{Gosh, I need a rest.}
Tallurre Ufushimi and Stanley Kleitos travel at impressive speeds, even for modern civilisations, inside Tallurre's private car/ship, zooming past stars like they were tiny dots of paint, trails of light—a wonderful journey for Stanley, a calm but thoughtful trip for Tallurre.
Both were silent while the Intersolar Radio selection played music from local solar system clusters. The music really helped make the awkward silence bearable, replacing it with something Stanley enjoyed more than Tallurre.
[I absolutely adore whatever is playing here. The production is phenomenal for random ass music: the blaring dark synths, Deep heavy bass, smothered by vocals by 3epo and never heard of this guy. He has a stupid title, but easily makes up for it in this. God, producing music is one-of-a-kind for me. I can really love practically most mainstream genres and a few niche ones like this "rage" genre.]
Stanley: "Well, Mr Ufushimi, can we talk now about the whole plan for me? I'm a big part, and I do care a ton about myself and safety. Also, I am feeling a bit sick in the stomach. like cold and uncomfortable." He said this with a more colourful tone and more interest in what he is part of. The music seems to make him happier.
Tallurre: "You do deserve an explanation after all."
"Sick. Right. I'll note. That. Also, your main plan inside this whole thing is that you will be a tool, an excuse to let me and others get into the CELESTICA foundation to steal information. I do have a friend who wants information about it since he can't get any from anyone. Mysterious ways they use to stop leaks of info, Stanley."
Tallurre spoke with his usual casualness while Stanley listened carefully and cautiously.
"They probably already know about your situation and might try to meet you. I've met a foundation member, and they would be intimidating if I didn't know them. before he joined."
Stanley looked curious and gave Tallurre a slight glare out of the corner of his eye as he watched the space around him fly past.
Stanley: "I met someone. yeah. Is that one of the reasons why you want to go to the foundation?"
"Obviously. I'm interested in his progress. He was pretty scrawny when I saw him in, like, I don't know, a few years?"
Tallurre's tone was familiar, mixed with a bit of doubt because of his long memory.
Silence clouded the car as the words fit right into Stanley's mind. He could remember when necessary.
Tallurre spoke again after glancing back at Stanley, seeing him close his eyes slowly in a resting motion. He realised he would have to carry the conversation, even though Stanley had started it.
"I guess you don't respond." He mumbled under his breath.
Tallurre: "Your role. Role." The silence from Stanley did not make him comfortable. It was too silent. So, Tallurre quickly turned his head right, and Stanley was knocked out. Completely silent.
Stanley Kleitos was indeed asleep. His head, resting on the neck part of the car, is head upwards while breathing somewhat loudly. His arms were crossed, and his legs moved closer together in a relaxation position.
"Huh." Tallurre genuinely looked bamboozled that Stanley fell asleep right after a conversation. Then his mind went to work thinking of a justified reason for this conundrum that has arrived for himself. It is unusual to sleep right through a talk without warning, but worse if he feels sick before. This was the only piece of evidence that might link the sleepiness and Stanley together.
Tallurre Kept driving in the silence. He looked around. searching for a planet, or a Solar System nearby, as vehicles alike go by now and then. It is rare to use personal space travel vehicles in the outskirts, as you have to be rich or in a unique situation. Most end up using Big travel containers or vehicles, which explains why Tallurre does not see a lot of transport in this place. Then. He spots a Solar system that fits the size of a grain of salt around the left side of his vision, easily able to miss if he looked straight or any other direction except bottom left in the hyper glass windshield.
This solar system was indeed Tallurre's destination. His vehicle travels around twelve light-years per second, at the top of the top in speed with comfort. A solar System with a blue giant and thirteen planets around it, orbiting safely with plenty of civilised equipment and machinery that is used for getting resources of all sizes and quantities. This was indeed the Machinery solar system,
PERSEI YMIR-22.
"Hmm."
"M."
"Huh?"
The place looked endless. The floor stretched infinitely in every direction, smooth and dark like polished stone, reflecting the soft lights above. Far overhead was a ceiling so high it almost disappeared, lined with long white lights that gave the space the feeling of a massive office building after hours, quiet, empty, and strangely calm. There were no walls. No doors. Just endless open space fading into darkness. The only thing breaking the emptiness was the small area he arrived in. A simple coffee table sat in the centre on top of a large dark rug, surrounded by a few comfortable lounge chairs with soft fabric and curved metal frames. Warm light hung above them, creating a peaceful circle in the middle of the infinite room. It felt impossible that something so small and ordinary could exist in a place so massive. Yet somehow, it made the endless space feel safe. Stanley Felt compelled to be relaxed, like in a lucid state, inside the place, yet felt less like a dream, but more like reality extended from a mind.
{What. What the fuck. What am I even in-where was I previously? How did I get here?}
A few minutes passed after Stanley widened his eyes and looked around in the "dimension" He arrived in. He stood up and stretched, touching his toes and relaxing his muscles, like his neck, to feel calm. This method worked too fast. Something is making him calm.
Stanley Gradually put his thoughts together in a mental mashup while looking at the furniture. He sat back down in the furnished coffee chair and continued admiring. It calmed him down, surprisingly enough to allow him to put one idea and another together, gaining a thought that seemed real enough to believe.
The feeling of drowsiness swallowed Stanley little by little, His body gradually got more and more relaxed, like a mental sponge absorbing stress, pain and discomfort. It all slowly got filled into the depths of his incredible mind.
The sounds of the ship faded quietly—the engines, the vents, the distant noises outside his seat—until there was only vibrations of the engine were being noticed. His body felt heavier with every second, but his mind felt lighter, drifting further away from reality.
Then came the shift.
A strange warmth spread through him as if his consciousness was being carefully lifted out of his body. Not forced. Guided. The darkness behind his eyes deepened endlessly, and for a moment, he felt like he was falling upward through space.
But there was no fear.
Only calm.
Every thought slowed. Every worry faded into the distance. The stress of the real world disappeared, replaced by a peaceful, euphoric stillness he could never find while awake.
And then the dreamscape formed around him.
He had his consciousness transported somewhere far beyond common sense. Almost a liminal space.
Thaddeus: "Sorry. I really had to talk with you."
Stanley got startled and felt calm after a few seconds, once again after a man walked up behind. A black-haired man with a furnished wooden cane placed on top of his trapezoids, near the shoulder and neck. He walked silently enough that Stanley couldn't recognise the steps of a man of calibre.
Thaddeus Wei walked past the back of Stanley while he stared with his mouth slightly open and squinted eyebrows, to the Coffee chair that is similar to Stanley's on the same rug opposite the table.
As he walks, he says, "Yeah. Pretty weird day, huh?"
Stanley: "Uh, absolutely. yeah"
Thaddeus finally plops down and puts the cane down to the floor and lets it lie there while he sits like a high-calibre gentleman. So refined was the best way to describe him.
Thaddeus: "Yeah. I think it's pretty weird, too. I heard you got dragged into a situation with a certain lawyer. I think I am right. Correct, Stan?" Thaddeus grinned.
Silence and shock were the things happening outside Stanley's mind and inside. Confusion digs deeper into his mind.
{What a day, huh? I don't even know who this is, but I have another fucking interview. Great. Plus, he looks like he steps on homeless people.}
Thaddeus: "I am A Proper CELESTICA. As you can tell, this is an anomaly. One of many in our arsenal. I might consider a thought of trying some new Anomalies out inside this space, no one can reach us. Co-operation is its only weakness, so it fits quite well with this situation. Put that into your brain."
Thaddeus's body language expanded as he raised his arms to show his mannerisms and to communicate his way.