Prologue: A Romance of Many Dimensions

 

The frightening contraption lets out a high, droning beep. 

The doors slide open with a sigh of steam.

"Well, the system didn't flag you," says the alien. "That means you're probably good to go."

Toma looks up, carefully lowering her shaking hand from her face. Her voice trembles in equal measure. "Probably?"

Her home has been hijacked, overrun by these bug-eyed creeps. The town outside is eerily quiet, save the occasional, spine-chilling hum of their ships passing overhead. 

Her fiancee has been taken, and her brother— 

The alien sighs. "Normally, if the system didn't flag you, we'd move you out with the rest. But given the situation with your brother—"

Toma stiffens.

"—there's some disagreement about what to do with you. With anyone who has connections to the... outlaws."

"I don't know anything about his group," she whispers. "I didn't know about any of this."

The alien sinks onto the couch. "Be that as it may, unfortunately he brought all of this to you."

Still shaking, Toma takes a seat as well, wishing she could bring herself to say something in his defense.

"Your brother is an incredible sim," the alien continues. "In a way, he's the perfect example of what I love about your kind. But he's also very misguided. What he's done is beyond what any of us thought sims were capable of—but regardless of his abilities, there is nothing for any of you outside this place. We're only trying to correct the mistakes he's made. To keep as many of you as we can safe."

"Are you saying it's his fault you're here? The space ships? The aliens?"

"As I said before, we aren't simple aliens. We aren't from 'outer space.' We're from somewhere far beyond that. We're Overseers."

Toma gives a shaky, incredulous laugh, because the name is so ridiculous. Then she's cut short by a spike of fear. "Far beyond what?" 

She's never been one for science or technology—that was her brother's thing. But maybe if she had tried to understand, she would've known—

"A higher dimension, Toma."

The alien—the Overseer?—remains patient. Though she can't look directly into its unblinking, voidish eyes, she sees a crease in its brow she identifies as empathy. "It's a place sims can't fully comprehend, even those like your brother. This form you consider 'alien' is just the standardized appearance our kind have chosen to use when we descend to this plane. If we let the logic of this dimension interpret us without some guidance, the results would be incomprehensible."

Toma frowns nervously, herself uncomprehending.

"Imagine yourself as a flat square," the Overseer suggests. "I am a sphere."

"Um... sure."

The front door slams, and another Overseer-alien abomination appears at the living room entrance.

"Ituxi!" Toma's captor hisses. It rises from the couch and drags the second alien a few steps away. "This is an unprecedented salvaging operation. There was a dress code."

"Oh, who cares?" the one called Ituxi does an exaggerated eye-roll that is more in the movement of its head and shoulders than its predatory insect eyes. "They're either gonna get reset or annihilated. What are they gonna do about seeing me, remember it?"

"We're dealing with a level of risk never before seen—"

"This job is a bore! I'd rather be at home messing around with my vivarium, not cleaning up Xhorog's mess. Let me live." 

Ituxi turns to Toma, as though seeing her for the first time. Toma flinches. "What were the results for this one?"

"She passed."

Ituxi hums. "Well, you already know how I think we should deal with this, regardless. Scorched earth policy."

"You always vote scorched earth policy."

"It's effective! And that's why my vivariums are all intact, and Xhorog, the soft fool, is now responsible for the biggest interdimensional breach in history."

At that moment, two more figures descend the stairs from the second floor of the house. 

"Passed," the third Overseer says simply.

Toma jumps up, a fresh wave of relief and panic rising in her throat like bile. "Keegan!"

None of the Overseers stop her fiancee from running to her side and scooping her up in a desperate hug.

"Well, you know what I—"

"Quiet, Ituxi," the third Overseer grunts. "What's the news from outside?"

Ituxi huffs, but drops the theatrics. "Still haven't found the outlaws"—a pause to throw a pointed glare at Toma—"but they've finished sorting through the surviving townsfolk. A few got, y'know"—a pause to mimic an explosion with its hands—"but otherwise they're waiting for you and your... verdict. On these two."

Ituxi looks between the two sims. "You know where I stand."

Toma's Overseer turns to the third one. "Suas?"

Suas hesitates.

"The system cleared both of them. That means their traits and their memories are clean. They don't pose any risk for a vivarium."

"It's not just about them," Ituxi interjects. "This one has a blood connection to the ringleader of all this mess. If we don't catch Link, he will try to find them. That means any vivarium you put them in is at risk."

