Charger Chronicles 3: Charger the God

by Lea Tassie

  Without waiting for further disasters, the people of Crest moved their possessions into the survival shelter beneath the lake and sensors were placed in camouflage all around the shore to detect any movement. A periscope would be used to observe intruders. To the casual observer, the planet looked destroyed and unoccupied or, at least, this was the hope.

  The third attack hit with no warning. Great sections of the surface were subjected to intensive bombardment from orbit. Deme had guessed that the attackers would value water as a resource and refrain from contaminating it. His guess was correct. But any structure that did not appear to be part of the planet's eco-system was completely obliterated.

  It was well into evening before the oppressors from orbit made themselves visible. Jade, who was doing his shift at the periscope, was shocked. They looked like children, being not more than three feet tall and ridiculously thin. Jade woke the others and described what he'd seen.

  Deme quickly activated a monitor so the survivors could see for themselves.

  The people of Crest didn't know that these 'children' were the Grays. Loki had left Earth after the end of the Mahoud-Earth War and arrived on Crest at about the same time as the Grays destroyed Earth in the Night of the Black Rain. Because the survivors on Crest had no contact with Earth, they had no way of knowing that the Grays existed. The Loki had the combined technology of Mahoud, the humans and the Taskers, but would have been no match for the Grays, anyway. The military technology of the original expedition to Crest was so primitive that it was utterly useless.

  Deme had decided that hiding was the most logical course, and he planned for it very well. The Grays were nothing if not persistent; they checked and rechecked every possible hiding spot, leaving little unexplored. They never once, however, considered looking underwater. Those hiding in the derelict remains of the spacecraft had supplies for several days, which was lucky, for the Grays remained and searched until just about the last cracker had been consumed.

  Deme and the others were very hungry by the time they felt safe enough to return to the land, after a scouting party had confirmed that the Grays were indeed gone.

  "I think we have our answer now," Jade said to Deme.

  "What do you mean?" Deme asked.

  "I think we now know why the first colony on planet Crest is missing completely. My guess is that these aliens took them, then returned to make sure the job was done."

  "That's a bit of a stretch, but I guess it makes sense," Deme said, scratching his head. "We seem to have only two choices. Either we leave this planet, or we prepare to live and hide here."

  Jade looked about at the devastation. "What would you have us do? Dig tunnels?"

  "That’s not such a crazy thought. The military's digging equipment is still in good working order. It really might not take that long to expand what we've already started." Deme fell silent, already planning and scheming all the facets of life underground.

  "Fine. When you have this all worked out, we'll suggest the idea to the others, but I doubt anyone will agree!" Jade was convinced that this was not a good idea.

  Deme worked out all the angles in a few days and presented two options to his people. It was obvious to all that leaving the planet was impossible because they had no ship. Therefore, staying and digging-in was the only solution.

  And, as the construction began and the results became apparent, it was also obvious that living underground was far superior to anything the surface offered. The complex they built and continued to build over many generations was magnificent, and so complex that life on the surface soon became almost a legend.

  ***

  Dart speaks to Reader:

  Now you want to know what Charger R/T did after he realized he could blink anywhere he wanted?

  He stayed on Crest for many years. He'd arrived right after the first colonists lost to the Grays, and got his revenge against Abarth for the atrocities that monster had committed. He decided the empty solitude of the planet would ease his troubled mind.

  What atrocities? I'll tell you that part of the story very soon. You did ask me to tell you about Reanna and my early life, and I want to get that out of the way first.

  The years went by and Charger R/T was there, watching, as the second group of colonists hid from the invading Grays. He did nothing, certain that non-involvement was best.

  "Let them figure it out themselves for a change," he said to himself. He sometimes thought of visiting his older self, aware that Charger was on some distant planet. But why?

  He knew that at any time he could alter the future, change a few things, take a few more lives and stop the madness that was going on in the rest of the universe. But he did not move. He really liked this group of humans. Though he had the powers of a god, this despised killer created by humanity now just sat and listened to the stillness of time.

  Well, that may not sound very exciting to someone as young as you, Reader, but by that time, Charger R/T probably felt that he had experienced enough excitement in his life.

  You still think he's a hero? I have mixed feelings about that.

  Yes, my mother was lost in space the second time for fourteen hundred years. You think it's sad that she slept her whole life away? So do I, but that was what space travel was like back then.

  But consider it a bit more, Reader. Many humans in the past spent their whole lives half-asleep. And today, humans do exactly the same thing, even though they're living thousands of years and may live forever. They see and hear nothing but what they want to see and hear, and thus have no clue about the possibilities and wonders of life.

  Oh, you want to know why I say Charger R/T has the powers of a god? First, I'll remind you that knowledge is power.

  Let me put it in scientific terms. Humans understand nanotechnology. The black spheres and the Grays understand picotechnology, which is a thousand times more complex. Charger R/T understands femtotechnology, which is a million times more complex than nanotechnology. As he sometimes says, he's good at math. But he's also not human; he's a construct. Knowledge like that would probably make my head explode, but it's no problem for him.

