ONE: quietus

The frantic beeping of an alarm shook her back to life, making Hera stand up straight. She looked around the room for the source of its hellish sound, frowning when it was just her stupid alarm clock. The clock read seven in the morning. As if her body reacted on time, her stomach growled, begging for food and water.

Hera sighed. She pulled the sleeves of her dress shirt up to her elbows, flicking her glasses higher up her nose bridge. One look at her laboratory showed the efforts of her hard work and years of sleepless nights later – her prototype was built to perfection.

Her prototype – a machine called Flare 201 – was her best creation. After spending years in a German science laboratory with her parents that Hera had no other place to call home, she fell in love with science as much as her parents did. At such a young age, she was already accompanying her mother while she presented to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors was not only investors, but they were also the most intelligent, brilliant men Hera had ever met.

Their vision for the future was inexplicable, and she wanted nothing more but to have a seat next to them.

It would have made her mother proud.

And perhaps her father would’ve been proud too, if he still remembered her, at least. With a shake of her head, Hera stretched her arms out, sighing when the knots at the back of her neck were finally relieved of its tension. She glanced at the mirror at the side of her table, snorting to herself when she realized the more she spent time in her laboratory, the more she was beginning to look like it.

Similar to the blank gray concrete walls and several feet of whiteboards filled with her computations and notes, Hera matched the vibe of the dullness of her lab. Her light brown hair that was piled up in a messy top knot was dry and tangled, while her cheeks and lips were pale. She was devoid of color – and perhaps emotion.

But did it all matter when each passing day led her closer to a scientific breakthrough?

Hera scowled at the term. Scientific breakthrough. She’d heard of that way too many times from her father, who much like her, also spent his whole life holed up in his laboratory. The only difference between them was that Hera was still an employed and license quantum engineer of Wunder Sciences, while her father merely resided within the parameters because he was an old, adored employee.

It had been sixteen years ever since she saw her father actually work on something – a time where she believed her father was greater than the Board of Directors – and it would be a life if she said she didn’t want to see him being rational again. It was almost hard for her to believe there had ever been a time that her father spoke in front of people as he presented his creations, lighting up people’s eyes – the light that Hera once had in her eyes – with curiosity, passion, and marvel.

Now…now she could barely her own father. It had been sixteen years ever since he began obsessing about Beyond the Boundary, claiming that somewhere in the quantum realm, there was a link that separated the Sky People and humans from one another.

It was all nothing but the ramblings of a mad man, of course. Scientifically speaking, it just couldn’t be real, and there were a multitude of things that Hera found fascinating in science. His theory was beyond impossible, however. Her father, Dr. Im, insisted that the Sky People lived in the future, where their homes were on top of a floating rock and the city was far more advanced than what they believed science and technology was capable of.

He believed it so much he preached about his theory as if he was a prophet, embarrassing Hera and destroying his own dignity. She couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to be a failure like her Father; a man who once believed in the power of science, but now only theorized over a world where death, suffering, and illnesses didn’t exist.

He claimed the Beyond the Boundary would be their only way to reach the other side – to this utopian city he spoke of – where mankind could have a second shot at life.

Hera hated it. She hated every bit of it because she knew people didn’t get second chances. Life didn’t work that way, because if it did, then maybe she wouldn’t have had to sacrifice her humanity every single day with the hopes of saving the world.

Life didn’t give you second chances. That was why Hera worked so hard to make sure her one and only life was a life worth lived, and if ever she died one day, then she wanted to die an honorable death. A death where her people would know she had done everything without wasting a single second or breath of her existence.

She didn’t want to be like her father.

She didn’t want to be admired and praised, only to have your people turn you away because you went from phenomenal to an absolute madman.

Hera wouldn’t let her father’s theory ruin everything she worked hard for.

But no matter how much she insisted she didn’t need her father, Hera could not lie to herself. Dr. Im Hyejong would be her one and only father; the man who placed her on his shoulders as he brought her to the amusement park, the one who read her bedtime stories whenever her mother was too busy working on her own theories.

It hurt even more because deep down, Hera actually admired her father more than her mother. Her father had an exceptional mind that always saw things more than the sum of its parts, and his name was plastered on hundreds of books for his discoveries. He made her proud – until he came crashing.

Hera knew she could never curse her father for the ill fate he brought them. She loved him and she wanted nothing more for her father to come back, but he was too far gone in his ideas that she couldn’t even speak to him properly anymore. It started with him fantasizing about a heaven on earth and she let him. He was a curious man. Until one day he began scribbling down on his whiteboard inside his lab, muttering to himself that there had to be a way, there had to be an answer for the catastrophe mankind brought upon themselves.

