orb 3.2

Below is chapter 10 from The Orb Evaluation – each chapter is separated into the following sections:

01. encounter

02. options

03. evaluation

04. decision

 

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Your headlights cut through the darkness. Winding around the tiny road, your car trembles. Up ahead, a rapid light flickers. It’s green and teal and pulsating. The flicker brightens, expanding as you move closer. Your headlights power out. Your engine cuts off. You press the gas pedal a few more times.

Your head pounds against something hard.

Then you see the ground.

Grassy and muddy.

Then the sky. 

Cloudy and orange.

The ground again, the sky, and then the ground until you settle at the bottom of a hill.

You sit up, rubbing your eyes. 

A purple field stretches for miles. 

A molten sky glows.

Clouds drift.

“Where’s my car?”

You stand up from the tall grass.

“Where am I?”

The green and teal light flickers about 100 feet away. 

The ground shakes. 

Overhead, a large winged creature soars. 

You duck down into the grass.

The ground splits, rumbling and extending. 

Trees uproot.

Miles expand between you and the flickering light. 

The ground shakes faster and faster.

You grab hold of a thick tree root, wrapping your arms around it and cowering as the earthquake rages.

Ten minutes later, the rumbling subsides. 

Only dust clouds remain. 

In the distance, a strange herd of elephant-sized creatures slug across the land, leaving a slimy trail behind them.

“Little confused, my friend?”

Your head jerks to the side. A floating sphere stares back at you. Startled, you jump and run. Three steps into your escape, your barefoot lands on a sharp rock. You cringe, falling flat on your face.

“There’s no reason to run. I’m your only way out of here.”

You roll over, standing up.

“Out of where?”

The Orb moves closer.

“Stay back.”

“I’m the least of your concerns in this dimension.”

Your eyes dart around the ground, spotting a branch. You pick it up, holding it like a baseball bat.

“Ok, where am I? Just tell me. Tell me now!”

“Remember the flickering light you saw?”

“Yea, the blue light on the road.”

“You drove through it. Your car, it’s just ashes now. The portal only takes living organisms, nothing else, which is why you’re not—”

You glance down at your naked body. 

Shocked, you cover yourself with your hands.

“Fear causes you to overlook many things. Especially during a quake like that.”

“Just tell me where I am. And how to get back.”

“You are in a different dimension. As for the ‘how do I get back part’, that’s more difficult to answer. This world is not 

like Earth. On Earth, the landscape changes gradually, years of minor shifts give way to mountains, oceans, and so on. But here, every 72 hours, the world terraforms, expands, and contracts.”

“Ok, that’s great and all. But let’s get back to portal—just take me there so I can go home.”

“I wish it were that easy. The portal is rather far now.”

“How far?”

“Well, let’s see. The quake expanded the land precisely—”

The Orb shoots out a red beam across the land.

“102 miles 21 feet and 3 inches.”

“What?!—Can you fly me there or something? How am I supposed to get there?”

“I can’t fly you there, but I have some options for you.”

The Orb forms three small icons in the air. A campsite. A backpack. And a silhouetted face with a white question mark.

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Option 01: Wait it Out

The campsite icon glows green, floating towards you.

“Your first option is to stay put for 72 hours and camp out. Once the 72 hours are up, the world will contract to its original position. Then you can enter the portal if it’s still there.”

“Still there?”

“Yes, that’s the risk of waiting. Portals only last 65 hours before they disappear. But if it’s a standstill, then it will remain.”

“A standstill?”

“It’s a special type of portal that remains open for upwards of years. It allows human life-forms to exit, but nothing from Earth to enter. A standstill is very rare, but possible.”

“How do I know if it’s a standstill?”

“You wait. There’s no way to know otherwise. But in doing so, you must survive here for 3 days.”

“What? Here? Have you seen those things?”

“Staying here won’t be easy. A human like you is only food to them.”

“Exactly. I can’t stay here.”

You gaze beyond the field at a jungle in the distance.

Large-winged creatures circle over the trees.

A mist hovers upon the land. In the transparent parts of the fog, gigantic reptiles lay sleeping.

“In this world, humans are at the bottom of the food chain. However, if you pick this option, you receive a small tent.”

“A tent?” 

“It will be plenty useful during the torrential rains and often unpredictable storms, and the freezing weather at night. Lucky for you, this tent is temperature controlled. But you’ll also find clothes and boots inside, should you want to venture around at any point?”

“Um. This isn’t helping. Look, I’m happy I won’t freeze. But it won’t keep me from getting eaten.” 

“This is true, which is why I can’t grant you any food. The last thing you want to do is lure any predators. However, I can provide you with this Forever Bottle. Inside is a special formula to keep you both hydrated and nourished as you wait. It never empties, no matter how much you drink.”

“A tent, clothes, and water? And I’m supposed to survive here with just that?”

“If you do survive, and if the portal remains open, then you’ll escape.”

“Sounds like a lot of ifs, to me.”

“It’s a gamble for sure.”

