In the depths of a climate-ravaged Earth in 2157, where technocratic enclaves cling to survival through ruthless precision, FERMILAB-X probes the fraying edges of reality. This colossal underground collider, humanity's boldest attempt to unravel spacetime anomalies since the enigmatic "Moonfall Incident," smashes particles to glimpse the universe's hidden truths—but what if those truths gaze back? Dr. Lian Ren, a temporal physicist haunted by displaced memories, deciphers impossible signals: retrocausal particles carrying visions of the facility's ruin and shadowy silhouettes that defy existence. As rifts widen into temporal echoes—ghost staff from unlived timelines, backward-aging colleagues, and a facility dreaming its own unmaking—the line between observer and observed dissolves. Are these intrusions invaders, or cosmic editors enforcing a universal balance against humanity's reckless curiosity? "Echoes in the Fermilab Rift" is a mind-bending science fiction novella fusing quantum thriller, existential dread, and speculative physics. Delve into the perils of forbidden knowledge, the fragility of causality, and the haunting notion that reality itself might require pruning. Ideal for enthusiasts of Greg Egan, Hannu Rajaniemi, and Neal Stephenson, this tale challenges: When we crack open the cosmos, what emerges to simplify us?