The Milky Way Galaxy, in an unknown location.
A vast space of pitch black, with no stars or planets was present, separated from reality.
However, bright flashes flickered everywhere from miniature explosions at random places. Some were invisible to the naked eyes while others were. Some were larger, and some were smaller than others. Some emitted a different color of light, and it gave a sense of beauty.
Suddenly, the barrier of the vast place trembled before a giant tinted window replaced the barrier. Despite this, the scenery was interrupted.
A singular figure the size of a dot compared to it stood behind the tinted window, observing the space.
The figure was an old man with a neatly trimmed beard, mustache, and short hair the color of white. The old man had a straight posture and was covered in wrinkles. One could feel an ancient atmosphere surrounding the old man, and it wasn't difficult to tell that the old man had lived far too long.
Despite that, the eyes were clear and he was brimming with vitality. The clothes he wore were casual shorts and a t-shirt.
Several holographic interfaces surrounded his body. Most of them flashed incalculable amounts of mathematical equations, formulas, and models that were constantly being refreshed faster than the eye can process.
Taking his eyes of the scene in front of him, he grabbed several interfaces and combined them together. The mathematics flashing on them vanished and were replaced with many icons.
A keyboard interface appeared beneath the other interface as he pressed on an icon.
The interface pulled to the side as a giant spherical holograph hovered in the air, way larger than him. The surface looked smooth, but with a wave of his hand, the sphere fell apart into many pieces that floated like little planets.
He kept breaking them down until they turned into strings of information, containing the laws, functions, and rules of the universe in the form of mathematical form. All together, the blue strings moved randomly like a giant ball of snakes.
However, he frowned as he double tapped on the sphere, causing the entire thing to pause. With a mental command, the sphere expanded, disappearing into the surrounding wall.
A red dot within the sea of strings slowly expanded, more and more, until it was the size of a head. Countless strings of mathematical numbers and symbols were next to the red dot that was now a question mark within a single string.
He touched the question mark, and an interface appeared in front of him. Inside the interface was a multitude of equations and formulas most with question marks the color of red in different parts of them. They were like the remaining pieces of a jigsaw, waiting to be solved.
"The final key to the final mystery..." His ancient voice sounded out, breaking the silence.
He brought the keyboard next to him and began rapid typing, with fingers moving faster than the eye can process. Symbols and numbers replaced the question marks.
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
[Error]
[Err....]
Ten minutes went by as sweat ran down his face. However, it was quickly absorbed by the nano machines in the air. With no choice, he relaxed his reddened fingers with exhaustion.
'No matter how hard I try, I cannot figure out the final mystery surrounding the Great Barriers. All models point to a gaseous energy source that has weird properties. We've long discovered every type of energy/gas natural and man-made in the 3rd dimension, but none of them fit the cake.'
'Could it be a higher-dimensional source? None of the current models point towards that direction. Could our universe be missing this energy source...?'
Rubbing his temples in frustration, he could not get a solid answer and could only get theories which he has been doing for way too long.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound in the room echoed for a second behind him. He glanced behind to see that a student of his had teleported into the room.
The student was a handsome male with black hair and casual clothing, but had a mature look on his face. Upon seeing his professor, he immediately ran over with smiles.
"Good afternoon Professor Reece Hall!"
"There's no need to call my full name, just call me Reece. What do you need David Murphy?"
David walked over and glanced at everything for a second with interest.
"The Universal Model seems to be almost complete. Congratulations Professor Reece."
"Don't thank me." He shook his head and sighed.
"This model is built from the blood and sweat of countless contributions of many other scientists aside from me. The day it is completed is the day humanity can rejoice. Not only will we be able to recreate the Great Barrier, we'll have a great chance of figuring out a way to manipulate the destructive void past the Great Barrier."
'Then humanity will have its chance to finish the Creation Machine. We will have full control over the 3rd dimension, and the costs of transforming a human from 3D to 4D that is giving the UF a headache will be drastically reduced to civilian use. We'll finally be able to ascend humanity to the 4th dimension, surpassing the Great Barrier that has been suffocating humans since it's first discovery!'
Professor Reeces' eyes couldn't help but be wild with ambition. He had been working on the project for so long that it had replaced half his brain, figuratively speaking.
The United Federation had been funding this project for over a million years, and the final pieces were somehow missing from the puzzle, which had been stumping scientists for a thousand years. They were getting impatient over the matter as of recently, and putting great pressure on the scientists involved, including him.
Ignoring the professors fluctuating face, he reached into his console and pulled out a black suitcase with some excitement.
"Professor Reece, I think we've got exciting news for you regarding the project."
"News?! Tell me-tell me!" He quickly stood up and gazed intensely at David, ruining the image of him in David's mind.
"An unknown type of energy has been radiating from the Great Barrier in Galaxy 9. It's-"
"Unknown energy?! I need to see!" His mind went slightly crazed before he noticed his student's gaze. Coughing, he calmed down and waved his hand.
"Please continue."
"A-ah yes. A group of mining bots near the Great Barrier of Galaxy 9 were mining from desolate planets when the GB began leaking this unknown energy in great amounts. The mining bots retreated out of safety concerns and the company responsible for them came over to investigate. The authorities were called, and the place was blockaded off by military forces."
"It seems more and more of this energy is leaking, and it's rapidly expanding to other parts of the barrier. The energy is dangerous, is what they told me before giving me samples that are to be given to you. I was told to tell nobody and give you this suitcase." He handed the suitcase over to Reece before backing off.
With excitement, Professor Reece quickly opened the suitcase after going through various security scans on the suitcase.
Upon opening, several containers appeared within his vision. They were advanced, containing an unknown whitish gaseous energy emitting some faint light. Thinking of the similarities from the models, he couldn't help but get excited even more!
A holographic figure of a person suddenly appeared above the suitcase, the size of a normal person.
The figure was also an old man, except his back was hunched and he seemed like he was about to die of old age.
Seeing the figure, shock and respect appeared in his eyes except for David, who was confused.
"P-president of the United Federation?!"