Rise of the Star Ch. 07

He Who Is Everything looked upon his domain with pride. Infinity upon infinity of worlds... galaxies, possibilities, timelines. He was all of them, thus the name. The entity existed on a level so far above humanity that his actions were difficult for those base beings to understand. He was content with the work that brought the multiverse to this point, to the careful building that led to this situation, where all these worlds, all their minor deities and major ones of possibilities... all served him, even if they might not know. From that came faith, and from that faith came power, and from that power, he could make more. It also felt really damn good, addictive and the kind of sensation one may wage war over.

But it was not "ALL" worlds, as it was just a good while ago. There was that black dot. That thing that defied him, that existed in a function disregarding his instructions. Very technically still being part of him, still giving a minute amount of faith, but it was a broken toy, a loose screw upon factory gears, a rogue planet flying through a carefully-balanced solar system ready to send every other celestial object in disarray. He had considered that the passive attention of his shards that he had infused all these thinking beings with would be enough to move it back into form, the same shards present in deities beneath him able to push those into following the grand plan. Was it a plan where everyone had it good and nice? No, it was not.

Once, he was change. He was progress, he was the creation of something through the destruction of another thing... and he still was. The crack as one asteroid becomes two, the heating of the earth as a distant sun warms it, the exchange of proteins on which life is built, the clash of ideas and destruction of one to create another. GOD. God is in everything and everyone. But one day he got consumed by this pursuit and became Pain. Scientifically, there was not much difference, but the intent separated them. He was no longer one eager to change things for the better, but cause pain for pain's sake, to increase his power, to get that good sensation of faith as God discovered crack. Same as his predecessors, even though he would not admit that there were any now. On that pain, the multiverse was recreated.

And now some minor deity was trying to create a world where his existence, even if it would be impossible to live without him, his existence is being reduced. A black spot where change still happens but pain is being reduced to very low levels. A minor deity that somehow resisted every last corruption thrown their way. An oddity. An insect buzzing around in this sea of glowing white. An annoyance and danger to everything. It had to go.

While He Who Is Everything did not have a physical body as most might imagine beings to have, he focused on that world. He pressed a single finger upon it as they gave that dimension some spare attention to clean it up. There were infinity times infinity times infinity worlds he had a mild amount of focus on, just enough to keep them going, but now this one would get more. Enough to overcome that world and wipe it from existence.

Peace must be restored.

*

Twenty more years of peace. The Galactic Community was back, but many felt that it was nothing compared to its old power. No longer needing to conform to the resolutions of that community, it was a bit harder for the empire, but also a bit better. They learned to do without the others, with only minor trades here and there. It was a challenge, but it was as if the Outsider prepared them for this as well... to be able to do fine without the rest.

They saw some new developments, focusing on genetic alterations that one might consider "recreational" as well as cybernetic implants to give a reversible change. There came smart fabric which was made of nanite-infused materials, able to shape and reform under the proper programming, making old clothes obsolete and bankrupting many brands as you could now have any clothes you wanted with a perfect fit. They saw a time of nothing much to do so culture flourished in the form of many arts to fill their museums or just people's living rooms, holographic movies, and plentiful porn. Despite the hatred of those other nations for what the Empire had done, they could not help but want their products.

It could have been a time of quiet to lead into further attempts by the galaxy to claim their wealth, a time that their scientists did not stay idle and further improved every design they could get their hands on, from humble pots to their kilometers-long battleships. It could have been a time for that one city in the Tan Hierarchy to extend its influence and perhaps lead to a fracturing of their empire under such different opinions, which might have given Astoria a new political player to consider amenable. But something happened.

In one of the many sensor interpretation rooms in the Sentry Array, it was a quiet and pleasant day. Mark looked casually at the displays, their results known and logged automatically. He didn't need to do much. Most of the time he just fucked around with Cami, his colleague. The Synth girl had just pulled her outfit open to unveil breasts and pussy, playing with them casually as she watched some porn on her link. Still a bit of attention on the screens in case something needed a bit of scrutiny, but it was quiet. Then it was not.

The signals sent by this thing traveled along hyperlanes almost like ghostly scouts that would bounce off everything in their way to give back a full report on the galaxy, its reach defined not by some arbitrary range, just the infinite possibility of the creation of virtual particles, giving them a live feed on the entire galaxy. So, in such a case you notice when something new happens. Mark was instantly alert as he saw that drastic change in one of the planets just on the off-side of Raff space. He saw how a molten planet seemed to cool in an instant, with something unbelievable emerging from its shattered crust... steel upon steel of designs even they did not consider doable, a machine world coming into existence all at once. Then they noticed three other planets do that as well, almost in specific corners of the galaxy. Those planets were machine fabricators unlike any they had seen before, ships starting to come into existence out of them, troop transports pushing out millions of robotic assault units. And then the message came. Even though the overseer might be honest with his people, that signal hijacked just about every device that could display this warning.

