Clark Patterson walked along on Eve’s left, while Lucius Wheeler was on her right, and all three of them followed the Child Prophet into the large inner sanctum of Lister Hampon. A thick silence hung between Wheeler and Patterson, and Eve could only assume it had something to do with how Wheeler had convinced him to come to the meeting, a meeting Hampon delayed for hours without explanation.
The knowledge Eve had gathered about the framework technology’s early days, combined with what Clark had given her when he transferred Alice’s memories into a new body, were enough to offer Hampon a proper solution to his deterioration. The question was, who would give it to him? With Patterson there, she didn’t have to use the treatment patch tucked under the sleeve of her dress.
Eve didn’t have much control over the situation, but she had enough. The Overlord II moved into a wormhole, making it impossible for her to contact her Eden Fleet, but she wasn’t the only person in the room that sought to remain free of Hampon’s control. She wouldn’t call them allies, but they had similar desires, and that made for more of an advantage than Eve had had in a long time.
The memories she’d lived thanks to Alice had done something, too. It seemed like she’d seen more of the galaxy, felt more adult emotions, and gone on a journey. It felt true even if she couldn’t remember it the way she could before; most of the experiences faded like an old dream. The result seemed the same. The sensation that she was no longer a hapless victim in her own life was powerful.
The broad, white circular floor around Hampon’s grisly throne was as pristine as ever. The black seat in the centre was facing away. People stopped what they were doing on the balconies overlooking the tall chamber as they entered.
The throne turned slowly, revealing the corpulent figure trapped in it. Two small medical droids worked to maintain tubes, patches, grafts, and supports as though a moment’s pause would lead to the failure of a part of Hampon’s body. His lower jaw had been completely removed, and a healing strap held up his tongue and head by his upper teeth. Expressive eyes looked at them from grisly sockets.
“Pardon me for not getting up,” said Hampon’s voice from somewhere in the room. The words were most certainly not spoken physically. But Eve couldn’t help but pity the man as she watched his adam’s apple twitch, as if trying to fight the tubes in his throat for a moment. She had never pitied him before. “I see you have aligned with new companions, Eve. Good, I’m glad you won’t be alone if you deny me what I paid for.”
“We’re not asking for much,” Wheeler said. “Freedoms, a little cash, and we have what you want.”
Eve couldn’t help but notice that the scraping sounds of Clark’s armour increased in volume and frequency as he began breathing faster. It was difficult to call him the Beast, after knowing his thoughts and some of his history, but then she only had to look at him to understand why he’d accepted the moniker.
“You offer a chance at a new life, immortality,” Hampon said. “What is your price? Be specific.”
“Leave the issyrians alone,” Clark said. “Stop destroying their habitats and let them live in their own territory.”
“Expensive,” Hampon replied. “I know you, Clark Patterson. There are hundreds of reports about the Beast of Uumen, champion of issyrian outcasts. If I grant you this, then you promise not to raise an army in defence of any other race. Not humans, not nafali, or any other race.”
Clark shifted from foot to foot for a moment, thinking. “You’ll withdraw from every issyrian world, give their ships safe passage and guarantee not to interfere with their homes for as long as I live.”
“A trick condition,” Hampon said. “You are immortal. Even more so than our most advanced framework being. I could forcibly remove every scrap of it from your system and you would still heal. Edxian, huss, and issyrian physiologies ensure your resurrection-like recovery abilities. We don’t understand how you work, Beast, but we know the possibilities you represent.”
“Then you know there is a good chance that the technology you want to use to recover won’t buy you more than a few years without my help. Even if you dissected me, I could hide my secrets for decades.”
“That’s another thing we know about you: unwavering dedication to a cause, and confidence. So much confidence,” Hampon said.
“Only when I know I’m right,” the Beast replied.
“What do you want, Lucius Wheeler? Your bid for re-entry into Freeground’s ranks will fail when they discover that the Triton is out of your reach,” Hampon said. “I overheard Doctor Thurge’s latest message to you, that a rightful commander has stepped forward and taken possession. What do you want now?”
“Freedom. I don’t care if I have to start over with one ship and an idiot as a first mate. I want to be free to do what I want, when I want, where I want. No interference, no attempts at control. I’m no one’s puppet.”
