Steph found herself astounded, in a dimension that made no sense to her. Everything around her seemed upturned; every wall she saw was a translucent barrier, the other side of which concealed another reality, though of the same kind. It seemed that some portal had carried her away to another realm. Soon, she caught a glimpse of the remains of her own spacecraft. The sight acted as a key, unlocking her memory of all that had happened before this moment. Stephanie Ashford, an aerospace engineer and a qualified astronaut of NASA, had set off to a space mission along with six crew members to conduct experiments in microgravity. It was her second mission, having flown six years earlier at the age of thirty five — achieving the feat of becoming the first woman of her country to have travelled to space. The first mission was a great success. However, the second mission met with a tragic end. After the crew had successfully completed more than eighty experiments, they were returning to Earth when the unexpected happened. Columbia, the spacecraft, disintegrated upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere due to the change in air pressure. Everyone was presumed to be dead, and the incident was known to world as one of the greatest space tragedies for several years. But where is Steph now? Where are her crew members? How is she still alive? She sought answers to all these questions that were looming in her mind. After observing the surroundings keenly, she discovered herself in a state where she questioned her very existence. The planet seemed to be another version of Earth to Steph. Objects faded in and out of sight, the place looked like a huge mirror maze, where each side looked like a reflection of the other. Steph identified the strange shape as exhibiting the qualities of a hypersphere. In the world of mathematics, a hypersphere is a fourdimensional geometric structure — in other words, a 4D version of a spheroid. Suddenly, she was dazzled by a gleaming light that appeared before her. A voice said: “Welcome to the fourth dimension, Stephanie.” Stephanie, at once, was frightened, being unable to see who was speaking. The voice continued: “You are not on another planet, but on Earth. There is no need to be afraid, everyone here is human.” “Humans, you say? From what I recall, I was on a completely different planet. How could humans live in a four-dimensional world?” asked Stephanie. “Thanks to you, Steph, humanity can now access the world you see before you,” the voice replied. “You’re credited with discovering this dimension. This is the fourth dimension, often described as time — the ultimate loop of everything that has ever existed where you can only move forward but never backward,” the voice echoed.Steph tried to understand. “How did I discover this place? Who are you? How did I end up being here?” “One always returns to the place he belongs to,” the voice answered. “You have been brought here, but remember — no one can change the reality of time. Remember who you actually are. Whoever is meant to discover anything…” without saying anything further, the voice slowly faded away. Stephanie dozed off into a deep sleep. As she woke up, she saw a new world before her, looking much like Earth. Several people stood around her, as if they were awaiting this exact moment. Still confused, she asked: “Where am I? Who are you?” A man stepped forward. Stephanie had been looking at him for quite some time. He was young, formally dressed and the soft, soothing smile on his face added to his well-mannered personality. Steph felt as if she was somehow connected to him. The man spoke: “You’re on Earth — but within the fourth dimension. You’ve been brought back to life through artificial means, after we discovered this dimension and created a real world here. Twenty five years ago, we found your ruined spacecraft — around hundred years after Columbia was believed to have disintegrated. We accessed this 4D realm by studying your brain’s extraterrestrial experiences with advanced technology. You weren’t revived until we learnt from your memories. The disappearance of the others remains a mystery. To us, you are the founder of this world.” Stephanie shook her head slightly, confused, yet still eager to know who the man was. “I still don’t understand. Who are you?” she asked. “I’m Sebastian Ashford, your great grandson, Grandma. Let me welcome you to this new world — your world. Come along, I’ll show you the place.” answered the young man, with a smile on his face. After a long time, a spark of joy appeared on Steph’s face, though nervousness still lingered. Walking beside her great grandson, she began to describe the voice that she had heard some time before. Sebastian looked surprised and said: “But you were in coma for a long time. You weren’t supposed to know or experience any of this. How could you hear any voice, grandma?” “What is this world? Why do you say I discovered it?” Steph asked. “You fell into a black hole, where you studied the hyperbrane. The article you wrote and the equations you completed gave us access to this dimension. But about that voice you mentioned, could it mean…?” Sebastian started to suggest something, but Stephanie interrupted in between and said: “Let’s just leave it.” In front of her stood her old home, preserved as a museum. Seeing the articles that she wrote about the hyperbrane preserved nicely in the museum, Steph realized what she actually meant to these people. Her work had given humanity a new, advanced life. The discovery of the dimension had made travelling from one place to another easier. In a four-dimensional world, one could move through walls and essentially teleport from one place to another. Crime no longer existed on the new Earth, for one could hide nothing behind walls anymore. Stepping outside her house, Steph found herself facing a huge crowd. Everyone praised her, calling her their savior. From them, she learnt how, before this discovery, the old Earth had fallen into chaos. Increasing incidents of crime and war resulted in a massacre across the nations, frequent missiles were seen in the skies, and peace was just a distant memory. That was exactly when the discovery of the spacecraft united mankind after a long time. All the nations, at once, cooperated with one another, hoping to build a new world together. The knowledge gained from accessing traditional moral values through this loop of time had made humanity wiser and stronger. Individuals could now differentiate between the right and the wrong, after the priced knowledge enlightened them. Steph now slowly started to realize what changes she had brought for the mankind. The praises coming from all directions gave rise to a vanity in Steph’s mind. She started feeling extremely proud of her own achievements, believing herself to be somewhat superior than others. For some days, she led a wealthy life of a Queen, while her impudence grew day by day. One night as she slept, she again heard the same anonymous voice. Once again, a gleaming light blinded her for the moment and the voice continued from where it had stopped last time: “… whoever is meant to discover anything does so. Nothing happens according to their own will. Time gradually leads everyone to his destiny. I repeat, always remember who you are….” Steph woke up. She regretted what she was doing. Once again, Stephanie Ashford turned into a humble individual. This time the voice had faded from her dream, but never again from her heart.

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