Original Design

by William Latoria

  The Paragon leader’s face was close enough for him to kiss, but he wasn’t in the mood for kissing. Instead, he threw himself forward as far as he could and bit hard into the closest part of the man that he could reach, which was the man’s enormous nose. He heard the cartilage crunch horribly, and then his mouth was flooded with blood, snot, and ragged flesh. The Paragon leader screamed in a high pitched wail that hurt his ears but instead of recoiling, Blackshade bit down harder. The man panicked and began to frantically push at Blackshade’s face, trying to push him off his nose. His efforts were far from feeble but only helped to rip the nose from his face. Blackshade jerked his head back hard, wanting to be away from the man’s prying fingers and took most of the Paragon leader’s nose with him. Blood arced in a single fluid wave between Blackshade’s lips and the man’s now exposed sinus cavity. Blood and gore dripped down Blackshade’s lips and chin as he glared at the man, assessing the damage he had done. The Paragons that were holding him down had watched in silent horror as their leader was horribly mauled in front of them. Their shock abated now, and most of them added their own shrieks to those of their leader’s. Some of the Paragons holding him down panicked and jumped off of him so they could flee into the rioting crowd.

  Gagging, Blackshade spit the wad of filth from his mouth and began to struggle with a desperation he’d never felt before. With far fewer people holding him down now, the chance for escape presented itself, and Blackshade meant to take full advantage of it. Blackshade yanked his right arm free, the Paragon rolling limply off of him as he did so. Blackshade noticed that the Tech-4 blade was buried to the hilt in the man’s back still. With his dominant arm free Blackshade lashed out at the remaining man holding down his left arm. He grabbed the man by the long mop of hair on his head and brought his face down hard to be met by his own skull. When the man’s face collided with his forehead Blackshade felt his assailant’s bones give and his face fold inward on itself. The Paragon’s blood splashed down his face as his body began to go into a spasm of some sort. In disgust, Blackshade shoved him away and only watched him fall long enough to see him jerkily land on the ground, freeing his left arm.

  Now there were only three Paragons still holding him down, and all three of them were on his legs. He sat up and reached for the closest assailant, a chubby man with greasy skin and a terrified look on his face. The man saw what Blackshade intended to do if he got his hands on him and his self-preservation instinct must have kicked in. Blackshade saw the words, ‘GET AWAY’ blaze on his forehead, and then he moved with a speed that his bulk made him think was impossible. The man screamed in fear and ran into the rioting protestors, bowling over many people in his desperation to put as much distance between himself and Blackshade.

  The two people still on him were each straddling one of his legs. They sat on his ankles and were pressing down on his knees. On his left leg was a fat woman in a ridiculously stained blue dress, and enough costume jewelry to make someone think she was heading to a generic office party rather than a protest she was conspiring to turn into a riot. The Paragon holding down his right leg could have been the fat woman’s brother. He was equally as large, had a blue, button down shirt on that had some sort of fishing logo plastered across it, and faded blue jeans that looked older than he was. They both glared at him with open hatred, but he could see plenty of fear in their expressions as well. They kept glancing down at their leader who was flailing around on the ground, clutching at the ruin of his nose and screaming in agony. The woman had the words, ‘What do I do’ scrolling across her forehead. The man’s forehead simply stated, ‘Hate’.

  Blackshade lunged at the woman first, intending to rip apart whatever part of her he could lay his hands on and then focus all of his remaining anger on the man in the fishing shirt. His fingers were just brushing at her jowls when he was grabbed from behind by many people. He wasn’t sure how many they were, but he knew without a doubt where their allegiance was. They quickly overpowered him and slammed him back to the ground, pulling his arms over his head so he couldn’t get leverage on them again. Fury mixed with frustration as he realized he couldn’t break free of their grasp. Over a dozen people were pinning him down again and this time they were being very careful not to get close to his teeth.

  “FUCK! GET OFF OF ME!” he bellowed in defeat. The people holding him down didn’t obey.

