October 20, 2025- 13:30- Undisclosed Location- somewhere in the Pacific
On an uninhabited island, men and machines worked a day in and day out, building the facility that was required to house the most fascinating invention of the century. The island was lush in vegetation that covered everything except the shores. It was beautiful and can be considered as paradise as the waves and the smell of the Pacific Ocean gently creeps on one's senses.
President Wade was in his new temporary office enjoying the view on his window as light gently pierces through the silk curtains on his window. He was watering the small pot of plant on his window, whistling on his own merry tune. Three months ago he requested to transfer his office in the uninhabited island where the FTL engine was reassembled and was being studied; his excuses were that he wanted to be close to the site so that he himself can see the progress personally. The progress was significantly fast in terms of building the infrastructures since almost 75% of the construction is automated while the rest are manual labor where machines do not excel. It was already six and a half months and the fortified research bunker had been 90% finished.
The FTL engine which was renamed IDP-Morpheus had been operational for the past 2 months and was stable enough to sustain the capacity to run for about a week straight before it needs to refuel. The Morpheus and other high energy consuming devices would soon be running on the newly developed arc reactor in which after the quality is ensured it would be guaranteed to be installed. They were already in their last stage which is sending men to the other side. The portal was calibrated well enough for humans to pass through without getting crushed in the vacuum similar to space, however, the problem was that the land was too oxygenated, it may pose no threat to the locals but it is hard for humans from earth who was used to earth’s oxygen level if they breathe it for a long time so they would be required to wear specialized gasmasks most of the time to reduce the oxygen content that they breathe. They already sent drones to scout and they found a small settlement that looked abandoned on a shore about five kilometers from the portal which they thought was the pale one’s base, they scouted the forest but it was proven to be hard even with infrared imaging due to its very thick vegetation, although they found many interesting heat sources that looked like giant insects and heat source of what appears to be from the pale humanoids on the hunt in the lesser dense part of the forest. It would still be hard to locate them unless they send men to scout the interior of the forest.
Whenever they open the portal for testing, whenever it was cloudy or the weather is bad, a handful of the pale ones that entered the gate, brandishing rusted swords and stone weapons while shouting incoherently were running amok trying to kill any nearby person but they were neutralized easily by the soldiers on duty who was aware of their violent tendencies. They weren’t killed however because they would be sent to the laboratories in the facilities to be examined. Later on, they started calling it the pale ones due to their pale complexion hence the name, the pale ones learned to stay away whenever the mysterious structure glow and reveal another place that some of their people entered but did not come out alive.
According to the researcher’s observation and past autopsies, the pale ones were resourceful, smart enough to build tools and traps, their speech was underdeveloped and was mostly grunting and shrieking but the rusted metal weapons, golden tooth, and jewelry that some of them had, indicating that they were intelligent and had been in civilization at some point but the question is, why did they turn out like that. When they opened the stomach of the dead pale ones, it was swollen with large parasitic worms. The stomach of the first pale ones who were found by the navy had been fewer in numbers and had shrunk probably due to the seawater that flooded their stomachs.
When they opened the pale one’s head, they were horrified at its sight, it was black and filled with dark pus and foul brain fluid with large round-shaped worms that had embedded itself in the middle of the pale one’s brain and inhabited it. They, later on, found out its activities when further research had been done, they found out that the worm secretes anesthetic liquid mixed with a large amount of dopamine hormones that it injects its host using a sharp needle-like hook on its mouth which means, the hosts were high and lack the feeling of pain at the same time whenever the parasite wants, probably when on a hunt for food. They speculated that the worm was a parasite that can take over the host’s brain and stimulate it to do its bidding and triggers violent reaction towards normal humans and animals, when the live pale ones were tested to face an armed human volunteer, a chunk of raw pork, and a chunk of grilled pork in front of it, it tried to lash out of its chain trying to bite the human volunteer and completely ignore the chunk of pork, however after the human left, it tried to run towards the raw pork, the researchers let go off its chain and it violently consumes the raw pork and after it had finished its meal it became docile, it ignored the cooked pork and just continued to stare at blank space, the same test was conducted the next day but this time only cooked pork was placed, the result was that it never touched the meal. They concluded that humans are the first priority of the pale ones to attack and eat which is disturbing. After a bit of debate, it was decided that they can’t establish any form of communication and there’s no place for diplomacy, and were far too dangerous to the humans and animals.
