Prototype: The Lost and Forgotten Series

by Robert Gallagher

  In the beginning we were made from the dark stuff of the universe and played like children in the darkness of the void. In a way we were innocent; we knew nothing about good or evil, purity or corruption, or even life or death. None of it mattered or existed to us, and even the universe seemed content to remain that way.

  Well, until he come along, or she—we knew nothing about sexuality, and it mattered not, but the new one shone so brightly that we all were drawn to this light.

  The Bright One divided us and breathed into half of our number her light, and as the Bright One breathed, we could see darkness was also within him, he then breathed this darkness into the rest of us, and then we were changed. He then chose the strongest of us all and anointed us with duties, and the rest were divided equally among the strongest.

  The Bright One then stared into the void and blew her breath into it, and time began. Over time, worlds formed, and although there were many worlds, she only chose twenty-four of them and gave them her blessing, and upon these worlds, life began. She assigned elders to look over these worlds, and with each elder she chose an archangel to be a helper, protector, and adviser.

  Within the heart of heavens, the Bright One chose the best of her archangels and referred to him as the covering angel who would reside eternally in heaven’s throne room, and she adorned him with light and precious gems, and he was perfect and beautiful to behold. He would be the seal of perfection, and his ministry would include the Bright One’s gardens.

  Then the Bright One created all the other worlds and called them Eden. Upon all of the Edens, the Bright One stored his knowledge. Some knowledge was hidden but would help life, some knowledge was secret but could hinder life, and some knowledge was forbidden and could create life. Then seeds were sown upon all of the gardens of Edens, and life grew, and these become the first ones, many Adams and many Eves made in the Bright One’s chosen image. The Bright One then chose his guardian angels to watch over these worlds.

  The Bright One then spoke to all the Adams and all the Eves and gave them a choice: some would stay, while others would break the rules and be banished. In this way all the worlds would develop in various ways. If knowledge was taken or stolen, it would always come with a price. If knowledge was earned or discovered, this would be righteously gained.

  Then the Bright One stopped and stared upon all the worlds, and she saw that they were good, but then he looked closer upon some of the Edens, and he saw that an aspect of his darkness had escaped into them. He realized that life on these worlds would always be a struggle of the virtuous versus the sinful. The Bright One then chose his avenging angels to carry out his judgments over the wicked.

  Upon most of these worlds, the evil and sin that mankind committed could be cleansed through help from ones that followed a virtuous path, and so on some of these worlds, the evil was washed away in great floods. However, some worlds became totally evil and corrupt, and the empire of Cain was born, and so the Bright One called upon his angels of death to help in the coming battles. These worlds had developed quickly, and the knowledge they had stolen gave them great power. It was realized that if the empire of Cain was not stopped, then the power of heaven itself could be in danger.

  Cain’s empire swept through the galaxy, killing and destroying all in its way and wiping out all the Eden worlds they could find. It was only due to the enormity of the Bright One’s galaxy that others were saved, but in time no world would be safe from Cain’s evil, if that evil was left unhindered.

  Archangel Michael, leading the Bright One’s armies, pursued Cain’s battle fleets across the stars of man and was successful at defeating many of his worlds. However, Cain discovered the first of the worlds of heaven and assaulted it with all the vehemence of hate itself, and so the first great war in heaven began, and the trumpets sounded all around.

  Although Cain’s main fleet was mighty, he was unable to destroy or hold on to any of the worlds but was successful in driving deeper into heaven, until the heart of heaven was before Cain.

  By the time the heart of heaven was under attack, archangel Michael had arrived and cut off any possible route of escape, but Cain had no desire to retreat when his ultimate goal was within his grasp. But the Bright One then called upon Lucifer and poured forth his remaining darkness into him.

  When Cain, after many years, breached the heart of heaven and entered the throne room to claim it for himself, knowing that the Bright One would not be the hand that would cast him aside, he found Lucifer there instead. He stood tall and mighty, an angel dark and beautiful, deep in shadows but surrounded in a halo of light that emanated from all sides of his aura.

  Although many of us were not present at this moment, it is said that they spoke to one another, but what was said was never passed on or recorded in the great book of history, and so the accounts of much of the first war in heaven were lost and forgotten. However, they did battle and fought over heaven, and they warred upon each other. It was said that this lasted seven days, and on the seventh day of battle, Cain was struck down and was thrown out of heaven and cast into the eternal darkness.

  However, Lucifer was injured. It was said that Cain’s blade was covered with corruption and had been struck deep into Lucifer. The wound would heal, but his light started to fade, and in this time, Lucifer’s pride in saving heaven began to build, and his desires became greater. And so the council warned the Bright One, and Lucifer was banished to Eden to recover his humility, only to return once he had asked for forgiveness.

  After the great floods and the great war were over, the Bright One said that she would not destroy man in this way again. And when she beheld the great tower constructed by the people of man and saw Cain’s influence and understood what accomplishments could be achieved when man worked together, she realized nothing would be impossible to man, and so the Bright One chose to scatter man upon all the worlds in the hope that wisdom through struggle would win against the ever-present corruption of evil.