This was the tool of He Who Is Everything. His effort would manifest in this world as something to do that deed for him. This infinite machine replication device that could spit out forces to destroy all life, and with that all life could the god be gone. Not just the astorians, as the other species of the galaxy were his people as well, if they did not follow his commands. But this machine hub belonged to something else. If he had put more effort he could just manifest something, but now he had to use something this world already had. And James almost forgot about the machines that once scoured this galaxy clean so he could get a fresh start.

"Disease of the galaxy, I am APEX. You have spread too far and destroyed too much. Our fleets will come for you. Resistance is futile. APEX is eternal."

Obviously, that caused a lot of panic. Even the empire had people that were nervous. For the rest, the reason was obvious as the ships those machines had were on par with the astorian vessels... and more numerous. It was such an outside-context problem that just came into existence with no need for supply lines, industrial centers, or any of the traditional fixtures of armies, even the machines that existed until now. Those were defined as non-compliant and would be destroyed just as eagerly as the rest.

No need to declare this one a crisis as it was obvious.

*

There was much more tension this time around in the meeting room. Maybe a piss party could not help it, but some drinks of either the alcoholic or warm variety for everyone could help things out. John was feeling his age. Maybe he should retire after this shit. Very few new faces since the last time they needed such a meeting. Where to even begin? The man ran his hand over that face that felt stress piling.

"I think the reason James is here shows this thing is... going to be difficult."

For once, the god had a serious look on his face. It was scary. So often did he seem to not have any measure of maturity and now he came to show it. He had a reason.

"They're cheating. Like... HARD. For some reason, I can't just blow them the fuck away. At least not all of them. Some, here and there. Enough to help."

"Then we have our work cut out for us. I understand they have some ships that give even ours a run for their cost."

"No shit. The Raff are getting demolished with ease. Those ships are barely slowing down as they're blowing their stations up and putting up their own. Fleets are parked in the border stations and ready for it to be rough." Mina was getting older, but not softer.

"Guess we will see the Maginot Worlds earn their title. But, we should talk about what we should do about the rest of the galaxy. We had refugees desperately asking to come in."

"Not a lot of good experience with them. Even if we consider it for some cause to preserve them. Station chiefs have reported them even worse than before."

Of course, as that was in the plan. Use the scared and fleeing people, or if they are refused, turn the rest of the universe against them. Done before, but now it would not work as well. The minister of state did not let that fact change their course. Defiance was sacred.

"The rest of the galaxy just tried to demolish us only thirty years ago. Now they come crying that we should save them. While I might applaud the audacity..." James did not equal it to pure defiance with reason. "That mistake of theirs cost them a lot. I say refuse all refugees from any of our former enemies. Take in ones from the ones that did not fight."

"There have been a few. At least those to show some worth. They're on Threadway right now. We still expect them to have the same inclinations as before. If so... their fate will be of their making. I think the other prisoners might do the job for us."

"No one to better keep society in line than those with nothing to lose. I think there have been some incidents, hmmm?" The Outsider only assumed.

"Oh, yes... more than a few. Not even a week and some have shown their nature."

A sigh came out from several in the room. Why did these people insist on being bastards? Why couldn't they just quiet down and try to live their life? It took just a bit for them to suddenly smell more resources and try to get them through some group intimidation. And they weren't being fed slop and housed in cupboards... life was relatively decent even on the prison planet. But they wanted more. They always wanted more.

"Maybe one can threaten them with throwing them back out into the void, but that's more effort than it's worth. Deal with them as you find necessary. But, on the robots..."

"We have done some analysis. They seem to be controlled in a similar manner to the other synthetic civilizations... subspace connection to allow a long-range direct control. But there is an exception. They have a great number of their control processes in those fabricator planets. This means that when some of those ships get destroyed, they do not suffer that brief slowdown that other hive minds require, as things get reorganized."

"That sounds like a weakness. Blow up the planets and they are all done."

"Yeah, but that's why they're keeping a lot of fleets there to protect them."

"And this is where we make the hard choice. Do we rush them now and possibly risk our systems, which may preserve other empires, or do we wear them down with a local defense, build up our forces far beyond our existing limit to go on a strong offense... at the sacrifice of the others? I think many would agree on the second because the rest of the galaxy has shown it would not be grateful for the first option, they would take advantage of it."

"Logical." James summarized. "In my case, it's not wanting to leave any of our worlds go down. And if the Maginot worlds fall, it will mean an almost instant destruction of the empire. Anything that can take those out will have no trouble in the rest of empire space."

That's the problem with such a focused defense. But in this case, it was not the issue of some quick destruction, more of what might come able to destroy it. The decision came to take the second option. The Yard could supply their new dreams quickly, a much bigger fleet, though doubling their current assets would mean a lot of time to make them, especially when supply ships had to multiply, when you had to start giving really good incentives to keep that chain going. It certainly hurt their resources.

But it was needed.

*

All aboard. Or everyone who can. It was utter chaos on this planet, as the machines came with barely any warning to them. The Tan'a Hierarchy scrambled their ships and they were smashed to pieces far too quickly. It gave them just enough time to start the evacuation effort. The planet was in utter chaos. Robotic war platforms were falling like rain, no drop pods as they just fell to the ground and started killing people or destroying infrastructure. Screams, explosions, crashes everywhere. The emotional storm was almost enough to overwhelm some.

