CHAPTER – 9 : Mom, I Love You
A video player.
The screen flickers to life, revealing a recorded video. The quality is sharp, almost unsettlingly clear. Sitting calmly in the center of the frame is Joseph. He is seated on a metal chair, wearing a full space suit. The visor of his helmet is open, revealing his tired eyes.
This is not a casual video.
This is not entertainment.
Joseph has recorded this message for the entire world.
The video has been uploaded to Joseph's personal YouTube channel—the same channel where, for years, he spoke passionately about physics, cosmology, and science beyond conventional understanding.
The video begins to play.
Joseph exhales slowly and looks directly into the camera.
"Hi… how are you all doing?"
"It's me. Joseph."
He pauses, as if choosing his words carefully.
"Most of you probably recognize me. I've been on this platform for many years now, constantly talking about physics and science—about things that exist beyond what we can normally see. And through all these years, you've given me more support than I ever deserved."
His voice is calm, but something about it feels final.
"Today, I just want to say one thing."
Another pause.
"I'm leaving Earth."
The words hang heavily in the air.
"I may never return."
"And even if I do… by the time I come back, all of you might already be gone."
His fingers tighten slightly.
"Because where I'm going… time won't treat me the same way it treats you."
Joseph looks down for a moment, then back up.
"I'm traveling trillions upon trillions of light-years away. Farther than any human has ever imagined. To the very edge."
"To the final boundary."
Joseph is no longer on Earth.
He is inside a massive spacecraft—an engineering marvel that humanity was never meant to witness.
The ship's name is Binary-442.
Binary-441 was a prototype, originally designed by Joseph's grandfather. A dream that never reached completion. Joseph took that incomplete vision, dismantled it, rebuilt it, and evolved it into something far greater.
Binary-442 was not just a spacecraft.
It was a question given form.
From a very young age, Joseph had been obsessed with a single thought:
What exists beyond the universe?
Not galaxies.
Not stars.
Not black holes.
Beyond everything.
What lies outside the boundaries of reality itself?
What does that place look like?
Does it even have a shape?
Joseph had asked this question to countless scientists.
Every time, the answer was the same.
"There is nothing beyond the universe."
"Only darkness."
"Only emptiness."
"The Void."
A place that could never be crossed.
A boundary that could never be broken.
Scientists believed the universe was confined within a fixed region—finite, measurable, complete.
But Joseph never believed that.
Was his grandfather lying to him?
Was all of his research just a fraud?
Then why did his grandfather die so mysteriously?
Why did his assistant, Robert, take his own life?
Among scientists, suicide was disturbingly common.
They researched and researched, until one day they encountered a truth—
a truth so vast, so incomprehensible, that the human mind simply could not process it.
Human thought has limits.
Imagination has borders.
Cross those borders, and the consequences are horrifying.
But Joseph didn't know any of this.
All he wanted to know was one thing:
What exists outside?
And why does it exist at all?
If there was one person Joseph loved more than anyone else in the world, it was his mother.
After her—his grandfather.
Which left one unavoidable question.
Where was his father?
Thirty Years Ago
The city's wealthiest family—the Crusifers—was hosting a grand wedding.
Lunier Golf's son, Lunier Adolf, was getting married to Lucy Jell.
It wasn't an arranged marriage.
It was a love marriage.
The entire family was overflowing with happiness.
Just a few weeks later, Lucy became pregnant.
Everyone celebrated.
Their first child—a son.
Adolf proudly joked that his son would grow up to be just like him.
Four months later, everything changed.
Adolf quit his job.
Lucy couldn't understand why.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't feel good anymore," Adolf replied.
"I don't like this job. Modeling. Any of it."
"I just want to go somewhere far away."
Lucy had never heard him say anything like this before.
Six months later, the truth surfaced violently.
"Adolf! You can't divorce me in this condition!"
"It's my life," he snapped.
"I'll make my own decisions."
"You loved me," Lucy cried.
"You married me. You got me pregnant."
"And now you want to leave me—even knowing I'm carrying your child?"
"Yes," Adolf said coldly.
"I want a divorce. I want to be alone."
Lunier Golf stormed into the room.
"She is your wife," he said firmly.
"You can't abandon her like this."
When Adolf refused to listen, Golf slapped him across the face.
"Watch your mouth."
"If you want to live alone, leave this house."
"But you will not divorce Lucy."
That night, Adolf broke down.
"Lucy… please forgive me," he begged.
"I don't know what's happening to me."
"I'm not myself."
Lucy, believing he was suffering from depression, forgave him.
One Month Later
Lucy woke up in her bed.
Adolf was gone.
"Adolf?"
"Where are you?"
No answer.
He had vanished.
The police investigated thoroughly.
They found nothing.
No clothes.
No books.
No toothbrush.
It was as if Adolf had never existed.
Lucy was devastated.
Golf took responsibility for her, treating her like his own daughter. He blamed himself for failing to raise his son properly—but he swore he would raise his grandson right.
One month later, Lucy gave birth to a baby boy.
His name was Joseph Stein.
As Joseph grew older, he often asked about his father.
Lucy and his grandfather told him the same story every time.
Joseph never fully believed it.
Such things didn't happen in normal families.
People didn't just disappear.
From a young age, Joseph showed a deep fascination with physics. Golf personally taught him astrophysics, hoping to mold his grandson into a scientist greater than himself.
Present Day
Joseph is in cryosleep.
His mind drifts through memories—every major event of his life replaying as fragmented dreams.
Then, a vision.
Lucy is sitting on the floor.
Blood stains the ground.
In her hand—
a blood-covered knife.
She is smiling.
Laughing.
Joseph jolts awake.
His cryo chamber malfunctions slightly—nothing serious. A small switch resets the system, restoring everything to normal.
Before going back to sleep, Joseph checks one final thing.
How far has he traveled?
A holographic screen lights up.
Distance Traveled:
10¹³⁰ Light-Years
The video resumes.
Joseph looks into the camera one last time.
"I don't know what my fate will be."
"I don't know if I'll survive."
"But there's one thing I want to say."
His voice softens.
"Mom… I love you."
The screen goes black.
To be continued...