12 Oct Laser Lightshow of the Gods

Posted at 11:00h in Strange and Unexplained by CreepypastaStories.com 0 Comments

📅 Published on October 12, 2021

“Laser Lightshow of the Gods”

Written by Raz T. Slasher
Edited by Craig Groshek and N.M. Brown
Thumbnail Art by Craig Groshek
Narrated by N/A

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🎧 Available Audio Adaptations: None Available

⏰ ESTIMATED READING TIME — 8 minutes

Rating: 10.00/10. From 1 vote.

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When I was young, I spent a few years volunteering for a local natural science museum. I worked my way up from general volunteer to reptile handler and eventually to the chemistry department doing all sorts of amazing experiments in live shows geared towards children. When I wasn’t busy running around teaching various things to the kids and cleaning up after them, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my friend Louis in the Planetarium.

Louis was a weird guy. I know that weird is a general term these days, but I’m talking this guy spent most of his time trying to become Robert Smith from the Cure somehow, doing hallucinogens and creating the strangest things I have ever seen in the confines of a planetarium. While he was into astronomy more than anyone I’ve ever known, he took it to lengths that I can still not fathom to this day.

It was a pretty common thing to sneak into the Planetarium when it wasn’t running a show and head up the short flight of stairs to the little catwalk where Louis would undoubtedly be slaving away at the master computer. I’d always sneak up on him and scare the shit out of him because that’s just the kind of kid I was back then. He’d jump a few feet off his chair every time and glare at me for a moment before we’d both break out into raucous laughter. It always ended with me pulling up a chair and him showing me his newest creation.

Everything Louis did was fucking excellent, to be honest. He did more than just your essential shows on astronomy and the Pink Floyd laser light shows. He would create these strange combinations of both that would somehow incorporate parts of space I’d never even heard of before, along with, of course, music by The Cure. I never fully understood his obsession with the band, but I’m a flannel-wearing grunge guy for life, so to each their own.

Louis generally showed me everything he was doing, except for his “super top-secret project” that he’d been working on throughout the years I’d been working there (and for even a couple of years before I got the position in the first place). He would give me little hints and teasers now and then but wouldn’t budge on any actual content or information. His favorite thing to say about it was that “it would change the way people viewed space as we know it.” Once I watched him for a few moments before our usual scare routine, long enough to watch him shove some book by HP Lovecraft into a drawer and close out a program of star charts that I had never seen before.

It wasn’t until three weeks before I was due to leave my volunteer position to go off to college that Louis posted a flyer for a small party in the Planetarium to reveal his secret project once and for all. It’s all us staff could talk about for an entire week leading up to it. Of course, I never told anyone what few details I’d seen. I was a loyal friend, after all, and that would have been a shitty thing to do. There were a lot of wild rumors circulating, though.

Dr. Rainier from the Chemistry department thought it might have something to do with Wormwood. At the same time, our volunteer coordinator Becky was certain that it would just be some sort of weird music video for The Cure that Louis had created with lasers and star formations. While most people believed that Becky was likely correct, part of me leaned heavily toward Dr. Rainiers’ Wormwood theory.

While I didn’t think it would be that exactly, I knew it had to be something insane just based on those weird star charts, and the HP Lovecraft book Louis had hidden that day I walked in. I was an avid reader from a young age, and I’d read my fair share of old HPL over the years. The phrase “the stars are wrong” from “Call of Cthulhu” kept circulating through my brain for that entire week.

Finally, the day came for the big reveal party. It was also a going-away party for me, so the fact I’d finally get to see what my friend had spent years working on was extra remarkable to me. He ushered us in one by one, shaking our hands and greeting us individually. Over the speakers, we could hear some strange instrumental song that I couldn’t readily identify, definitely not Louis’ usual taste in music. As we took our seats, Louis stood front and center with a microphone in his hands. As soon as he had our attention, he began the show.

“Welcome, everyone. I want to start by pointing out the departure of one of the greatest volunteers this museum has ever seen! Jake, you’ve cleaned vomit, wrapped yourself in Burmese pythons, and even burned off Dr. Rainier’s eyebrows.”

At that, there was a loud round of laughter. I stood for a moment to take a small bow before Louis continued.

“In all seriousness, though, Jake, you’ve been with us for six years now. In that time, you’ve been a friend to many of us and a mentor to many more. You’ve gone above and beyond every opportunity given to you. You’ve even been the frontrunner in many of the outreach programs the museum has held over the years. We’ve watched you grow from a smart-ass 12-year-old kid to a smart-ass 18-year-old man, and it’s been a pleasure to see you grow. It’s to you I truly dedicate this show and hope it stays with you for years to come.”

Louis paused long enough to allow a round of applause and whoops. I mouthed a thank you in his direction, and he responded with a slight grin and a quick nod before moving right along.