He believed that if mankind was capable of destruction, then they were also capable of creation. Then the Beyond the Boundary theory was born, and he never stopped. She tried to talk him out of it, using her soft voice to hopefully coax back her father’s reasoning, but he never listened. He would scream at her, tell her he was so close to a phenomenal discovery.

The last time she talked to him was five days ago. She walked into his lab with a cup of coffee and plate of sandwich she made herself. He never turned around. His hair was greasy, curled, and coily. His face was in dire need of a shave, but he never acknowledged her, not even when she called upon his name. She tried calling him again as “Dr.Im” but as expected, he didn’t hear her.

The third time, she called him Dad.

He never turned around.

Instead, he hummed to himself excitedly, picking up a marker before jotting down equations that didn’t make sense even to Hera. With a sigh, Hera left the coffee and sandwich on a table, closing the door so silently he didn’t even notice she ever came.

Not that it would make a difference, she thought, no matter how loud or silent she got, her father was too far gone now.

If only she could undo the past.

▼△▼

Hera rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, blinking in a constant rhythm as if the action would magically cure her eyesight. Now that she thought about it, her vision had gotten worse due to late nights of working and constant exposure to blue light. She made a mental note to readjust her glasses on her next day off (although she doubted she’d had one if she were to be promoted) when she stopped in her tracks. Perhaps contact lenses would be more convenient.

She clicked her tongue, nimble fingers picking up a pencil to messily crawl ‘get contacts asap’ on a yellow sticky note. At her stomach’s third rumbling that day, she finally gave in to its demands and made her way out of her lab.

Wunder Sciences had a lot of branches all throughout Berlin. The department she grew up in, Quantum Sciences, had a different laboratory located underground. She didn’t exactly know why, but something about the government not wanting to trouble its people with its scientific advances made the company built a separate department for them that weren’t with the Medical Department, or even the Astronomy Department that was almost like a tourist spot in the country.

The Quantum Sciences Laboratory was located fifty beneath the Earth, with the main passage only accessible through a restricted tunnel that the government owned. To the rest of employee of Wunder Sciences, the Quantum scientists were like myths because they were rarely seen. They were separated from the rest of the world, literally holed up in a desolate laboratory, but to Hera? It was her home.

She loved every bit of the dull, gray walls of the hallways. When she was young, she always got lost in the multitude of passageways with at least three doors on each side – all laboratories of respected scientists that were given the opportunity to have their own office. She remembered dreaming of having her own office as a kid.

Nothing made her happier, but after years of not having enough contact with the outside world (not that she was really interested. She’d heard enough about mankind that she didn’t have much hope for them anymore) Hera was more than content in staying within the comfort of their department.

It wasn’t the best place for a young woman like her to be in considering she should be living her life out there, but Hera couldn’t really see herself anywhere. Women her age were most likely out on dates or even getting married. Hera, on the other hand, still preferred the familiar feeling of her shoulders draped with her lab coat, her ID badge proudly pinned atop her right , and nothing – absolutely nothing – would be a better sight than the blinking fluorescent lights and the weird stench of steel and chemicals to her.

This was her home, and she wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

“Good morning, Dr. Hera!”

Well, right now, Hera changed her mind. Anywhere but near him would be better.

her teeth in, she forced a smile his way. “Good morning, Ludwig.”

“So I was thinking,” the young scientist grinned to himself, his ash-blonde hair nearly white under the bright lights. “It’s promotion night tonight. What do you say you go out on a date with me if you get chosen?”

“When, Ludwig,” she corrected with utmost confidence, gladly taking the cup of coffee he offered. She took a sip, a hiss falling from her lips when she forgot to blow on it. At least it woke her muscles up even more after that hellish cold shower since for some reason, Wunder Sciences didn’t care enough to provide a heater for their showers. Hera turned to the awaiting eyes of her fellow scientist, making sure to wear her “When I get promoted. And how many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested on a date?”

“Okay, so you’re not interested in a date, but there’s a chance you could be interested in me?”

“I’m not interested in anyone. End of discussion,” she faced away from him and turned her attention to her purple-haired peer, bent down with her tongue poking out as she tested the switches on her prototype. “Good morning, Vanak. Ready for tonight’s presentation?”

