(POV – Emily Parker)
The exhibit went on without major incidents. By this point, Emily had practically walked through the entire first floor, where anomalies classified as "Safe" were gathered. Although none of them were particularly striking — nothing that immediately captured the visitors' imagination — they were still anomalies.
And that alone was enough to spark a latent curiosity. Even the most discreet ones, with harmless or even mundane appearances, seemed to carry something hidden, a slight unease, an inexplicable detail that made visitors' eyes linger just a bit longer than necessary.
It was that kind of subtle strangeness that kept interest alive, even without causing a fuss. One of them was currently inside an isolated room, surrounded by a huge acrylic safety glass, thick and reinforced with multiple layers of protection.
In the center of the room, a minimalist metal pedestal stood alone, supporting above it a strange disc-shaped object — black, smooth, and silently floating, as if defying the laws of physics.
But the most impressive thing, without a doubt, was what was happening around it: the scientists in the room were hovering in the air, their bodies levitating gently as if gravity had been completely suspended.
They moved slowly in orbits around the space, with instruments strapped to their wrists or floating within reach, in a silent, surreal ballet that contrasted with the tense and controlled atmosphere of the place.
Watching the scene, visitors began to crowd in front of the massive acrylic panel, faces pressed against the glass as if afraid to miss even the smallest detail of that strangely fascinating room.
Some whispered anxiously, trying to understand what they were seeing, but most remained in an almost reverent silence — the kind of quiet that only emerges when facing something extraordinary, unexplainable, perhaps even sacred.
The air seemed denser there, charged with contained expectation, as if everyone instinctively knew that this moment held something beyond mere visual spectacle.
"Looks... kinda disappointing, huh?" a scruffy-haired guy said, arms crossed and a half-smirk of mockery on his face. His tone was almost provocative, as if daring someone to disagree: "Like... it's just a disc. I thought I'd see something floating, spitting fire, or I dunno... making spaceship noises"
A woman beside him slowly turned her face toward him. Her eyes, however, stayed fixed on the glass, motionless, as if afraid to look away.
"It's floating" she whispered, her voice almost trembling, heavy with something hard to name: "No wires, no support at all..."
She paused briefly, lips slightly parted, as if hearing something distant: "And... don't you feel it?" she added, even softer, as if afraid her own presence might answer.
The guy raised an eyebrow, his expression taking on skeptical curiosity: "Feel what, exactly?"
"The... weight in the air. Like the whole room is... wrong, twisted in a way I couldn't explain"
Inside, the scientists continued to float slowly, as if submerged in an invisible liquid, their bodies moving with the ghostly lightness of bubbles caught in slow motion.
One drifted close to the glass, so near that I almost saw the condensation of his breath — but there was nothing. His expression was neutral, empty, as if his consciousness had been drained, leaving only a shell... suspended there, between two worlds.
"They look drugged..." someone muttered from the back, voice low and suspicious.
The whisper cut through the heavy silence like a cold current, making a few eyes turn, restless. The speaker didn't seem to expect a reply — just watched, squinting, that group moving strangely, like they were walking in a slow dream disconnected from reality.
"They're not drugged" Emily said, appearing quietly beside the group, her voice low but firm: "They're being affected by changes in the local gravitational field. The disc doesn't just ignore gravity, it distorts it in ways our minds can barely comprehend. And... if you listen carefully..." she paused, eyes alert as the environment seemed to subtly vibrate around them.
Visitors exchanged glances — some frowning in confusion, others tilting their heads slightly, as if trying to solve an invisible puzzle. The silence that followed grew heavy, almost tangible, filling the air with subtle tension.
Suddenly, a girl, eyes half-closed in concentration, broke the silence with a soft, hesitant voice: "There's... a sound. A strange buzzing... but it's not from here. Feels like someone's whispering inside my mind"
"Exactly" Emily confirmed, nodding slightly, eyes shining with the seriousness of the subject.
"The vibration it emits doesn't travel through the air like ordinary sound, but through frequencies we're still trying to understand. Some researchers call it a "psychic hum" while others believe it's a primitive — almost instinctive — form of communication, as old as time itself"
The group fell silent again — this time, not out of convenience but genuine, almost solemn respect. The atmosphere felt heavier, like something invisible was hanging in the air. The guy who had asked the first question took a hesitant step back, visibly uncomfortable. His gaze flickered between the exhibit and the others, as if hoping someone would reassure him.
"But... why put something like this on display?" his voice came out lower, filled with apprehension: "Is this really safe?"
Emily met his eyes calmly, her voice steady and controlled. "Technically, yes. As long as no one crosses the containment barrier"
She looked away for a moment, as if recalling protocols: "The room was built with multiple layers of materials resistant to radiation and gravitational distortion. Each layer is designed to withstand redundant failures"
She paused briefly, eyes fixed on the disc spinning slowly in the center of the room, emitting an almost imperceptible hum: "But..." her voice dropped slightly, as if weighing something uncomfortable: "the safety depends far more on the anomaly's passivity than on the containment itself"
Hearing those words, the man's eyes widened slightly. There was something in them — not just what was said, but how it was said — that unsettled him deeply. It was as if behind that seemingly simple statement lurked a disturbing hint. Almost like... almost like the disc inside the room wasn't locked in there, but just waiting. As if it could leave anytime — of its own will.
