Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 30
By
Jason Richard
Superman watched as, on the screen, his biological parents fawned over him as a baby. The world around them was alien, filled with tall, sharp spires for buildings, bright lights, and a some building designs that were somehow fully ancient, recalling greek or roman, and futuristic, made of shining metal and technology.
The couple at the center of it all talked, but their mouth movements didn't quite match what they were saying. Superman figured they were speaking an alien language, since they were in an alien city wearing alien robes.
Apart from these details, the couple in front of him could easily have been from Earth, judging from the way they fawned over their child.
"He has your chin Jor-El," said the woman.
"And your eyes Lara," said Jor-El, a man who looked a lot like Clark Kent. "I could spend an eternity looking at those eyes."
The gesture made her smile, but Lara smiled and said, "If only you didn't have other matters to attend to."
"Yes," said Jor-El, rolling his eyes. "My meeting with the council. Wish me luck."
The turned to each other and rested their foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes. "As always my love."
The scene switched to a giant council chamber, filled with people in similar robes, each with a mark decorating their cest. It was the same diamond shape that Superman had on his chest, though with different symbols inside them. It was only then that Superman noticed the exact same symbol on his chest adorned Jor-El's chest. He had no idea what it meant though.
Behind Jor-El were holographic displays showing the the planet and it's sun, with various symbols floating around it that Superman figured were mathematical calculations..
"So as you can see," said Jor-El, "Our red sun cannot sustain us for long. It is at the end of it's life cycle, and it will go supernova…"
"Yes yes," said one of the elders, rolling his eyes dismissively. "We thank you for this basic lesson in solar lifespans that every child on krypton knows, but I fail to see the urgency. Our solar satellites continue to revitalize the sun well past its natural expiration date. The natural laws you cite no longer apply. So…"
"With all due respect," said Jor-El, trying to remain calm. "Those satellites were only meant to be temporary. A means to buy time. They can absorb solar radiation and reintroduce it into our sun, but nothing, not even those satellites, can make something last forever. We can't just wish away the natural order. You put too much faith in our technology. I have no way of predicting the exact moment, but mark my words, the sun will explode, and soon."
"I think you could stand to have a little more faith in Kryptonian technology Jor-El," said another elder, a woman this time. "The satellites are working. Besides, moving an entire species off planet is no laughing matter. We simply don't have the resources."
"And now who has little faith in our technology?" said Jor-El. "Do you truly think I would come before the council with this proposal if I hadn't already worked out the means to accomplish it?"
"Yes," said yet another elder, reading off a holographic console in front of him. "This Ark you're building. I hope that isn't all. You would need a thousand such ships to accommodate all kryptonians, despite the Ark's impressive size. The only way it could do this is by manipulating space itself, and I only know of one dimension in existence where we can manipulate space to such a degree. Tell me Jor-El, are you planning what I think you're planning?"
Jor-El had to reluctantly admit, "Yes. The ship would have to, at least temporarily, take our people through the Phantom Zone in order to manipulate the ship's interior space."
The silence was intimidating. The elders didn't deliberate, but rather gave each other looks. Apparently they didn't need to speak to each other to come to the same conclusion. The phantom zone had more malleable physics than the normal realm, but it also was a prison for some of Krypton's worst criminals. Jor-El knew it would be a tough sell, but he'd hoped for better than this.
"Denied," said the elders, then one of them added. "We will not order a mass evacuation of Krypton. We know you have followers who believe your insanity, so to prevent riots anyone may go with you if they wish. But you would be responsible for any criminals that escaped from the phantom zone during your ludicrous plan. Are we clear?"
Jor-El obviously didn't like this decision, but reluctantly he nodded his head.
The scene then shifted once again, showing Jor-El and Lara strolling through the city, with little baby Kal-El in her arms. As they did the AI that was showing this to Superman added a little information.
"At the time of this particular video," it said. "The Ark was very nearly complete. Apart from some a few uncomplete systems all that was left was to organize the evacuation of those who wished to leave Krypton. Unfortunately, as Jor-El himself implied, no one could have predicted the exact moment disaster would strike."
On the screen Jor-El got a communication, but before he could answer it all the lights in the city turned red, and a shrill, high pitched sound not unlike an alarm sounded throughout the city. The sound scared baby Kal-El, who began crying. Lara immediately tried to calm him down, but Jor-El waited for the inevitable announcement, fearing the worst.
"Attention," came a voice over some sort of sound system. "Attention. Attention. Unidentified solar event in progress. Please report to the nearest safe zone and await further instructions."
"Unknown solar event huh?" said Jor-El, receiving the communication in a handheld device. "JLAI 13, is that solar even what I think it is?"
