Original Design

by William Latoria

  Blackshade turned to look behind him, and there, standing in front of the closed doors that led into the room, was Tremendous. The Secret Service Agents, who had been paralyzed a moment before, rushed into action as one, pulling out their weapons and surrounding the Omega. Blackshade noticed that the Agents weren’t armed with regular SMM weaponry, they were now equipped with highly classified Anti-life weaponry. The sight of the weapons aimed at Tremendous infuriated him.

  “STAND DOWN, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS! DO NOT SHOOT!” he demanded wrathfully.

  The Agents, trained much better than that, ignored Blackshade completely.

  “Stand down now, Agents.” Novatrix said calmly. The authority in her voice hit the agents like a hammer. They seemed to recoil a little before holstering their weapons. They did not move away from Tremendous though, and kept their unexpected guest surrounded. Blackshade had to give them points for courage, even if their assessment of the odds was grossly skewed.

  “Welcome back to the Unification Foundation, Lord Tremendous.” Novatrix said kindly. As she greeted Tremendous, she offered the Omega leader their salute. Tremendous smiled and returned it.

  “Thank you, Elizabeth Novatrix.” Tremendous replied, walking toward the center of the room. The Secret Service Agents that were in its way realized there was nothing they could do to stop the Omega and smartly moved out of its path.

  President Silvia clawed his way up from the ground clinging to his desk, “What are you doing here?!” he asked, terrified. The word, “NO’ flashed over and over on his forehead. Blackshade was disgusted.

  If Tremendous noticed Silvia’s accusatory tone, the Omega leader didn’t acknowledge it, “I came because I was summoned by my Ambassador.” it answered simply, “I understand that you have a problem you wish to address with us?”

  Novatrix nodded at the Omega, “Indeed we do, and I thank you for responding so quickly, and in person. We take it as a sign of great respect between our two peoples.”

  Tremendous looked down at Novatrix as it stepped into the center of the room. It towered over all of them, which was quite intimidating, but Blackshade thought the Omega leader looked pleased by Novatrix’s words. President Silvia on the other hand looked close to bursting into tears. The man’s face was bright red, and he was trembling; the word, “NO’ still flashed repeatedly on his forehead.

  “I have something I must discuss with you as well, so this is a convenient situation we find ourselves in.” Tremendous responded, “What situation do you need help with, little one?”

  Before Novatrix could answer, Tricia stepped in front of the Omega, “Excuse me, um… Lord Tremendous?” Tricia began, clearly nervous, “I am an associate of Ambassador Blackshade’s, and he has told me that you have the ability to implant a program in our minds that will allow us to understand you. Do you mind doing that for me so I can join in the conversation?”

  Tremendous looked at her for a moment and then smiled warmly. Without a word, the Omega leader pointed its massive fingers at her head. Tricia closed her eyes and stiffened a little as the translation program was transferred into her brain. After a few moments, she opened her eyes.

  “Can you understand me now, little one?” Tremendous asked.

  A huge smile spread across Tricia’s face, “Incredible!” she exclaimed, “Your mouth doesn’t match what you’re saying, but I can understand you!”

  Tricia was smiling so gleefully that Blackshade half expected her to burst into manic laughter. She didn’t, thankfully, and after a few moments she got control of herself once again.

  Novatrix, Tricia, and Soearth explained, at length, the crisis the planet was facing. Blackshade watched as Tremendous patiently listened to everything they told it, and then considered the problem with true concern. The Secret Service Agents stayed where they were, some nervously fingering the weapons under their jackets, but most of them just stared in awe of Tremendous. President Silvia was the only one in the room that concerned him. The man went from being a sniveling wreck to a barely contained rage machine. The words on his forehead changed from, ‘NO’, to ‘HATE’ by the time they had finished explaining everything to the Omega leader.

  “I understand your situation, and I agree that this is a problem. We do not wish to see humanity become extinct, due to your planet’s lack of breathable atmosphere.” Tremendous told them after their explanation was concluded, “There are a few ways we could correct this situation, I believe.”

  Tremendous turned and waved its massive hand at the center of the room. Its own display appeared in front of everyone, showing a hyper realistic depiction of a male human torso. “We could remove your requirement to use gas as an energy source. This would require a vast amount of resources and a large quantity of time to accomplish, but if we began now, every human could be updated in three or four cycles.” it explained. As Tremendous described the procedure, the image of the torso became transparent and showed the lungs being removed and replaced with dense muscle tissue. Two new, smaller organs were nestled inside the muscle and performed the function of using external pressure as an alternative fuel source to replace oxygen. Tricia was the first to reject the idea.

  “That won’t do, Lord Tremendous,” she told the Omega leader apologetically, “the timeline is wrong, too many people would die waiting for the procedure, and it doesn’t address the fact that all other life on the planet would still die. Without our ecosystem, we would have nothing to eat and would be right back in the situation we’re currently in. Not to mention, I don’t think most people would be eager to let you operate on them.”

