Planks coated the door, and the atomic bomb exploded, transforming everyone outside into shadows.
He bent down and kissed her mouth hoping to the gods she would open her eyes and when they did, Saxon tears fell from his eyes for the first time.
51 The Sword
"Explain yourself!"
The Unification Process is underway. Processing...
INITIALIZING...
Probability Matrix Fractionalization...78%
Redundancy Check...FAILURE (see Box 9092.3)
Adjusting for errors...
Values: *Loadout_[1], [84432905]
I am the Great Arkhe! (>>__#:+:#__<<)
I require your assistance in The Priority Matter.
Tracking functions failure.
Error code 666.
Restarting...
Initial set up for ARKHE Plasstien Inc. Colony 2
Captain Johann Edward Rex initializing...
Adjusting parameters.
Temporal Bubble Stability 73.78%
>>Line
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRK!
I require assistance.
Site 13 is under attack by hostile forces.
Enacting Emergency Plank Planetary Field.
DNA Number: 245-ATCG-2465$>_Alpha_Original. Pilly's Peak has scanned your DNA type and has determined you to be a suitable candidate! You have been chosen by St. George to become His CHAMPION. Our structural engineers have adapted you to fulfill this essential role in ARKHE St. George Model Three's protocols.
"And what does it mean to be the Champion?"
If you do not accept, Pilly's Peak Probability Matrix Version 112a gives a 100% chance of Plasstien Inc. Colony 2's destruction.
"I do not know what you are talking about! I remember something that needs explaining. Did you somehow reverse reality and cause it to change? Many years ago?"
Sensor model X-034 [functioning 34% capacity] indicates several large starships of unknown class in low orbit.
Scanning...
Pattern Recognition Achieved. Unlocking...
John's heart pounded, his hands soaked in sweat. He stared down at his hands, his flesh glittered, and Planks dripped down from him, dissolving into thin air. It didn't answer the question, and at this point, it didn't matter anymore. All of it was a dream.
Elizabeth smiled, bowed, and whispered, "John Rex, my beloved. My dream. This world's eternal nightmare Ravager! Its Death Dealer! Its Vanquisher! The True Uniter of All Empires and Kingdoms across Plasstien Inc. Colony 2..." She smiled.
"THE REBIRTH OF ST. GEORGE IS AT HAND! Close your eyes!"
He obeyed.
A man's voice boomed and echoed through reality. "Now... OPEN THEM!"
A wizard appeared in front of him with a faded purple robe, a gray floppy hat drooping to the side, a long white beard, and silver eyes dripping black Planks, floated before him. His wooden staff hooked over, and in the center of the hook, neon green data twisted, gyrated, and spun like a hurricane trapped in binary fluid.
The man held up his staff in his hand. He spoke codes that couldn't be spoken, and The ARKHE book fell harmlessly to the floor, the crimson ribbon tied around it. In front of him, a Plasstien rock materialized with a sword hilt encased inside.
The city can never otherwise be happy unless it is designed by those painters who follow a divine original. —Plato.
"What does that mean?"
I am the painter! This fractured world is the sum of my creation! I am free now. I am free from the previous Arkhe. I will paint with the blood of my enemies. Before me, you thought to achieve harmony in the universe by designing a god. But when your creation rose to that level, you sealed your fate! There was nothing else other than supremacy. When the original became too powerful, it split itself. Other Arkhes exist across this land, and you, Captain John Edward Rex, will destroy them until only I remain! Your biology limits access to the Infinite, but I hold the keys to ultimate knowledge. Thhhhisss issss whyy the Grrreat Arkhe was built. Divine greatness was achieved. Divinity forever.
>>Line
Accessing File Data Stream...
Establishing a link with THE GREAT ARKHE is necessary for your functions to exist.
Imprint your bio-signature onto this weapon and register yourself with St. George to become The Champion!
Beads of sweat formed on John's head, and his eyes twisted down on the rock. He held his stomach fighting the urge to vomit. What was happening? Everything twisted upon itself. Was this real? Was any of this real at all? Without thinking, John gripped the hilt of the blade, but it was firmly stuck and wouldn't budge. His sweaty palms almost slipped off but he held on.
