A.R.: Beyond the Universe

Back on the Entity’s planet, a gathering is taking place. At the front, floating high above the rest, are five beings: The Entity in the middle with Alex on his right and Sara on his left. Behind them are Kate and the alternate Dale. In front of them are 1000 pairs of alternate versions of Sara and Kate, each pair from a different reality. One would almost expect them all to look at least similar, but such is not the case. Each version differs in height, weight, or skin color. Most look human; some do not even resemble Homo sapiens, with their long tails, scales, multiple appendages, wings, or other variations. But they are all, in one form or another, a version of Sara or Kate. The only real difference is in their abilities, which are all identical: they can all do what Sara and Kate can do, except they can only do one tenth of what Kate and Sara can. After training with the Entity, even with their diminished capacities, each pair is now capable of vaporizing entire realities on their own.

“Greetings to you, one and all,” the Entity says. “We are here for one purpose: to stop, defeat, and put an end to a vile thing that has existed almost as long as I have. It is responsible for destroying countless lives, star systems, galaxies, and entire realities. It must be stopped once and for all. Based on my observations, it knows we are here. I do not know if it is aware of who we are or what we are capable of accomplishing. I have sensed a change in it. I believe it is preparing for an attack and has created its own barrier surrounding it. I have not been able to penetrate that barrier, but this one, who we call Alex, has succeeded where I have failed. In doing so, I have seen what lies on the inside of the Void. I have determined a ratio of energies required to destroy it. Those energies will come from the Void, the remaining realities, and my own energies.

“The rest you already know. Each of you knows what you must do and what will happen if we succeed or fail. I do not know how many of you will survive. I know that each of you can complete your assigned tasks. Only with your help can we succeed. All of you have heard of your counterparts, the ones who will enter the Void and draw its energies to use against it. Now it is time for you to meet them.

“This is Sara and her sister, Kate, your counterparts. They will be feeding you the energy that you will require. This is Dale. He will protect them against its attacks while they are inside of it. And this is Alex. He will coordinate the attack, making sure each of you has the energy you will need to succeed. I will be sending Kate my energy until she enters the Void. Then I will concentrate on defending each of you from the Void with a series of barriers the Void has yet to encounter. But those barriers will not last long. If you see one of your companions fall, do not stop your attack. You must continue until you get the word from me to stop. May the one who created us all and all that we know protect us and help us to succeed. Now, everyone to your places.”

The group breaks up quickly, vanishing pair by pair until only the Entity, Sara, Alex, Kate, and Dale are left.

“We must move quickly,” the Entity tells them. “I sense that it is aware of us and may try to attack us before we can move against it. The others are in position and are stationed equally around it. Now, we begin.”

The five vanish from the planet and reappear just outside of the Void’s barrier. Alex concentrates on the barrier and soon an opening in its dark exterior begins to appear. A shimmering bubble of Dale’s energy surrounds Sara, Kate, and himself. The bubble then proceeds toward the opening. But the Void must have sensed something. The opening is beginning to close. Alex, seeing that the opening is getting smaller, strengthens his resolve and forces the opening larger. As they fly past the Void’s barrier and into it, everything grows black and silent. They can no longer hear the Entity’s thoughts, but they can still hear Alex’s. He is guiding them to an exact point within the Void, a place that will allow Kate to absorb the most energy from the Void. Once there, she can begin to absorb and convert the Void’s energy for her use.

However, both Alex and the Entity notice a marked change in the Void. It is beginning to expand itself, trying to spread itself out to increase its area. By increasing its surface area, more energy must be applied to stop it.

“Dale, you must proceed faster. Stay on your heading,” Alex tells him. “The Void looks like it is up to something.”

“Alex, something inside the Void has also changed. It’s like it is getting denser the further in we go. It’s getting harder to keep going. Not sure how long my shield will hold out. How much farther?”

“You’re almost there; you have to keep going. Kate, send some of the Entity’s energy to Dale; he needs a boost.”

Until that moment, Kate and Sara had been in the bubble, just waiting for the chance to do something. Sara immediately enters Kate’s mind and lets Kate creates a small opening in the energy orb within her. Because she has absorbed so much energy from the Entity, her energy orb is as large as it could get without leaving her mind and surrounding them. This is something that they cannot allow to happen, at least not yet. Dale’s shield will protect them from the Void’s attacks. Once Kate’s orb leaves her mind to surround them, Dale’s shield will not be able to operate with Kate’s orb. When the orb leaves her mind and surrounds them, Dale must separate himself from Sara and Kate at that instant. Kate’s energy, once converted and refined, is deadly to the Void. It will not be able to attack them. Her orb will protect Kate and Sara until the end.