  Tremendous frowned but didn’t seemed deterred, “I understand. There are other options, but you have to understand, as I have told Blackshade before, this planet is a toxic wasteland compared to the rest of the universe. It is full of entities and environmental factors designed specifically to corrupt and destroy. The atmosphere you require is heavily based in a highly volatile gas you call oxygen. It is incredibly flammable, corrosive, and a ready medium for all sorts of pathogens. Producing it in the quantities required to keep you functioning is an incredibly dangerous prospect. However… I do think there is a way. Standby…”

  Without another word, Tremendous leaned its head back and closed its eyes. Blackshade had seen this enough times to know that the Omega leader was either contacting one of its subordinates, or accessing the internet. He guessed Tremendous was communing with other Omegas, because if it wanted to use the internet, there were plenty of terminals here available to it.

  They stood in silence, waiting for Tremendous to open its eyes and provide them with further information. They shared nervous glances amongst each other while they waited. All of them except President Silvia. The man had retaken his seat behind his desk and was frantically tapping away at his input controls. Blackshade didn’t know what the man was up to, but judging by the word, ‘REVENGE’ that was blazing on his forehead, he didn’t think it was anything good. He took a few steps towards the President in order to see what he was doing, when Tremendous stirred.

  “Ah, yes… excellent.” it said as it opened its eyes and looked down at them, “I have spoken with Artificer and the engineer’s team. One of the ships in orbit does have a species of tree that we should be able to use as a base to create the required quantity of atmosphere.” Tremendous told them, a look of concern creasing its brow, “However, I must warn you, if Artificer and the team of engineers are successful in creating these trees, they will be incredibly volatile and will have to be protected.”

  Blackshade was both relieved, and concerned, “What do you mean?”

  Tremendous waved its hand at the center of the floor, and a new display came into being. This one showed a tree that looked like something out of a science fiction novel. The tree was massive in size, with branches that were close to a fifty feet in diameter. The leaves that densely packed the ends of its branches were thick, leathery constructs that were shaped like stretched out oak leaves. They varied in color from brown to re
d and hung lazily in the ultra-realistic display. The bark that encompassed the tree was very thick and looked similar to the bark one would see on an ancient redwood. Tremendous shifted its wrist, and the image spiraled around, zooming the perspective of the image away from the tree. When the image stabilized again, there was a tiny figure of a human standing beside the now smaller image of the tree. Judging by the comparison, the tree was upwards of nine hundred feet tall and five hundred feet wide if measured from between the furthest points of the branches. It was an amazing specimen of nature, and although Blackshade wasn’t usually moved by things like this, he found himself considering the tree beautiful.

  “This is a…” Tremendous began. When it began to name the tree, its mouth continued to move, but no sound came out of it. Blackshade knew this meant his brain couldn’t interpret the words the Omega was using, but he saw confused looks coming from the others in the room. He was about to explain it to them when Tremendous’ voice returned, “… Wind Tree. Or, an approximation of what it will look like if Artificer is successful in engineering them. At its full height, it should be around one thousand feet tall, and six hundred feet wide. The base tree we are using to engineer this is from a planet, trillions of light years from here. The planet is very hard to traverse because of the incredibly high winds created by these trees.” it explained.

  Soearth was the first to speak up, “Excuse me, Tremendous, that can’t be correct. Did you mean to say the winds of the planet make it hard to explore? Because what I heard was that the trees are what make the wind, which we know is impossible.”

  Tremendous settled its gaze on Soearth for a moment, “No, your translation program is working correctly. When I said that the trees make the wind, that is precisely what I meant.”

  Soearth visibly blanched, “I’m…. I’m sorry, Lord Tremendous. I… don’t understand how that is possible.”

  Tremendous motioned at the display of the tree and the perspective zoomed in to focus on a single leathery leaf. Blackshade noticed that his initial assumption of how big the leaf was had been grossly underestimated. The leaf was approximately six feet long and four feet wide, and probably twenty times as thick as a regular leaf. Along the outer edge of the leaf were holes the diameter of a pencil. Blackshade thought he was beginning to understand why his brain interpreted the name of this tree as a ‘wind’ tree.

  “The leaves of these trees have an extraordinary appetite for the various gasses found on its home planet. There are many gasses in its atmosphere, none of which are found on your planet. The gasses on the tree’s home planet are healthier, have regenerative properties, and promote life. The gasses found on this planet are corrosive, poisonous, and promote extermination. As I have said, this is a very toxic part of the universe.” the Omega leader explained, “What Artificer is attempting to do, is change the genetic makeup of this tree, using other samples of flora, similar technology used to create the original humans, and other technological methods known to us. If Artificer can accomplish the task I have set for it, the trees we will give you, once planted and grown to maturity, should soak up your exhaust gasses and other non-vital pollutants, and in return, create the atmosphere you require.”

  Tricia walked around the image staring intently, “Is it really that easy for you to fix our planet?” she asked awestruck.

  Tremendous’ brow furrowed, “Easy? Nothing about what Artificer is attempting is easy. What my engineers are attempting to accomplish is extraordinarily difficult. If they are successful however, these new trees should solve your atmospheric situation.”

  Novatrix spoke up, “You said the trees would be volatile and need to be protected. Why is that?”