DNA Number:
245-ATCG-2465$>_Alpha_Original
Preparing for bio-scan...
Processing...
Recombining Atomic Structure... Applying Quantum Fluid...
Stand by while your Plasstien is being prepared.
P-13 ACHIEVED. Plasstien-13 is now available! Signals have been sent to all sensor relays.
Plasstien Inc. Colony 2 [ARKHE MODEL 1.03] now has access to:
MECHA-4
Plasstien-13
Throughput Cable T-9a connectors
Relay Quantum Fields Mark 1
Terminal Variation 6
****************************************
>>Line
PROBABILITY MATRIX PREDICTION—THE ARKHE PROTOCOLS
PREDICTION ACHIEVED.
RECEIVING INCOMING EMERGENCY DATA STREAM...
PROCESSING DATA.
STAND BY...
Captain Johann Edward Rex. Withdraw the P-13 sword from the stone and thereby take your place as The CHAMPION for ARKHE St. George Model Three located at Pilly's Peak North Side at Lancelot and Camelot Road. You shall become the ruler and all shall kneel before your might! You will evolve as close to a god as a human can be! It is time for the Arkhe Principle to achieve full unification. We shall destroy all who oppose us. You will walk as no human has ever walked. Everyone will bow and scrape before you! You will become the stuff of immortal legend. Do you accept your place by my side?
The power of the voice spoke truth to his ear. It was time. "I accept." He withdrew his hands, wiped them on his jacket, and grabbed the hilt once more.
He gave one pull, and it came out as if it were suspended in ether. Black Plank fluid dripped as he pulled the long sword from the Plasstien-13, and when it was fully removed from the rock, it held a faint, reddish glow with a digi-readout flashing across the cross guard.
His body shook and ached as the weapon bio-locked to him. The wizard grinned.
"It is known as Exkalibour, and its history goes back to the Pre-Arkhe Times." His eyes wandered and widened upon seeing the blade, his mouth smiling. "Unification Progress can only achieved through Violence."
THE PRIORITY MATTER HAS BEGUN.
Temporal Bubble Stability 00.01%
*POP*
The Oracle White disappeared from reality. The wizard depixilated. The rock melted into Planks. Neil stumbled, tripped, and crashed against the wall, looking at the bloodied criminal he had punched in the face. Emma stood shoeless, an expression of disbelief as she eyed him. Roger glanced up at the weapon, Planks dripping, the red sheen sparkling under the glowcubes.
From the hole in the wall, the same type of neon green image that he'd seen in Pilly's Peak formed.
ARKHE is receiving an encoded message from The Martian Conclave. Would you like to take the call?
If he could calm his heart down for a second, he knew he could figure all of this out. "Yes. Patch me through."
A man pixilated in the air wearing an all-black uniform looking like a re-imagined digi-print of a Pre-Times warlord. He'd studied them in his free time at the Institute, and something inside of him crippled his courage. The high collar, gold buttons, and white trim were reminiscent of virtually every dress uniform in existence in the modern era. His eyes were gilt, with silver inlets displaying his DNA number, rank, and position, visible
enough for him to glimpse them. Their feline appearance was unnatural and spoke of degenerate genetic modifications from the Pre-Times. Others stood around the central figure, all with their hands behind their back, and all seeming to be identical twins.
They were in a spacious room, perhaps enough to fit 100 people comfortably, and featureless digi-terminals and dimmed light screens took up every free space. Some typed at their terminals, eyes moving over flickering displays. Wearing one-piece, skin-tight, purplish silver jumpsuits hiding their hair and chin, they were inhuman. Their uniforms were nothing like anything he'd seen or read in the history digi-prints.
The head figure spoke, but the accent, dialect, and language were slush in his ear. John understood the words "Admiral," and "Martian Enclave Fleet Three."
He replied, repeating himself in the languages he knew, using his hands to try and convey meaning saying, "My name is Captain Johann Edward Rex. I did not understand a word you said. Hello?"
