For the next two days, we went through all data and measurements there were available from the last two weeks. We wanted to see what had happened and if something had changed after the snow came. Fortunately this was a science expedition, and we were collecting a lot of data all the time: from the field experiments, from the weather station on the hub roof, from the logs everyone kept (although Svetlana was the most diligent logger, by far) and from videos we routinely took about many things, including the Rocks.
It was somewhat distrubing to look at the weather data that showed just the normal autumn weather for two weeks, when you clearly remembered how the weather abruptly and permanently (well, what does that even mean) changed with the snow. This data showed no hint that Wednesday last week would be any different than any other day. I got horripilation when I remembered the weird religion from Djutah. The Lastwednesdayists believe that the world was created on last Wednesday, including any evidence that would suggest that something existed before that specific time point. Here I was going through data that we had collected for a week, showing clear evidence that that's what happened. Still, I have very clear memories about us struggling with the snow, developing the water collection system, changing measurement campaigns because of the weather, and observing the badger. There was nothing about those things in the data. I seriously started doubting myself, and maybe I would have unless Enembe wouldn't have given the exactly same testimony about what had happened. His memory is especially good, almost eidetic, so I trust him in these things.
I also started wondering about us, or the existence of Enembe and myself. We clearly had performed our daily routines in this world normally and did and recorded exactly those things we were expected to. But even if they behaved like us, I don't remember any of that, although it happened only a few days ago. Was it me doing those things, or someone else? Was it possible that we were in two different worlds at the same time? Of course it was not possible, but all the memories in my brain shouted that that must be the case.
I started to envy Ismen. He was away when all this happened, and now he can observe this whole mess as an outsider, not needing to struggle with an identity crisis and existential anxiety. There is only one of him, and he needs not worry about these things. When I said this to him, he comforted me telling that we are in this together and things will sort out. It was, strangely enough, heartening although we both knew that it was simply a lie and he couldn't possibly know how things would sort out.
Enembe did not have existential problems. For him, this was a mathematical problem rather than a question about his identity. He seemed to be actually fascinated about the thought that there could be two of him; possibly he saw this as a clear albeit temporary improvement, even if his relative abundance did not increase (there was still only one Enembe per universe).
All recordings we had made stopped on the Sunday afternoon. Automatic recordings went on, but it seems that there was nobody recording, as we (actually, both versions of us) were heading toward the village. Svetlana had kept her log and recorded her measurements until that same timepoint, and then complete radio silence. Svetlana had disappeared from the hub soon after we had left. Her evening log was missing.
Interestingly, we had a brief audio log from our trip to the village, and that clip was indeed from the snow world. In that clip I describe where we were and why we were going to the village, and Enembe complained about the snow. I was really happy that we had some objective evidence telling that it was not just fictional. But nothing in the hub had recorded anything about the snow.
I was also very interested in seeing the mystery glimpse on the video from the Rocks on Friday. The video itself was boring, as expected. We were shooting at the rocks floating in the air, and they move very slowly. I heard Enembe's voice from the background, and my replies, but there was very little information, it was just some chitchat while recording. Suddenly, there was a change in tone.
- Look, Enembe, look! What's that? I said.
A dark object appeared floating between the rocks. It was like a cylinder with a height of a metre and diameter of one half, and it was slowly moving towards us. Its colour was, well, just dark. It was not like black as painted black, but rather an object that just doesn't reflect any light. The camera turned and zoomed to the object, which tilted slightly in the air.
- Wholymoly, said Enembe's voice.
The cylinder went to the nearest rock, some kind of door opened, and it floated over the rock engulfing it. The door closed, the cylinder turned and started floating away with increasing speed. Within seconds, it disappeared behind a hill. My camera zoomed to that direction and captured Enembe's figure as he was running with his camera toward the hillslope.
- Wow, it is going fast. I cannot see it any more. But it was heading north, said Enembe's voice on the recording.
_________________
Your topic is Proof.
No comments:
Post a Comment