A Prince of Earth Ch. 02

I was musing when I saw them. Hundreds of thousands of Human-shaped flying machines. Each one one hundred feet long. Powerful enough to wipe out all life on Mars. And there is the moment of truth. Should I turn around and run, return safely to my wife and children and let humanity die? The humans had betrayed me. They transformed me into their worst enemy. Why should I show them mercy? That's when I knew. My father always emphasized balance. A balance between all things in the universe. Light and darkness. Large and small. Male and female. Power and powerlessness. Good and evil. If I let the human species die, it would upset the balance of the universe. The Magisterians were the supreme masters of the universe. It would be centuries before the humans developed the numbers or the technology to have even a snowball's chance in hell of opposing us. We had won the war. We must not show ourselves to be every bit as evil as the savages we conquered. I readied the missiles of my ship. I ordered the ship's navigational computer to launch them. Even as the flying robots came into view, the missiles detonated. I watched as space changed from starry darkness into sudden brightness. I didn't stop every missile. I didn't stop most of them. Millions of people died on Mars. But millions more survived. Enough for the human species not to be extinct. I did the best I could to stop the robots. In the end, they turned against me. I was vastly outnumbered. And it was the end of me.

I felt the impact of a robot-lauched missile. My Cruiser was equipped with the best shields in the universe. However, it was not designed to withstand deadly energies which might rival that of a small sun. As my ship caught fire, I closed my eyes. I am Thor Voltaire. Emperor of the Magisterian Imperium. Husband to Athena Apotheose, Empress of the Magisterian Imperium. Father of the Imperial Twins, Adam and Eve. The Son of two Worlds. Son of Julius Voltaire, Chief Admiral of the Armed Forces of the United Conglomerates of Human Worlds and of Sela Hyperion, Empress of the Magisterian Imperium. Half Magisterian and Half Human. Forever proud of both halves of my being, my family and my spirit. Protector of the Magisterian People. And now, Savior of Mankind. May my passage into the next world be swift.