Little typo on the timeline in the previous chapter. The last entry said 48,801 CE. It was actually supposed to be 48,001 CE.
Made some changes on previous chapters due to errors. Modern human civilization is 46,000 years old (dating from the first appearance of the Zone to the present), and not 48,000 years old. Error has been corrected.
This chapter is meant to be a continuation of the snippet from the previous chapter. We will return to the main story line in the next chapter.
Shepard? What do you want me to I say about, Shepard?
Shepard was the greatest hero of the Third, Long Dark War. He was the champion of humanity during those evil years...
Oh, you want me to talk about that.
Well, there's not much to say about that too. After the war, he disappeared. No trace of him was ever found nor were there any clues as to where he had gone to. We really didn't know where he went.
He reappeared several years later, and began traveling to one unaligned colony after another before finally settling on Shanxi. When we tried to contact him, he claimed that he was a Stalker now. Had his own call-sign too. Reaper, they call him.
Can you imagine that? Reaper! Now that's a hell of a joke.
Steven – I mean that Khan Emperor and I tried to get him to return to the Tribe. He was our first born, our prodigal son, and we wanted him back...
But he refused. Every time. He kept refusing until we called it quits. Left him to rot in that backwater planet at the edge of the Zone, but we still keep a close eye on him, or at least, we like to think so.
I don't know what the hell happened to Shepard after the war, but Stalkers? Well, Stalkers are dangerous. One of the most dangerous creatures in this twisted galaxy.
God only knows where he went during those years when he disappeared.
- Admiral David Anderson, 45,020 CE
38,859 CE – Shortly After the Super-Emission
Shepard felt the emission all around him, a flood of energy and power consuming the last drops of his sanity. But it gave him many other sensations as well: Visions of distant places became known to him, and he knew that it was the Zone calling out to him, showing him what he desired to see.
Shepard's mind swam in an ocean of flame, and as his mind entered into a torpor, he became one with the Zone. Everything within the Zone's influence was opened to him, and he felt like a smaller God within a larger one.
His sensations of the Emission was like a blanket that covered entire stars and planets with its malevolent power, consuming everything in its path, twisting nature itself into some horrifying, bestial caricature of itself.
Shepard felt the power of entire planets and stars. He heard the song of the solar winds. He saw corrupted life grow and die. He felt the passage of time flow through him in the blink of an instant and then as the slow crawling of dust waiting for change to make its move. He saw the red-tainted skies of human worlds, consumed by the fires of the Great Emission. He felt the fearful eyes of mutated creatures, looking out from their caves and burrows in fear.
He felt, saw and heard it all.
And the greatest among these sensations were the death screams of the Reapers as they struggled to flee from the Zone's wrath. The living machines died by the thousands as the Zone's power crushed them, and Shepard felt pleasure at this experience, for in this dream within a dream his mind had deluded itself into thinking that he was one with the Zone.
This was the sensation that he sought: To be the Destroyer of the Reapers, and he reveled in it. He was an insect on top of the head of a mighty predator, deluding itself that it was the killer and not merely a spectator.
The Reaper Fleets, The Monolith Armies, and The Treacherous Prothean Turncoats... They were all consumed by the Zone, the Dark Daughter of Humanity. Like a tempest, her Emission devoured entire star systems and covered entire planets in anomalies. Even the void between the stars and planets were not spared from her wrath, and all knew her fury.
Amidst the swirling images, painful memories of the war came crashing back into his thoughts. Distant battlefields of ash and blood flooded his mind, as did shadowy images of tunnels and caves filled with the terrible eyes of Monolith monstrosities and the dead eyes of Reaper Drones. He saw the Star Fortresses fill the empty void with their fury, and he recalled the terrors of the Reapers.
Amidst the devastation, faces of dead comrades came back to him – faded memories that he thought he had forgotten along with whatever happiness that still lingered in his heart. He remembered the joys of victory and the sorrows of defeat; the honor of comrades and the treachery of the Protheans.
He remembered human life and human society, but most all, he remembered – no, experienced the emission: The Song-Scream of the Zone, as it devoured everything in its path.