"I'm afraid so Jor-El," said the AI on the video, "Krypton's sun has just gone Supernova. I estimate about nineteen hours before the first matter from the sun makes impact with the planet."
Even knowing it was coming, Jor-El still has to pause, processing what he had just heard. His worst fears were confirmed.
Krypton had a matter of hours before it was destroyed in a supernova.
"Lara," he said.
"I know," said Lara, and the pair of them ran off, heading for transportation.
As they ran Jor-El brought of his communicator and said, "13, let as many people onto the Ark as possible before taking off. Wait until the last possible moment. Understand?"
"Yes sir," said JLAI 13, "I will comply to the best of my abilities, but there is another problem sir."
"Why does that not surprise me?" asked Jor-El.
"The explosion of the sun has released an electromagnetic pulse which interacted with our solar satellites in an unexpected manner. It has created a shockwave that will hit the planet within moments and could cause catastrophic damage to the technology here. Kryptonian shielding might negate some of that damage, but not by much, and the Ark's shielding is not yet complete. I do not know how many I can save before the shock wave arrives, but if the ark is to survive it cannot be here when that shockwave hits."
Jor-El sighed as they reached a small transport and said, "Understood, but my orders stand. Get as many people off planet as possible."
"Yes Jor-El," said the AI.
Jor-El and Lara finally reached their transport. A smaller ship that would couldn't go into space, but would be perfectly adequate to take them to the spaceport. They boarded and took off, speeding across the surface of the planet, over grasslike vegetation and past exotic alien animals.
After a few minutes the viewscreen inside the cockpit of the ship saw the spaceport in the distance. For a moment it seemed as if they might make it.
"Jor-El," came JLAI 13. "The shockwave is about to hit." Then began a countdown.
"No...no...not now!" cried Jor-El, speeding up as fast as he could. At 10 seconds, however, Jor-El stopped the ship and landed so they wouldn't be completely knocked out. The pair of them then strapped themselves in, Lara holding onto a crying baby Kal-El tightly, as if she would shield him with her body. As they were strapped in, Jor-El reached his hand out to her shoulder.
JLAI 13 finished the countdown, "3...2...1…"
Then the planet shook, and everything went black.
The scene shifted once more, to Jor-El waking up, the sound of someone screaming his name ringing in his ears. His eyes opened to see Lara standing over him, covered in bruises and carrying Kal-El, who was still crying at the top of his lungs. Jor-El could then feel dried blood on the side of his face as he realized he was lying on his side, still strapped to the chair which had broken from the floor of the ship.
"Jor-El," said Lara desperately. "We need to go. Now!"
Jor-El unstrapped himself and stood, and the pair of them stumbled out of the silent, broken beyond repair, ship. Outside they looked up and began to loose hope, as they could see the sky burning, filled with matter from exploded sun. Still, they ran on, hoping to find some means of escape.
At the spaceport they searched far and wide, Jor-El using a small scanner to find a ship that was still operational. No such luck. The shockwave had decimated the city, cracking the buildings and making all the lights go dark. There had to be something...something they could use.
All the dead bodies around them, people who hadn't survived the initial shockwave, took even more of their hope away.
Worse still were the people who had survived. Most of them were hiding, crying hysterically, or just staring at the sky. Not of them could be reasoned with. Jor-El even screamed at one.
"Come on!" he cried. "There's got to be an operational ship somewhere!"
"Even if there was," said the old man, lying on his back with giving the sky a blank stare, "What's the point?"
Jor-El and Lara let him be.
Finally Jor-El's scanner found something. It wasn't a ship, but an escape pod. It was small, and there was a chance it was a little damaged, but it might work. At the very least it would have a faster than light drive enough for one trip to an inhabited planet. He grabbed Lara's hand and led her and the baby to it, feeling just a little jolt of hope.
They found the pod inside the a wreck of a ship, and Jor-El examined it. The pod was barely in working condition, and wasn't at full power. He began working on it, fiddling with the controls and examining the interior mechanism. Lara stood back, finally managing to calm down little Kal-El so he wasn't crying so much.
Jor-El then injected something into the pod with a small device, "These nanites should give the pod a small copy of JLAI 13, which will help repair the ship and help us find the Ark again, at some point. Lara...Where do you want to go?"
"To the Ark of course," said Lara. "Where the rest of the survivor's are."
Jor-El kept working, but sighed, "I just looked at the communicator. Everyone already at the spaceport tried to take off in regular ships, and those who had signed up to get on the Ark didn't make it in time. No one boarded the Ark. Lara, if we do make it off the planet, it's just going to be us. So...where do you want to go?"
