Charger Chronicles 2: Charger the Weapon

by Lea Tassie

  "So it's black now because you handed me the god fragment, that tiny chunk of the mass?" Tegra-Duran was still trying to decipher what the Prime was implying.

  "It is not detecting the fragment I gave you," the Prime answered.

  "It's broken?" Tegra-Duran asked.

  "No, it is working," The Prime responded.

  "Okay then, I'm lost. What the hell are you saying?" Tegra-Duran's voice was betraying his impatience with the cryptic Prime.

  "It is detecting a god sphere, and showing that it is close by. It is not detecting the fragment I gave you, because that piece is too small to register."

  "So?" Tegra-Duran asked.

  "So, the god is coming here and it is close!" The Prime continued. "The black sphere, which looks like a black hole in space to the ordinary eye, tore itself loose from the god mass in the center of the galaxy in pursuit of the explorer hominoids long ago. Now it has finally tracked down the missing fragment, and it is closing in on New Eden."

  Tegra-Duran stood up and opened his mouth to speak, found he had no words and slumped back down into his chair.

  Chapter 23 Revenge of the god

  Endless meetings followed, with people debating the strange possibility of having to fight a god. History showed that whenever humanity had any interactions with what they perceived as a god, they always came up short. The prospect of now having to deal with the wrath of an angered god was overwhelming for a people who had fought so hard and sacrificed so much to survive, and who had thought their problems were over.

  "I say we fight!" shouted a father who held his young daughter close in his arms. The meetings were turning into a chaotic yelling match of two factions. "What right does any god have to destroy my daughter? She has done nothing to hurt anyone!"

  "She is not your daughter," shouted an older woman in the crowd. Tegra-Duran recognized her as one of Pennington's followers. "She belongs to god, as we all do. He is the divine creator and he has the right to destroy all of us for our sins."

  Yes, that old word, sin, had been resurrected again. Thanks to the history of old Earth now being taught in schools and colleges, an awareness of religion had once again been implanted in the minds of humanity. And once again, some people felt the desire to assume the mantle of righteous indignation, as religious leaders promised to guide the masses to salvation. Panic gripped communities all over New Eden, and many turned to these leaders for spiritual help.

  "What kind of loving god would be willing to destroy all of us for something somebody did a million years ago?" demanded the angry father. "These stories you've resurrected make it sound like that's the reason old Earth was destroyed. It's all just foolish nonsense!" The father's anger was getting out of control and others were trying to settle him down.

  Tegra-Duran attempted to restore order by speaking, but he was again cut off by the old woman who had spoken before. "It's not foolish to believe that the god will be merciful. If we are to be destroyed, only the true believers will be reborn to live forever at god's side in heaven," she said.

  The father was now waving his fists and shouting. "That's your reward? You'll spend eternity worshipping at god's side? Do you have any idea what eternity means? You want to spend every second of every minute of every day for as long as time exists telling god how great it is?"

  Now more people tried to contain this man, and to remove him from the meeting. "You are all mad! Why did we fight so long and lose so many lives if now you're all just going to roll over and accept death?"

  "It's not death, dear," the old woman said gently. "It's life eternal and we will be young forever."

  As the father was being forced from the meeting room, he yelled one last time. "You old cow, you've lived your life, and it's been long. My daughter is five, she's had only five years, five…"

  "Please everyone, settle down," Tegra-Duran said, finally regaining the attention of the crowd. The meeting was being broadcast all over the planet. "We cannot allow personal views to hijack the purpose of these meetings. We have no idea if this god is even coming here in our lifetime. We must always recognize reality. Only logic and compassion will determine the right course of action. As I suggested during our last town hall meeting, we still have the Grays' QEP drive system in place on our moon. If need be, we can transport all the women and children there for safety until this is resolved."

  "We cannot escape the judgment of god," the old woman interjected.

  "Okay, that's enough! Please remove her, too," snapped Tegra-Duran. "This meeting is about the survival of humanity based on the information the Taskoids' Prime has supplied. We need to focus, people. Our lives depend on it!" Tegra-Duran was desperate now to keep control of the situation, and the injection of random ideologies was not helping.