And as the last of the visions died away, a new feeling emerged. It was drawing him closer; calling out to him in a strange, yet familiar voice. It was melodious and beautiful, but also terrible and deadly.
Come to Meeee... It called out.
Hesitatingly, Shepard obeyed, and he felt himself falling asleep within his own dream.
But something was amiss. The voice calling out to him was not making him rest, but robbing him of his will. He was being stripped of his humanity.
This revelation awakened his instincts, and Shepard struggled to react. He fought back with his mind and his will; remembering the dangers of the Zone and many other enemies, enemies who could harm mind as well as flesh.
He had fought Monolith Soldiers before, mutated abominations of carven flesh, and because of this, he knew the call of the Monolith; that gestalt-consciounsess that calls out to all of humanity, forcing them to relinquish their will. He had also felt the 'Indoctrination' of the Reapers too; that mechanical tool of subversion that conquered aliens species in cycles past.
But this call... This was different.
It was neither the Monolith nor the Reapers who called out to him.
It was the Zone.
It was the Zone that called out to him. His deepest self knew this to be true. It was not the Monolith, but the Zone that was calling out to him.
It wanted him to become its champion.
Come to me... It said.
Cooome tooo Meeeee...
Idiii Ko Mnyeeee...
Shepard then felt time slip away. He was not sure if he was in the future, in the past or if he was still being consumed by the Emission. The voices, images and memories began to merge together. Reaper, Monolith, Prothean, Human, Stalkers... All these images became one, and they were joined by other images, and other sounds.
Come to Me, Shepard.
He saw an Asari. Then he saw a Turian – no two of them, which seemed strange to him because he had never visited either Palaven or Thessia.
He also saw a Krogan, a Quarian and Salarian, and they seemed strange to him because they were not the primitives that he saw on the holovids.
"This is the future, Shepard," the Krogan answered his thought-questions. "We're no longer as primitive as we once were."
"Wrex?" Shepard asked, and he was surprised that he knew the Krogan's name.
"That's Spectre Urdnot Wrex to you, Stalker..." The Krogan was going to say more, but his voice trailed off.
Minutes became years and became minutes again, and Shepard felt that reality of his vision turn into into a chaotic mess of information that would sooner drive him mad than make him understand.
"Shepard... Please, you must help us. Your kind protected us once, how can you just abandon us?" The Asari asked.
"Where have you been!" The Quarian snarled at him amidst her pain. "You wretched Creatures! Answer me! Where have you been?! You were supposed to protect us. You were supposed to make everything okay!"
"I know the truth, human," the flanged voice of a Turian accused. "I know your filthy little secrets."
More voices came, and then they turned into screams. And from the burning stars, THEY returned. The Reapers. And The Monolith. One to Harvest Life; The Other, to corrupt it.
And then the Darkness consumed him.
Come to Me...
Behind closed eyes and silent nightmares, Shepard's mind still swam in his experiences with the Great Emission. It had changed him, and was still changing him, but he could not yet understand nor comprehend this change
Truth be told, he had expected to die from the Emission. It had certainly been powerful enough, and he was no stranger to the phenomenon. He knew which emissions can kill and which ones can turn a perfectly healthy human body into a putrid pool of genetic goo. The Great Emission should have killed him, but even in his dreams, there remained the certainty that he still lived.
Like all humans, he had encountered emissions many times before. He even experienced them first hand. It was simply part and parcel of living in the Zone; an unavoidable evil. Being caught in an emission – and he had been caught in two during his relatively short life (once during his rebellious youth and the other during a training exercise gone wrong) – was like experiencing the most exquisite pleasures along with the most agonizing pains simultaneously.
"Like getting the best blowjob while getting your head cracked open," another Freedomer explained.
But those two moments were nothing compared to the Great Emission... He wanted the emission to show him the destruction of the Reapers and then to destroy him - a nice, little Faustian bargain. It gave him his first request, but it also denied him the second, as if to punish him for his vanity.
When he walked into that terrible storm of Noospheric energy, he imagined himself as the sacrificial hero in a great epic – martyr and champion combined into one. Shepard surrendered himself to the Super Emission, but instead of death, it gave him dark dreams and ominous prophecies.
This was the Zone's punishment.