“Good Lord, who’s playing Plague Inc.?” A doctor jokingly said while conducting the test.
“Well who cares anyway it's 2025, not 2020 shits, this is too messed up, they’re like zombies, but more crafty and faster than your typical zombie movies” his colleague replied.
“Hello? World War Z, Zombieland, Train to Busan and Peninsula, and many more? You were forgetting them?” The doctor replied with a smug look on his face.
“Ugh, I kid you not, ugh let’s just wrap things up.”
October 22, 2025-09:00-Washington DC
The testing was done and all that is left before the full mobilization was to step into the other side, however, President Wade had something in his mind, he requested to be the first man to step into the portal, however it was opposed by his constituents at first due to the dangerous circumstances.
“I want to go, I didn’t want to imply it as a show, in fact, this would never reach anyone other than everyone in this room and the men on the facility, no media, nothing at all except for the documentation, I’m talking about my personal matter and achievement,” Wade said, trying to insist his point.
“But It is too risky Mr. President and we are not going to allow anything bad to happen to you! You’re the President for goodness sake!” The Vice-President said, still trying to convince Wade not to go
“Okay I know the risk, what about I wear the new MK-2 Juggernaut suit? Not even a 50 cal can bust that baby anyway! I’ll carry a full load-out just in case shit goes sideways. It’s just a small step to the other side to plant our flag on the sandy beach! what could possibly go wrong? Besides, there’s literally a battalion of armed men just a few feet behind me!”
All the secretaries and the Vice-President just shook their head and rubbed their eyebrows due to Wade’s persistence but regardless, they gave in to his request.
“Okay, but it has to be quick alright?”
“Okay, fine.”
“wait, about the report related to the pale ones, which gets more disturbing every damn time we find something new, about the parasite, I don’t want any of my men turning into that! And I would never allow those sons of a bitches, crawling into our brain and sneak into this side! So, any good suggestions to counter this?
“Ah, well Mr. President, we can make that happen if the PA-N implementation would be in full swing, as you’ve known those babies can terminate even the tiniest of viruses.”
“Agreed, Then all we have to do is to inject every soldier and personnel that enters the other side with the military-grade PA-N and install quarantines and medical facilities on this side of the portal.” Wade replied while casually flipping through the pages of the report.
After the meeting, everyone attended a nice dinner, hosted by the President in celebration of his engagement…..(AN: well, well seems our Prez was definitely smooth af lol.)
October 23, 2025-XXXXXXX
The moment they have been waiting for had arrived; the final phase would be conducted in a few minutes. Wade had been assisted by soldiers with the juggernaut suit’s attachments and calibration, he was carrying his own old HK 416 rifle and a couple of mags and a few frag/smoke-grenades and on his back, the flag of the United States of America, strapped on his ammo bag. The suit was comfortable enough, with its own AC and heater system, the wearer wouldn’t be exhausted in times of battles in different kinds of environment. It was mechanically assisted so that the wearer wouldn’t be strained by the heavy load of the suit and its original weapon system which was not included for the sake of President’s mobility. The juggernaut suit was bulky but was heavily armored that even a grenade won’t do much to the wearer. Its aesthetic looks were spot on and were covered by carbon fiber decals courtesy of Wade’s request. It was menacing enough to look at even without its M-420 multi-speed adjusting minigun. Its helmet is the most heavily protected, it was using the same material the classified prototype Abram M1A3’s armor was using, with an AI assistant and a state of the art, heads up display which can use different kinds of vision mode, Night Vision, Infrared, X-ray, Telescopic and aim to assist, it’s was a truly fearsome enemy in open combat, the armored suit was also lined with radiation-resistant materials stuffed inside enabling it to fight in a heavily irradiated location in a sustainable time. Meanwhile, Margaret was anxiously watching Wade from a distance but chose to come to wade and talk to him.
“Honey, are you sure about this?” She said, with a worried look in her eyes.
“Yep, definitely, besides there’s like hundreds of men armed to the teeth behind me, now, now don’t you worry baby, I’ll be back in a jiffy.” He said with a smile on his face and a wink on his eyes.
He kissed Margaret’s forehead and went to the portal, behind him was a battalion of Marines armed with assault rifles and heavy weapons and two platoons of Abram Tanks total of ten tanks in which each platoon had an experimental M1A3 with its 130 mm smoothbore cannon.
A few minutes later, the systems pre-programmed voice had signaled the portal’s activation.