“Dale, you’re there. Tell Kate to start,” Alex tells him.

“Kate, Alex says we’re here. It’s up to you now. Good luck,” Dale tells her.

Like spreading out a solar sail, Kate begins to expand her mind, seeking out any and all forms of energy within the Void. In doing so, she finds that the Void has large pockets of energy, as if it were storing energy like huge batteries. As Kate begins to tap into the first of these pockets, Dale gives them a warning.

“Uh, guys…my shield is getting weaker…not sure how much longer I can hold it.”

Sara examines Dale and his shield and finds the problem.

“Kate, stop sending Dale the Entity’s energy,” Sara says. “The Void is feeding from it. If it stays as is, the Void will get through. How much energy have you converted?”

Being inside Kate’s mind, Sara can sense the smile on Kate’s face. She knows that Dale’s shield, powered by her converted energy, is deadly to the Void and cannot be breached by it. She closes the opening in the orb storing the Entity’s energy, shutting off the energy being sent to Dale, and opens the orb storing her converted energy. Sara channels the converted energy into a small beam and sends it to Dale.

The effect on the Void is immediate. The Void’s attacks on Dale’s shield not only stop, but the Void backs away from the lethal shield.

“Dale, time for you to separate. Kate, start collecting energy,” Alex tells them.

Hearing this, Dale immediately moves away from Kate and Sara, taking his shield with him. He knows Kate’s orb for converted energy has reached the limit of her mind. Add any more and it will expand to begin containing both her and Sara. He contracts his shield to surround just himself and moves away from the sisters. He looks back to see Kate’s orb already surrounding the sisters.

As soon as Kate knows Alex is clear, she concentrates on the Void’s energy pockets and begins to withdraw the energy. The Void’s reaction is to try to begin its attack on the intruders, but it does not move fast enough. After Dale separates from them, Kate’s energy orb expands immediately to surround both Kate and Sara.

“Dale, you cannot do more in there, time for you to leave. Kate and Sara can take it from here,” Alex tells him.

Dale knows Alex is speaking the truth. His shield has done its job to protect Kate and Sara. Now that Kate’s energy orb surrounds them, it will do nothing but increase in size until a point is reached. Then Sara will focus Kate’s energies to the one thousand pairs of herself and her sister, who are now waiting to receive her energy and use it to attack the Void from multiple places.

Dale begins to move toward the opening in the Void’s barrier. Surrounded by a shield made from Kate’s converted energies, Dale finds it much easier to leave the Void than when they had entered it. The Void’s attempts to attack Dale’s shield are in vain and it is a short time before Dale has left the Void to join Alex and the Entity.

Kate’s system begins to absorb the Void’s energy and in the process, converts it to a form of energy lethal to the Void. As Kate’s orb surrounding them grows, the Void begins its outside attacks on the waiting pairs of Sara and Kate. Three of the pairs are attacked and cancelled before the Entity can establish a shield to protect the others. One of a fourth pair is also cancelled out just before the barrier forms, protecting the alternate Kate who is left. She is saddened to see that her companion no longer exists and floats to the nearest pair of alternate Kate and Sara to see if she can help.

Apparently, the Void is beginning to sense it is in some form of danger. The barrier surrounding it begins to change. Instead of having a solid black, non-reflective surface, Alex can see ripples, eddies, and currents. It is taking energy from creating the protective barrier and using it to increase its attack on the intruders within.

Kate’s shield has grown too large and too lethal. Every time it tries an attack, the Void loses some of itself. Because Kate’s energy orb is feeding off the Void’s energy, it continues to increase in both size and strength.

“Kate, how are you doing in there?” Alex asks.

“I’m doing fine, no problems here,” Kate tells him. “Without the damned thing attacking me, it’s a piece of cake. Tell the others to get ready. I’m almost set to discharge.”

Alex sends out the word for the pairs to prepare themselves.

“NOW!” Alex tells them.

Kate forms many openings in her orb. Sara directs the energy from the openings toward the waiting pairs surrounding the Void. They in turn absorb her energy, further refining it and storing it, until Alex gives them the word to attack all at once.

There is still one item that must be addressed: how to get Sara and Kate out of the Void after they have sent what energy they have. Kate’s energy orb can still protect them, but no one, not even the Entity, can predict what will happen when the Void has received enough of Kate’s converted energy to destroy it. Will it explode? Will it just vaporize and disappear? The Entity does not want to take any chances, and he informs Alex of his plan.

“Alex, that’s it, we’re done,” Sara tells him. “Let her rip!”

