On a blue distant Planet, Greenland.
The Vault operated in an area where human engineering did not belong.
And not poetically. Literally. The cyclopean bases dated from before the record of history by margins that were wider than the entirety of most civilizations' lifespans. The stones were beyond the size that could have been placed with the technology of the bronze age, cut with a precision that implied either the loss of the knowledge that had produced it or the anomaly of the physics involved from the modern perspective. Non-human geometry, though the name seemed inadequate given the implication of understanding that the name itself encompassed.
The modern steel corridors had been bolted into these ancient structures with mixed results. There were areas where the integration was seamless. The steel structure conformed to the natural contours that just happened to match modern architectural specifications. There were areas that looked completely wrong, causing the eye discomfort when the corridors crossed each other at impossible angles that nonetheless worked. Where the walls and floors met was questionable.
The runic containment lattices were inscribed side-by-side with quantum stabilizers, resulting in a visually confusing array where magical and scientific philosophies on reality manipulation vied for dominance. The runes were radiating their intrinsic light source, which was amber in hue, with sporadic cyan flashes as the containment field cycled. The quantum technology hummed at frequencies below the threshold on human auditory capabilities, producing subsonic pressure that caused teeth to ache from the intense vibration.
Constant vibration resonating through all surfaces. The ice shelf above, many thousands of feet thick, applied pressure that somehow was channeled in ways by the ruin structures that kept them from falling apart catastrophically. This couldn't be explained in modern engineering theory. Wouldn't copy. Could only quantify it and design around it and hope that ancient infrastructure remained doing whatever it had been doing all these millennia it'd been in existence.
TR-Site 01. The Vault. Constructed in Greenland not for political reasons or availability of resources, but due to natural properties of these ruins that had been identified by survival rather than scientific theory. Three other sites had ended in disaster before someone realized that some ruins just functioned better than others in holding things that broke the laws of physics.
No one knew why. The best guess was that whatever civilization had built the ruins had long since found ways to solve problems like these and that their solutions were still working long after their disappearance. However, that was just theorizing. The important thing was functionality. The ruins mitigated the anomalies. The Foundation constructed around them and tolerated the architectural problems as a price to be paid.
Mira Chen moved down the corridors as if she had learned the nuances of the angles over the past three years. Her footprints were strange, sometimes loud, sometimes muffled to the point of defying acoustic reality, a mismatch in the auditory spectrum which the majority of the staff had learned to tune out.
In her hands, she held a slate that would have been outrageously retro everywhere except here, where state-of-the-art technology met buildings older than writing itself. On the screen danced the telemetry patterns intersecting with lunar cycles and REM patterns of clustering, with the anomaly pulses that beat to rhythms that had yet to be successfully modeled.
Three years on a closed case. That was how her supervisor phrased it when she was asked to move to active cases with greater opportunities for advancement. TR-000 was contained. Within acceptable parameters. No longer a focus of dedicated investigation.
Mira did not agree. Not openly—that would flag her record for issues of resource allocation efficiency and cooperative compliance—but in her mind, with the surety of pattern recognition that had not been validated by group verification.
TR-000 was not completed. It was waiting.
For what, she didn't know yet. But waitressing implied intention, and intention implied complexity beyond what her official classification implied.
---
There were three different authentication requirements for the Dream-Seal Vault 3.
Biometric first. Finger and retinal scan to verify identity against personnel files. Then cryptographic. Rotating cipher, which varied from one day to the next and had to be committed to memory instead of being reduced to writing to avoid vulnerabilities associated with documented codes. Finally, psychological testing by way of a rapid assessment tool to identify possible compromised emotional states that could contaminate the hazards in the container.
The questions appeared arbitrary but were not.
Have you experienced intense grieving within the past 48 hours?
Have you remembered vivid dreams about strangers?
Have you felt a strong emotional connection between objects?
All aimed at distinct states of cognition that, according to observation data covering three years, were apparently responded to by TR-000.
Mira answered truthfully: No, no, no, and finally, with that third denial, the last door opened with the sound of equalizing pressure. The room that opened up was small, approximately four meters on each side, with peculiarly reflective surfaces due to the materials that had been applied to absorb electromagnetic radiation.
The containment system loomed prominently in the center of the room. Magnetic suspension field holding one object in perfect vacuum, preventing contact or interaction with atmosphere. The monitoring systems were set up around the field. They measured every measurable aspect and some things that probably shouldn't be measurable but were against anomalies disregarding ontological considerations.
