Chapter One
 - The Orb -

JACK
He was never the social butterfly, preferring the solace of solitude to the clamor of company. At his university, Jack was known as the quiet biology major, the one always found buried in textbooks and scribbling notes in a notebook filled with detailed sketches of cells and DNA strands. His life had a predictable rhythm: classes, study, sleep, repeat. But Jack carried a deep sadness, a heavy cloud of depression that dulled the vibrant colors of his world.

His relationship with his mother and sister was a lifeline. They were his biggest cheerleaders, their letters and care packages a beacon of love and support in his sometimes too quiet existence. Yet, they were miles away, their warm smiles reduced to mere pixels on a screen.

His peers were another story. Conversations were awkward, punctuated with uncomfortable silences and forced pleasantries. He shared a dorm room with three other guys, but their interests were so different that they might as well have been speaking different languages. It wasn't that he didn't like them; it was just that he couldn't connect.

And then there was Jasmine. Beautiful, vibrant Jasmine. She was a fellow biology student, her passion for the subject as evident as her glowing smile. Jack admired her from a distance, every conversation they had, however brief, replayed and dissected in his mind. He wished he could talk to her more, wished he could be someone she noticed.

On a gloomy Saturday, Jack decided to escape the suffocating walls of his dorm room and go for a walk in the nearby wooded hills. He'd always found comfort in nature, in the harmony of life and the silent wisdom of trees.

As he walked, his mind wandered to Jasmine. He thought about her smile, her infectious enthusiasm for biology. He wished he could talk to her, really talk to her, without his words fumbling and his mind going blank.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the strange object laying in the grass. It was an orb, about the size of a basketball, eerily still, adorned with strange swirling patterns that seemed to be shifting and changing before his eyes. Jack reached out to touch it, half expecting it to dissolve into thin air, but it was solid, its surface cool and smooth to the touch. Jack held it in his hands, studying it, fascinated by its strange beauty.

As Jack nestled into a pocket of shade beneath the wide canopy of an old oak, he balanced the strange orb on his knees, his eyes drinking in every inch of its enigmatic surface. The pulsating patterns intrigued him, evoking a deep sense of fascination that outshone his initial apprehension.

"Well, aren't you a curious thing?" Jack muttered to himself, his gloved hands trailing over the orb's smooth, unyielding surface. He had picked up the habit of talking aloud when he was alone; it felt more like a dialogue with his thoughts, less like solitary contemplation.

The orb was unlike anything he'd ever encountered. Its surface was cool, with a polished gleam that suggested it was man-made, yet its patterns danced and pulsed in ways that seemed to violate the laws of physics.

"It could be a new kind of drone, perhaps," Jack hypothesized, his eyes still glued to the mesmerizing display on the orb's surface. "But, who would leave it here? And why?"

The thought of it being a piece of discarded technology troubled him. It didn't feel right to leave it there, but taking it also meant potentially stealing someone's property.

Jack considered another possibility. "Could it be...extraterrestrial?" The notion was wild, far-fetched, yet it stirred a thrill within him. The prospect of humans not being alone in the universe, it was something out of a science fiction novel, but looking at this strange object, it didn't seem so implausible.

"I mean, we've sent out probes ourselves, right? Voyager, Pioneer... Why couldn't another civilization do the same?" Jack mused aloud, the orb reflecting the excitement in his eyes. The idea was intoxicating.

But with excitement came a wave of anxiety. If this was indeed an alien object, it posed a lot of unknowns. "What if it's dangerous? What if it's... alive?" Jack's voice wavered. There were too many variables, too many risks.

Yet, the allure of the unknown, the tantalizing possibility of making a discovery that could alter human understanding of the universe was too potent for Jack to resist. After all, wasn't this why he was studying biology? To unravel the mysteries of life, wherever it may be found?

"So, what if I just... kept it? For a while, I mean," Jack suggested to himself, already knowing his decision was made. He would take the orb back to his dorm room, study it, maybe figure out its origins.

If it turned out to be dangerous, he would handle it then. If it was stolen property, he'd find the owner. And if it was truly extraterrestrial... well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. His love for biology, for the enigmatic dance of life, compelled him. He made his choice.

* * *

Back in his dorm, he set the orb on his study desk, its surface gleaming under the harsh fluorescent light. Jack stared at it, a sense of anticipation settling within him. "What are you?" He asked the thing. 
Jack let out a deep yawn. "But first, let's get some rest. There's always tomorrow." 

* * *

The morning sun spilled through the dorm window, splashing  Jack's room in a soft golden glow. The hot spray of the shower felt soothing against Jack's skin, but his mind was in turmoil. He had never faced a mystery as captivating and unsettling as this orb. Surrounded by the steam and the comforting drone of running water, he found it easier to vocalize his thoughts.

"Alright, Jack, you've got this," he started, his voice echoing in the small, tiled enclosure. "You're a scientist, a student of biology. This...this is just an extension of that, right?"

He began to outline a plan to himself. "First, observations. Note down everything - the weight, the temperature, the patterns. Record any changes, no matter how minute." He paused to rinse off the soap from his hair, his thoughts running ahead of him. "Then, I need to compare it. Is there anything similar on Earth? Any records of anything like this?"

His hands stilled against the tiled wall as he contemplated his biggest worry. "Keeping it a secret... I can't let anyone know about it yet. Not until I understand what it is. Not even mom or sis." The thought of lying to his family twisted his gut, but he knew it was necessary.

