When Dig slowed down, it was easy to slide back into my own reality. The journey can be described as interesting, but my diary entry does not do it justice. Once again, words failed me. Now they were all there, but completely incomplete in their structure and meaning. How could I describe something that has no concept in our imperfect language? Dig and Babaru were present, but only as distant abstractions.
We had traveled tens of billions of light years. Dig wasn't entirely sure of the exact number. The shortcuts we used make everything a bit hazy. Had their journey been easier than mine? I doubt it. Both seemed exhausted and, in some strange way, aged. How long we’d been plowing through cold space remained a mystery. The universe may seem smooth, but it is anything but.
Dig is a skilled pilot, capable of threading us through the thin hollows of space. There are back alleys between time and reality, where the laws of physics are full of loopholes. For a moment, we were outlaws. The laws of physics were made to be broken. We walked on top of the shards of legislation, and no one could have put them back together in a sensible way.
The numerical values for speed, time, and location would have been really interesting. My inner nerd screamed for a moment, left without answers. But as we sailed toward our destination, my brain got other things to deal with. Soon there were more stars in the environment than black dots of empty space between them.
It was the first time any of us had been so far from home. Dig was able to hide her feelings, thanks to her experience. But Babaru was clearly confused. She couldn't translate properly for a moment, so Dig and I agreed silently to just stay quiet. It seemed to help, and a few moments later my striped friend managed to pull herself together. There lives a little fighter inside her. Not that there would be much room for a big one. But as I have already learned, size doesn't matter.
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The Mumenos do not inhabit any particular planet. Their home is a kind of condensed bubble within an incomprehensibly dense cluster of stars. From a distance, the bubble looked like a giant burst of fireworks. If the information provided by the ship is to be believed, it is larger than the solar system. We drifted silently into it. At first, the matter and gas were sparse, but gradually thickened into a colorful palette. I tried to keep my growing excitement and anxiety in check. They would’ve been only too happy to unite and turn into pure panic.
And then we saw the first Mumeno. Soon after, another, and then a whole bunch more. Mumenos are blurry, wavy, and large. So large that even though Dig's ship is huge, a Mumeno could use it as a shoehorn. That is, if they had feet. They have no heads nor tails. They are just shapeless, electric blue concentrations of energy.
And then they started to speak to me. It felt as if some ancient god had opened my skull and blown the words directly into the depths of my being. I bet that at that moment, only the whites of my eyes were visible. Babaru acted quickly, even though she couldn't hear the words being fed into me. She just knew what to do. Babaru came close and pressed her antenna against my forehead. I felt it vibrating and shaking as if she was straining. Then, suddenly, I began to understand. I didn't hear the Mumenos’ words directly, but Babaru’s voice dictating them.
The first contact with the Mumenos lasted for hours, according to a more familiar calendar. During that time, we managed to say hello. How long would my actual work here take? Would I be able to get home before the sun turns into a red giant?
It’s now quite clear why Geber's task was unfinished. He had sunk straight into a deep, observant state, while the Mumenos were apparently just welcoming him. Geber thought he was carrying out his task when it hadn't even begun yet. He never understood what went wrong.
I'm a little worried about Babaru. Even though we haven't gotten past the beginning yet, she's exhausted. I won't be able to make it through this without her, but I don't want to drag her along. This isn't Babaru's crusade, nor Dig's. This was supposed to be my personal undertaking. No one else should have to sacrifice themselves for it. Not that I want to sacrifice myself, either.
Till next time, if there's anyone left reading.
- Johnny