Vanak barely looked up from her work. When she saw it was Hera, who was now standing with her back straight, chest puffed out, and chin pointed north with empty eyes awaiting for a response, the Russian scientist nodded. “Yep, I’m just checking on some finishing touches and we should be good to go.”

“I wish you the best of luck.”

“You too, Dr. Hera!”

“That was mean,” Ludwig mumbled under his breath, playfully shouldering Hera.

“How?”

“Everyone in the lab knows Dr. Muller will choose you as his assistant. There’s no need in wishing anyone luck when you’re his favorite.”

“Favorite?” Hera paused in her tracks, looking at him with ridicule present all over her face. “You think I’ll be promoted because I’m his favorite?”

“It was a compliment, Dr. Hera.”

“No, it’s not. It’s like you’re telling me I’ll only be promoted because I’m his goddaughter. It doesn’t work that way, Ludwig. I worked hard for everything I have now. I deserve to be promoted.”

“I’m just saying,” he raised his hands in surrender, “Some people find it rather unfair.”

“Well that’s no longer my problem, Ludwig. And when I do get promoted, I won’t be able to go on a date with you because Dr. Muller and I will be leaving right away for Siberia. You know how this works – people like us don’t get a break.”

“I think only you don’t get a break, Hera.”

She snorted. “Of course I do take breaks. What am I, a fully functioning robot that has no need for batteries?”

“That’s the thing. Oftentimes you’re a lot worse than robots,” When Hera gave him a questioning gaze, Ludwig chuckled, as if he really couldn’t believe Hera didn’t know. “I mean, come on, you never go out for beer or even hang out with the guys during the weekends. Even Jaera comes with us, and she’s the newest addition. Plus, she’s extremely awkward, yet she’s a lot more sociable than you are.”

Hera rolled her eyes. How many times had she heard of that stupid intern’s name? “Why are you even comparing me to the new girl?”

“What is it about Jaera that you don’t like so much? She hasn’t done anything wrong to you.”

“Yes, except for the fact she won’t stop bugging me about letting her meet my dad. Heavens know he works in the wizardry department right now and he’s absolutely mad. Jaera’s got potential. I don’t want her involved with him.”

“You don’t want her involved with him or you’re afraid Jaera might get chosen because of you?” At his words, Hera clutched her cup of coffee tighter. There was a barely restrained tick at her jaw – one Ludwig didn’t notice, which was ironic, considering he claimed to be Hera’s biggest admirer. “You have to admit the girl’s intelligent, Hera. Even Doctor Muller said he saw the younger version of you in her.”

Hera drank her coffee in one go, not minding anymore that it nearly scalded her tongue. Without waiting for Ludwig to continue, she pushed the now empty cup to his chest. “Well, I’m not Jaera and her studies are unoriginal. There’s no way I’m letting her take my spot.”

Ludwig sighed in defeat. “Loosen up a bit, Hera. That’s all I’m asking. You spend day and night inside your laboratory that you barely even sleep anymore. At this point, everything is going to take a toll in your body and you’re going to crash and burn.”

“How about you actually focus on your study and get a life for once, hm, Ludwig?” She suggested. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Not wanting to waste anymore of her precious time, she clutched her lab coat closer to her body and headed to the cafeteria, ignoring the burning holes at the back of her head.

All the way to the cafeteria, Hera pretended not to notice the way the room fell into hushed conversations the moment she walked in. It was the same every day. She didn’t have to listen in order to know what they would be talking about, because she’d heard it enough times that it was pretty much ingrained in her head already.

They would talk about her Father. Hurtful words such as “madman” or “insane” would float every now and then before the topic drifted towards her. Hera paid no mind to them as she allowed the servants to scoop a handful of mashed potato with gravy down her plate, right next to a bowl of salad with sliced apples. It was the oddest combination ever, but none could complain since working in the underground branch excluded them from the privilege of decent meat.

Hera walked to her table, one that was solely hers since no one ever wanted to share with her, hands clasped in prayer as she always did before digging in. Her lips moved as she mouthed her thanks, eyes closed shut when she heard it. It wasn’t the first time someone said it, but every time she heard it, the pain and humiliation she felt was incomparable.

“What a disappointment,” they muttered amongst themselves, “I see nothing but the broken and lost child of two amazing scientists that would’ve changed the world. The mother is gone, and the father has turned mad. I pity her – the poor girl – she’s got no future for her.”