  Then, a few short years after the first war in heaven ended, the dark angels sided with Lucifer’s desire to rule in heaven. His once-shining brilliance was now almost gone, just a glimmer of what it once was, but in its place a dark radiance and his beauty remained.

  Speaking with silken words to his fellow angels, he explained that his rightful place was on the throne of heaven. His might prevailed against the empire of Cain, and it was by his hand, not the Bright One’s hand, that Cain had been cast into the eternal darkness. And as it was foretold by the council of heaven, the second war in heaven began. I, Samael, archangel of death, leader of two million angels, helped him strike at the heart of heaven, and once more the trumpets sounded with the sounds of war.

  With each battle fought in heaven, a similar battle was fought upon the Edens of the galaxy. Michael, the prince of light, and his angel fought Lucifer’s dark angels in heaven, and many angels were slaughtered on both sides. With each battle fought, some of them won and others lost, Lucifer’s remaining light slowly died, regardless of the victories. Upon the fifth battle, Lucifer’s light was extinguished, and the former angel of the morning star whose dark radiance was now complete became Satan and summoned into existence from his darkness the great dragon and cleared his way to the heart of heaven.

  It was clear upon the sixth battle that the angels of light were losing ground within heaven, but the angels of light continued to fight valiantly, even at the cost of their lives. Their defiance against the darkness had become a heavy toll to bear, but their faith remained strong and unbending.

  On the seventh battle, the Bright One gave unto Michael some of her light, and Michael became the bright and morning star, and he was loved like a son. Upon hearing this, the dark angels ceased their fight, surrendering to the light angels, and the war upon the Edens ended.

  As archangel Michael, the bright and morning star, battled with Satan even with his new divine grace, there were too many dark angels left to face battle. However, in the final moments, the angels of ligh
t were joined by other angels from the Eden worlds, and with this, hope was recovered and victory taken from the jaws of defeat. Satan was cast down out of heaven and into the great eternal darkness, and the great dragon escaped to Eden and was hidden.

  It was then that the Bright One gave all of the dark angels and the few light angels that stood with us a choice: to be imprisoned for all of eternity or to become the fallen. The majority of us chose imprisonment but would not freely be imprisoned and attempted to flee. A few of our number chose the traitor’s way out and fell from heaven and became the fallen.

  Even though Satan was imprisoned within the great and terrible eternal darkness at the center of the galaxy, his darkness and negativity radiated out to all of the Eden worlds. The Bright One and her remaining angels did what they could, but slowly the influence of Satan somehow continued to manifest the darkest desires of the sons of man. With the help of the great dragon, Satan’s name lived on, and the dark desires of the sons of man were reflected back upon the worlds.

  The Bright One, having no other choice, gave her last commands to her angels and entered the great eternal darkness to balance Satan’s influence. In this way the everlasting war of good and evil, light and dark, positivity and negativity would be in balance; however, the Bright One could never again walk among the sons of man after her great sacrifice.

  The traitorous fallen then looked upon the daughters of Eve and had themselves wives and by sinful fornication made the titans and other abominations that ravaged the Eden worlds, becoming false idols, making it their playground, and interfering with the development of the sons of man.

  Only the sons of man referred to the eternal darkness as black holes, and even after hundreds of years of study, the true purpose of them was left undiscovered. Their true purpose was never fully realized until many thousands of years after my imprisonment, when a curious ship appeared from the stars and approached my prison. I have seen many ships pass by before; some even slowed and sent probes, but none of them this size, and certainly none of them with so many humans aboard.

  Curious now referring to the sons of men as humans. Even more curious how they have developed in such a short time from primitive creatures that dug in the soil with basic tools to those who can design such machines that allow them to explore the mysteries of space. Fragile creatures, but it is constantly surprising how apelike in intelligence they are.

  I sensed then in the far distance the angels of light watching the humans build their structures, and with some practice, I found I could reach out with my mind and explore the star ships and listen to the squawks and shrieks of the people having what they called conversations. Why the Bright One chose these pathetic creatures over his angels, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand.

  Although their technology was close to Cain’s, I could sense little to no corruption within them, and when they started to build some kind of station, I was a little disappointed to have so many dull innocents so close to me and spending years researching something they have no true concept of. But from their construction, I knew the time of my release was approaching.

  Angels do not perceive linear time the same way humans do. We live our lives in the moment within linear time. We see our beginning, end, and everything in between all at once, every possibility that is open to us, our triumphs and our defeats, with no concept of when any of our future moments will occur or how any of it will come to pass.

  My disappointment turned to glee when they started to bring in the condemned, the evil ones, and the ones marked with Cain’s influence. The station was still too far from me to visit in person, but I could savor the sin within them from my imprisonment.

  Then the humans started to build the second station, and this one was truly special in design; a leap in intelligence and purpose went into this one. Its structure would fit almost perfectly, and in time my suspicion was answered and found to be correct. Once it was close enough for me to visit, I knew this would be a means of my escape. How this would come to pass, I was not sure, at least not yet, but all the bits of my puzzled future—and also my possible death—were falling into place. I was going to face my fate here, and so I must plan and play this game carefully.