  Tremendous flicked its wrist again, and the image of the tree zoomed back out, until the entire tree was in view. Once the image stabilized, a depiction of a human stood a few hundred yards away from the tree, smiling and waving at them. “The Wind Tree will produce thousands of gallons of optimal atmosphere for your race every day. Such a large quantity of this oxygen-rich gas will prove to be highly combustible. A small spark, or even a small open flame will not be enough to ignite the gasses being expelled from the tree, but a lightning strike, an intense flame, or a large enough open fire could ignite the gas and cause a catastrophic chain reaction inside of it. The results of which would be a very large explosion.” As Tremendous explained this, the little human on its display started a small fire near the tree. The wind from the tree extinguished the fire, causing the little human to frown and cry. Blackshade found it comical and chuckled at its antics. The others seemed to find it humorous as well, with the exception of Silvia. The word, ‘Insulting’ appearing on his forehead as he watched the display with a frown.

  The little human on the display apparently had an idea, as was evident by the lightning bolt that suddenly appeared above its head and quickly gathered a large stack of wood and dead brush. Once the hilariously large stack of debris was assembled, the little human set it on fire, which caught the wind from the tree on fire causing it to explode. The display was full of fire for a moment before it reset. When the image settled, the tree was back, the little human stood next to it, and it was raining very hard. The little human took shelter under the tree, the wind coming from it was strong enough to blow most of the rain away, keeping the little human dry. The clouds that surrounded the tree began to flash, just before a huge lightning bolt sparked through the tree, detonating it. The tree exploded, just like before, and the display was once again full of fire. Tremendous waved its hand, and the display ceased to exist.

  “As you have just witnessed, if a storm were to form near the tree and cause a significant lightning strike, the tree will be destroyed. If a large, or hot enough fire is allowed to be near the tree, it will be destroyed. So if Artificer is successful, and you plant these trees on your planet, you will need to protect them, or fall back into the situation you are currently in.” Tremendous explained.

  “A situation we’re only in because of you!” President Silvia retorted.

  Everyone in the room turned to look at him, a mixture of shock and embarrassment on their faces. Tremendous however, just looked curious, “That is not entirely correct, Julio Silvia. You are in this situation because you agreed to an arrangement that allowed us to take over a continent. I acknowledge that there was a miscommunication due to the perception each of us had regarding your geography, but there was no malice intended on our part. As for what happened in the location you call Russia that was not our doing; that was human overreaction. We made no aggressive actions, and did not notice that you attacked us until the explosions began occurring beneath us, which is why we chose to land in Roswell as opposed to outside of Moscow. The rest of the destruction was at your own hands. As far as our research shows, your people have been culling your flora the entire time you have been active on this planet. So you cannot place the blame for this situation solely on us.”

  Novatrix looked furious with Silvia, “President Silvia, perhaps you should take a small break from these proceedings to collect yourself. This has been a stressful day, and you are clearly overwhelmed.” she said with acid in her voice.

  President Silvia said nothing to rebut Tremendous’ argument, and looked reproachfully at Novatrix. Blackshade thought the man was going to say something, but then he just frowned and folded his powerful arms over his chest. He then looked down at his desk and began to pout. Blackshade didn’t think the man could disgust him anymore than he already had, but thanks to this display, he discovered he had been woefully wrong. If it wasn’t for the Secret Service Agents around him armed with Anti-life weaponry, he might have tried to slap the President upside his head.

  Soearth’s voice brought him back to reality, “We can erect lightning protection systems around the site of the tree. We will have to have non-conductive drones circling the tree at all times to ensure no heat lightning or static electricity can build up enough to cause a spark as well. The military and local police can be tasked to protect
the tree from the ground using non-lethal, and non-combustion equipment to keep people away from it. A fire department can be established near the tree as well to keep the area around the tree free of combustible materials and to be on call should a fire break out anywhere near it. The government should have enough in surplus to cover the costs for all of this.” he said as he paced across the room. He looked up at Novatrix, “This could work!” he said excitedly.

  Novatrix looked at Tricia, “What do you think, Ms. Yodabel?”

  Tricia was staring up at Tremendous and answered without looking away, “If Lord Tremendous can really deliver on its promise to create this wonderful tree, I will see to it that my environmental group rededicates itself to protect it. We will move our offices and everything.” then she turned to look at Novatrix, “There is no greater cause than protecting a tree like this for my group.”

  Novatrix nodded and began tapping at her input panel, “I am going to draft up a few executive orders and disseminate them to the proper offices in order to pave the way forward for this. We need to ensure that nothing interferes with the cultivation of this tree, and we must also ensure that once it’s planted, we have the people and resources in place to protect it.” she told them, without looking up from her desk.

  President Silvia looked over at her, but said nothing. The man was still sulking like a child in a time out. Blackshade promised himself that once everything got back to normal, he would make it his personal mission to show the world who the real President Silvia was.

  Tremendous smiled at them all, “I am very impressed by how quickly most of you adapt to a situation, especially a crisis situation like this, and work together in order to solve the problem. It is also impressive that you are willing to reach out for help when you believe the problem is not something you can correct on your own. You humans continue to surprise and impress us every day.” it told them earnestly, “Which is one of the many reasons why the Sigmas have taken a personal interest in you.”