The moment Hera opened her eyes; it was as if nothing happened at all. The soft background noise of everyone’s chatter and the aircon whirring above them now filled the deafening silence of her heart and mind. Everyone went back to their own business, discussing about latest theories and controversies they wished to solve. No one noticed her anymore, but instead of feeling relieved, Hera’s heart tightened uncomfortably.

With a sigh, she dumped her food at the trashcan right at the entrance, and walked back to her lab. From behind her, the voices grew louder from the distance, almost as if they felt more at ease without her presence.

Hera clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palm. She wasn’t going to cry – she was a scientist and a doctor – her Mother taught her better than to cry over spilt milk. No, she had work to do and a world to prove wrong. They always saw her from her flaws and broken past, and never for what she could offer.

But deep down, Hera knew the reason it hurt a lot more was the fact that she understood. She knew why people thought of her that way and everything made perfect sense. It was because they were right. Her parents were the best of the best. They made Wunder Sciences proud that companies offered them jobs left and right, but they chose to stay because they believed in the vision of the company. Her Mother didn’t leave them without a purpose and she most definitely didn’t stay as long as she could just to satisfy herself.

Hera was, and always will be, the child of her parents. They were not able to fulfill their goals, and as their child, it was her duty to keep their legacy going.

She had to save the world one way or another.

If it weren’t for that fuelling her, Hera had no idea where she’d be right now. Hours passed without her notice as she checked her prototype once more. Everything had been calculated and created into perfection that really, she had nothing to worry about, but tonight was going to be the biggest day of her life and would decide her future.

Just because it was already perfect, doesn’t mean it still couldn’t be improved.

She could’ve overlooked something, and so she bent down closer to Flare 201 with a magnifying glass, humming to herself as she inspected the wires. Flare 201 was created with the purpose of harnessing energy and heat waves from the sun that would then convert it into a force field powerful enough to stop a fleet of men. It was a weapon that would be perfectly used for war, and as long as the sun was there, its buyers wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

Flare 201 was capable of storing at least a hundred days’ worth of energy expenditure. Its energy could also be converted into a heat source with respective knobs so they could control its temperature and release. A cooling system was right at the bottom to prevent overheating of the machine. It was about the side of her whole upper body, shaped like a dynamite bomb, but lightweight enough to be carried with only one arm. A single Flare 201 could be used within a hundred mile radius.

Hera felt confident she would be chosen for the promotion tonight. Still, she couldn’t stop the worry that she had to look at it one more time. There were still a few hours left before everyone had to present their work to the Board of Directors. She had plenty of time, and if she finished early, she should probably start packing too.

Not only did getting promoted meant being a member of the Board of Directors, but it also meant relocation to Siberia where Wunder Sciences merged with Russian military. At a time where the world had nations with political tension with one another, people have broken apart, choosing sides and already solidifying their bases.

Germany, Russia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia were part of the Apus Arm Power. Although their base in Germany was safe, Hera felt safer if she worked with the military protecting them. Perhaps she could even bring her Father and guarantee his safety.

“Doctor Hera,” a sweet, soft voice that Hera utterly despised echoed through the large hall of her lab. “Uhm, good morning. May I talk to you for a second?”

“Jaera,” she acknowledged without turning back, her attention still focused on the Flare 201. “Come in. Please take off your sandals and just wear the safety boots.”

“Oh, okay,” Hera heard Jaera shuffling her sandals around before replacing it with the safety boots, her small footsteps padding closer to where Hera stood in the middle. “Wow. This is the first time I’ve been in your lab. Did you-did you build all this? By yourself?”

“Yes. Most of the parts are recycled considering this is only a prototype, but Doctor Muller’s approved it for reconstruction already.”

“He…he’s approved it?”

“Yes,” she announced proudly, setting her magnifying glass down and crossing her arms against her chest. Hera turned around to look at Jaera, who wasn’t any shorter than her, but her gaze made the intern look away nervously. “You said you wanted to talk to me, Jaera. I highly doubt staring at my work is a part of that.”

“Ah, yes, well about that…I wanted to ask you about your theory on abstract fields. This will help figure out the different ways we can break the laws of gravity, right?”

Hera exhaled through her nose, trying her best to let her patience dominate her irritation. “You’re sounding an awful lot like my father, Jaera. Have you been discussing the Boundary with him even if I told you not to?”

“Hera, don’t get me wrong—”

“It’s Doctor Hera, Jaera,” she reminded her, “You are merely an intern here – one that was lucky enough to get included in Dr. Muller’s program. I have been here far longer than you have. A little respect doesn’t cost much.”