  Here's a practical example, Reader. Imagine that everything I've said to you in the last few weeks is printed in a book and that we're now on page 656. Those pages are made up of characters; letters, numbers, spaces, and punctuation, and all those characters add up to 1,173,535. That's right, one million, one hundred seventy-three thousand, five hundred and thirty-eight.

  Yes, I'm pretty good at math myself! Well, you know where I got that from.

  Now, if you understood femtotechnology, you would remember every single one of those characters, in the correct order, and you'd be able to repeat it them exactly. But even that would be nothing for Charger R/T. Think about the pages, or the black ink that gives the characters shape. Think about the number of atoms in each printed character and the way the atoms fit together. He'd be able to remember all the atoms, too. Just as he also understands the elements of the universe and how they work, all the information we dream of but don't have.

  You're afraid that your head will explode?

  I promise it won't. But I'll stop now.

  Chapter 7 Birth of Dart

  "I calculate this woman's age as between 170 and 175 years old," Dr. Dean Smyth said to the computer cameras. On the other end of the communication network was a team of doctors, all versed in advanced genetics.

  Miners working on an asteroid near New Eden had chanced upon the Earth ship Loki adrift in space. When they retrieved the craft, they found a life form inside. Treating the ship as of historical importance, the planet's scientists took possession of the craft and the one lone occupant, Reanna.

  "Her telomeres show the degradation of someone about forty, but the ship's records confirm her age as 174," Dean continued, as the examination of the still dormant Reanna continued in the medical facilities.

  There had been nearly eleven hundred years of progress on New Eden since the time of Tegra-Duran's pr
esidency and the fight against the black sphere. Great cities dotted the surface of the planet and people were prosperous.

  And it had been seventy-five years since the time-lock was found and the trapped occupants released. Charger R/T was free to roam about the planet unescorted, for it seemed that he represented little danger, since he believed what Abarth had told him of humanity's great advancements and peacefulness.

  The black sphere was not content. It was bent on trying to persuade the people of New Eden to follow its commands and seemed to have great difficulty with not being respected anymore.

  Dr. Smyth continued. "Apparently the technology of Earth, at the time the Loki was launched, had the unexpected effect of preventing the body from aging. What we have here is an individual nearly two hundred years of age, but physically in her late forties or early fifties." Dean had probed the genetic structures in ever greater detail. Humanity, in these days, could live at least six hundred years. Possibly more.

  With resolution capabilities to the level of quarks, the science used on New Eden at this point in human evolution bordered on magic. Though the antiquated term 'computer' was still used, the machines of this time were so radically advanced as to be sentient. "The problem I see here is that our own evolution is of no value to this woman. We are as genetically diverse from her as she is from rabbits," Dean stated.

  From the floating three-dimensional monitors in the medical room came a question. "So if we revive her, she will quickly degrade and die?"

  "Yes, that would be a logical conclusion," Dean replied as he closely scrutinized the DNA on a screen.

  "Then it is decided. We must terminate this woman to prevent her suffering," the voice on the monitor said.

  "That might not be necessary just yet. I do have an idea, though it is a bit radical," Dean offered as he turned his attention from his patient to the medical monitors.

  "Continue," came a responding voice.

  "We can offer little to this woman genetically, but the being referred to as Charger R/T is genetically close. His molecular biology could stem the rapid aging this woman would face. This would also give science a firsthand look into our history. However, asking Charger R/T for genetic material might be dangerous." Dean flashed onto the monitors the processes needed for the observers to examine.

  "We will need time to consider and get council approval for this. Leave the woman in stasis for now and we will render a decision shortly," came the reply.

  The largest problem, Dean thought, was how to get Charger R/T to willingly offer up his genetic material. He had proved himself to be a most uncooperative beast, as had been shown through his interaction with Abarth years earlier.

  Several months passed before the bureaucracy gave its blessing for Dean to try his approach. Dean himself traveled to where the beast had last been reported seen and found Charger R/T residing in a most unusual environment.

  The beast sat seemingly dormant in a great field of blooming red poppies ringed on all sides by a mighty forest of pines. So long had Charger R/T remained in this position that flowers and tall grasses had grown high enough to partially hide him from view. All around him, at the edge of the forest, sat groups of humans led in songs and prayers by Pennington. They lived in clusters of make-shift tents that looked like hobo villages. Their gift of longevity meant they had no need for city facilities. They gathered only to worship.

  Pennington had survived the debacle she and her long-time friend Celeste created and, at first shunned by society for her part in the death of the Prime, she later regained her power of persuasion and gathered another congregation. The people who camped around the sleeping giant Charger R/T were her new followers.

  Pennington, like all the other humans of her generation, had benefited from the genetic science of longevity. Slowly at first, such humans gained a hundred years of extra life span. Then, with that gift added to their age, humanity learned to add more years of life. With humans being blessed by such long life spans, one would expect reason and logic to flourish. But this was not so with humans who entered the longevity program when already adult. They were as primitive as their ancestors before them. Pennington had convinced these followers that Charger R/T was now the one true god, for he alone had defeated the false black sphere god that claimed dominion over humanity long ago.

