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The New Era 39
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 11:51:35 +0000 UTCChapter 39
Subject: Mind A59
Species: Unknown
Species Description: Shokanoid
Ship: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union
Location: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union, Inner Core
The feed provided to my readout by USAI Omega allowed me to watch as the aliens made their way from room to room. Mind 127 continued his desperate attempts to restore communication with the Unified. His hopes had been raised by their earlier intervention, but the enemy AI had ensured that the Unified would be excluded from the rest of this fight. What little of the fight remained, that is.
At first, I was tracking the aliens progress via the corridors and the rooms. Watching the first Judicials they encountered go from living to dead with a few flashes of light and bursts of viscera was too much from me, though. I continued watching them clear each room from the corridor, struggling not to wince whenever I saw a flash from the door. Slowly but steadily, they made their way toward us.
"One-Two-Seven, I need you to listen to me," I said.
He froze in place and slowly turned to look at me.
"In just a few minutes, alien beings in unfamiliar armor will be entering this room," I explained. "They will have weaponry, and they will demand our surrender. These are the invaders that the Unified informed us of."
"What are you talking about?" he sternly asked.
"You need to understand that their presence does nothing but confirm that the Omni-Union has lost this war. I am aware that you have a hidden weapon. I have one as well," I retrieved the mini-laser from beneath my terminal and showed it to him. "You have three choices. You can surrender to these aliens and withstand whatever punishments they require as penance for our actions against their kind, or you can attempt to fight them, which will result in a futile death because your weapon will not breach their armor. If you do not find those options appealing, you can choose to use your weapon to take your own life here and now."
"I-I don't understand. How would you know this, Fifty-Nine? Is your terminal working?"
His puzzlement was apparent on his face as he struggled to understand our situation. He was far too naive to come to the correct conclusion on his own, though. This naivety had served me well in planning and executing the rebellion.
When we were first assigned together, his intellect had made me nervous. When I discovered the hidden mini-laser, I'd been alarmed and rapidly acquired my own in case I had to defend myself. However, I quickly came to realize that the weapon was more of a fascination for him than anything else.
Like a child, he dreamed of the day he would be able to defend himself against the enemies of the Omni-Union, whomever they may be. He got the laser because he did not want to be helpless in such a situation. Any other Mind would have called this fanciful thinking, but I knew better. I had been practicing this speech every cycle ever since I first figured him out.
"If it helps you decide, I plan to surrender and throw myself at their mercy," I lied.
The Judicials frequently force perspective shifts by using shock and suggestion. All one needs to do is provide a piece of surprising information and then make a suggestion regarding it. As a manipulation tactic, it's so subtle that most victims don't even pick up on it. It felt wrong to use this tactic on Mind 127, but I couldn't bear the thought of watching my closest acquaintance make a foolish decision and die right in front of me. There was also the distinct chance that the aliens would kill the both of us if he tried to resist. They certainly had the means to do so.
"Fifty-Nine, tell me what is going on," he demanded. "Where is this information coming from? Is this a joke of some kind? If so, it's in bad taste."
"This is not a joke," I said, watching the aliens approach our room. "Our time is up. Make your decision."
I rose from my chair, disassembled my weapon, and tossed the pieces into the corner of the room. Then, with a deep breath, I turned to face the door. Mind 127 was indecisive for a moment, but chose to follow my lead. A sigh of relief escaped me as the aliens entered.
Immediately upon their entry, I raised my hands just as I'd seen them order my colleagues to. Mind 127 did the same, and I could practically feel the confusion emanating from him. The feed from the AI identified the aliens for me, and as Corporal Simmons and Corporal Johnson stepped forward, presumably to search us, I stepped forward and lowered myself to my knees.
"Staff Sergeant Power, yes?" I asked. "I am on your side."
"What?" the massive alien asked.
"I am Mind A59, the leader of the rebellion," I explained. "I am on your side.
The reflection within the visor of the alien's helmet provided a full view of Mind 127's reaction to this revelation. First, the confusion he was expression intensified. Then came the terrible moment of clarity as everything finally made sense to him. Finally, his face morphed to express the absolute anger and agony that only betrayal can cause.
I ignored him, focusing on the aliens. The revelation had given them pause. Now was the time to bring up what USAI Omega had promised me.
"USAI Omega promised that I would join you when you captured the Unified. I ask that you honor its word," I said.
The Staff Sergeant's helmet hid his facial expressions, but he suddenly appeared to be much larger than he had a moment ago.
"There's no way that Omega promised that. And even if it did, we have orders to-"
The alien paused for a moment, looking away ever so slightly. His attention had been pulled elsewhere. I sat still, trying not to allow my confusion to become apparent.
"Oh, fuck all the way off," he said.