"You mean, if it wanted to..." the woman began, but her voice faltered mid-sentence. The rest of her words died in the air.
"If it wanted to..." Emily repeated softly, almost whispering. Her eyes drifted into emptiness for a moment, as if weighing unspoken possibilities: "We'd probably be having a very different conversation right now"
A collective chill ran through the group, like an icy wave running down each observer's spine. Inside, the disc spun. Always spinning. Unfazed, silent, wrapped in a faint glow that seemed to suck in the light around it.
The scientists, like satellites without orbit, kept floating around it — slowly, in uneven paths, like they were trapped in a hypnotic trance, with no hurry, no clear direction. Then, without any warning, one of the lights in the inner room flickered.
A brief blink, almost imperceptible, lasting less than a breath. At the same moment, the disc pulsed with a weak whitish flash, strange enough to cause an involuntary shiver.
That's when one of the scientists — the one closest to the structure — spun sharply in the air, as if pushed violently by an invisible force. His body twirled out of control, arms flailing, hitting the padded wall with a dry thud. The silence that followed was even more oppressive than before.
"Did you see that?" a young woman asked, voice trembling, eyes wide with astonishment. Her heart pounded in her chest, so fast and loud it seemed ready to escape through her throat.
"I did" replied the man in the suit, the one who had seemed most skeptical until then. His voice, once firm, now carried an almost imperceptible hesitation: "That... that wasn't normal"
"Nothing here is" Emily said with a brief, humorless smile: "But you don't need to worry about this specific anomaly. It needs to emit these stronger pulses from time to time to keep its structure stable"
She paused shortly, as if pondering what to say next, then added in a lower tone: "In the past... well, let's just say things didn't end well when those pulses stopped. It was an experience no one here would want to relive"
The visitors exchanged looks, silently shaken by what they'd just heard. Then they turned their gaze back to the anomaly in the center of the room. This time, their eyes couldn't hide what they felt: respect, fear... and admiration.
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Emily's lips. Up until then, her plan was working as expected. She knew this process well — she had gone through it too.
At first, she felt fear. A paralyzing, instinctive fear, like sensing something beyond human understanding. But that feeling soon turned into respect. And, over time, gave way to pure admiration.
Emily knew: as long as there was fear, respect, and admiration for anomalies, everything becomes possible. It was the first step — inevitable, necessary — that everyone there would also have to take.
***
(POV – Laura Cavendish)
From the corner, Laura watched intently as Emily interacted with the visitors, her eyes catching every gesture, every smile. But something caught her attention: a distant man, casually leaning against the wall, his gaze fixed on the disc floating gently in the air before him.
There was something strange about his silence. While others chatted and asked questions, he remained motionless, almost as if hypnotized, absorbing every movement of the object without uttering a single word.
Laura furrowed her brow and raised an eyebrow, a subtle feeling creeping over her. The intensity in that man's eyes was different, almost unsettling—he seemed to see something others didn't. Curious and a bit uneasy, Laura approached him.
"Hello" Laura said, stepping closer with a gentle smile: "Is there something you're wondering about that I can help explain?"
Hearing her voice, the man slowly turned his gaze toward Laura. The moment their eyes met, Laura felt a chill—a deeply strange feeling in his look, a disturbing mix of despair and confusion. It was as if he was wrestling with an inner storm, lost in thoughts that kept him from focusing.
Distracted, Laura only fully came back to reality when she heard the man's voice again, now firmer: "This..." he began, raising a finger and cautiously pointing at the disc silently hovering before him: "Isn't it dangerous? Why not destroy it? Why keep something like this here?"
Hearing his question, Laura stared at him for a few seconds, as if diving deep into thought. Then, with the calm authority of an experienced teacher, she answered: "Honestly... it's not for lack of trying. But anomalies aren't easy to deal with. Every action has consequences, and if we just destroyed it without studying it first, terrible things could happen"
At those words, the man's eyes lit up with curiosity. With a voice tinged with interest and a slight note of surprise, he asked: "You talk like this has happened before"
Laura heard that and smiled—a smile full of irony and bitterness: "It has" she said firmly, almost whispering: "It was contained, but back then, we were too inexperienced to foresee the consequences. It cost the lives of some scientists... colleagues who stood by us for years, here, in this place. We never know when it'll be our last time"
She paused, her eyes staring into the void, as if reliving those painful memories. The silence hanging in the air was heavy, almost tangible, filled with restrained sadness and a grim certainty.
The man kept his gaze locked on Laura, as if a painful question was stuck in his throat, begging to come out. Laura remained silent, almost holding her breath, waiting for him to finally look at her and speak his mind. After a tense moment, he finally spoke, his voice heavy with sorrow and indignation: "Don't you feel anything? Doesn't it weigh on your heart knowing so many people died because of these things? Then why do you still insist on studying them instead of just destroying them?"
Hearing those words, Laura slowly averted her gaze to the disc before them. When she finally spoke, her next words didn't sound like rehearsed or pre-planned phrases—for the man, they seemed to come straight from the deepest part of her heart: "Exactly because people died, that's why we have to study them. We can't just destroy them. We have to learn as much as we can, because only then can we redeem ourselves for our sins. For our failed attempts to protect humanity, when deep down, all we really wanted was forgiveness for our failures"