Vanishing Point

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The exterior surface of the Axis was both solid and permeable. Smooth and roughhewn. Static and yet fluid. The ground that had been beneath their metal boots but a few moments ago was gone now, as was the surface of the world they had stood on.

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A remote point of entry had been deemed wise in view of the unknown nature of the encounter. Remote and in a way arbitrary. As long as they were a safe distance from the observation team, where they entered the Axis was of little consequence. This strange, penetrable barrier, the demarcation point between two universe, the electric surface that was both an open invitation and a closed door.

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Ryan knew Tanya wanted to go first. So when she glanced at him, her fingertips hovering only centimetres from the exterior surface, he simply nodded. Tanya glanced back at the Axis and extended her arm, making contact with the barrier, her other hand in his.

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What happened next would be the subject of speculation and debate for decades to come. As soon as Tanya’s fingertips made contact both she and Ryan disappeared, snatched from the sight of eyes both human and electromagnetic; gone as if they had never been, as if they had never possessed material substance at all. And in that moment this story - for want of a better expression - truly takes flight. As do Tanya and Ryan, becoming in that instant part of the cosmic weave; becoming legend in less time than it took the observers to realise they were gone.

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Which is to say, no time at all.