“You forget,” Hampon said. “You were built by Regent Galactic. What precedent would I be setting if I were to set our machinery free? Especially since you carry memories from Collins, one of the best military commanders I’ve ever known. What have you brought to trade for all that?”
Wheeler pointed at Clark impatiently. “Him. Without me, you’d have to hunt him down across the galaxy, or he’d start a rebellion, gathering issyrians and whoever else he can find to fight you. Just by bringing him here, I’m making your life less complicated. I might even be saving your ass for good.”
“Your task is to derail the efforts of the original Freegrounders to rebuild on Tamber. That has been your task for as long as you’ve been alive,” Hampon said.
“And I’ve done that, even when you took my command and turned me out. I still pursued it. I know who’s going to win here, the game is rigged, and I want to be on your side. Just give me the freedom to do my part my way and have some fun at the same time.”
“I’ll consider it,” Hampon said. “Nora, what can I do for you? I’m fully aware that Clark has the finesse, but you built the interface that will make me whole again. You have it with you, scanners have already picked it up. What can I do for you?”
“My fleet, and the freedom to instruct them properly. I won’t be a key to another engine of destruction, I want to participate in deciding their purposes. I can connect with them, I know it, and I want to remain as a leader to the humans who believe in the better way you’ve shown me. They want to be led into eternity, to the paradises we can build for them. They can help build instead of contaminate and destroy.”
“Are you certain this is what you want, Nora? Has seeing life through another woman’s eyes convinced you that there’s enough goodness in humanity to enter into paradise without destroying it?”
“Yes, and call me Eve,” she said.
“You will not break from the Order of Eden with your fleet. Code that Collins added to all Eden Fleet entities makes it impossible. I’m telling you this so discovering it doesn’t surprise you.”
“I understand,” Eve said, knowing that she’d do everything she could to remove the code as soon as possible.
“I’m willing to grant you all everything you’ve requested,” Hampon said.
“Wait,” Clark said. “I have one more request.”
“Yes?” Hampon said.
“Leave Freeground out of all your conflicts. Destroy any aggressive ships they send against your forces, but don’t counter-attack.”
“Done,” Hampon replied. “I will not attack Freeground, the station, or either of the colonies they think are hidden from the galaxy. Now, it’s your turn to grant me my three wishes: transformation, health, and eternal life. Quickly, we’ll be emerging from the wormhole soon.”
The Beast looked to Wheeler, who nodded. Eve finally looked at him only to realize that he was staring at her, waiting for her approval. She nodded, and he strode towards Hampon, whose eyes widened at his approach.
A large, armoured hand was placed upon Hampon’s head, the Beast’s fingers found their way between small tubes and wires.
The Beast put his free hand to his head as though he’d been injured and withdrew, stumbling backwards several steps until his fell to his knees. Eve looked from him to Hampon. The robots tending him withdrew from their tasks, and tried to cover him with a black sheet.
“Pain,” Hampon’s voice announced throughout the room. His eyes rolled back into his head, then his twitching eyelids closed. His partial chest, the bag holding his organs, his hips and part of one leg twitched violently. Tubes were flung free, and Eve wondered if he’d survive the process.
His eyes snapped open. Eve could only assume that he didn’t scream at first because there was something wrong with his vocal chords. A proper throat and jaw began to form, and when his screams filled the chamber they were inhuman, rasping and gurgling. The upper half of his head grew brown hair, the tubes leading into his body were absorbed and transformed into human materials, and the framework system began drawing raw current from his chair.
Within seconds he had fresh legs, arms, a full torso, and he breathed as if he’d just finished a hard sprint. Hampon raised his head, revealing a healthy yet aged face with a prominent nose and piercing grey eyes. He started to smile and rise, then twitched bodily, slipping out of his chair awkwardly to land at the bottom of his dais. Anguished, half strangled cries filled the air as he writhed. Eve covered her ears, but she could still hear that screaming, as though something was being torn forcibly from his deepest innards.
The framework system began replacing cells that were affected by temporal radiation. Eve knew what was happening theoretically, but the reality was unexpected. As the infected portions of his body were replaced at incredible speed, they were turned out through his flesh. A bloody display of rejection and replacement as pieces of organs, flesh, and bone were pressed up through his skin, surrounding him in a hellish afterbirth. Every exposed cell in his body was being replaced several times a second, using energy drawn from his chair in violent arcs.
