Four months after arriving in Antarctica, Xenia and Foxi finally completed the first version of the timeline device.
The machine was still small and experimental, but it was powerful enough to open a temporary viewing portal.
Inside the research chamber, the device hummed quietly as energy flowed through its core.
Foxi placed a small camera and an apple inside the testing container.
"We send simple objects first," he said. "If they survive, we know the portal works."
Xenia nodded.
"Ready."
Foxi activated the machine.
A circular ripple of light appeared in the air. The portal slowly opened, revealing a distant scene from another timeline.
Through the camera feed, Xenia and Foxi saw something unexpected.
A battlefield.
Soldiers were moving through muddy trenches. Smoke filled the sky, and explosions echoed in the distance.
Foxi looked confused.
"This… this looks like a war."
One of the soldiers suddenly noticed the apple and the strange camera that had appeared nearby.
The soldier picked up the apple while another grabbed the camera.
They began speaking quickly to each other, suspicious of the strange device.
"They think it's spying equipment," Foxi realized.
Moments later, the soldiers destroyed the camera.
The connection ended instantly.
The portal collapsed, leaving the laboratory silent.
Xenia stared at the dark machine for a moment.
Then she slowly smiled.
"It worked."
Foxi laughed in disbelief.
"We just saw another timeline."
Both scientists looked at each other with excitement.
For the first time in Dhuman history, they had successfully observed a different world.
Neither of them realized that this small experiment would soon lead to something much larger.
The Human Paradox had just begun.