  Tegra-Duran voiced his frustration. "The people of old Earth were driven by emotions, particularly fear and panic, when faced with things they didn't understand. Like the lemmings, they would run headlong off a cliff if some fanatic said salvation was in that direction."

  The Prime, who was sitting just down the table from Tegra-Duran, tried to add to the conversation through a Taskoid interpreter. "Our technology is vast. We have the powers of Mahoud and the Taskoids, and the advancements of humanity, combined with the remnants of the Grays' technology to cope with what's ahead."

  "That is true," said Tegra-Duran, trying to sound official, as the Prime pressed on.

  "With the activation of the Grays' communication device we also have our friends, the First Ones. We provided sanctuary for the Enoch and they have agreed to help us in the defense of New Eden, should it come to that." Behind the Prime, a First One materialized from empty space, causing everyone there to fall silent in awe at its magnificence. It truly looked like an angel of legend.

  "We, the Enoch, have pledged to help our distant brothers and sisters. Your offer of sanctuary has shown us that you are a worthy people to help."

  The silence was full of awe.

  "I wish I had that kind of power," chuckled Tegra-Duran. "Look, we have a bold plan and we think it logical to assume that this god can be made to see reason. We can safely transport the old and the young to safety on our moon, and by presenting a sizeable force to resist god, show that we are a reasonable people who want to survive. We will simply explain that our ancestors took the god fragment, under the influence of the Grays, and we will offer to return it." Some at the meeting thought this reasonable, others mumbled at the foolishness of trying to resist god.

  The meetings continued daily for the better part of a year, and still there was no sign of the vengeful god. In communities across New Eden, many people gathered to worship the god of history. A very small minority became fanatical and, feeling morally superior to the logical majority, decided to start communities of their own.

  This was unacceptable to Tegra-Duran, who made it abundantly clear that he and the elders would never allow any group to receive special treatment denied to the vast majority. "We are all in this together. If you want to go live in a cave someplace, that is your right. Just don't ask us to support you."

  One group of twenty people took Tegra-Duran up on this offer and moved to caves high up in the hills. Tegra-Duran was delighted; he was tired of hearing their complaints. They lasted only a few months before they gave up and returned to their homes. Dirt floors and cold drafts, mixed with wet rains and biting insects made life in the caves unbearable. They were lost without technology and miserable with the lack of heat, clean food, and water. Tegra-Duran often shook his head and smiled to himself over these fools.

  As time passed, the meetings became less crowded as people felt more confident in the preparations that were being made. And there was still no appearance of any god.

  ***

  Two years passed. Then, one day, the clouds turned a deep sickening green and winds across the planet of New Eden picked up to hurricane speed. The waters on the planet began to froth and churn, and waves smashed against the shores. The air became thick with fine
dust particles and was difficult to breathe. Bolts of lightning ran rampant across the surface of the planet, sparking fires and striking people and animals looking for shelter. In the mountains, fierce snow squalls erupted from a clear blue sky, sending the temperature plummeting to bone-chilling levels. In other places, volcanic vents erupted, sending rivers of hot lava coursing through towns and villages. Finally, the ground itself responded. The heaving and shaking toppled buildings and knocked people off their feet, sending waves of panic everywhere.

  "MY CHILDREN, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN OUR COVENANT?" boomed a voice which echoed in all directions, but seemed to come from no specific location.

  The god had arrived.

  The clouds parted to reveal a huge black sphere in the sky. Its oily surface reflected light from the red dwarf sun, giving the impression that the black object emitted its own light. It spoke again with a voice like the blaring of trumpets.

  "I AM YOUR FATHER ON HIGH, AND YOUR WICKEDNESS HAS BROUGHT UPON YOU MY RAGE!"

  Many voices were now shouting, caught off guard with this being's arrival, some in rage, some begging forgiveness, but none seemed to catch the god's attention.

