Billions of years ago, the brightest star at the center of its universe died. For a few moments, it outshined every other object in existence. Then, unable to sustain its mass, the star imploded, and a supermassive black hole, the largest singularity ever, took its place. At the moment of implosion, a hole was punched through the space/time continuum, creating a connection with another universe.
The connection persists for billions of years and then, without warning, it becomes a universe killer.
As the singularity spins it produces a low-frequency thumping that confuses and angers the inhabitants of the universe it is consuming. Most are ripped into billions of molecular-sized pieces and scattered amongst the other detritus that spins around the singularity once they are sucked through the connection. Some live though, and one of note, a powerful one, survives by pushing the limits of its existence while it hides inside a small piece of what was once its universe, now reformed by the crushing weight of the singularity into a solid substance so resolute that it is unbreakable. The galactic interloper survives as most of its species perish without a sound in the gravity well of the singularity. It senses that some have been injured and slung outward in all directions. Nevertheless, it is bolstered by the hope that there might be other survivors, and hopefully there is a way to thrive in this foreign and hostile place.
Quantum fluctuations cause the singularity to wobble and sling precursors of galactic formation in all directions across the empty reaches of what was once dead space. The interloper, safely enclosed in its home, sleeps to conserve energy as it is slung away from the central mass, sent on a trajectory that eventually joins a large universe precursor millions of light-years beyond the reaches of the singularity’s gravitational waves.
This precursor will one day be the cradle of humanity.
Awake now and then, the interloper and its home are eventually captured by a giant comet. With no actual definition or concept of the passage of time, it simply exists in the comet’s tail, content to have survived so long on so very little.
Constant movement subtly affects the trajectories of several large pieces of debris that trail after the comet and a collision ejects several from the tail, including the interloper’s home. It is soon scooped up by the gravity of the two nearest heavenly bodies. A large white orb, whose pockmarked face clearly shows evidence of millions of years’ worth of impacts, avoids yet another strike as the gravity of its larger neighbor subtly changes the course of the interloper and its home.
Then, the interloper senses life! It is astounded to know that several of its species are buried deeply in the dust that covers the surface of this celestial body. Most are in stasis, but some are not, and as they come to realize one of their kind is above, they reach out, seeking assistance. However, the interloper hasn’t the means to help, and it cannot render aid to those injured. It has existed for billions of years, believing it was a lone survivor. Now, it knows the joy of reunion, albeit brief and wholly unsatisfactory. Then, unable to resist the pull of the larger planet, the interloper’s home breaks free of the white orb’s weak gravity with increasing momentum.
Against the tapestry of a trillion stars, the interloper comes to know that its new trajectory will not take it back into deep space to rejoin the comet, which is only now finding its way around the bright, orange star at the center of this particular system of planets. As the image of the planet increases in size with every moment, it becomes clear that the interloper’s journey though the universe that killed it’s kind will soon come to an end. It looks on with interest and then retreats inside its home to prepare for the inevitable impact.
A large, blueish planet, partially covered with white, fluffy material, is in its way.
Soon, it is hurtling through the layers of gases that surround the blue planet. Fire and smoke trail behind. It tumbles as a sonic wave is generated, which breaks the sound barrier. Though meteors and other space debris are not usually visible in the daytime, this visitor from space is large enough to be seen. Its arc of entry is one of perfection, as if by design. It glows bright red but its construction, born in another universe, withstands the assault and does not break. The thick ocean of air and resistance that surrounds the Earth acts as a buffer and the small alien structure suffers no permanent damage, which ensures the survival of its resident.
Then, with unexpected, destructive action and an emphatic smack, it strikes the blue planet, and it is embedded into its new home
A cypress-covered bayou just north of Minden, Louisiana.
The interloper twitches for a few moments, shaken into full consciousness by the sudden deceleration and collision.
Then, a familiar feeling returns. It is hungry.
