Invasion: Journal Three (Shockwave Book 3)
Page 42
“Why would God care if sons-of-God left their place to take human wives? Remember, this is just Gabe with a thought. I think the point is, these sons-of-God deserted their positions. They may not have been a group of really nice guys. Hence, the wickedness that soon prevailed, after they came calling.
“Oh. Here’s something. Some of your philosophers believe the sons-of-God were devout descendants of Seth. Seth? Oh, he was a child of Adam and Eve. So, a line of children from Seth, filled with goodness, were the sons-of-God? An interesting conjecture. Again, there is that whole wickedness thing that came along. And it was bad enough to provoke the King to send a flood to cleanse the place, to save your race from the darkness.
“And those were the darkest of days. Can you image, every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts altogether evil, all the time. And it was going down from there. The solution may seem extreme to some of you, but it saved you as a people. Free will is a wonderful thing. It is! But when it turns the wrong way, you know as well as I do, where it leads.”
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5. THE CHOSEN PEOPLE.
The world had been cleansed from the stain of dire evil, with eight people preserved through the flood. Though Satan still reigned as the prince of their planet, they increased once again in the land.
But evil, once more, filled the hearts of the people. They refused to spread out through the world. A site had been found to build a high tower, that they might worship the heavenly host.
The King took swift action, confounding their language, then He scattered them over the Earth. From His own great assembly, He nurtured the nations, then raised a people to bring forth His Word.
Sacrifice. Atonement. The shedding of blood. By way of offering is a pardon obtained. The horror of sin, yes, the cost of rebellion. At the image, we draw back, still we see.
Give special attention, to that first place of meeting. Observe the image of what had to be. Priests in the courtyard, an altar, the sacrifice. All the blood, an ended life, to pay for sin.
Next is the basin, filled with deep cleansing water. There they will wash, to draw near to the door. Inside, the Holy Place, a setting pure and holy. Containing symbols of what is to come.
Finally, past the veil, to the Most Holy Place. The priest, with offering, enters one time each year. In these lessons we find the way of atonement. Messiah comes, to pay the price, all alone.
In Him solely are found true justice and mercy. Turn now from darkness, and cling to His Word. A gift has been given, the cost beyond measure. Seek the truth, while the truth may be found.
To those living in darkness, a new Light has come; the power of Satan, the fear of death, rule no more.
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QUESTION: It’s good that sort of thing, sacrifice, isn’t done anymore, but why was there ever a requirement for all the killing and bloodshed?
“Death and blood. It is shocking! How can you be forced to see the horror of rebellion? How can you be shown that ignoring the King’s Law has grave consequences? That first command given to your people was not difficult to follow. Do not eat of the fruit of the one tree. The punishment was clear, and grave. To break the command carried the sentence of death. Do you know that death means separation? In your fall, you pushed yourselves away from God. It is worse than any physical sort of death, though that came as well. Yet, so many continue in rebellion.
“In offering forgiveness, the way back from separation, how can the severity of the crime still be shown? All was made clear, in harsh red reality, by an offering that required sacrifice. The shedding of blood brings a certain focus to the reality of sin.
“I think, on your Earth, all those bloody sacrifices were a stark lesson. They pointed to a far greater sacrifice that would be needed, in order to satisfy true justice. You see, justice demands payment for a crime. But the penalty for rebellion and lawlessness, sin, is beyond your ability to pay. It’s good the King made a way for you. Yet, the cost, to Him, was astounding.
“The King has made a way. That is very good news.”
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6. GOOD NEWS FOR THE PEOPLE OF EARTH.
As the prophets foretold, salvation has come. It is by grace, and through faith, you arrive. He eased justice with mercy, love never ending. To the prodigal, He bids you, come home.
At just the right time, the King’s Plan was unveiled. His holy angels draw near to observe. The Creator of all, left Heaven for Earth, and in that way showed the heart of the King.
He came wrapped up in flesh; a man tempted each day. He never knew sin, but He knows our flaws, and our needs. As intercessor, He stands between Heaven and Earth. And in Him can all the people can be free.
The law, it brought a curse, that curse was laid on him. He became sin, who knew no sin, to set us free. The debt has been paid, to be a child of the King. And in His Son, become the righteousness of God.
The curse has been lifted; the devil defeated. Have no fear of death, it has a power no more. Put your trust in the King, have new life in His Son. He conquered death when He rose from the grave.
As He walked on the Earth, in humanities cause, His Life shone with the light of the King. In His teaching and works, the Truth was made known. It is in Him we have seen the Great King.
