"Gentlemen, I have terrible news to offer this morning. Based on a report submitted by Senator Gourache, this Congress sent out a fleet of scouts to a number of worlds not under the our rule. We found entire planets charred and burnt to ashes. We do not know who caused this as there are any number of suspects, thanks to the reports submitted by Grego Wiggin and his accomplices. In addition, there are thousand upon thousands of rumors on the webs and in the papers that this was all our doing. These would be thanks to Ms. Quara Wiggin and her accomplices. Upon further investigation, we found over forty worlds destroyed. Just yesterday, ten mammoth-class shuttles collided with one such planet reducing it to nothingness. We have reason to believe that some of the xenobiologists on Lusitania may have been conducting their experiments on these planets. We have no choice but to consider the late Admiral Lands' report as invalid and it is to be destroyed. We will now proceed to discuss the fate of Lusitania."
-Starways Congress session 09:10:34
The Hive Queen reached out amongst the philotes. Her consciousness, her existence traveled along the delicate, yet crucial strands of life. And the sights she beheld horrified and even frightened her.
A good number of the philotes were weakened and shook violently. One or two even snapped. She wasn't sure how, but the philotes had most definitely snapped before her eyes. She wasn't even sure if they could do this. There an almost infinite amount of philotes in the Outside, but as the Hive Queen traveled, she found fewer and fewer strands that hadn't been damaged.
Curious, she followed the weakened strands in hopes of finding a cause to the destruction. On a small bluish planet, a civil war had erupted, pitting friend against friend, father against son. The war had been on for only a week at most, but she could sense such seething hatred amongst these human philotes. She backed away and traced another strand. It lead her to Pacifica. Worriedly, she followed these philotes and found that the small following that worshiped Jane as a god had fallen in on itself. Some believed Jane had gone mad and was on an unholy crusade, while the firm believers violently responded.
Again and again, the Hive Queen stretched out amongst different philotes, each leading her to a scene of horror and destruction worse than the one before. But then a realization hit her. She looked amongst the philotes again and her fear was confirmed. The Hundred Worlds were in a state of war. The damaged philotes created a dark but powerful web of oblivion amongst the sentient life in the human legacy. A philote would shake violently when an act of senseless destruction occurred, and the Hive Queen had seen many such acts already. The vibration would attack other connected philotes and so on and so on until the tremor finally weakened and gave out.
If all these philotes snapped.... The thought was too impossible to believe. But still.... She watched a while longer until she noticed that the web had a center. Something was at the heart of the dark web, giving off its own tremors though no planet nor any life at all occupied its space. She stretched her consciousness to it.
It attacked her. The moment she reached it, it extended its influence and thought at her. And she felt amazing pain. It was if a thousand needles struck at her soul. The dark thing's power extended yet again and the Hive Queen was forced to recoil as the pain intensified. The dark thing did not want it interfering and it lashed out again, trying to sever her connection with the philotes. She was not pleased by this turn of events and tried to lash out with her own thoughts.
She soon learned that was a mistake. The dark thing did not recoil, but rather absorbed the Hive Queen and filled her thoughts with ideas of destruction and war and blood...and humanity. She darted away as fast as she could, her mind swimming with an icy chill. She drew herself back into her body and meditated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The smell of incense overpowered the small bedroom. The door was shut and lockedm the curtains drawn closed. The center of the room held the burning incense holder. In the corner, Bishop Gregorio turned his terminal off, the low murmur of the machine disappeared, and all was silent. As the room slowly filled with smoke, he wiped his tearing eyes and immediately stopped. 'Suffering is a part of the prayer...'. He lowered his hands to his side and knelt before the bowl of incense. 'Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.' The Bishop waited a few moments and heard a very distant, very faint humming. He shut his eyes tightly, avoiding the temptation to interrupt his ritual.
"Bishop Gregorio..." The Bishop nearly let out a yell in surprise.
"Lord?"
"My child..."
"Oh, my Savior! You've come to me!" He threw himself to the floor, weeping in awe.
"Rise, my son."
"What would you ask of me, Lord?"
"The end times are coming." The Bishop hesitated.
"The Apocalypse?"
"Yes."
"But how? The signs..."
"The signs are all in place. These are dark times, the darkest in humanity's history. The seals are being opened, the trumpets sound."
"Is it so, my Lord?"
"Do you doubt me?"
"No! No, my Lord, but the heavens! It is foretold that a third of the stars will.... My God.... All those planets that were attacked! It's exactly as it is written in the book of Revelation!"
"Indeed, loyal follower. The Anti-Christ has made himself known."
"Peter Wiggins..."
"The Beast has manifested itself."
"The dragon?"
"Yes. The Starways Congress. For too long has it fed on you people, my worshipers. For too long has it spread its lies and oppression. It has become fat and decadent. Now it seeks to devour the descendants of the righteous. It will not come to pass."
"Of course not, my Lord. But what shall I do?"
"The Lusitania Fleet will return to eliminate this colony."
"The Congress has decided this already?"
"No, that has yet to pass. I will make it so. However, you will be as the angel Michael and slay the Serpent of Old." Bishop Gregario drew in a sharp breath. This was his dream. This was his chance to prove his righteousness. Filled with pride and eagerness, he was held speechless before the Lord. "I will make open the way to the Beast. From there, you will be on your own. Now listen carefully. This is what you must do."
