Spacebound Hearts: Chapter One: Into The Wormhole by Adam Rutter

credit Gencraft AI

‘Open the wormhole,’ radioed Alex.

The view of the stars through the window inside the cockpit began to stretch and squeeze, forming a ring around a black hole. The Falcon’s engines roared, pushing the spacecraft toward the invisible anomaly. Red and green lights flicked on the consoles.

‘All systems are looking good Falcon,’ a man’s voice said on the headset.

‘Copy that.’

The Falcon started shaking. The black hole’s gravity was pulling the single seated spacecraft into its mouth. Alex’s pressurized suit was equipped with sensors, monitoring his heartbeat. The bleeps grew faster as his heart was beating more rapidly. As the anomaly grew larger, the Falcon fell into the long, winding tunnel. Alex had left planet Novaterra and the Milky Way galaxy behind, travelling on a quick journey to another galaxy that would take a spaceship 163,000 years to get there at the speed of light.

‘Falcon has entered the singularity. I repeat, the Falcon entered the singularity,’ confirmed Alex.

‘We copy that Falcon.’

Blue lights flickered on the console, indicating a build up of radiation inside the anomaly.

‘Falcon, can you give us a progress report,’ a woman requested, voice distorted.

‘Radiation levels are stable. All systems normal.’

Alex was the first human in history to travel beyond the Milky Way 600 years after humankind left its first boot print on the surface of the moon. This was no ordinary journey. It was a scientific experiment. The vast distance between the two galaxies had been cut down, making it look as easy as travelling from Earth to the Moon. Humanity had colonised a quarter of the galaxy. Now, it was looking for a new frontier. To expand human colonies beyond the galactic boundaries.

‘Radiation levels critical,’ said Alex.

The radio buzzed and crackled.

‘I repeat...radiation levels critical.’

The buzzing was loud and persistent.

‘Do you copy?’

The cockpit was filled with flashing red lights. An alarm blared.

‘Do you copy? DO YOU COPY?’

The wormhole swung and slithered like a winding snake, the Falcon hit against the wall at every corner, bouncing along a narrow corridor.

The walls were closing in.

‘Warning,’ announced a computer generated voice. ‘Cabin pressure is decreasing rapidly.’

Alex pressed four green buttons, attempting to keep oxygen at a maximum  level, but it was futile. The air pressure was falling at an incredible rate. Alex’s only best chance was to reach his target destination before the wormhole collapses. The valves inside his suit were released via an AI feedback loop. It was enough to give him plenty of breathable oxygen, though for only a short period of time. The Falcon tossed and twirled, ricocheting like a bullet.

‘Warning! Structural integrity failure is imminent,’ said the computer.

The cockpit rattled and shuddered. Alex was bouncing from side-to-side, shaking violently. Even though he was wearing a helmet, the violent shaking was still enough to deliver a severe blow to the head if it struck against a hard surface.

‘Warning! Structural integrity failure is imminent.’

Steam jets pierced through walls inside the cockpit, hissing. Alex saw stars at the other end; the wormhole’s exit grew bigger. Big enough for the Falcon to escape, but with potentially disastrous consequences. Alex jolted, hitting his head against the wall. The violent blow rendered him unconscious. His spacecraft – out of control. Alex was left at the mercy of the volatile wormhole, determined to projectile his spacecraft out into a dangerous universe, possibly flying into a deadly target. An asteroid? A planet? The wormhole’s exit was drawing closer. Its gaping hole, closing. The Falcon was thrown out into space, and the wormhole imploded, sending out a shockwave. The spacecraft was being pushed out further, hurling toward a region of space unknown to humanity.

On-board the Falcon, an automatic distress signal began transmitting ...