When it was over he was covered in gore, nude and curled up on his knees. He stood slowly, his new, white teeth gleaming through the crimson and black remains that clung to him. Several researchers dressed in red smocks approached him hurriedly and performed scans. “There is no trace of temporal radiation, Sir,” reported one cheerfully. “You’re cured.”
Robots moved in to clean the mess and decontaminate the area. “Immortality is not found in the children we have, the clones we make, the brain scan data we collect, or in framework duplicates,” he said, walking towards the Child Prophet. “This is immortality, the new flesh invented by intelligence, powered by electricity, and sourced from matter.”
The Child Prophet broke from his daze and scurried at the last moment, right before Hampon caught him by the throat. “You are a pitiful lie,” he said as he raised the adolescent clone up with both hands. Wheeler backed away, putting his hands up and shaking his head.
Eve followed his example, taking several steps back. The sounds of the Child Prophet struggling for air as he kicked his feet and tried to pry Hampon’s hands away from his throat made Eve’s stomach turn. The grisly birth was nothing compared to watching a boy in the beginning of adolescence die.
“You never had the potential to be better than me,” Lister Hampon said through clenched teeth. He renewed his efforts, throttling his clone’s thin neck with all his strength until he stopped struggling and a new foul smell filled the air. Hampon dropped him and looked down at the boy’s horror stricken face. “I feel alive again,” Hampon said. “Truly alive.”
Eve had no problem recalling the damage humanity did to the world she protected before she was put into stasis for over a century. There was a failure in logic that she could not comprehend when she watched a natural environment become an object for the harvest. That was what provoked her order to exterminate the humans in that solar system, and her fleet executed it without question or remorse.
What she saw in front of her was entirely different. It was the first time she’d been in the presence of true evil, and it was instantly recognizable. Clone or not, the Child Prophet was a boy who was living in his age of potential; what he could have become would remain a mystery because someone had maliciously ended his life and derived obvious pleasure from the act.
“I don’t want to know this,” Clark Patterson said, slowly getting to his feet. “I don’t want to know what I saw when I touched your mind, Hampon.”
“We’re coming out of the wormhole,” Lister Hampon announced as he strode back to his seat. He stopped in front of it, where the gore of his rebirth had been before robots swiftly cleaned the mess. The balconies overlooking his seat with countless technicians and officers became obscured as a holographic starscape was projected all around them. “Pandem!” Lister Hampon shouted, pointing at the green-blue orb to his right. There were no ships in orbit from what Eve could see, strange for such a busy world. “The most populated planet in the new Order of Eden constellation of settlements. The count was four hundred twenty million settlers, most of which arrived in the last ten days. Tell us why they are here, Clark. Please, you must have seen something while you were digging around in my head.”
“I won’t,” Clark said. “It was your promise, not mine.”
“You’re right,” Hampon said. “I’ve been waiting to tell someone about this for a long time. It’s been difficult to convince people to go along with my Order of Eden since Collins died,” he looked to Wheeler then. “But you don’t remember anything about this either, do you?”
“Pandem? The Order of Eden?” Wheeler asked. “I remember the Victory Machine demanded that people be placed there, so we could avoid some catastrophe. There’s more about the cult, but it couldn’t apply.”
“That’s where it started,” Hampon said. “Whispers in the dark. Little mutterings I couldn’t ignore, messages that came from some prophetic thing that never made a mistake in its predictions. We used the information to force our way from desperate times with Vindyne into success with Regent Galactic. From a big company with a handfull of backwaters to a great big civilization teeming with billions of humans who were fully engaged in the cycle of capitalism. In a universe where humans can’t see past their noses, the man with the biggest beak can be the greatest visionary. A joke you might recognize from Collins’ repertoire.”
“A real laugh riot,” Wheeler said. “The Victory Machine led you to everything you and Collins needed to take over, and get your cash cult going. I got that part of the story.”
“Cash cult,” Hampon repeated. “It had a ring to it. Now it’s a real religion, with immortality, paradise, and at long last we have our hell.” He pointed to Pandem and Eve couldn’t help but wonder what he could possibly mean. There was nothing hellish about the world aside from its history, the humans there were restoring it faster than she could have expected.
