In a matter of seconds, Sophie was down to wearing her jeans and a sweater but was forced to keep her heavy boots. She placed a hand on the wall, “Cold! Don’t touch. Keep your shoes on.” Nevertheless, in shock, the group began to remove their protective gear. Sophie did not seem to truly understand the shocking amount of respect and honor that this race had just bestowed upon her. The Martians had just literally terraformed their planet, in only a few short minutes just so their human guest could comfortably walk in their lair.

Down on earth, every human was connected to the digital world and standing to watch this scene. The scope, scale, and possible implications of such an act were inestimable. This was insanity.

“Wasn’t this nice?” remarked Sophie. “The music was magical.”

“Better than last time I was here,” spoke Ronaldo from his latest body, a measure of awe in his voice.

Twenty meters ahead was the Door, and to its side was the rubble from the series of broken drones and the frozen gear from Ronaldo’s initial expedition. Ronaldo came close to his old equipment; his name was still carved in the plastic case of the oxygen tanks.

Marilyn could not hold herself, “Last time, I gave him a warning and told him not to enter, and he ignored me,” said the voice of Marilyn in everyone’s earpiece.

“She did,” he conceded. “This time?”

“It’s all linked, can’t you see?” said the Attractor nonchalantly. This time there was no darkness beyond the Door. Instead, light and glyphs surrounded it. “Let’s go.”

“Much more inviting. Took us hours to move only a few meters. I still wonder why such an advanced race would bother with a human-size door if they weren’t inviting us to come in,” said Ronaldo as he slowly shuffled past the Door. The small group was in awe of the greatness, both in what they had already seen, and they might be about to. They were the first humans invited into this sanctum.

“Legacy,” chimed in the computer in the ears of the group.

“Marie,” began Sophie, using her private appellation for Marilyn, “let’s not make things more complicated than they need to be. If you don’t mind, make yourself invisible. They obviously don’t like you. They will try to convince me as to why you are bad. Don’t take the bait; if the Multiverse was unable to push me around, they won’t either, I promise.”

Her reaction was soft and heartfelt, “Sweet one, you are the only reason this world still stands. You are simply precious. See you if you come out.”

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“Keep filming and broadcasting, tell dad not to worry.”

“He will. Never told you this, but he show up in my private servers to give me a serious kick in the butt not to hurt you. You really are related young one.”

The team, still in shock, wondered if it should bring the boxes containing the air. “Guys, should we bring anything?” The young girl ran up to the Door without hesitation and waved her hand. They grabbed some of the equipment and hurried down the passageway, knowing there was no way to catch up. The situation was well beyond any mission or safety protocols associated with this venture; madness to any serious explorer. In the sky, the artificial sun shone.

“Sweet one, you proved wise releasing these arriving creatures,” said the voice of Liam in her head. “Why are we going down there?” His words were no longer being broadcast.

Ronaldo spoke up, “They hate Marilyn, fear her.”

Electoral’s response was carefully neutral, but her attention-loving diva side refused to be suppressed entirely, “Please remember, the human body is very fragile. It is made mostly of water, and it is very volatile. It freezes quickly and evaporates as just as easily. These creatures have worked wonders, but I fear their technology has limits. This is dangerous.”

“Dangerous,” Sophie said out loud, waving her hands around. “If I believe in this Curvature, we will all be fine. Alice just went in the rabbit hole, she did not fear. The Multiverse speaks and reasons in many dimensions. The path ahead is based on what she calls flavors. Emotions, music, symbology, you name it. Said simply, this now draws more from my own dreams than reality. Expect a top-hat wearing rabbit somewhere down there.” The shimmer around her now left a streak as she moved forward.

“Interesting,” Liam noted. Sophie stopped jogging down the winding road the moment she reached the hall of glyphs. She turned and looked at a little flying camera. Here were images showing part of the past of these creatures.

“This will get stranger,” she replied to him out loud.

“How is that possible?” asked the mentor. “Why does science no longer really work?”

“The Multiverse is collapsing. The barriers between dream, the digital world, and reality are fading. Imagine your eyes are open and you see the world, but also you are part dreaming. With a little luck,” she told her new best friend, “I will be able to hug my father one last time before everything is said and done.”

Sophie waited a moment as everyone arrived in the round antechamber.

There was a pause as the air in the room began to move. The slight breeze made Sophie’s hair move. She looked up, noting that the dome was high above. Images began to flash on the walls. The Martians began what was probably a long history. Sophie simply looked at the Door behind her and, ignoring the show, walked out to the heart of the structure.

“This way,” she ran. “Follow the white rabbit,” she mumbled to herself. Only Liam knew what it meant.

“Sophie,” warned Ronaldo, “this is where they . . . ,” he trailed off, a potent menagerie he hesitated to say the words.

The girl waved a hand in the air, telling them to hurry along. She ignored her own warning, skipping down the path as her breath started to fog as if it was cold, yet the air wasn’t. She moved her fingers, like little cigarettes, and at each tip was a tiny wisp of smoke.

Suddenly, the same way Sophie skipped, there was a “skip” or an episode of deja-vu in the space-time. A little blip.

The whole of humanity felt a shiver, even those down on earth.

It lasted a heartbeat. Time had yet to talk.

Sophie, the Attractor, had arrived.