Civilization (I'll Stay Right Here)
By Kachimoochi
Chapter IV
When The World's on Fire
Nasir led the man and the Geth into the mansion, beckoning EVA to prepare dinner, or some such. Anaximander and Kaisar decided that they should agree to disagree, and postponed fighting until they found a more suitable setting; they returned their attention to their friend.
Anaximander studied his surroundings and found himself gobsmacked that he had argued with his robot through three floors of mansion, and for five minutes standing before his friend in front of his personal office.
He met Nasir's gaze, offering an apologetic phrase under a grumble, Nasir was used to this of course. Nasir recalled their schooling days, they would argue with one another for hours, days, lunch periods, and vacations on end, with no clear winner in sight, yet remain the best of friends by its end.
That was the good thing about complete independence from all influence, they both decided, you could remain a child forever.
"Alright children" Nasir began, "If we can act like civilized beings, maybe we can finally get some work done around here"
"Enough of this frivolity, could you please tell us why you called us here?" Anaximander pleaded.
"Just step right through" Nasir beckoned Anaximander and Kaisar through a door, and into Nasir's office, where a being sat in a reclaiming, mobile chair, facing away from the men
Anaximander recognized the man's shape, he wasn't an unwelcome guest, but he was a person he never expected to see again.
The man spun his chair around and tilted his head upwards to view the new guests, though he was well aware who was coming to see him. He offered a small smile.
"Mr. Joseph?" Anaximander asked
A nod was the answer
Altair Joseph was the same age as Anaximander; they had gone to the same school as well. Though he was better known as the "second of the three brothers", each of them hadn't been seen in the outside universe for the 7 years since they granted men independence.
Anaximander himself hadn't seen him in almost 3 of those years, in their latest encounter, he said that his brothers and he had many things to do to ensure the safety and future of Civilization; it hadn't occurred to Anaximander that it had been him that enlisted their help all this time.
The two of them often went on missions together in the time after the liberation, Anaximander assumed that Altair gave himself a well deserved vacation, but the Joseph brothers were much too stubborn for such things.
What he had done in those years one couldn't say, but it was apparent it had taken its toll upon the man. Altair was once a young, strong man though was most notable for his short stature. The average Human male in the 23rd century averaged 5 ft 10 in to 6 ft 10 inches, with Altair falling around 5 ft 8 in, though many would say that he stood taller than most beings.
The Joseph men were indeed short, but they were in no way small.
This new man possessed fairer skin than he once possessed, and graying hairs littering his short beard and the sides of his head, where black and brown once thrived. His body hadn't changed much, he still wore a black cloak over metallic armor, though it had been deactivated, leaving Altair in a simple dress shirt and pants.
When he once spoke, his voice was unassuming, though he would often use this to his advantage by stealing the spotlight of what might have been a hairy situation. The neutral pitch of his voice had now been replaced with a lower, more tired and old voice. Maybe from age, or maybe from stress, one couldn't say. But running a galaxy of galaxies had to cause stress, even for three brothers.
"I haven't seen you in forever" Anaximander exclaimed as he approached for a hug
Though they were the same age, and he towered over him by at least 3 in, Anaximander still viewed Altair as an older brother, and Altair's older brother as a god.
Altair reciprocated the hug, though it was plain to see he was quite exhausted.
"Ehh…you don't look so good" Anaximander commented
"I'm alright, just haven't found the time to sleep in a while"
"Isn't that dangerous?" Anaximander asked, not realizing the irony of his statement until he spoke it.
"After a while you don't notice it, I must have set a new Guinness world record by now", Altair tried to make light of the situation, not doing much to quell Anaximander's fear.
"Well now that the gang's all together, would you kindly enlighten us on the mission, eh Altair?" Nasir spoke, seemingly blind to Altair's condition.
Altair exchanged a greeting to Kaisar and beckoned all three of them to sit, as he stood to explain their latest adventure.
"So as you're no doubt aware, the outside universe isn't doing so well, more specifically Earth isn't doing so well" Altair began
"How? " Nasir said "I heard that the Caliphate of France legalized harems, and Japan had turned imperialist again, taking over China and Korea"
" You'd think so, but the people are becoming desperate, the governments of Earth are becoming more protective of men, sometimes imprisoning them and keeping them under constant surveillance, so I can't convert them" Altair spoke, projecting charts, and footage before the men through the computer console on his wrist, not many in Civilization used omni-tools.