  “Someone take care of Gerald now!” a woman ordered, as she slipped her arm around his neck and began to squeeze him in a headlock, “Then get me that fucking gun off the guard. We need to kill this government pig already and move on! We’re too exposed!” she screamed at them. Blackshade thought she sounded young, and scared. Whoever she was, she wasn’t accustomed to acting as authority, and he was disgusted with himself for being captured by amateurs like this. He continued struggling, but it was no use, there were just too many people on him for him to have any hope for success.

  He looked around hoping against hope that someone was coming to help him. That maybe Soearth had seen what had happened to the guard and had dispatched the Secret Service to aid him, but he saw nothing of the sort. Everywhere he could see there was fighting, men, women, and non-binaries at each other’s throats, all because a handful of domestic terrorists saw an opportunity to use fear, and ignorance to push their agenda. The barricade that kept everyone away from the Unification Foundation was beginning to waiver, and no guards were in sight. A feeling of hopelessness settled over him, and he stopped struggling.

  “Get off of me, NOW!” he barked at the people around him. He knew it was pointless, but yelling at them was all he had left. The arm around his neck tightened, but whatever strength the woman previously had was gone. He could feel her arm trembling as it encircled his neck. Blackshade began to wonder if he had given this woman too much credit.

  “Shut the fuck up, lap dog! You’re a fucking dead man for what you did! Shut the fuck up!” the woman trying to strangle him said. She sounded panicked and unsure of what to do. Judging by her voice, she was very young, he guessed between a High School Senior and a College Freshmen. This fact did nothing to improve his mood or his opinion of the Paragons.

  Then, without warning or preamble, the entire area around him became illuminated. There was a collective groan as everyone around him shut their eyes, as the night became day. Blackshade’s eyes adjusted quickly, and when he opened his eyes, he realized the light that surrounded him was not artificial, like one would expect from a flashlight or one of the many flood lights that were currently deactivated. This light was exactly like pure, unfiltered, sunlight.

  That’s when he realized he was no longer being strangled. He looked around and saw that all of the Paragons had released their hold on him to shield their eyes. He wasted no time regaining his feet and turning to face the young woman that had called for his death. He was not surprised to see that he had been right and that she was indeed very young. She was curled into a ball on the ground, with her face pushed into the dirt. She was using her arms to cover her head in her effort to escape the light. She had an athletic body that was just beginning to flirt with being chubby, she wore no jewelry that he could see, and her clothes were typical for a recent middle class high school graduate getting ready to start college.

  Looking down at her, he could tell that she was crying hysterically and was terrified out of her mind… and he felt absolutely zero pity for her. He reared back and kicked her as hard as he could right in her exposed side. The meaty ‘THUNK’ he heard when his foot made contact with her ribs reinvigorated him. The anger and adrenalin surging through him lent strength to his kick and sent the woman tumbling away from him. Her body rolled end over end for a few feet before abruptly coming to rest against a huge, jet black foot. Blackshade raised his head up from the massive foot until his gaze rested on the face of the largest, most intimidating Omega he had ever seen. He immediately forgot about the woman, Humanity’s Paragons, and the rioting protestors around him. His sole focus in life at that moment was the m
onolith of an Omega that stood just a few feet away from him.

  This new Omega had appeared through an archway that came out of thin air. From the smooth rent in the air came the amazingly bright daylight that now illuminated the area. The Omega was easily twenty feet tall, larger and more muscular than Minder, carried a massive green stone staff that was only a few feet shorter than it was, and wore a green collar that spread over its massive shoulders and held a massive yellow stone disc behind its head. The stone was perfectly round and big enough to frame the Omega’s entire head. It resembled a small sun but it didn’t hurt his eyes when he looked directly at it. He vaguely recalled seeing old religious paintings depicting angels with similar discs behind their heads. Its tail wrapped around its waist like a belt, which gave Blackshade the momentary impression this Omega was wearing pants. The most distinguishing feature about this new Omega was the fact that its face was decidedly masculine, as opposed to the more feminine faces of the Omegas he had previously met. Other than those differences, this new Omega was just as naked, hairless, and awe inspiring as the others. As the huge Omega made its way onto the field, the archway behind it closed and when it did, the light vanished with it. It took a few moments for Blackshade’s eyes to readjust to the darkness, and when they did he saw the Omega looking down at the broken woman he had kicked into its foot. The Omega looked around at all of the humans that were now staring at it slack jawed and stunned. It raised its massive hand and pointed at the masses, sweeping over everyone with its hand. As its gesture swept passed him, Blackshade felt a fuzzy feeling in his head for a moment but noticed nothing besides that. Looking around at the protestors around him he saw that many of them had their eyes closed, some had even fallen to their knees. Blackshade had the suspicion that the Omega had just put the translation program into the brains of the people here, which made sense if it intended to speak.

