Dating : Flash Fiction: The Light Chamber

A woman teleports for the first time

“All set, Sarge?”

“Yes, Captain!” Maureen entered into the light chamber through a side door. Future iterations of the teleportation machine would be see-through, likely glass. This one was necessarily made of iron, and absolutely NOT see-through.

And DARK. It was dark in there, despite its name. Maybe she should tell them to install a light. That’s if she ever got the chance to, after this.

“Alright!” Maureen said on a whisper, mostly to herself. “You can do this!” She pulled the door shut tight and slid the lock into place. As the soundproofing kicked in, the sound of her heartbeat picked up.

She was excited. And nervous. And not a little terrified.

They’d been testing the light chamber for over a year now. Initially, looking for a quick win, they sent a roach through. Those things could survive anything — and it did.

Later, they moved up to worms, mice, and even cats and dogs. They’d have tried a farm animal or two, but the light chamber was a bit small for that. Even her tiny 5’2″ frame pressed up against the sides.

As the machine whirred and came to life around her, she started up a round of involuntary affirmations.

“Patsy the dog made it through just fine, and so will I. Jinx the cat made it, fur intact, so my head of hair will be safe. Dodo the parrot came through speaking just as well on the other side, and I’ll be fine too.”

And as the chamber began to hum and buzz around her, she crossed her fingers and took a deep breath.

VAAAAZZWHOOOM!

The best way to explain it would be that she came apart, and then came back together. She actually felt the tiny molecules in her body expand and contract orgasmically. She hoped they all ended up in the right place.

Nothing seemed different. She’d have to open the chamber to see if they’d succeeded.

As she reached clumsily for the door, she had a moment of panic. What if her legs no longer worked? What if she’d forgotten something important in flight? What if some important part of her being didn’t make it through, and she’d never be the same again?

And worse, she wouldn’t even know it!

Her right hand found the lock and she slid it open. Light poured in as she pushed open the door. She looked around, finding her bearings.

Captain Jim was no longer there. Instead, a row of unrecognizable, fuzzy people sat there, clapping and cheering.

“She’s made it!” they shouted.

“I made it!” Her excited, disbelieving whisper sounded loud to her own ears.

“You sure did, Sergeant Maureen!” Said a blonde man. The fuzzy faces around him nodded. “So, come have a seat here and tell us your experience.”

“Well,” she started, and stopped abruptly. Why was her voice so loud? Now whispering quietly, she asked, “Is my voice loud to you guys?”

One of the faces around the table leaned forward, as if straining to hear her. “What was that?” He asked.

A little louder, she said, “How loud am I speaking?”

“We can barely hear you,” said a woman to her left.

“Well, there’s number one,” she thought. Even her thought was loud. She motioned for something to write on and sat down in the big leather chair they’d pulled out for her.

And then, she began to write down everything that had transpired in the last 2 minutes.

She filled one page, and then another.

She wrote about her thoughts and the fear. About the need for some light. She wrote about her heartbeat going bonkers in the moments before the teleportation. She wrote about the feeling of coming apart. She wrote about their fuzzy faces and the loudness of her own voice.

Then, they placed her back in the machine. This time, she wasn’t scared. She was ready to go home.

As the machine whirred to life, she felt a magnetic pull. She was drawn to it. And as her body expanded, her consciousness watched in amazement.

Right then, she understood it.

Her body had to come apart to move through space and time. But her consciousness would always be intact.

In that moment, she had a choice to make. Should she continue along with her body, back home? Or allow her consciousness the freedom to roam?

“Death,” she thought rather loudly, “must be like this.”

And then she slipped back in. She reached for the lock and slid the door open.

As light filtered in, Captain Jim grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “You made it!” he said as his body melted into hers.

Or at least…it felt that way to her still-moving molecules.

Feeling free now, her consciousness hopped around the room.

“You look different,” said Captain Jim.

“Oh?” She whispered in her lowest voice.

“Must have been a relaxing trip,” he added. You look as if you’ve just woken up from the best night’s sleep.

And then she did.