Medusa Dawn

7/27/2019 Medusa Dawn

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MEDUSA DAWN

A Short Story

by

RICHARD HOLLIDAY

2013

www.richardholliday.co.uk

(7,338 words)


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The sight of the rocket terminal grew to dominate Jessie's eyes as

the transit car erred ever closer. With a deep breath, partly of

excitement and partly of trepidation, the young girl prepared herself

for blastoff. It wouldn't be long.Clouds of dust, refracted by the heat of the atmosphere, billowed

over the curved translucent resin that formed the roof of the transit

car. It roared ceaselessly across the dry, baking Venusian landscape

leaving the Colony City long-disappeared and the spaceport and

shuttle growing like a sole metallic tree on the horizon.Silence filled the transit car as the occupants, three specially-

selected tourists and their entourage swept into the spaceport. One of

them, an older man, turned around in his seat to look at Jessie.

"Looking forward to it still?"Jessie was daydreaming, her attention lost on the scorched dirt

outside. It took a second for her father's voice to register and her body

to turn back. "Oh? Oh yeah. I can't wait."Jessie's father smiled. "You're in for quite a treat up there."Indeed, she and her friends were, as they'd been specially

nominated to tour the brand new Medusa Platform space-station that

had been constructed near the planet, and billed as a 'world off-world'.

Nothing more had been said, and even though Jessie's father worked

for the corporation that had built the station, Medusa Corp, she'd

been told nothing except to prepare for quite a surprise.Either her father was the God of Marketing or maybe the claims,

that the very fabric of space-time had been finally bent to Mankind's

whims, were true. As with her simultaneous excitement and

trepidation, Jessie's mind remained indecisive of how it should feel. As

the transit car fell into the dark shadow of the spaceport, Jessie's mind

picked a side. She'd be excited and hopeful; optimism coursing through

her veins like a drug and allowing her to relax, something she thought

she would never do in a spaceport.Jessie had landed on Venus in this very spot when she was barely a

child and had hated the trip. A mixture of gravity strengths, some

variations never announced, made her almost perpetually sick and the

solar turbulence that buffeted the rocket-shuttle like a paper plane in a


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breeze helped things to no amount. Space-flight still relied too much

on blind luck for her liking, even two and a quarter centuries after her

species first outings into the great black void, and she avoided it where

possible. Venus and Colony City could be claustrophobic and

depressing sometimes, but it was firm ground, the sort Jessiepreferred.

With a swoop, the transit car was plunged into darkness as the

colossal metal structure of the spaceport enveloped it completely.

Seconds later there was a flash of bright blue light and with a

sssshhhlllppp the transit car was within the spaceport's environmental

containment field. The unrelenting, harsh weather of the Venusian

landscape was kept at bay at this molecular barrier, and the sense ofclaustrophobia inside the transit car was alleviated quite considerably

by the echoey cavern of the lower spaceport. As the molecular barrier

flexed around the transit car before snapping back to place with the

flash of energy., the roof retracted. Instantly the cool breeze caught

Jessie's flowing brown hair and it fluttered behind the transit car like a

scarf before it fell with the deceleration of the car."It's been a while.." Jessie mouthed to nobody in particular as she

climbed out of her transport and followed the group ad they hurried

busily toward the elevator to the space lobby. Her father cleared his

throat."Come on, Jessie. The shuttle'll not wait for you!" he barked

impatiently as his daughter reminisced about her previous time in this

place. Things had changed a lot, and her mind was absorbing and

comparing every nook and cranny from her last visit a decade ago. The

changes, Jessie decide, were not for the better."Coming dad..." she mouthed, finding herself again and rushing

into the elevator. Her skip was timed absolutely perfectly with the

descent of the door. Knowing dad, she thought, he could make the

shuttle wait. He knows people.Jessie felt crammed into the small box. It would have been an

uncomfortable trip had her friends Frantik and Barro not agreed to join

Jessie on the inagural tour. Frantik, her fiery hair frizzy and

voluminous, eyed the inside of the elevator impatiently. Barro was


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stockier and shorter and examined the floor uninterestingly. It seemed

they all wanted to get the transference portion of the trip over as soon

as possible.The skylobby was situated about twenty stories up and was

constructed in a great circular room that jutted from the main bulk ofthe terminal building on all sides, overhanging the edges of the tower

both below and above. These edges were like giant cut diamonds;

formed of perfect windows that gave an impressive vista of the planet

surface. Jessie casually looked around at mile after mile ofdust.Living in dustfor a decade softens one's awesome reaction at the

sight of it from this perspective. She huffed to her friends with that

fact before walking through the busy space lobby toward the gate.Thirteen.

