Project Blue Beam

Elias stood with his arms crossed, waiting.

The sleek, metallic walls of NASA's hidden headquarters reflected the cold artificial light, giving the room an unsettling sterility. Holographic monitors floated around him, silently displaying lines of data and security footage from various locations.

Across from him, the scientist—Dr. Malcolm Voss, as he had introduced himself—adjusted his glasses, watching Elias with an unreadable expression.

"You're serious about this," Voss finally said.

Elias exhaled sharply. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."

A silence stretched between them. The weight of the moment settled like a thick fog in the room.

Then—

Voss nodded. "Alright. Let's get them."

He turned to one of the floating interfaces, fingers moving rapidly as he inputted commands. The air around them grew tense as the teleportation system powered up once more.

A low hum resonated through the floor.

The lights flickered.

And then—

A pulse of blue energy erupted from the center of the room, spiraling outward in a controlled burst.

Elias braced himself.

The first time he had been transported, it had felt like being ripped apart and thrown into the void. But this time…

It was smoother. More controlled.

Then—

The air in front of him distorted.

Silhouettes began to take shape.

And within seconds, they appeared.

Sienna was the first to materialize, her form solidifying in a flickering wave of blue energy. Her breath hitched the moment she felt solid ground beneath her feet. The moment her eyes locked onto Elias, she didn't hesitate.

She ran straight at him.

Elias barely had time to react before she crashed into him, arms wrapping tightly around his torso.

He felt her shaking.

"Sienna—"

She gripped his shirt, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"Where the hell did you go?! One second you were there, and the next—" Her words caught in her throat. "I thought—I thought something happened to you."

Elias let out a small, amused breath. "Damn. Didn't know you cared that much."

Sienna pulled back immediately, punching him in the arm.

"Ow! The hell was that for?!"

"For scaring the shit out of me, dumbass!"

Elias chuckled, rubbing his arm. "Okay, okay. My bad."

Before he could say anything else, the others started appearing.

Zane, Kai, Ezra, Mira, Sienna's friends materialized one by one, each reacting with varying degrees of confusion and panic.

"What the actual—" Kai staggered back, eyes darting around. "Where the hell are we?!"

Ezra glanced at the glowing monitors, his brows furrowed. "No way…"

Mira's gaze flickered to the massive insignia on the farthest wall. Her voice came out in a breathless whisper.

"NASA…?"

Sienna turned to them, still visibly tense. "Yeah. That was my reaction too."

Zane crossed his arms. "Okay, someone start explaining before I lose my mind."

Elias sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec."

He turned toward Dr. Voss, who had been silently watching their reunion.

"You wanted an audience?" Elias gestured toward the group. "Well, here they are."

Voss adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable.

"Then let's begin."

The room was silent.

Not the kind of silence that brought peace.

The kind that strangled you.

The hologram flickered above them—a massive network of satellites, surrounding Earth like an iron web. Lines of data scrolled endlessly, filled with symbols and scripts that weren't meant for human eyes.

Sienna's breath was shaky. "What… is this?"

Voss exhaled, his voice low. "This is Project Blue Beam. The Initiative's greatest secret. The reason why the world thinks NASA is dead."

Elias' fingers curled into fists.

They had already seen too much.

But it wasn't enough.

Not yet.

"Explain," he said.

Voss didn't hesitate. He swiped a hand across the interface. The projection shifted.

The image zoomed in—revealing something hidden beneath the satellites.

A thin, pulsating field of energy, wrapping around the planet like a second atmosphere.

Kai's brows furrowed. "What is that?"

Voss' voice was calm. Too calm. "A perception veil. A global-scale system that doesn't just control what people see. It controls what they believe."

Elias' pulse quickened.

Sienna's grip on her own arms tightened.

Noa's voice was barely above a whisper. "Are you saying… this thing is in our heads?"

Voss turned to her. "Yes."

A chill spread through the room.

Zane's jaw tensed. "So the reason no one remembers NASA—"

"Is because it never existed to them, or you could say.. Existed just as a part of history," Voss finished.

The words sank in.

Heavy. Suffocating.

Kai took a step back. "That's… that's impossible."

"It should be," Voss said. "But it's not." He tapped the console again.

The hologram shifted.

And for the first time, they saw it.

The Core.

A massive, underground facility. Rows upon rows of tall, glass-like cylinders lined the walls, stretching into the darkness. Inside each one…

People.

Floating in a thick, pulsating liquid.

Their bodies were motionless. Their eyes open, but empty.

Breathing. Dreaming.

But never awake.

A terrible weight pressed against Elias' chest.

This wasn't just a prison.

This was something else.

Something worse.

Mira's voice came out hollow. "What… is this?"

Voss' eyes darkened.

"The heart of Project Blue Beam."

No one spoke.

He continued.

"They are the ones controlling the veil."

Ezra shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. How the hell does that even work?"