"So the female-led governments are incentivizing men to not come to Civilization, by treating them even worse that when we didn't exist…that seems completely backwards" Anaximander spoke puzzled
Though about 2 million man joined the brothers in the instant exodus 7 years ago, about 3 billion men still remained on Earth, either unaware of their plight, or in denial of it. The brother's were the only ones with the power to transcend a person's mind, and give them gloves and galaxies, this was mostly done while the man was asleep, which human men were now being deprived of on Earth.
"In order to keep them from falling asleep and dreaming, they are being sedated with a pill to keep them awake, it isn't deadly as long as they are properly fed, and they stay energized, and in case you're wondering, yes that's what I'm on"
"WHAT!" Anaximander and Nasir spoke in unison
"I figured I should know what I'm dealing with, and I feel absolutely miserable. I feel like I single-handedly ate the entire buffet in New Vegas, and am being electrocuted every 5 seconds" Altair spoke dreamily
"I think I see where this is going…you want us to infiltrate Earth, find the government's that are supplying this stuff, and destroy it all" Nasir deduced
"Not exactly, we need to destroy the formula at the source, the factory that made the pill is in Toronto, Canada-"
"Figures" Anaximander huffed, confusing Altair at his distaste of the use of Canada as a spoken word.
"He…doesn't care for Canada much" Nasir enlightened
"I can well imagine, many of the men who come from Canada want to launch a nuke at the place as soon as they get here, it takes quite a bit of convincing not to" Altair recalled
"Anyhow" Altair continued, "The Chinese have stolen the formula though corporate espionage and made a knockoff formula being used throughout much of Africa and Asia, it works much the same…except for the fact that it basically turns men into breeding stock, and then kills them from the knockoff formula"
"If we destroy the stock and the formulas, all I need to do is wait until the men fall asleep and I can send them to Civilization" Altair finished
"But even if we destroy the formula and the stock, can't they just torture or drug the men to keep them awake anyways?" Nasir asked
"By then I think I'll have a permanent solution to this problem, but this isn't something we can afford to wait for, 12 countries have approved mandatory use of the drug, and it's being made more each day" Altair answered.
"Okay, I'll take care of the knockoff factory; Nasir can take care of the Canadian facility, maybe liberate a few men along the way, and hightail it back here as soon as possible" Anaximander concluded
"There's something else…something big" Altair spoke in suspense
"Huh…let's hear this" Anaximander spoke sarcastically; he knew there would be a catch
"The Batarians seen hell-bent on conquering Earth…God knows why…but now that we've left, the Hegemony have consolidated their forces, and my moles tell me that they're gearing up for an attack soon" Altair said
"Okay…and…?" Nasir and Anaximander spoke in unison
Altair let a breath escape his nose softly, and close his eyes for a moment before speaking
"Look…I know we don't really have the best feelings towards Earth, or humanity for that matter, but we still can't let Earth be completely obliterated by the Batarians" Altair pleaded
"Even if we did want to save the planet that subjugated us for 30,000 years, can't the Alliance do something to stop this" Anaximander said, fully well knowing that the infinite bureaucracy of Asari politics would prevent such salvation
"I know…believe me I know, but it is still our homeworld, there isn't any magical or scientific power I possess that can change that, and besides…I have a plan to liberate the rest of human males, but there's no way I can prepare it in time for the attack" by now Anaximander and Nasir had buried their heads in their hands, and Altair stared at his feet
"Your brother is the most powerful being in the known galaxy, can't he summon a nuclear explosion, or lead another exodus" Nasir asked
"I imagine he could, If I had any idea where he is" Altair asked
Sensing it was a sore subject, Anaximander and Nasir exchanged agreeing glances, and relayed said glance towards Altair
"Hmm…fine, as long as this will end at some point, we'll run this little errant for you…but I still have no clue how only two humans and a robot can destroy the Hegemony fleet" Anaximander announced.
"I have a plan for that, but for now just focus on destroying the facilities, we may as well let the Batarians conquer Earth if we can't"
"Right…I want to get this over quickly, wheres the Chineese facltlity again?" Anaximander asked
"It's in Hong Kong…but be careful, the city is under constant attack from Japanese forces, while it should mean the facility that makes the drug should be lax on security, be on the lookout for any Banzai barrages" Altair responded, relieved on their agreeableness
"You heard the man Kaisar, prepare your loadout and set the Lincoln for Hong Kong…I have a bad feeling about this" Anaximander sighed, as Nasir ordered EVA to do the same
As the men and the robot exited the office, Altair sat back down
"These boys are the best, they'll be done soon." he spoke into his console "Please tell me you'll be done soon."
A gangly and even older voice entered into Altair's HUD
"I promised us freedom…I'm going to deliver it to us…No matter what"