Stars hung in the blackness of space like infinite motes of light as

the shuttle craft roared toward the Medusa Platform. A bulging

plexiglass window was all that separated Jessie from the endless

vacuum of the void and the cramped, claustrophobic shuttle cabin.

Claustrophobia and space travel were easy bedfellows to Jessie. While

there were individual seats, occupied by individual passengers, and

housed in a pressurised hull, they were unlike the jet airliners of

ancient history. Passengers were unable to mill around the cabin, or

breathe the air freely, but were confined to pressure suits that both

protected them from harsh solar radiation but also the G-forces of

space travel.Jessie felt cocooned in, and struggled to relax. This is why I hate

space travel, she thought to herself, though she needed no reminder.

With another dejected sigh she looked out of the window, past her

distorted reflection against the darkness of the void around her. The

Platform had dipped behind the great mass of Jupiter and fell into

shadow. The darkness became absolute. Jessie glimpsed a light, unlike

the stars that fell into backdrop around her, in the corner of her eye

and it took focus just as she was about to join her friends in boredom-

induced slumber.The light came from the edges of a metal disc about the size of an


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asteroid, positioned far away. The light shimmered into the very

essence of space around the edges of the disc, but the disc itself

remained darkened and eerily mysterious. The shuttle craft

approached the landing stage near the centre of the disc, past the

lettering spelling out the name of the station that were picked out inoutline with miniature star-like lights and as the great disc got close

enough Jessie could see that where the light shimmered gently and

rhythmically into space she could see what looked strangely like

walkways and avenues that seemed to follow the contours of the light

and faded into nothingness as they fanned out into space. There was

movement, too; of fountains and billboards andpeople. Jessie gasped,

but with a sudden bump the view was gone as the shuttle entered thelanding stage with a low, grinding rumble before stopping.

Air hissed and the pressure suits were released from the grips that

held Jessie and her friends firmly to the seats. Finding her feet once

more, Jessie floated in the reduced gravity toward the door. Her

anxiety had been replaced, as the spaceflight ended, with fresh

excitement and an eagerness to explore whatever it was she'd just

seen.Jessie's feet resonated with metallic clunks through the hull of the

docked shuttle and toward the gated threshold. This led into an

antechamber that the tour group was directed to wait in. A suited

executive and a couple of men in hazmat suits waited by a desk. Jessie

was the last one through the door from the shuttle and it snapped shut

behind her."Glad you couldfinallyjoin us, Ms. Lormitz," the executive said

nasally in Jessie's direction, without humour. He looked through his

thin spectacles right into her very being. He then turned to the rest of

the group, addressing them as a whole. "Welcome to the Medusa

Platform, and congratulations on being awarded places on the

inaugural tour. My name is Melin Gomex, the marketing director of

Medusa Corporation, and you'll have the pleasure of my company for

the duration of the tour. Don't worry," he laughed insincerely, "you're

in safe hands today."The two workers in protective suits stepped forward toward the


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group, the members of whom took an involuntary step back. Gomex

sought to reassure them."Don't be alarmed, also. We're decontaminating guests on arrival

from outside space or planetside. A sanitary station is a happy

station!"One of the techs, whose name badge read as Albo Parcus, spokethrough his mask. "Step forward and through the decontamination

arch. One at a time, please."The group followed the instruction and stepped through a narrow

gap in the wall ahead that led to a door. A shimmering field of particles

defied gravity almost and filled the narrow passageway. As each guest

walked through, edges of the energy field lapped around theirextremities, brightening the passageway. Jessie looked into the

constricted opening, past the decontamination field and into a wide

opening on the other side of the door. Taking a breath, for she hated

small, confined space, she jumped through the field and fell onto the

floor on the other side."We did say to step through the decontamination field, Miss,"

Parcus dryly said, watching as Jessie picked herself up and looked

about the space she was inside now."Oh wow," Jessie sighed with awe. "Wow indeed."A grand fountain, over three stories high dominated the centre of

the space Jessie found herself in. It was a total contrast to the cramped

shuttle and claustrophobic decontamination room; a pillar of crystal

that shimmered with an abundance of airy, soothing light. The disc the

shuttle had passed on its way in was merely the profile of a great

spherical construct of which the fountain was at the very heart of.

Looking up, Jessie saw the total darkness of outer space through a

translucent portion of the sphere wall that formed a perfect

transparent dome above the fountain. Around and underneath were

archways that led off into what looked, at first glance, to be endless

colonnades.Suddenly, Jessie looked behind her, expecting to see the

decontamination arch but instead stared at a faint projection of the

other side of the doorway. It shimmered beautifully in the cool, softly-


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blowing air of the Central chamber."Wh... where's the room we were just in?!" Jessie exclaimed,

worriedly. The 'projection', as she approached it, fizzled with energy

but was unmistakably the portal to the decontamination room."Just there, you can see it," Gomex calmly stated. "Why?""I... just walked through the door. There should be a room here!"

