so. you wanna know how it start? fine. sit. listen.
once, there woman. smart. too smart. nashira voss. call her Nash. she look at stars—not like you. she see them. math in her head, numbers dance. she say, "black hole near Orion, it alive . it think. it watch ." ha! academy laugh. "crazy Nash," they say. "take her degree," they say. she say, "no. listen—"
then.
black hole laugh.
sound? no sound in space. but she hear it. in her teeth. in her bones. like god drop a mic. laugh say: little ant. you build your sandcastles. i drink oceans.
nash go mad. not scream, tear hair mad. quiet mad. the kind where you stop blink. she lose job. lose sister—sick sister, die while nash crunch numbers. "i save world," she whisper. world say: lol.
years pass. nash live in basement. talk to screens. make videos. "THEY LYING," she type. caps lock stuck. 23 viewers. one is cat.
then—bam.
wake up. not bed. room… wrong. walls? melt. ceiling sing Memory from Cats. bad. floor sticky like regret.
others there. big man cry? baker. girl with phone—fake ghost hunter. kid, 12, hack life. and roomba. yes. roomba. talk like british professor who hate everything. "call me Glint," it say. "existence pain."
nash say: "what hell is this?"
walls answer.
"escape… or become… BETTER."
door open. room full of… teeth. human teeth. clock? need make clock. nash laugh. she know this teeth. her sister teeth. sister smile, gone now.
glint say: "metaphor. obvious. you suck."
nash think: i die here.
but.
voice again. her voice. but not. from door—no, mirror. woman there. nash, but perfect. suit. shiny hair. Nobel pin. "stay," mirror-nash say. "i win. you lose. swap?"
real nash say: "fuck you."
mirror-nash smile. teeth like black holes.
"you already did."
—