God is in the Rain

by Bruce Burk

  They One State showed no mercy on them, shocking the citizens to death. They killed women in the streets. They pepper sprayed the children. They sniped others from high above. They drone struck people without warning and then also killed the people who came to their aid. Aiden watched it all from his space station, smiling. “This is good for them. Soon, the people will have a strong leader and all this fighting can end. It is the last necessary bloodshed before the peace,” Aiden said.

  The OSS caught Kaslov retreating into the wilderness. “Hands up terrorist!” an OSS officer said. Kaslov turned around. “What is the problem here officer?” he asked, before his men leaped up from the grass and shot the officers dead. “Exactly as I said … no problems,” he said.

  By now, the animals that Dr. Verne had sent into the fight had also been killed. Suddenly, the OSS broke down the door and stuck a gun I Dr. Verne’s face. The state never likes to kill a scientist because he is an easy convert for their own power.

  Liam became surrounded by speeders on all sides. He took out several of them with the tank’s blaster. Then, they used an EMP to disable it. He leaped out of the tank and kicked one of the officers off their speeder. Then he went speeding through the woods. Gavin found his way back to land. Suddenly, an anti-aircraft missile was fired damaging his ship. The plane quickly descended to earth and he ejected just in time, being carried away by the Valkyries. He landed safely on the ground. Suddenly, a tall special force elite dark marine greeted him. His eyes were burning with red and he withdrew his matter sword.

  “Look at you, Fresco. You’ve lost. Your country has fallen. Your people will lose everything and it will all be your fault. you could have been on the winning side if you would have just stayed loyal to the military and joined the OSS,” the marine said.

  “My loyalty is not to any country, constitution, president, or military. My loyalty has and always will be to the principles for which my country stood for. That loyalty is not, nor ever shall be absolute and ends when my country betrays the principles for which it stands,” he replied.

  “Foolish idealist. Your blood will run in the streets and it will be for nothing,” the marine responded while breathing heavily. “Not if I have anything to say about it,” Gavin said as he clashed with the dark marine, shooting him in the legs. They dance around in circles, their matter sword flailing in the air. Gavin cut off the dark’s left arm saying, “I’m sick and tired of you red-eyes! Why don’t you go back to hell!” He deflected many of the dark’s laser blast back at him. His shields fell. Gavin swung at his legs and took them out. He cut off his right arm. The dark fell to his knees in front of him. “Have you no mercy,” the marine plead. “If you want mercy, you’re talking to the wrong person. There’s just one thing I wanted to say to you. Don’t treat on me!” Gavin said, swinging his sword and decapitating the elite dark marine. “Protect Sophia,” John said to Gavin through soul speak. He ran for the capital.

  Fysi rode in on his horse through many OSS officers. Commander Schorner picked him out and followed him on a speeder. The commander came up close to him, took out a precision blaster rifle, and pointed it directly at Fysi. John looked down from the steps of the capital and saw him. “No!” John yelled as he watched. But the commander blasted Fysi in the stomach and he fell from his horse’s back. In anger, John flung his matter sword through the crowd, slicing through several dark marines. The sword spun quickly, cutting through the neck of the commander, killing him instantly.

  Suddenly, Clark’s computers went dark. The Universal Database operators had foiled his attempts at hacking any of their systems. A skull and crossbones filled his screen “Ha ha ha, naughty Raven,” a message said.

  John rushed through the battlefield. He picked up Fysi who was weak and in pain. Clark soul spoke to John, “I’ve been locked out of the system. However, before I lost access, I found Aiden. He’s in a space station. We think he is going to be releasing the mind drones from there any minute now! The same ones that he put in the One State officers. I’m sending a ship to pick you up.” John replied, “Thank you Clark.” Gavin joined in, “John I’m coming with you.” “No, if I don’t make it you have to stay here to make sure that I have a successor,” John replied. “Tell Sophia I love her,” he added. “Damnit John! It’s suicide by yourself!” Gavin said. “I have a promise to keep,” he said, full of conviction. “John wait!” Sophia said through soul speak. John ignored her. “Soul of Light. You must go! Save your people,” Fysi said. John picked up Fysi and threw him over his shoulder. Then, he leaped into the ship and took off into the sky. Several OS fighter jets followed him. John soul spoke to the Valkyries. Hundreds of birds flew down from the sky and threw missiles into the ships that had chased after him. He travelled towards to the giant space station satellite in the sky.