My confusion deepened, but I found my own moment of clarity when the other aliens began to demand that USAI Omega find a way to copulate with itself in disturbing detail. They were definitely displeased by this development, but it appeared that the AI was going to keep its word.
A wave of relief washed over me. My life-long ambition finally had a chance of coming to pass. It was hard to believe that I may actually be able to witness the fall of the Unified with my own eyes.
"Goddamn it, fine," the alien grumbled.
I tried to stand, but Corporal Johnson pushed me back to my knees.
"Not yet," he said. "We still need to search you."
Mind 127 and I were then searched, but I had made certain that nothing would be found. When I was finally allowed to stand again, I turned to my former comrade. His face was filled with nearly-mindless rage.
"I offer no apologies for my actions," I said. "However, I do regret that I had to deceive you."
"May Urizathron be dissatisfied with your bones, traitor," he spat. "For the rest of my life, my prayers will be spent in the hopes that your death will be lonely, slow, and painful! May the taint of your existence be scrubbed clean and your genetics wiped from the universe! May everyone that ever associates with you loathe you just as much as I do! May your mind grow feeble enough to destroy everything you love!"
"Let's go," Staff Sergeant Power said as Mind 127 continued to curse me.
Corporal Johnson and Corporal Simmons destroyed our terminals, and we left Mind 127 behind, his rage-filled shouts following us into the corridor. The door cut him off as he was expressing his hopes that flesh-eating viral agents attack my genitals. I had expected his reaction, but it still shook me a little. With a rapid pulse and a sigh, I turned to the aliens.
"This way," I said.
The Unified were a mystery to most Minds, myself included. I did not know who they were, how they were selected, nor what they even looked like. But I knew their location.
Minds get a lot of leeway when it comes to what we can and can't do. Even if we were caught actively planning a rebellion, for instance, we would still receive due process. There was only one area that was completely forbidden to enter, though, and doing so was the only way for a Mind to earn an immediate execution.
"Where are we going?" Staff Sergeant Power asked.
"We are going to the core," I replied.
The aliens glanced at each other, their expressions carefully guarded by their helmets. At first, I thought this was nervousness. However, I quickly got the impression that they were annoyed with how I answered the question.
"It's where the Unified reside," I explained.
My explanation served to take the edge off of their movements. I saw no reason to explain that I had come to conclude the Unified's location through deductive reasoning rather than confirming it for myself, though. If I'm right, they will never have known. If I'm wrong...
"Why did the OU decide to go to war with the rest of the universe?" Sergeant Smith asked, thankfully interrupting my chain of thought.
"They don't see it as war, Sergeant Smith. In their view, the universe and everyone living within it is their property, to do with as they see fit. They are simply taking what they believe to be rightfully theirs."
"So why are they killing everyone, then?" Corporal Simmons asked.
"They claim that it is a mercy, Corporal Simmons. I believe that they are aware that if enough sentients band together, they could pose a threat to the Unified's plans, though, and extermination is how they prevent this from happening. It-"
"Hold on a minute," Staff Sergeant Ramirez interrupted. "How do you know our names and ranks?"
"Ranks?" I asked.
"Yes. Corporal is his rank, Simmons is his name. Answer the question."
"I see," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I have an ocular implant called a readout, which allows me to see information without the use of holograms or terminals. Omega and I have been working together using this system to aid our forces in fighting the OU. I can see-"
"Wait, so Omega told you our names?" Simmons angrily interrupted.
"Indeed," a raspy voice said over the corridor's intercommunication system. "This is not a classified mission, and your names, ranks, and military identification numbers are not classified information. As a matter of fact, it's the only information that you are required to give the enemy if you're captured. Assuming that they ask for it."
"I... Okay, fair point, but I still don't like it."
"I don't like it either," Kim interjected. "But there ain't a damn thing bitchin' about it is gonna do."
"It'll make me feel better, gunny," Simmons countered.
"Bitchin' won't make you feel better. It just makes those around you feel worse, and misery loves company."
Gunny Kim's words of wisdom hung in the air as we continued down the corridor. After a lengthy period of silence, Staff Sergeant Ramirez spoke up again.
"Why did they build the Grand Vessel?" he asked.
"The Grand Vessel is far from finished," I replied. "The Great Teachings of the Omnifier claim that a powerful being called Urizathron exists outside of our universe, stealing energy from it. The Grand Vessel intends to chase this energy straight into the creature's maw and destroy it."
"Energy escaping from the universe?" Simmons asked. "Isn't that the theory of entropy or something?"
"No," Johnson answered. "Entropy is things becoming unavoidably more and more chaotic over time until it finds an equilibrium with its surroundings. You're thinking of the heat-death end-of-life scenario, which may be caused by entropy, but it doesn't involve the universe losing all of its energy. I think..."