  Tegra-Duran, with the help of the Prime, had prepared for this day. They rushed to the top of the prime minister's office building and, from the roof, started up the Grays' communication device. Tegra-Duran had had a speech prepared. The Grays' device began broadcasting at full volume on every channel known. "I am known as Tegra-Duran, the prime minister of this planet, and we have been expecting you. Can we talk?"

  The black sphere was silent, as if it had never expected to hear a response and needed time to comprehend what was happening. The people of New Eden fell silent, all watching the monitors and waiting for a response.

  "WHO DARES SPEAK TO YOUR FATHER ON HIGH AS IF YOU WERE EQUAL?"

  "Forgive me, sir, I do not mean to offend. I am seeking a dialogue with you," Tegra-Duran responded, both puzzled and curious. He had been heard, which was a bit unexpected, for they had had little hope this would even work.

  "YOU HAVE TAKEN WHAT IS NOT YOURS TO TAKE; YOU HAVE BEEN WHERE YOU WERE NOT MEANT TO BE. YOU HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOUR CREATOR AND MUST BE PUNISHED!" roared the voice.

  "Please allow me to explain," Tegra-Duran began, but in vain. He had hoped to describe the circumstances of the situation and offer to return the god fragment, but the black sphere had stopped listening.

  "I WILL CAST DOWN UPON YOU SEVEN PLAGUES. THE BURDEN OF THE FOUR RIDERS OF DEATH BE UPON THE HEADS OF ALL. YOU WILL HAVE FORTY DAYS AND NIGHTS OF TORMENT BEFORE I WASH CLEAN THIS WORLD AND BEGIN AGAIN. BLESSED BE THE SINNERS WHO REPENT FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MY BLESSING. YOUR MERCIFUL FATHER ON HIGH HAS SPOKEN. NOW HEED MY WRATH!"

  Tegra-Duran tried speaking again, but the effort was pointless. The black sphere retreated from the clouds and the violence on New Eden continued. The choice was now up to the people. They could fight, they could die, or they could attempt to do one thing so unexpected that some thought it too inconceivable to contemplate.

  Tegra-Duran and the Prime stood in the office of the prime minister as chaos raged outside the windows. Using the communication device, they called the Enoch. The room began to calm as the two planes of existence converged and several Enoch appeared before Tegra-Duran and the Prime.

  Tegra-Duran took a long, deep breath and began to speak to the Enoch. "It is as I feared; we can have no dialogue with this god being. It is bent on first destroying and then recreating life again on our world. We have fought too long and hard to survive as a species to give in now. Most of us feel this god has no right to take our lives from us because of the mistakes of the past."

  Tegra-Duran continued, with heavy heart. "The people are in full agreement with my sentiments, save for a few radicals. But we cannot fight something as powerful as a god and hope to survive. We cannot convince the entire planet to support this endeavor and I can't take the responsibility of ending the lives of people who have no wish to fight." His face was sad. "We now realize that the god facing us is determined to destroy us and we are too weak to survive."

  Tegra-Duran knew what he must ask, but the consequences of this action would burn a scar of torment and grief on his heart that he would carry for all his life. "We intend to use the time-lock device on the god. This will trap it forever, we hope. The problem is that we will be trapping the god on the same plane as Charger R/T, for we have only the one device. To add to our problems, we have no way to get the god close enough to the device to activate it." He took a deep breath. "Unless you help."

  There was a long pause as the people gathered stood in silence.

  "We have existed a long time and seen many things. We have watched you grow, watched you learn, love, and die. We have seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity and we have sat in silence for too long," one of the Enoch responded. "You offered us sanctuary when we required it. That kindness from our descendants can never be bettered."

  The Enoch reached out a hand and placed it on Tegra-Duran's shoulder. There was an actual contact and, for a brief second, Tegra-Duran felt the touch of an angel, something no one expected could happen. "We, your forbears, will help you, but we require a sacrifice from someone that may not be willing to help." The Enoch turned its gaze to the Prime and spoke directly to it. "Will you help the children of old Earth? You are one of their greatest creations, and we cannot do this thing they ask without your help."