  CHAPTER 32 - PROVOCATION

  John laid Fysi’s limp body on a bed as the ship shot into the sky. The bleeding was bad but his cough was still gentle. Fysi stared into John’s eyes. “We just need to stop the bleeding and you’ll be fine,” John said. “Shh,” Fysi said. “There is something I must tell you.” Fysi placed his hand on John’s heart. John began to see strange colors. Suddenly, their minds were transported back in time.

  “Here is your beverage, Mrs. Shepard,” said the stewardess.

  “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “You can call me Grace.” Grace wore a beautiful sun dress, covered in flowers. “Well you are just radiant! May I?” the stewardess asked. “Of course.” The stewardess put her hands on Grace’s stomach. Then she put her head up to listen in. “I think I can hear a heartbeat!” she said with a smile. “Is it a boy or a girl?” the stewardess asked. “Boys. Twins!” she said with a smile. “Wow, congratulations! I hope to have some of my own someday,” said the stewardess, walking away.

  Grace looked over the side of the cruise ship and starred at the beautiful water in the Caribbean. Suddenly, a strange Middle Eastern man walked passed her and gave her a dirty look. “Here honey, I brought you this,” Jack said handing Grace a Stargazer flower. “It’s beautiful,” she said. She admired the colors of the petals and, put the flower in her hair, and kissed her husband. A holo-screen came on in the background. “In other new, the war on terror is still underway. Citizens should be wary not to associate themselves with suspected terrorists because drone strikes may be imminent,” said the anchor.

  Suddenly, Grace made a strange and uncomfortable face.

  “What’s wrong honey?” Jack asked. “I think my water just broke!” she said. “She’s going into labor! We need to get her to the doctor!” Jack yelled. They rushed her to the ship’s medical facilities. After a few hours of labor, Mrs. Shepard was pushing as hard as she could. “Breath and push,” said the nurse. Her face was bright red. “I can see the head,” the doctor said. “One more big push for me.” “Huuuuuuhhhhhhh,” she yelled, grabbing the railing and pushing as hard as she could. “And it’s a beautiful baby boy!” the doctor said with a smile. “John Lucas Shepard,” she said, naming the first child. “One more Mrs. Shepard. Keep breathing,” the doctor said. “Keep pushing,” the nurse told her. “I can see another head! One more big push for me!” “Huuuuuhhhhhh,” she pushed as hard as she could. “And another beautiful baby boy,” the doctor said. “Aiden Maximus Shepard,” she said, naming the second child.

  Hours later, they sat with their newly born children in the delivery room. Both of their children were in a basket together, covered in white cloth. “I will love you both forever,” she said to them.

  The next day, she sat holding her children by the pool on the top of the deck. “Will you hold them,” Grace said to Jack, “I want to go get some sun.” She left and walked to the side of the ship, overlooking the ocean. “Aw, the birds are looking for a place to land,” she said, seeing some dark, winged figures in the sky. Suddenly, the strange Middle Eastern man ran towards her. He seemed to be running away from the ship’s security. The figures in the sky came into view. They were Predator drones.


  “Grace!” Jack shouted.

  Suddenly, the drones, on order of the President of the United States, blasted the side of ship. Grace was caught in the middle of it and killed instantly. She was collateral damage in the war on terror. The ship became turbulent and began to sink. Jack grabbed the basket, carrying his babies. Several marines stormed ship. Jack found a lifeboat and began pulling some ropes to lower it down. “Hey! Stop!” The marines yelled. But Jack did not listen. He lowered the lifeboat into the water, dodging multiple laser blasts. He did not know why they were pursuing him. Perhaps they didn’t want to allow spouses of casualties of war to be able to execute a vendetta against their state. It began to rain. Jack sailed through the murky waters overnight. Finally, his raft came to the island of Cozumel. In the dark of night, in the pouring rain, Jack carried his children onto the sand. But the marines were not far behind. A native emerged from the wilderness and Jack ran towards him.

