“I did not develop the Eye by myself, of course. No mechanism so complex, so awesome in its capabilities, could be the product of one individual. But I was responsible for the underlying theorems and for much of the basic engineering.
“The concept was then taken up by others, elaborated upon and, eventually, built. It took time. Some called it magic, but of course it was no such thing. It was simply very advanced applied science.
“At the time, I was quite convinced that the mechanism ought to be built. My enthusiasm was shared by a small coterie of fellow researchers. Within what you would call the scientific establishment there was much skepticism, but the proposal was met with an open mind. Give us a concept, a design, my group was told, and it will be fabricated.
“Thus challenged, what else could I do but comply? The necessary schematics were provided.” The wing-flaps on the Cocytan’s back moved more rapidly. A sign of excitement, Low wondered, or agitation? Or some alien emotion that would remain forever unknown to them?
“In scope the Eye was not as grand as many other projects. We had raised cities that scraped the skies, run tunnels and temples to relaxation beneath the seas, probed the very heart of the planet. We had shrunk intricate machines to the size of cells, whose components consisted of individual atoms. You have encountered one of these yourselves, in the form of the life crystals. The Eye was a greater undertaking than some, less than others. It was simply … the Eye.”
Robbins translated for Low, then asked, “This Eye, what did it do that was so important?”
The Cocytan shifted slightly to loosen cramped muscles. “It allowed one to enter another plane of existence, to visit a different dimension. To transcend the limitations of time and space as they are generally known. Passing through the Eye stripped an individual of physical substance, leaving only the state of being behind. Yet all of that individual’s original self, including the physical, was compacted and retained within the being that remained, much as one might dehydrate a fruit or vegetable.
“The process was quick, painless and liberating.”
“What’s it talking about?” Low put an arm around Robbins’s shoulder.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty complicated. Just because I understand the words doesn’t mean I’m getting all the concepts. I think he’s talking about being able to go into another dimension.” She sought clarification.
“For purposes of explanation your interpretation will suffice, little traveler. Within this other dimension all physicalities are absent. Belief, emotion, thought alone remain. Passing through the Eye, one becomes a conceptualization of oneself. Ethereal creatures of pure id, without solid form, they still possess the ability to perceive the physical world, though not to interact with it. Solidities are no longer barriers, though the vastness of deep space remains unbridgeable.”
Gesturing as it spoke, the Cocytan reminded Low of a prima ballerina. Though massive, it was not without grace.
“It was more than metamorphosis,” it continued. “It was the casting off of one existence in exchange for another. In the absence of imperfect physicality, death was reduced to a philosophical concept.
“More and more of my kind chose to experience the transformation. They saw it as elevating themselves to a higher state of being. As thousands instead of dozens began to pass through the Eye, a procedure as simple in appearance as it was intricate in execution, I began to grow more and more concerned. In this I was not alone, but as the originator of the process I believe I was the only one to envision the ultimate consequences.”
“You foresaw some danger,” Robbins commented softly.
“Danger? What danger could there be in ascending to a higher state of being where one could no longer be killed or even injured? Where physical pain was but a memory and one could theoretically continue to live forever? Perhaps ‘exist’ forever is a better term, for I am not sure one should call it living.
“I tried to warn those who remained against abandoning the universe in which we had evolved. But when feelings of ecstasy and elation were generated by those who had already passed through, which was the only way they could still communicate with the physical world, the rush through the Eye became a flood. Everyone wanted entry to the new paradise.
“There was nothing I could do. I, who had been so much praised and honored, became a pariah among my kind. Or worse, I was laughed at. I withdrew into myself, into my own thoughts, as tens of thousands and more lined up to step through.
“As a scientist I have always been suspicious of easy answers. Solutions should be difficult, time-consuming and painful. The Eye was too facile. In the rush to immortality I felt we as a species were overlooking something vital. As I mentioned, there is existing, and then there is life. I was not certain that discorporeal being was also life.
“Of course, without making the journey myself there was no way I could be certain of my fears.”
“Did you?” Robbins asked breathlessly.
“You do not understand. Not one who had passed through expressed any interest in returning. Satisfaction was absolute. Which only made me more uneasy.
“At that point I felt only one option was left to me. I needed to do something vivid enough to shock those who remained out of their expectant complacency. I had to propound a warning they could not ignore. They needed to be reminded of the beauty of mortality.
“So I took my own life.”
Robbins gaped at the tall figure. Low had to shake her to get a response. “Come on, Maggie. What did it say? Why is it looking like that?”
“It says … it says that it’s a suicide. It was done as a warning to those who hadn’t yet made the transportation through the Eye.”
“I left behind,” continued the Cocytan, not caring whether the two humans had concluded their conversation or not, “a request. I demanded that my remaining colleagues not use the life crystals to revive me. In this, at least, they complied with my wishes. But unbeknownst to me I was given this elaborate burial, and my remains were preserved instead of being allowed to return to the soil from whence they sprang. How absurd! Perhaps they thought that some day I might wish to be revived so that I could pass through the Eye and join my kindred spirits, as it were. They knew of me, but none knew me.”
“But you have been revived since then,” Robbins suggested.
“Not by my own kind, nor by any who looked like you. Others have come. Not many.”
“Other ships,” Low muttered when Robbins had finished translating.
“Some have used the life crystals to revive me. They asked their questions and then they departed, leaving me in peace. None returned, and I know nothing of their fate.”
“We can guess,” replied Robbins.
“I am the only Cocytan left.” The Creator’s voice was devoid of self-pity or remorse. “This I know from having spoken with those who have revived me. I am certain that those who placed me here subsequently took their own turns in the line, until the voices of my kind were no longer heard on the surface of this world. They abandoned it to the lower forms. They used a machine to thwart evolution. My machine.” The great head dropped, and this time there was no mistaking the meaning behind the gesture.
For a long time neither human nor Cocytan spoke.
“They’ve all gone?” Robbins inquired when she could speak again.
“All. Over, through, into: whichever metaphor you prefer will do. Within that other dimension all exist still. I have no reason to believe otherwise. Whether they also live I cannot say. That is a designation I reserve for physical existence. They are here now, even as we speak.”
“What?” Low’s eyes darted in all directions, seeking the unseeable.
“I thought I’d felt something.” Robbins turned a slow circle, seeing only walls, ceiling and floor. “I’ve been feeling it ever since we stepped out of the asteroid-ship. A presence. And not in the metaphysical sense either.” Sparks swirled urgently around her, enigmatic and undefined.
Again Low spoke through Robbins. “Does it have anything to do with these flashes of light? When they intensify, I could swear that we’re being watched.”
“You are,” the Cocytan told them. “As alien physical intelligences, you constitute a diversion.”
“How many?” Low asked.
The Cocytan considered before replying. “I see no reason why all should not be here. Watching, listening, observing, doubtless commenting.”
“All?” queried Robbins uncertainly. “How many did you say made the trip through the Eye?”
The Cocytan made a sweeping gesture. “It is not so impossible as it seems. Reduced to pure thought, to a statement of oneself, existence requires very little in the way of actual space. Assuming every transposition was successful, and while I lived I never saw an unsuccessful one, the number would have been approximately three billion.”