Two things happen at the same time. Without the Void being able to stop them, Alex, protected by Dale’s shield, travels to Kate and Sara and brings them out of the Void just as the pairs begin their attack.

The scene is nothing less than incredible: a huge, swirling, black cloud surrounded by almost one thousand infinitely smaller pairs of dots, each pair discharging enough energy to vaporize every reality left. The swirling in the surface of the Void increases until it resembles a huge vortex trying to suck in everything like a massive black hole. The barriers the Entity created to protect the pairs are beginning to fail. Dale senses this and replaces the barriers with his own. The pairs continue with their bombardments of the massive energy beams.

The Void, under siege, begins to reduce in size. The Entity suspects that it is reducing its size to become denser, trying to withstand the energy being thrown at it. But reducing its size has no effect in reducing the effects of the beams. The unrelenting, deadly energy beams are vaporizing more and more of the Void. As the Void continues to reduce in size, the energy beams hitting it are getting closer and closer.

Then it happens. The Void compresses itself to the bare minimum it can; it can reduce itself no more. The energy beams from the pairs continue to rain down upon it, forcing it to shrink beyond what it can in size. The Void, no longer able to contain the energies still within it, explodes into a multitude of vaporous pieces. Like a fog evaporating in the morning sun, the Void’s remains evaporate into nothing.

With the Void no more, an unexpected result begins to show up in the remaining realities, one of quiet and peace. Even in places it had not yet touched, the Void had been able to spread itself in the form of fear. How this had been done, no one would ever determine, not even the Entity.

The moment the last of the Void’s presence completely vanishes, the inhabitants in every remaining reality stop what they are doing, as if listening for something. What they are listening for, they do not know, but their senses tell them that something is different, something has changed. Animals have senses humans have long since forgotten about or how to use. It is the animals, the non-civilized lesser beings of all those worlds, which have the least trouble figuring out what had just happened: there is no more threat: it is gone. There will no longer be any kind of threat to them, not from the Void, not from predators, not from the ones who want to kill or hurt them. The animals, which are considered not very intelligent by human standards, still have their basic instincts intact. Those instincts not only serve to protect them, but also to allow them to see a larger picture of their world, and sometimes beyond.

But the other inhabitants, the so-called intelligent ones, whether human or not, are confused as to what has just happened. They sense something has changed but have no idea what. It will take them a long time before they can also figure it out.

Without fear inhabiting their minds and emotions, they no longer have many of the feelings they have long since learned to live with, feelings that had been the main driving forces in many of their lives. Fear, when introduced in a higher mind, can expand into many other forms of emotions. These emotions can result in hatred, anger, revenge, and even death. Fear can also prevent an individual from fulfilling his or her potential.

Without fear ruling their lives, each life form in every remaining reality slowly begins to rethink their own lives: how they are living, what they are doing, and why. Once they determine that there is a better way, they change the path they are taking. Many who were at war eventually learn that they can lay down their weapons. For the ones that allowed fear ruled their lives the most, they throw away their weapons and feel confused as to why they allowed things to have gotten how they were.

Once fear had left their worlds, inhabitants begin to achieve many things that had once been only dreams. Without the fear of mistrust, previously warring inhabitants begin working together. Larger things like war, famine, hatred, and disease are quickly eradicated. Lesser problems like theft and jealousy begin to vanish. Inhabitants begin to make vast advances in mathematics, the sciences, and art. With advancements in the sciences, they learn of other populated worlds and how to travel to them, eventually by thought alone. They learn quickly how working with other worlds can benefit everyone, not just themselves. Eventually, travel to other worlds, universes, and realities becomes commonplace, with some worlds specializing in food production, some in medicine, while others work in the arts, recreation, or the sciences. They learn that each world has its place in the scheme of things, its own specialties that it can advance.

There is a point in time and space when the last of the inhabitants in all the realities becomes ready. They can proceed no further as they are. When that occurs, the Entity senses it. At that moment, the remaining realities are at their greatest potential. Slowly, he begins to combine these realities, but in a way different from before. This time, life is not lost; it remains intact. Slowly, one by one, each reality has the living beings, both animal and plant, moved to a single reality. What remains is an empty reality that the Entity can put aside. Without the energies within that reality, it is of no use and is discarded, empty of life.

The Entity’s goal is to allow the inhabitants to continue to advance. A time will come when all life forms have advanced to the point that their physical beings are no longer necessary, and they become living energy, the purest form of energy. It is this type of energy that the Entity has been waiting for. When the last living thing in the last reality advances to that form of energy, a coded trigger hidden deep within all living beings is executed. They feel the need to gather in one place. When the last living energy joins the rest, a reaction will begin, resulting in an explosion of life. That energy will expand and combine with the Entity’s realm and the Entity.