He knew that his suicidal act had been motivated by anguish and vanity; knew that he had allowed his brooding weariness to overcome him, but he didn't care. The Third Long, Dark War had taken its toll on him, and after the decision to overload the C-Consciounsess, his last ounce of resolve faltered.
The C-Consciousness was the very center of all human civilization. Without it, they would not be able to control the Zone, and though they could certainly rebuild this network, the Great Emission will guarantee that they will no longer be able to control the Zone to the same degree that they once did.
And if they could not control the Zone then the Zone will destroy humanity. It was only a matter of time. All humans knew this. It was certain. They could hold back the tide for a few millennia, but humanity will dwindle just like in ancient times, and this time, there was nothing they could do to stop it. They will slowly die out.
It didn't matter how long they could hold back the powers of the Zone. After the Great Emission, their doom was inevitable, and it was this despair that drove Shepard to meet the Great Emission.
Humanity had sacrificed the C-Consciousness to win the Third Long, Dark War, and in doing so, guaranteed their own inevitable extinction. How can someone who gave so much defending humanity against the Reapers not surrender to despair before that?
Shepard opened his eyes to see only darkness, and the animal part of his brain screamed in terror that he is dead. However, the smell of moss and the somber echoes of the wind reminded him that he yet lived. His nose detected the moisture of nearby water, and his weary flesh told him that he lay upon some dirty cot, half covered with mold and other dirty things.
All these clues told him that he was in a cave of some kind, and as his eyes, focused, he could see the faint glow of a distant anomaly field, a burner anomaly by the looks of it. He also noticed a Firefly artifact set on a primitive artifact pedestal slightly next his cot, its power healing whatever wounds he may have had in his body.
Shepard tried to rise, but as he did so, pain shot through his limbs, causing him to whimper for the first time since his boot camp days. Despite the Firefly's effects, his body was a mess: multiple broken bones, organs that barely functioned and a nervous system that was recently exposed to the most powerful emission known to man. Shepard felt helpless, and this helplessness brought on the return of fear and anger.
"Hello! Who's there?" He called out to his savior, but only darkness and silent echoes responded to him.
As he lay there, helpless and immobile, save for the faint light of the Firefly and the Burner anomalies nearby, fear and anger turned into self-pity, but he clamped down on his emotions, and he forced his mind into focused calmness.
Suddenly, Shepard became aware of another presence. It was heralded by the swishing of old fabric and heavy footfalls. At the edge of his vision, he could make out bipedal image. It was not hunched like a Bloodsucker, and it moved too quickly for a Controller, so he assumed that it was human. However, the dread of the darkness returned some of his old uncertainty and once again, the fear that he was the prisoner of some hitherto unknown Zone-spawned monstrosity returned to haunt his thoughts.
Unwilling to be passive in his fate, Shepard sent out a telepathic message, but the creature did not answer. Instead, he looked at his direction, and began approaching him like dark wraith, heavy footfalls growing louder and louder.
As he came closer, Shepard noticed that his mysterious savior wore a primitive DIY body armor of come kind and an old cloak. His face was covered by a primitive rubber gasmask. It was hard to make out the details in the darkness, but these clues confirmed that the strange creature was indeed human.
He seemed harmless enough, thought Shepard, but years of fighting and killing had taught him to detect danger no matter how subtly hidden it may be.
This creature was dangerous. His instincts were certain of it. The way it walked, moved and picked its way through the darkness proved to Shepard that this was no clumsy creature to be easily subdued. This was a casual killer, and in his incapacitated state, Shepard was at his mercy.
Unwilling to give the stranger the initiative, he decided to open the dialogue on his own terms. "Name, Rank and Affiliation," he demanded, gambling on the strong possibility that this creature was human.
The creature did not respond. Instead, it lit a small, primitive oil lamp at the foot of Shepard's bed. With this light, Shepard discovered that the cave was much larger than he thought, and that the creature was – as he suspected – human. Eager for answers, he repeated his earlier demand, "Name. Rank. Affiliation."