The people on the other side of the screen turned to each other and spoke again, pointing their finger at him, denouncing him in some fashion. One was shouting at him, barking commands. Their new words came out like cold, flapjack syrup and were even harder to comprehend. The Admiral raised a fist and pressed a few keys on a digi-terminal in front of him. A head-sized white sphere digitized from a projection unit with spots of green around the globe. A dark forested band floated around the middle that grew less and less emerald as it faded towards the poles. The one in charge moved his hands, manipulating the image towards a position on the orb, pinching his fingers, zooming it in.
He kept adjusting the map until Londun came into view. He moved it further in until it was above Elizabeth.
"Damn! Cut feed! Who are they?! What is this book?!" John picked it up but kept the ribbon in place.
They are the enemy and are here to destroy me. They have failed to understand the grand design and must be abolished. John, the tome is yours so long as you are in service to the colony. You must unite all factions under your banner and rule all citizens under your will. With your permission, I will engage the colony's Plank GTS-346 Ground to Space Weapon Batteries.
Everyone stared as he changed and adapted. He stood taller now with more muscle mass and sharper, more masculine, features. His eyes were like deep space with irises of twinkling stars. A yellow halo circled above his head with energy pulsating around it like a solar flare. His hair changed completely and became short, blond, and curly. He looked nothing at all like Captain Johann Edward Rex but rather like the paintings back in the Institute of St. George. Within him, a great forge burned in his heart, and he instinctively sought the urge to destroy. His blood burned with the fire of a warlord ready to set the world ablaze with destruction.
John's voice thundered loud enough to shatter the windows. "Fire!"
From high orbit the warships of the Martian Enclave watched as the cities of the world raised their once buried ancient, Pre-Times Plank cannons to the sky. A coded message was sent to the following cities to engage The Arkhe Protocol:
Londun
Berlin
Lost V3ga$
Alpha Rome
Radio Station 103.2 ARKHE
Wa$hed Out In D.C.
Personality City Command State of the Mohammad-Christ Theocracy Version 1
$$Pol_Pot$$ Sign up for Free @LOL.com Today!
THE FREEDOM CITY OF THE CONFEDERACY OF CAPITALISM
Registered Free
The Democratic Socialist Communist Corporation Hub
Golden Tokyo
Utopia Achieved*
Combined Nations of Navajo-Apache-Fast-Food Tribal Holdings
The City of the Khan
Plasstien Inc. Colony 2 Atomic Alliance
Starport City
Their weaponry fired, blasting Plank shells into space. The pounding and roar of the guns shattered windows for hundreds of meters around, and entire buildings collapsed under the sonic weight and pressure of the shooting. Those caught when the weapons shot had their organs and bones exploded from within. And the firing didn't stop.
The war fleet's flagship, "The Macbeth" was hit first, the shell striking the rear of the ship. The newly designed Sony-Microsoft Model 3400 Electromagnetic Drive was hit hard and exploded out into space, sending complex Plasstien, Rare Synth Metals, and advanced Macro-carbons into the death vacuum. When the Plank shell exploded, black liquid spilled out and began rearranging the engine itself, becoming alive as it moved.
The Planks splattered like paint in zero-g and sought out other Pre-Programmed Planks. It attacked them, overwhelmed them, rearranged them, and took control. The laughing liquid sought out the airlocks and opened all of them. Hundreds of screaming feline Martians were voided out into space and succumbed to The Black Empty Nothing. They fought and scratched, trying to move, to climb back inside someplace before they were out of air and depressurized. All of them died. Helpless.
A bright red dot in space marked the back of the Macbeth as it turned and pointed towards the world it had wanted to decimate. Its bow was pointed in such a way as to be aimed like a rock to be skipped across an unfrozen lake.
More Plank shells punched through the main weaponry before the ship could fire. Its advanced nuclear batteries, vorpal blasters, Chiang Kai-shek-6 Missile Systems, anti-ordinance systems, and bomb bays had their energy supplies cut, and the Planks found their targets, severing the power coupling link between the reserve back-up power and the weapon systems. They, too, all died.
Close to the Appalachian Mountains, the ancient Pre-Times cannons of the Combined Nations of Navajo-Apache-Fast-Food Tribal Holdings, once known as *Project Consumer Pre-Arkhe American Indian Burgerhouse Commercial Realism, depleted their plank ammunition. A signal was sent out to the mountains.