Just before that point is reached, when all inhabitants of the last reality remain only as living energy and advancement is no longer possible, the Entity calls his companions: Alex, Sara, Kate, and Dale.

In the realm of the Entity, all of this, the final advancement of life in the last reality, is achieved in a matter of moments.

“It is time for me to leave you,” the Entity tells them.

“Do I have time?” Sara asks the Entity.

“Yes, but do not be long” the Entity tells her.

“Great. Alex, I’ll be back in a minute,” Sara tells him, and she vanishes.

“Where’d she go?” Alex asks the Entity.

“She asked me for a favor. After all that you have been through, I could not turn her down” the Entity tells him.

A moment later, Sara reappears. Sara is holding something, but Alex cannot tell what it is. It looks like a puff of smoke. Then, as Alex watches, it starts to expand, changing its shape. One by one, Alex can detect images: a head begins to develop, then four legs and something almost as long as the body. When the change is complete, Sara turns and looks at Alex while holding the thing she went to retrieve. Alex’s jaw drops as he recognizes what is in her arms.

“MacGuyver! But...but how?” Alex asks, as he drifts over to the companion that he thought was gone forever. The shimmering image of the dog tries to jump out of Sara’s arms to get to Alex, but the dog has not yet learned how to move in this new form. Alex reaches out and scoops the dog in his arms. Even in Alex’s present form, the dog has no trouble recognizing his master. The result is the little dog trying his best to lick his master’s face once again.

“You can thank Sara,” the Entity tells him.

“Sara, how…?” Alex asks.

“I remembered when we went back to my mother’s funeral. You said that I could control time. I asked the Entity about going back to get him before it was too late. The Entity gave me his OK and gave me the knowledge needed to change MacGuyver so that he can be here with us. I went back in time to the Ark, just after we all left the Raven and found MacGuyver asleep on our bed. I wrote a note telling whoever found it that we had to leave, why and we were bringing MacGuyver with us. Did I do good?”

Sara could have sworn that she saw a tear running down Alex’s cheek. The look on his face was all the answer she needed.

“The last reality is about to expand and join this one. Once that happens, I will advance to the next realm. You will not be changed. You have gone as far as you were designed to do. You were designed for one ultimate goal: to guide, teach, and protect me in this realm and the next. When the last reality and this realm combine, I will advance, and my form will change, but all knowledge will leave me. When the change occurs, I will advance to the next realm. You will also come with me but in your present forms. There, you will protect, teach, and train me in what I will need to do in the next realm--to continue my advancement to other realms. You will tell me of this realm and what transpired here, and you will protect me until I can protect myself. I do not know if or when that will be. If you are like the previous guardians that existed when I first came to this realm, only you will know when you are no longer required. When the previous guardians knew I no longer required their aid or protection, they chose to become mortal and live out their lives on a world of their choosing, knowing their energies would be passed on to future generations. That will be entirely up to you.”

The Entity looks at the last remaining reality, a small dot of light floating in an endless sea of emptiness. He turns and looks back at them.

“You have been good companions. I thank you for your help and bid you farewell.”

As Alex, Sara, Kate, and Dale watch, the last reality begins to expand. Alex looks deep into the reality at all the billions of galaxies, all the planets, all the life forms. He sees them begin to glow and vanish. Then each planet glows brightly and vanishes. Moving his gaze outward, he sees each galaxy vanish. As the last one disappears, a bright light encompasses them, the Entity, and all that is in his realm. There is no sensation, just the light, which seems to be more than just light. It is an energy…like nothing he could have ever imagined. There is a warmth in it that he can feel. Then, all goes dark. A myriad of lights begins to appear, filled with colors that seem to be full of life. There is no pain, anxiety, or fear of change for any of them, only the excitement of seeing the next realm and what lies within it. Then a feeling of drowsiness hits them, and they sleep.

Alex is the first to awake. He looks around to find the other three floating there beside him. Sara is next in the awakening, with Dale, Kate and MacGuyver stirring at the same time shortly thereafter.

“Where are we?” asks Kate. “Everyone OK? Anyone see the Entity?”

“There he is,” answers Alex.

They turn to look behind them. They did not know what to expect; they had no idea what form the Entity would take in this new realm. What they see is a complete surprise to all of them.

One by one, they look at each other and smile. With Alex holding him, MacGuyver looks up at Alex and then at the new Entity. The dog’s long, bushy tail swishes back and forth with excitement. He clearly approves.

They drift over to the new Entity and introduce themselves.

“Greetings,” Alex says. “We are your Guardians. Let us begin.”

The End