The Echo Chamber

The Stellar Voyager glided through a desolate region of uncharted space, its sleek hull reflecting faint, dying starlight. Captain Adrienne Cole paced the bridge, her gaze fixed on the forward screen. Anomaly reports had brought them here, but now, the crew was starting to regret answering the call.

“Captain, we’re approaching the source,” said Lieutenant Mason Drake, his voice tight. The young officer’s hands trembled slightly as they moved over the console.

“Visuals,” Adrienne ordered.

The screen flickered to reveal a massive structure floating in the void. It was an enormous sphere, jet-black and featureless, save for a faint shimmer rippling across its surface like liquid shadow.

“What is that thing?” asked Dr. Elena Ward, the ship’s xenologist. She leaned closer to the screen, her fascination tinged with unease.

“No idea,” Adrienne replied, her tone clipped. “But it’s not natural. Drake, any readings?”

Drake frowned. “Minimal. No heat, no radiation. But it’s emitting a low-frequency signal… like an echo.”

Adrienne’s brow furrowed. “Echo of what?”

Before Drake could respond, the ship jolted violently. Alarms blared as the crew grabbed onto whatever they could.

“Report!” Adrienne barked.

“It’s pulling us in,” Drake said, panic creeping into his voice. “Some kind of gravitational field.”

“Engage reverse thrusters!”

“I’m trying! They’re not responding!”

The ship shuddered again as it was drawn closer to the sphere. The shimmer on its surface intensified, revealing patterns—intricate spirals that seemed to move like waves.

“Brace for impact!” Adrienne shouted.

The Stellar Voyager was engulfed by the sphere, its surface parting like liquid to swallow the ship whole.

---

Adrienne awoke to darkness. The bridge lights flickered weakly, and the hum of the engines was gone. The only sound was the shallow breathing of her crew.

“Everyone okay?” she asked, her voice cutting through the silence.

“Define okay,” muttered Drake as he sat up, rubbing his head.

“We’re alive,” Elena said, though her tone lacked relief. “But… where are we?”

The forward screen activated on its own, displaying a vast, endless expanse of stars that didn’t match any known constellations. Adrienne’s stomach tightened.

“This isn’t the same space we came from,” she said quietly.

A voice echoed through the bridge—low, metallic, and layered, as though spoken by countless mouths at once.

“Welcome to the Echo Chamber.”

The crew froze. Adrienne stepped forward, her hand hovering over her sidearm. “Who are you? What is this place?”

“This is the repository of your kind,” the voice replied. “A collection of memories, of choices. You are here because you must see.”

“See what?” Elena demanded.

The screen shifted, showing a distorted image of the Stellar Voyager. But something was wrong—the ship looked damaged, and the crew visible on its bridge wasn’t them.

“That’s us,” Drake whispered.

“No,” Adrienne said, her voice wavering. “It’s not.”

The figures on the screen moved, speaking, but their words were inaudible. Then, suddenly, the ship exploded in a flash of light.

“What the hell was that?” Drake shouted.

“One of many outcomes,” the voice replied. “Every decision, every moment splits into echoes. We are the guardians of these fragments.”

Adrienne’s mind raced. “Why show us this?”

“To warn,” the voice said. “Your path leads to ruin. But there is time to change it.”

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Adrienne asked, her fists clenched.

The screen changed again, this time showing a planet surrounded by debris—broken ships, charred satellites, the remnants of civilizations.

“This is the cost of ignoring the echoes,” the voice said.

The ship jolted, and the lights surged back to life. The stars on the screen shifted, showing the void outside the sphere.

“You may leave,” the voice said. “But the choice is yours.”

The Stellar Voyager was ejected from the sphere, the rippling surface vanishing into the void as quickly as it had appeared.

Adrienne sat heavily in her chair, her crew silent around her.

“What now?” Drake asked after a long pause.

Adrienne stared at the empty space where the sphere had been. “We learn from the echoes. And we don’t make the same mistakes twice.”