Ascension: A Psychedelic Sci-Fi Novel
Chapter I.
Awakening
No awareness.
Then, the light. No distinctions, no separations nor boundaries. It could have lasted an eternity or no time at all. No observer either, just the light. Perfect and timeless, all-encompassing…
It gave way to darkness and a feeling of being separate from it. Faint sparks slowly appeared, and I could for the first time take hold of the experience. They were flying past me in ever greater numbers, becoming brighter and more colorful, just marvelous! And playful, almost as if the sparks were alive.
I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t even know who was falling through this cloud of bright colors! I realized I was not alone. Something that seemed more organized than the sparks was near me. In fact, there were two of them, one on each side. Somehow hidden, I wish I could have a closer look! It felt like they were guiding me.
Everything around me started warping. It looked as if the sparks were now within the walls of a dark, incredibly long tunnel, or perhaps they were mere reflections inside the tunnel. My guides were still with me. A small dot emerged in the distance and within a moment it expanded into a blinding star, slingshotting around its violent surface and eruptions, aiming now towards a small rocky world.
It did not have an atmosphere and the side that was always facing its light blue sun was unbearably hot with vast seas of molten lava. As I was passing the north pole, roughly a tenth of the planet’s diameter above the surface, I could see that the night side was partially covered in ice, but that was not all. Albeit it was obscured in total darkness, I could still see a significant portion of the surface was taken by some kind of circular structure. Perfectly symmetric, divided into thousands of regular sections. It must have been ancient and abandoned a long time ago, as many of the pyramidal buildings, towers, bridges, were heavily damaged. I was astonished how much detail I could perceive from such a distance and in the absence of light. What was the purpose of this structure? And what happened to the beings who built it?
We were approaching a bigger planet with at least two moons. This time I could not see much detail, it was still too far away, and my vision started to get very blurry – to the point where all I could see was a monochromatic dance of lights and shades. Finally, I could feel my body. But I wasn’t able to move, to open my eyes, not even lift one finger! I struggled desperately to regain control over this body until I’ve heard her. Wake up… We need to go… She sounds so familiar, even though she conveyed it without words or language, without any sound.
At that moment I opened my eyes.
…Great read for lovers of mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy. This one will stay with you after you put it down.
Review by Christina