Lister Hampon continued on as small robots approached him from several parts of the room and started to clean him up. “’There is a darkness coming.’ The Victory Machine laid that on thicker and thicker and Collins and I made progress. Then it elaborated. Humans have been testing the boundaries of polite science for as long as there has been a record, and we finally ventured into something that we should never have even considered. A Regent Galactic company tried to make dragons out of unborn Edxi, and they were successful. Can you imagine? Dragons! Real dragons for amusement parks and pets that you could train in their long adolescence of thirty five, sometimes more than forty years. When they start into maturity they’d become ill and die. Now that’s a forward thinking product.
The edxi found out about it. The Exile went in search for evidence and thanks to Alice Valent, who was just a messenger in all this – something Meunez never understood – Zarrick the Exile found it. It doesn’t matter that Regent Galactic’s subsidiary closed the project out years ago.It didn’t matter that there were other companies, even secret arms of governments, that were researching the edxi just as closely. It didn’t even matter that thousands of people were killed by edxi in minor acts of retribution, things no human would see as trespassing, or other violations. That wasn’t appropriate retribution for humans corrupting their children. They demanded more. Whoever was controlling the Victory Machine knew it, and they gave me all the directions I needed to do one thing: save humanity.”
“It’s true,” Clark said. “What’s about to happen must happen. There is no other way.”
A broad shape with mechanical tendrils reaching in all directions with barbs and dim lights faded into existence near Pandem. Eve had difficulty judging, but it looked almost as large as the Overlord II, kilometres in depth, and even wider. “We don’t even know how they do that,” Hampon said. “Take all the readings you want, try to follow them through whatever faster than light solution they’re using, and you won’t discover a thing about how they move through the universe.”
“We can fight,” Eve said. “My Fleet numbers in the millions.”
“They can be anywhere!” Hampon cried. “They aren’t even from this galaxy. The worlds they rule have been under their control for hundreds of years, and every guess we make points to them having faster than light technology for even longer. They may have even been in space long enough for it to inform their evolutionary path, thousands of years. This is what humans fear, the ravenous foe that appears out of nowhere. The one we cannot fight, where fear is the only correct emotional response. We put ourselves here, to clear the way so they can have Pandem, and we make sure people like those Freegrounders can’t stand in the way. The Victory Machine was so adamant about them, the well-intentioned ones who would puff up their chests and declare a ‘just war’ against the edxi. Maybe they would make a few kills, perhaps they’d even fight off the first wave, but that would bring more retribution, more consumption.”
Vessels of all shapes began emerging from the main ship by the dozen, all directed at the planet. “What are they going to do on Pandem?” Eve asked, looking at Clark, whose fists were clenched.
“They are taking it as a brood world,” Clark said.
“Interesting thing about edxi,” Hampon said, smiling and nodding at Clark. The robots had managed to clean him and another brought a long white cloak fringed with silver. “They’re mindless animals, like a cross between something insect and lizard for the first thirty or forty years. Mothers lay dozens of eggs, and they wait for them to mature before dropping them on a planet like this, where there’s a good hunting ground, water, and a lot of land. They return decades later as their fittest, surviving young are entering maturity and becoming intelligent. They demanded three worlds just like this so far. The other two will be ready within the year. The Order’s recruiting centres are spreading by the day. Even on worlds where they are on the verge of declaring war on Regent Galactic and the Order of Eden, we have places where people can go and step onto the path to immortality, to eternal grace.”
Eve watched the vessels as they moved towards Pandem. The mother ship kept launching them, and there were hundreds. Her stomach was becoming increasingly uneasy as she remembered the people she saw briefly when she visited. The girl with the beautiful eyes would become prey along with all the rest of them. “Hell,” she said to herself quietly. The mindless, savage young of the edxi would hunt and eat.
“It was a big hit with other religions,” Hampon said. “It’s a perfect fit for ours. We won’t tell anyone about this, of course, but word will leak out. It’ll be rumour, a dark myth. We’ll tell our followers that rebels destroyed Pandem while we keep prying eyes away. Regardless, this is the place followers think of when they fear they are not achieving enough in the Order. This is the rumour that will make them serve us until they are worn down to the bone.”
“The Holocaust Virus did enough damage, we have to suffer this now?” Wheeler said. “I remember the galaxy before you turned most of my favourite cities into ghost towns, it was a good place to be.”
