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It's Like A Trampoline... by The Arbitress
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Prologue
Date: 7 June 2006, 1:30 am
A/N: Yes, it's been ages since I've submitted anything. That's what happens when you research the theories you're putting into the story...and here's why.
Disclaimer: This fanfiction is INCREDIBLY technical and will delve deeply into astrophysics. Any head explosions are STRICTLY at the fault of the reader.
Now, on with the story...
"So when applied to stellar mechnics, we find that the so called "hole" in the stellartime area can actually be used as a link to spillspace."
Professor Saarah Renier clutched the chalk in her sweaty hand, it hovering over the equation she had finished sketching. The silence was deafening, only to be broken by the occasional cough. A crunched up piece of paper whizzed by her ear, aimed for the trash bin in the corner. The professor's hand reached out easily and caught it. She tossed it around a bit, then turned to face the class.
The lecture hall was full of teenagers squeezed in to attend the last class of the day in any science. Most were scribbling in their notepads, a few tapping away on their commpads underneath the safety of their desks. Interest was lost from the beginning of the class.
Professor Renier closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then snapped them open and scanned the crowd.
"Talee." Her gaze rested on a dark skinned, young man that was suppressing a grin. He waved as nonchalantly as he could muster at the frustrated woman before him. He stood in mock respect. "Professor Renier, James Talee." His navy blue uniform pants crinkled as he stood. His mother may take extreme care of his school supplies, but his school spirit…Renier contemplated the student's sarcastic respect for a few seconds, staring him down until his posture squirmed.
"James, tell me," the class drew in a collective breath, waiting for the verbal execution to begin. "Tell me your thoughts on links to other galaxies. Other universes even?" She crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow.
James tensely swept a hand through his dark hair and collected his courage. The teen turned around and winked at the class. A small amount of tension left the students as they laughed. "Professor, to be honest, what are you trying to teach us here? Aliens are out there?" He clutched his face and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "The aliens! The aliens! They're gonna get us!" James smirked at Renier and dropped back into his seat.
Saarah opened her mouth to retort when a high pitched scream echoed down the aisle. The students sitting in the aisle seats attempted to suppress laughter as a little boy came running down towards the front, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Them aliens! I seen them, really!" Saarah squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for the child to be only in her imagination. His little fist tugging at her pants squashed the prayer halfway through. "Really Miss!" Saarah bent down to pry the boy off her pants and backed up to keep him from latching on again. Whispers floated around the students until James cleared his throat.
"Professor? Is it true? Are the aliens going to eat us?" The whispers in the audience shifted to full scale laughter, and only increased when Renier glared at them. She knelt down with a sly smile and whispered into the boy's ear. He nodded enthusiastically and took off back out of the classroom. Saarah turned around to organize her papers. "Test tomorrow, and don't forget, your essays on the differences between Pilkan and Ienstin are due soon." The class groaned collectively along with the bell. They slowly filed out of the classroom.
Saarah let her breath out in a sigh and picked up her notebooks. The door to her right led to her office. Once inside with the door firmly shut, she collapsed into a chair and lay her head down on the desk. The cold pressing against her cheek brought her thoughts into focus.
Why are they doing this to me?
She thought back to her first faculty meeting, and facing the cold stares of the other professors. Was it just because she was so much younger than them? So what if she was a quick learner? That didn't mean the biochemistry professor had to send her six year old son to harass her during class.
A knock on her door jolted Saarah out of her thoughts. She peeked through the window and beckoned the intruder in. Jason Chiang, the astronomy professor, stepped in and shut the door behind him. Saarah quirked a teasing eyebrow at him. He shrugged and picked up a pen from her desk to fidget with.
"Class go ok?" Saarah inwardly sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Jason was a classic geek, complete with glasses and a graphing calculator sticking out of his pocket. Yet he was the only one yet to greet her with warmth. So she endured.
"If screaming six year olds counts as ok, then I guess so." Jason's eyes widened, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Calry's son again?"
Saarah nodded and leaned back in her chair. "For some reason, that woman finds it necessary to make me look even more like the inexperienced teacher I am to my students. Like I need anything more to fuel Talee's antics."
Jason let out a small laugh. "I remember Talee. Thank goodness he didn't want a career in astronomy."
Saarah rolled her eyes. "He doesn't want one in stellar time studies either, but if he gets to harass a new teacher while filling the science requirement, of course he'll take it." She shook her head and stared at her hands, contemplating why she seemed to repel respect. Jason noticed her mood shift and started to reach out for her hand when a massive shudder went through the building. The walls seemed to contract as bits of cement rained down on them both. A shock wave ran through the building, shattering the window. Saarah flew back against the wall, knocked out. Jason fell into the computer, sending it crashing to the floor. A pipe in the wall ruptured, spewing the natural gas heating the building.
