Chương 5: Chapter 4 - The Cage (I)

Step by step, he slowly crawled to the top. It was completely dark on the other side, but even then, he wanted to escape that room. He had to. As he took the last step into the darkness, leaving the staircase, he crumbled to the floor, the knife slipping from his hand. Suddenly, light flooded the room, illuminating the same white walls. The same white room.

"No… don't do this to me," he murmured with difficulty, despair already clawing its way inside him. But then he noticed something different. In the middle of the room stood a cage. Inside the cage was... something. Something alive. His despair morphed into fear as he laid eyes on it. What the hell was that? It was a humanoid creature. It stood motionless, with no eyes, no ears, no hair—just a mouth on its head, revealing a row of pointy teeth.

Apart from that, the creature had no claws or nails, just four limbs: two arms and two legs. His heart raced as he stared at the creature. What was it? What was it doing here? Why was it in a cage? Was this creature the result of some weird experiment? He looked at the knife lying next to him on the floor. Was he… supposed to fight this creature? Was this the test, the reason he had been brought here?

Was the first room intended to tire him out, to make him weak so the creature could kill him or fight on even ground? He picked up the knife and pushed himself up, body aching. Step by step, he approached the cage. The creature's head turned slightly, its mouth opening a fraction. He froze. Was it reacting to him? He took a deep breath and took another step. The creature stayed still, its eyeless face seemingly following his movements. As he got closer, he noticed something else inside the cage—food.

There were fruits and a barrel of water beside the creature. Relief and confusion mixed in his mind. The sight of the food was almost overwhelming. Hunger and thirst clawed at him, and he knew he needed to eat and drink as soon as possible. But he couldn't let his guard down. He edged closer, knife in hand, ready for what may come. There was no way to reach the food from outside the cage. He stared at the creature, fear gripping him. What was he supposed to do?

He took a step back and looked around, hoping to find something, anything, that could help. That's when he saw it—a small red button on the wall. What was it for? He glanced back at the creature, then at the button. To open the cage. His intuition told him as much. The stick and the carrot. He was shown the reward: the desperately needed food and water. He was shown the challenge: the unknown creature. And he was given the choice: the button. This made him wonder. Who was really being tested here: the creature…

or him? July 28, 2024 - Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas"Well, just one more day. It's gonna be hard to sleep tonight," Stephen said with an amused voice.

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Chiara smiled and took a sip of her strong coffee.

"I know we've talked about this a lot, but do you truly think a tower will appear just like that?"

"A tower can be many things; it doesn't have to be a literal tower as we know it. The possibility of a hack isn't zero, even if it's really low. In that case, The Tower might be a virtual organization. It could also be a metaphorical concept or… I don't know."

"But what about the physical tower? If it appears, it would involve teleporting a structure of significant mass. That technology…"

"…would be groundbreaking," Chiara finished for him.

"Teleportation on such a scale would fundamentally alter our understanding of physics and engineering principles. The energy requirements alone would be astronomical." Stephen nodded.

"Exactly. But let's consider the mechanics. Quantum entanglement could be a possibility. If they can entangle particles in the tower with particles in another location, theoretically, they could transport the entire structure instantly." Chiara raised an eyebrow.

"But the scale! We've only managed to entangle individual particles or small groups. The decoherence problem would be immense. The slightest interference would disrupt the entanglement."

"True," Stephen agreed.

"But what if they've found a way to stabilize large-scale entanglement? Maybe they're using some form of quantum error correction or have a method to maintain coherence over large distances." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Or perhaps they're employing wormholes," Chiara suggested.

"If they can create and stabilize a wormhole, they could theoretically transport the tower through a shortcut in spacetime." Stephen looked thoughtful.

"Wormholes would require negative energy or exotic matter, something we haven't been able to produce or maintain in sufficient quantities. But if they've found a way..."

"Another possibility is matter-energy conversion," Chiara added.

"They could convert the tower into energy, transmit it, and then reassemble it at the destination. Think of it like a highly advanced version of how we transmit data over the internet."

"That would still involve incredible amounts of energy and precise control over the conversion and reassembly processes," Stephen noted.