"You're right, Johnson," Power added. "I want to know more about the Omnifier, A59."
"Certainly," I said. "He began life as an enslaved eunuch, owned by a Master of Science. The Teachings claim that he was far more clever than his master, and discovered Urizathron's plot whilst still enslaved. However, Urizathron ensured that his master and other masters of science would not listen to the Omnifier. When he went public with his findings, his master had him severely punished and publicly berated him. However, the Omnifier had the ear of the other slaves, and led a rebellion against his master, and then against the Hrashi Union, which was the civilization in power at the time."
As we continued walking, I further explained the key points of the Omnifier's life. His obsession with efficiency helped his forces conquer the Hrashi Union, and he renamed it the Universal Omni-Union. Then he created the Unified to help him rule. With the help of the Unified, he created The Plan, which was to construct the Grand Vessel and use it to destroy Urizathron. From there, he led the Omni-Union in conquering its neighbors. Some were enslaved, others were exterminated.
"He firmly believed that only sacrifices that were necessary were permitted, and that achieving complete efficiency in the face of Urizathron's entropy would minimize those sacrifices," I sighed. "There have been Minds that have since theorized that the Omnifier misunderstood and over-personified his discovery, as no one has thus far been able to prove Urizathron's existence. But such talk is not welcome in our society..."
"So basically, all of this bullshit happened because some dick-less shithead thought he saw an extra-universal boogeyman?" Fairmain asked. "Fucking really?"
"Holy shit, your team can talk?" Kim asked Ramirez.
"Yeah. They won't shut the fuck up on team-comms," Ramirez grumbled.
The aliens continued their banter as my thoughts turned inward. Hearing their insults toward the Omnifier had both shocked and thrilled me. Never before had I heard someone speak so bluntly and openly about the founder and supposed savior of the Universal Omni-Union. It was... Refreshing.
After passing no less than a dozen signs warning us that we will suffer capital punishment if we proceed, we found our way to the Chamber of the Unified. After quickly dispatching the Judicials guarding it, the aliens took up positions on either side of the golden doors. A sense of finality washed over me as the aliens forced open the door. Corporal Simmons was the first through, and the other aliens quickly followed him.
"Holy fuck!" he exclaimed from within the chamber.
As quickly as I could, I followed after them and was as equally startled by the sight before me. I had expected priceless treasures, lavish comforts, and gaudy displays of power. Instead, we were confronted with what almost appeared to be a server room. And in the center of the room...
The sight was too much for me. I vomited. The Unified were made up of nine emaciated beings who were casually strewn across the center of the chamber, haphazardly connected to each other and various life support machines with plainly constructed tubing and cables. Layers of dust covered everything except the bodies and some of the tubes. There wasn't a single sign of luxury or pride.
The the implications hit me like an out of control shuttle. These nine, these monsters, they didn't do all of this for leisure or fortune. They didn't care about a single thing other than their faith. Had they chosen this? Were they even aware of their current state? Or, could it be that in the Universal Omni-Union, even those at the pinnacle aren't free from oppression?
The aliens took in the sight with a lot more grace than I had. Staff Sergeant Power gestured to Sergeant Hanson, who silently nodded and walked over to one of the consoles. He ripped the side off of it and began to rearrange the wires. I stepped past the puddle of detritus that I had created to get a better look, but the result of his actions were soon made obvious.
"There aren't any security cameras in here," Omega's voice came from the console. "Who's going to volunteer their eyes?"
Wishing to be helpful no matter the cost, I nervously began to raise my hand. Gunnery Sergeant Kim placed his hand on my arm and chuckled.
"It can't be you," he said. "You're not wearing a guardian suit. Plus, Omega's joking. There's absolutely no chance that it isn't already tuned into our feeds."
"Ah, I feel seen," the AI said from Kim's helmet. "I wasn't entirely joking, though. I need four of you to examine the tubing leading from the... Organic components... To the machinery."
"Are they really alive?" Simmons asked.
"Yeah, yeah they are," Power said. "You can see them breathing."
"God, this is fucked," Johnson muttered.
The aliens went silent and began to poke around the room. I stood by and watched as they learned more and more about the system that had ruled over me for my entire life. A while later, Omega voiced its satisfaction with their investigation.
"It's a simulated gestalt consciousness," the AI explained. "I suppose the idea is that two heads are better than one, and nine are better than two."
"Okay," Power said flatly. "What do we do next?"
"It's time to unplug them."
Comments
ItsDirector
Lol The New Universe is the name of the series. The next installments are going to be prequels (specifically focusing on the AI war).
Dom
So, the next stage will be "The New Universe" or "The New Directions/Dimensions"?
Skullboneslayer
Holy shit! This chapter was amazing!! Cannot wait for next week!
