Neither the Q nor the immortals belong to me. They belong to their
respective owners. I am only borrowing them for my twisted imagination.
The idea written here belongs to my co-writer, Diane Johnson, a.k.a. my
mother. If you want to use it ask very very nicely and you just might get
to.
INTRODUCTION
There is within the multiverse a universe that we shall call-strictly for the purpose of identification-Nob. And within the universe of Nob exists a group of beings known collectively as the "Q Continuum." Each member of the Continuum is known as "Q," by which appellation they call one another, and insist that inferior beings do the same.
The raison d'être of the Q is "to maintain order in the universe," as they themselves will tell anyone who asks. They are omnipotent, and are able to transcend time and space in the blink of an eye. They can assume the form of any being that exists within the Nob universe, which they frequently do in order to communicate with the being in question more easily. In addition, they can produce-seemingly out of thin air-anything that they (or the beings with whom they are in contact) may desire with a mere snap of the fingers.
With all of these wondrous powers, one would think that the Q would be deliriously happy and eternally entertained. However, when one lives forever and nothing much happens to challenge ones abilities, one can become quite bored. Which is exactly what happened.
Out of that boredom was born an idea. The Q, in their infinite wisdom, decided one day (if their measurements of non-time can be called "days") to follow the example of the innumerable races with whom they were most well acquainted and procreate. It was quick, painless-and probably the worst mistake they ever made. Despite their powers and their great responsibilities, the Q are not all-wise and all-knowing. Before they knew what was happening, a multitude of young, reckless Q were gallivanting around the universe, wreaking havoc and generally making nuisances of themselves.
The Q were no longer bored.
Faced with the daunting task of trying to ride herd on a countless number of young Q, who were misusing their powers at every turn, they desperately sought for a solution; for, boredom, they decided, was far better than the wanton mass destruction of various portions of the universe.
A council was convened for the first time since the Q had gotten together to procreate, and it was unanimously decided (after eons of non-time) to take away the powers of the young Q and drag them all back "home." Once they had the youngsters in hand, as it were, they followed through with the next phase of their plan. This is where things really get interesting.
The young Q were transformed into what appeared to be normal human infants and were scattered upon the face of the planet Earth (the one that exists in the Nob universe, not the one on which you and I dwell). They were not, however, all placed upon the earth during the same period of time. Their places in time were as varied and distant from one another as were their destinations on the earth itself. And they were each left on the doorstep (or a suitable equivalent) of some unsuspecting person or persons unknown.
Said the Q, "Not only shall we be rid of the menace for a few eons of non- time, but it will make an interesting experiment, as well. The age-old question of nurture versus nature will be answered once and for all."
The Q were not naïve. Some of their offspring were, to put it mildly, troublemakers; a small percentage of them were malleable and easily led by their peers, for better or for worse. But there were a large number of the young Q who decided to group together to use their powers for good. (One may wonder why the members of that particular group were also stripped of their powers and sent to earth to live as humans; but the fact of the matter is, however good their intentions might have been, it is against the laws of the Continuum to interfere in the lives of any creatures for good or ill, unless the very stability of the universe is threatened.)
The Q had long had their collective eyes on planet Earth and found the humans living there to be quite fascinating creatures, a veritable melting pot of vices and virtues. Here, the Q reasoned, their offspring could learn all the things that they themselves had never learned, having never lived as babies or children, and having never experienced anything remotely resembling the life of a regular person-human or otherwise.
While living on Earth, the powers of the young Q lay dormant within them, unknown and unusable; but they were left with one gift: immortality. They did not know they were immortal until the first time they died-and the death had to be a violent one. Old age and illness did not count.
Even their immortality, however, was not immutable. They could die permanently, but only if they were beheaded. And their dormant powers were manifest to some degree upon their final and ultimate death, at which time they were transferred to the immortal responsible for their beheading.
Immortality did come with a price, however: they were unable to have children.
The first immortal (speaking from Earth's own historical viewpoint) was visited one day by a member of the Continuum who told him that, eventually, he would find others like himself: people who could not die-permanently, anyway-unless they lost their heads.
This first immortal was then given the rules to a very insidious game that the Q had concocted in order to rid themselves of the bad apples in the bunch. The rules were fairly simple and straightforward: Immortals could only face each other one-on-one in fair combat, with no interference from friends or loved ones; combat between immortals could not take place on holy ground of any kind, albeit a church or a cemetery; and, in the end, there could be only one. The winner-whichever immortal remained after all of the others had been killed-would receive a wondrous prize. He (or she) would become one with the universe, i.e., would know what every person and creature on the earth was thinking and feeling at any given time, and would also be able to (finally) have children, grow old, and die. This so-called "prize" was, of course, propaganda, but it made for good drama and helped separate the wheat from the tares.
The Q hoped that the troublemakers among their offspring would learn a few things from the humans that might help straighten them out. Barring that, they might manage to kill each other off in their fight for the coveted "prize." The malleable ones, they were certain, would bite the dust fairly early in their individual lives; while the do-gooders would, if they stayed true to their natures, rid the world of the more evil immortals until only they were left. And it was a safe bet that the good ones would be reluctant to kill one another, no matter how desirable the prize.
Once the battle between the good and evil immortals was at an end, the remaining good ones would be visited and given the choice of remaining on Earth and living out their lives as mortals, or returning to the Q Continuum and getting back all of their powers-with the stipulation, of course, that they no longer interfere where it was not allowed.
That was the plan. And, for the most part, it worked.