Again, the man refused to answer, but it sat down to the left of Shepard, on a dried piece of wood. He then took off his gas mask, revealing to Shepard a strong, but wrinkled face with a strong jaw covered by a stubble. A long time ago, this face would have been considered handsome, but age, sorrow and the trials of the Zone had made it look old. It was not aged in a dying or wilting sense, but in the sense that its wisdom and patience had drained away whatever joy or pleasure the man once had.
He stared at Shepard with calm, blue eyes and features that were unmistakably Slavic, and the younger man did his best to hold his gaze.
"My name is Mikhailo Tarasov," the old human said in a deep voice, and Shepard failed to detect the sorrow that entered it when he said his name. It had been so long since he spoke his own name. "Major Mikhailo Tarasov, and my first affiliation is – or was - with the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
Shepard's eyes widened at the mention of Ukraine. His mind remembered his history lessons. Ukraine. Ukraine. Ukraine had been a country in ancient days. In fact, it was the country where the Zone first appeared, which could only mean...
"You're an Ante-Maledictii!" Shepard said in surprise.
"Ante-Maledictii!" Tarasov uttered the title with contempt. "Yes," and his frown deepened, "I suppose I'm one those."
The Ante-Maledictii or as they are sometimes called "Old Timers" are humans who have lived before or during the first appearance of the Zone, and have survived until modern times. Most of these were Stalkers, but it also included humans who possessed a special link with the Zone. This link, many theorized, was the reason why some humans were immortal: The Zone did not want them to die, or perhaps, the Zone was as dependent on them, as they are on it.
Humans don't age any more of course. The influence of the Zone had permanently altered the human DNA, but like most things in the Zone, this immortality came at a cost: Genetic Degradation. Death was no longer the ceasing of life, but its complete corruption. This "death" is prevented through several means, including controlled mutation procedures, the use of Black Heart artifacts and Noospheric hibernation in the C-Consciouness.
Most humans require these measures in order to stay human. The only ones who did not need them were the Ante-Maledictii, who for some reason are allowed by the Zone to retain most of their humanity.
Moreover, given their incredible age, the Ante-Maledictii were revered (and feared) by human society, not only because of their age and experience, but also because of their connection with the Zone.
Shepard had met a few of them during the war. They were a strange lot to say the least, which is not surprising since many of them were Stalkers. In most cases, they kept to themselves, but the few who were talkative often talked about the ancient days, when "we were still human." Shepard did not think much about the Ante-Maledictii/Old Timers, but he suspected that they knew more than they were willing to share.
When Tarasov did not say anything, Shepard decided to re-initiate the conversation.
"Why did you save me?"
The older human looked at him curiously, grinning in amusement.
"Why did you walk out into the Emission?" he asked, dodging Shepard's question, purposefully mocking him.
Shepard blinked at the question and said, "That's none of your business."
"Oh, I think it is, boy. You want to know what I think? I think you walked out into that Emission because of your vanity."
Shepard ignored the bait, and answered angrily, "Stop dodging the question. Why did you save me, and what are you doing here on Earth? Non-military personnel are forbidden on Terra by order of the Great Factions."
"The Great Factions?!" Tarasov laughed loudly. "Indeed. The self-proclaimed leaders of the human race, but I do not wish to talk about them Vladimir Shepard, Hero of Humanity. I want to talk about you. The mighty champion decided to walk into an emission because of his vanity and self-pity. Am I correct?
Shepard wanted to be respectful, but Tarasov was purposefully baiting him. "You know nothing about me," he said ominously.
"I know enough about you, Vladimir Shepard of the Tribe," Tarasov said with wry amusement. "I know your fears and dreams. I know your sacrifices and your sorrows." He came closer, and the aged face was no longer mocking him, but rather daring him. "I also know your future... if you are worthy to take it."
"I think you're insane... Look, just contact the nearest Tribe Bunker Node, and they will-"
To Shepard's surprise, Tarasov laughed at him. "Of course, I'm insane. Humanity became insane a long time ago, and our insanity is the Zone."
"I have no time for games" Shepard snarled at him. "I have to get back."
"Indeed! The Great Commander Shepard has little time. He must kill himself soon in order to fulfill his hero's destiny! Or perhaps because his first attempt failed, he would prefer drowning his honor in cheap whiskey or the pleasures of a Looking Glass Anomaly, eh?"
