Original Design

by William Latoria

  Tremendous looked down at him with a curious look, “Do your own scientists not go to the location of their subjects in order to get the clearest perspective for their studies? Or do they stay far from the source and get better results that way?”

  Blackshade conceded the point, “No, you’re right, Tremendous. Human scientists get the best results by being on location. In fact, many insist on going to the source, in order to better study their subjects. I see your point.” then he added with a nervous chuckle, “Of course, our scientists tend to dissect their subjects in order to get a better understanding of how they work.”

  Artificer laughed, the rapid, rocky sound made Blackshade jump, “Dissection? How primitive.” It said, amused, “How do they repair the dissected subject afterwards?”

  Blackshade regretted his comment, “The subject is typically dead before the dissection occurs, from what I understand.”

  Artificer exchanged a dark look with Tremendous before looking down at him. Blackshade felt like he was shrinking under the Omega’s gaze. “That is incredibly unethical, Blackshade. We do not study sentient creatures in a way that will cause them to cease; living or machine. Your race will come to no harm from our studies.” it told him coldly.

  “However, should our research have unintended repercussions, like with the ceased individuals from this continent, let us know immediately, and we will rectify the situation.” Tremendous added.

  Blackshade looked up at the Omega leader, “How would I contact you, in that case?” he asked, suddenly angry, “We’ve been trying to reach you ever since South Americans began appearing all over the world. We tried to tell you your actions were killing them and beg you to stop. Or at least help us get to the people you put in the most inhospitable locations. You ignored every attempt we made to contact you. So, how would you like me to reach you? Do you have a tissue-ware frequency I can use?” he asked, a little more heatedly than he meant to.

  Tremendous did not reply. His attention had shifted back to the construction happening below them. Instead, Artificer walked up and pointed at him. Immediately, Blackshade felt his eyes close and an itch form in the back of his head. Without thinking about it, he reached up and scratched at his head. After a few moments, the sensation stopped, and he reopened his eyes.

  “When you need to contact us, just concentrate on one of us. We will receive the ping and contact you directly or bring you to us to discuss whatever you wish to discuss. That should help keep the lines of communication open between our races.” Artificer told him.

  Blackshade looked up at Artificer skeptically and then began concentrating his thoughts on him. After just a few seconds, Artificer smiled, “Very good, Blackshade. I have received your ping. What would you like to discuss?”

  Blackshade was annoyed with himself, of course Artificer could tell what he was trying to do. He was looking right at him, and he was sure that his forehead readout was broadcasting his intent. Shifting his thoughts, he began focusing on another Omega, one that he knew wouldn’t be expecting him to try to contact it.

  After a few seconds, Blackshade saw Tremendous walk over to something he couldn’t quite make out. The room he was in was still mostly transparent, so the crew could monitor the construction taking place below them. The Omega put its hand on the surface of something sticking out of the wall of the room, and Minder’s voice filled the room.

  “Tremendous, I have just received a ping from the Blackshade unit. Please tell me one of you did not install the ping protocol in that relic!” it said, clearly irritated.

  “Yes, Minder, Blackshade has the ping protocol in its core system now. I’ll remind the unit not to abuse it.” Tremendous answered as it looked at him, grinning.

  Blackshade tried to swallow, but found his mouth suddenly dry, “I’m sorry, Minder. I only thought of you because I knew you wouldn’t expect me to contact you.”

  There was silence for a moment, “You thought we would lie to you?” Minder asked.

  Blackshade hesitated before answering, “Yes.”

  More silence, then clearly angry, “Omegas have no reason to lie to obsolete, useless machines.” Minder spat. There was no click, or indication that the call had ended, but Blackshade knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Minder was no longer on the line.

  “I would not advise pinging Minder again.” Artificer said, slightly uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, that was a mistake.” Blackshade agreed, but was irritated by Minder’s attitude, “Why does Minder seem to hate me so much? For that matter, why does he seem to hate humanity? Every other Omega I’ve met has been very kind, even eager, to get along with us. Minder is the only one that is openly hostile. Why is that? Have we done something?”

  Tremendous nodded in agreement, “That is a fair question, Blackshade, and probably one I should have addressed earlier. Minder, does not hate you, or humanity. Minder just sees our time here studying you as a waste of time and resources. Minder has many skills, but its primary skill, the one that is honed and most practiced, is violence. Minder’s purpose is combat, it seeks out threats and eliminates them with utmost efficiency and precision. Minder has studied and perfected many complex martial combat forms and lives for the opportunity to use those skills to protect and elevate the Omega race.” Tremendous explained.

  Blackshade thought he could see where this was going, “Does every Omega have a specific task they specialize in?”