*Portal activation sequence initiating, all personnel please stay away from the 10-meter radius before stabilization.*
*3…2…1 portal activation complete, all systems green, good to go.*
The moment everyone was waiting for has arrived, the portal’s purple color was warm to the touch, not hot but rather pleasant to the touch Wade gulped down his saliva, he was sweating even though his AC was working, he was tense, behind him was his fully armed secret service and a battalion of US Marines, ready to pounce to whoever had the balls to fuck around. President Wade, slowly stepped into the portal, slowly he landed his foot on the sandy beach, embedding his footprints on the soft sand. The sun was shining brightly and the sea was sparkling, the two moons then, were now three, was floating in space peacefully, it was more beautiful in person than in the video, Wade felt the calmness take over him but the thought of the true horror the island was hiding prevented him to keep his cool. In the distance, was a dense forest so thick it can hide any horror they could possibly imagine. He ignored the feeling and continued his endeavor, he was breathing heavily and was trying to make his own phrase.
“One small step fo…wait a minute that’s not it!”
“Well, fuck it, this won’t be recorded in history anyway so I won’t have to worry about those iconic phrases.”
President Wade grumbled a bit, talking to himself, he grabbed the Flag and firmly planted it on the sand. The Marines behind were cheering after his monumental display but the cheering was short-lived as they heard a sharp beating of insect wings in the air.
“It’s gotta be one of those damned insects! Everyone! Fall back before it reached us here!” Wade shouted at the top of his lung. The Marines, Including Wade and his secret service, fell back and had their weapons drawn and ready, the Abram tanks stepped into the front line to deal with whatever was coming. The beating of insect wings continued until a large brown beetle the size of a Volkswagen beetle landed softly on the beach of the other side. It curiously moves its head figuring out what it was facing, all the soldiers were tense, the one who had a phobia of beetles fainted and was immediately removed from the area, no one tried to fire a shot because it hasn’t shown any signs of aggression despite its intimidating looks and size, it was just casually examining the people in front of it. A Marine stepped into the President’s group, the secret service blocked him and asked what he wanted.
“Sir with all due respect, I think it was just curious with us, I had many beetles as a pet when I was a kid and I think there’s not much different from these oversized ones.” The young marine said.
“Okay, What’s your name soldier?.” Wade replied.
“Private First Class, Mathew D. Torres at your service sir.” He said with a salute.
“Okay, go on, I’m listening.”
“These types of beetles look oddly similar to the ones on most tropical countries, and they generally like to eat plant leaves, type of woods, mulch and tree saps, some of them even eat varieties of fruits, what if we try to feed that with fruits and see if it wants to try a bite.”
“Hmmm, sounds okay to me, it does look like it wasn’t here for a fight plus it hasn’t stepped on this side, here’s the thing, since it was your proposal, grab any available fruits and vegetables in the canteen and tell them it’s my order, Bill here would assist you, also grab your buddies to help out, now go.”
Bill, a secret service with a large scar on his cheeks stepped out and immediately went with a bunch of marines towards the canteen. The beetle just stood on the other side without stepping another inch but still, a thousand guns were pointed at it waiting for the command to engage. Five minutes and Bill and Mathew and the rest of Mathew’s team were each pushing a wheelbarrow filled with assorted fruits and vegetables, they were instructed to leave the food a few meters away to see if the insect would make its move. They slowly walk towards the insect and left the wheelbarrows, it slowly walk towards the other side of the portal and was gradually walking faster towards the food, and it sniffed it for a bit and after it was done checking for something harmful it hungrily ate its food. While eating, it was making a purring sound as if it was happy. The men nearby were wary of it and were cautiously walking towards the beetle, it didn’t perceive the men as a threat because it didn’t flinch when they touched it but rather it continued to eat like there’s no tomorrow. The people who were tasked to take video footage and documentation could not believe their eyes, a giant beetle eating on a wheelbarrow beside the President and a bunch of Marines is not something you can see every day. After it was done eating it seemed to lie down by lowering its legs and spreading it causing its belly to touch the ground.
“Ahhh, I’m so full, thanks.”
The men were stunned and looked around then looked at each other, they were shaking their heads.
“Hey, did you hear that? What was it?” a marine said.
“It sounds like a child.” Wade said as he tried to take the juggernaut helmet off his head. Wade walked towards the beetle and touched its shiny head and gently patted it. “Sir, be careful.” Bill said trying to get a hold of Wade but before he could do something, he raised his hand to make him stop and let him be.
