by Paul Anlee
To be fair, Alum is experienced, and He is brilliant—Darak allowed.
Maybe the Living God’s vision of the perfect universe is best. But I am not going to let either one of us make that decision alone. It has to be a shared decision among all who call the Realm home.
He was acutely aware that five of the six other known Gods had already demonstrated their disapproval.
And lost.
Five powerful Gods, gone forever.
Which brought to mind the problem of how to deal with Alum’s distributed nature. There were millions of Him scattered throughout the universe, at least one for each world.
At some point near the end, the Living God would have to either pull all of His scattered nodes together or abandon the majority of them forever.
Heaven will be where He gathers whatever nodes of His consciousness He wishes to keep—Darak thought. So our plan has to include a confrontation in Alum’s Heaven. There’s no way around that. All I have to do is get the Living God to take me there. More precisely, take me there with all of my capabilities intact.
Which was far from an easy thing.
If Alum allowed Darak to shift into Heaven by his own power, He would have to share the definition of the physics of Perfection. Would the Living God risk exposing His perfect universe to an outside God?
That will depend on how confident Alum is in His strength and abilities, and how much He fears mine.
Such latitude was unlikely, but that didn’t stop the man-God from thinking up ways to steer the conversation toward such an invitation.
If that doesn’t pan out, there’s still Darian and the Spyders.
His former mentor and Stralasi had already received the creatures. In a few hours, they’d be ready to start infiltration.
Truth be told, Darak didn’t put a lot of stock in their chances of hacking into Alum’s QUEECH comm network at all, never mind undetected. Still, with everything else going on, anything was possible. He’d maintain an open channel with Darian, and was prepared to take advantage should they manage to break in.
Darak approached the quiet pond where the creek ended. He could hear the soft quacking of the ducks and caught glints of sunlight reflecting off the water. A bright sparkle of light struck his eyes, and he squinted.
A wave of nausea passed over him. He hardly had time to take note before his RAF generators reconfigured their fields to reassert the specific reality around him.
Darya’s QUEECH call arrived less than a millisecond behind the mysterious wave of dizziness.
“What was that?”
“Are you alright?” Darak answered.
“I’m okay, now,” she said. “Are we under attack?”
Darak choked out a laugh as his equilibrium settled.
“Not us, specifically. In fact, except for you, me, and Darian, I doubt anybody noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
“How could they not?”
“Because they can’t feel reality. They don’t know what it’s made of and what holds it together.”
“I almost envy them in their ignorance,” Darya replied. “Almost. Do you think that was Alum activating the full Deplosion Array?”
“That would be my guess. The dizziness would be our reality analyzers trying to interpret the disruption from the array. If you shift into the Chaos, it feels a lot like that.”
“Is that how it’ll feel to fight against Alum?” she asked.
“No, it’ll feel much worse. Of that we can be sure.”
“Those who die instantly won’t feel a thing, will they?”
“No, they shouldn’t. The reality disruption will wash over them so quickly their sensory systems won’t have a chance to process the pain.”
“Just as well, I suppose.”
“Enough have suffered in Alum’s name,” Darak growled.
“And in the names of Gods who’ve gone before Him,” Darya added.
“Yeah,” Darak muttered under his breath.
“Is everything ready?” Darya asked.
“Getting close; I just activated the last download to the judges.”
“That should stir things up in the Realm,” she laughed.
“It should,” Darak agreed. “At the end of the data transmission, I’ll introduce myself and call on the judges to join me in confronting Alum.”
“Will anyone answer the call to judge?” Her voice conveyed more doubt than question.
“Some won’t respond out of fear of Alum’s retribution,” Darak replied. “Others, out of reverence or misguided loyalty for their Living God. A few won’t see themselves as worthy of passing judgment on Him. But I’m counting on the majority to at least show up. Whether out of curiosity, duty, or responsibility to the future, I don’t really care. I just hope they come. We need every one we can get. Right now, though, I have to go collect Stralasi’s Familiar.”
“And I have an attack to initiate. Will Eso-La be safe?”
“As safe as we can make it. The Esu are ready to go transdimensional.”
“That’ll hide them?”
“I hope so. If Alum destroys Eso-La, we lose a billion fighters right away. The Esu Familiars would be out of the battle.”
“I could retreat back here and engage Alum if He finds them,” Darya offered.
“No, best stick to the plan. If the Deplosion Array isn’t stopped, nothing will matter.”
“So, you’re going to visit Heaven?”
“If I can talk Alum into it.”
“You could stay there. You could join Him.”
“I can’t imagine a worse fate,” Darak said.
Darya transmitted an image. It began as her warrior persona, drawn from the fierceness inside her, the one she summoned when she needed courage. The edges softened as the image transformed into a smiling Kathy Liang, exactly the way she’d looked when Darak had first seen her, back when he was still Greg Mahajani.
“Thank you,” he said.
The image emitted a sigh. “I know we’re different people now than when we first met,” she said. “But I want you to know, I remember the love we shared.”
“Maybe,” Darak said, “when this is all over—”
“And if we survive—,” Darya added.
Darak smiled, happy that she knew what he was thinking.