In the beginning, there were only a handful of immortals. And, the world being a big place, they didn't come across one another for several centuries. As time went by, however, the number of immortals in the world increased, and with it, their chances of encountering each other. And so the beheadings began.
INTRODUCTION
There is within the multiverse a universe that we shall call-strictly for the purpose of identification-Nob. And within the universe of Nob exists a group of beings known collectively as the "Q Continuum." Each member of the Continuum is known as "Q," by which appellation they call one another, and insist that inferior beings do the same.
The raison d'être of the Q is "to maintain order in the universe," as they themselves will tell anyone who asks. They are omnipotent, and are able to transcend time and space in the blink of an eye. They can assume the form of any being that exists within the Nob universe, which they frequently do in order to communicate with the being in question more easily. In addition, they can produce-seemingly out of thin air-anything that they (or the beings with whom they are in contact) may desire with a mere snap of the fingers.
With all of these wondrous powers, one would think that the Q would be deliriously happy and eternally entertained. However, when one lives forever and nothing much happens to challenge ones abilities, one can become quite bored. Which is exactly what happened.
Out of that boredom was born an idea. The Q, in their infinite wisdom, decided one day (if their measurements of non-time can be called "days") to follow the example of the innumerable races with whom they were most well acquainted and procreate. It was quick, painless-and probably the worst mistake they ever made. Despite their powers and their great responsibilities, the Q are not all-wise and all-knowing. Before they knew what was happening, a multitude of young, reckless Q were gallivanting around the universe, wreaking havoc and generally making nuisances of themselves.
The Q were no longer bored.
Faced with the daunting task of trying to ride herd on a countless number of young Q, who were misusing their powers at every turn, they desperately sought for a solution; for, boredom, they decided, was far better than the wanton mass destruction of various portions of the universe.
A council was convened for the first time since the Q had gotten together to procreate, and it was unanimously decided (after eons of non-time) to take away the powers of the young Q and drag them all back "home." Once they had the youngsters in hand, as it were, they followed through with the next phase of their plan. This is where things really get interesting.
The young Q were transformed into what appeared to be normal human infants and were scattered upon the face of the planet Earth (the one that exists in the Nob universe, not the one on which you and I dwell). They were not, however, all placed upon the earth during the same period of time. Their places in time were as varied and distant from one another as were their destinations on the earth itself. And they were each left on the doorstep (or a suitable equivalent) of some unsuspecting person or persons unknown.
Said the Q, "Not only shall we be rid of the menace for a few eons of non- time, but it will make an interesting experiment, as well. The age-old question of nurture versus nature will be answered once and for all."
The Q were not naïve. Some of their offspring were, to put it mildly, troublemakers; a small percentage of them were malleable and easily led by their peers, for better or for worse. But there were a large number of the young Q who decided to group together to use their powers for good. (One may wonder why the members of that particular group were also stripped of their powers and sent to earth to live as humans; but the fact of the matter is, however good their intentions might have been, it is against the laws of the Continuum to interfere in the lives of any creatures for good or ill, unless the very stability of the universe is threatened.)
The Q had long had their collective eyes on planet Earth and found the humans living there to be quite fascinating creatures, a veritable melting pot of vices and virtues. Here, the Q reasoned, their offspring could learn all the things that they themselves had never learned, having never lived as babies or children, and having never experienced anything remotely resembling the life of a regular person-human or otherwise.
While living on Earth, the powers of the young Q lay dormant within them, unknown and unusable; but they were left with one gift: immortality. They did not know they were immortal until the first time they died-and the death had to be a violent one. Old age and illness did not count.
Even their immortality, however, was not immutable. They could die permanently, but only if they were beheaded. And their dormant powers were manifest to some degree upon their final and ultimate death, at which time they were transferred to the immortal responsible for their beheading.
Immortality did come with a price, however: they were unable to have children.
The first immortal (speaking from Earth's own historical viewpoint) was visited one day by a member of the Continuum who told him that, eventually, he would find others like himself: people who could not die-permanently, anyway-unless they lost their heads.
This first immortal was then given the rules to a very insidious game that the Q had concocted in order to rid themselves of the bad apples in the bunch. The rules were fairly simple and straightforward: Immortals could only face each other one-on-one in fair combat, with no interference from friends or loved ones; combat between immortals could not take place on holy ground of any kind, albeit a church or a cemetery; and, in the end, there could be only one. The winner-whichever immortal remained after all of the others had been killed-would receive a wondrous prize. He (or she) would become one with the universe, i.e., would know what every person and creature on the earth was thinking and feeling at any given time, and would also be able to (finally) have children, grow old, and die. This so-called "prize" was, of course, propaganda, but it made for good drama and helped separate the wheat from the tares.
The Q hoped that the troublemakers among their offspring would learn a few things from the humans that might help straighten them out. Barring that, they might manage to kill each other off in their fight for the coveted "prize." The malleable ones, they were certain, would bite the dust fairly early in their individual lives; while the do-gooders would, if they stayed true to their natures, rid the world of the more evil immortals until only they were left. And it was a safe bet that the good ones would be reluctant to kill one another, no matter how desirable the prize.
Once the battle between the good and evil immortals was at an end, the remaining good ones would be visited and given the choice of remaining on Earth and living out their lives as mortals, or returning to the Q Continuum and getting back all of their powers-with the stipulation, of course, that they no longer interfere where it was not allowed.
That was the plan. And, for the most part, it worked.
In the beginning, there were only a handful of immortals. And, the world being a big place, they didn't come across one another for several centuries. As time went by, however, the number of immortals in the world increased, and with it, their chances of encountering each other. And so the beheadings began.