Then came the hour of darkness, when all seemed as lost. When they beat Him, and hung Him on the tree. Though the price was so high, He was willing to pay. To be cursed, endure torture, sin, and shame.
The cross could not hold Him; the grave could not keep Him. Our legal charges were canceled that day. They were nailed to the cross, for the universe to see. Receive His gift, take up new life, accept your King.
With His work done on Earth, it was finally time to go. He chose a few, to spread His hope to the world. Then, of His Spirit He gave, to all who would come. Close support, a source of strength, a faithful guide.
When the time is just right, our King will return. And He will wipe every tear from our eyes. A renewal will come, the Breaking undone. Now is the time, to turn and follow the King.
With your heart you believe, with your mouth you confess. Then salvation and His righteousness are yours. Confess Jesus as Lord, to be right with your King. Believe God raised Him and you will be saved.
Now, come, realize the promises of God.
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GUEST COMMENTARY.
VIZ: “Give up on rebellion. You’re going to lose. Come to the King, instead, and live! Here’s a promise from one of those people chosen by the King to spread hope in the world. They were called apostles, sent out under the authority of the King. This is from the Apostle Paul, part of a long letter preserved in the Bible, to those living in Rome.
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
“In case you’re wondering, confession is a public way to express what you believe. Jesus created all things, and He holds them together besides. Now, that’s real power. He is Lord of all, whether we believe it or not. Think about this. In order for justice to have any meaning, a payment has to be made to balance out a crime. Because of His incredible love for us, the Lord Himself died in our place, to make that payment. Then He rose from the dead, proving the King has the power of life and death. And the power to save. Our God is an awesome God!”
VIZ: “God loves us so much! Even so, humanity has gone through some stuff. It’s our own fault. We tend toward rebellion, sinning against the King, and each other. It’s been that way since our beginning. A terrible war between good and evil rages on all around us. I bet you can feel it. Sometimes you can. But we know how it ends, and we know the heart of the King. Here’s another message of hope from God, written down by one of those apostles, John, in a book preserved in the Bible, called Revelation.”
I hea
rd a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
PARA: “This is what it will be like when God renews the universe, as seen on Earth. It’s in one of the books in the Bible, called Isaiah.”
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
FIERCE: “Here’s a call to arms, from God’s Word, in another book preserved in the Bible, called Ephesians.”
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
THE END
JOURNAL AID SECTION
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Alphabetical Order. By Viz, on behalf of Shockwave.
AASQ. Pronounced ‘ASK’. Most people have an AI Assistant Quputer to help organize their daily grind. An AASQ is most often the home quputer with various personal choice modules, linked directly to a personal pid or pids.
AHAAM: Pronounced ‘Ahh-ahh-mah’. This was the original home of those of Kreahaam. It is the planet where the Dahnahaash Kerr Package was found. Ahaam is 41/2 light years from Cygnus Prime; 1,338 light years from Earth.
AHMTOBIM: Roughly translated, it means the Good People. These are the Unfallen, those who did not rebel at the time of the Breaking.
AI: Artificial Intelligence.
ALBERT: The name Viz gave to her personal AI.
ANATOID: A sentient symbiotic predatory race. Also known as the Gall. See Gall.
ANATOID-KARRIN. A blended species composed of the symbiotic Anatoid and the Karrin. It is assumed the Anatoid controls the hybrid. See Gall-Karrin.
BATTLESTAR: A battlestar is an AI operated, fusion powered weapons platform, the main gun being a neutral particle beam weapon. See PBW (and below). There are also large-bore and small-bore railguns. By the time of Operation Viper, the IMR (Interstellar-war Model Railgun) had been perfected, capable of throwing a mix of conventional rounds, and spooky penetrator projectiles that use a quantum shift displacement field to help them push through energetic shielding. See IMR.
The ship’s propellant, or reaction mass, is hydrogen in a mix with the nuclear catalysts Deuterium and Helium 3. The fuel product is magnetically confined while it is quickly heated to a plasma state by the “squeeze” of inertial confinement. The resulting plasma is ejected at high velocity as reaction mass to create thrust.
Hydrogen is a neutral atom. And there just happens to be all that hydrogen in the propellant tanks used for reaction mass. Now, that’s sure convenient for the PBW system. The hydrogen atom only has to undergo a tiny adjustment by stripping its electron for a split second. That leaves a positive ion, making it easy for the particle accelerator to do its part, accelerating the particles to almost the speed of light.
