Genesis

by Tej Pratap Singh

“Cdr, the Union Council was formed after the great war of 24th century between the AMU and IF where the IF was defeated but at the cost of 300 Trillion AMU soldiers and civilians. The prime purpose and prerogative of the Council is to advise the AMU regarding its policy and battle decisions.”

  “What!” exclaimed KC, “the Union Council is above the AMU.”

  “No Cdr. Your decisions are final. You are the Supreme Cdr. But the Union Council is comprised of six very influential men who advise on all of the AMU’s missions. Therefore, their indulgence is necessary for the smooth functioning of the AMU and for keeping the citizens at bay. Your father was one of the most popular council members before he resigned 30 years ago after the Moon battle of 2926.”

  “My father!” exclaimed KC. Last he remembered, his father had sacrificed his life to save his army in a battle fought against the IF when KC was a little kid. “This is alternate reality!” murmured KC in excitement. “My father is alive in this time. God knows what else has changed.”

  KC raised his arm up and closed his palm to terminate the interface. He placed the metal sphere on his chest. Within a second, it spread all over his body to form into a solid suit. A fitting lower with a shirt with large pointed open collars. KC looked in the mirror and didn’t like the color. “Blue,” said KC. The color of the suit changed to blue.

  Still not satisfied with the color, “Red,” said KC again. The suit changed its color to red. “That’s better,” added KC. “I better be dressed in Union Colors when I meet my father.”

  KC vaguely remembered, when he was small, how his father used to tell him stories about his ultimate dream to subdue the IF and the Moon Colony. How he wanted to see the AMU victorious everywhere, at all fronts. Today, KC had fulfilled his father’s dream and done much more. He couldn’t wait to meet his father.

  KC moved out of his quarters and walked through a Location Modulator to reach his Command HQ.

  The Location Modulator was a spherical ring which hovered one inch over the floor, and like the Time Modulator it allowed anyone traveling through it to move from one location to another. The only difference being that the Location Modulator helped to jump to different locations within the same time. Whereas the Time Modulator helped to jump across a different time altogether.

  KC walked out of the location modulator and he was at his command HQ within the same second.

  “Good Morning Cdr,” saluted Cdr Akil.

  “Good Morning Akil,” replied KC smiling. “Couldn’t have asked for a better day,” he added wondering why Akil was acting so formal.

  “Ah… Yes Cdr,” replied Akil wondering at the strange comment from his Cdr who was generally not this easy to talk to. “Are you feeling better Cdr?”

  “Of course, I never felt better,” replied KC with a smile that was just not leaving him. “So, when do we meet the council?”

  “Sir, they are on their way to the War Memorial Hall. They will get there shortly, and the council will be ready for you within 20 minutes.”

  “So long!” said KC surprised.

  “Yes sir, they will stop by at the Omega galaxy, 8th sector. They intend to strike a deal with the Omixons, for their alliance,” clarified Akil.

  “I am sure, we had defeated them decisively 20 years back,” said KC remembering that he had read it in the war logs the previous night before going to sleep.

  His voice turned serious, “Since when was their alliance…in doubt?”

  “Cdr, you know how the Omixons are – unreliable. They had placed two of their battleships at our Union borders,” said Akil nodding his head.

  “Hmm,” said KC placing his hands on his waist. “Where is Cdr Rul right now?”

  “Cdr, he is with his Battle Command Group on the outer boundaries of the Union,” replied Akil.

  “Tell him to send two of his ‘D’ class Destroyer Battleships against the Omixons. Let the Omixons know if they make the same mistake of crossing the Union Boundaries as they did 20 years back, we will be waiting for them.”

  “Should Cdr Rul engage the enemy, Sir?” asked Akil.

  “No. Our presence at the Union boundary should be enough to rein their delusions,” emphasized KC.

  “Yes Cdr,” said Akil relieved.