  What was being asked of the Prime was to sacrifice its existence, for it alone could withstand the cold vacuum of space, and thus it alone had the ability to trip the button to trap the god in the time-lock. And it would also be trapped forever in the time-lock with the raging chaos of Charger R/T and the god at each other's throats.

  The god would spend an eternity trying to destroy a living being, then recreate it, for the god was a creator. However, Charger R/T was considered dead, and what is already dead cannot be killed again. In addition, Charger R/T now had the powers of a god himself.

  The Enoch would also be trapped forever, and it would take every last Enoch to complete this task.

  How would the Prime react? It was a simple, yet complex being, and had once been broken and shattered, yet now thought and acted as a human might, and owed its very existence to these creator humans.

  After some time, the Prime responded. "I will help."

  The plan was now settled, and the two planes of existence merged back into that of New Eden.

  ***

  The violence on the planet had heightened while Tegra-Duran was on the Enochs' plane of existence, and people were beginning to die in large numbers, caught up in the chaos and turmoil of the god's wrath. To the shock of the people of New Eden, hundreds of thousands of Enoch appeared, rising from the ground, so it seemed, as ethereal spirits of light ascending into the skies.

  Tegra-Duran rushed to the landing pad of a space craft built by the Taskoids with the Prime clicking along on its six limbs just behind. As the Prime prepared to board the small craft with the precious time-lock device already loaded, Tegra-Duran said, "You asked me to trust you once. I'm glad I did. I can never thank you enough, my friend." Tegra-Duran gently touched the cold metallic surface of the Prime's body. The touch meant nothing to the Prime, but the thought did.

  Within minutes the small Tasker craft lifted from the surface to join the Enoch now engaged in battling the god sphere, trying to prevent any further damage to New Eden and its people. The god swept away advancing Enoch by the hundreds as they attacked relentlessly, while the Tasker ship drew ever closer.

  In the sky wicked flashes of light radiated outward in every direction. It was true that not even light could escape from this black hole of a sphere. The Enoch were pulled into its inky black surface, never to escape. The battle reached its zenith as every remaining Enoch attacked the black sphere simultaneously, leaving a small window of opportunity for the Prime to slip out of the small ship and drift silently toward the god, with the time-lock device in tow. The P
rime moved ever closer. It stopped moving when the god caught sight of the brave little Taskoid.

  Such deceit infuriated the god as it turned its full wrath on the Prime, a tiny speck in comparison to the black sphere, and tried to find a way to kill it. The Enoch which Tegra-Duran had spoken to, in a momentous sacrifice, diverted the full attention of the god from the Prime. This allowed the Prime time to turn on a small thruster pack, pushing it close enough to activate the time-lock device.

  Great chaos exploded in the skies above New Eden. The god was fading in and out of existence as it tried to resist the time-lock. For a brief but very significant moment, the activation of the time-lock brought Charger R/T back into the current time stream to face the raging god. Without hesitation, Charger R/T immediately turned the hell of his fury on the god, ensuring its doom.

  As quickly as the battle had begun, the task was complete. The god was gone. Charger R/T was gone. So was the Prime.

  The skies cleared and the world was soothed. The people of New Eden cheered as the small time-lock device fell back to earth, landing hard but remaining intact. It took a few days for the magnitude of what the people of New Eden had done to finally register. They had rejected the god, trapping it forever with a demon full of tremendous hatred. Charger R/T and the god sphere would spend forever at each other's throats, each trying to put an end to the other.

  Tegra-Duran had a great statue built in the center of the capital city, marking the occasion for everyone to remember and, deep beneath its foundation, the time-lock device was secured and buried.

  ***

  Dart speaks to Reader:

  Did everyone live happily ever after? Reader, you understand humanity well enough to know that isn't likely to happen! Still, life on New Eden continued peacefully for a very long time.

  No, that wasn't the end of the story. After all, this is the year 4800, and t the battle between the black sphere, Charger R/T, the Enoch, and the Prime happened in 2640.