The following seven months were difficult and uneasy, to say the least. During this time, Ferikan had been properly introduced and inducted into the secret crew researching the Infinites. She was officially repositioned under Garjian’s team. As far as the Order was concerned, one of their youngest and most talented field agents was working in one of the dullest and long-forgotten corners of the universe. It was common for ambitious field agents to scavenge for extra promotion credits. So it seemed to be with Ferikan, and no one batted an eye at the transfer simply because they all knew how much Ferikan idolised Garjian; Berson made sure of that.

 Ferikan eventually met with Executive Kalia face-to-face as well. Kalia and Berson ensured Ferikan knew all the risks and dangers that came with her agreement to work on the project. Ferikan did it all except inscribing her name in blood before Berson was convinced that she understood and consented to everything she had signed up for. They briefly gave her an overview of all the fail-safes protecting the data they collected and the overall plan for eventually going public with all the information they gathered before dispatching Ferikan to continue her fieldwork with Garjian.

Garjian and Ferikan are currently standing in a hospital. A place where smaller, weaker, and shorter bridges constantly form and collapse as souls traverse the Infinite dimension. Over the last few months, Ferikan and Garjian have mastered their bridge jumping skills, extending the time they can peek into the Infinites’ world, recording as much as they can in their search for answers.

A few moments ago, they were both standing in the delivery room. Utter shock and disbelief, with a hint of grossed out and about to hurl, were displayed on Ferikan’s face. Garjian was laughing, mocking Ferikan for how she reacted as Tina gave birth naturally to a healthy and beautiful baby girl.

Now they are both inside the maternity ward. Tina is lying in bed, surrounded by close friends and family. Peter’s parents are also present, standing by her bedside. Tina is holding her child gently in her arms, and a smile she had not formed during the seven previous months has finally appeared on her face once again. It reminded Ferikan of the memory she recorded when she first linked with Tina many months ago.

“What will you call her?” Tina’s mother asked.

“Petra, after her father,” Tina stroked Petra’s cheek with her index finger.

“That’s sweet,” Ferikan said to Garjian.

“It’s also very fitting, considering who the newborn Infinite is,” Garjian replied, and before Ferikan could inquire, Garjian explained, “Check the soul’s base energy spectrum. Can you recognise the newborn by its markers?”

“It’s Peter!”

“A form of Peter, to be correct, who will now grow and become Petra. Infinites are reborn countless times, and even though the core is always the same and recognisable, they never evolve into the same person twice.”

Petra opened her eyes, grabbed her mother’s finger and squeezed with all the strength a newborn could muster.

Ferikan felt as if space dilated, pulled and stretched away from her, and everyone else fell out of her field of vision except Tina and Petra.

No one said a thing, and not a single word was spoken, but there was clear communication between Petra and Tina.

A message Ferikan intercepted.

I love you. Don’t ever let go.

At that moment, Tina knew this was where she should be, where she wanted to be, for all the years she had left on this earth.

The room began condensing back to its original size.

“Welcome back,” Garjian said.

“Good to be back.”

“How was it?”

“It’s just as you said. Your hypothesis might be correct. There seems to be some dimensional bridge the Infinites can access from their side. Did the equipment record anything this time?”

“I’m afraid not. I just recognised your expression. What about your own personal recordings? Did they capture anything?”

Ferikan went over the data on her tablet, “It recorded the presence of an auditory signal interpreted by my brain, just like last time, but it didn’t actually pick up any sound waves or other forms of transactional energy or transference.” Ferikan stared into the void as she absently played with her hair. “This is why you’re insisting on recording our energies. Isn’t it? It’s the only indication we have of such activities.”

“Yes, it is.”

They both moved off the bridge they were standing on and began preparing for the journey home.

“But isn’t it enough? Doesn’t this prove the hypothesis you suggested in your book? Isn’t this enough to convince the council?”

“You’d think, but both Berson and Kalia believe it’s not.”

“Do you think they know?” Ferikan looked back at Tina and Petra, “I mean, as a species, do you think the Infinites are aware of the truth about their soulmate theory?”

“Tell you what, why don’t you think about that until we return home?” Garjian understood the importance of letting Ferikan formulate the idea herself, just as he had done so all those years ago. “Take the time and contemplate on it, give it some serious thought, and then you can tell me what you think. Ok?”