“Especially if the portal’s closed. Then what? I’m just stuck here? There’s no other way out?”

“Yes and no. It’s fairly reasonable to say yes, you are stuck. But there are other portals here. However, it’s unclear when another portal would open. Could be in an hour or in a century? Or never? And if one does open, who knows where it will be?”

A sweat breaks on your forehead. 

Your heart pumps quicker. 

Your shoulders slump.

A loud screech from a distant creature calls out.

“I can’t believe this. This—this can’t be happening.”

The Orb hovers towards you.

“But this isn’t your only way out, my friend.”

Option 02: Journey Onward

The backpack icon illuminates orange, floating towards you.

“Waiting around for 3 days may seem risky, but you can always journey to the portal?”

“Journey? You want me to walk to the portal. You said it’s how many miles?—”

“102 miles away.”

“That’s insane. I have 3 days to do that?”

“34 miles a day for the next 3 days.”

You throw your hands up in the air.

“Well, great—when you put it that way.”

You kick the dirt.

“Your anger is very understandable, my friend. It’s more risky to journey to the portal than to wait here. However, it’s more proactive if the portal isn’t a standstill.”

“Or I could die in the first 10 minutes of trying.”

You point at the creatures in the distance.

“There’s no question, it will be an intense journey, which is why I am offering you this survival backpack.”

The Orb materializes a camping backpack.

“In here, you’ll find a Portal Finder Calibrated Compass. With this, you can navigate without ever getting lost. You’ll also find clothes, boots, gloves, the Forever Bottle, and a First-Aid kit. In addition, there is a time freeze capsule.”

“A time freeze capsule?” 

“Yes, and it can be very useful. Just crack this capsule at any point on your trip, and everything freezes, protecting you from all harm for 14 hours. Thus, allowing you to move forward in safety. “

You peer at the jungle. 

Above the gigantic trees, another creature soars through the clouds.

“I don’t know. I’m sure these things could help but I doubt they will—”

“No need for a decision yet. You have one more option.”

Option 03: Trading Places

An icon of a person with a question mark on their forehead floats forward. The question mark shines red.

“Whether you wait 72 hours and the portal closes or you take the journey and don’t make it in time, you’re stuck here. The good news is that you’re not the only Earthling. Thousands of humans scatter this world, stranded and wandering just like you. All hoping to find a portal so they can escape. And sometimes they get lucky, it’s rare, but it happens, and unfortunately that is your fate, should the portal close.”

“Is this supposed to motivate me? Because you’re making it worse.”

“Well, maybe this will help. Do you want to leave right now? This very moment?”

Your eyes bulge.

“What?—Of course. Why didn’t you say this right away?”

“My evaluation algorithm determines the option order. It doesn’t want you jumping to any brash decisions, especially since this option comes with a price.”

“What type of price? Look, I’ll figure it out if it’s money or something. I have savings or I’ll ask family or friends. Whatever it takes.”

“It’s not a monetary price.”

“Then what?”

“You can return to Earth by trading places.”

“Trading places? With who?”

“That’s up to you. Just provide the name of a family member or a friend you’ve known for no less than a decade. And I will transport that person here. Then you reappear in your car 5 minutes before any of this happened. Except, you’ll continue driving down the road, free to go on with your life.”

You fall silent.

You thought you had problems before.

And now you’re in another dimension. Some netherworld of flying creatures and enormous reptiles. Endless earthquakes.And who knows what else? 

Your mind fills with all the people you’ve known for a decade. Some good, some bad, some great, and some you loathe.

Could you really pick a person and send them here?

You turn to the Orb.

“What happens to the person I choose?”

“They instantly appear here, but only to wander this world without option to camp or journey to the portal. Instead, this person must discover a portal on their own. Back on Earth, they just become a missing persons case. But don’t worry, you’ll have no connection to their disappearance, just the knowledge of where they went.”

Your mouth hangs open. 

Your mind, a tug of war. 

The thought of freedom, but at another’s expense?

You stare.

Conflicted.

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The icons line up in a row. 

The Orb hovers above them.

“Take your time, my friend. I’ve frozen the portal countdown until you decide. Once you do, time resumes.”

“This might take a while.”

“Please take all you need. It’s no easy decision.”

Silent, you peer.

“Whenever you’re ready, touch an icon to activate it. An instruction screen will then appear to complete the process.”

You nod.

A plume of smoke swallows the Orb.

“Wait, what? Where are you going?”

“I must be on my way. Good luck, my friend.”

A roaring sound rumbles the ground.

The Orb blasts through an unseen wormhole.

All falls silent. 

Only the soundtrack of the world remains. 

Eerie chirping. 

Distant creatures panting. 

A steady breeze.

You return your attention to the icons.

The sky thunders. 

Black clouds brew. 

You try to focus. 

Weigh the options. 

Weigh the risks. 

You take a deep breath.

Hours pass.

You walk towards the icons.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this. But it’s the only way.”

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Press the icon in the bottom of the screen
to select your option.

 

See how your option compares
to other people's decisions.

 

 

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