“That’s something that couldn’t have worked out more perfectly,” Hampon said. “The edxi would have demanded death, and were on the verge of invading, starting with the worlds that were hardest hit by our virus. We did it for them, and when they saw the death toll brought on by the Holocaust Virus, they were impressed. Humanity will survive in spite of the cost. It’s what we do.”
“You enjoyed it,” Clark said. “You enjoy this.”
“This is power, boy,” Hampon replied. “This is the quest for the ultimate, most primal good, self preservation. Who else could do this?”
“Someone who didn’t enjoy it,” Clark said, taking a step forward. “I know everything you know, and I can feel myself breaking inside. You are eager. You are evil.” He took another step.
“Gua-“ was all Hampon managed to say before Clark raised his hand and stopped his mouth from working.
“I’m going to rewrite you, Hampon,” Clark said. “I know how the work has to continue, and I’ll do it without taking pleasure. I even know the next thing you were going to do, and you were going to send Wheeler. I’m going to send you with him, as his lap dog, and you’re going to love it.”
“No,” Hampon managed.
“You saw what Freeground did to me, how they programmed me to fight for my nation without question. I can’t think of anything worse.”
Two guards standing on the second balcony raised their rifles. Clark leapt up and crossed the distance so quickly that Eve almost missed it. The guards were in his hands like dolls an instant later, and he threw them to the deck hard enough to rattle it under Eve’s feet. “You don’t want to challenge me,” Clark said as he let himself drop to the ground. “The galaxy hasn’t seen anything like me yet, and I hope it never does again. I’m taking this freak’s place,” he said as he crossed to where Hampon stood as though stuck to the ground. His eyes were filled with fear, and Eve couldn’t help but smile.
“Help me,” Hampon said as Clark’s enlarged hand engulfed most of his head. His long, black claws dangled past his chin.
“Goodbye, Hampon,” Clark said. “Your hateful personality might remain, but you’ll aspire to different things. Things that will keep your urges working in the right direction.”
Clark closed his eyes and Hampon shuddered for long seconds before he was released. “Take him, get him close enough to Jacob Valent to kill him,” he said to Wheeler. “If Jacob doesn’t die, then he’ll get too close and discover the edxians too early. It’ll lead to those things taking their ships into the core worlds. Lister’s going to be in a daze for a while, but he’ll follow you.” The Beast named Clark slowly moved to the seat in the middle.
“What’s to stop me from dropping him in the nearest sun and moving on?” Wheeler asked.
“I can find you,” the Beast said. “I can find anyone within the reach of the Order of Eden network, just like Hampon. I know how to rip you to pieces, Wheeler, you’re an inferior model. Never forget it. I’m also in debt to you, so when you’re finished delivering Hampon, go do whatever you want. Start over with one ship, and an idiot first mate. Don’t come back to the Order unless you’re ready to serve, and don’t go back to Freeground for any reason.”
“Fair enough,” Wheeler said, grabbing Hampon’s arm. “This way, Freak. Time to get back to the Ferryman, I miss being on my own ship.” He nodded at Eve briefly and said, “nice meeting you, Goddess, good luck with the new regime.”
Eve stared as the Beast sat down on the edge of the black seat. She didn’t know what to say, and didn’t have the first clue as to what to do or what to expect next. She glanced at the body at her feet and had a thought. “I know he was a clone, but can I cremate him properly? There are people who may want to pay respects. He had a short life, but he was revered.”
“Take the Order, take your Fleet,” Clark said. “The galaxy won’t understand this. There will be war whether they find out about this or not. I want you to fight alongside me. So we can keep them from interfering with this,” he said, gesturing towards Pandem. “No one can interfere. If you want to save humans from themselves, like I overheard when I was in your head, then that’s how you do it.”
“By killing them,” Eve said.
“By only killing when we must, so our real enemies don’t take too many. This isn’t a choice I could have made, but it was the right choice. Now we have to deal with it. Someone has to keep convincing the Order that they’re on the true path, so your success has to overshadow what we lose. We need a goddess. You need to give them immortality when they excel, and send them to hell when they fail.”
Four guards approached with a stretcher and waited for her orders. Eve looked at the Beast once more and nodded. “I’ll be your goddess. I’ll help you fight this war.”
“I’ll be watching,” said the Beast.
“I know,” Eve replied. She motioned for the soldiers to pick up the Child Prophet’s body and they efficiently loaded him onto the stretcher and followed her out of the chamber.