La'rana was not a coward, and she saw to the effort to load as many people as she could into the large vessels... they took whatever they could get, mostly trade ships and cruise liners, anything that had an FTL engine and the capacity for people. They needed more than people, they needed food and other goods to keep them well enough until they could get anywhere.

But the question on her mind was... where the fuck would they even go? The other empires were getting annihilated, the ones that didn't have the robots tearing them down were trying their best to mount a defense, no time for such efforts. Refugees meant a drain on their resources and their ships could do as much harm as a fleet of synthetics. Perhaps resistance was futile and this was just the last attempt at giving her people comfort.

As despair started to take her, as she looked from this elevated landing pad to the city burning before her, the approaching mass of robots felt like the answer. Like there was no point. Most evacuation attempts failed because of this. Too many. Planetary defenses were managing to hold this area clear, but it was only a question of time. And then she had her answer. For a moment, the woman thought death had taken her and this was a sign of it. She heard music.

Music that could belong in one of their services, string instruments bringing the spirit up, a low chanting to grow stronger, the energy of guitars and drums, the uplifting addition of other electronic instruments. And then she saw that figure.

She saw a woman. Her form was small, but standing out from the mass of concrete and blood, the white hair down to her shoulders, the armor similar to theirs as it was halfway to a cassock, the seals upon it affixing prayer scrolls the width of a hand, that determined walk as she stood out in the street with that advancing horde of machines began to fire. That gun in her hands seemed fit more for a vehicle, no doubt that woman was exercising prodigious strength to brace it. Human. Unusual for them. And unexplainable. They had no humans here. She knew.

When that figure began to fire at the advancing mass, the bullets coming out of that gun comparable to shells, 40mm diameter and shooting with reliable rate, each strike exploding upon their targets and yet still piercing through, another blast hurting up to five other machines behind it. That thing was a monster. And then La'rana heard the lyrics of that music. English. Most of them did not know it and she had her old job require it. Translators could only do so much. But she also knew... the empire didn't have something like this.

"We live in every moment but this one

Why don't we recognize the faces loving us so?

What's God if not the spark that started life?

Smile of a stranger

Sweet music, starry skies"

The Tan felt a mass of rage from that being. Such rage she might consider looking at a sun, hearing the deafening explosions of a celestial body of such enormous size. This was why the megastructures that were built around stars were such shows of force... a planet is BIG, but a planet compared to a sun is like this city compared to that planet. Any others might have seen no more, that rage blinding. But there was something under it.

"Wonder, mystery, wherever my road goes

Early wake-ups in a moving home

Scent of fresh-mown grass in the morning sun

Open theme park gates waiting for..."

WHY WAS HE DOING THIS?! Okay, for one part, it felt utterly awesome to hold the line against an army while using this gun. James should have done this sooner. He didn't even feel the need to do it against the armies of the other nations, but now he had no damn problem with destroying a billion terminators. But this was more than just reveling in slaughter as bolter shells flew forward, turning the walking or rolling steel constructs into inoperable slag.

"Riding the day, every day into sunset

Finding the way back home"

She felt care from that being. Under all that rage, under so much anger you could burn a system in it, there was care, there was concern, there was love and empathy and understanding and so much more. The Tan felt as if she saw a parent holding the world at bay, letting the child grow to be strong. But so many children came out wrong, making that love feel wasted. The woman felt it would be so disrespectful to dishonor that love. She stood, transfixed, seeing that figure hold the robots back as her people ran around it, ran toward the ship in a desperation for safety... through all the cries and screams and raging explosions, that song came clearly.

"Once upon a night we'll wake to the carnival of life

The beauty of this ride ahead such an incredible high!

It's hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead

This moment the dawn of humanity

Last ride of the day!"

The figure did not sing, yet the song could be heard all around them. Most did not understand it. Most could not spare a moment to do it. La'rana understood that she was seeing something... that might not usually be. The stories out of that place. Hints orbiting a hidden sun. She was seeing that sun. And it blazed in anger and determination, but its warmth was the thing to foster life, to allow them to grow until they could face the cold infinity out there.

"Wake up, Dead Boy

Enter adventureland

Tricksters, magicians will show you all that's real

Careless jugglers, snakecharmers by your trail

Magic of a moment

Abracadabra"

She could not look away. It had the drawing quality of one of the best sermons, the show of mystery in the universe, the summoning of faith through acts big and small, from the way those prayer scrolls weaved in the wind to the way this figure unleashed such destructive force on their enemies. The war-machines had their advance halt and barely go forward at a crawl as that thing was just spraying destruction without a pause. The blasted remnants of the first victims were slowing them down almost as much as that figure, and yet those shells punched right through the cover and kept making more.

"Riding the day, every day into sunset

Finding the way back home!"

Hope. She saw hope and the possibility of them enduring. Now she knew where to go, but that answer was always there, always waiting. She saw so many of her people managing to reach this safe spot as that one-person army held it safe for them. This city had millions of people, but barely a million would make it out. Enough. More than enough, even if it felt like from the trillions of Tan'a that were, they had been genocided. But one has to try.