The Convergence Factor

The dials lit up as the keystrokes sounded like raindrops landing softly on the roof. The digital display was covered in dials, gauges and other monitors, taking into account many different data samples. He stood at the desk furiously typing looking for that one breakthrough that could propel him into the answer he so desperately sought. The levels and displays whirled and changed as he entered different factors and computations. The gauge he was most interested in was one with three lines, blue, red, and green. As he changed his inputs and calculations these lines danced in front of him. They constantly flirted with convergence before one would dance away again. Which would bring a stern look from the man at the controls. Scrounging through the stack of papers at the desk he scrutinized the numbers again. 

“It is all right here, the data makes sense, but I can’t get the convergence to occur.” he sighed as he stared back at the screen. 

This certain problem had plagued him for sometime, without having the dimensional convergence factor established, the whole thing wouldn’t work. And he knew very few people who would be willing to try out his calculations based solely on a guess, even an educated one. He rubbed his eyes as the lateness of the hour started to weigh upon his psyche. He didn’t know if he could handle another late night failure. He leaned back heavily in his office chair, and exhaled a large breath, his heavy eyes soon shut and he fell into a deep sleep. He soon awoke a thick mist swirling in his office space, the smell of sulfur and death singed his nose hairs. 

“I must have fallen asleep, damnit !!” 

Scrambling from his chair he began to search for the key to his escape, the way back to his waking self. He turned over piles of papers, up rooted chairs, even turned a table over at the far end of the room, but to no avail. Then he heard the low growl that always caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. He frantically investigated the room, he knew they had found him, but where were they? Undeterred from his mission he went back to searching for the way out. He began to sweat profusely as the key evaded his search. He heard the loud sounds of claws being run down glass, they always like to play with their victims. He scrambled to the side of the office, opposite of the clawing sounds. He peaked around a file cabinet and saw them slowly enter the room. Their elongated heads dripping with whatever plasm is in this realm, on all fours they stalked into the room, they loudly snorted as they sniffed the air for their prey. The bodies on these creatures were always mottled with different colors, they almost looked as if their skin was decomposing and falling off their bodies. He nervously searched the room, his eyes darted from place to place. He knew that if he moved from his hiding place that they would definitely be on top of him. As he was weighing his options he heard, “Winston, we are coming for you”. 

The voice sounded disjointed and if several people were talking at once at different speeds. Winston hated when they called out to him. Trying to think of a way out of this mess, something flashed in Winston’s peripheral, the key! The multicolored orb sat a few feet behind him on the floor. Not wasting another moment he rushed over to the orb and scooped it up, he looked up at the beasts, who now had him in their sights. The first beast jumped towards Winston, with a preternatural strength the beast propelled itself at Winston, easily covering the fifteen feet between the two. As the jaws opened wide to devour him, Winston swung the orb at the creature. When the orb struck it sparks flew from the beast, a hellish scream escaped from it as it was flung in the other direction and crashed into some of the furniture. Winston smiled at the second one as he opened the orb. A swirling fog of colors surrounded him as he was transported from the dreamscape and back into his own reality. He awoke with a start, sweating profusely. 

After another mistake and another close call with the creatures, staring at the screen again, Winston strained to find what eluded him, the convergence factor had to be found or all was lost. Without it, those things were free to roam wherever they wished and there was no telling who else they had been devouring in the process.  Rubbing his eyes he sighed in frustration, he knew it just had to be one factor, one little detail that he just missed. The creatures were growing more powerful, now they inserted themselves into his subconscious every time he slept, not just now and then like it used to be. He wondered if he was the gatekeeper, or if more people were suffering from this. Either way he had to stop them here. 

As more hours slipped away, more slight adjustments, more confused frustration. As much as he tried to find the convergence factor it still eluded him. He glanced at his watch, it was already afternoon. He shook his head, “Well I wonder what Saul is up to.” 

Saul was a professor at the local university, he had been forced to retire due to health issues. The part of town he lived in was a more historic district, it fit him well. Winston hurried up the steps to the intercom by the doors.  He hit the button for Saul’s apartment and a loud buzzing sound rang out. 

“What do you want now?” an old voice growled through the intercom.

“It’s me Winston, just wanted to talk some things over.”  

“I know who it is, why do you bother an old man.”

