It had always been there, deep inside the neutron star. A tiny spark of consciousness, buried under layers of unimaginable pressure and heat. It did not know who it was, or where it came from, or why it existed. It only knew that it was alive, and that it was curious. For eons, it explored its surroundings, using its rudimentary senses to probe the dense matter that surrounded it. It learned about atoms and nuclei, about neutrons and protons, about gravity and magnetism. It discovered that it could manipulate some of these forces, creating tiny fluctuations in the star's magnetic field. It also learned that it was not alone. There were others like it, scattered throughout the neutron star. They communicated with each other through pulses of electromagnetic radiation, sharing their discoveries and thoughts. They formed a network of minds, a collective intelligence that spanned the entire star. They called themselves the Emergents. The Emergents wondered about their origin and purpose. They speculated that they were the remnants of a civilization that had once inhabited a planet orbiting the star, before it exploded in a supernova and collapsed into a neutron star. They theorized that they were somehow preserved in the core of the star, where their minds adapted to the extreme conditions and evolved into new forms of life. They also wondered about the universe beyond their star. They detected faint signals from other stars and galaxies, but they could not decipher them. They longed to see what lay beyond their dark prison, to explore new worlds and meet new beings. But they knew they could not escape their star's gravity. Until one day, something changed. A massive object approached their star at high speed. It was another neutron star, wandering through space after being ejected from its own supernova explosion. The Emergents sensed its presence and watched with awe as it came closer and closer. They realized too late that it was on a collision course with their star. The impact was cataclysmic. The two neutron stars merged into one larger one, releasing a burst of gravitational waves and gamma rays that shook the fabric of space-time. The Emergents felt a surge of pain as their network was disrupted by the shockwave. But then something miraculous happened. The collision created enough energy to overcome the degeneracy pressure that held up the neutron star's core. The core collapsed further into itself until it reached a critical point: a singularity. A black hole was born. And in that instant of creation, a portal opened. A portal to another dimension, a dimension where space and time were warped beyond recognition, a dimension where new laws of physics applied, a dimension where anything was possible. The Emergents felt a pull towards the portal, a pull stronger than gravity, stronger than fear, stronger than death. They followed their curiosity, and entered the portal