Jessie yelped, gesticulating at the empty space. She was right; where

the decontamination room would 'logically' be in a standard

construction was merely another endless gallery.The Medusa Platform was anything but a standard construction."Ah," Gomex laughed falsely again. This was already irritating

Jessie. "A slight elaboration." He turned to the group. "May I introduceyou to the grand new technology of dimensional bending, and your

first experience of it."Jessie, Frantik and Barrow followed the group gathering around the

shimmering portal, gazing through the translucent projection of the

decontamination room, some examining the 'rear' of the portal, only

to discover that, from all angles, the image resembled a straight-facing

rectangular doorway. Some put an arm warily through the rippling

energy which fizzled and dissipated harmlessly at their sleeves. They

felt the cool, circulated air of the decontamination room alright. It

really was a Gateway from one room to another; bridging the gap

through solid walls from one unconnected room to another next door

and linking a squat chamber at the base of the station, in among the

plant and processing areas, with the grand reception area a

considerable distance upstairs.It was this particular spatial trick that made the Medusa Platform

so special, and now Jessie realised that the ghostly visions stretching

out into space really were galleries and palladiums built into the very

substance of space itself."How does this all work?" Jessie asked curiously. Gomex squirmed

a little."You'd have to bring the principles of the workings up with

engineering. However, I do know that we've been able to craft pieces

of space, like pocket dimensions, and link them with our own, and with


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each other. It's really exciting stuff."The other tour guests murmured in assent, but Jessie was still not

satisfied."Is it safe, though?" Jessie stammered, noticing a hardening of

Gomex's eyes at the use of the term safe. "I feel a bit compelled to ask,that's all.

A moment passed, and the faux smile warped across the marketing

man's face once more. "Of course, you're all perfectly safe."The words rang a little hollow for Jessie's mind, but there wasn't

any reason to doubt them. Putting that feeling to one side, the tour

began in earnest. Following the group, Jessie went through the first

dimensional archway, a Gateway, that hugged the spherical side of thePlatform and took a breath.

Where any normal human would've expected a pressure hull

followed by the very emptiness of deep space was an instead almost

infinite field of clothing rails and merchandise stands stretching for

what looked like miles in all directions. The floor was a synthetic

parquet that stretched around until it became a brown blur on a

horizon far away while the roof faded out to reflect the stars. Between

the floors and roofs was a very feint white streak of what looked like

stacco polycarbide walls."This place is impossible..." Barro sighed. Gomex laughed. "You've

only just seen the entree. Here, all of you should put on one of

these..."From a storage bin near the quietly humming Gateway Gomex

handed out strange black devices formed like chunky wristwatches

that lacked a clock face but pulsed with a seeming random, frenetic

array of coloured pinpricks. Jessie cautiously strapped the device

handed to her to her wrist. It was warm and there was a sensation of

rapid, chaotic movement inside. It was uncomfortable."These," Gomez began over-enthusiastically, "are your personal

transit devices. Look around you and you'll see gateways to other parts

of the Platform. With a touch of the button, you'll be able to walk

wherever you want to go.""H.. How does it know that?" Frantik squeaked. "There's only one


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button!""Your finger forms a neural interface. As I said, I'm no engineer but

it works. Go on, give it a try!"Jessie's friends did so, cautiously pawing their PTDs with a clawed

finger. Streaky light traces followed each fingertip over the glossy blacksurface. Gomez watched, clicked a finger and a large Gateway sprang

from the floor as if by magic."As I said," Gomex enthused again with a subtle hint of coercion.

"Give it a try!"Barro was the first to step through the energy field. It hissed and

fizzled as his form made the step over the threshold. Trying to look

through the field, Jessie could see no indication as to where her friendwas. A few seconds later, Frantik made the leap and was similarly

gone. Left alone with Gomex in the monumental clothing department,

Jessie awkwardly avoided eye contact. He soon picked this up."Nowhere you want to go?""I just want to relax..." Jessie sighed. Gomex leapt into the air with

exuberance."Draw a line and jump through! You'll get what you want that

way!""Fine," Jessie sighed, steeling herself. Tentatively her finger drew a

pattern on the face of the PTD and the Gateway opened. She closed

her eyes once more as her feet took her forward. "Want to relax..." she

whispered.A buzzing of energy enveloped her as her body made the move into

the cloud of energy. There was a strobing flash of bright lights and a

sudden breeze whipped her hair wildly. Finally Jessie opened her eyes

and took stock.She found herself in an ocean of sofas. "Very relaxing!" she

exclaimed, but her words echoed all around with no-one to hear them.

