The Echo of Prometheus and the Final Resonance
The Prometheus space station floated silently in the shadow of Earth, like a massive skeleton abandoned between the stars. Its main structure, a complex configuration of multiple ring-shaped modules and connecting arms, now appeared battered and broken. Parts of the module exteriors were torn open, exposing twisted metal frameworks and long-extinguished lights within. Even more unsettling was the presence of dark purple biomatter covering certain areas of the station—similar to the fleshy carpets of the Icarus Base. Despite the vacuum and freezing temperatures, the biomatter continued to writhe and pulse, resembling malignant tumors clinging to bones.
The Hermes approached cautiously, its sensors continuously sounding alarms as they detected unstable energy fields, micro-debris belts, and... an overwhelmingly intense, malevolent psychic radiation surrounding the station.
"This place... is worse than I imagined," Dr. Carter said, his face pale as he stared at the images and data streaming on the main screen. "The energy fluctuations... nearly match those before the Blackstone Base collapsed. And... I'm detecting multiple high-energy reactions. Something... seems to be moving inside the station."
Evelyn remained silent. Her consciousness had already extended outward, her quantum field perception allowing her to "see" deeper truths. She could sense that the Prometheus station itself was like a massive, corrupted "node," bridging the dimensional reality with another space filled with malice and chaos. The dark purple biomatter wasn't merely parasitic—it seemed to be... transforming the station's structure, turning it into a colossal "antenna" or "beacon" to channel the power of the "Eye."
As for the so-called "resonance amplifier," she could sense its location deep within the station's core dimensional laboratory. But the energy fluctuations emanating from it were bizarre—seductive yet concealing a devastating trap.
Lucas's warning echoed again in her mind: "...trap... bait... true... core..."
"We must go inside," Evelyn finally spoke, her voice calm but carrying an unshakable resolve. "But our target isn't the resonance amplifier. We need to find... the real contingency the 'Eye' has set here, and... any countermeasures the original Evelyn might have left behind."
Relying on the last remnants of its energy shield and Evelyn's precise manipulation of the surrounding energy fields, the Hermes painstakingly navigated through debris fields and energy interference zones, eventually docking at a relatively intact airlock. The docking process was fraught with peril; aging mechanical arms screeched with friction, and the docking ring, warped by structural deformation, struggled to seal completely.
"Oxygen and pressure are leaking!" Dr. Carter exclaimed, staring at the dashboard. "We need to reach a pressurized area immediately!"
Evelyn opened the hatch first, and a foul stench of rusted metal, decaying biomatter, and concentrated ozone hit them. Inside the station, everything was pitch black, save for the faint red glow of emergency lights illuminating floating debris, dried bloodstains, and... dark purple veins of biomatter spreading across the walls like arteries.
An oppressive silence hung in the air, occasionally broken by the creaking of twisting metal structures and faint whispers seemingly emanating from deep within the walls.
"The psychic contamination here is strong," Evelyn warned. Her Omega core automatically filtered out most of the interference, but she could still feel the pervasive malice. "Stay close to me."
She moved like a ghost through the weightless corridors, her newly formed body displaying perfect adaptability. Her feet could adhere to walls or ceilings, and her liquid metal skin mimicked the environment's hues, blending almost seamlessly with the shadows. Dr. Carter, clad in a heavy extravehicular suit, relied on magnetic boots and safety tethers to clumsily follow behind.
They avoided areas overtaken by biomatter and unknown devices emitting intense energy fluctuations. Using the station's blueprint downloaded from the "Final Protocol" computer and possible hidden markers left by the original Evelyn, they bypassed the conventional route to the core dimensional lab and opted for a long-abandoned service corridor located in the station's outer structure.
This passage was even more dilapidated, littered with broken pipes and floating debris, but relatively speaking, the biomatter's erosion seemed lighter. However, as they ventured deeper, their path was blocked by a massive isolation door covered in solidified biomatter and scorched with energy burns.