"Stop mocking me!" Shepard snapped.
"You mock yourself, boy! Are you so filled with pride to think that you're the first human to lose hope? To imagine yourself as the tragic hero in some ancient play? I say to you, Shepard, you know nothing of what has happened here."
"I know that we failed." Shepard calmed down and brooded on his cot, angry that he couldn't get up and walk away from this madman. "Where's my exoskeleton?"
Tarasov shrugged. "I found you half-naked. Whatever was left of your armor was destroyed by the Emission."
"Are you sure?"
"Gospodi! Are your ears mutated? Your exo was already fucked before you did your little drama. You really think I would steal a busted up exoskeleton off of some Tribe Zasranec with a martyr complex?"
"Okay! Enough about the Exoskeleton. You made your point."
Humans had mastered the art of weaponizing artifacts and anomalies since the earliest days of the Zone, and this mastery is made evident in their exoskeletons. The exoskeleton (now a misnomer, since modern variants no longer had any "skeletal" parts) was both armor and weapons platform. It is also the most popular and most common weapon in human society, replacing the projectile weapons which had been so widely used prior to the emergence of the Zone.
Modern exoskeletons were nothing like their ancient and primitive counterparts back in the earliest days of the Zone. Unlike the bulky, mechanical things of olden days, modern exoskeletons looked like suits made of black mercury partly encased by plates of made out of glowing crystals.
The greatest feature of this weapon, however, is not its armor, but its artifact amipliers, special devices designed to increase, focus or direct the energies of most types of artifacts, turning their otherwise subtle properties into powerful weapons.
A standard exoskeleton can have up to 12 artifact amplifiers, each one capable of amplifying the effects of its own artifact. An exoskeleton with several Moonlight artifacts, for example, could turn its wearer into a gigantic psychic beacon, whereas an exoskeleton that features several Fireballs allows its wearer to become walking inferno.
Shepard's exoskeleton had 14 artifacts. He didn't particularly care about the armor. What he wanted were the artifacts, half of which were very rare.
"Shit!" Shepard hissed at the pain in knees as he tried to turn.
"Yes, Peezdets indeed." Tarasov said as, he opened a bottle of Vodka and began pouring two bottles. He drained the first one and helped Shepard drink the other.
"If you're worried about your artifacts, all you need to do is say so. I recovered most of them." Tarasov pointed at a glowing sack to the right of his cot.
Shepard bent his head in that direction and was pleased that they were indeed there. Their sight made him feel a little less angry at his predicament.
"Thank You."
"You're welcome, and before you ask, no, I did not help myself to some of them as a reward."
"Huh? A guy who doesn't steal artifacts. Guess you're part of a dyin' breed," Shepard said, as Tarasov helped him drink another shot of Vodka.
"Humanity is a dying breed," Tarasov answered and then asked, "how's your leg?"
"Still feels like shit."
"Blyad. Well, don't worry too much 'bout it. Another hour or so with the Firefly and you'll be doing backflips."
"Doubt it," Shepard said and then he looked at Tarasov insistently. You still haven't answered my question. Why did you save me?"
"Because the Zone told me to," Tarasov said smiling as he drained another shot.
"The Zone told you to save me?" Shepard asked mockingly.
"The Zone is more powerful than you think, and it knows more than most people suspect."
"I'm sick of the Zone."
"Aren't we all? But listen to me, Synok. You have a connection with the Zone – stronger than most in fact, and it wants you to live for a little while longer."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm the Chosen One, and my destiny is to suck fate's oversized and fungi-infested di-"
"This is not a joke!"
Shepard was going to say, This whole galaxy is a joke but he thought better of it. "What do you want from me? I don't know you. I certainly don't trust you. And here you are expecting me to believe a complete stranger that the Zone sent him to save me."
Tarasov remained silent, and seeing Shepard's skepticism, he decided to try a different line of argument. "Tell me, Shepard, do you know how this will all end?"
"What are you talki-"
"Do you know how this will all end?" Tarasov snapped. This time, more insistent.