“Hey, beetle, was it you?”
“hmmm so nice, give me more headpat” the child-like voice replied.
“Uh, why, and how are you speaking in perfect English?”
“English, is that food?”
“No, it’s the language you and I are using right now.”
“I don’t know any English, I am talking with you in your mind, I can hear people’s general thoughts as well as yours right now.”
“Is this some kind of telepathy, you know mind communication?”
“Yes, but it will only happen if you’re more open about your thoughts, now give me more headpat.”
“geez okay.”
“Why did you came here?” Wade asked the beetle as he gently pats its head even more.
“Oh, I was looking around the forest for fire fruits but sadly I never found a tree that still had its fruits, it was all eaten and destroyed by the horrible. We only eat once a week that’s why I’m hoping to find something good to eat and that’s when I heard a sound that I never heard of, I was curious that’s why I flew towards the source then I found this large thing that I have never seen. I was scared but something inside me convinced me to land on the ground. Then I saw people in strange clothing lined up, I sensed fear yet fierce killing intent from most of you, and caused me to stiff my body. Then some of those men that brought the strange food made me realize you don’t mean harm, I can sense that most of you can kill me rather easily, I do not know how you will do that, all I know is I can sense it.”
“I see, so about the strange sound, can you point out what was causing it?”
The beetle looked around and said. “Everyone seems to have the source but it only appears randomly.”
“hmmm, it’s probably the radio but radio waves are different from sound waves which are strange. Is there any other creature that can sense it?”
“No, only me as far as I know maybe ma and pa and everyone might sense it if they’re near.”
“I see, so you have a parent huh.” Wade replied. The beetle nod in response as it continued to enjoy its headpat. “What is this fire fruit and the horrible you’re talking about?”
“Fire fruit is tasty and I love it, it tastes sweet and hot and fuzzy head. The horrible are bad creature ma and pa and everyone told us younglings to stay away from them especially when it’s night.”
“Are these horrible the white men?”
“No, no horrible fly and they drink blood, white men are also bad but can’t harm me they eat everything they see if you have time you can visit our island and ask ma and pa and everyone with questions.”
“I see, we can do that soon after our preparations but I’m sad to inform you but we have to close the gate to your world, for now, this wasn’t on the schedule.” Wade said as he slowly brushed the beetle's head and let it go.
“My world?” the beetle innocently replied.
“Yes, your world and ours are connected via our portal and we have to close it to be relocated to a more stable and permanent area.”
“Is this another world? I did not know, I thought you were people of the empires from another land which ma and pa always told me to stay away from.”
“Oh, you should listen to your ma and pa what would happen if we are bad guys, and about this other empire, I see this looks promising, I will talk with you soon after we’re done preparing if we ever meet again, that is” Wade replied with a smile.
“Can I stay? Ma and pa and everyone wouldn’t mind since I’m big now, I’ll tell them I will be away for a bit of time.” It said cheerfully.
“Wait we don’t have time to wait for you to return home,” Wade replied in a concerned voice.
“Already done, they said yes but they were worried.”
“Huh, how convenient I'm guessing it's telepathy, if you say so, you are welcome to stay and uh btw apologies for the late welcome, but here goes. Welcome to planet earth our first acknowledged visitors, well the white ones where persona non grata so they’re invalid. “Wait, do you have a name?” Wade said. “My name is Mem, I am already ten and I’m a girl, what’s your name?” Mem the beetle replied.
“My name is Wade Willburn and I’m the president of the United States of America, nice to meet you Mem.”
After the president’s stunt and the unexpected visitor’s coming, they were immediately sent to an isolation facility to be held and quarantined and had their bodies examined for contamination and parasites that they were worried about. Mem was also subjected to be tested for parasites and diseases in which turns out good with negative parasites and just minor microbes in which not directly harmful to people. However, Mem was subjected to studies in which she agreed under the strict supervision of the president in which no harm would be done to Mem.
The IDP-Morpheus was transferred and was installed on a submerged platform with a retractable metal floor; they intended it so that they can launch their aircraft carriers and other vessels to the other side. The retractable floor will also serve as a runway for larger aircraft and roads for vehicles.
October 23, 2025- Washington DC
“Sir, the reports are coming in and in which stating that we are good to send men to the other side, the question is who.”
“Well, I know just the right man for the job,” Wade said with a sly grin on his face.
THAT IS ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND
America f*ck yeah