“Then, we’d better survive,” he said. “I think we’ve been battling the Reality Assertion Field in one way or another as long as we’ve known each other. It’ll be nice to have some time together, without that hanging over us.”
“Yes, that would be refreshing, wouldn’t it?”
Darak gave her one last smile.
“To battle,” he announced in his best approximation of a superhero’s voice.
Darya’s image returned to that of fierce warrior holding her sword aloft.
“To battle!”
12
Darak Legsu and Stralasi’s Familiar materialized on Starstep One, the gateway to Alum’s Hall.
Ages ago, Darak had added his own personal entangled particles to the standard store held within the reserve. He’d never used them for fear someone might trace them back to him and so there they sat, undetected, for ages.
“You finally decided to join Me,” Alum’s voice boomed in the tiny reception chamber.
“I’ve decided to talk to You,” Darak answered.
He wasn’t surprised that his presence had been immediately detected. Starstep One didn’t employ autonomous workers; not a single Cybrid, human, or Angel monitored the traffic. Alum alone controlled maintenance functions and He saw all.
“I see you’ve brought a friend.”
“A former Brother of the Alumita,” Darak replied. “Your records will recognize the name of Brother Ontro nem Stralasi, most recently from Alumston on Gargus 718.5.”
The air shimmered near the window and a middle-aged man materialized.
Stralasi’s Familiar bobbed politely, “My Lord,” he said to the man.
“I guess old habits die hard,” D
arak commented on seeing the Familiar’s unquestioning deference.
Witnessing this exchange from far away, Stralasi was touched to hear the man-God’s voice tinged with a mix of amusement and sadness. He was also thankful that, contrary to his own inclination, his Familiar had no protocols for kneeling in abject fear.
“You are free of all Lords now, Brother,” Darak said to the Familiar.
“You address this Cybrid as Brother,” the man said, “but no machine has ever attended the Alumitum,” Alum said. “And I have records from the Angel Mika, reporting the death of Ontro nem Stralasi on Gargus. Did you transfer his concepta to this machine?”
“Those reports were premature,” Darak replied. “Brother Stralasi is very much alive. His biological body is on Eso-La and he’s linked to this machine, his Familiar, by QUEECH comms.”
Stralasi decided not to correct Darak’s tiny lie about the physical location of his human self. A little misdirection might be prudent right now—he thought.
“Eso-La?” Alum said. “So the rebels in the ESO 461-36 system live?”
“Yes, and not merely alive, they’re thriving. They’re marvels of success and as strong and independent-minded as ever.”
“Thanks to you, I presume.”
“An old story. Perhaps I’ll share it with You some day.”
“Don’t tell me, you decided to continue the integration experiment?”
Darak shook his head. “No, the Esu decided. It’s amazing how competent a group of intelligent, well-informed people are at making decisions for themselves.”
“Democracy!” Alum spat. “Puhh! Humans tried it for thousands of years and it led to nothing but conflict.”
“And to progress,” Darak pointed out, “the kind of progress that made You and me possible.”
“We’ve enjoyed over a hundred million years of peace,” Alum countered. “The so-called progress you laud resulted in the destruction of Earth and, quite nearly, all of humanity.”
“If I remember correctly, You had a large role in Earth’s destruction. And it seems to me that You’re now on the verge of destroying the entire universe.”
“Re-birthing the universe is the ultimate act of Creation.”
“That’s up for interpretation, I think,” Darak replied. “In any case, Brother Stralasi is now distributed, not unlike You, actually.”
“Ha!” Alum roared. “My presence spans many worlds across multiple galaxies. Soon it will span all of Creation.”
“A somewhat reduced Creation, really.” The sardonic smile on Darak’s face broadcast his contempt, in case there had been any doubt.
“It’s a perfect version of Creation, one that will fill eternity.”
Darak stepped toward the viewing port in the rocky wall of the chamber. Distant Sol was a sparkling beacon in the black of space.
In his mind, Darak overlaid the orbits of Alum’s Hall and myriad other asteroids that had long ago been converted to CPPUs for Alum’s enormous mind.
“Such a perfect Creation must be glorious to contemplate,” he said.
Alum stepped over to the window and stood beside Darak. He looked out at the sun. “The vast emptiness of space does have its own beauty,” He admitted. “But I’ve always found it such a waste.”
“Only from the perspective of life.”
“What other purpose could there be to Creation?” Alum asked. “If the universe is to praise the glories of its Creator, why would so much of it be filled with empty silence?”
“Verification that this universe never had a Creator,” Darak answered, “or none that desired praise.”
“Physicalism, Darak? Really? Still going with that, are you?”
The man-God eyed Alum patiently, levelly, and took his time to answer. “You knew me so well and yet You never knew me at all.”
“You were always so distant from the faith,” Alum agreed. “I figured it was because you spent too much time creating your own imaginary worlds.”
“Oh! Now, that’s rich! You, worried I was developing a God complex?”
“You were plotting to replace Me, were you not?”
“Is that what you think? That I lusted after Your throne?” Darak asked.
“If you’re not here to challenge Me, are you here to join Me? To accept your righteous place at My left hand while Trillian sits at My right?”