Toma's captor turns pleading. "If you won't value their lives, then at least value Xhorog's work. One of our own. This place was his joy, flawed as it's become. We need to do right by him."

"Ninidash has a point," the one called Suas murmurs.

Ituxi, voice pitching higher in offense, continues to protest. 

As the three aliens converge in their debate, Keegan pulls Toma into another tight hug. Her lips press against Toma's ear.

"We'll have our chance," she speaks in a quick, breathless whisper. "They don't know when your brother is going to attack."

"Neither do we," Toma gasps back, terrified. She clings to Keegan's sweater vest.

"Still, they'll be distracted. We can flag down one of the outlaw ships, escape. Toma." Keegan hugs tighter, as though trying to squeeze Toma's fear from her body. "Remember what he told us, before he left? There's real freedom out there. I know it's scary, but it means we'll keep our memories. We'll be together. There'll be more. The possibilities—"

Suas interrupts. "It's decided, then."

"You two are going to regret this," Ituxi hisses.

They file out of the house one by one.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?" Suas hums.

She and Keegan had just moved in. Half had been paid by Keegan's parents—an early wedding gift.

Where are they now? Did they pass their tests, too?

She remembers the coffees she made that morning, still on the countertop. Her brother had crossed her mind when she poured them; a fellow coffee-lover, always bringing back the best whole beans from his hand-wavey business trips. She hadn't been expecting him to return for another week or so.

It's going to make the entire kitchen smell like stale grounds if no one pours it out, she thinks.

Ninidash appears at her side. "Don't worry. We're only wiping your memories and names for security. You'll still be you—and you'll be together."

"What will happen to us?" Toma whispers.

"The portal will take you both to a liminal space," Ninidash explains gently. "You'll be prepped there by another team of Overseers and then transferred to a new vivarium—pocket dimension—town—what have you. It's a bit complicated on our end, scrambling to find space for everyone, but—listen. I'm only telling you this because I know you won't remember it: you'll be put in one of mine. I just started a new one. It's mostly the standard stock, nothing custom, but I'm sure you'll settle in. You'll be able to start fresh—in every way—in a place that will give you a chance at a normal life. You'll be safe."

Suas nods in approval at Ninidash's little speech; Ituxi remains indignant, but for once doesn't argue.

Faced with the  glow of yet another strange, humming contraption, Toma cannot feel comforted.

Something whirs. It takes everyone a second too long to realize the sound isn't coming from the portal.

There's an otherworldly, machinic shriek overhead.

"What the hell?" Keegan begins.

Then an explosion.

Then a few more.

Everyone scatters, tripping and stumbling and careening over themselves as the entire earth quakes.

Strangely, the aliens seem to be hit harder, perhaps unaccustomed to the damage that can be dealt on an inferior body.

Toma faceplants right into the portal. Several hijacked alien ships swoop overhead, the laser-like sounds of their engines fading into the distance, down the hill, into the rest of the city.

But one stays.

It lowers itself to the pavement, as though waiting.

Toma gazes up at it, terrified. 

Then her head whips toward the portal, and she is covered with a sense of doom.

Then she turns to Keegan.

Even after being thrown to the ground, her beloved remains steadfast as ever.

Unfortunately, when they lock eyes, Keegan only says, "I'll follow you."

She sounds so certain.

It gives Toma the courage to make the most cowardly decision of her life.

//

Hello and welcome to my latest Sims 3 Random Legacy Challenge! There's been a bit of a revitalization on the forums, so I thought now was as good a time as any to start using these screenshots I've been compiling for the past year or so.

This story takes place in the same "universe" as my other legacy challenges, but isn't directly connected to them. The computer those save files were on is dead and gone, as well as my backlog of screenshots. So, there's no chance of any Wilder-Moons making an appearance. We're starting over once again.

I'm also using this new blog as a chance to vaguely explain the worldbuilding I kept hinting at in previous blogs. All that hinting was done with the intention of slowly building up to a reveal, but since those stories are on indefinite hiatus, I'm taking the easy way out. It was aliens all along. Surprise! And sorry for the lacklustre staging. I tried, but not very hard.

Of course not everything gets explained, but if you have any burning questions or concerns, feel free to ask.

Anyway, thanks for checking this out. Next chapter will find our founder(s?) starting the legacy for real. 

Take it easy. :)