The Reality Assertion

by Paul Anlee

  Darak congratulated the newest of the Cybrid personas on his insights. “An excellent assessment, Timothy, but it’s even worse than that.

  “Engaging the help of the other six Gods against Alum is unpredictable. Together, they might win and enslave the Realm to any one of their own, or they might attempt to rule together.

  “On the other hand, should Alum successfully repel an attack, He’d only be proven right to be paranoid about the rest of the universe. And if He were to win that kind of war, He’d likely feel justified rushing completion of the Deplosion Array and launch an immediate partial-deployment of its fields.”

  “Partial deployment of the array?” Mary echoed. “Could He do that?”

  “It’s difficult to model the theory,” Darak admitted, “and harder still to say what the result might be. Hollowing out a new universe from some part of ours could be incredibly disruptive to whatever survives it, that is, to both the old and the new. The result could be worse than just letting Alum carry out His Divine Plan.”

  “But you don’t really know, do you?” Darya objected.

  “No, I don’t really know for sure. Like I said, it’s complicated. Maybe the computational power of your quark-spin lattice would help. I don’t know that either.”

  “So then, what are you doing with the other Gods? Is there a plan?”

  “Yes, I have a plan. “In truth, it’s more preparatory than definitive at this stage,” Darak admitted.

  “Well, that doesn’t sound very encouraging,” Darya replied.

  “No, but it may be all we have.”

  “Darak, is this your Judgment Plan?” Crissea asked.

  Before he could answer, Darya asked, “Judgment Plan? What’s that?”

  “Alum’s decision to reformat the entire universe was something He arrived at without consultation,” Darak answered. “His knowledge and experience is vast, but the people of the Realm have a right to participate in such an important, all-encompassing choice.”

  “We already voted to stop Him,” Darya said.

  Darak shifted the earth-and-air bubble containing himself, Stralasi, and both of Crissea’s forms closer to where the Cybrids examined the Archangel.

  “Right. Your small group of rebels decided long ago, on behalf of all your people, to stop Alum. That’s hardly more democratic than Alum acting completely alone,” he challenged.

  “The few of us here are better equipped to make such a decision than the trillions of ignorant humans and Cybrids throughout the Realm,” Darya pointed out. “They aren’t equipped to understand the workings of the Deplosion Array, or the ramifications of altering the laws of nature.”

  “I agree,” Darak said, “you are indeed better equipped. But don’t you see? Deciding for them is something Alum would do. The answer isn’t to take away people’s ability to listen, analyze, and choose. We have an obligation to work with them and to enhance their ability to understand so they can choose well for themselves.”

  “Sure, we could do that,” Darya replied, “if we had a few million years to overcome the society Alum created. But we don’t.

  “Humans know nothing of science or technology. All they know how to do is pray to their Living God. They pray for everything. For their food to be delivered. For a nice day. For a simple fix to machine components that they can’t be bothered to learn how to repair themselves. To win a sporting event, for crying out loud. The Cybrids are little better. They do their jobs and escape to their inworld entertainments.

  “Society is peaceful and orderly, and it will continue to be so, right up until the universe comes to an end. Then, it’ll be Peace and Order for eternity, enforced by Alum’s new laws of nature that will permit no Chaos, nothing but order and predictability for ever more.

  “I’m sorry, but that sounds like pure Hell to me,” she concluded.

  “We won’t need a million years,” Darak said. “Nor will we need to destroy this society in order to educate it and give it the appropriate analytical tools.”

  “Okay, what do you have in mind?” she asked.

  Brother Stralasi held up a tentative hand. “I think I understand. May I explain?” he said.

  Darak took a symbolic step back to cede the floor and waved the Good Brother forward.

  “I have benefitted recently from Darak’s plan,” Stralasi began. “In our travels within the Realm, Darak seeded Integration Labs in hundreds of systems with a lattice virus. It’s been spreading through the local human and Cybrid populations.

  “My understanding is that this virus launches a developmental program for a new, intelligence-enhancing lattice in both the human brain and the Cybrid CPPUs and once it’s in place, it installs an extensive knowledge base.

  “The knowledge base is eye-opening, to say the least. I am not—was not—an ignorant man by Realm standards. But now I see that compared to what I’ve learned in the past months, and compared to how I’m now able to reason, I was a fool.

  “I won’t say I have risen to your level, not at all, but now I better understand how the universe works. I understand much more of your science than I ever knew existed. Even the Deplosion Array and the original Reality Assertion Field make some sense to me at the level of basic principles although, admittedly, the finer details are still beyond my gleaning.

  “I also finally see the socioeconomic and political forces at work in the Realm. I see how the system works. I see its flaws as well as its benefits. I see how well it serves in bringing stability to this part of the universe, and I can imagine how parts of that system could be improved.

  “Darak thinks that equipping billions with similar knowledge and intellect would enable them to collectively decide on the future of the Realm and of the universe. And I’d have to agree with that.”

  Darya emitted a whistle in mock glee. “Okay, so that’s it, then. I guess that all we need to do is get an audience with Alum. I’m sure once He’s confronted by the collective wisdom of billions of IQ-enhanced citizens of the Realm, He’ll suddenly and miraculously see the error of His choices.”