Voss looked at him.

"They aren't just prisoners," he said quietly. "They are the system."

The words felt wrong.

Like something that should never have been spoken.

Zane's hands curled into fists. "You mean—?"

Voss nodded.

"The Ascendancy Initiative doesn't use AI for its control. It doesn't rely on algorithms or machines."

He turned back to the hologram, eyes cold.

"They use human minds."

Elias' stomach dropped.

Sienna inhaled sharply, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"Their subconscious thoughts are harvested, linked together," Voss continued. "Forced into a perpetual dream-state. Their collective cognition becomes an organic processor, shaping the world's reality."

No one spoke.

No one could.

It was too much.

Too wrong.

The sheer horror of it sat like a weight in the air, pressing down on them like they were being buried alive.

Mira's voice barely came out. "Are… are they still alive?"

"In a way," Voss said. "But they'll never wake up. Not as themselves."

Elias felt something cold crawl up his spine.

Something primal.

Something worse than fear.

He was about to speak—about to demand an explanation, something, anything, to make sense of this—

Then he saw it.

A single chamber.

Separate from the others.

The liquid inside glowed with a deeper blue. And floating within…

A person.

Not just anyone.

Elias froze.

His heart stopped.

Because the figure inside the chamber—

Had his face.

Sienna let out a sharp gasp.

Mira's breath hitched.

Zane muttered, "What the fuck…?"

Elias couldn't move.

His mind refused to process it.

"No," he whispered.

That wasn't possible.

That wasn't—

He staggered back.

The projection flickered, glitching violently.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Voss' voice was distant. Muffled. "Elias—"

The screen snapped.

For a brief second—

A flash.

A distorted image. A place that didn't exist.

Something watching him.

Something inside his head.

A voice.

Cold. Hollow. Familiar.

"How many times have you stood here?"

Elias felt sick.

A ringing filled his ears. His body felt like it was splitting apart.

The room warped.

Or maybe it was his mind.

He stumbled, catching himself against the console. His breathing was shaky.

And in that moment, as he stared at the frozen image of his own face trapped inside that prison of light—

Elias realized something.

Something he couldn't say.

Because if he said it—

If he acknowledged it—

Then that meant it was real.

And if it was real—

Then he wasn't.

Elias sat at the long, dimly lit conference table, his fingers pressed against his temples. The room was silent except for the quiet hum of unseen machinery. His mind was still catching up, processing what the scientist had just told him.

Everything they knew was a lie.

Across from him, the holographic projection of Project Blue Beam continued its slow rotation—its ghostly blue glow casting eerie shadows across the steel walls.

His stomach twisted.

The scientist—who still hadn't given his name—leaned forward, his expression unreadable.

"You wanted the truth," he said, voice calm. "This is only the beginning."

Elias exhaled sharply through his nose, his head still spinning.

"The beginning?" he muttered, gripping the table. "Man, I don't even know where to start with this shit."

The scientist's expression remained neutral.

"Then don't. Just listen."

Elias clenched his jaw. But fine. Fine.

He forced himself to breathe, to focus.

And then, the scientist began.

Three Years Ago – The Event That Never Happened

"It started with the sky."

The hologram flickered. The world was suddenly engulfed in darkness. The Earth—seen from space—was eerily still.

Then, a line split open the heavens.

A massive, jagged tear ripped across the sky, like someone had slashed reality itself with a knife. The clouds warped around it, bending into impossible shapes.

And then—

The world was bathed in blinding blue light.

Elias' breath caught as massive alien ships emerged from the rift. Hundreds. No, thousands. Their metallic hulls gleamed with unnatural energy, their designs nothing like anything humanity had ever seen.

Cities erupted into chaos. People screamed in the streets. Sirens wailed.

Then—

A voice boomed from the sky.

"THIS WORLD IS OURS NOW."

The hologram distorted, glitching with static.

The invasion had begun.

Elias swallowed, his fingers tightening against the metal table.

"Jesus Christ…" he whispered.

The scientist tilted his head slightly.

"That's exactly what they wanted you to say."

The projection froze.

Then—

It rewound.

The Truth

The scientist raised a single finger.

"Look closely."

The hologram played again—this time, slower.

Elias watched as the sky split apart, as the alien ships descended, as the chaos unfolded. But now, something was… off.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Wait—"

His breath hitched.

The ships—

They weren't descending. They were flickering.

Like holograms.

His stomach turned to ice.

"No way…"

The scientist tapped the table, and the projection glitched violently.

The massive ships shimmered—their edges warping—until suddenly, they vanished.

And in their place—

Small, human-made drones.

Tiny. Barely the size of cars. Equipped with advanced holographic projectors.

And below them?

Missiles. Real ones.

The explosions that had devastated the cities? Not alien weapons.

Human bombs.

Elias felt his pulse hammering against his skull.

