Prologue: Alpha Genesis.
"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." A gravelly and hauntingly synthetic voice echoed throughout the vast and dark chamber. Rising above the lone figure on either side were rows of terraced platforms overgrowing with vibrant green vegetation that spilled over into the central valley to spread along the ground and over the walking path.
"This you know to be true." Came the response, this one decidedly artificial.
The lone figure passed by the terraces of vines and the developing underbrush and canopy that resulted from the explosion of life. Here there was only the light from the auxiliary systems that shone down upon him in dull yellow tones, flickering on and off to follow his path through the facility. He absently ran his hand along the wall, tapping the steel rhythmically. "Were they destined to fall?"
The voice called out from above, "It was inevitable."
He gently caressed a flowering vine, strong fingers delicately admiring its pastel-pink bud, before moving on down the path. The end of the artificial valley brought him to a single set of doors. He pressed his hand to the control panel just to the right of them. This, he knew, was a formality. The screen remained black, cracked and spilling with the roots and lichen of what passed for age in this place. Still, the electronically sealed doors creaked and forced themselves open for him, just barely offering him enough room to slip through as they shuddered and groaned, caught on the invading plants that had long taken residence in their way.
As the doors nearly slammed shut after he was through, he could hear the faint chugging noise of the hydraulic systems that nourished the vegetation. High above in the vaulted heights of the chamber the misters sputtered out life-giving water to choking vines and reaching roots.
Directly ahead of him was a long hallway bathed in darkness. Still the flickering old emergency lights followed him as he made his way down it, illuminating only the immediate area around him. The steel floor, walls and ceiling were in certain places shoved apart to give way to invasive vines and fungi. Every thirty paces or so down the hall was another door similarly locked with a panel long since dead. His destination was the first door on the left, the sign above which read "System Control" in faded paint.
At this door he placed his hand again on the black and broken screen, and waited patiently. After a moment the door hissed and slid open easily, revealing a shorter hallway that ended in another door, this one larger and tilted on its axis to resemble a diamond as opposed to a standard rectangular door. He stepped into this hall and the door shut behind him swiftly.
The auxiliary lights sputtered out, leaving him in complete darkness for a moment before the floor erupted in a flood of deep red light lining the set pathway. Ahead, the diamond-shaped door's center glowed a brilliant white before blinking a few times and opening with a whine of old metal fighting its rust.
He stepped through this door. The room ahead was bathed in dim red light emanating from the floor through the steel grating. His boots clanked noisily on the ground as he approached the center of the room. This chamber was large and cylindrical, dominated in the center by a monolithic pillar of a supercomputer in the center that rose up to the ceiling in the pitch-black heights. Long ago he had reasoned that there had probably been an efficient method of gaining access to the upper level of the room, but it had not survived the centuries.
At the foot of the pillar, which was as wide around as an ancient tree, was a single chair that he promptly sat down in, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.
"You have returned, Judas."
The man nodded. "Of course, Methuselah." He sighed. There were, after so long, still so many formalities with this thing.
The pillar's motors stirred to motion and several of the displays flared to life, glitching screens flickering to illuminate the room just a little further, this time with whatever color light it could muster. As the voice returned the pillar blinked and pulsed with the tone in varying colors.
"What has brought you here to me again?"
"Answers."
"No. Questions."
"Yes."
"Proceed, Son of Man."
Judas-33 nodded, looking up to the pillar's foremost forward-facing monitor as if it were the thing's face. "There is darkness in their hearts, and in their midst. The vanguard is corrupted beyond measure and take orders from a false prophet who hides behind a mask."
"What would you ask of me then, little Judas?"
Judas steepled his fingers and leaned back in the hard-backed chair. "Guide me. As you have before."
The pillar was silent for a moment. Then: "You have the path set before your heart already. Is it guidance you seek, or reassurance?"
"Affirm my path then. Tell it to me again so I may keep it in my mind."
"Very well. I will not be here forever, little Judas. Keep a mind to truly heed my words this time."
He nodded solemnly, and it seemed to accept this as an understanding before speaking again.
"The Son of Man will arrive in a time long from now," It recited in almost joyful tones, "and with him he shall carry the light in his whole body to extinguish the darkness."
Silence overcame them.
"You've said it the same way dozens of times. Is that all you have for me?" Judas nearly let out an exasperated sigh but held it in.
"It is all you need."
"Not what I want."
"The Son of Man came to serve. To save lives. To bring about a second Golden Age. Is this not you?"
"If you are to die soon, Methuselah, but still see him, I see no other option."
"Humility is the best quality of the Son of Man. Tell me more of this vanguard."
This time he did allow himself to sigh. "They were once of the light. Like me. But they have been tempted to darkness and now they, unlike me, have not conquered it within themselves. They serve a false prophet and order their innocent faithful to fight a war that cannot be won."
"What do you want?"
"I want to stop them. To destroy them and save the other guardians. To lead them all in a righteous war. To save them." Judas closed his good optic, but his alien replacement remained open and vigilant despite his desire to rest for a moment.
"Then do what is required. As the Son of Man, it is your right to expel the darkness in these lesser men. They have struck you and done you wrong. Little Judas, you must not take this lightly. Go to the heart of their darkness, their misplaced faith, and seek your answers there. To understand the true nature of their intentions and their weaknesses will bring you strength and the knowledge to defeat them."
Judas nodded. "And when they are found to be contemptible?"
"Righteous absolution. Sinners who have rejected the Son of Man can expect no less than eternal torment for such transgressions."
He stood and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for your wise counsel as always, Methuselah."
"Will you be taking your leave now, little Judas?"
"Yes. I have my mission and know how to accomplish it."
"Take back the world of men with the light of your soul. Your kingdom is within you."
Judas turned on his heel and strode out of the System Control room. His mind was racing with the possibilities, bouncing between each sequence of potentialities, but always returning to the path set before him. There was, at the heart of all things, only one way this could end: with his victory.
He followed the same path he had taken, this time each door opened for him before he had a chance to slow down in front of it. Past the long hallway and the vast terraced chamber that so reminded him of a lush valley, and up the many stairs that led into a rocky cavern blocked off by a thick steel door that he forced open with his bare hands and slipped out of and into the thick humid air of Venus. He stepped out into the rocky cavern that hid the entrance to the subterranean bunker and emerged once more to the light of day.
Judas gazed out to the ruins of the destroyed city that had long since lost its name, to the sky streaked with yellow haze, to the turbulent sea as black as tar far below that washed the coast away with each irreverent wave, to the looming trees that drooped low under the weight of their own canopies. He clenched his metal jaw and raised his hand up. In front of him a vortex of immeasurable depth and darkness materialized and he stepped into it without hesitation. For the briefest of instants he was enveloped in the nothingness of the void, but he then emerged at his destination.
Snow crunched underfoot, and all around him it glistened like crystals in the light of the moon. All along the steppes the snow dusted and swirled in powdered elegance. The midnight wind whipped at his tattered black coat. Ahead, with perpetual light glowing from above and within its thick walls was the last bastion of humanity, and cradle of the misguided: The Last City. Above it the dead god of the Traveller hovered, silent as it ever had been since he had been awakened.
Judas strode forward and began making his way to the City. He needed answers.