The ship instantly teleported to the ground floor and the door of the ship opened.

Magnier stepped out of the spaceship and to his amazement found everyone frozen in place

as if paused by a remote control. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, the fine air smelled of

freshly cut grass and dew. Magnier spent most of his life on this planet conducting research

and studying. He wasn’t fond of travel but the extreme circumstances of his creation’s

cessation forced him to travel from planet to planet to discuss deliberations and plans to be

enacted to save the universe and thus also save the Republic.

“It has been so long.” quietly sounded Dr. Magnier to himself in nostalgic

contemplation. “I never thought I’d get another chance to visit home.”

Dr. Magnier began his journey of walking around the campus and taking in the

scenery. The campus was big and had crystalline windows as its exterior, glistening, the star

of Indio shines brightly upon the green and lush fields.

He walked into the building and toured the facility with a slightly relaxed stride. He

revisited old rooms and halls of the past. Magnier did not have a rational argument of why he

should be here except for the fact that he felt he needed to be here. It was strange to have to

recede into his emotional ways of thinking after so long. How long has it been since he felt

this trickle of happiness within him? Then almost as soon as his happiness came so did it

leave; he held a cold calculating mask over his head, and returned to carrying a sense of

superiority about himself – after all he was a scientist of the prestigious Physics and

Astronomy Institute of the Republic of Sector 8. In fact, prestigious would be an

understatement – it was among the top ten best educational institutions in the galaxy of which

its rank is first place. Magnier sacrificed and toiled to get where he was at. The decades of

work spent in the lab pondering and testing and tinkering and experimenting. The routine has

calloused his mind to the other aspects of life that did not have anything to do with research.

It made him a genius. A genius among geniuses. If there was a problem that needed to be

solved of a scientific or practical nature, excluding metaphysical or philosophically inclined

foundational questions, Magnier and his colleagues at his lab have a research paper on it.

This routine ended two months ago when reports of the end of the universe came

flooding in. Magnier found himself going on voyages and tours discussing with colleagues

and politicians about their results and what they meant.

Magnier walked through the halls and to his office room. He pulled out the key from

his pocket and unlocked the door. His room was cozy and had a homey feel to it, a very

distinct feature from the usual plain, dull, and sterile office rooms organized throughout the

institution. The desk in the center of the room was made of high quality oak and there was a

big leather chair inviting him into his dwelling. Behind the desk and chair were two large

wooden display cabinets filled neatly with folders upon folders of administrative documents

along with other research notes related to his work.

Magnier sat down and slunk down into his seat letting go of all the tension in his body

as he cocked his head back and exhaled. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before

resuming his previous stern posture and that’s when the regular feelings started to flow back

to him – anxiety and dread. His overactive mind concealed in a calm and collected body

thought of the end. The looming outcome of his inevitable doom – the demise of Dr. Magnier.

Magnier thought to himself: “No it can’t end! I still have so much left to do. The

Creator was able to talk to me from the unobserved reaches of space and I was not able to

detect him. The Creator also said he was able to read my thoughts therefore it wouldn’t be a

stretch to think that he is watching me, observing me, studying my thoughts and actions here

in this very moment in time in timelessness. There is nothing else I can do but figure out the

solution. Heh. What was it he asked me? ‘Why do you care?’ What a silly question. I need to

save everyone, everything because it is the right thing to do! Why would I stand by and let

total annihilation come to pass? That’s why I care! That’s why I care, right?”

The anxiety within Magnier was boiling and bubbling like a pot of hot water on a

stove, steam rising and evaporating and hissing. A few drops of sweat lay on top of the

scientist’s forehead. Magnier widened his eyes and touched his forehead with the fingers of

his right hand in disbelief.

He rubbed the moistened fingers together and thought: “I’m losing it. Keep calm.

Keep calm! A calm mind is needed for rational thought. Excitations of the mind only

exacerbate errors in judgment.”

Magnier sat at his desk and calmed his fast-paced breathing. He thought: “I was

hoping for an epiphany of sorts but I have nothing. The Creator asked ‘Why do you care?’

Why do I care? Why do I? I. It is a question in need of a subjective response addressed to me.

Clearly the Creator wants me to find something I care about in my life and what not more

than my research?”

The man stood up from his chair and looked into his display cabinets and thought:

“Research! I still have hope. Merely being in the environment of my past is not enough. I

need to immerse myself in the work itself!” Magnier opened the cabinet doors and scanned

through the documents for anything that gave him the answer to what he was looking for.