"You're telling me… everything these people saw—"

The scientist nodded.

"A lie."

His mouth went dry.

"The alien invasion never happened."

"No," the scientist said. "But the destruction did."

And that was all that mattered.

Because the world had seen their homes burning. They had heard the screams, seen the chaos, felt the terror.

They had watched the Ascendancy Initiative fight back—watched them win.

And so, when the smoke cleared and the alien threat was "defeated"—

The world willingly gave them control.

The Fall of Free Will

Elias leaned back, his body trembling.

"Holy shit…" he whispered. "They made it all up. The Ascendancy Initiative made it all the fuck up."

The scientist's voice was quiet.

"Yes."

"They tricked the whole goddamn world."

"Yes."

"But why? Why go through all this just to get power? They already had governments, militaries, control—"

Elias stopped.

The scientist's expression darkened.

"That's what we don't know."

Elias felt something heavy settle in his gut.

"What do you mean?"

The scientist steepled his fingers.

"The Ascendancy Initiative didn't just take control of the world." He exhaled. "They were looking for something."

The room felt colder.

"Something they couldn't find."

Elias felt his throat tighten.

"What the hell were they looking for?"

The scientist hesitated.

And then—

"A person."

The words sent a shiver down his spine.

"A person?" Elias repeated.

The scientist's jaw tensed.

"They don't know who they are. They don't know where they are. They don't even know if they're still alive."

The air felt heavier.

"But for the past three years, they've been searching. Everywhere. Every city, every town, every country. Every school."

Elias' blood ran cold.

He remembered the attack on their school. The monster. The soldiers. The fact that they had gone straight for him.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

"Wait…" Elias muttered. "You're saying—"

But before he could finish—

The doors burst open.

A blur of movement—voices shouting—

And then—

Someone slammed into him.

A pair of arms wrapped around his torso tightly.

Elias barely had time to process before a very familiar voice shouted—

"ELIAS, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!"

His brain stuttered.

"—Sienna?"

Elias barely had time to react before Sienna grabbed him by the collar.

Her grip was tight. Her eyes—wild. Desperate. Afraid.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Elias opened his mouth, but—

WHAM.

Sienna punched him.

Not hard enough to knock him out, but enough to hurt.

Elias staggered back, clutching his jaw.

"What the fuck, Sienna?!"

"You disappeared, you idiot!" she snapped. "We thought you were dead! We thought—"

Her voice broke.

She exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to her temple. Steadying herself.

Elias stared at her.

And for the first time since he'd woken up in this hellhole—

He realized how wrecked she looked.

Her hair was disheveled, her uniform torn at the sleeve. Dried blood on her collar.

She looked like she'd been fighting for her life.

His gut twisted.

"Sienna…" he murmured. "What happened?"

She didn't answer.

Not immediately.

Instead, she turned—and that's when Elias saw them.

Ezra. Zane. Mira. Kai.

They stood in the doorway, out of breath, covered in dust and bruises.

Luc had a deep cut across his forehead. Ezra was limping. Noa had a gash on his arm, bleeding through his sleeve.

They had fought their way here.

"Jesus Christ…" Elias whispered. "You guys—"

Zane shoved past him.

"We don't have time," he muttered, darkly.

Elias blinked.

"Time for what?"

Sienna turned back to him.

"To leave."

Elias hesitated.

"Sienna, we just got here. We just found out the truth about the invasion, the Initiative, everything—"

Sienna's hands tightened into fists.

"Elias," she said, voice low. "They're looking for me."

Elias felt the air leave his lungs.

For a second, he just stood there. Staring at her.

Then—

"What?"

Sienna swallowed.

"I don't know why."

She exhaled, her breath shaky.

The room went silent.

Elias felt something cold and sharp settle in his stomach.

His mind raced.

Why would they be looking for her? Why Sienna?

They weren't looking for the others.

They were looking for her and him.

The scientist at the table—who had been silent this entire time—finally spoke.

"It makes sense."

Everyone turned to him.

His expression was grim.

"They weren't looking for an enemy." His voice was calm. Controlled. "They were looking for an anchor."

Elias' breath hitched.

"Anchor?" he echoed.

The scientist nodded.

"Elias… if Sienna doesn't exist, neither do you."

Elias' mind short-circuited.

His pulse pounded in his ears.

"What the hell does that mean?"

The scientist turned to Sienna.

"We need to leave," he said. "Now."

Sienna hesitated.

"But we still don't know—"

The scientist's gaze hardened.

"We'll find out later. If we stay here, you're as good as dead."

Zane cursed under his breath.

"He's right," he muttered. "We barely made it here. There were drones everywhere. If they know we're inside—"

Ezra's jaw tightened.

"Then they're already on their way."

Sienna exhaled sharply. Nodded.

"Okay," she murmured. "We run."

Elias still couldn't process it. Any of it.

But his body was already moving.