  “Here, you must take care of my children! They are coming for me!” Jack said, handing the basket to the native. “Run!” Fysi took the basked and took off running, disappearing into the wilderness. Jack’s eyes were able to cry at almost the same rate as the raindrops fell on his face. The marines came and arrested Jack, taking him away.

  Fysi placed the two children before the village leaders. Aiden was placed into village X. John was placed into village Y. Aiden was raised in hierarchy based village with scare resources. John was raised in a place of equality and abundance. The two became a mirror to the society they were raised in. Fysi spoke to John as they floated through space-time, staring at the memories. The screen looked like tiny particles of water all put together. “You see John, Aiden is your brother. John was dumbfounded. “It can’t be true! He’s evil!” John said. “But he was not that way when he was given to us by your father. We desired to know truth of human nature after they discovered my condition. When you and Aiden came to me, you were a blank canvas for the universe to paint either good or evil. Aiden was given to a village where he was given privilege, power structures, and violence, while you were given to a village of harmony, love, and peace. There is no removing someone from their environment. Not here, nor anywhere in the universe. Even in the womb, your mother was altering your behaviors both chemically and psychologically. Aiden is the way he is because that’s how the world stained his canvas, not because he has some permanent character trait of being evil by design. The universe is not as compartmentalized and disconnected as most people think. We are all related. We are all connected: woven together in cosmic thread. Your eyes, they fail you. Your mind sees only the surface. It categorizes and separates things, because that is how it processes information. That is why you must not see with your eyes. You must see with your heart; look with your soul. We are all impacting, even if slightly, the cosmic water that we all float in. Every word we say. Every action we make. It ripples to someone else. The universe is alive. It is self-aware. It breathes. It changes. Even the rocks, deep down, are breathing. The actions of someone here affect someone there. Space and time are tied together. The laws you found, they are dictations from the universe itself: requirements for it to properly balance itself and life on your planet. As the universe evolves, so do they. Light-years from here, there are other planets with other life forms. They too have natural law systems. There is no separation between the material and the spiritual, only the illusion of separation. There are no coincidences or luck. Everyone and everything is connected in a marvelous, interwoven, and living universe,” Fysi said.

  The ship left the earth’s atmosphere. They were amongst the stars and the black, endless cosmos. Through a window, John saw the One State Space Station. It was a large, black and circular structure orbiting the Earth. It had solar panels and an enormous amount of satellite dishes, which seemed to be sending signals to other satellites nearby. Fysi’s eyes began to close. “Stay with me!” John said. “Shepard. You must stop him at all costs. Promise me,” Fysi said in a soft tired breath. “I promise.” With that, Fysi’s eyes shut. John touched his neck to see that he still had a pulse. He seemed to be in a comma. But even so, he still smiled.

  John docked with the space station. He was able to hack the doors open. Clark’s training had paid off. He entered the station through the pressed doors. Surprisingly, once inside, he was able to walk. He had never experienced walking on artificial gravity before. John, in his Knight robe, walked down a narrow corridor. Suddenly, Aiden’s voice came onto a loudspeaker.

  “Lovely of you to join me for my magnum opus, Shepard!” Aiden said. “The people have risen up against you Aiden. Your empire … is on its knees. The Republics must be restored. Give up now and I may spare your life,” John said. “We’ll just see about that,” his brother replied. The loudspeaker cut off. The walls of the room he was in opened. The lights turned off. “Let’s see how good you really are in the shadows!” Two robotic warriors emerged from the walls wielding matter staffs. John saw the reds in their eyes. They charged at him from both sides. John leaped from the middle of them and they clashed their swords together. John lifted his arms toward them, shooting them both from his wrist-mounted blasters. Some pieces of their armor fell off. John kicked one of the robots away and quickly ducked to get out of the way as he dodged the matter baton. The robot shot red blasts towards John from its eyes, which he dodged. The other robot fired at him as well, but John absorbed them with his sword and sent them flying right back, destroying the droid.

