At Dusk

The hosts

Laura stood motionless facing her hosts for what seemed like an eternity. The blow of seeing them so abruptly left her speechless, as if you turned a corner and came across an old acquaintance you did not expect.

They stood looking at her if they had eyes at all, something she was not certain of.

There were three of them, at least eight feet tall. Tall and lean and somewhat transparently skinned, just like their small counterparts. And they looked very similar to one another unless her mind was playing tricks on her. Their facial features seemed to move underneath the transparent skin tissue, much like an automatic wristwatch whose engines you could see moving, yet on the surface membrane, everything remained motionless.

She thought of all sorts of why, what and how questions she would like to ask, but none seemed appropriate. It was uncanny. 

Her mouth shut instantly every time it opened until she finally came up with the simplest possible way to establish contact. "I'm Laura. Who are you?" 

Her voice didn't shake but it wasn't loud enough either. It came out in the lowest vibration possible. So much so that she could barely hear it herself.

One of them stepped forward instantly, it moved so swiftly it was uncanny. It made some kind of gesture with what seemed to be an arm. The air around her ruffled and became visible somehow. 

"It means welcome," explained a languid voice that came from a point she could not see.

"What language is that? Who are they?" She inquired.

"It has no vocal equivalent, much like they themselves have no equivalent on your land." The owner of the voice materialized behind her, a human being very much like her. She could not say, however, if it was male or female. Neither the voice nor the apparel denounced its gender. It was wearing what looked like a diving suit, except it was made out of one piece of fabric that did not appear to be sewed or cut in any way. It fit that androgynous body as if by magic.

Like the other three, the human too was tall, maybe even seven feet. They all seemed to tower over her.

"Are you... like me?"  

"None of us are."

"Where are you from?"

"Fromthe same place as you, but another plane of existence."

"How so? What is this place? Why did you bring me here?"

"In truth, you brought yourself. Through a casual jump that someone opened, like many before you."

"I didn't open anything. I fell and someone picked me up. I woke up here, but the lights...," she trailed off, still very much confused about the circumstances behind her presence there. "What do you mean like many before me?"

"You're not the first of your kind we receive onboard."

"You say I came here all by myself, but I don't know why or how."

"How do you feel about us taking a walk? It's often easier for those such as yourself to understand what this place is while navigating it."

She nodded. What were her options? They walked in silence for what felt like half an hour until they reached a facility that was also shaped like a dome, a bay area similar to the one where she had woken up for the first time.

All along the way, she heard noises and muffed voices yet she didn't know where they were coming from.

"I was here before."

"Correct, you came through one of these doorways. Look how many there are."

There were hundreds, if not thousands.

"What do they do?"

"They connect places."

"And one of these leads to Earth..."

"Many of them in fact, but to different points in what you call space and time."

"Points in time, you mean... like the past and the future? Like time travel?"

"There is no past and future, there are just vast fields of energy. You can glide in any direction you like. When you stop, it will become your present."

"So... you are saying I can 'glide' back in time?"

"Yes, but it won't be the past for you. It will just be the present."

"Can I switch back if I feel like it?"

"Can you walk in many different directions and then come back to the point where you started?"

"Of course, I can."

"But will you find things exactly the way they were when you left?"

"No, things change. With time, I guess."

"Precisely. So what would you find if you glided to a series of different moments and then came back to the original position?"

Upon her lack of answer, he continued. "Many have done it. They tend to find themselves out of synchronicity with their original position. Sometimes the feeling is fleeting, they are able to live with it and sometimes it's something more profound. They are too altered to carry on."

"What happens then?"

"They tend to become travelers and never settle again."

"How about this place and this moment?"

"This, as I'm sure you've already perceived, is a station. A point of convergence for those who travel."

"Is it located... on Earth?"

"It's an intercrossing, so it borders many places. Do you wish to see how it works?"

Instead of replying, she simply walked with the being to one corner of the great salon they were in. Her companion made a gesture, very much like the gesture made by the others before. Suddenly the walls were replaced by some kind of savannah, with sparse vegetation and a few trees dotting their field of vision. It could not be Earth, however, since every surface was purplish and everything was larger, including the animal life. Another gesture and they came upon a city, with buildings that grew in all directions. It was a melancholic place, almost empty of life, not even the sea of artificial lights could secure warmth. Another gesture, another landscape. This time, they were above an ocean that seemed to be trapped under a thin layer of glass or ice. It was a breathtaking view.

"How can it be? So beautiful... these worlds, unknown to us."

"These very different places are not very far from your sun. And they are not entirely unknown to your people either. Yet they remain unreachable."

"We can spot these places, but not your station..."

"A three-dimensional reality is all you see. Like a fish that can see how raindrops affect the surface of the water, but cannot see what's up there, cannot see your solid world. All it understands is water."

"How can it be different?"

"It is different when you learn about the pipery. Some filaments that bring far-off places together, bridging them."

"Like extra dimensions?"

"No, like tunnels that connect these dimensions."

She thought for a while about what he had said and showed her. "If this is a station for travelers, why did you bring me here? Who are you?"

"I did not bring you here. It might have been the koykoy, they can be mischievous sometimes," he seemed to ponder.

"Who?"

"They will appear as children to your eyes. No doubt you have met them upon waking up in one of the cocoons. They are impatient creatures."

"I've seen them. But why?"

"That I do not know."

"And who are you?"

"I might ask you the same question."

"I've asked first. Besides, I've already said who I am. I'm Laura."

"I'm Cyril, the caretaker. And you, you are our guest."