  “Do humans not?” Tremendous asked rhetorically, “All Omegas can perform a multitude of tasks, both planet side and on our ships. If I was unable to perform my tasks, one of the other Omegas on board could replace me and perform my tasks. They may not be able to perform my tasks as efficiently as I can, especially if their primary skills are not leadership and command, but any efficiency is better than none.” As Tremendous continued to explain, he motioned toward Artificer, “Artificer’s purpose is engineering. No one on the ship excels in engineering more than Artificer does, so Artificer is our lead engineer. Over there,” Tremendous motioned toward one of the other Omegas in the room, “is….” As Tremendous began naming the Omega, Blackshade heard nothing at first. It took him just a second to understand what was happening and waited patiently for his brain to translate this new Omega’s name, “Navigo…is in charge of our sensors and navigation. Navigo is the best at its task and therefore our lead navigator.” As Tremendous explained this, one of the jet black Omegas stepped forward and offered the Omega salute. This Omega was slightly taller than the others, Blackshade guessed it was around sixteen feet tall and slightly bulkier than Tremendous or Artificer. Its face was also a bit more feminine in appearance than the other Omegas. Blackshade returned the salute immediately, and when he looked back up, the Omega was smiling down at him shyly. He assumed this was Navigo, the lead navigator Tremendous was referring to. “I am proud to meet you, Blackshade.” the Omega offered with twin voices that were so sweet and musical, Blackshade felt a strong desire to engage the Omega in conversation. Its dual voices were one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard in his life.

  “I am proud to meet you as well!” Blackshade replied earnestly.

  The Omega seemed to blush, “May I ask you, with what name do you affiliate me?”

  Blackshade saw the eager interest in the eyes of the other Omegas in the room and answered without hesitation, “Navigo. Your name translates to Navigo in my mind.”

  The look of pleasure that appeared on Navigo’s face made his heart feel light, but before the two of them could continue their conversation, Tremendous gestured towards Navigo and the shy Omega stepped back into its place beside the other Omegas around the room.

  Tremendous didn’t look upset by the interruption, but the Omega leader made no attempt to address it before continuing on the original topic. “Try to understand, Minder’s purpose is to identify and neutralize threats before they can harm us. On Earth, there are no threats to us, so Minder has no purpose. Yes, Minder helps out with secondary and tertiary tasks, but i
ts primary purpose has no function here. Therefore, Minder feels stagnant and wasted while we remain here and understandably, wants to leave. Since Minder cannot leave here until we have finished our research, it has become increasingly frustrated with the situation.”

  “Minder never has done well in situations where its primary purpose could not be utilized.” Artificer chimed in.

  Tremendous chuckled at the comment, “This is true, but it is a rare occurrence where Minder’s purpose cannot be utilized.”

  Blackshade thought he could understand where the Omegas were coming from. He also hated it when he didn’t feel useful in a situation. He found he felt a little sorry for Minder.

  “Ok, I can understand that. I will give Minder a wider berth from now on so as not to exacerbate the situation. I completely understand the frustration of not feeling useful in an endeavor such as this.” Blackshade said respectfully, “If you don’t mind the subject change, this new… programing… you’ve given me, is it telepathy?

  Artificer laughed loudly at his question, “Pinging has as much to do with telepathy as your wireless communications do.”

  Blackshade felt a little embarrassed by Artificer’s response, “So, when I concentrate on one of you, you receive an indication that I want to speak with you? How will you contact me once I’m off this ship?” he asked, trying to forget his initial question.

  Artificer, still smiling, replied, “We will receive a notification through our technology that you are now connected to. Then, when we are able, we will contact you through your technology. Most likely by using the communication device embedded in you or a communication device in the area you are in at the time. You need not worry, once we see you wish to communicate with us, we will contact you.”

  This appeased his curiosity. He even got a kick out of the fact they referred to communication as ‘pinging’. He thought Zahera would get a laugh out of it too. The thought of her reminded him of Roswell and that he only had a week to get as many deceased South Americans there as he could. Looking at Tremendous, he gave voice to his concern.

  “Tremendous, I respectfully request to be returned to the Unification Foundation. I have to brief my superiors on everything you’ve shown and told me and begin organizing our forces to bring the deceased South Americans to Roswell. The sooner I get back, the better.” he explained, hoping not to offend the Omega leader.

  Tremendous did not look offended, “Of course, Blackshade. We have much to finish up here as well. Artificer will bring you to the matter transference chamber and return you to your Foundation.” the Omega leader turned away from the console he was near to face Blackshade, “I believe it is human custom to wish an individual…look… before partaking in an endeavor such as yours. So, if you don’t mind me appropriating your customs, good look, William Blackshade.” as Tremendous wished him good luck, the Omega leader gave him the Omega salute.

  “Good look, William Blackshade.” Artificer said behind him as he also saluted. All around him the Omegas wished him good look and saluted. Blackshade didn’t have the heart to correct them and instead returned their salutes.

  “Thank you.” he responded, touched, “And I feel I can confidently speak for all of humanity when I say, thank you for treating us with such respect. I hope it is always this way between us.”

  Tremendous nodded approvingly, before returning its attention to the console. Artificer walked past him heading towards the tunnel they had come from. “Follow me, Blackshade, let us get you home.”