Ferikan nodded, and they both entered the portal. When they arrived at headquarters, they moved to their little hidden office, where they usually met to plan and discuss future missions. The room was usually buzzing with activity as the rest of the team members were going about their daily business. However, tonight the office was empty. Only the low humming of the fluorescent light could be heard, and the beeping of various machines that were left on, running some data analysis as they always did. Garjian prepared two cups of tea, and they sat across from each other, taking a few sips in silence.

“So, do you have an answer?” Garjian said. 

“Honestly, I don’t think the Infinites have a clue. They think they know, but they’ve barely scratched the surface.”

“How so?” Come on, Ferikan, the experience means very little without the realisation. I know you can get there on your own. You need to. I need you to.

“They think soulmates are connected in a special way, but they’re all connected as far as we can tell, not just soulmates. Whenever they think there’s a special connection between them, it’s nothing more than them managing to reach down to each other’s core and communicate. Since they are very similar at the centre of their core--” Ferikan paused, and her eyes slowly opened wide.

Garjian bit his lower lip and smiled, repressing the urge to speak and fill in the blanks for Ferikan.

“That’s what it is, isn’t it?” Ferikan said, “The messages we intercept occur when they slip into that other third dimension and communicate directly from core to core. That dimension is where they recognise each other and understand how similar they truly are.”

Deeper Ferikan. Go beyond the appearance of things. Garjian took another sip and remained silent.

“That’s the bridge between dimensions you’re referring to in your book. Isn’t it? It’s not the one we use to observe them. It’s the one they create to communicate between them. But that would mean that what they call soulmates is nothing more than souls that have managed to communicate at the core level, and that is a connection they seem to keep no matter how many times they are reborn. So when two souls meet again, they have an instant connection. However, we know that they can establish such connections with multiple souls. They are not unique between two souls only. But if that’s true, it would also mean that…,” Ferikan got up and walked to her desk. She grabbed her tablet and pulled up all the data on Infinite souls as she walked back to the desk Garjian was sitting at. “It’s almost as if they are all fragments of a whole. It’s as if they were once one entity and somehow fragmented. If that’s true, then if I look at the core soul’s energy signal, there should be a spectrum where….”

The answer was projected on Ferikan’s screen. Can this be? She looked at Garjian as the realisation set in, and fear enveloped her. Never mind our wings; they will have our heads for this.

“Now, do you understand the real importance of our mission and why it must remain a secret until we are absolutely sure?”

“What is it we see here, Garjian? Can this really be a creature discovering itself, becoming aware of its existence through these machinations?”

“What if it is?”

“Then that third dimension is the source, it’s where the whole resides, and when two pieces of the whole establish a deep connection, they can access that source dimension. But Garjian, do you comprehend what this actually means?”

“Do you?” Garjian asked.

“I think I do, but a sea of questions is fogging my mind. What is this whole? And why is it going through this process? Is it conscious? Is it growing an awareness?”

“Unless we lift the ban on studying the Infinites, we will never know the answer.”

“But Garjian, did we stumble upon a--” Ferikan didn’t dare say the word.

“A god?” Garjian added. “Infinite, immortal, god, life prime, the first creature to exist in more than one dimension. No matter what we call it, it doesn’t change the truth. The data suggest the existence of an unknown and powerful, I dare say preeminent, being like nothing we’ve ever come across, and we are barred from studying it.”

“And these messages soulmates share are the only clues we have to suggest a third dimension. This is the true goal of these missions, isn’t it? We are looking for ways to record energies that will prove this hypothesis and turn it into a theory; without needing to have the experience of slipping into their dimension on the rare occasion when two souls connect at their core.”

“Yes, however, if our hypothesis is correct, then the theory goes against what we know so far. This goes against some of our most fundamental laws.”

“When did that ever stop us?” Ferikan raised her voice, “By all that has existed, Garjian, do you realise that what we have here could be a fraction of what is going on? What if this creature has access to more than just two dimensions?”

Both their tablets started flashing red and emitted a high-pitched alarm. All the screens in the room followed the same pattern. A loading bar appeared on them, and all their research began being dumped online for everyone to access and read.

“I guess we don’t have to worry about it now. The secret is out,” Ferikan said.

“No, Ferikan, now is when we have to worry. Now they will come for our wings.”