Behind The Reflection: Study Attempt 1

This is 1 of 12. More coming Thursday at 10:00am.

My name is Dr. Octavia Norell.

I was commissioned by the United States government to investigate a newly emerging anomaly—one that has already raised quiet alarms across scientific and academic communities.

For decades, we believed we understood mirrors. They reflect light, nothing more. A simple surface of glass and silver bounces back the world that stands before them. But lately, that assumption has begun to falter.

Oddly, many disappearances have been linked to mirrors—specifically, to the idea of what lies behind the reflection, not behind the glass. It's not mounted on the wood or wall. But something else.

Something that doesn’t reflect.

And that’s where I come in.

I’ve been hired to study this anomaly, to determine whether it's possible to look past the reflection, to see beyond what light allows.

After the lab was secured, the team arrived.

Scientists from across the country(some from the nation’s top universities, others from top-secret government divisions, the majority of them were just acronyms. But one organization that stood out to me was “the Exploration and Colonization Unit” or “ECU”)we were brought together for this unprecedented investigation.

In our laboratory Before us stood hundreds of mirrors. Every shape and size. Tall, wide, round, antique, and modern.

The government advisor assigned to monitor our progress(an emotionless man in a pressed gray suit)insisted we use many mirrors. "In case one breaks," he would say flatly.

So, we got to work.

I was assigned to collaborate with three other lead researchers, each pulled from a different Ivy League institution. Dr. Andrew Hubert is a quiet but brilliant physicist, Dr. Abigail Wingswirth, is a sharp-witted chemist, And Dr. Henry Brooks is a renowned expert in astrophysics and anomalous spatial behavior.

We spent the first-day exchanging theories. None of us could agree, but we were all equally eager to start.

Once the formalities ended, we began testing.

Hour after hour, we stared into the glass. We angled high-resolution cameras at each surface, documenting every flicker, every reflection, and every anomaly that might occur when we blinked or looked away.

There was nothing yet. No sign that we were any closer to understanding what existed beyond. All data returned inconclusive.

One night, I stayed behind in the lab.

I was alone, slouched in a chair with an apple in hand, staring blankly into one of the central mirrors. The others—Hubert, Wingswirth, and Brooks—were out on their thirty-minute lunch break. I hadn’t felt like eating. I was too frustrated.

I had tried everything.

And yet, Nothing.

I’d even accidentally broken three mirrors. Still, nothing.

So I sat there Thinking.

And then I saw it.

A Face In The Mirror.

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