A spark leapt from the shattered computer and exploded.
Gravity Rules: Chapter One
Date: 14 January 2007, 4:55 am
A/N - Hey! I'm back! A few announcements before the story. First, this story, while not in the current chapter, is going to get mature (as in rated R). So if you can't handle mature, don't let yourself get hooked on it. And second, to clear any confusion, this is the next installment after the unnamed "Prologue" previously written by myself. Other than that, enjoy the show!
{Are you sure?}
{Of course I am.}
{But a…what was the word you used? A demon?}
{Strange, is it not? The stories made them out to be much worse.}
{I am not quite sure. It looks rather…disgusting.}
{It will most likely think you look disgusting.}
{I concede to your point.}
{Your concession is accepted…}
Cold metal…not quite though. Cold, yes. Metal? More like soft, squishy metal that conformed to her shape. Comfortable, but cold.
Saarah slowly opened her eyes. Cloudy shifts of color swam above her, as if ink had fallen into water. Sound was a lost cause. She was content to watch the color display around her and hope it got warmer.
"Jhurtiga tirodrey fdhiil wretisw lkjine diakenl koiendo sritylendi…"
The clouds sharpened slightly into discernable shapes as the odd sounds filtered into her mind. The swirling colors spiked to a harsh white light. Her eyes snapped open, to which she noticed -
{It is awake!}
The creature nearest Saarah up against a wall, much calmer compared to how she was feeling, having realized she was quite naked. Saarah nearly threw herself away from the table she was sprawled out on and pressed her back against the opposite wall behind her. Soft pulses of purple light spread out where she touched the wall, warming her slightly against the chill set into her system.
The second creature threw a frustrated - or at least what passed as frustrated for these things - look at its companion and slowly came closer to Saarah. Its feet clicked on the floor, but she couldn't bring herself to look down. Saarah pressed herself further into the wall, torn between trying to cover herself or defend herself. But this could be nothing other than a dream, so neither mattered too much.
{Do something!}
{Like what? It is panicking.}
The split jaws of the creatures twitched. Saarah watched the jagged teeth along each mandible and racked her brain. Biology had never been her strong point, but she definitely didn't remember anything having evolved like that. Even so, they crept closer, each jaw lengthening, widening, the breath sending her skin crawling, burning. The teeth closed against her jugular and bit down. Saarah stood motionless as each serrated tooth ripped into the soft flesh of her neck and twisted. She willed herself to scream while her blood cascaded down her chest, but no sound came out as her sight started to blacked out.
The creature touched a long finger against her shoulder with a slight prick as a powerful sedative sunk into her system. Saarah slid down the wall. Her eyes took on a glassy stare, eventually closing. The creature pressed into the wall stepped forward and glared at the one standing above Saarah.
{There was no need to do that.}
{If you had not caused it to panic, it would be fine.}
{It had a hallucination. I did not cause that.}
{Let us leave while the sedation calms it. When it wakes, send in the other.}
The creatures bowed their heads to one another and left the room. A static blue screen appeared, locking Saarah in the room. The light emanating from the walls shifted back to a swirling blue and violet. She slipped from sedation into REM sleep and curled up on the floor, blissfully dreaming of nothing.
"She'll be fine, just a little nausea from the different gravity."
Kyle tapped a few more keys on the holographic display to raise the temperature around Saarah and turned to face his co-workers, 'Orome and 'Astaldo. Each looked at the other and silently willed the other to volunteer.
"Don't worry," Kyle started. 'Orome and 'Adredhel bowed their heads slightly, a visible sign of relief. "I'll explain everything to her. Just when she wakes up, let me be the one to greet her, not you two."
{But why does it look so different?} 'Orome gestured towards the static blue screen, behind which Saarah still dozed. Kyle rolled his eyes.
"Because it is a she." 'Astaldo cocked his head to one side, but before he could speak Kyle cut him off. "Our females look different than males." 'Astaldo shrugged, accepting the answer and bowed his head to 'Orome.
{Very well, I take my leave.} 'Orome bowed his head back and twitched a mandible, signaling he'd soon follow 'Astaldo to where the other was headed.
{Why must we stay away from it?} Kyle sighed and with an air of annoyance, turned back towards the holographic display. His fingers resumed tapping on the keyboard, a novelty item he had requested instead of the touch sensitive pad originally set up with the display. Saarah's vital signs and other statistics scrolled across the display, all reading normal. An awkward silence ensued, and when 'Orome finally understood that he wouldn't receive an answer, he bowed his head towards Kyle's turned back and, without waiting for a response, turned and walked through the wall 'Astaldo had just left through.
When he was sure the other two had left, Kyle closed his eyes and exhaled. Making sure he kept his voice low, lest offend his co-workers, he answered 'Orome's question to the empty air.
"Because she isn't used to Sangheili."
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