Chapter Seven
Unknown Phenomena Investigation Department
The frost gripped Circhester even more so on their second morning there. The day before, Joe and Kyla spent hours enrolling at the university, reading and signing contracts, and getting their campus cards and apps. They had been given employee accommodation in a suburb behind the university and so even though it was only a short walk to the university the next day, it was a bitterly cold one nonetheless. Joe was grateful to now find himself deep inside the warm university and a few floors underground, which Ainsley had led him and Kyla to from a high-security elevator at the back of the main building.
The facility was bustling with scientists and engineers in lab coats, working on advanced technologies in various rooms and labs. Joe was amazed by the sheer size and complexity of the facility, noticing state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technology at every turn. Ainsley led them to a mess hall, inside which were five people Joe didn't know.
"Alright, listen up everyone," Ainsley called to them and they all turned their attention to him.
"I told you guys I was bringing in a couple of old friends for our team - well, here they are."
Joe raised his hand in a half-wave, unsure what to say at being introduced to five strangers simultaneously.
Luckily, Ainsley moved around the room, introducing each of them in turn.
"I would like to introduce you to our team of experts. First up, we have Marshal 'MN' Nelson, our chief engineer and head of the technical team. MN has over 20 years of experience in the field and is an expert in robotics and automation."
MN was a tall and lean man, with a rugged build. He had a closely trimmed beard and a head full of salt-and-pepper hair, which he kept short and well-groomed. His piercing blue eyes were set deep in his face, giving him a serious and determined look. He had a confident and assertive demeanour, and carried himself with a sense of authority. Despite his strong and intimidating presence, he had a warm smile.
"Next, we have Maia May, our lead chemist and head of the research team. She is a brilliant chemist with a passion for discovery and innovation."
Maia May was a young woman, with a petite frame and striking features. She had long, curly dark hair that fell in loose waves around her shoulders, framing her delicate face. Her dark eyes sparkled, and her lips curved into a small smile.
"Third, we have Richard 'Rusty' Fordman, our chief electrician and head of the power team. He is a master electrician and has a deep understanding of energy systems and power management."
Rusty was a middle-aged man, of average height and build. He had a friendly and approachable demeanour. He had a head of thick, rust-coloured hair that gave him his nickname, which he kept neatly combed to the side. He had a light freckled complexion, and blue eyes. He had a toolbox in hand, and his overalls and work boots were a testament to his profession as an electrician.
"Fourth, we have Chloe Wheatley, our chief biologist and head of the life sciences team. She is an expert in genetics, biotechnology and has a wealth of experience in field research."
Chloe Wheatley was a tall, slender woman with elegant, refined features. She had a head full of chestnut hair that she wore in a sleek ponytail, showcasing her striking bone structure. She had a sharp jawline, and a pair of hazel eyes that seemed to take in everything around her with a critical gaze.
"Finally, we have Rex Winston, our chief geologist and head of the earth sciences team. He is a renowned geologist and has an extensive background in mineralogy and geophysics."
Rex Winston was a tall and broad-shouldered man, with a rugged and weathered appearance. He had a thick head of silver hair that he kept short and unkempt, and a thick beard that was a mix of grey and black. His skin was tanned and weathered from years of working outdoors and his hands were calloused from years of handling rocks and equipment. He had a keen and piercing gaze.
There was a general murmur of greetings as everyone murmured hellos at the same time.
"Alright, this is Joe Norris and Kyla Smart. Both have years of experience in the battling circuit. Joe has collected over twenty badges and Kyla has caught over five hundred Pokemon, including a shiny. While they know nothing of what we've done over the past six years, I think once we catch them up to speed, they will be great assets to the team."
"We'd best get 'em caught up quick, then," Rex nodded.
"Do you know anything at all yet?" Chloe asked.
"Um… no," Joe replied.
"I've kept them in the dark… until now. Let's go into the briefing room. And Rusty, bring some snacks. We might be in there for a while."
When everyone had settled in the briefing room, dominated by a large rectangular table, atop which was a projector, Ainsley took the head of the table.
"Alright, we've got our snacks and our mood lighting," Ainsley quipped, flicking his head up at the dimmed lights, "I put together this presentation to induct Joe and Kyla into the team, so the rest of you will pretty much spend the next hour listening to me tell you what you already know. But it's important we are all on the same page."
Ainsley pressed a button on the remote in his hand that was connected to the computer powering the projector presentation.
"We are UPID. That's the Unknown Phenomena Investigation Department. It's kept vague for a reason. For the past six years, we've investigated, documented and in some cases interacted with all kinds of unknown phenomena in the world. Let's start with some of the things we've investigated over the years."
Ainsley flipped to the next slide, which showed multiple photos of Pokemon using different unique powers. A Mega Charizard Y blasting a rock that is partly crystallised. A massive eruption of electricity which Joe soon realised was generated from a small Pikachu in the middle of the frame. Finally, there was a photo of a Gigantamax Kingler in a gym battle somewhere in Galar.
"You will likely recognise all of the phenomena in these photos. They are of course Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and the Dynamax Phenomenon respectively. No-one in the world has come closer to understanding the energy that causes these phenomena."
"Sorry," Joe interrupted, "do you mean to say that there's one form of energy responsible for all this?"
"Well, of course," Ainsley nodded, "Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamaxing, Terastilization… they are all branches of the same source of energy."
"I guess that makes sense," Kyla said.
"Once you know, it's fairly obvious," MN chirped in, "but don't worry; it's a realisation none of us made alone."