TR-000. The Hollow Loop.
A brass ring. Twenty-two millimeters in diameter, with a weight of four point three grams, according to the precise scales on which it had been weighed. These were non-terrestrial runes inscribed on the brass itself—not etched or engraved but rather incorporated into its substance, as if these characters had been incorporated into the brass at the time of its origin. These runes would emit an amber glow in semidarkness due to an internal luminescence that lacked discernible energy input.
Three years of studying. Thousands of hours of observation. Data enough to fill several archival servers. And they'd learned. what, exactly?
Its pulsing was related to REM cycles across human populations. This emotional resonance has affected its brightness: sorrow and fear increased brightness, while joy and satisfaction reduced it. Its presence near dreaming human bodies was related to shared dreams with statistical significance way beyond coincidence. Its removal from being near one human body caused activity surges that took weeks to settle.
They knew what it did. But not why. Not how. Definitely not what it was or who made it or what other system it was a part of.
Mira pulled up the most recent telemetry data on her tablet, cross-indexing the pulse patterns with the predictive models that the Dreambound Division had developed. These pulses should match REM patterns—statistical aggregations of global sleep patterns that indicated when large segments of the population were in dream states at the same time.
They did, for the most part. But not flawlessly. There were exceptions, surges during times of low REM or levels of intensity inconsistent with their data on dreaming. Oddities in the oddity, deviations in the pattern that indicated the ring was registering something more than what they were observing.
"You're still here."
It came from the observation gallery above, relayed through intercom rather than in person. Dr. Kheira Virell, key theoretical analyst for the Dreambound Division. Virell's accent was a relic of her Moroccan upbringing, mitigated by years of international scholarship and elite networking.
"Checking today's cycle," Mira said without looking up from the tablet in front of her. "Pulse at oh-three-hundred did not match the model."
"It rarely does." Kheira's voice was imbued with the special kind of fatigue that came from combating conclusions against an entrenched doubting system. "We're talking about correlation, not causation. The ring reacts to dreams, but maybe not to the process of dreaming. Maybe to what the dreams access."
Mira finally dared to look up at the gallery, at Kheira's silhouette behind the reinforced glass. "The Rationalists would say that you are anthropomorphizing the effects of quantum entanglement."
"The Rationalists can't account for why their quantum theories make predictions that congregate around these mythological archetypes." There were epochs of internal conflict condensed into the resigned amusement in Kheira's voice. "I don't pretend to know what's going on. I merely note what doesn't square with their theories."
There were fractures within the Foundation. Not technically, of course. No formal structures of organization or mission. But functionally, yes. In ways that defined research agendas. Crucially, in ways that defined containment policies.
Anomalies are treated by rationalists as kind of exotic physics that needs math sufficiently advanced to solve them. The transdimensional effects with uncertainty made macroscopic by transnational turmoil could be rectified using proper application of scientific method even when it needed to be expanded beyond physical laws.
Dreambound argued that consciousness was not an emergent property, that it was an essential attribute of reality itself, that the dreams were not accesses into simulated reality, that certain anomalies were literally ideas instantiated through processes that were not reducible to matter and energy.
Nullists simply wanted all the dangerous things destroyed or suppressed, regardless of the consequence, working under the assumption that understanding the threats was less important than eliminating the threats before the threats eliminated mankind first.
Their goal three years ago was the same: contain TR-000 before the collective dream phenomena occurred outside of isolated incidents. Before whatever it was that the Veiled Choir tried to accomplish was finished or reached critical mass or whatever the point was that would have made it impossible for them to act.
They'd succeeded. The ring was contained. The cult was disrupted and neutralized. The victim: Elias Reed, graduate student and analyst, no one particularly notable except for the misfortune of being chosen for the ritual was dead and mummified in stasis for further study.
Case closed. Threat contained. Success is measured by the absence of further incident.
However, except Mira didn't believe that. Couldn't believe it when the data pointed to patterns of an active process and not just a trace left behind.
"Kheira," Mira said, making a decision she's been putting off for weeks. "Your last report discussed signal propagation. Tell me, what did you mean by that?"
Complete silence from the intercom. Long enough that Mira wondered if the connection had been lost or Kheira was weighing how much information to share with someone from a different division.
