III: Colors

Alpha|Omega

My eyes open and my mind soon follow. We're spinning but it's slow. We're alive, somehow. I look around and see Fraeia standing with their eyes fixed to whatever waits outside the open viewport. I guess they never passed out to begin with. The eden can handle more than humans.
My hand tingles but I can't remember why. It has a tenderness to it, like a fond memory I can't recall. I can still feel it, though. I try to speak, and can't tell if I succeeded. Fraeia doesn't look back or even respond.
I see light. The ship has yet to power back on, so the source must be outside. It fills the room and disappears. For a moment I see a blinding white, followed by the rapid flicker of maddening prismatic hues.
I see red, the loudest of all colors, the most agonizing as well. Red taunts us, a promise for passion where none can be had, and yet my hand still tingles. My cheeks are warm. Am I blushing?
I see orange. I hate orange. It's trapped between red and yellow. Maybe it's because I relate to it so much. Orange is always in between, never able to make up its mind because it's always in transition, always moving but unable to reach a destination.
Yellow, the color of madness and joy. I can't help but think of the others back home and how they hated me. If they could only see me now. Would they be proud? Would dad be proud? It's about time. I've cried one too many times on those jagged shoulders.
Green… That'd be mom; my guiding star. She's still hanging by a thread back home, though where and when that may be is me now. They tried to sabotage the cryo pod but dad keeps a careful watch. I hope I find a love like that. What would she think of me now? The most hated woman ever to live and here I am ready to die for her.
Blue: Sorrow, hopelessness, and a longing for better days. That's how I am at my worst. Hell, that's how I am at my best. Lately it reminds me of my enemy and I can't help but be offended. Blue is my color, not theirs. Dad always said I looked best in blue
Purple, a color that technically doesn't exist. It reminds me of dad, a tin man who never lost his heart. He took me in. I was just a kid, one he didn't know and never knew he had.
I admire how the colors shimmer and reflect off the interior of the ship. I stumble toward the pilot's chair as the power slowly brings the ship back to life. A screen flickers on and my eyes go wide. Were traveling far to fast, like a third the speed of light fast.
"123,000 kilometers a second?" I look back to Fraeia. "Why are we moving so fast?" They don't answer, and I pose another question to fill the silence. "Forget that. How are we going so fast? Did the warp drive keep us alive?"
My response is, one again, silence. Were they ignoring me? Did I finally drive them away like everyone else? I start the process of slowing down, one that could take hours. At this speed, the slightest change could kill us. "Fray, what's going on?"
Their eyes stay fixed to whatever's outside. It's like they can't even hear me. They're clearly in thought, working out some unspoken problem. I reach out and give them a gentle shake. "I need you. What's wrong?"
I look outside and see what Fray sees. I don't know what to make of it either. I see colors… so many colors. Clouds of dust and gas stretching across an infinite void, a void that is noticeably vacant of stars.
"Prism?" I whisper.
Fraeia nods, "There's something else just out of view, a source of white light."
The tears build up, the levy close to breaking. "Now you can speak?"
"I'm sorry. I was trying to put the pieces in place. I have a choice to make."
A tear falls, and another follows. "A choice? What are you talking about?"
"I think this is where it started. Look." They point and I obey.
I see ships, massive vessels locked in battle with other ships that look no different. I see shapes in the black, creatures like gibraltar engaging others like themselves in equally vicious combat.
""Where are we?"
"When are we?" They reply.
"Is this the future?" I ask.
They shrug. "That or the past. I'm starting to feel like the two are no different."
I scoff. "What? I dont understand."
"I'm almost at a point where I do." Fray says.
"Your choice?" I ask.
They chuckle, their eyes shifting to me and back to the field of colors, "No. I made my choice already." They take a deep breath, shifting their weight as they toy with their fingers.
"What does that mean?" I ask. My cheeks burn once more, but I'm unsure if the implication is even justified.
They shake their head and let out what I can only call a giggle. I've never heard them giggle before. "I don't know yet. We can find out together, if you'll have me."
My eyes go wide and the words spill out as quickly as I can form them, "If you leave me now, I swear…"
"I'm not going anywhere," they reply, shaking their head. "As to where we are…"
"You know?"
They nod. "It all lines up. We're in a sacred place, a place of myth and legend: The Rainbow Orchard." They point to the colorful clouds of gas and dust. "I think this is where it's harvested."
I shrug, "I don't suppose there's a way back, is there?"
Fraeia turns to face me and their face softens. I expect a frown, but they smile instead. "I… I don't know. I can't be sure of anything anymore."
"How are we alive?" I ask, then add, "We are alive, right?"
"Probably. I think we witnessed yet another impossible event. Black holes have a twin, one embedded in the math behind them. Perhaps we were ejected from a white hole, the point in time and space where the Fever Breach ends."
"A wormhole?" I ask.
They nod. "Close enough. It explains our situation."
"Huh." I stare at the sea of color and sigh. Despite its beauty, I can't help but feel hopeless. Were either countless years ahead or behind where were supposed to be, gibraltar may be dead but mom still needs my help, and as odd as it is to admit... I'm getting homesick. "What the hell do we do now?"