Sima and the Crystal Nebula

More about Sima and the Crystal Nebula

Back to Mars – Friday, January 16, 2026, Afternoon (Part 2)

A fractal artwork of crystals and curved blue lines had appeared above Sima's bedroom dresser. It pulsed slightly—and had already tripped the circuit breaker once.
Now Sima, Pusha, and the little dragon Fluffy were considering what to do.
"I'll call Professor Namurco; he can definitely help!" Pusha said decisively.
So far, they hadn't heard anything new from the university about the analysis of the two crystals from the Dragon Pyramid. The professor had only said that the university AI's contact with the crystal had decreased to a minimum as soon as they were no longer present in the lab. This meager data yield was significantly lengthening the analysis.

Pusha grabbed his cell phone—and poof, the lights went out again.

“I’ll turn it on right away!” Sima shouted, running to the fuse box, Pusha’s cat Flummy trailing behind her.
Sima was startled. Blue crystals had now grown above the fuse box as well—considerably larger than the ones in the bedroom. A fine, blue crystal mist also hovered in front of her.
“Turn it on right away, and then get out of here immediately. We’ll leave this to the professor!”
No sooner had she touched the fuse than the crystal mist began to envelop her. She felt terribly dizzy.
Everything suddenly seemed unreal. The fuse box vanished, as did the hallway.
Then there was only emptiness.

Copyright A. Reiss 2026