We executed the operation as planned. Daart took his place in the rec room. He figured he should play the low-budget television program he had watched on his previous encounters. I am unsure whether he felt this would draw the creature, or if he simply wanted to take his mind off what was coming. Regardless, I suspect he still thought there was a chance this creature was a ghost. We finally proved otherwise, but ultimately and abysmally failed in our mission.

At precisely the expected time, the shadow arrived. It was awe-inspiring.

The problem was, it wasn’t anywhere near its expected arrival zone. In order to trap it, we needed to move it! And while we did succeed in shifting it, we had little control over where it went. Back and forth it moved, at one point going in the complete opposite direction of the trap. Since we didn’t know what this creature was capable of, I wondered if it could sense our trap.

It did finally pass over the threshold, teetering right on the border. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough. It needed to be fully in the marked area or we could rip it right in half, whatever it was. Daart flinched.

The movement was enough to put the creature on alert. Daart was startled and ran to the other side of the room. The creature began to escape at, if you’ll forgive the phrase, light speed.

Luckily for the mission, my natural chameleon abilities allow me to monitor two things at once. I was able to glance at the one microsecond he was within the boundaries and simultaneously throw the switch to activate the high-testlage electromagnetic containment field and its counter field.

The creature was slowed, but not stopped. A magnetic field should completely contain a micro black hole, so we must be dealing with something else.

My only other option was to increase the Teslage, but that risked destroying it. I knew destruction might mean we would never find out what it was, but I made an executive decision. Either lose it and risk never finding it again, or take a chance to fully entrap it.

I increased the Teslage.

The creature struggled violently. I increased the Teslage even more. Finally, it was fully suspended—locked in place in its last position. It had worked. The creature was contained.

Trapping the creature gave us several days to study it. The Radio-Plasma Spectrometer equipment we used to monitor the so-called “Shadowman” detected rather quickly that the lifeform was emitting high electromagnetic radio waves.

I was able to deduce that it was using advanced mathematics to communicate. While I could probably have run the calculations myself, Dr. Mera insisted that I enlist the help of Lynx from Gamma Team.

I admit that I may not have been as up to answering complex equations as she was. Nor would I have been able to create a complete translation app in twelve hours like she did. And sure, I may not have been able to do all that and put a simple, intuitive user-interface with redundant error-checking into the translation app like she did. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have wasted time programming emojis in either!

The following is a transcript of first contact made with the creature, code named “The Shadowman.” Present were myself, SNI base Commander Stone, Lieutenant El Ray, NROTC Cadet Daart, Research assistant Bellomy, and USN personnel [redacted image], [redacted image], and [redacted image] guarding the creature. Note, we initially tried using the voice command feature of the translation app.

Stone: Who, or what, are you?

Shadowman Console Response: REPEAT QUERY.

Sham: We need to speak more precisely. With all due respect, it’d be better if I typed the questions directly to it.

Stone: Do it.

Shadowman Console Response: MY BODY COMPOSITION IS LIKE ALL OTHER SHADOWPEOPLE. WE CONSISTS OF BILLIONS OF MICRO BLACK HOLES ENCODED IN A PATTERN UNIQUE TO THE INDIVIDUAL.

El Ray: How is that even possible?

Sham: I’m asking.

Shadowman Console Response: MY SPECIES DOES NOT KNOW. DO YOU KNOW HOW IT IS THAT YOUR SPECIES CONSISTS OF FOUR DIFFERENT NUCLEOBASES ENCODED IN A PATTERN TO MAKE DNA LIFE FORMS? PERHAPS WE ARE SIMILAR?

Sham: Incredible. It appears the formula for life isn’t confined simply to chemical reactions of DNA, as in earth life, but can take other forms such as the energy from a micro-black hole. Mankind would have never known since we would never have been able to make billions of micro-black holes artificially. Even if we could, we’d never have the time the universe has had to try all the combinations to make this lifeform happen naturally.

Stone: It’s still an intruder. Find out what it’s doing here.

Shadowman Console Response: I EXAMINE LIFE FORMS ACROSS THIS AND OTHER UNIVERSES. I FOUND THE DNA OF THE FROG-HUMAN PUZZLING.

Stone: Why did it attack Brewer?

El Ray: What does it mean by other universes?

Daart: And what’s wrong with my DNA?!

Sham: One at a time, please!

Shadowman Console Response: THE ATTACK ON THE HUMAN CALLED BREWER WAS UNINTENTIONAL. I DID NOT SEE THAT HIS MATTER WAS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO ME. HAD I SEEN HIM, I COULD HAVE ADJUSTED.