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  Blackshade awoke inside a room surrounded by white and yellow checkered bio-suited technicians poking and prodding at him. In the back of his mind, he had expected something like this when he returned, but even so, he had no time for it. He had to let the government know they only had a week to get the deceased South Americans to Roswell. He sat up on the exam table, knocking a tray full of tools to the ground, startling the bio-suited techs around him. Disembodied voices began telling him to, ‘please calm down’ and ‘lay back and let us take care of you’. He brushed them off and went to get down from the table when he noticed his hands were bound by fabric restraints. Again, in the back of his mind he understood the need for such precautions, but given the situation, it only fueled his anger. With a grunt, he tore the restraints from the table, removed them from his wrists, stomped over to the communication console and pounded a fist against the activation input. The screen cracked under the force of his blow, but the panel still worked.

  “I need to talk to President Silvia and President Novatrix now! Millions of lives are at stake!” he bellowed into the communicator. It was enough. Shortly after he made his demand, the door to the chamber opened and Soearth was standing on the other side with four heavily armed military guards.

  “Bill! I’m sorry about having to subject you to this. You must understand it was for your protection, and for ours. The state we found you in concerned us. Not being able to remove the clothing we found you in did nothing to alleviate those concerns.” he told him, not unkindly. “I am glad to see you’re not in as bad of shape as I originally thought.”

  He looked down and realized the robe that Artificer had given him was still wrapped around him. He couldn’t help but smile, “Couldn’t get it off?” he asked, amused.

  Soearth shook his head, “Not with any conventional means. Medical grade scissors and surgical scalpels couldn’t pierce the fabric, and we were afraid anything more aggressive might harm you. There are many scientists here that can’t wait to get a closer look at it. Not to mention the scientists that are eager to study what has happened to you.” Soearth said, concern now obvious in his voice. He gestured at him, “You’ve grown since the last time we saw each other.”

  Blackshade looked down at his hands and let Soearth’s words sink in. He knew he had been enhanced by the Omegas, but until now he hadn’t given thought to what that actually meant. Looking back at the two restraints laying on the ground, it struck him he might need to explore this subject more, but right now he had more pressing concerns.

  “I’ll explain all of it, Soearth, I will, but first I need you to assemble everyone immediately. The Omegas have given us a way to bring all the people that died in South America back to life.” he told him urgently.

  Soearth’s brow furrowed, “What do you mean? The Omegas are going to bring back the dead?” he asked, skeptical.

  Blackshade nodded, “I know. I didn’t believe it either, but I’ll tell you like Tremendous told me… we are just machines.”

  It had been enough. Soearth was no fool, and even a faint chance to bring back millions of people from death was a chance worth taking. He practically ran to summon everyone he could, and less than an hour later, he was in the biggest conference room in the Unification Foundation giving his debrief.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  “…then I woke up in quarantine, and you know the rest.” Blackshade finished after almost four hours.

  The conference room was full of government officials; both presidents, representatives from many different countries, congressmen, women, and non-binaries from every Candaerican state, experts from a thousand different academic fields, and anyone else deemed important enough to be in attendance. Each and every one of them hung on his every word. No one had interrupted him throughout his speech, and although he did notice some of the members conferring with each other, they did so quietly and respectfully. When he finished, the room was silent for a long time, as the gravity of what he told them sank in. Then, as if some invisible gag had been removed, the room erupted into a commotion full of questions and semi-controlled panic.

  “What do they want in exchange for the lives of the lost?” someone yelled down to him.

  “How do we know you haven’t been compromised?” someone else called out.


  “This is bullshit! People can’t be brought back from the dead!” a woman shrieked from the back.

  “How do we know you’re not lying!?” asked an older man from one of the northern states.

  “We need more military options!” he heard someone else scream over the cacophony.

  Blackshade had been worried about this. Government officials had never been known for their bravery or adaptability. He was about to bellow his disgust when President Novatrix turned on her microphone. She must have set the output volume to maximum, because her voice crushed all the other voices in the room.

  “Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binaries! Please control yourselves, and regain your composure. Ambassador Blackshade has given us much to discuss, and we cannot do so if you’re going to act like panicked children. Please sit down and remember you are not here for yourselves but for the people you represent!” she said commandingly.

  Her words got through to them, Blackshade watched as the delegates quickly regained their composure and sat down. He noticed that most seemed ashamed or embarrassed by their behavior, but there were also some that seemed angry about being chastised, a few even gave him dirty looks when they thought he wasn’t looking. He wasn’t surprised to see the words ‘Traitor’ and ‘Liar’ appear across their foreheads. An odd feeling of foreboding formed in the pit of his stomach.

  “Thank you.” President Novatrix said after everyone had settled down, “Now, the way I understand it, we have less than a week to gather as many of the deceased South Americans as we can and get them to Roswell, New Mexico. Did they give any instructions other than that, Ambassador Blackshade?”

  Blackshade shook his head, “No Ma’am. Lord Tremendous just said to get as many of the deceased to the location of their landing site in seven days. Then, on the seventh day they would bring them back from death, provided their brains aren’t too severely damaged. There was no instruction other than that.” he answered honestly.

  The President was quiet a moment, “Who do we have in Roswell that can begin preparing to receive the deceased?” she asked.