FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The box started to hum. When I touched it, the vibrations made the fur on my hands shiver. I let it sink into the ground, and it still hummed. As always, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to dig the box up. It was covered in half a foot of topsoil, leading me to believe it had sat there for decades. Once I had dug the box out of its earthy coffin, I set it next to a tree where the metal reflected the moonlight off its surface. The humming shook off any remaining caked-on dirt and dust, and I got a closer look at this strange object.

The box itself was no larger than a computer monitor and weighed about the same. It was a cubic device with strange marks covering one side of the box. There seemed to be scratches and cuts in the metal structure. Several screws were missing from the corners of the plating. I wondered what could be in the box, so I extended my claws out and used them as crowbars between two loose plates. The plate popped off with ease, falling to the ground with a small thud.

Inside the box was a strange web of multicolored wires and computer chips crisscrossing in every direction. Cobwebs lined the corners. A few buttons protruded from the inside wall of the box, as if it needed to be activated from the inside. On second glance, there seemed to be an inscription on the inside of the plate that had popped off. In a remarkable etched font, the writing read, "Property of M.C.K." I had no idea who M.C.K. was, and I didn't want to know. Judging by the disaster inside the cubic device, this person was quite the engineer. I looked closer and closer inside and found nothing new except for a small note of paper. It was brittle upon taking it out, and the yellowing masked some of the faint pencil writing, but a few words struck me as odd: "Experiment", "space", and "discovery".

Who was this person? Was he or she a genius or just plain mad? Where are they? When was this box made? Was this an accident? What was it doing in the woods in the first place?

Unfortunately, to this day, I could not find any answers to those questions. I searched and researched all possible scientists, criminals, and known government workers with those initials with no results. It still bugs me to this day how I haven't found him or her or them.

Anyway, I put the note in my pocket and dragged the box back to camp. I must have been gone for a while because the fire had already been extinguished for the night. Usala and Tazu were nowhere to be seen, but Redd had sat by the fire pit and had already gone to sleep.

"Redd? You awake?"

I roused her from her nap, and her eyes drooped as her tongue poked from the corner of her mouth and licked her lips

"Isaac?"

I stood beside her as she stretched her arms over her head and yawned into a slight howl towards the forest canopy. She rolled her shoulders and pushed on her knees as she yawned, and she slowly stood up, eyeing me. Then, she pushed me away from her, and I fell onto the box.

"Where have you been?" she snapped. "We heard gunshots and thought something happened to you! Usala and Tazu are already in the woods on a rescue mission. Don't you ever leave us like that again!"

She pulled me into a hug similar to the one from last night, only this time Redd was sobbing. I tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, but I guess the thought that I was still alive was enough to bring her into such an emotional state.

Tazu and Usala had returned after hearing Redd's scolding of me. They both stared at me, and Usala hid behind a tree as Tazu bared his teeth. The mere sight of me angered him, and I had no clue as to why.

"I thought you were dead," Redd said.

"It's okay, Redd. Those hikers were just confused," I said.

"Oh, they were, um, hikers? Right, that's what I thought," Redd said, almost swallowing her words.

Redd had stopped sobbing soon after, and I had wiped the waterworks from her eyes. She sniffed and glanced over at the box beside my feet.

"So, uh, what's that?" she asked, trying to steer away from that sensitive moment not five seconds ago.

"I'm not sure. I just found this covered in dirt after those crazies tried to shoot me."

Usala came out from behind her tree and checked the box. She flipped, turned, and stared at every facet of the device before finally placing it open-side up. She grabbed the note and started reading.

"I have never seen something like this, but this note seems to clear things up a little. It says, 'The experiment has gone awry. We cut through the fabric of space-time and landed on some far-off word.' Oh, no that says 'world.' 'This discovery has put us in fear, and this machine shall not be activated by any means necessary by anyone who so finds it.' Wow, what kind of discovery could instill fear into someone?"

Tazu was quick to point out.

"Super-volcano, meteorite, some bullshit viral epidemic, the Republican nominee for president, a black hole, anything really."

"Thanks for the info," Usala said in a flatter tone than Tazu. "Whoever said this sounds pretty serious. I think we should listen."

"What's the fun in that, Sala? Live a little. They obviously survived to put the note in. What's the worst that can happen to us? I mean, we can just turn it off if things get too real for you."

"I can handle it. Who here tried alcohol for the first time last night? Me."

"You had punch."

"It could've been spiked. What do you think was the cause of my blacking out?"

"You fell asleep because it was 11:00. I had to drag you home with Redd."

"Forget it, Tazu. This device is really sketchy, and we need to figure out what it does without activating it."

"These buttons look like they do something."