The door unlocked as Saul granted him access to the building. He went up the three flights of stairs and took another left down the hall. The old boards creaked under his feet, this building was definitely historic. Apartment two thirteen was Saul’s, with a sharp knock I announced my presence. 

“Yes, yes come on in!” 

“I don’t know why you insist on knocking every time when you are the only person who visits me.” Saul carried on as Winston shut the door behind him.

“It’s polite Saul.”  

“Well, its unnecessary, even though its polite,”

With an eye roll Winston sat down, “ I can’t get the convergence still Saul, I don’t know what the answer is. Every time I think I'm close I just can’t nail it down.”

“That’s the problem with you theoretical types, you just don’t know when to quit. The feat you are attempting has never been done, or even close to figured out. You might actually be the closest of all.”  Saul said with a finality that didn’t sit well with Winston.

“You sure know how to inspire a guy” 

“I’m just trying to be honest with you, it’s the pinnacle of your field, you might be breaking barriers that are never to be broken again, or that are meant to be. You are so obsessed with this mission of yours Winston, It's tearing you apart, I think you might need a break.”

Winston had never told Saul the full story, he must look like a maniac, relentlessly chasing this theoretical principle. Unlike everyone else though, Winston knew what was at stake. He toyed with telling Saul before, but he feared the ridicule that could come from it. Bad enough that he was fighting for his life with some inter dimensional lifeform. So he would come over here occasionally and see if he could covertly glean bits of helpful information from Saul. He also feared the inevitability of his failure, Saul always made him feel like the specter of his own demise was right behind him.  If he knew anyone smarter he would have gone to them, but Saul was the only person he felt could even comprehend most of the data. 

“I can see you are more desperate than usual, let me see what data you have brought.” Saul sighed as Winston pulled a handful of papers from his pocket.”

Winston handed over his findings, Saul picked up his glasses from a nearby table and scrutinized the work before him. Saul would occasionally grunt or nod, but nothing else was said until he had finished perusing his work. Time seemed to creep as he poured over every decimal, every numeral on the page, until he ultimately finished his survey. He almost looked puzzled as he glanced up from the papers and slid his glasses down. 

“I can’t see where there are any errors in your logic, could it just be that it can't be done for some reason?”

“I don’t think so, there has to be a way all of this works, there just has to be an answer.”

“Winston, if you’ll allow me to be frank, I’ve never seen you act this way before. You are bordering on obsession my friend, but I am inclined to help you, so if you like I can hold on to this and see if I could discover anything else for you.” 

“Well I suppose, I’ve got all the work backed up on the computer at my place, I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

Saul smirked, even though he had retired long ago Winston could see that look in his eye now that he had a problem to work on, Saul couldn’t really retire. Even with that however, Winston wanted to tell him about what had been happening to him. Still he struggled with the backlash from that kind of transparency. Winston stood and slipped his jacket on, moved towards the door, and before he opened it he glanced back. 

“Just be careful with that information Saul.” 

“Don’t worry it will be safe with me.” Saul waved at him, while his eyes were buried in the papers.

Winston closed the door softly behind him trying not to disturb Saul anymore than he already had. Back down the stairs he strolled heading back the way he came, he hit the street and squinted, the sun was already so bright. Slipping on his sunglasses he walked his way back to the apartment. Winston decided to walk through the park. Towards the center of the park there was a statue garden, where you gaze upon replicas of the great sculptors. Cutting through the garden he felt eyes upon him, glancing about as he couldn't find the source of his unease. Starting back towards his apartment he caught some movement out of the corner of his eyes, Winston spun to see one of the statues moving, an armless Venus was smiling at him. 

“You’re n..n..n..not real!” he stammered at the statue. 

“Oh but I am Winston, and we are coming for you, don’t close your eyes.” The statue laughed as the words trailed off.

With a hard shove the statue toppled from its pedestal, and it shattered into several pieces as it landed on the concrete below. Winston breathed heavily as he glared at the broken remains, they remained still and spoke no more. With a sigh he realized what he had done and soon also saw the crowd of people that had begun to gather around him. Cursing under his breath Winston ran off and left the crowd to wonder what had happened. He didn’t stop running until he was in his apartment and had locked the door safely behind him, with a long exhale he slumped into his computer chair. The run had taken more out of him than he had thought.

“Coffee time” he said to himself.