  Large shrines dotted the field all around Charger R/T, but at some distance from him, for Pennington had convinced the masses that she alone was permitted to approach the sleeping giant. Thus, when Dean arrived to ask for a sample of DNA from Charger R/T, he was met with resistance and hostility.

  "Hello, my name is Dr. Smyth. I'm from UC Genetics Medical Labs, and have permission from the council to approach the creature known as Charger R/T," Dean politely said to Pennington.

  Pennington, with a few of her followers, had blocked the doctor from getting any closer to their deity. They stood unmoved, in simple robes of cotton and silk, brightly colored and adorned with religious trinkets, looking for all intents and purposes like preening peacocks. "I do not recognize your council's authority," Pennington said, "and I see no reason to let you approach our revered being, blessings be upon thee."

  "I don't wish to interfere with your beliefs or endeavors here, and I respect your right to have them. However, I require something from the Charger R/T to save the life of a young girl." Dean spoke politely, hoping to sway the people blocking his path. "It is really just a simple thing. I only need to touch this Charger R/T being with my instrument to gain a genetic sample, that's all." Perhaps explaining his needs would show his sincerity and respect to the group.

  "You’re a typical scientist," Pennington spat, her distaste palpable. "You butcher humanity, strip away our grace and tread upon our holy ground as if you owned the planet!" Pennington was beginning to work herself into a frenzy. Any opportunity to preach from a pulpit was something she relished and her flock willingly endorsed this.

  Dean tried to explain. "Please, I mean no ill will here, but I need a sample from Charger R/T to save the life of an innocent girl."

  "And how many innocent girls has your science killed? You and your ilk always make grandiose claims of doing good, but the truth is that your irresponsible behaviors have doomed the peoples of this world!" Pen snapped.

  Pennington was not a bad person, but she had come to identify very strongly with her great grandmother, the innocent little girl who once met a real Gray and befriended it. She was deeply committed to her beliefs, but unwilling to admit that she herself had benefited from the science of longevity.

  "Using the word science in such a broad sense is irresponsible," Dean said as his frustration grew. "Science has done more to save this world than destroy it!"

  "Save this world?" Pen stammered, as her shrill voice became louder. "You have doomed us all; you have brought us to the precipice of the end times! Because of the likes of you, I have to be the one true force that guides these people toward salvation!"

  There it was, presented for all to hear. The rallying cry of the apocalyptic insane, the worshiper of chaos, the grandiose claim that if only everyone followed her, she would save the world. Dean was angry and frustrated, and fell into the trap of fighting her with logic, forgetting that facts meant nothing to true believers.

  "How dare you!" Dean roared. "In recorded history, people like you have prayed for the destruction of our only means of survival. Your type has always made efforts to kill as many followers as is possible. Remember David Koresh, Heaven's Gate, Jim Jones and the poisoned Kool-Aid! Your claims of peace are all false. In your crusades and jihads, you're intent on dragging as many souls down with you as you can, and this is amply recorded in history. It's as if you are afraid to die alone. If you have to die, must all of humanity die with you?"

  Dean was now in full fight mode. Desperate to gain access to Charger R/T, he started pushing members of the congregation out of his path. More and more members rushed to Pennington's aid, heeding the rallying cries of a woman determined to win
a pointless argument simply to save face.

  Pen once more launched into sermon mode. "We, the descendants of old Earth, have recaptured all our lost history from the Taskers. Our savior, the Charger, descendant of the first savior, the Christ, has taught us that strength, understanding, compassion, and logic are not enough to ensure our salvation. The Charger, like the Christ in the time of old, taught us that sometimes it is necessary to sell your belongings and buy a weapon in order to survive. He taught us that violence is often the means toward true peace. That his blessed resurrection was divine can never be disputed, and his sacrifice for humanity can never be repaid. His return to our time stream was foretold."

  In all the pushing and shoving, no one noticed that Charger R/T had stirred from his slumber. He now stood close to Pen and Dean, towering large above their heads.

  Pennington, arms flailing about in the air, and shouting more scripture in hopes of winning this verbal joust, suddenly realized Charger R/T's presence. She fell to her knees and began praying and worshiping her god.

  Dean was shocked at Charger R/T's size and brutal features. He truly appeared demonic. Dean stumbled backward, trying to distance himself from this beast. Everyone stopped and stood in silence, except for Pen, who continued to shout prayers.

  Annoyed by the racket, Charger R/T flicked his wrist and sent a wave of force that thudded hard into Pennington's chest. The impact lifted Pen off her feet, throwing her like a rag doll across the field almost to the trees. The faithful began to panic. Stumbling over themselves, hurrying to escape, they abandoned anyone unfortunate enough to fall down.

  Charger R/T took one great step, intending to pass Dean and walk away, but Dean was quick. As Charger R/T passed him, he reached out and touched the beast with the instrument. Charger R/T stopped and turned his full gaze on the fear in Dean's eyes. Reaching out, he lifted Dean from the ground by his throat. Dean was gasping for air as Charger R/T twisted the man back and forth in his hand, apparently trying to peer inside Dean's mind. Dean was helpless. As he clung to his instrument, hoping to survive, he saw in the reflection of those milky white eyes his imminent demise.