"Don't touch anything, Tazu! We need to know how bad this could be before we power it up."

The device let out a shrill, computerized voice that spooked everyone.

"Power on. Insert command."

We froze in place, waiting to see what could happen next. The box vibrated again, and scattered golden lights poured out of the open side.

"Great job with not activating it," Tazu remarked while clapping his hands.

"Ah, shut up. I didn't know it was voice-activated."

"Guys, be quiet," I said, "Just take a step back, and let's see what this thing does."

"Are you--I'm not even gonna ask that," Redd said.

"Insert command," the voice repeated.

I looked to Usala who just shrugged and mouthed "I don't know." I thought about the note. It mentioned an experiment, so I asked about the previous experiments. It repeated its command, and I covered my face with my hand when I realized I had to give a command, not a question. Machines must have been so picky back then.

"Report last known use."

The device whirred and brightened into a mock lighthouse for several seconds before giving an answer.

"Experiment 15: Coordinates: Sector E-1046, 126 936 3872. Terrestrial planet 30872 from vicinity of terrestrial planet 1. Request to activate previous use?"

We all exchanged glances. There were worlds outside of our system. Sure there were planets close by like Ardor, a volcanic powerhouse covered with dense clouds, and Aridus, a barren wasteland so far away, metals like iron would shatter like glass. But there were more than thirty thousand different worlds that a person could theoretically stand on? It seemed to me so far-fetched that I was willing to admit the artificial intelligence was dumber than me after drinking lemon juice. There were also 14 different experiments before this.

Piqued, I said, "Report results of experiments 1 to 14."

The machine spoke with zero hesitation but a slight departure from the 16-bit monotone.

"Experiments 1-6: Failed on launch."

"Experiment 7: Successful opening to Planet Aridus, terrestrial planet 4. Failed on lack of substantial atmosphere."

"Experiments 8-11: Failed to launch."

"Experiment 12: Successful opening to Sector E-1046 coordinates -104 9348 281. Failed on gravitational void."

"Experiment 13: Successful opening to gaseous planet 24739 in Sector E-1046 130 8034 3872. Failed due to malfunctioning horizon."

"Experiment 14: Failed due to overheating core."

I was stunned in every kind of way.

"I'm stunned," Usala said. "There's so many possibilities here. We need to find out where Experiment 15 went to."

"Okay, now you're having a mental breakdown," Tazu said.

"No, I'm serious. Think, Tazu, we could be part of thousands of different alien civilizations in the universe. Wouldn't it be amazing to know their cultures and how they think? There could be versions of us totally different from anything we could ever dream of! Besides, didn't you say we should live a little?"

"I didn't think it was actually a portal to another world! I thought it was some convoluted prank!"

Tazu stood still, eyes wide and mind blown.

"Well, I suppose we could activate it," he said.

"And we can turn it off," Redd said, "by saying 'Power off.'"

The machine turned off.

"See?"

"Power on," I said.

The machine turned back on. Redd scrunched her face in such a cocky way we both started laughing.

"Insert command."

"We heard you," Redd, Tazu, and I said in unison.

I wiped down the box until it sparkled under its own lights. Then, we all backed twenty to thirty feet away from the device that now laid in the empty fire pit. I said the five words that determined how our vacation was really going to go.

"Activate coordinates for Experiment 15."

"Confirmed."

The machine silenced itself. For the next three minutes, only the wind howled and the nearby creeks spilled. A small glow could be seen a few miles away in the nearest town, outshining the stars near the edge of the sky. I straightened my jacket and pulled the hood over my ears, waiting. When the familiar sounds of button clicking came into the air, I glared at Usala for playing another game of Monster Hunt on her phone no less, whose narrator sounded much like the machine, only more masculine and less androgynous.

"Usala!" I whispered. "Put it up. This is a very delicate situation right now!"

"Sorry," she whispered back.

Tazu cut in. "How long is this supposed to--"

Lights burst from the machine in such a grandiose and psychedelic fashion, I got dizzy and fell, still gazing at all of the shades of blue, green, and white. It looked like a gaudy casino had blown up during a fireworks demonstration gone horribly but still impressively wrong. The next town, heck, the next country over would have seen the lightshow of its entire existence. The blue lights started to whirl and spin furiously, creating a small circular vortex no bigger than the device itself. However, the vortex grew extensively, its diameter reaching the width of the campgrounds. We stood in awestruck as the blue and white vortex discharged into the air, catching nearby dried leaves on fire and sticking all of our fur on end until the static directed itself to the ground. The vortex spread parallel to us, and the sounds of tiny pockets of air popping from the discharges and the earsplitting whine of the machine deafened us for a good moment.