He almost sounds hopeful. Sad, really. It’s time I set him straight—Darak thought.
“You never recognized me? Not once?” Darak asked.
“What do you mean? When?”
“You never saw any hint of the man I was before I was Darak Legsu? You never suspected? Think back. You knew me long before You ever met me as Darak Legsu.”
To help jog Alum’s memory, Darak blinked and his face transformed. His hair and complexion darkened, his lips thinned, and the hook in his nose returned.
“What’s this?”
Darak smiled.
“This is me. The original me. The face I was born with. Don’t you recognize me?”
Alum’s brows furrowed in concentration and, gradually, recognition washed over his face.
“Greg Mahajani!”
Darak/Greg smiled and bowed.
“At your service.”
“You escaped.”
“I escaped it all. Your attempt to murder me. The destruction of Earth by the Eater that You unleashed. Your sabotage of the original starsteps. The loss of the shifting devices that You stole from me. I made it to Vesta on my own. I hid. I survived.”
Alum’s eyes went wide with sudden realization.
“You! You killed Me!” Alum bellowed.
Darak/Greg shrugged, “I tried. I would’ve succeeded, except for Trillian.”
Alum glared at him, and Darak felt reality shimmer. He brushed it off with a thought and returned to his current appearance.
“Since that particular version of me seems to be irritating You,” Darak said, “let’s stick to this one.”
He gave Alum a casual smile. “Oh, You thought I could be removed from this universe so easily? A small adjustment to local reality and I would just melt away?”
Alum frowned.
“Apparently, I was mistaken. It won’t happen again,” Alum assured him.
Darak turned his head and flicked his chin toward Stralasi’s Familiar. The machine had been silently hovering near the centre of the reception chamber.
“Stralasi’s not only QUEECH connected to his own body,” Darak teased.
“Okay, so you can still surprise Me,” the Living God said. “What else is he connected to?”
“He’s connected to billions of Your People,” Darak answered casually. “They’re here to listen to You. To judge You.”
“Ha!” Alum roared. “Judge ME? My People worship Me. They follow Me. They do not judge Me.”
“Well, now, they do,” Darak said.
Alum whirled on him. “What have you done?”
“I’ve opened their eyes,” Darak replied. “Given them minds to understand, and restored the context and history that You denied them.”
“All those strange reports. The proposals. The innovation. I should have known you were at the bottom of that.”
Darak dropped his hands to his side and smiled, a tacit admission of his role and his guilt.
“It was impossible not to have some premature effect when I enhanced their lattices. Intelligence. Curiosity. Distrust of authority. Independence of thought. Loss of blind faith.”
“Discontent, unhappiness, misery,” Alum finished. “Were you jealous that the People had found peace and you had not?”
It was Darak’s turn to glare. “The peace of mindless sheep has little value. It comes at the price of potential. It replaces the curiosity of the human mind with the contentment of the well-fed cud chewer. And now, You are leading Your flock to slaughter.”
“You’re baiting Me, trying to make Me angry. Stop it,” Alum warned. “It’s pointless. You can’t pervert how the People see Me.
I am their Savior. I bring perfection. I bring Heaven.”
“But they won’t get to enjoy it.”
“Pah! Technicalities. In the eternal joy of Heaven, all possible minds will be resurrected. Death is truly defeated in Heaven.”
“Except for theirs. Their death is going to be very real for them. How do You think they’re going to feel about that? If Your Divine Plan to re-Create the universe as Heaven is so perfect,” Darak said, “such perfection should be obvious to all People, not only to a God.”
Alum nodded. “Indeed. Anyone should be able to judge it perfect for themselves. Yes, yes. I see where your argument leads. But God does not ask His Creation to approve His design.”
“In the previous instance, there was no one to ask,” Darak countered. “Not that we know of. This universe arose naturally without the intent of any Creator.”
“That’s blasphemy!” Alum replied.
“It is the truth,” Darak replied. “You know the evidence and the arguments as well as I do.”
Alum smiled. “It is possible to twist the Book of Yov into a story of the natural evolution of this universe. I will grant you that. Such an interpretation is sufficient explanation for the imperfection we see in this universe.
“Fortunately, a consciousness with an improved vision has arisen, one that can lead to a perfect Creation.”
“And that consciousness would be Yours, I presume,” Darak stated, knowing full well what Alum had meant.
It was Alum’s turn for a gracious bow.
“I am at the service of the People.”
“And Heaven is Your gift to them?”
“You see the Truth, as well.”
Darak frowned.
“I see Your narrow version, but is Your take on Heaven a gift people want or need?”
Alum waved an invitation for Stralasi’s Familiar to approach.
“A fair question,” He said to Darak. “Let’s find out. I’ll take you and Brother Stralasi on a tour. Through his QUEECH connection, billions of My People can experience the glory that awaits them in the next life.”
Darak suppressed a smile.
Bingo! And it was His own idea.
“I’d be happy to accompany You,” Darak replied. “Just send me the parameters and I’ll join You there.”
“Oh, ho!” Alum said. “And open all of Heaven to your manipulation and perversion? Not likely! Why don’t you permit Me to transport you there, instead?”