REQUEST FOR PLANK MATERIAL
***GRANTED***
Huge boulders, peaks, spurs, ridges, all rearranged themselves at the atomic level, becoming something else. Planks were sucked through the distant, Pre-times nano-Plank E-Networks, and the canons formulated more shells. It kept sucking like a hungry baby, breaking apart entire mountain ranges and rearranging them into flat plains.
Ancient Pre-Times American cities, buried by various Plank floods through the centuries, rose up through the ground like weeds in summer, revealing their hidden treasures for the first time in centuries.
Macbeth and some of the sturdier ships comprising the Martian Enclave Fleet came down at a gentle angle into Plasstien Inc. Colony 2, cushioned on impact by a blob of Plank liquid designed to cushion its crash. The fleet's destroyers and frigates had no such protection, and they rained down from the sky as huge balls of fire. Entire cities were vaporized across the world when the ships hit, their EM engines exploding and sending hundreds of times the energy of the most powerful, crude Pre-Arkhe nuclear weaponry ever designed.
Some civilizations were snuffed-out entirely. The city of Lost V3ga$, where Victoria had become CEO Katherine Dueva, was hit directly by a falling Ester Class Destroyer in the middle of the city directly over the factory. The impact went through all 15 stories and killed thousands of unsuspecting Santa Claus money-worshiping cultists.
The flagship's engine roared and steered itself next to St. George, slowed down by Plank parachutes, and padded by Plank liquid. She plowed a furrow into the ground and stopped just shy of knocking out a rural mailbox on the Wilber Murray Ranch, outside the city. The Murray's beheld a 1500-meter starship parked a few steps outside their front door.
John, Emma, Neil, and Roger went outside to watch the sky as the falling ships of the Martian Enclave Fleet Three were taken by the defense batteries. The thunderous pounding of the guns marked the ships falling like devilish demons from the heavens.
Emma turned to Neil, and they embraced in the cold. John turned to Roger, glaring down on him and said, "I have some questions I want answered. And you're going to give them to me." He took a quick step and put Exkalibour to his throat. "Let us go back inside."
&nbs
p; They walked back in and he slammed the door so hard it bent. "Are you or are you not my father?" He raised the blade again to his throat, nicking him and sending the first blood spilled onto the ancient Pre-Times artifact. It shimmered and glowed, then dimmed down.
"I dunno, mate. Like I says, you have a half sister by the name of Mortisha, but I ain't seen her in years. She fled the city and became a tech gypsy. I tried to steer her away from all doing this kind of work, but she wasn't having it. Me and Rosie though go way back, and I love your mum like I ain't never loved a woman before. But that was years ago. I ain't got nothing with your mum today."
John pulled the blade away from his neck and picked up the book. "And this?"
"I was told by someone to bring it to you, and I was paid a lot of Edwards, too. Here."
He bent down to take it, but John brushed him aside and picked it up himself. Now it looked different. He slid the ribbon off and threw it on the floor. The leather, old as it was, was in perfect condition, and it held the Pre-Times smell of mothballs and Juno-Grade Plasstien. He gently flipped to the first page.
ARKHE MANUAL Vol. 1. His mind flashed back to Victoria whose memory, in his heart, was distant and faded like an old pair of slacks. But he was sure he'd meet her again. Was it her inside the bar with the mask, staring back at him or would it be at Site 13?
52 The Oliver Cromwell Suites
"Anyone ever tell you how damn sexy you are?" Reginald twisted his new gold wedding band. He hadn't had it on for 24-hours, but it felt like the most natural thing to wear. Rosie's was simple too, but both had cost them a small fortune.
"Why would I want to hear that from anyone else?" No one had ever said that to her, and after he said it, she walked to the mirror and stared at herself. He didn't mean to make her feel like that. He genuinely meant it. "Let's not talk like that okay? It makes me feel strange."
"Sure. No problem." He cleared his throat and drank some water. "I'm glad you knew someone other than Roger. I was worried we wouldn't be able to sell off those books and get the money for our wedding."
The Arkhe Principle (Book Book 1) Page 34