"The ring does not merely react to the dream," Kheira said at last, choosing each word with care. "It seems to affect it as well. We've seen evidence of clustering: individuals who've had no previous contact with each other sharing the same dream elements when together at the same location."
"You're talking about infectious memetic content," Mira said, translating Dreambound parlance as well as she could without having the Rationalists call her ideas freakish nonsense.
"I'm talking about something worse." Kheira's shape changed, leaning forward on the railing of the gallery. "Memetics happens by communication. This happens by dreaming. And this? It isn't random – no, it's targeted. It uses architectural iconography. Brass corridors. Cyan lighting. It reuses these same elements over hundreds of documented instances."
Mira felt a chill run through her chest. "You're saying TR-000 is projecting," she said.
"I'm saying the ring isn't dead. It is dreaming. And it is dreaming of someone we can't reach."
---
The observation gallery was intended to be multi-factional in its audience, and this was possible through space allocation to fit this objective.
Rationalist section: characterized by prevalence of images from mathematical models, quantum probability distributions, energy pattern analyses. All that is measurable, graphable, statistically verifiable.
Dreambound part: where they combined symbolic interpretation with hard data from brain science to track archetypal patterns that correlated with states of consciousness which appeared to be mysticism but in fact employed rigorous research standards which would be acceptable to peer review provided you found their basic assumptions credible.
Nullist section: largely empty since they hadn't completed the observation, but they were engaged in risk assessment and terminate protocols. Yet their area was circled, reserved, a reminder of the potential displacement of patient analysis by executive mandate should escalation of threat require speedy actions.
Mira was between them, her slate held in her hand, as the ring vibrated with a rhythm that no one could foresee to a degree of certainty greater than seventy percent.
New anomalies are being found. Not many. Not dire. Just. more. Things with characteristics like TR-000's signature are being seen. People with a shared dream experience, not related to the ring. Areas with reality distortions that matched the pulse patterns.
TR-000 may not be to blame here either. Could be the first sign of something bigger that had always existed without being recognized until it appeared in that particular form.
Or perhaps it was. Unraveling. Unfolding. Developing the very conditions under which something would emerge that would not stay suspended by magnets in the under-ice environment of Greenland.
"You appear worried."
Voice was different this time around. Dr. Marcus Webb, leading the Rationalist Division. Prestigious British accent honed to a lifetime of academic mannerisms and suffused with a characteristic smugness of a man who'd made a career in being right about things in a technically correct sort of way.
"The models aren't predictive," Mira said flat out, since Webb reacted better to direct confrontation than to diplomatic maneuvering. "Three years of data and we can't forecast pulses within better than seventy percent accuracy. It looks like we're leaving out variables."
"Or there is inherent randomness that looks like a pattern due to the bias of observation," Webb said, stepping to the railing to stand beside her. "Humans are very good at recognizing patterns in nonsense. It is survival skill, not accuracy."
"The shared dream phenomena are attested in hundreds of subjects, all of whom are previously unrelated," Mira began, calling up information on her tablet that she projected where Webb could see it. "Probability of independent creation of equivalent archetypes of imagery patterns—"
"Within possibility given sufficient sample size and cultural cross-contamination by media exposure." Webb waved his hand at the data. "Dreambound places importance on correlation that could readily be accounted for by more prosaic means. They crave mystery, since mystery is precisely the point of their presence."
Mira didn't argue. This discussion had been held thousands of times before, over three years. Webb would insist on physical systems and mathematical proofs. Kheira would remind him of the messy interface between conscious experience and the workings of the nervous system. Webb would shrug and return to his own theories.
But Webb's next question surprised her.
"You've reviewed Reed's file recently," he asked.
Statement, not question. Which meant he noticed her access logs. Not an accusation, simply an observation, Webb as thorough as always.
"Yes," affirmed Mira, and to deny it would be stupid, and Webb appreciated blunt talk.
"Why? The human case is resolved. Cult activity neutralized, ritual perpetrators deceased or contained, victim confirmed dead." Webb's words showed honest curiosity rather than condemnation. "What do you expect to find that wasn't documented initially?"
"I don't know," Mira admitted. "However, the ring responds to his body in particular ways. If moved away, activity ensues; put it back, and everything normalizes. It implies connection rather than a simple correlation."
"Suggests," Webb repeated, repeating it emphatically by stressing the word. "Hypothesized. Not proves, no proof is being made here. Reed is the ritual participant that the ritual is centered around, so it's to be expected that some form of entanglement is to be found."