  “What are you humans doing? Stop this madness!” the Omega called out, its twin voices boomed out in a duo of baritones that were rich in authority and confidence. Blackshade was not surprised to see that no one dared to defy it. Everyone was standing perfectly still and watching the Omega, waiting to see what it would do next.

  The massive Omega took a few more steps toward the protestors and then seemed to consider all of them. Whatever it saw, it must not have liked because a look of disgust and disappointment appeared on its face. “You should not cause each other harm like this.” it said in a condemning tone, “There is no reason to fight amongst yourselves. Fuin’s glory, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

  The Omega’s words washed over the masses, and Blackshade saw that they struck home with most of the assembled protestors. Shame and regret were plain on many of their faces, the words, ‘I am so sorry’, and ‘What is wrong with me’ began popping up on many of their foreheads. Blackshade even felt a little disgusted with himself and absently wiped some blood off of his face in a futile attempt to make himself presentable. He walked a couple steps toward the Omega, determined to make amends for his part in this fight.

  “I am Ambassador Blackshade.” he began giving the Omega their salute. The Omega looked down at him and returned the gesture, albeit with far less reverence. “May I ask your name?”

  The Omega smiled, “You are known to me, Blackshade, although I would have expected more from you, considering how highly Tremendous speaks of you.” it told him, the disappointment still plain in its tone.

  Blackshade couldn’t help but look down at his feet, “I’m sorry things got out of hand. I should have known that when religion was involved that violence would ensue.” he explained meekly. His reply sounded pathetic even to his own ears, but he was so ashamed of himself that all he wanted to do was atone for his part in it.

  The massive Omega looked away from him and focused its attention back on the assembled protestors. Thousands of faces stared back in disbelief. Blackshade had to remind himself this was the first time most of them had ever seen an Omega in real life. Most, if not all of them, had only ever seen an Omega on the internet before now, and an Omega’s inspiring presence did not translate very well through a display.

  No one said a word for a long moment, then, the large African-Candaerican from the pro-Omega protestors stepped forward and into the clearing. His clothes were torn and he was sporting a black eye and a busted lip. He held his left side and winced once as he made his way to stand before the new Omega. When he was ten yards from the Omega, he dropped to his knees, and lowered his head. “I am so sorry for my actions and the actions of my people.” the man said through tears that spilled freely from his one good eye, “Please, I’ll do anything. Tell me how to atone for my transgressions!” he begged.

  Blackshade was speechless, the man was openly worshipping the Omega, and something about this act seemed fundamentally wrong to him. He was about to say as much, when movement from the crowd caught his attention. He looked over at the mass of protestors and was stunned when he saw hundreds of people follow the man’s example and began dropping to their knees, begging for the Omega’s forgiveness.

  Blackshade looked up at the Omega to see what it thought of this development and was relieve to see the look of disgust on its face. “Stop this, humans!” the Omega demanded, its booming voice echoing all around them. “It is not I who you should worship. Nor should you worship any Omega. That is folly! The only true Lord you should prostrate yourself before is Lord Fuin! The Creator, The Protector, and The Destroyer.” it told them reverently.

  Murmurs met its declaration, “Who is Lord Fuin?” a woman’s voice asked curiously from somewhere inside the crowd.