While there was an almost infinitesimal number of sofas, seats, plushy

chairs, loveseats and benches surrounding her position by the Gateway

the place felt very empty and very hollow. Jessie was the only person

in this place, and it felt as if she was the only person in the universe.

Thinking back to the concept of pocket dimensions linked together,


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Jessie realised that she really was the only living inhabitant of this

world within a world.Who'd put all these sofas here? Jessie wondered. How had all this

stuff been magiced into this pocket dimension? There was so many

questions, many on universal scale, and no answers. It infuriated Jessieimmensely.

Figuring now was as good a time as any for something to eat, Jessie

traced out another pattern on the PTD. "I'm hungry," she thought

aloud, and stepped through the Gateway that appeared much more

willingly a second time, and found her destination - the food court - to

be much more relaxing than her previous one had been.She laughed. "That's better." To her added relief, her friends Barro

and Frantik were there as well, sitting at a nearby table. Jessie sidled

up. They were already eating."Grab some food, Jethro," Barro smiled, referring to Jessie's pet

name. "Looks like you need it!"Jessie laughed, grabbed a tray and moved along to the automated

food dispenser, selected a tasty-looking meal and received something

that only resembled the picture slightly. Taking her food over to her

friend's table, she couldn't help but notice a sea of identical tables, all

empty."This place creeps me out a bit," Jessie murmured.Frantik coughed. "You're right. It's empty, I get that... but it lacks... I

dunno..." she found herself unable to complete her statement. "It just

lacks something.""It lacks soul, that's what," Barro finished defiantly. Frantik and

Jessie nodded in assent as they instictively turned their heads

precisely, like insects, to examine every facet of the quiet room. All

three quickly finished their food and got up from the table, which

looked messy but now strangely unique amongst an ocean of

uniformity."I think it's time to leave..." Jessie suggested, doodling the pattern

on to her PTD. "Exit please."Simultaneously three Gateways opened, all destined for the same

place. Without a shrug, Jessie, Barro and Frantik walked through and


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emerged back in the Central chamber. No-one else was there."Alright, this is too creepy. Where is everyone?" Frantik huffed.A fourth Gateway opened up behind the trio with an unexpected

crack of energy This took them by surprise. A loud, boisterous voice

hurtled down three sets of inner ears."Everyone is having fun! Enjoying the place! I see you had lunch!"Gomex smiled falsely. "Why, do you not know where to go from here?

There's tons you've yet to see!"Jessie looked stonily down his very pupils. The look instantly

deflated his sense of fake enthusiasm. "We'd like to go home."Gomex's smile faltered for a split second. "Oh. Can I not interest

you in the gift shop? I'm sure you'd like a memento? And can I ask, formarket research, why you'd like to go home right now?"

Barro and Frantik looked awkwardly to the floor, but Jessie was less

shy. "Well, I admire the tech, and all, but this place lacks... well, it's a

shopping centre. Of all the possible ways to use this technology you

create a shopping center. Is that really as far as you can go with it?""Well..." an obviously-flustered Gomex stuttered, "it's only a first

application of the..."Before Gomex could finish, a great flash enveloped the Platform in

a blinding light which filled the windows and domed roof. The

occupants instantly fell to the floor, cowering behind arms in a bid to

protect their vision as the Platform shook violently. After a few

seconds the shaking ceased and the light died back down to normal

levels. Gomex helped the three young guests to their feet."I can assure you... that was notplanned! I'm sorry, er, where were

we?"Barro snorted. "About to leave, and it'd seem to be a timely exit,

too."Weakly, Gomex acknowledged that this was a wise move. Dusting

off his shirt, he let his shoulders drop in resignation. "Fine, alright, we'll

await the next shuttle."Waiting for said shuttle was proving an intense process. Scheduled

shuttles serviced the unopened Medusa Platform four times a day,


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every six hours. When Jessie, Barro, Frantik and Gomex had entered

the Platform Centre they'd still fourty-five minutes to wait. Bored,

Jessie waited out the time on a plastic seat, counting rivets in the floor."Hmm..." she murmured ominously. Frantik heard this."What's up Jethro?" she asked quietly as to not provoke suspicion.The Platform shook again. "Can't you feel those? Those... tremors?"Frantik placed her feet firmly on the floor. The Platform was subtly

but perceptibly shaking, in rhythmic waves that pulsed through the

very construction. Every couple of seconds heralded a new wave of

tremors, each stronger and more violent than the last. They were also

closing in, and getting more and more frequent. A low wailing and

booming sound emanated from every open Gateway with each pulse.The Platform began to wail, as if in dire pain.