Shepard looked at him, a bit angry again and said, "We all die! The Zone corrupts us and we die. That's how I think it will end. And then the Reapers and the Monolith will return to fight over our corpse. That's how it will all end. Happy?"
Tarasov smiled at this and said, "A good observation, but also quite mistaken, and do you know why?"
Shepard just glared at him.
"It's because the Zone does not want it to end like this." Tarasov smiled, but it had none of its earlier sarcasm. Instead, it was warm and hopeful. "The Zone wants you to live Shepard. We are its champions."
"I fight for humanity," Shepard retorted.
"The Zone and Humanity are one Shepard."
Those words made Shepard suspicious. They were very similar to something he heard once, on some half-forgotten battlefield at the beginning of the Third War. "Scar told me something like that once."
Tarasov's smile disappeared. "Ahhh. Scar. How can we forget the most powerful leader of all Monolith forces? Yes, I know about Scar. He used to be a Stalker, did you know that? One of the best too until he got caught in an emission and it fried his head."
"It doesn't matter what he used to be. He's Monolith now," Shepard said, and he allowed Tarasov to figure out the implied accusation. You sound like Monolith. Are you Monolith?
Tarasov chuckled at the implied accusation. "If you wish to accuse me of something, I would prefer that you be upfront about it.
"Are you Monolith?" And Shepard knew that it was a stupid question even before he asked it.
Tarasov's eyes twinkled. "Do I look like Monolith to you? All hail the Monolith! All Hail the Wish Granter!" The older man laughed and laughed. "Nyet, Synok. I'm not one of those."
"You know a lot about the Zone."
"Most Stalkers do, boy," he responded.
Shepard's eyes grew. Stalker. That explained a lot of things.
"You were saying about the Zone?"
"The Zone does not want humanity to die," Tarasov answered smiling.
"No, it just wants to enslave us," Shepard retorted. "Turn us into monsters."
Tarasov shook his head, as if correcting him, "It wants to unite with us. It wants to make whole that which had been broken more than 46,000 years ago. But it does not know how to."
"None of what you're saying is making sense. I know that the Monolith serves the Zone and I know that Monolith wants to enslave humanity."
"The Monolith - or the Wish Granter - only grants wishes, Shepard. That is its purpose. The Zone created it to grant the Zone what it desires, but the Zone does not understand what it really wants. It -"
"All you just said confirms what everyone knows about the Monolith.."
"Let me finish!" Tarasov snapped. "You must understand that the Zone is not sapient the way a human is sapient. It is pure will and power. It desires unity with us but it does not know how to do this!" Tarasov paused trying to figure out a way to explain this to Shepard.
"Imagine... Imagine a madman," Tarasov swallowed to clear his mind, "Imagine that he's looking at the mirror, but the image on the mirror is a monster, but the monster on the mirror... thinks that the madman is its image... and..." Tarasov took a swig from his vodka bottle. "and both of them are trying to figure out what is going on! Which of these is real, Shepard, eh? What is real, huh?" Tarasov paused to let his words sink in. "That is the relationship of the Zone with humanity, Shepard. Both are insane... and both are trying to figure out how to become sane again. Do you understand now?"
Shepard was going to say this is all bull shit, but instead, an ironic smile came to his face. What Tarasov just said sounded like an extremely wise and profound joke, mainly because it hinted at some truth that is very difficult to articulate.
Likewise, a strange, smile crept on Tarasov's face as well, and then he began to laugh. And for some reason, Shepard laughed as well. And both men laughed madly in the darkness, for they both understood the joke. They were in on the joke, even if their minds didn't completely comprehend it. They laughed and laughed, and it seemed like the darkness of the cave and the terrors of the Zone laughed with them.
"None of this shit makes any sense to me," Shepard said as his laughter finally died down.
"It's the Zone," Tarasov answered sadly, "It is reality that has become insane."
When both had calmed down, Shepard decided to change the topic if only to give himself time to figure out this stranger, "What about the Reapers?"
"The Reapers..." Tarasov sighed, "The Reapers are dangerous, but not in the way you think."
"A race of billion year old starships is pretty dangerous to me..."
"The Reapers are merely a reflection of a more ancient power," Tarasov interrupted and Shepard looked at him with sudden suspicion.