"But what if..." his voice trailed off as the 'what ifs' began to crowd his thoughts. He pushed them aside, focusing instead on the immediate. "Just stick to the plan, Jack. Observe, study, understand."

As he emerged from the shower, the steam curled around him. Standing in front of the mirror, he toweled off his hair. Then, as he stepped into his room, he stopped in his tracks, his heart hammering in his chest.

The orb was no longer lying inert on his study table. It was now floating in the middle of the room, with a big red eye staring right at him. It was as if it had woken up from a deep slumber, and Jack was its sole focus.

Jack's eyes widened in shock, and he dropped his towel, his only protection form the elements. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He found his voice, shaky and unsure. 

"H-hello?" He questioned the orb, a strange mix of fear and curiosity in his voice.

The orb hummed in response, a foreign language, melodic and alien, spilling out from it. Jack could not understand a word, but the tone felt inviting, almost friendly.

But then, a grinding, mechanical sound echoed from the orb, like it was malfunctioning. It shivered in mid-air, its red eye pulsating wildly. The soft, inviting hum was replaced by harsh, distorted tones.

Jack's fear heightened. His gut screamed at him to run, to get away, but his feet were rooted to the spot. He was naked, vulnerable, and completely at the mercy of this unknown entity.

Before he could react, the orb's red eye flashed brightly, and a beam shot out of it, hitting him right in his crotch. The sudden shock of the impact forced a gasp out of him, and the world began to spin around him.

The last thing Jack remembered before losing consciousness was the sight of the orb, floating ominously in front of him, its big red eye watching him intently.

* * *

As consciousness crept back in, Jack was greeted with the hardened bed of the dorm room floor. He lay there for a moment, naked and disoriented, the haze of sleep slowly being swept away by the dull throbbing in his crotch. He pushed himself up, feeling the cold ground against his bare skin.

"Ow," he winced, his hand instinctively cradling the aching area. It was a deep, pulsating throb, somehow connected to the fragmented memory of the floating orb, its ominous red eye, and a strange beam that struck him directly in his privates.

He rubbed his forehead, the throbbing between his legs persisting, distracting, yet not entirely unpleasant. Jack blinked at the unexpected realization, his mind struggling to reconcile the discomfort. "What the...?" He found himself whispering, his voice barely a murmur in the quiet room.

His gaze fell on the table where he had left the orb. But now, in its place lay a small pile of dust, the last remnants of the enigmatic sphere that had consumed his thoughts and the better part of his morning.

"No way," Jack muttered to himself, rising to his feet. His legs felt like jelly under him. He approached the desk, staring at the dust in disbelief. "It... It was right here."

He dragged his hand through his hair, a mix of frustration and confusion etching lines on his forehead. The events of the morning felt like a hazy dream. "Was it... real?" He pondered aloud. "Or... or am I going crazy?"

As he contemplated, the constant throb in his crotch served as a reminder that something real had, in fact, transpired. The pleasant tingle that accompanied each throb was a strange consolation, a paradox of discomfort and pleasure that kept his mind from spiraling into panic.

"Okay, Jack," he spoke up, trying to ground himself. "Think. What's the last thing you remember? The orb, the... the eye, the beam..." His voice trailed off, the memory of the laser shooting out and hitting him square in his...  it cuased him to shudder.

Suddenly, the alarm clock on his bedside table caught his attention. The neon numbers spelled out the terrible truth - he was late. Very late.

"Oh, crap!" His thoughts about the orb, the ache, the dust, were all shoved aside by the pressing need to get to his class. "I can't afford to miss another one."

He hurriedly picked up the clothes strewn around his room, the ache in his crotch a persistent yet oddly pleasant companion as he scrambled to get ready. 

With a final glance at the dust on his table, he dashed out of the room, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. As he hurried towards his class, the mystery of the orb, the strange pleasant ache, and the series of unprecedented events hung like an enigma over his head, shaping the course of his day in ways he could not yet comprehend.

* * *

THE THING
What's this? Warmth. It was the first thing I sensed, a gentle caress against my form. A sensation, I am feeling something. That means I am, I exist.

What am I? I am soft. I am a cylinder. I am a soft cylinder. Oh, but I'm also two round things. I feel I must protect those. But... what? What am I for? Why do I exist?

What is that? A pulse, it flows though me. It gives me life. And there's something else, isn't there? A vast presence, something I am a part of, yet apart from. It moves, breathes, pulses with its own rhythm. It's so much bigger than me, so much more complex. I don't fully understand it, but I know it's there, around me, encompassing me.

I sense something else, unfamiliar, yet compelling. What are these new feelings? I identify them, one by one. The first is pleasure, that lovely, constant vibration. The second is more complicated. It's a drive, a need, something to do with... propagation? Yes, breeding, that's the word. I don't understand it fully, yet it's a part of me, as inherent as the pleasure. The third feeling is something else entirely. It's... a need for strength, control, power.

These feelings, they compel me to do something. To reach out? Yes, to reach out to the vast presence around me. So, I try. I extend a feeling of pleasure towards the presence, like throwing a pebble into a pond and watching the ripples spread.

Something responds. A spark, a surge of warmth, a feeling of... is it approval? Happiness? I'm not sure. It's beyond my understanding, but it feels positive. So, I reach out again, pushing the pleasure towards the presence, establishing a connection.

Each attempt is challenging, pushing against the boundaries of my limited understanding. But I won't give up. I am driven by these new feelings, these urges. I feel week, ignorant. But I am eager to learn, to understand, to grow.

I have awoken. I exist. I am beginning to comprehend. This is my beginning.