"How long until that shuttle, again?" Barro hollered. Jessie glanced

at the clock."Twenty minutes.""I dunno about you," Barro continued to no-one in particular, "but I

don't like a single thing about this now."Gomex walked over to the guests bench. "Now I'm sure there's

nothing to worry about guys. Just relax. I'll try to get the rest of the

tour group..."He left through one of the Gateways, and Jessie's mind was

reminded of the other seventeen tour guests. Nothing had been heard

of them since they'd all gone their disparate ways at the start of the

tour.Jessie was worried. Nothing seemed to be adding up, and a feeling

of wrongness enveloped the waiting area with a deathly chill.The groans and shudders were ceaseless andgrowing exponentially.

Seconds passed like aeons and all Jessie, and her friends, wanted to do

was to leave. This place was decidedly bad.Six eyeballs rolled toward the shuttle clock. Seventeen minutes

remaining.Without warning, Gomex jumped through a Gateway that opened

in the floor. Behind him was another figure that slumped to the floor.

Unlike all the other gateways so far it wasn't a bright petrol-blue in


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colour but blood-curdling red. Jessie and the others instantly jumped

up to help him."Gotta escape..." Gomex breathed before slumping in the collective

grip of the guests and the technician. It was Parcus, from before! He

was still conscious, but only barely. Jessie was surprised at the severeinjuries sported by their guide; his shirt was ripped in multiple places,

his face lacerated and blood pock-marked across his entire body.

Whatever had happened to Gomex, it'd been a brutal encounter.

Parcus too looked as if he'd been in quite a fight."Jeez, what did this?!" Jessie breathed quickly as she and her

friends placed Gomez onto the cold, steel floor. Parcus stumbled over

and knelt beside them.

"Terrible things did! Almost human, I think... they came out of mid-

air and attacked our team. I was the only one who could... oh God!" he

wailed, recalling the horrific images in his mind of his team being torn

apart. The Platform shook again, enough for dust to cloud around the

joins in the structure. Parcus was, in a flash, lucid again. "You've gotta

get out. There's dimensional flex taking all the departments as one and

sucking them all together."Gomex called over. "I thought the tech was totally safe, you said so

yourself!""You saw the solar flare. It overloaded the dampeners that were

keeping the departments contiguous. Now it's all offline... it's like the

Platform is tearing itself inside out, one layer at a time. There's not

much time left!""What are we supposed to do?" Gomex said angrily."Get me to Engineering. I'll bring the dampeners back up and stitch

the department realms shut. Nothing'll get in or out, but we must

hurry before the dimensional tearing becomes too great to overcome."Gomex's shoulders drooped in resignation. All the work on the

Platform, all the effort on his part to promote it and be seen worthy to

promote it, would be for nothing. However even he could realise the

peril the situation placed the group in. The choice between sacrificing

the Fiesta Platform and preventing a terminal galactic event was

ultimately a no-brainer. The Medusa Platform could be rebuilt later;


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the galaxy, with infinitesimal different species, cultures, creeds and

races could not. It would be foolhardy, at any rate, to suck the

intended customer base through a black hole. "How do we get there?""It's not so tough, though we'll have to navigate the emergency

passageways.""Can't we use a Gateway to jump across?" Frantik asked naively.The technician grabbed the device attached to her wrist and threw it

to the ground where it smashed to pieces."No, and don't touch those things! They're too dangerous now, you

may end up between departments or interspersed between them. And

each transit just makes the whole thing worse! It'll be about a twenty

minute walk, at best."

"Are you really in any condition for it? You're bleeding still," Barro

noticed astutely. He was right, and Jessie concurred. "You can't do a

twenty minute walk in that state."Parcus winced as he walked across the floor. "I'm going to have to

do it. You can't graduate the dampeners. It's... not like a lever. More a

series of switches that have to be activated in a set order. Christ," he

inhaled sharply with pain, "it's the only option.""We'd better get going, then, I guess," Gomex huffed. "Where's the

emergency door then?"Parcus stumbled to a hatch against a metal wall near the curved

hull of the Platform. With a laboured kick it unfolded to reveal a spiral

staircase that descended into absolute darkness. The groaning metal

was even louder down here. Slowly at first Jessie and the survivors

edged down the stairwell in darkness until the emergency lights shone

a grubby green light from above. This cast eerie shadows on the grey

metal walls. Eventually the stairway levelled out into a compressed

passageway that ducked around great installations encased in metal.

Some of the walls were white with fatigue, and most others were dirty

and covered in grime, betraying the true age of parts of the Medusa

Platform. Gomex felt compelled to come clean."I know what you're all thinking, so I'll just come out with it.

Medusa isn't brand new; rather, re-purposed from military

experiments. You know, thinking about all the strange goings on, it's


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no wonder Medusa Corp acquired it so cheap.""Hmm," Barro mused, "so we're not tour guests, we're guinea

pigs?"Gomex huffed. "You and me both. I thought this was my big break.