  Darak frowned at her sarcasm. “He can’t just ignore what His people want.”

  “Why not?” Darya challenged. “Alum has been the Living God for so long, how do we know He doesn’t consider His judgment to be beyond reproach? What if He refuses to listen? What if He listens and chooses to ignore us?”

  Darak frowned. “I did say the plan was only preparatory. Clearly, if Alum remains determined to proceed with His plan against the wishes of His People, we have to be ready to help.”

  “If He persists, we may need to eliminate Him,” Darya replied.

  “Is it possible to kill God?” Timothy asked.

  “Gods can be killed,” Darak confirmed, “but in the case of Alum, the difficulties are exponential.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Darak’s voice was barely audible, even on the transmitted channels. “I tried to kill Him once. In fact, I did kill Him. It feels like an eternity ago.”

  Stralasi looked confused. “I don’t understand. If you killed Him, why is He still the Living God?”

  “He refused to stay dead,” Darak answered glumly. “I destroyed a body, not knowing that Alum’s consciousness was already distributed among a hundred asteroid processors. That body was replaced, and it has been replaced countless more times since then. Alum spans entire galaxies now. How does one kill such a being?”

  His question was met with silence. If Darak with his God-like capabilities couldn’t imagine how Alum could be killed, what ideas could he expect from them?

  “For the sake of argument, how is putting the question to Alum’s People, and no one else, any better than Alum acting alone?” Mary asked. “What about the Realms of the other Gods you mentioned? Don’t their people get a say in the fate of the universe, too?”

  “Their Gods have spoken for them,” Darak replied. “They are universal in their condemnation of Alum’s Divine Plan. They prefer the universe to stay as it is. I may not ag
ree with their specific reasons but I find myself agreeing with their overall conclusion.”

  “In that case, the answer is obvious,” Darya said. “If the other Gods are on our side and if the People of the Realm support our choice to stop the Deplosion—”

  “That’s still a big if,” Darak interjected.

  “Yes, I’ll give you that,” Darya replied, “Alum’s People could well vote in favor of His Divine Plan. But if your enhanced intelligence and knowledge base was convincing enough to change the mind of one of Alum’s own Alumita monks, I feel confident about which way the vote will go.

  “In any case, it makes sense to be prepared, to help everyone to prepare. I have no confidence that Alum will listen to any voice besides His own. We need to be ready to back up our demands with collective force.”

  Darak was pretty sure he knew where Darya’s line of thought was leading.

  “You want to talk to the other Gods, don’t you?” he said.

  “I think we have to,” she confirmed. “Can it be done?”

  “It’s against my better judgment but, yes, it’s possible.”

  “Then, we have to do it,” she said.

  17

  “At last, fortune has favored my preparations!”

  Depchaun’s announcement to the other five Gods cut through the introductory small talk.

  “Is that why you called us together one full minute early, to share your good fortune?” Lyv asked.

  “Yes,” Depchaun replied, “but I think you’ll find that my news will be good news for all of us in pushing Darak Legsu to action. We may be able to bypass him entirely.”

  The dark-gray humanoid avatars of the Six occupied their respective thrones. The green status lights blinking above each station imbued the polished stone floor and its inlaid galaxy with a sense of depth and movement.

  The light above Raytansoh’s throne drew inordinate interest from his five co-attendees as, for only the second time in thousands of years, it signaled his potential readiness to participate in the discussions. Noting this was only a potential and not an actual break with silence, no one commented on his change in status.

  “Bypass Darak? An intriguing thought, Depchaun. You have our attention,” Ishtgor said, forcing his focus away from Raytansoh’s blinking green status light and back to Depchaun and his announcement. “And are you planning to divulge this news anytime soon?”

  “—or are you more interested in gloating?” Glenchax finished.

  From the opposite side of the circle, Ki-tan-la sniggered.

  “Go ahead, mock me,” Depchaun laughed. “This day, all will be forgiven.”

  “It must be tremendously good news indeed, then,” Lyv prompted.

  “I found Alum’s Realm!” Depchaun gushed.

  The room went silent for several long milliseconds while everyone’s minds reeled with questions and implications.

  Glenchax plunged in.

  “When? Where is it? How did you accomplish this? How do you know it’s Alum’s Realm? Has He detected your discovery? How long have you—“

  “Let him tell his story!” Ishtgor bellowed.

  “Thank you,” Depchaun said. “I will be brief. Like you, the volume of space my people occupy grows as my ships explore the surrounding universe. Limited by the speed of light, as we all are, this process is frustratingly slow.”

  “For all except Darak, that is,” Raytansoh pointed out.

  All five other Gods craned their necks to stare at Raytansoh.

  “Acknowledged and shelved to a future discussion,” Depchaun replied curtly before anyone could respond. He was not about to allow Raytansoh, who’d been uncommunicative for so long, to steal his spotlight and undermine the impact of his big news.

  “In any case,” Depchaun continued, “some number of human-months ago, one of my exploration ships approached a unique triple-star system. As they drew to the limits of their telescopic resolution, they observed triple ringworlds orbiting the stars.