  The ‘KC’ Akil knew would have engaged the enemy even without the slightest provocation. KC didn’t know yet, but he was terror, a ruthless dictator in ‘This Alternate Time.!’ A Brutal Cdr, who gave his enemies no space… No life!

  “Since I have time now…about 20 minutes, I will be going to meet my father,” declared KC looking out of the HQ into the vast city trying to imagine how his father would look now.

  There was numb silence in the HQ. KC turned around when no one replied. He saw faces turned pale white.

  “What..!” asked KC still smiling. “I said something… didn’t I?”

  “Sir… you haven’t met your father in 15 years!” explained Akil. “I am afraid even your father won’t be too pleased to see you after what…you did in the 2942 war.”

  “Oh yeah,” said KC turning back around trying to figure out what he had done in 2942 to his father. He didn’t remember reading anything regarding this in the war log last night.

  “Sir, what are you thinking?” asked Akil.

  “Well… it’s been a long time. I think it’s the right time to meet my father now,” declared KC as if he remembered exactly what was going on between his father and him.

  “Prepare the location modulator to my father’s location.”

  “Yes Cdr,” said Akil as he turned around and checked his records.

  “Set the modulator to ‘Point 2633. Mike - Sector 3’.” KC heard his father’s location ‘Point 2633. Mike - Sector 3’.

  All places in the future were referred through such numbers. No place on any planet or space had any names. The Earth and other worlds had seen so much destruction that giving names to places was seen as a lost cause. It no more mattered where someone came from. Just one thing mattered. Whether you were on the Union’s side or not.

  “Cdr, your locator is ready,” said Akil.

  KC walked towards the locator as his elite troop of bodyguards followed him. KC’s elite bodyguards were the toughest of the intergalactic troops. The best of the best. All humans. Many of his alliances had offered him their best, which KC had declined bluntly. He never trusted any alliance members. KC and his troops were in and out of the location modulator and they reached their destination.

  KC took a deep breath. He was nervous! He was about to see his father, whom he had not seen since he was a little kid. He had bent time and history to make this day possible. His only worry - How was his father in this time and how good were his relations with the KC he was in this time!

  “I have not spoken to my father in 15 years! Why..?” thought KC as he saw a huge structure suspended 1200 meters in the air. It had huge walls over 40 feet high all round!

  “My father lives here, this almost looks like a prison.” said KC to himself.

  As KC moved forward on to the transparent platform that was to take him to the huge suspended building, his bodyguards followed in tandem.

  “Stop!” said KC to his Elite guard. “Stand down! I am going to meet my father; I am not going into battle!”

  “But Cdr! You have not met Cdr Cent in 15 years! We don’t know how he will react,” said Zaul, the head of the elite guards, concerned.

  “He is my father,” said KC looking back up at the building. “A son is going to meet his father, that’s all there is to it. Stand Down!”

  “Directive Cdr,” said Zaul falling in line. “CRONA will take over from here Cdr.”

  KC turned back and walked onto the transparent platform, wondering what Crona was.

  “Welcome Cdr KC, how are you this morning?” said Crona, the female voice interface.

  “I am good, take m
e to my father - Cdr Cent,” replied KC, wondering why he had not spoken to his father for the last 15 years! How much he loved his father and how much more his father loved him and cared for him. What could have gone wrong?

  “Crona,” said KC, “answer me a few questions.”

  Crona was the name given to an Artificial Intelligence System. The most superior technology run by AMU, its backbone and the proof of its might.

  Crona was integrated into everything. Military weapons, to battle ships. From their palms, to their bodies. From their beds, to the walls of their houses. Crona was a micro-artificial organism growing within the bodies of each and every personnel of AMU. It was transferred from parent to child and so on through their DNA. Over the centuries, it had integrated within the DNA of all AMU personnel. It was also an unmistakable identity mark of AMU personnel, which no one could cover or hide. It was a proof of belonging to the Union from birth. With Crona, any AMU personnel could operate AMU systems by mere gestures and voice. Though rank and military standing and the chain of authority influenced the degree of control over Crona. Crona could even sense body language and mind patterns. She was evolving and was strong beyond thought! And she was the reason why AMU technology was not only superior but miles ahead of every other race in the known universe. The unity of the people of the AMU was the real strength of Crona.