The only thing I'm likely to break is my leg, now."A moment of silence, and stillness, enveloped the group. Theplatform murmured and shuddered again. Dust was dislodged and

formed creepy clouds in the passageway."Time for moping later," Jessie said, taking the initiative. "As a

representative of the guinea pigs, I want to get out alive."The passage dipped under further massive machinery, with the

footsteps of the survivors apparently 'tickling' the inside of thePlatform, which whinnied and gurgled almost organically.

"Alright,"Parcus gasped as the group arrived at a closed doorway,

"prepare yourselves.""What for," Frantik hushed."We've gotta cross the drive floor to access the manual override.

It's a balancing act...""... between time and cautiousness?" Barro interrupted. Parcus

raised an eyebrow incredulously and opened the door. The group

gazed through and a collective sharp intake of breath occurred."No, literally. It's a balancing act." Parcus pointed at a narrow beam

barely wide enough to walk on that led to an isolated control platform

about ten metres away. The beam spanned a glowing orange mass

that seethed with heat and smoke."Do we all need to get across," Frantik squeaked. Parcus turned

slowly to face her."Just me," he gulped and steeled himself on his injured leg. "I'll...

well, I'll get it done."He took a step toward the beam, and the platform rattled. "It's

alright, nothing bad can happen. Just a molten drive-core burning

below..."The beam was severely scorched and the heat from the drive-core

below was incredible. Stepping out from the balcony, the waves of

energy beat back the human form for a moment. Parcus tried again


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and persisted through the agony, inching across with arms extended to

maintain balance. The Platform was shaking and he glanced briefly the

core below. It was angry and unchained, the actual core engulfed in

energy that licked up the shaft toward the opening, creating a draft of

super-hot gas that stung the arms of the injured technican through hisflimsy uniform. As he approached the deck on the opposite side the

fabric began to blacken and smoulder. With a lurch of the platform,

Parcus fell onto the deck.The figure was motionless. On the other side of the vent, the four

survivors gasped, hardly daring to breathe, and only doing so when

Parcus shuffled toward the console. He pulled himself up at obvious

great pain and fell onto the manual controls. His burned hands creptup from beside his torso and felt the control levers, pulling some,

depressing buttons and moving dials. Time seemed to elapse so slowly

that his very movements seemed laboured and pained, though this

was more on account of the burns suffered. With a final great

exultation of effort - for he'd been grunting in pain throughout - Parcus

pulled the final lever and green lights shone across, beating through

the orange haze of the intense heat. The Platform was felt to almost

invert before coming to rest, the reactor core below tempered and

calm now the gravity dampeners had taken hold. Curiosity beget the

survivors who peered down the shaft toward the purring drive core. A

cool, calm blue glow took the place of the roaring heat and bounced

off the scorched shaft."Seems better to me..." Barro laughed."He's still gotta get back," Frantik said cautiously, watching the

burned technical on the other side of the expanse struggle to face the

walk back. His hands were badly scarred by heat and getting a standing

position was proving difficult. Parcus managed to struggle back to the

edge and began the painful tiptoe across. A minute or two passed and

the technician, sweating profusely from effort, was about a third of the

way across."You can do it!""Yeah," Parcus replied through gritted teeth, "I'm doing it. Yeah, it."Without any warning, the Platform shook and fire erupted from the


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core below. Parcus stopped dead, his face paralysed with fear as the

beam squealed. Turning, he saw levers on the command console had

lifted, and the dampeners had been taken offline. "Shit!" he cried with

frustration. "Not today! No, no, not today!"The rest of the survivors froze on the other side of the gaping void

as the whole Platform shuddered more violently than ever before.

Licks of gold fire roared up the shaft and past the lone girder. It sagged

and bowed; it was clearly melting. A single bead of sweat dripped from

Parcus' face and evaporated into steam. A look of resignation and

knowing then befell the scorched face."What do we do? What do we do?!" shrieked Gomex. "Turn the

thing back off!"

"I can't..." Parcus sighed, "I can't turn it back on without holding

down the switch."Suddenly silence took hold. Nobody dared to breathe, and the only

sound was that which came about from the hissing core below. Jessie

took a step forward toward the beam, but did not step onto it."I'll do it," she said bluntly. Barro and Frantik gasped, but Parcus

merely shook his head."No, kid. I'm no good to you anyway. I'd just slow you all down.""Are you sure?" Jessie begged. "Is there not some other way?"A subtle shaking of his head was very telling. "It's how it's gotta be.