"It won't open." Dr. Carter tried the nearby control panel, but it was unresponsive.
Evelyn stepped forward, extending her right hand and pressing her palm against the cold metal door. Closing her eyes, she extended her consciousness along the energy patterns, attempting to establish a connection with the door's control system.
Instantly, a chilling torrent of chaotic and malevolent consciousness surged back through the connection! It wasn't the relatively chaotic contamination of spores or biomatter—it was something... more advanced, more cunning, resembling artificial intelligence yet brimming with biological characteristics...
Was this the corrupted... main AI of the Prometheus station?
"Intruder... variable... must... eliminate..." A cold electronic voice mixed with biological growls echoed in her mind.
The isolation door erupted in blinding arcs of electricity! Across the walls and ceiling of the corridor, the seemingly dormant biomatter veins flared to life with a dark purple glow. Countless energy tendrils shot toward them like venomous snakes!
"Watch out!" Evelyn shoved Dr. Carter aside, while her internal energy surged in an unprecedented manner! Instead of resisting or absorbing, she combined the "rule fragments" left by the original Evelyn with her own Omega will, simulating a high-dimensional information command that closely mirrored the essence of the "Eye"—one imbued with an "existence paradox"—and forcefully injected it into the corrupted AI core!
"If existence equals variable, variable equals elimination, and elimination equals existence... then... what is your directive?"
Zzzzz—!!!
The entire station's energy system seemed to convulse violently from this logical paradox! The corrupted AI core emitted a pained and chaotic shriek. The arcs on the isolation door vanished, and the energy tendrils went wild in midair, thrashing about before falling limp and withering away.
The isolation door slid open slowly, revealing the scene beyond.
It wasn't the expected laboratory or corridor but rather... a vast, biologically hive-like space. At its center floated a massive "heart" made of dark purple crystal and pulsating biomatter, connected to every corner of the station by countless energy conduits. Within the "heart," a faint human silhouette bound by energy was barely visible!
Not the "resonance amplifier"! This was the true core of Prometheus—a thoroughly transformed and contaminated... energy furnace and psychic control nexus powered by the "Eye"! And the bound humanoid figure...
Evelyn's pupils contracted sharply. She could sense the quantum fluctuations emanating from the figure—they were both familiar and alien, rife with contradiction and pain, but their core frequency...
It was Lucas!
His quantum node, thought to be in a state of "critical silence/fragmented key," had been captured by the "Eye" and bound within this polluted core, becoming part of the mechanism sustaining this "hive"!
"Lucas!" Evelyn cried out, her voice filled with disbelief and... a trace of pain she herself hadn't noticed.
As if hearing her call, the bound figure stirred slightly. A faint yet remarkably clear telepathic message reached her: "...quick... leave... this is... a trap... they're using... me... to locate... you..."
A trap! Using Lucas to locate her!
Almost simultaneously, the massive, heart-like polluted core began to pulsate violently! A far stronger psychic shockwave swept outward! Simultaneously, countless closed "eyelids" on the walls of the hive space suddenly opened, revealing bloodshot, maddened, and malicious giant eyes within!
Countless rays of high-dimensional contaminating energy rained down on Evelyn and Dr. Carter like a storm!
"Hurry! Destroy that core!" Dr. Carter shouted at Evelyn, dodging the rays with great difficulty.
But Evelyn hesitated. Destroying the core would likely mean annihilating the remnants of Lucas's quantum node. Not destroying it meant they'd both be trapped here—or worse, assimilated.
What to do?
In that life-or-death moment, the interface of the "Final Protocol" computer surfaced in her consciousness, issuing an unexpected, new directive:
"Detected critical node 'Lucas Carter.' Detected polluted core 'Heart of Prometheus.' Detected Omega variable 'Evelyn Archer.' Conditions met... initiating... Final Protocol: Dimensional Resonance... Mode: Purification and Reconstruction..."
