The Gateway

Doctor Schultz, Gregory, and Seiner began to crank up the power, as the machine began to hover and howl, and emitted a heat wave that singed off Schultz eyebrows.

“We may have gotten it today!” screamed Gregory over the whirring and screeching of the machine as he tried to maintain his balance.

“We need to get Keene down here! He’s the expert on this ‘door’!” yelled Schultz as he kept his arms on the lever.

The Doorway was a large, metallic grey cube, with strange hieroglyphics all over it. Its origins were unknown to even the scientists who had been studying it for about twenty years. Keene, Schultz, Gregory and Seiner were the four scientists in charge of studying it.

Keene had been there the longest, and had been working on it tirelessly day and night. He was only absent when his cancer got really bad. His friends and family had believed he obtained the illness from overworking, but his colleagues believed it was from the machine. Radiation was just one of the many hazards associated with the ‘door’.

Schultz was the scientist in charge of damage control, making sure the machine didn’t cause too much damage. He kept a journal of all of the anomalies created by the machine, including earthquakes, radiation, temperature increase, temperature decrease, insanity, and even anti-gravity! He was hired by the government (who was sponsoring the research) after an entire town 50 miles away from the research cite was wiped off the map by one of the anomalies. He was almost as devoted to his job as Keene was.

Gregory was a minor but brilliant scientist working on the project. He was promoted after deciphering some of the hieroglyphics to be extremely complicated mathematical equations and discovering the machine to be a ‘door’ to somewhere else. He was obsessed with learning as much as possible, doing anything to get even the smallest piece of knowledge. These obsessions often lead him to be quite disliked by his peers.

Seiner was the newest addition to the team, only being there for a year. He was hired for his knowledge of parallel worlds, which was believed to be what the machine would lead to.

The team had been testing the machine for everything: reaction to heat, reaction to cold, reaction to various elements, and the one that worked the best, reaction to heavy amounts to electricity.

The past weak, they had been very close to opening it, with the cube beginning to unfold and open, but closing when the power began to run out. This time they came prepared, with enough power to keep a billion light bulbs lit for five trillion years. They were already running low.

“More power!” screamed Gregory as a wave of energy sent him and the other scientists into the air, experiencing the effects of zero gravity.

“Don’t stop pushing the lever Schultz!” yelled Seiner as Schultz tried as hard as he could to keep the lever down.

The anti-gravity made this difficult, but Schultz had his foot through a hole, keeping him on the ground. The machine began to expand into a circular portal. All of the scientists screamed, as the radiation and heat levels spiked. The Doorway had begun to shatter the tectonic plates below, and was causing heavy static electricity levels in the air above, creating a massive storm.

“Keep going!” screamed Gregory, “more power!”

The portal began shaking and shimmering, as colors began to appear inside of it. At first they were all normal primary and secondary colors, but as time went on the colors began to expand to various shades, all swirling and mixing together electrically in the Doorway. Then, like colors from Heaven, Hell, and in between, appeared shade and hues never seen by men, colors unlike any others of this world. The colors began to form two circles inside of each other. Then the colors began to swirl around circles, forming an eye. Once the eye was complete, all of the mysterious colors and hues ceased to exist, leaving a black and white eye starring at the three scientists in front of it. It focused its attention first on Gregory.

'''Alexander Gregory! You have opened the Gateway successfully. What do you wish for?'''

“I wish for knowledge!” exclaimed Gregory

Very well, but it will cost you.

“I will pay any price! Just give me knowledge!” screamed Gregory.

As soon as he finished his sentence, his right arm suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a burning stump. But Gregory was to busy with comprehending the knowledge that had appeared in his head. He now knew all of the answers to every single mathematical equation ever.

“More!” he shouted as his left leg disappeared.

He now knew the entire history of humanity. But he wanted more. So the Gateway gave him more. It gave him the creation of the universe for all of his unnecessary organs (liver, kidney, spleen, appendix, etc.). It then gave him the meaning of life for his left arm, every planet and star in the universe for his right leg, every element, sound, color, and smell for his eyes, ears, and nose.

“Please, give me more!” screamed the horrifying figure that used to be Gregory.

I have told you everything.

“No you haven’t! I still don’t know one thing! What are you?” asked Gregory, about to die.

I am the Gateway.

Gregory was then turned inside out, squirting blood and organs everywhere.

The Gateway then turned its attention to Seiner, as it said:

'''Lucas Seiner! You have opened the Gateway successfully. What do you wish for?'''

“I wish to enter the Gateway!” responded Seiner as he stepped past the bloody mess of Gregory.

Very well, but it will cost you.

“I will pay any price! I just want to cross over-” Seiner was interrupted by a black tendril emerging from the portal and instantly disintegrating him.

Finally, the Gateway began to look intently at Schultz as it said:

'''Thomas Schultz! You have opened the Gateway successfully. What do you wish for?'''

“I just have one wish,” said Schultz, as he looked at his ex-colleagues all over the floor, “I want you to leave this world!”

Very well, but it will cost you.

“What?”

You will have to come with me.

“I accept your terms,” said Doctor Schultz as he stepped through the Gateway.