Then that stripped electron is returned as the particles leave the accelerator. The result is a high energy burst of hydrogen atoms speeding along to impact with an Empire ship; an incredible spear of lightning impacting at relativistic speed, imparting explosive energy, electromagnetic pulse, and deadly radiation.
But, you may ask, why is a neutral particle beam weapon an ideal weapon, especially for use in space? Being neutral just means the atoms used in the beam have no charge. That way, the atoms don’t want to attract or repel each other, which results in a coherent focused beam of destructive energy over a very long distance. As in, it’s going to get really kinetic out there.
Due to the need for additional thrust while in battle situations, second gear afterburner technology was incorporated, despite the fact they are propellant hogs. A secondary plasma tank filled with cold hydrogen can be lit up with the byproducts of the primary fusion process to gain that afterburner effect, or a second gear, for additional thrust.
A battlestar is about half the size of an Empire dreadnaught. The mass rating is classified, though a rough estimate would be 8,000 tons including fuel, with a 4 to 1 fuel to ship weight ratio. With main thruster rotation options, robust secondary battle thrusters, and unique design parameters, the platform is highly maneuverability, able to overcome extreme inertia.
Even before the bug invasion, humanity had discovered and was using an excellent material that would serve well as the primary component for military space ship construction. Human materials science had developed and processing plants were using carbon nanotubes in many varied and sophisticated applications. Now humanity was immersed in an interstellar war. That created urgency. Funding was essentially unlimited.
Quputer modeling had moved out of its infancy. A precise robotic manufacturing process was developed to form multiple specialized nanotube configuration layers. With that process, there could be multiple layers of specialized carbon nanotube sheets. The primary material configuration has incredibly high tensile strength forming a layer of armor. A slightly modified molecular configuration results in superconductivity at nearly any temperature. That allows another form of armor, energetic shielding.
Yet another slight molecular modification allows stealth effects. It is difficult to ‘image’ the material, making it difficult to get a sensor lock. As it would happen, the product was an excellent material to interface with the advancing nanobotic sciences. One of the configuration layers is self-healing. Punch a hole and it repairs very quickly. A war prone past had already directed design technologies such as the perfect angular configuration to limit energetic impact damage.
BLASTER: See HIRC-DEW.
BUG: This was the term used by Earthlings for those of Kreahaam, who invaded Earth on behalf of the Empire. Their planetary system, as well as their race, is called Kreahaam. They were one of the first races conquered by Cygnus Prime. They are the main force used by the Empire centered on Dahkoreen, also known as Cygnus Prime, to find and absorb new planets into the Empire.
COMMUNAL: An advanced artificial intelligence, level-10 or higher, enhanced by the odd unanticipated consequences surrounding the destruction of a secret DARPA laboratory by alien invaders (the bugs). Communal is a quasi-member of team Shockwave. I’ve paid attention and made a list of at least some of the component structure of Communal. They do have a CPU, of a sort, the main brain.
Emotive Synergy reminds Communal if they, for example, say something that could hurt someone’s feelings. They also make bad jokes at inappropriate times and Communal is always trying to compartmentalize them, but they keep breaking out.
Emotional Algorithm Processor. The thinking part of their heart/emotions, while the Emotive Synergy function tends to be more, raw.
Syntactic Transduction Event Processor (STEP). A process program that keeps the various sectors orderly. But they get accused of overly compartm
entalizing the various sectors. Emotive Synergy especially disapproves. STEP often needs help from the In-Focus subroutine.
Heuristic algorithm plunger node. This component can surface various programs running behind the scenes. The plunger node seems to favor particular programs, often pushing out the whining complaints of the Ego Bundle and some aspects of Emotive Synergy, especially their bad jokes.
The Ego Bundle tends to get ticked off when Communal isn’t the very best at something. They will bring out concerns such as, why haven’t we hacked into a battlestar to appropriate the battle suite. Then we could think strategically like a, well, like a battlestar.
Logic Sector can usually explain the reality of things to out-of-sorts Ego and other bundles.
CRIMSON: THIS DESCRIPTION CONTAINS ERRORS. The information was obtained from a Prime data core that was later found to contain misinformation and experimental data modeling that would have been very dangerous if replicated. The original home world of Rufus’ people is Crixxmixon, generally called Crimson. It is located 100 light years from Prime; 1,500 light years from Earth. It was conquered by Cygnus Prime more than 2,000 Eyears
CROWDCLOUD: A controlled nanite superstructure arranged via electromagnetic fields which provides a 3-dimensional display of data from a holopid or similar device. Sophisticated devices are available that display a cloud of sufficient size to allow viewing by a small audience. That’s commonly called a crowd-cloud.