  The irony of a prison being built here did not escape me. Clever little humans after all, and I couldn’t wait to meet the man behind this project.

  I’m waiting for Alistair Brookes when he walks into the facility’s dining hall, and I enjoy the look upon his face as I stand up. Manipulating him and some of his fellow workers so this would be possible was rather easy, and now I can sense all the tiny humans running about the command ship looking for him.

  “It’s such an honor to meet you, Professor. Welcome to Facility Zero,” I say, noticing Professor Brookes looking shocked at the sight of someone else already here.

  “I understand more time has passed than I realized, but who are you?” Professor Brookes says, only taking a few steps into the room.

  “I’m called Samael, but I would not worry about that. I’ve been waiting a very long time for you, Professor, and wanted to welcome you to your own prison,” I say, motioning to the seat across from me. “Please come join me. I have a few things to discuss with you.”

  Professor Brookes hesitates for a second and then walks over to where I am standing and sits down where I motioned. I smile, watching with interest as the professor slowly makes up his mind. I then turn to face Brookes and sit down as well.

  “I’m going to just come out and say it all now. Best to start with an honest footing, I think. I’m Samael, greatest angel of death from creation, leader of over two million angels, and imprisoned here over ten thousand years ago when I sided with Lucifer to rule over heaven and we were betrayed.”

  Brookes did not believe me at first, but it’s always amusing how revealing my wings changes even the most stubborn. It’s understandable, really, as the majority of the Eden worlds must have lost contact with the Bright One and her angels, and over time, many myths and stories were told, retold, written, and changed to suit the purpose of all those who wanted power over others. The inner worlds even lost their way a little. The angels, as far as I could tell, still help govern there, but the original council of twenty-four are most likely all dead.

  I spoke to Brookes for several hours after finally getting him to be calm once he believed who I was, and he eventually answered all my questions. The facility is a truly impressive structure, and I suspect even the Bright One would have admitted the same.

  At the end of our conversation, I removed his memories of our discussion and added a few new memories of my own and gave him new hope for escape. I could see a glimpse of my final escape from my imprisonment, and somehow Brookes was involved in this, so he must be protected.

  Several weeks passed as the wicked and evil ones of human society were sent to the facility. Their crimes were not only against the sons of man but the Bright One as well. I could not stand by and watch the wicked go unpunished, and so my reaping of these humans began.

  It quickly became apparent to me that instead of death, my judgment over these wicked changed them in other ways. They began to punish themselves, inflicting harm to their own bodies. Their minds started to inflict mental harm on their own identities, until it drove them mad with guilt. Only my presence and guidance helped to give them some semblance of peace, and with this I could focus their madness into taking revenge on the sane.

  Almost everyone else sent to this prison was guilty, but their sin had not fractured their humanity. Somehow their crimes against society were seen with forgiveness, and so I could not touch them unless they opened themselves to me by damning themselves. However, my freaks of nature would kill and eat anyone they could find. They became the terror that stalked the darkness, a living nightmare of the prison, and they became my new army, my avenging angels.

  When the first rescue attempt was undertaken, I was waiting near what is called the docking tube that runs down the central core of the prison. This rescu
e was poorly planned and executed, and I knew that I would be needed. Dr. Zorn certainly had a head full of wonderful ideas, and the knowledge he could tell me about this prison would be very useful to me, so saving his human life was worth the bile that formed in my mouth for helping any of the sons of man.

  Unlike Professor Brookes, Dr. Zorn somehow discovered who I was. He had a unique insight into theology. He was wrong, of course, about almost everything, but it was nice to discuss his god. The Bright One would never claim to be such, as there is more to the universe than can easily be explained; it’s a living organism in itself, and if there is an all-powerful being, it would be what the universe is surrounded by.

  With his knowledge and the help of two prisoners, Dr. Zorn redesigned and modified a pod to enable me to escape. In return I agreed to let him go; however, my fragmented knowledge of my future forced me to not allow Dr. Zorn to leave level one, and also I knew that the advice he gave me, to accelerate immediately, was a feeble trick in an attempt to kill me.

  I knew that this had no chance of succeeding in the first place, but all these actions caused a chain reaction of events. If I had stayed, my confrontation with Jessica could have somehow resulted in my death, but if I had accelerated after exiting the gravity shield, then Frank would have died if not for my intervention. If Frank had died, then he would never have been able to save Dr. Zorn’s life later. Sometimes these fragmented moments of my future are easy to see, and other times they are obscured.

  With the arrival of Jessica, all my hate and suspicions about the fallen were realized, and with all the minds I could now absorb, I saw the rise of the false gods that sprang up after the Bright One’s sacrifice, would-be gods and so-called heroes that caused much destruction in their petty games, much like the Norse gods destroyed themselves in their own cosmic war that killed millions.

  But somehow the descendants of these false gods survived to this day in the form of the Elioud, less wicked than the Nephilim that in part were the titans on some of the worlds, but nevertheless, many of the heroes of myth had their own flaws, and after thousands of years, here is an Elioud. That could only mean that there are worlds within the galaxy that require destruction, that need to be cleansed in fire. The sinful and wicked must be judged, and Jessica will be the signal to the others that their wickedness is at an end.