  The Omega seemed to expect this, “Lord Fuin is one of the true Gods that helped shape not only the universe, but some of the life inside of it.” It replied worshipfully, its twin voices becoming gentler as it continued explaining, “Lord Fuin created the Omegas, and through us, the Lord’s hand helped shape your race as well. I am certain of this.” it explained warmly.

  “Who are you?” asked another woman from somewhere else in the crowd.

  The Omega smiled and offered the Omega salute as it responded, “I am…” it began, but as it described its name, no one heard a sound for a little while. Blackshade was used to this and expected it, but he knew the assembled crowd would not and wondered what they would make of this silence. To his surprise, everyone in the crowd remained respectfully quiet during the silence. The Omega’s mouth continued to move, and it was obvious it was speaking, but no sound registered to his ears… until, “…Pious.” the Omega declared after a full minute of silence.

  “Why were you mouthing words before you said Pious? Were you praying?” a man asked. There was a murmur of support for his question as the crowd tried to understand.

  The Omega shook its head, “No. The complexity of my true name is too much for your cerebrals to interpret, so you hear only what you can comprehend. Your translation programs will improve as you are exposed to more, so perhaps one day those of you that are devout will hear my name as it truly is.” it explained pleasantly. “I am curious though, what name did you hear?”

  Blackshade couldn’t help but grin at this. He recalled Notes’ excitement over learning the human translation of its name and he assumed that as righteous as Pious was, it was curious about the human translation of its name as well. “Pious!” he called out amused, “We heard the name, Pious!”

  For what it was worth, Pious looked pleased, and its smile broadened, “Pious. I find that acceptable, albeit incredibly abridged.” it said, satisfied, “I find no blasphemy in it, please feel free to refer to me as Pious until your experience broadens. For the Great Lord blesses those that earn it. For good and for ill.” the massive Omega responded.

  An older man in tattered robes moved out of the crowd to stand next to the large African-Candaerican man who had just regained his feet. The older man was obviously Christian, and judging by his demeanor, he was a higher-ranking individual in his religion. The man was clearly outraged and shook a
little as he addressed the Omega.

  He pointed a shaky, accusatory finger at Pious as he spoke, “You speak of blasphemy and of God, but you name a God we’ve never heard of! There is only one true God, and he rules over us from his throne in Heaven! Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightiest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. Deuteronomy 4:35! As it says in the Holy Bible!” the man spat, spittle flying from his lips in his fervor.

  The Omega looked down at the man, a sad look on its face. “I understand your anger, little human. To discover that the being that you put your faith in is a false idol is very difficult. I have seen and read your religious scriptures and have found many failings and contradictions in them. One of the worst inaccuracies being that humans were created by a God. No God created you, little human. It was the Omegas that constructed you, and we are not Gods.” Pious explained.

  The old man wasn’t listening, he had worked himself up into a frenzy. The word, ‘BLASPHEMY’ was flashing on his forehead, which was also beaded in sweat. “Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears! For who is God save the LORD, or who is a rock save our God!? Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time: who hath told it from that time!? Have not I the LORD, and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me!” the man said, practically shrieking by the time he had finished his bible quoting tirade.

  Pious took it all in stride, letting the man vent his frustration and his anger with all the patience and understanding of a true holy man. When the old man finished, Pious knelt down on one knee, its right hand holding its staff, its left hand resting on its knee. “Tell me, how many cycles of this planet have you studied your religion?” Pious asked softly.

  The man looked up at the Omega. Even knelt, the Omega still towered over everyone. Tears were in the man’s eyes, but he had not allowed them to fall, “My entire life.” The man told him defiantly, “I was baptized a few weeks after I was born, and my parents brought me to church every Wednesday and Sunday during my entire childhood. When I was five my mother let me join the choir. When I was ten, I was enrolled in Christian School, and when I came of age for college, I enrolled in Centenary University in New Jersey where I graduated with honors. Then, God himself called me to my church in Chicago. When the Unification Foundation was built here, I knew it was why I had been called here, and I’ve dedicated my life to the glory of Almighty God!”