"And what do you know about this ancient power?" Shepard asked.
Tarasov smiled, baring his yellow teeth, and then lowered his head to hide his eyes lest they betray his thoughts. "You know of the Leviathans?"
This surprised Shepard for he had encountered many rumors about high-ranking files that contained information about the supposedly billion year old alien species that created the Reapers.
"Yes," he said and then added, "and I know for a fact that they are just a myth."
"A fact, is it puppy?" Tarasov snorted. "And I suppose you know this based on your extensive experience on the subject."
"I've been on the field long enough to separate shit from fact when it comes to the Reapers."
Tarasov laughed at this. "The Reapers did not create themselves, Shepard. You know this. And even if your refuse to believe the existence of the Leviathans then you should at least believe that what created them is still out there."
"What does any of this have to do with killing Reapers?"
"Everything," Tarasov said and then his face darkened as if filled by some newfound wisdom."The Reapers have been killing and harvesting alien species for more than billion years. This – this is a pattern that was built into them. You know this. They exterminated thousands of alien species in the past..."
"Until they fought us," Shepard said, smiling.
"Until they fought the Zone," Tarasov corrected. "We are an accident, Shepard. Humanity is a cosmic accident, the freaks of the galaxy, and you can only understand the nature of this... accident by understanding the Zone."
"I don't like what you're implying."
"I'm not asking you to like it, Shepard. I'm asking you to know! To find the truth on your own!" Tarasov snarled out his words, and the old man suddenly looked slightly less human in the darkness.
Shepard shook his head. His dreams, and the words of this Tarasov were connected somehow. He could feel it. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to find the answers you're looking for!" Tarasov snarled back. "You walked out into the Great Emission because you felt that this was the end, but I tell you that it is not! You are starved for hope, Shepard. We all are. All humanity needs hope after what we did to the Network, and I tell you that there is hope, but it is only for those who possess a strong connection with the Zone."
"I have no fucking connection to the fucking Zone."
"Yes, you do. You dreamed about it. I know you did!"
"How did you know about that?!" Shepard snarled at him, suddenly terrified for Tarasov seemed in his mind, like a dark prophet from some long forgotten ancient city.
Tarasov bent closer to Shepard, and through gritted teeth he said, "Your answers are looking for you Shepard. The Zone is calling out to you. The only question is what are you going to do about it?"
Shepard stared at him, and for some strange reason, his dreams keep intruding into his mind. Every memory and premonition, included the whisper: Come to Me. Come to Me. Come to Me.
"You can feel it, can't you?" Tarasov said smiling reassuringly and then he said cryptically. "Humanity is one with the Zone. Don't you see that. We are one. The Zone wants us to understand ourselves."
"The Zone wants to destroy us!" Shepard retorted.
Tarasov, however, shook his head at this. "The Zone is the reflection of humanity, and if the Zone is trying to destroy humanity, it's because humanity is trying to destroy the Zone."
"You're full of shit."
"I will let that go, Shepard," Tarasov said ominously, indicating that he did not wish to tolerate any insults to himself, "because I was once like you, and also because you don't understand. Do that again, and you will wish you did not."
Shepard did not answer, but only glared at Tarasov, for he felt some truth in what he was saying. It had always been assumed by a large portion of humanity that the Zone was malevolent, but a small part of Shepard felt otherwise.
"I don't understand any of this shit," Shepard grumbled, for it seemed like his thoughts were no longer his own, and yet he could detect no psi-emanation from Tarasov or anything nearby. His feeling of dread was his own, born to fruition by his own dreams.
Finally, Shepard capitulated. "What do you want me to do?"
Tarasov did not smile nor did he show any sign of satisfaction. He only sat up straight, as if pronouncing some terrible doom upon the younger man. "Go to Shahr-e Gholghola, the City of Screams. There you will know. There you will see how this will all end."
Shepard looked at Tarasov curiously. "Who are you exactly?"
Tarasov laughed. "Me? I'm just a Stalker, Commander. Just a Stalker." And he became serious again. "Once you find the truth, you will know the time and the path. It is coming Shepard, and for a time, we will have to return to the Long Sleep. We will need to rest and repair what could be repaired."