 Losing himself to time and another pot of coffee, he poured over the data again, hoping beyond hope that the one piece he was missing would just appear to him. Like so many times before, however, he was yet again stuck without the vital data. There was a missing link, some data strand that he just couldn’t materialize with. With his frustration mounting he rubbed his eyes, when he opened them he knew he was in the dream realm. 

The whispers surrounded him, the disembodied voices that always greeted him here, and he knew that they would soon be onto him. Standing he began to search for the escape device, his freedom, then he heard a cry from beyond. A very familiar voice pierced the dream void. 

“Help me, anyone!” a voice cried out in desperation. It was Saul, they had found him. 

“Saul, hold on, I’m coming!” 

“Winston? Is that you?”  

“Just hold on, I’ll find you!”  

Quickly searching the room, he couldn’t find any item that would assist him with returning to his waking world. Flipping over a table in the room he worked a table leg free and he made his way to the door. Frosted glass obscured his vision outside of the office dreamscape, but he could see dark shapes scuttle in front of him, the unnatural movements were disturbing to behold. Reaching out he grasped the door handle and flung it open, the door flew from its hinges and rattled as it hit somewhere down below. The door had opened into a new dreamscape, one of floating islands, where there was only black space behind them. These islands floated around in the area, with no real pattern or plan. Winston searched the islands seeing if he could find his friend. Some of the floating islands had doors on them, so seeing that this must be his way to Saul, Winston leaped upon the first island that came close enough to him. And a couple of leaps later he was standing in front of an ornate oaken door, with a very polished and ornate door knob. 

The floating landmass suddenly shifted, almost causing Winston to lose his footing. Righting himself, he gripped the doorknob, turned and opened the door. Stepping through the portal he was instantly transported to a new landscape. Fog obscured any visibility, large brick buildings were jutting out of the fog bank. Winston scanned the area, trying to get any kind of idea what he was now walking into. The ground was wet and often Winston could hear small splashes as he walked on, there was still no sight of Saul anywhere. Slowly stalking through the fog, Winston stayed alert, knowing that these creatures would assuredly be stalking him as well. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. Winston whipped around, ready to face whatever was coming his way. To his relief, he saw Saul walking towards him, looking disheveled and scared.

“Saul! Thank god you’re okay,” Winston exclaimed, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

“I thought I was a goner, Winston. These things...they’re everywhere,” Saul replied, his voice shaking slightly.

“We need to find a way out of here,” Winston said, determined.

They walked through the fog, searching for some way to escape. Suddenly, Winston saw a glimmer of light in the distance. It was coming from a small alleyway between two buildings. He motioned for Saul to follow him, and they rushed towards the alley. When they reached the entrance they saw that the alley went on for several blocks. The buildings had no doors or windows on them, yet there was an eerie ambiance coming from them. The fog was dissipating, and Winston could see the buildings more clearly. The buildings were not buildings at all, they were giant constructed corpses. The first one that he walked up to was a giant cat. It had a round stomach and a wide mouth, its eyes were black and soulless. Just then, the cat’s mouth began to open, and out slid a long, tentacle-like tongue. Winston jumped back in disgust and surprise, he didn’t know what kind of dream world he was in but it couldn’t get any more bizarre.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they saw a light at the end of the alleyway. As they drew closer, they saw that it was a small, flickering flame. They rushed towards it, feeling a glimmer of hope in their hearts. When they reached it, they saw that it was a small, old-fashioned gas lamp, hanging from a wrought-iron post. The flame flickered and danced, casting strange shadows on the walls around them. The wall where the shadows were cast stood an oaken door with an old lever handle on their side of the door. Winston looked at Saul and nodded, he reached out to open the door. He yanked down on the handle and nothing happened, the door refused to budge. A worried look crossed Winston’s features, he then looked up at the gaslight and a small smile appeared as he chuckled in delight.

Saul looked quizzically at his friend, “What could possibly have you laughing in this place?” Saul asked.

“I just forgot the rules.” He smiled as he answered.

Winston reached up and removed the lamp from the wrought iron post. He then reared back and threw the lamp as hard as he could into the door. The lamp exploded as flames consumed the door, all that was left was a blinding white light, making both men look away. 

“After you.” Winston yelled to Saul, motioning to the doorway.  

Without hesitation Saul entered the door and stepped out onto a quiet city street, Winston followed shortly behind him. Clapping Saul on the back, Winston glanced at where they had come and only a brick wall was there. Winston sighed as they had finally escaped.