"Right," Ainsley took the lead of the conversation back, "So after doing numerous studies on these branches and discovering they came from the same energy source, we were able to track it down to originating from Ultra Wormholes."
"Like the ones in Alola?" Joe asked.
"Alola is where they were reported most frequently, yes, but the truth is those Ultra Wormholes occurred before the Alolan reports and still occur to this day. They just went unnoticed or unrecorded."
"How can you be sure of that?" Kyla asked.
"Well, for one we've extrapolated from historical reports that there have been many events recorded in history that could be construed as Ultra Wormholes to someone in the know. But more importantly, we know because we have an Ultra Wormhole here in the facility and have performed many tests on it."
Ainsley's bombshell rang around the room and the other people seemed to be waiting for Joe and Kyla's reactions to this news.
"One… here?" Kyla repeated.
A shiver danced through Joe. He didn't understand much about Ultra Wormholes except that they were rare and dangerous. The idea of people experimenting on them did not comfort him.
"That's right. It was a massive pain in the ass containing it, but we pulled it off -"
"How?" Joe interrupted.
Ainsley frowned.
"How did you contain it? I've never heard of anything like that even being possible."
"Neither did we," Ainsley replied, "Until we did it."
The smirk on Ainsley's face rubbed Joe the wrong way; like he was being cocky and not acknowledging the dangers.
"And if you will be patient enough, I'll explain all about how we pulled it off. Put simply: we asked it to stay."
Joe stared at Ainsley, unsure how to react.
Finally, he said, "I know you love to put on theatre, Ainsley, but cut the cryptic BS, will you?"
"Well, that's just the simple explanation. Look," Ainsley flicked to the next screen.
Pictured was a phenomena in space, clearly under the view of a telescope, of what Joe could only assume was an Ultra Wormhole. He had seen photos before and this looked similar enough. A net that sunk into space and time itself, leading to an unknown destination.
"This Ultra Wormhole, the one we have in our containment, was discovered six months ago. We followed the proper procedure in the case of UWEs - Ultra Wormhole Events - and sent a communication through the wormhole."
"Why?" Joe asked, "Why would you want to provoke whatever is in there?"
"It's not about that," Ainsley retorted, "As you know, after the UWEs in Alola, we discovered a lot of Ultra Beasts. We understand from the return feedback when it is an Ultra Beast we have met before and that gives us an advantage in terms of preparation of how to deal with them - it's the same protocol that the government follows. Anyway, the point is, this wormhole's feedback was different from anything we had recorded."
"Close it." Joe said.
Aiden nodded wryly.
"That was my first reaction too. And we tried. But the truth is, we're not the ones keeping it open. I mean, we are now, but that's only to make sure no-one gets trapped over there. Whether we keep it open or not, the other side is keeping it open. Something wants us to go over there. Maybe it's a trap. Maybe it's communication. Maybe it's something else entirely. But we have to find out, because the UWEs have been causing issues for years, and we can't do anything other than react to them. If there is something calling us, maybe it wants to help stop this."
"Or maybe it wants to kill us all." Joe responded soberly.
"Maybe. Exciting, isn't it?" Ainsley grinned.
"So, what do you mean you asked it?" Joe asked.
"Well, we were trying to think of ways to communicate more than just a message declaring our acknowledgement of their existence. So we sent a tracking beam signal as a way of saying 'come closer, so we can investigate' - and low and behold, about eight days later, it appeared in one of our containment labs, perfectly contained. We didn't even know how to properly house one, but it didn't seem to matter. Whoever had sent the wormhole knew exactly how to safely store it here."
"This is mental," Kyla commented, breaking her long silence.
"Yeah, it is," agreed Ainsley, "Ever since then, we've done a bit of digging. We've done all sorts of scans and tests and we've even entered the wormhole - no more than five feet off the other side - but enough to get photographic evidence of where this wormhole leads. We don't dare go any further yet, as clearly, whoever we're dealing with has far more advanced technology than we do."
"So that's why you hired us?" Kyla asked, "To lead you safe passage through this wormhole."
"Well, that is our immediate need for you, yes - but I'm sure we will find plenty of other uses for you as we learn more. We're going into this with almost as little information as you. We have no idea what's on the other side, but we do know they intend to keep the wormhole open and to communicate with us." Ainsley replied.
"You said you took photographic evidence?" Joe asked.
"That's right."
"Can we see it?"
"Sure," Ainsley nodded, "But it's not that exciting."
Ainsley pressed a few buttons on his projector and the image changed to a series of images of what looked like a dry, arid desert.
"There's nothing there?" Joe asked, admittedly a little disappointed.
But Aiden smiled.
"Oh, there is. We know there is a structure a few miles down the road, even though we can't see it in the photo. We just haven't been prepared enough to actually untether ourselves over on the other side and explore." Aiden explained.
"So, you want us to go with you to this structure?"
"Yes," Aiden nodded, "But of course, first you'll have to undertake our training. Everyone who goes through that wormhole has to take it."
"What sort of training is it?" Kyla asked.
"Oh, you know… basic spacesuit awareness, what to expect when travelling through a wormhole, the dangers of being on an alien world. That sort of thing."
"Sounds lovely." Kyla replied.
"So, what now?" Joe asked.
Ainsley flicked the projector off.
"Take the rest of the day off. Explore the city. And we'll start enrolment and training at nine a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. It'll likely take about a week to get you all trained up and then, we'll take our first trip together through the wormhole."