  Suddenly, the walls began to shapeshift. The walls turned into code and then morphed into mirrors. John held his sword right at he looked at what seemed to be dozens of robots staring at him. It was clear to him that Aiden was attempting to mess with his mind. He swung into one and the mirror shattered in front of him. The robots tautened him. More blasts came, taking out the mirrors in front of him.

  John decided to close his eyes. He reached out through the fabric of the cosmos. One of the robots aimed for John’s head, but John spun his matter sword and cut the robot in half. Still with his eyes closed, he threw his matter sword forward into the head of the remaining robot. Likewise, the illusions in the mirrors vanished and the walls changed back into a strange compilation of matter and computer. John walked forward and the door shut behind him. He climbed through some wiring and under circuit boards. He came into another room with a map of the whole world. It seems Aiden had drawn up the main areas where the mind drones would be released.

  Suddenly, a savage group of dog-like creatures ran towards John. John ordered the animals to halt. However, to his surprise, they continued to run. “Halt!” he said again. But they did not listen. As they came closer, he could see that their organs were synthetic and printed by machines. He could sense their lack of connection with the life force of nature. One leaped on top of John. He held it up by its neck until he punched while simultaneously blasting it in the face. The rest of the dogs were also blasted. The swirled into the floor and disappeared into the matter-like texture of the floor. John continued to walk forward. The walls began to talk to him with frightening whispers.

  Suddenly, the walls seem to grab a hold of him. John desperately blasted and slashed at them but they were unyielding. Suddenly, everything stopped and the room became quiet. Two holo-screens appeared in front of him. A deep, dark voice spoke out to him. The screen on his right seemed to glow in a red color, where the left was normal. “The screen on the left will show you a future world where people are allowed to be freethinkers. The screen to your right will show you a future world where freedom has been removed,” Aiden said. The first holo-screen moved forward and lit up. Pictures of war torn countries filled the screen. He saw people rioting in the streets. It was chaos. He saw rows of tombstones of people killed by diseases.

  “You desire a world where the people of Earth are given the freedom to kill themselves and destroy the Earth. You desire a world where people are free to create tools of destruction. You promote a world where people can enslave others through tec
hnological systems of control,” Aiden said. The floor launched John into the first screen as if he was entering the world. Images began rushing past him. Nuclear mushroom clouds formed all around. The genetic structures of diseases were like a forest he walking through. He saw the most disgusting angles of humanity. He walked through the battlefields of dead soldiers.

  “You desire a world of anarchy. Your pathetic legal structures and systems of belief do not make them behave. In many instances, they only become worse. The people create tiered structures of poverty and wealth inequality. They use up the resources of the Earth aimlessly and consume themselves with the pettiest of affairs,” Aiden said. John tried to run in the opposite direction, but the images followed him. The floor fell out. John plummeted towards the ground. Faces flew past him. “Freedom is the enemy of mankind,” one said. “Freedom is what will destroy us,” said another. “Because this criminal was free to think, he was able to shoot me down,” said an eleven-year-old girl. “Make it stop!” John yelled. Suddenly, he fell back into his chair. The red screen moved forward and the room launched him into the holo-screen. He found himself in an old prison cell. Everything had a red tint to it. He reached out and looked through the bars.

  “Hello?” he said. The cell door slowly opened in front of him. He walked out. Strangely, all the other prison cells were empty. “When you take away mankind’s freedom of thought, it is impossible for them to commit crimes,” Aiden said. John walked up to a bookshelf in the next room labeled, “laws.” John pulled one of the books from the shelf and opened it to the center of the pages. He observed that the entire book of laws was blank. Frustrated, he pulled another legal book from the shelf. It was blank. John threw the books at the floor.