Lara had to take a moment to let that sink in, but thinking of Kal-El she knew her answer. "That one planet you found...Earth."
"Earth?" Jor-El asked. "Are you certain? It has a yellow sun, and a kryptonian hasn't walked under one of those in centuries. We'd be like gods on such a planet."
"I've thought of that," said Lara. "What better place to ensure our survival? The survival of our son? I even made some suits for us that can adapt to various planets, alter heat or deal with humidity. They should adapt to the powers we get on earth as well, reacting to the solar energy within it. It's a red and blue suit with the El house emblem on it. One for you and one for me, tucked into my robes. We can make one for Kal-El later."
But people would fear us, Lara," said Jor-El.
"Maybe some of them," said Lara. "But it's a big, harsh universe, and we're about to be so alone…" she almost choked up at the implications of that, but kept speaking. "If we are not feared, then we will be the one's who are afraid. On Earth, however, they are not unlike us. Many of them care for each other as we care for our own people, and can learn to not be afraid of us, if we give them no reason to be. It's the best place in this universe where our son can grow up and be happy."
"Jor-El sighed and said, "You may be right. Very well, we shall do it your way." then he frowned, still working on the pod.
"What's wrong?" asked Lara.
"The pod," he said, pointing to a screen on it showing three figures in red. One was shaped like Jor-El, one like Lara, and the third was shaped like their little baby. "The faster than light drive still has enough power in its own cells for a single trip, but the primary power core is damaged. The pod won't have enough thrust to break the atmosphere...at least…not with the weight of all three of us on board. Maybe..."
He fiddled with some more of the controls, and the figure shaped like Jor-El disappeared. The readings were in an alien language, but the color of the remaining figures turned yellow. Lara seemed to know what this meant.
"No," she said. "No you're coming with us. We need your. We…"
"The pod can't do it," said Jor-El in frustration. "The pod can't do it. It can't take our combined weight while in the planet's gravity. I don't want to leave you, but this is the only way. I won't let either of you die here. It's not going to happen." he looked back at the controls. "Not enough though. I just need to reroute some power nodes."
Jor-El kept working, but got more and more frustrated as he went. Lara stood back, showing incredible helplessness. In fact they both felt more and more helpless as Jor-El was still unable to get the pod to an optimal level, even removing his weight from the equation.
In his frustration Jor-El slammed his fist on the pod, "Those council fools! If I'd had their support the Ark would have been finished by now! We could have been gone before this!" Then he screamed in frustration before furiously working on the pod some more. No matter what he did, however, the pod never seemed to be in optimal condition.
Lara continued to feel hopeless the more Jor-El continued to work. She'd offer to help, but she just had to look at the pod to see that there wasn't much she could do that Jor-El wasn't already doing. Then she looked at her son, who seemed like he might cry again at any moment. She looked at the frightened, sweet, innocent little face, and realized she couldn't let him die any more than Jor-El could. Suddenly she knew what needed to be done.
She slowly walked over, put her hand on Jor-El's, and gently pulled it away. Jor-El watched in confusion as Lara changed some controls. The image of Lara on the pod disappeared, leaving only baby Kal-El, which turned green.
Jor-El gazed in astonishment at the readings. He looked up at Lara and shook his head as if to say no. She didn't' respond, but a tear ran down her eye, and the look in her eyes said that had accepted her fate, though she still feared it. Jor-El looked back and forth between her and the pod, his fingers occasionally hovering over the controls, but despite the severe desperation in his face he changed nothing. He then took one final look at his wife, and tears began rolling down his eyes. Both of them sobbed on the brink of hysteria, but then they nodded to each other, clearly knowing what had to be done.
Lara took out the suit she had intended for Jor-El, the red and blue suit with a cape, and placed it in a compartment in the pod. Then she and Jor-El very gently placed Kal-El inside the tiny ship, the pair of them still crying. As they lifted their hands away Kal-El, for a moment, grabbed onto Lara's finger, but she still had to pull away. Kal-El was automatically strapped in, and the pod door closed.
And Kal-El began to cry again.
Jor-El and Lara placed their hands on the glass, giving their son one last farewell. Kal-El began to cry as the pod levitated and began moving away from them. He cried out as the pod left the wrecked ship and flew high into the sky, and he continued to cry as the pod left the atmosphere and flew away from the planet.
He even cried as the supernova finally hit Krypton, shattering the planet to pieces, and then incinerating what was left.
And then the screen Superman watched went blank.
"And I think," said JLAI 13. "You know the rest of the story."
And Clark Kent, still dressed as Superman in the suit his birth mother left for him, certainly did know that, as he had to wipe away fresh tears from his face.