"But if they have a technology that can handle that..."

"It would mean they've solved some of the fundamental challenges we're still grappling with," Chiara said.

"Energy conservation, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and the complexity of molecular structures." Stephen nodded.

"It's clear that if this is real, they're operating on a level far beyond our current capabilities." They both fell silent, each lost in their thoughts. Finally, Stephen broke the silence.

"There are several military bases and space centers all around the world with satellites ready to check on a tower appearing out of thin air. What do you think about that?"

"It's a normal course of action. I mean, we're doing the same thing, right?" She laughed and took another sip of her coffee as she looked at the display in front of them.

"It's not every day that something like this happens. Everyone's on edge, waiting." Stephen sighed and reclined his head on the back of the couch.

"If The Tower really does appear, what do you think it'll mean for us? For the world? For humanity?" Chiara took a moment before answering.

"A test. The message said it already, right?"

"But what would this test mean?"

"An invitation accompanied by a test," Chiara mused.

"It could mean many things, but it might be a way to see if we are worthy of this invitation."

"And if we're not?"

"Then we can only blame ourselves," she replied. He thought of his current condition and understood that waiting would only make the situation more difficult. He looked at the creature again. It was small, and aside from its mouth, it didn't seem to have other ways of attacking. It was thin, with no evident muscles, and its structure suggested slow movement, but he couldn't be sure. It was scary, true, like something brought from a horror movie, but that was it. If he had the choice, he would avoid it altogether …

but he needed that water and food. He looked at the knife in his hand, gripped it tighter, and started to move closer to the button. Thoughts began to cloud his mind: What if the creature was fast? What if it had hidden abilities? What if the button did something else? He shook his head. All those what-ifs wouldn't erase his thirst and hunger. If he died to the creature, so be it. At least he would give it his all while he could. If he kept waiting, his body would only grow weaker. He had to act now.

He looked ahead. He had reached the button. It was simple, plain with no letters or symbols. He leaned against the wall, getting a clear view of the creature. He held his knife high. His heart was racing; he was afraid, very afraid. But he had no choice. He took a deep breath and pressed the button. There was no sound, no alarm, but what happened after pressing the button made his eyes go wide. The cage disappeared. It wasn't opened, raised, or lowered. No. The cage simply vanished into thin air.

"Was it an optical illusion all along? Had there ever been a cage?" But he had no time to ponder. The creature was heading his way. It was slow. That was good. Very good. He felt his hunger and thirst fade as fear pushed his body into fight-or-flight mode. Adrenaline surged through him. He pushed himself away from the wall and gripped the knife with both hands. He would end this swiftly. He had to. The creature shuffled closer, its eyeless face locked on him.

Its movements were jerky and unnatural, but it showed no signs of stopping. As it neared, his heart pounded in his chest. He lunged forward, but his foot slipped on the slick floor, and he fell hard. Panic gripped him as he saw the creature looming over him. For a moment, he was paralyzed, staring up at its grotesque form. The creature continued its slow, relentless approach, and he knew he had to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

He threw up his arm to block it, but the creature latched onto it with its mouth, its teeth sinking deep into his flesh. He screamed in agony, the pain searing through his arm. Desperately, he tried to push it away, but its grip was strong. The creature's teeth tore at his flesh, blood pouring from the wound. With a surge of adrenaline, he managed to bring his knife up and stabbed it in the neck. The creature did not flinch.

He stabbed again, and again, in the neck and the chest, his vision blurring with pain and effort. The creature remained silent, its cold, unfeeling presence only adding to the horror. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the creature stopped moving. It fell limp, its grip loosening. He pushed it off him, gasping for breath. Red blood, similar to his own but a brighter hue, pooled around them. He screamed, clutching his mangled arm. The pain was unbearable, his vision swimming.

He looked at the creature, and to his shock, it suddenly disappeared. In its place was a small sphere, a shiny blue orb. He couldn't think straight. The food and water were too far. He wouldn't be able to make it. The pain was too intense, and his body was too weak. Blood was pouring from his arm, his strength fading fast. He reached out, his hand trembling, and touched the orb. The world around him blurred and darkened.