Below the instruction, a highly complex energy schematic appeared. Its core principle? To use Evelyn as a "conductor" and "tuner," forcibly neutralizing and annihilating the human "variable" information within Lucas's node against the contaminated energy of the "Eye" within the Heart of Prometheus. Then, leveraging the remote quantum entanglement channel between the Hermes and the Pennsylvania reactor, it would trigger a system-wide... "purification resonance" targeting specific dimensional frequencies across the entire solar system!
This was the true nature of the "Final Protocol"! The resonance amplifier wasn't a physical object—it referred to... Evelyn herself, and... Lucas! And the Prometheus station was the optimal "altar" for executing this protocol!
The original Evelyn... she had calculated everything from the start! Including the possibility of Lucas being captured!
"No..." Evelyn felt a chill run through her. The plan was too insane, too ruthless—like a reckless gamble, with her and Lucas's very existence as the stakes!
But she had no time to choose. The polluted core's attacks grew fiercer, Dr. Carter was already injured in multiple places, and her own energy was rapidly depleting.
"Doctor! Return to the Hermes! Activate the remote quantum channel and connect to the Pennsylvania reactor! Maximum power!" Evelyn issued her final order to Dr. Carter.
"And you?!"
"I... have my mission." Evelyn cast one last, deeply complex look at the struggling, bound humanoid figure within the polluted core. Then, resolutely, she turned away, abandoning defense and charging directly toward the massive, pulsating "Heart of Prometheus"!
Her body began to undergo violent changes mid-air. Her liquid metal skin dissolved and reformed, her biomatter components proliferated wildly before being forcibly restrained, and her Omega core and the "rule fragments" left by the original Evelyn operated at unprecedented frequencies. Her form became fluid, resembling an energy river connecting reality and quantum dimensions!
She thrust her consciousness, sharp as a blade, deep into the core of the "Heart of Prometheus"! Simultaneously, she extended another tendril of consciousness, gently yet firmly enveloping the bound quantum node belonging to Lucas.
"Lucas... whoever you are... whatever you've become..." Her telepathic voice rang out like a vow, "Let us... end this together."
The next second, two opposing yet homologous forces collided under her guidance with a determination that transcended life and death!
An indescribable light instantly consumed the entire station, penetrating the hull and illuminating the cold void of space.
The boundary between reality and quantum blurred, and the fabric of time and space groaned under unbearable strain. A purification resonance sweeping across the entire solar system—and even deeper dimensions—had begun...
...
Epilogue
After the resonance, the Prometheus station disappeared. Not through a physical explosion, but... as though erased from reality by an eraser, leaving behind only faint spatial ripples.
The Hermes floated alone in its original orbit, its hull battered and nearly disintegrated from the earlier energy surge, yet miraculously not completely destroyed.
Inside the cockpit, Dr. Carter lay unconscious at the console, but his vital signs persisted.
And where Evelyn had once stood, only a faint, indigo-blue light flickered like stardust. Within the glow, two intertwined, gradually dissipating consciousnesses seemed to linger.
On Earth, the weeks-long chaos and panic miraculously subsided the instant the resonance occurred. The roving spore signals vanished entirely, surviving Reapers and mutated creatures fell silent as though losing their commands, and the psychic contamination and interference plaguing global communication networks dissipated without a trace.
The sky... seemed clearer than ever before.
No one knew exactly what had happened. People only knew that the sudden darkness and chaos, like a brief nightmare, had finally ended. Life had to go on—rebuilding homes, healing wounds.
Only a few, in the depths of midnight dreams, occasionally glimpsed strange fragments: burning ballet shoes, wine in a rotating gallery, clones in a cold lab, iridescent energy above ruins... and a beautiful yet resolute figure fading into stardust.
Deep within the distant quantum realm, at the heart of the Pennsylvania reactor, the previously stable glow of energy seemed to pulse faintly, as though something new... was quietly taking shape within.
(The End)