Pages on quasars he collaborated with Dr. Ashley Vimor. Nothing. Pages on black hole

energy extraction he collaborated with Dr. Clark Bell. Still nothing. Pages on gravitational

warping for more efficient faster-than-light travel. Absolutely not a thing. Magnier tossed

pages after pages onto the floor, recollecting the times he had with his colleagues from each

paper, their smiles and looks of curiosity meant nothing to him. His soul felt nothing…

nothing at all.

The room was a mess. Pages of documents that the Republic has acclaimed as one of

the most influential research done in modern times were scattered all over the floor, tossed

away like litter or scraps to be disposed of at a dump. Panic began to set in on Magnier before

he had another thought: “I must immerse myself more! I must go to the labs – it is possible

the act of doing research is what will help find the solution!”

Magnier darted out of the room, completely disregarding his usual conventional stride

and in its stead was a man on the hunt for what he desired most – answers, answers he felt

were close just within his reach.

He ran to his labs and searched. The lab was filled with computers and devices for

measuring and recording data. There was a test chamber for materials and written on the glass

container was a “Do Not Enter” sign for when the machine was to run. Reminiscing on the

past where he had visions of a graduate student, Mr. Pine Delan, noting a peculiar oddity in

the behavior of a metamaterial they were studying driving further research. The emptiness he

felt within himself remained. He continued to the other lab rooms each fitted with other types

of equipment suited for a specific area of research. Again Magnier had visions of his past and

the research done but he had no feeling of enlightenment, only darkness was within him, a

shadow that was always there since his conception, began to grow ever larger as Magnier

became more aware of his inner turmoil as he explored the laboratories. Finally, Magnier

stumbled upon the observatory section of the building. This was the place where he had to

find what he was looking for! His most prized discoveries were found here. A rare smile

slipped on his face.

Magnier entered the observatory running past people frozen in time without a care for

them. He grabbed one of the security keys from one of the scientists and tried to use it on a

door to get access to the telescope. He pressed the keycard against the scanner but nothing

happened as he realized: “Of course it wouldn’t work. I am not frozen in time so I am able to

manipulate objects as causality still runs through me but the keycard and scanner are both

frozen in time – there would be no reaction. I need to get to that telescope no matter what!

There has to be another way!”

Magnier ran around the observatory looking for an alternative entry point but he

couldn’t find it. Sweat poured and coated the middle aged scientist. He never ran this long

ever since he graduated from highschool! With desperation setting in, Magnier decided to

take a forceful approach to getting to the telescope. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the

wall and hit one of the glass doors repeatedly. The doors were strong but not impenetrable.

Hit after hit, the scientist launched a barrage of attacks at the door until cracks coated the

door. Magnier pulled his hand back and hit the fire extinguisher on the glass door one final

time before it gave in and shattered into circular little glass pieces – a purposeful choice by

the manufacturers to prevent people from cutting themselves on the glass.

The sweating man dropped the extinguisher in relief and hobbled inside the telescope

room. It was a sight to behold. A giant device crafted by the Republic’s finest engineers and

used by the finest scientists. Magnier slowly walked towards the telescope completely

ignoring his surroundings. He focused on the giant marvel in front of him and to the eyepiece.

The tired man looked into the eyepiece and saw stars. He changed focal lengths and

played with the different filters and settings to those of his past achievements. Once again

visions from his past flooded his mind as he thought back to when his team celebrated their

most praised discovery at the observatory. There was a “party” if one could call it that at the

observatory where his team exchanged firm handshakes, cheers, chuckles, and even hugs – a

picture was taken to commemorate the event and Magnier thought: “This is it! It has to be it!

I’ve done it! My most celebrated achievement yet!” and that’s when he realized everyone was

smiling in the picture except for one person – Dr. Magnier. “No no no,” said Magnier to

himself as he slowly backed away from the telescope. Magnier closed his eyes shut, focused

within himself and thought hard. Nothing. This wasn’t it either. All his efforts were for

naught.

He crouched down and kneeled before the mighty telescope and slammed his fists on

the floor. “I don’t want to die! I can’t– I have to figure it out!” screamed Magnier as he

looked back up at the modern spectacle that was the telescope and Magnier’s overactive mind

searched for clues until he had a new thought: “Telescope… tele… scope. Scope. Scope!

That’s it! It has to be scope! My research deals with the cosmos, the infinite universe. I must

think big! Not only that but consider the larger scope of my research and their possible

ramifications – the solution must be there!”