Tarasov drained the last of his Vodka. "We will also need to prepare for the return of our ancient enemies, and make no mistake, they will return stronger and more powerful than before."
Shepard was going to say something, but Tarasov cut him off. He smiled at him reassuringly, like a father to a confused son.
"Don't try to understand yet, Shepard. That comes later. For now, you will need conviction and strength." He took a bundle from the darkness and laid it close to Shepard's feet.
"A new exoskeleton for you, my friend," Tarasov said smiling. "You will need it."
Shepard looked at him in surprise at this gift. "Thank you, but I can get my own from one of the Tribe's armories."
Tarasov smiled sadly and shook his head. "If you take this path Shepard then you will no longer be able to return to the Tribe. This path only leads in one direction, and you can either take it or you don't."
Shepard was going to ask, what if I don't, but he knew that it was a meaningless question. Tarasov's words and his dreams were urging him onward.
"There is very little time," Tarasov explained cryptically. "You have very little time to make the choice. If you falter then you will pay for it.
Shepard wanted to ask a dozen questions, but again, Tarasov silenced him with his piercing blue eyes and harsh, weathered face."
"Find Strelok. Find the Catalyst. Find Degtyarev," he said cryptically, and it seemed to Shepard that he was given the pieces of a puzzle that he did not really understand. "So many things to find, eh? But don't worry, Shepard, you will find them all and you will understand the final act."
Tarasov paused, got up and took his homemade backpack that he left somewhere in the shadows, and turned to leave
"You're not just gonna leave me here, are you?" Shepard asked, for he now knew that Tarasov was not what he seemed. "I mean, I have so many questions for you."
"You'll be fine," Tarasov answered from darkness of the caves. "These caves are mostly uninhabited. Mostly. When you've regained your strength, you will be able to make your choice. You can either go back to the Tribe and continue to play the role of the martyr hero, and guarantee our extinction... Or... you can look for the answers at the City of Screams."
"Til then ," Tarasov's voice became a distant echo, "Good Hunting Stalker."
2 Years Later - Shahr-e Gholghola – The City of Screams
Under one of innumerable the dark, silent caverns of the City of Screams, a battle raged. Mutated demons of the Zone – creatures of claw, fang and poison – fought against a Being of light and power.
Dozens rat-like three legged monstrosities attacked the Light creature, and they were turned into ash by its power. Snake-like creatures with maws that resembled the shape of a living, moving mold attempted to ambush it with its tendrils, but these were too turned into ash.
The last of these monsters – a pseudogiant – ran at the Light creature to try and crush it with its brute strength. Instead, it flew through the opening of the tunnel covered in flames. Its broken form tumbled in the ancient dust, as the rest of its comrades died against their light-bearing opponent.
Shepard entered the dark hallways of the cavern, like a primordial angelic being. His body was covered by the amplified energies of the anomalies embedded in his exoskeleton. Despite all of the damage that it had sustained, the exoskeleton that Tarasov gave him was still fully operational, and focused the energies of three Fireballs, two Fireflies, two Empties¸ two Sparklers and a Compass.
As he entered the ancient cavern, he realized that what Tarasov had said to him was true. The Zone's presence was strong in the City of Screams. He could feel it in every inch of his body.
The energies of his exoskeleton flooded the ancient cavern with its light, beating back the void-like darkness and Shepard felt as if he stood at the dawn of creation, when all was darkness and the secrets of life were still but a whisper.
You come... Came a feminine voice.
"Yes," Shepard answered firmly for the voice was familiar to him. "You called out to me in my dreams."
Yes...
"Are you the Zone?" Shepard asked.
The presence did not respond.
"Are you the Noosphere?" he demanded.
I am many things. I was at the beginning when humanity was still in its infancy, and I will endure so long as humanity will endure.
"I don't understand..."
Come to me...
Shepard hesitated, but he also desired answers, and as if in its own volition, his left foot took one step forward, and then its right foot responded with its own movement.
Come to meeeee...
The City of Screams is a real place. Google it.
It played a critical role in the two Stalker novels: Norther Passage and Southern Comfort.
Major Mikhailo Tarasov is the main protagonist of these two novels.