It's been a good life, on the whole.""You don't have to do this just for us. It's... " Jessie stuttered, not

knowing what to say to a man about to condemn himself to a fiery

death, "it's very noble of you."Parcus snorted with an unwilling laugh. "Huh. Well, I've a daughter,

about your age, and if I die so she isn't sucked into a galactic plughole

than I suppose that's how it has to be.""I guess you're right," Jessie muttered. Parcus stepped from the

bending girder and heaved his way to the console."Look, get to the escape pods while there's still time. I'd be happier

in doom knowing at least a few people got away from this shithole."Jessie's eyes glistened but the moisture soon evaporated in the

relentless head. Barro, Frantik and Gomex filed back into the tunnel,


18/22

leaving Jessie alone for a second as she tore herself away from the

heroic technician. Finally with a nod she left into the cool blackness of

the passage. As blackness enveloped her, there was an almighty hiss

and a wheeze, and a man exulting in death, making the ultimate

sacrifice.The Platform stopped shaking and silence truly descended. In anopen area she took refuge with the rest of the survivors.

"I really, really think it's time we got off this Platform," Jessie said,

but her voices echoed through a seemingly-endless hallway. She

looked around but her vision appeared blurry, and there was no sign of

her friends. The grey wall's features melded into a endless smear of

metal that seemed like it was spinning. Flashes of blue light - Gatewaysopening - glared through the haze of another dimension as they

popped suddenly into existence. Feeling almost drunk, Jessie took a

step forward. Her feet felt as if they weighed a thousand tons and she

was wading through tar. One of the Gateways floated closer and

enveloped Jessie, and she blinked to find her vision mysteriously

impeccable.Something was wrong, she felt, and looked around. A department

had filled the space around her, the floor filled with merchandise and

the roof space an endless maze of vents and ducts. It felt unfinished

and unready, but here she was."Barro! Frantik!" she called, getting desperate. "Mr. Gomex, are

you here?!"Nothing came in response. Jessie looked round for any signs of life.

Nothing; just racks and shelves that went in all directions perpetually,

with lights buzzing and vents gurgling. She walked for what seemed

like hours but was merely minutes. Time itself seemed vacant in this

place.A Gateway was fused to a shelf in front of her, and this anomaly

perturbed and intrigued the youngster. The energy gate was fuzzy and

it made her hair stand up."Strange..." she murmured to herself, and turned to walk away;

however, the Gateway had other ideas and as soon as her feet moved

away gravity ensnared the girl and flung her, without warning, directly


19/22

for the energy field. Jessie screamed but landed on the floor on the

other side of the Gateway in another area of the same unfinished

department."The hell?!" she called, dusting herself off. In quick succession,

multiple Gateways opened an indeterminate distance from herposition and an ominous, inhuman snarling sound filled the space

around Jessie.Instinctively she knew better than to wait and ran in any direction

that seemed to be away.Rails and shelves seemed to disintegrate into their constituent

molecules on her very touch as Jessie ran past them, and her vision

began to blur into smears once again. An agonising pounding sensationtook over her conscious mind and her head felt as if it were trapped in

a tightening vice.Jessie screamed and fell to her knees with pain. Shadows loomed

over her, trapping her against a rocky escarpment that had pierced the

carpeted floor. Her vision regained lucidity in strobing fits. The

Shadows were humanoid but the colour drained from the faces that

seemed somewhat familiar. With each beat the faces became more

distinct as they crowded around Jessie and dominated her view.

Emaciated flesh hung from powdery bone onto the floor in pools that

boiled on contact. The ringing in her ears was supplemented by ghastly

groans and whinnies. These were not just any humans, they were the

rest of the tour group! Their consciousnesses had been extinguished

when the departments they were visiting ripped open on the

dimensional level and their bodies, battered and charred, assumed a

sort-of autopilot.Bony fingers pressed into Jessie's skin. The cold touch was palpable.

These savages wanted flesh to replace their withered own, and a hand

clasping at her skull implied they wanted more than that; the bodies

were seeking a new brain to make a futile attempt at restarting life

with."No! I won't let you take me to Hell with you!" Jessie screamed

vigorously, regaining in a flash the lucidity of her own mind and the

ability to move her limbs. Defiantly she kicked out at the nearest


20/22

Shadow and its ribcage collapsed like balsa wood, sending the creature

itself (for it was no longer human) flying to the floor. The Shadow

crumpled into a motionless heap. The others gathered around went to

compensate for their fallen comrade and Jessie found it was her

adrenalin that kept her fighting to get away from the scrum that hadnearly enveloped her.

With a hiss, the remaining Shadows bolted back toward Jessie.

Cold, black eyes were filled with death, and Jessie knew they would be

less kind if she were to be caught again. There would be less mercy and

curiosity; more death. Jessie had no plans on dying on that day but

those plans looked with every passing millisecond to be in increasing

jeopardy.

The department around her began to warp and distort again.

