” Sara tells the Travelers. “But if you stay with us, you are not allowed destroy life, no matter what the cause or reason. We value life and will protect it. There will probably be times when a life must be taken, but that is only after careful and due consideration is given to the matter. If you can agree to this, then I can see no reason as to why you cannot come with us. Agreed?”

Without even a moment to discuss it, the Travelers in unison agree to Sara’s proposal.

“Good. If you’re going to be a part of our little traveling circus, we’ll need to give you names,” Sara tells them.

“What are names?” asks one of the Travelers.

“We’ll need to know what to call you,” Sara tells them. “If you need our help, then we’ll know who needs us. For instance, this Traveler goes by the name of Alex, mainly because that is the name of the person whose DNA the Traveler was embedded in. If anyone should have a question for Alex or need his help, they know that if they refer to Alex, they will contact him and not someone else. Can any of you think of something we can call you?”

The four Travelers look at each other. They have no ideas at all. They had never needed to have a name or a tile before. They were just the Travelers. Never did they have a need to interact with the residents of the reality they were assigned to protect. Once their job was done, they automatically went on to the next reality.

“No ideas, huh?” Kate asks them.

“Not knowing your social rules, we have nothing to base it on,” one of the Travelers tells her.

“Then we’ll have to come up with something to call you before you are introduced to the crew of the Ark,” Sara says.

“For now, how about T1, T2, T3, and T4, with the T standing for Traveler?” Sara suggests. “If I am correct, you 4 are just the beginning. Once we get in the habit of entering another space and setting up the barrier, there are going to be a lot of Travelers joining us. If you want, you can go by those names until you decide on your own. Later, after staying with us for a while and doing some research on names, you can pick what you would like to be called. Maybe you’ll hear a name you like the sound of once you start meeting the crew of the Ark. Or, if you wish, we can have the members of the Ark vote on a name. It’ll be strictly up to you.”

The Travelers agree to the temporarily given names of T1, T2, T3, and T4, knowing it will help them live with the humans.

“Now, before we go sightseeing, we’ll need to store the altered barrier generator. We’ll never know when we might need to set it up quickly. And besides, Alex has already modified it to accept Kate’s form of energy. As for this reality, is there anything worth seeing in the space before we go on to the next?” Sara asks them.

Alex uses the Ark to create a large holding field below the Ark and places the generator in it.

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