  “What is it Cdr?” asked Crona. “What do you wish to ask, is it about your father?”

  “Well…Tell me about all the major events that occurred 15 years back!” asked KC.

  “Cdr…2942 was the year when two empires joined the Armed Military Union,” replied Crona. “The Ampro empire from the Twin Galaxy systems of the 10th sector and the Zuston cluster empire from the Nubra Galaxy cluster in the 11th sector.

  “No... No. This can’t be it!” said KC to himself contemplating. Then he said aloud, “Crona, what else had happened in 2942?”

  Your father, Commander Cent resigned from the council in 2942 after a glorious career of over 60 years.

  “Well that’s great, my father without doubt was... I mean ‘is’ the greatest in the Union,” said KC proudly. “What else happened in 2942 Crona? We are definitely missing something.”

  “Cdr, you led a successful campaign towards the end of 2942 where you defeated the Moon colony in the final battle out of the Six Union-Moon battles in the Stellar Galaxy, 14th sector. After this battle, the AMU was declared as the Supreme Authority and Overlord of all the 14 sectors of the universe,” reported Crona.

  “Even this can’t be it!” wondered KC. “My father would have been proud of me when I subjugated the Moon colony from the Stellar Galaxy to conquer the all-known 14 sectors of the known universe.”

  “Cdr, you are at your father’s chamber,” forewarned Crona.

  “Hmm,” said KC taking a deep breath. He couldn’t wait to see his father, but was perturbed for still not figuring out why was there a rift between his father and him, who without doubt, would have provided a great deal of influence on his career and decisions.

  KC moved into the massive grand chamber. It was crammed with showpieces, trophies and pictures from all over the universe. The sight was truly extraordinary, but all KC saw was a tall figure standing behind a translucent wall. KC raised his arm and opened his palm pointing at the translucent wall and then closed his palm. The translucent wall dissolved as KC walked in.

  “I see you have greater control over Crona now, even more than me. You can come through my walls!” said his father in a rough voice.

  “Father,” said KC, his voice betraying the tears that threatened to roll down his eyes.

  A chill ran through his whole body as he heard his father’s voice after so many years. The same voice he used to hear ages back. The voice he had lost all hope to hear ever again. And here, he was on his greatest journey across time, doing the unthinkable. He was standing with his father. Once again. But even though the wall was down, there stood now, a greater wall in between them! KC took small steps towards his father… his steps kept getting bigger as he got closer to his father. His father turned his back towards KC and looked away.

  “Why have you come here Kenneth?” asked his father. “Checking on me, whether I am still alive!”

  KC took a step closer to his father. How he wished he could explain to his father, the limits to which he had traveled. How he had even bent time to make this day possible.

  “Father… speak to me, I have come a long way to see you,” whispered KC.

  “There is nothing left to speak. You have disgraced me,” replied his father bluntly.

  “Father, what have I done to deserve your hatred? I have always worked as per your directions, as per your vision to fulfil…. your dream of a unified Armed Union.”

  “Don’t disgrace me Kenneth. My dream…. was of a glorious Union based on harmony and brotherhood. Not on blood and slaughter - the agenda you have followed.”

  KC kept quiet…. He had no idea what his father spoke off! What had KC done in this alternate time?

  “Son, victory comes at a cost! But not at the cost of blood, be it of your enemy’s, or of your own people. I’d rather live with nothing under my command, than to live with 14 sectors of the universe under my foot founded on the legacy of blood! You are not the man I wanted you to be.”

  “But… what did I do father?” KC asked again.

  “The 6th Union-Moon battle… What do you have to say about that?” asked his father.

  “I made your dream come true father,” replied KC promptly.