Likely. definitely true, as dead meant dead regardless of just how bizarre the circumstances surrounding it may be. However, Mira retrieved the file nonetheless and projected it onto her slate screen more out of personal interest rather than to show it to Webb.
Subject: Reed Elias.
Status: DECEASED (ANOMALOUS)
Date of Event: [REDACTED]
Cause: Ritualized trauma consistent with Veiled Choir methodology.
The file held everything they'd been able to piece together. Kidnapping from in front of his house. Transportation to the site of the ritual. Protracted ritual consisting of TR-000 and unknown cult members. Death from causations that reflected trauma from the dream state but presented physically in a fashion inconsistent with biologic processes.
Murder. Pure and simple murder. Disguised by esoteric speech and odd attributes, but at the end of the day, murder nonetheless. A graduate student had been murdered for motives having to do with gaining or unleashing or revealing something through dreams.
But they had failed. Whatever the Choir had been trying to accomplish, it hadn't worked, or it had started but gotten interrupted, or maybe it had succeeded in a way that none of them had lived to appreciate. TR-000 had been retrieved. Reed's body, preserved in stasis, showed no signs of aging after three years. But the Ring was dormant, except for the behaviors it exhibited.
Additional Notes:
- Body does not decompose despite being stored at ambient temperatures
- Removal of ring causes an immediate spike in activity
- Common in shared dream reports: the Subject's appearance and voice
- The psychological assessment of related persons shows increased grief indices
That final point bothered Mira more than she'd yet recognized until reflecting on it now. High levels of grief markers. Individuals who'd never known Elias Reed before showing signs of emotional distress in association with common dream experiences involving him as key protagonist.
Sorrow for someone they had never even met. Sorrow spreading through dreams, like emotional contagion, through non-corporeal waves.
"The ring not only records the dream," Mira continued softly, almost thinking aloud rather than arguing a point, "but it transmits related emotions tied to the original event. Reed's death was traumatic. His trauma is part of the anomaly and being transmitted to whomever is caught up in it, through the dream state."
Webb remained quiet for an unusually long period, digesting the information in his analytical mind. "You're saying that the anomaly has psychological content."
"I'm proposing that we don't know what happened that night," said Mira. "The Choir thought they were doing the world some good. Clearly, they failed. Presumably. But what if failing was just the function of an incomplete process, as opposed to an unsuccessful process? What if TR-000 is still working to accomplish its intended function?"
"And then we contain it until we know how it works," Webb asserted. "Which is precisely what we're doing. And that is why procedures exist, Chen. Guessing instead of using evidence results in procedure drift."
He was right. Probably. Mira didn't have any evidence that went beyond pattern recognition and instinct that hadn't been quantified in ways that would satisfy the review committees.
However, she pointed out this anomaly nonetheless. Recorded her observations about an increasing number of deviations from predicted models among pulses. Noted similar pattern characteristics in new manifestations of TR-000, though no known relation was established.
Not escalation. Not the call to act, to muster resources. Simply the archival impulse, to retain the information in case later developments confirmed the concerns to be well-founded.
The ring flared again. Amber light intensifying momentarily before settling back into its normal luminance. Mira reflexively checked her slate to verify the time and compare it to REM patterns world-wide. No correlation. No corresponding lunar phase.
No alignment with any variable in the predictive models. Only a pulse. Because something was happening that their instruments couldn't pick up, and their frameworks couldn't explain. Elias Reed was officially dead. His body was preserved in stasis, with the file on his case closed.
Elias Reed was simply a reminder of "that ritual victim from three years ago" in official jargon. But functionally, he remained unresolved. His ring that had been with him while killed remained active. His dreams that he had become embedded in were continuing to spread. His grief that came because of his death was continuing to spread among populations that had never known him.
He was dead. But not gone. Not finished. Just waiting in whatever space there was between dreaming and waking, between alive and dead, between where he was and where the ring was trying to take him.
Mira recorded her observations and left the gallery, walking through the bent incorrectly through ruins that nonetheless functioned.
Behind her, the TR-000 hummed along to rhythms that paralleled none of the things they could quantify. And somewhere in that data, in the patterns that resisted resolution, something was speaking in a language that had no translation available.
The Hollow Loop was not empty. It was merely hollow in the ways they had not learned to perceive.