“I think there is someone you should meet, Amanda. I will be
right back.”
She was astounded, confused and exhilarated all at the same
time. Extraterrestrial life truly existed; human beings were not alone
after all! She watched as Claire (the alien in her form) walked into
the house and came back holding something in her hand. As the
alien came closer, she saw what it was. Her radio! The one they used
to play with as kids. Why had the alien brought this out?
Debriefing report (continued)
Q: Is this the voice recorder you speak of ma’am? (Holds up
a recorder)
A: Yes, that’s the one.
Q: Could you tell us what the purpose of the recorder was?
A: We needed proof to show that we had interacted with extraterrestrial life. Also, like I said earlier, I would only have disappeared
from Earth for about 5 seconds, while I would have actually spent
20 hours in space. The recorder would prove all this.
Q: Here’s the problem ma’am. When you spoke to one of our
colleagues during yesterday’s questioning about what you experienced while in space, your description and details were vivid, no
doubt. But we have absolutely no proof of that.
A: But I don’t understand. How is that possible? I was there! I
disappeared, didn’t I?
Q: No ma’am, you did not. The capsule just fell through; you
were here the whole time, on Earth.
A: I can’t believe this. That’s impossible!
Q: Here ma’am, let me show you the tape, we have it on video.
(Plays the tape)
A: But…but…that can’t be…Wait! There’s the recorder! Check
the bloody recorder! I spoke to them, they spoke to me, it’s all there!
Q: We already checked the recorder. There’s nothing on it.
A: I don’t believe you! Play me the recording NOW!
Q: (Plays the recording. Only static is heard)
A: This…can’t be…happening…How…I saw them…spoke to
them…he told me so much…everything…
Q: I’m sorry ma’am, I’m sure this must be difficult for you. But
we seriously think you require some care, and we’re going to ensure
you receive proper medical attention. The public will be kept out of
this, for the sake of your reputation.
A: SCREW ALL OF YOU! I saw what I saw and everything
that I said is the bloody truth! Like I can come up with an incredible
story like this!
Q: Frank, take her away please!
(End of report)
“Why did you bring this out?”
“Do you believe in God, Amanda?”
“I do not believe in the concept of faith in an entity or a single being of divine nature. I am a woman who believes in science.
Knowledge, facts, and the truth it implies.”
“You are certain about this?”
“I believe so. Why?”
The alien didn’t respond. Instead, it turned on the radio. The
tuning knob started rotating wildly, but the frequency was stuck at
90 MegaHertz. As if that was a cue they had been waiting for, the
sky darkened to a dim shade of violet, and the wisps of silver began
to swirl everywhere in circles, like little soundless whirlpools. They
swirled around the radio until they formed a huge mouth on top of
it. And then the mouth opened wide. And a voice spoke.
It was a voice unlike one she had ever heard. It sounded like
all the sounds she had heard in her entire life, compressed into one
single note. It boomed and screeched at t he same time. The honk of
a car, the wail of a baby, the musical notes of a piano, the sound of a
72
The Shoreline
matchstick being struck, the timbre of all the people she had spoken
to or heard in her entire life, it was all there in that voice.
“Hello Amanda.”
“Who…what are you?”
“I am The Voice.”
“How…how can you exist in this form?”
“I am just a voice, a mouth that can speak. These wisps of silver that you
see all around you are my form of existence. They represent my thoughts and
my emotions.”
“How can you exist like this, here?”
“I do not merely exist here, Amanda. I am everywhere, on your planet, on
this one, across the entire universe. I am omnipresent. This planet however, is
one of the few where I can show myself to the people, and pass on the message.”
“And what is this message?”
“That I am everything, and everything is I. There is no God, no higher
being. There is just me. I was born with the universe, and I will die with it, just
like everything else that is a part of it. But I do not exist in just this timeline.
I am present in all of them.”
“There’s more than one timeline?”
“Yes. This is not the only universe. There are parallel ones right now, as we
speak. Each parallel universe is at a different stage, a different time, with different events occurring at the same time. The one that we are in now is one where
all the species are at their most advanced stage. There are other timelines where
your species is still in its most primitive stage, ones where your species co-exists
with other species from other planets and ones where no species exist. It is chaos
and harmony, all laid out on one giant carpet.”
“How is that possible?”
“That is a question we can never answer. We learn, and we accept.”
“But what is the point of all this? Of our existence?”
“It is a futile one, at best. There is no purpose to your life, or even mine.
I may be the only form that is aware of everything that is occurring everywhere
simultaneously, but I cannot do anything with that knowledge. It is useless. Your
existence has no meaning as well, nor does that of any other human. You live for
some years, and you die. In that time you may achieve a set of accomplishments
as laid out by your species as worthy of leading a meaningful life, but compared
to the existence of everything else, it serves no purpose at all. This goes for every
other species that has, does or will exist. You are a member of an ambitious
race no doubt, but ambitions that lead to nothing, mean nothing, help nothing.
Everything in the multiverse is born, exists, and then it vanishes back into the
nothingness that it came from. Eventually it will all disappear, and then there
will be nothing left. Nothing. This is the message from The Voice.”
And then the radio switched off, the tuning knob came to a
standstill, the whirlpools disappeared, the sky brightened, and there
was silence again. Her heart was racing and her head was reeling
from what she had just heard. She felt nauseous, like she was about
to collapse.
“Is…is this true?”
“The Voice cannot lie. It always speaks the truth, Amanda.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
“There isn’t anything you need to say. You will be transported
back to your planet, and you may pass on the message to your people. We will continue to exist, until we wither and disappear. All we
can try to do is pass on the message from The Voice.”
And those were the last words she remembered hearing. The
next thing she knew, she was in a room full of crowded people,
shouting her name out loud. Humans. She was back on Earth.
Note from a classified file, NOT revealed to the public:
Although the capsule fell through without disappearing and the recorder attached in the capsule only played static, 20 hours of static
was recorded
.
Winning entry of Fiction Fortnight 11 on the NITK Amateur
Writers Facebook Group.