Shadowman Console Response: REGARDING OTHER UNIVERSES: YOUR COMPOSITION LIMITS YOUR PERCEPTION AND DURABILITY. MY COMPOSITION ALLOWS FOR EXISTENCE AND MOVEMENT BEYOND SOME OF THE PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS THAT LIMIT YOU. MY SPECIES CAN NATURALLY MOVE BETWEEN MANY UNIVERSES. MY PEOPLE THEORIZE THERE ARE INFINITE UNIVERSES, THOUGH SOME ARE INACCESSIBLE TO US BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE =␛␔$u␂6␕␝/%”W’,{e3␟wp\;lrG^ FOR SHADOWPERSON SPECIES.

El Ray: What’s that garbled part?

Sham: The application doesn’t have an English equivalent to what the Shadowman is saying. The word is something like “pattern” or “law.”

Sham: I’m confirming, but I think what it’s saying is that all universes have different laws like “the laws of physics” or the “laws of thermodynamics.” His theory is that there are an infinite number of universes, all with infinite variations of what the life forms inside those universes would call “the laws,” but they could be entirely different from our universe’s laws. He can only exist in the ones where encoded micro black holes form intelligent life.

Shadowman Console Response: YOU ARE CORRECT.

Daart: So I guess this means Vlad Ghoulkov might not be a spiritual transmitter for spirits?

Sham: Of course not!

El Ray: It is curious that the Shadowman came at the same time every week, though. Let’s find out why.

Shadowman Console Response: A PROXIMITY WINDOW FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN MY HOMELAND AND YOUR UNIVERSE AND PLANET OCCURS EVERY 168 HOURS. I USE THE OPTIMAL TRAVEL TIME FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

Stone: It mentioned Shadowpeople as a species. Confirm if this means there are others like him, and whether or not they pose a threat.

Shadowman Console Response: THERE ARE OTHER SHADOWPEOPLE ASIDE FROM ME. LIKE YOUR HUMAN LIFEFORMS, SOME DO HARM, SOME ARE HELPFUL, AND MOST ARE FLAWED8␙J␎␕␜S␍Sb␊SFN.=5!J␞MEg<7zQy3=D
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PAIN
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PAIN

At this point, we heard Research Assistant Bellomy call out, and the Shadowman’s communication was interrupted by an attack by PO3 Brewer.

Distracted as we were by the conversation with the Shadowman, none of us had seen him sneak into the room. He pushed Bellamy aside to access the containment field controls. Brewer increased the power on the high-testlage electromagnetic containment field but failed to apply an equal amount to the neutralizing containment field. As the magnetic field in the room increased, the Shadowman’s personal gravity reacted. The walls were pulled apart and everyone in the room was dragged into the gravity well.

The three SNI personnel soldiers present attempted to intercept PO3 Brewer but were pulled into the field. One was lost in its singularity. The horrific fate the other two met, I wouldn’t discover until later. Commander Stone, El Ray, Daart, Brewer, and myself clung to objects around the room.

Stone and Brewer lost their grip. They were sucked into altered gravity waves. Slow at first, then faster and faster. They were only moments away from being obliterated by the conflicting fields

I saw Daart making his way to the control center, but my reaction time was not fast enough. I let out a loud “No!” in the same moment that Daart cut the power.

Suddenly, it was all over. The walls lost their warping and we all fell to the ground.

The silhouette creature regained its composure and bolted into another dimension at high velocity. There was no trace of him.

“If it’s alright with you, Sham,” Cdr. Stone said as he slowly stammered to his feet, “I’d rather not be compressed into oblivion.”

“My apologies, Commander. I knew we’d lose the Shadowman without the containment field. It’s a terrible loss to science.”

“It’s a terrible loss as it is.” Stone said. That was when I saw what he meant.

The bodies of the two guards were fused into the floors and walls of the base. The conflicting gravity and magnetic fields were so immense that they shifted molecules of the concrete and cinder blocks around, intertwining them with the molecules of the guard’s chests and heads. They did not survive.

“El Ray, take Brewer into custody,” Cdr. Stone ordered. “Brewer, I’ll see you buried for this. Your actions not only went against orders, but resulted in the death of three of your comrades!”

El Ray and Daart escorted Brewer away. He will, no doubt, be dishonorably discharged and brought before a court marshall. I could swear that as he was being taken away I saw a look of satisfaction on Brewer’s face. Perhaps inflicting pain on the creature was worth the price for the punishment he faces.