“Before we begin, I feel like a brief explanation of what you’re about to see is in order. As most people know, The Big Bang Theory is the leading explanation of how the universe began. At its simplest, it says the universe as we know it started with a small singularity, then inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to the cosmos that we know today. Any astronomer can tell you that the number one question they asked is what happened before the Big Bang? Was everything truly born of that singularity, or was there something else behind it all together?”

There were a few eye rolls and even some low talking amongst staff members. I ignored it for the most part and just focused on Louis.

“Previously, all we’ve been able to learn about the history of our world has been discovered from mathematical formulas and theoretical models. Humanity has never possessed the technology to make any true determinations on the formation. So, what is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?”

“42,” someone whose voice I didn’t readily recognize shouted out from somewhere behind me. Everyone got a good chuckle out of that, even Louis. It didn’t break his stride, though.

“Through the use of advanced mathematics, existing theoretical models, ancient star charts, and the Dimensional Leyline Theory, I believe I have finally discovered the true origins of our world.”

Sensing the displeasure of some of the scientists and scholars on our staff, he rushed forward quickly.

“I only ask that you keep an open mind as you see what I’m about to show you, and please save all your questions for now. If by the end of what you’re about to see you still don’t believe, then I will be happy to discuss all my discoveries with you at great length. Until then, please enjoy the show!”

I heard his heavy steps up that little staircase to the catwalk above us. A low fog began to roll through the room. That was somewhat surprising and exciting since we didn’t have a fog machine installed in the Planetarium, to my knowledge.

The show began with a series of lasers set to move with the beat to, as expected, various Cure songs all stitched together. Multiple words in some language I couldn’t place began to appear on the screen; that’s when things started getting a little strange. Everyone had fallen deathly silent as the show continued. Star charts began circulating and spinning with the music. Areas of space I’d never seen before began dominating the screen and pulsing with the music. I was starting to feel nauseous. I took my eyes off the screen to look around at the others. In all honesty, that might have been what saved my life.

I looked next to me at Dr. Rainier just in time to see blood leaking from the corners of his eyes, ears, and mouth. A glance around revealed that the same was happening with everyone else. I wiped a little blood from my own eyes, but clearly, I hadn’t seen enough for it to affect me as profoundly as the others.

The fog was thickening, and there were some strange smells and tastes in the air I suddenly recognized. Louis had always kept a jar of liquid LSD in his tiny office upstairs. He’d use an eyedropper to put in in his eye on occasion and even made his own blotter and candy for dipping in it. He had to have mixed it with the fog juice to send it airborne. I had done acid, even with him, enough times in my life to know there was a little time before it kicked in usually. Why was I already starting to feel it, though? My vision was slightly altered, and I could feel that deep body buzz creeping in. I wasn’t sure what he’d done, but I needed to get out of there immediately!

I stood up, hopped over a seat into an empty row in front of me, and hauled ass to the front door of the Planetarium that led into the museum. Just as I made it to the door, I could hear everyone, including Louis, in his spot atop the stairs, chanting something I couldn’t understand simultaneously. I pulled as hard as I could on the door only to find out that it had someone been locked from the outside. It dawned on me that there was a back exit from the Planetarium from Louis’s office. He likely slipped out to lock these doors as the show was getting started.

I switched gears and ran for that short flight of stairs up into the catwalk. Just as I made it to the first step, I saw Becky start peeling her face off as she chanted, never looking away from the screen. My stomach lurched at the sight before me as I spilled the steaming contents of my stomach on the floor. I half slipped in it as I made my way onto the first step, dragging myself up by a flimsy railing to keep my footing. I rushed to the top, narrowly avoiding a collision with Louis, who stood at the very top of the stairs staring down at the screen.

Louis didn’t so much as look at me, standing there with pieces of his face torn off and blood pooling around him. His eyes were enormous and seemed like they were trying to vibrate themselves right out of his skull. I shoved my way past and made it to the door at the back of his office, thanking any deity that wanted to take responsibility for the door being unlocked. I sped out and into a small supply room before exiting that room and running down a flight of stairs to the museum lobby.

I made it to the phone at the front desk and called 9-1-1. By the time help arrived, the chanting and screaming from the inside of the Planetarium had gone silent, and I was fully tripping my balls off, hidden behind the front desk of the lobby. I lost consciousness somewhere on the way to the hospital.

When I woke up several days later, I was told that no one else had survived. As I suspected, an enormous dose of LSD permeated the air. Those that hadn’t died from an overdose had died from the shock and blood loss of self-inflicted wounds. They claimed it was the sole reason for the incident that occurred, but they hadn’t seen what I’d seen.

Something about the stars in our night sky has seemed wrong to me ever since. I’d witnessed some strange and alluring truth that my brain had no way of accepting. Those words I didn’t know were still burned into my brain, and I know that I will never truly rest until I have discovered what part of space those star chats were from.