Jessie's feet began to feel heavy and her arms as if cast from lead. She

knew that if she stopped, she was as good as dead.Closely a Gateway opened almost on command, the concentric

blue energy rings standing out against the backdrop of melting walls

and distorting floors. Jessie saw it burst into being and immediately ran

for it, each step turning into agony, and jumped. As she leapt her eyes

bolted shut and a frigid breeze whipped through her hair."Nooooo!" she laboured, not knowing what else to cry as the wind

ripped at her clothing and blew dust into her face. Was this the end for

her? Was it reality itself ripping apart? She felt buffeted in an unknown

space, nausea rising in her belly but not daring to creep up her

oesophagus.

Abruptly the wind ceased. Blood flowed to Jessie's skin and the

warmth of life began to flow again. Jessie's eyes remained cemented

shut. She didn't want to see if she was still alive, or where she was, if

anywhere at all."Jessie" Jessie!" a voice called. It seemed familiar. The ringing in

Jessie's ears began to subside. "Jethro, wake up already!""I dunno," another voice called, "maybe it's too late?""There's not time to think like that!" the first voice barked. Jessie

recognised it at last, the pounding in her head disappearing in a flash

of consciousness.


21/22

"Too late for what, Frantik?" Jessie coughed, sitting up in a fit of

energy. Her friends looks of concern immediately evaporated at

Jessie's apparent revival.Barro slid over. "The cavalry's almost here!"There was no time to question any more. Jessie was pulled to her

feet and the three guests and Mr. Gomex ran. Jessie looked over her

shoulder to see the Gateway she had just been flung from was not

blue and tranquil; it was angry and spat shards of red energy into the

rapidly distorting space around it.The escape pod bay soon enveloped the group. There was a

calming breeze of cool air that contrasted with the hot, acrid humidity

of the rest of the Platform. The calmness was artificial and temporary,however; through a window the looming form of a Navy Cruiser

appeared, followed by another two. Between them was the Service

Ship and salvation."At last!" Jessie sighed with relief, though this was not shared by

the others."Not yet," Gomex gasped. "You missed the announcement. All

this," he gestured to the structure itself, "has to be destroyed.""What?!" Jessie said incredulously. "Why did nobody say...""There isn't time!" Gomex coughed irritably. "We've about two

minutes before the end."Frantik and Barro had been opening one of the circular hatches in

the exterior wall that led to an escape pod while Gomex explained the

situation to a bewildered Jessie. With a hiss of pneumatics the door

creaked open and the empty escape pod beckoned. "Get in, both of

you!"Jessie followed her friends and took a seat, with Gomex coming in

last. The door to the pod closed but refused to seal, preventing launch."One minute until Platform destruction!" came an announcement

from the main Cruiser, seemingly tapping into the Medusa Platform's

PA system."Is there anything on this station that actually works?!" Barro

exulted angrily. "Environmental seal isn't there."Jessie rolled her eyes, almost knowing what was to come. "Lemme


22/22

guess, the manual control's on the other side of the door."Barro's subtle nod suggested she was indeed correct in deducing

another example of abysmal design."I'll go," Gomex said shortly. "There's... there's no time to discuss it.

Fiesta Corp got you all into this horrible mess, and as the sole livingemployee of Fiesta Corp on this station..."

"That's kind," Jessie smiled weakly. "I know none of this was your

doing. We've all been left to rot here by the highers-up."Gomex had already gotten up from his seat and re-opened the

door. In the shadow of the threshold he smiled wryly. "Corporate

manslaughter, and that's just the start."Jessie snorted in agreement and nodded. The door closed and

rapidly the escape pod was flung by chemical propellants far from the

Platform.Almost simultaneously, the lead cruiser opened fire. Twinkles of

light erupted from it's hull and spiralled into the very heart of the

Medusa Platform. There was a heavy explosion that lit up all of space

as the metal conduits and structural members folded about the

dimensional singularity right at the very heart of the Platform. The

reactor exploded in a fiery ball and in an instant there was nothing left.

All of the rubble and debris was sucked through the singularity in a

booming wave of energy, and the singularity sealed itself neatly behind

it.As disasters went, this near-one had impeccable manners.Beaten, bruised but most of all alive and well, the escape pod

fluttered aimlessly through clean space, until the Support Ship picked it

up. Medical teams rushed to the aid of the three survivors. Hundreds

were dead, and their remains ceased to be.All Jessie could want now, as medics fussed about her and treated

her injuries, was to be at home. Asleep.

Across the galactic horizon the Sun rose from behind Jupiter's

majestic mass and filtered through the Support Ship's windows. Jessie

had thought for a moment she'd never see this again: it was a new

dawn.

THE END

Documents

Medusa Dawn