The intern flushed red, stepping back to distance herself. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’ve just been friends with most of the people here and they said it was okay not to address them formally…”

“Well, you and I are not friends and we will never be,” she huffed out. Hera could feel the way her temperature spiked in annoyance, the need to push this girl away strong with each passing second. Her mere presence aggravated her to no end, but Hera had to remind herself she was a professional and she couldn’t hurt her colleague. Taking the time to compose herself, Hera pushed her side bangs away from her face, narrowing her eyes at the flushed girl. “What have you truly come here for, Jaera? You were never interested in my study so why waste both our times?”

“I just…I just wanted to talk to you about Dr. Im’s theory. It doesn’t have to be related to your study since I know you’re intent on creating plasma cannons or something for the Russians. I mean, it will give the best sales after all, but why won’t you hear your father out? If you think about it, if the Beyond the Boundary is real, then we’re totally looking at different phenomena of an earth that our human brains can’t comprehend. It would be an amazing discovery to science—”

“Get out.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I said, get out,” she pointed to the door.

“No, Dr. Hera, you don’t understand! I just need to talk to your Father more because it would help my study! Even Dr. Muller said I should give it a shot—”

“You listen to me, intern,” Hera hissed, “This is not what we do for Wunder Sciences. We are a German based laboratory with the intention of what?”

“Creating weaponry and mass producing medicine.”

“Exactly. We are preparing for war, Jaera, it’s 2032. The Third World War is getting closer every day as we speak, and do you know what will happen if we’re not prepared for it? Do you know the consequences of the lack of our studies’ fruition if we do not ally with Russia?”

“Y-Yes, Doctor.”

“I know you and the others think I’m a crazed scientist for never leaving my laboratory, but I think of nothing but the future. War was never the best answer, but what choice do we have left? Every day people are dying – from starvation, poverty, murder, and diseases. Nations are being torn apart by altercations. In a time where we’re left with no other option than to fight for what we have left, I’m simply doing my job. As both your superior and my father’s daughter, I am kindly asking you for the last time to please leave him alone.

Do not feed his theories with support because I assure you, Jaera, my father is not in a right state of mind. The only reason why he’s still here with us is because this is home and we’ve both got nowhere to go,” by the time she finished, Hera was breathing heavily. The intern looked back up at her with widened eyes. Hera sighed, placing resting her arm on the table behind her for support. “Please, Jaera. I’m only doing everything I can to help save both the world and my father.”

Jaera’s eyes darted to the ground, not looking entirely convinced.

“You said you only thought about the future. Isn’t that what your Dr. Im theorized? That in the distant future, there’d be no more illnesses, no starvation, no war, no death? I know you only want to do your best and I admire you for that, I really do…but you’re only focused in winning the war, not saving the world. You haven’t even thought about what mankind would be like after the war. Who knows if maybe this world war would result in our extinction? Who knows if maybe Dr. Im is right that we do have a possibility of another world if we were just brave enough to look Beyond the Boundary? How are you so sure that won’t ever exist?”

“Because mankind is unparalleled,” she answered without missing a beat. “In order to destroy everything we have now, it’s either every one of humans have turned against each other, or we only need the anger and hatred of one man to ruin it all. Other than that, I don’t think there’s any way that fantasy of my father’s would ever exist unless the Gods have decided to wipe us all away.”

“So you don’t believe it,” Jaera said, the hurt in her voice something Hera couldn’t comprehend. The intern decided to look at anything but Hera, but she could see it. Jaera was afraid. “You don’t think this war will ruin us all? Is this why you won’t help him develop a time machine so we can all see the future and prevent what else can happen or perhaps to jump forwards in time to save—”

“I am not leaving my people. I was born in this era, so I shall die in this era,” Hera cut her off, gesturing to the machine behind her. “Wars happen for a purpose, Jaera. I never wanted any of this, but what do you expect me to do when every day, every person feels more and more unsafe to leave their house? Do you expect me to just idle around and not do anything about it? People are evil. Sometimes the best way to get rid of them is to just obliterate them.”

Jaera looked appalled. “That’s not the answer. That has never been the answer. There is no winner or loser in war, Dr. Hera. As long as someone dies, there will never be a true champion.”

“If you believe that so much, then why are you still here with us?” Hera said calmly. It shut Jaera up for a few seconds, and she took the time to continue, letting her eyes run up and down the intern’s form. “The last time I checked from the terms, an intern has the freedom to terminate their contract if they were unwilling to participate in the war.”

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