  “It was strange enough to find a triple star system at all, as orbitally unstable as it would have to be, but the discovery of the triple ringworlds around them implied the entire system was artificial. Technologies equivalent to our own would have to have been involved.

  “The ship was only a few light days out when all three stars suddenly and inexplicably went nova at once. Naturally, the ship was destroyed when the plasma shockwave passed over it.”

  “Naturally,” echoed Glenchax, a hint of derision creeping into his voice.

  Depchaun ignored him. “However, before it was destroyed, the team was able to analyze the plasma from the nova. It was littered with advanced synthetic compounds, metals, semiconductors, plastics, antimatter, and some exotic particles. The ship hit the plasma at some fifty-percent of light speed and was destroyed instantly but a quick-thinking engineer managed to drop a group of entangled particles nearby.

  “After the initial shockwave passed, I sent my macro-Partial Aspect to investigate.”

  “And you found something significant,” Lyv stated.

  “Yes, something remarkable. A nearly intact synthetic being. Presumably one modeled along human lines as it bore a resemblance to Darak and to the avatars that represent us here. Except the being had two badly damaged additional appendages sprouting from its back. I believe Darak would call them wings, if I recall correctly. This salvaged being matches Darak’s description of Alum’s Angels.”

  “Angels! In reach of your empire?” Ishtgor cried out. “If Darak’s stories of these hideous creatures of Alum’s devising are to be believed, that could be exceedingly dangerous.”

  “Quite,” Depchaun replied. “Fortunately for all of us, this one was inert, damaged beyond its operational parameters. Through no action of my own, I should clarify. But—and here’s the amazing stroke of luck—the being had a small repository of entangled particles. My Aspect followed where they led.”

  “To Alum’s Realm,” Raytansoh guessed.

  “Exactly. To some hundred different systems in several tens of galaxies. I visited each one briefly and mapped local landmarks. I can say with confidence that we now have a crude, preliminary map of Alum’s Realm.”

  Depchaun paused so the other five Gods could absorb and appreciate his achievement. He beamed proudly, and deservedly so, as the other five Gods conveyed a modicum of respect.

  “Alum’s territory is considerable,” he elaborated. “The triple-star system and its ringworlds were far beyond the edge of any other active systems. The system may have been built as a retreat in case of disaster or invasion.

  “With little effort, we could insert additional Aspects and extrapolate the position of the Deplosion Array that Darak described and, quite likely, Alum’s primary processors.”

  “We could stop Alum’s nonsense once and for all, kill Him, and divide His Realm amongst ourselves!” The eagerness in Ki-tan-la’s voice crackled over the narrow comm band.

  “Perhaps we could take a slightly more measured approach,” Depchaun suggested.

  “What do you have in mind?” Lyv asked.

  “Darak is bringing other representatives from Alum’s Realm to this meeting. I suggest we ask him to allow each of us to send Aspects to greet them.”

  “Hah! Physical emissaries of our real selves? Are you crazy?”

  “That would be reckless!”

  “Irresponsible!”

  “Dangerous!”

  “I agree!” Depchaun laughed over the protests. “It will be all of those things, and Darak will be suspicious.”

  “Ahh. You have a plan.” Raytansoh’s avatar angled to face Depchaun with new interest.

  “Indeed. My Aspect will carry a package of entangled exotic particles from another universe that I will plant on Darak’s guests.”

  “He will detect them and remove them,” Glenchax said.

  “Perhaps. If he’s half as smart as he thinks he is, he already suspects we’d like to find Alum’s Realm independent of his assistance. Our complet
e about-face on sending Aspects will only confirm what he’s already thinking, that some of us are up to something. And it won’t matter at all.

  “If he finds the entangled particles and exposes them to a decoherence field, no problem. We’ll continue as before with our other plans to map the remainder of Alum’s Realm. He won’t guess we’ve already found another way there. And should he fail to find the particles or to find all of them, we’ll have secured another route to the Realm, as well as to Darak’s base. Either way, we come out ahead.”

  The group debated the possibilities and pitfalls until Ishtgor summarized the collective conclusion.

  “Excellent!”

  They used half the remaining fifty seconds to consider how to divide up, under both scenarios, the exploration of Alum’s territory.

  Upon reaching agreeable terms, they withdrew quietly to their own thoughts, where they modeled cooperative—and competitive—approaches to the exploration and subsequent conquest of a new species and its domain.

  Not a single one ruled out the use of treachery to gain advantage against the other Gods.

  The minute wound down and Darak Legsu appeared, right on time, fully corporeal, and accompanied by his guests.

  Three strangers. Outsiders, fully exposed to the Six.

  And vice versa.

  18

  “And so, having opposed the wishes of your intellectual equals for millennia, you immediately acquiesced to the demands of your stock species?” Depchaun snarled. His avatar’s eyes narrowed until they were no more than two dark slashes relishing the sight of Darak stewing in uncomfortable silence.

  The man-God squirmed but, to his credit, never looked away.

  “To be completely accurate, Depchaun,” Darak replied, “you never requested to talk to anyone other than Alum Himself. That was always going to be an impossibility. My companions’ request to appear here was substantially more reasonable.”