  “Kenneth, there were 90 trillion inhabitants on the moon colonies, including civilians. Your battle left 85 trillion dead,” his father paused. “It was the bloodiest battle of all the moon battles. And then, you crushed the revolts in the neighbouring Roptera Planet System by executing the entire rebel army in a single blow, by using Tasers fired from the class F destroyer fleets. That, Kenneth, was never my dream.”

  KC was speechless! He realized that he himself was an entirely different person in ‘this time’ as from what he really was! Playing with time was not as easy as he had thought.

  “It took me 60 years to give this Union - a Soul. You shattered that soul in just one battle,” continued his father. “The intergalactic citizens used to love the Union. Today they fear it. All because of your bloody battles. What will you do with your 14 sectors of the universe…ahh..! When you lost your mother to the first battle and your father to the last… And not one of those sectors truly bows to you. Let me tell you Kenneth, the day you fall, AMU falls. You Son… have destroyed the AMU. How long will you hold it together?”

  KC couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was a monster in this time. He had altered reality, but in no terms was he in control of the events which had started the moment he had handed over the information regarding the future to Kamal.

  No doubt he had made AMU a supreme force to reckon with, but in the process the unthinkable had happened. The ripple effects of time had altered the events to such a great extent that the 2950 he originally belonged to, seemed prehistoric in comparison to the 2950 he had created by altering events in the past.

  KC realized, his original time in 2950 was not perfect; they were fighting with the IF and had to fight to survive every day. Things were bad… but at least he had self-respect and men who looked up to him. Whereas in this time, he had all the power in the universe. But he was alone, no one to share it with.

  “Father…forgive me,” said KC not knowing what else to say.

  His father turned towards him. KC’s face brightened up as he saw his father’s face after so long. His father looked just as he had remembered. Though his face had developed wrinkles and was covered by his brilliant white beard and a whole lot of battle scars.

  “Sorry...!” said his father. “I wish you had said this after the first battle you fought. I wish you had said this before your greed for
power grew beyond parallel. I wish you had said this before you lost your mother and I lost my wife!”

  “Father, I’ll get everything back to normal. I have always wanted to work in your footsteps. I… got carried away, but this is the end of it. No more blood, no more power. AMU will get back the soul it had 15 years ago,” declared KC.

  His father looked at him in the eye and said, “Not even the Mighty Commander Kenneth, the Ruler of 14 Sectors of the Universe can do that now! This is beyond you. Take my advice Kenneth and make peace with yourself if at all, because where you stand today… no one will understand the word ‘Peace’ coming from you! You are in quicksand son. There is no coming out now. My only request to you son is this, – When you fall – please fall alone; don’t take the AMU with you.”

  Tears rolled down KC’s eyes; he held his father’s hand and got on his knees.

  “Father, please forgive me, I’ll not give you another opportunity… you will be proud to call me your son again!” said KC getting up and hugging his father.

  His father stood straight. “Son, it has taken you 15 years to realize your folly, but it’s too late now. Just remember what I have told you. When you go down, go alone. Spare everyone else; that would be the greatest honour you can now bestow upon me,” requested his father. “Promise me son, you’ll do as I say.”

  “I promise you father, no one else will suffer for what I have done,” said KC turning around and walking towards the location modulator.

  “Kenneth,” called his father as KC turned around. “Your mother loved you a lot, make her proud.”

  “I will father,” said KC as he turned again and crossed into the modulator. He was deep in thought, the cogs in his mind already churning out a plan.

  * * *

  The instant KC was back in his Command HQ, Akil briefed him desperately…

  “Cdr, the Omixons are not backing out of the Union territory. Cdr Rul is ready to shoot at them… What are your orders cdr?”

  “Tell Rul to stand down,” ordered KC. “We don’t want a conflict!”

  “We don’t…??” repeated Akil perplexed. Wondering what had got into the Supreme Commander. The man who never let an opportunity to shoot down an enemy go waste was saying he didn’t want to fight!