We kneeled down and covered our heads into our stomachs exactly as how we were taught to do during our semiannual tornado drill at school. Even with my eyes closed, the brightness pierced through my eyelids like sunlight. I felt the rush of static along the ground, frequently zapping me until my arm started to twitch beyond my control. Through all the commotion and DEFCON-2 activity, there was a strange warmth that emanated from the mechanical product. It was almost a comforting and inviting warmth, similar to being held by your parents as a kid. It held me in that respect, and my shuddering turned into a vivacious still, a moment that never seemed to end.

I dared to take another look. Slowly, my eyes met the center of the vortex, a black void slightly smaller than my fist from where I stood. The blues and greens had dimmed and circled the center ominously. The machine right behind it had cut off its own golden glow to give enough energy to keep this thing in place. It was an extraordinary time to be there, watching each tendril of black and blue whirl around each other in a cosmic dance of unbelievable proportions. The vortex itself was almost the size of a minivan, giving more than enough dances to captivate me.

Redd and Usala stood in awe alongside me, but Tazu was a little skeptical.

"I knew it; it's just a projection. There's nothing about this that can harm us. I mean, really? A box that can somehow create mystical portals was covered with dirt in a forest and has the intelligence of an arcade machine? It's obviously a setup."

Granted, I was skeptical too, but I wanted to stay and watch this forever. Eventually, after I pulled away from my hypnosis, I decided to test Tazu's theory. I grabbed a stick no bigger than my forearm in length and approached the vortex. The tip of the stick started emitting smoke as it got closer, but it strangely grew colder around me. When I came about five feet away, I held out the stick towards the void and inched the splintered end closer and closer. When it touched the horizon, a small discharge grew and burst, forcing me to let go of the branch halfway in the vortex. The stick stayed still in the center, moving slightly off-center every few seconds.

I looked at the stick and how it seemlessly entered the black center with each blue-green tendril of light not even bothering to touch it. Startled, I looked on the other side to see if the stick had caught on something like a bush. If it did, the stick was in a projection of a vortex.

When I looked, the other half of the stick that was supposed to be on the other side was nowhere to be seen, and there were no bushes holding the back end in place. I hurried to the front side where my friends stood puzzled and took the stick out. It came out with no damage whatsoever and with its other half still fused to its first. On impulse and with the only knowledge that the stick survived, I followed the stick's actions and stuck my entire left arm through the black void.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!" Redd shrieked at me.

Like before, each of my fingers burned slightly as it approached the vortex, and I winced as it felt like touching a light bulb that was left on all night. Once my arm went through though, a light cool breeze comforted me as it rushed across my hand like a jet wing in flight. The rest of my body stood immobile in the torpid air. The cosmic maelstrom cooled instantly around my arm, sparing my jacket sleeve aside from a thin scorched ring adjacent to the horizon. Then, I let my arm go limp hoping to see the same results with the stick. The weight of my arm pulled the limb out as if there wasn't a giant swirling portal of death right in front of me.

I stood amazed with my fingers twiddling away, and my friends drifted towards me. Redd checked my hand and paw pads for any damage while questioning what the hell I just did.

"No burn marks. Isaac, that was really idiotic."

"I had to test it out. Half of the stick went through and got stuck. There wasn't any damage to it when I pulled it out."

Tazu snickered for some reason, and it lasted a few moments.

"Shut it, Tazu," Redd said.

"Since my arm and jacket survived the trip through, do you think...we can walk through this?"

Usala's face morphed into a lengthy grin, and her eyes were ready to pop out and break her glasses.

"No!" Redd said, acting as a killjoy to Usala, "We don't know if we can breathe on...wherever this went to."

"I felt wind on the other side. There's an atmosphere. How about we hold our breaths and test it to see if there's oxygen? Tazu can light a match. If it burns, boom, we got air!"

"I don't have any matches," Tazu said, "I only brought my lighter."

"That works, too," I said.

"Okay," Usala said, "we must hold our breathes long enough for Tazu to ignite his lighter and deduce whether or not to stay. Sound like a plan? I am very excited to do this!"

"Same here," I said.

Redd sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before finally warming up to the idea.

"I guess it would be interesting to see an alien world, even for a brief moment. Once in a lifetime, right?"

"That's the spirit!" I said.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Usala demanded. "We got a planet to conquer, I mean, explore!"

We grabbed each other hand-in-hand, and faced the vortex. A short but insightful thought passed me by: if we do find something amazing, either we tell someone and let the government exploit it or we tell no one and keep this experience as the ultimate friendship test. Some meditation aside, I stole a glance from all of us, including myself strangely enough. We knew what we were doing, but we didn't know where we would end up. We could die or be hailed as heroes.

We stepped through, and what awaited us both shocked and astonished us.