The Bishop knelt before the Lord and took in his every word. He knew what he must do. He would lead the charge in the battle between Heaven and Hell and cast the Beast from the mortal plane. He would be a soldier in the army of God. When the Lord finished and departed, the Bishop got up and rushed from his bedroom to make preparations for the final battle. This would be the ultimate test of his faith and he would not fail. The Beast would tremble before the glorious light of heaven and the wicked would cower as their blasphemous leader fell to Bishop Gregario. The end of days had begun.
As the Bishop left the room and shut the door, the terminal in the corner of the room erased the messages it typed on the screen, turned off the speakers, and shut itself off.
-Starways Congress session 09:10:34
The Hive Queen reached out amongst the philotes. Her consciousness, her existence traveled along the delicate, yet crucial strands of life. And the sights she beheld horrified and even frightened her.
A good number of the philotes were weakened and shook violently. One or two even snapped. She wasn't sure how, but the philotes had most definitely snapped before her eyes. She wasn't even sure if they could do this. There an almost infinite amount of philotes in the Outside, but as the Hive Queen traveled, she found fewer and fewer strands that hadn't been damaged.
Curious, she followed the weakened strands in hopes of finding a cause to the destruction. On a small bluish planet, a civil war had erupted, pitting friend against friend, father against son. The war had been on for only a week at most, but she could sense such seething hatred amongst these human philotes. She backed away and traced another strand. It lead her to Pacifica. Worriedly, she followed these philotes and found that the small following that worshiped Jane as a god had fallen in on itself. Some believed Jane had gone mad and was on an unholy crusade, while the firm believers violently responded.
Again and again, the Hive Queen stretched out amongst different philotes, each leading her to a scene of horror and destruction worse than the one before. But then a realization hit her. She looked amongst the philotes again and her fear was confirmed. The Hundred Worlds were in a state of war. The damaged philotes created a dark but powerful web of oblivion amongst the sentient life in the human legacy. A philote would shake violently when an act of senseless destruction occurred, and the Hive Queen had seen many such acts already. The vibration would attack other connected philotes and so on and so on until the tremor finally weakened and gave out.
If all these philotes snapped.... The thought was too impossible to believe. But still.... She watched a while longer until she noticed that the web had a center. Something was at the heart of the dark web, giving off its own tremors though no planet nor any life at all occupied its space. She stretched her consciousness to it.
It attacked her. The moment she reached it, it extended its influence and thought at her. And she felt amazing pain. It was if a thousand needles struck at her soul. The dark thing's power extended yet again and the Hive Queen was forced to recoil as the pain intensified. The dark thing did not want it interfering and it lashed out again, trying to sever her connection with the philotes. She was not pleased by this turn of events and tried to lash out with her own thoughts.
She soon learned that was a mistake. The dark thing did not recoil, but rather absorbed the Hive Queen and filled her thoughts with ideas of destruction and war and blood...and humanity. She darted away as fast as she could, her mind swimming with an icy chill. She drew herself back into her body and meditated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The smell of incense overpowered the small bedroom. The door was shut and lockedm the curtains drawn closed. The center of the room held the burning incense holder. In the corner, Bishop Gregorio turned his terminal off, the low murmur of the machine disappeared, and all was silent. As the room slowly filled with smoke, he wiped his tearing eyes and immediately stopped. 'Suffering is a part of the prayer...'. He lowered his hands to his side and knelt before the bowl of incense. 'Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.' The Bishop waited a few moments and heard a very distant, very faint humming. He shut his eyes tightly, avoiding the temptation to interrupt his ritual.
"Bishop Gregorio..." The Bishop nearly let out a yell in surprise.
"Lord?"
"My child..."
"Oh, my Savior! You've come to me!" He threw himself to the floor, weeping in awe.
"Rise, my son."
"What would you ask of me, Lord?"
"The end times are coming." The Bishop hesitated.
"The Apocalypse?"
"Yes."
"But how? The signs..."
"The signs are all in place. These are dark times, the darkest in humanity's history. The seals are being opened, the trumpets sound."
"Is it so, my Lord?"
"Do you doubt me?"
"No! No, my Lord, but the heavens! It is foretold that a third of the stars will.... My God.... All those planets that were attacked! It's exactly as it is written in the book of Revelation!"
"Indeed, loyal follower. The Anti-Christ has made himself known."
"Peter Wiggins..."
"The Beast has manifested itself."
"The dragon?"
"Yes. The Starways Congress. For too long has it fed on you people, my worshipers. For too long has it spread its lies and oppression. It has become fat and decadent. Now it seeks to devour the descendants of the righteous. It will not come to pass."
"Of course not, my Lord. But what shall I do?"
"The Lusitania Fleet will return to eliminate this colony."
"The Congress has decided this already?"
"No, that has yet to pass. I will make it so. However, you will be as the angel Michael and slay the Serpent of Old." Bishop Gregario drew in a sharp breath. This was his dream. This was his chance to prove his righteousness. Filled with pride and eagerness, he was held speechless before the Lord. "I will make open the way to the Beast. From there, you will be on your own. Now listen carefully. This is what you must do."
The Bishop knelt before the Lord and took in his every word. He knew what he must do. He would lead the charge in the battle between Heaven and Hell and cast the Beast from the mortal plane. He would be a soldier in the army of God. When the Lord finished and departed, the Bishop got up and rushed from his bedroom to make preparations for the final battle. This would be the ultimate test of his faith and he would not fail. The Beast would tremble before the glorious light of heaven and the wicked would cower as their blasphemous leader fell to Bishop Gregario. The end of days had begun.
As the Bishop left the room and shut the door, the terminal in the corner of the room erased the messages it typed on the screen, turned off the speakers, and shut itself off.
