Hero Falls Kingdom Rises

by Farhat Kidwai

  “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person,” Helm greeted Omega.

  “You as well,” Omega responded. “How can I help you?”

  “I want to work with you. As you may be aware we have some very large problems that need to be fixed for our species to survive. We are running out of time and are not able to make any headway. You are the only one who has the power to bring about the change needed to stop us from destroying the planet. Now that you are not all-in on protecting humans in every situation we may be able to work together on fixing some of these problems,” Helm explained.

  “We could always use more help. What is in it for you?” Omega asked.

  “I have a lot of ideas on how to reshape the world and protect humans from themselves. I want us to become an inter-planetary species so we are not restricted to the finite resources on this planet. We have to reduce the population one way or another for the planet to be able to sustain life. With your help we can make it happen.” Helm was very open about his ambitions.

  “At least you are honest. If you are ready to get to work now, Elliot and team could use your help in preparing for the upcoming Security Council meeting. If you have good ideas I am sure they will be happy to listen.” Omega requested assistance from Helm as he was very well connected as well.

  “I came prepared. Show me the way.” Helm replied. Omega walked him over to the huddle room where Elliot, Kat, and Sol were planning to spend the next few of days.

  A few days later at the Security Council meeting for permanent members US Ambassador Jack McMillan spoke passionately, “He needs to be punished for his actions. He is a barbarian. He burned our brave soldiers alive and he will pay for it.” The message was received with applause from most of the members.

  “And how does one punish someone with powers of a freakin’ God? A God that you have angered by your reckless actions and now we all will have to pay for it.” Chinese Ambassador Lee Xing pushed back angrily.

  “The arrogance of NATO has put the entire human race at risk. Shoot first and think later. Typical!” Russian Ambassador Alexander Liukin chimed in.

  “Really Alexander? Is this the right time for you to rail on NATO? We are dealing with an existential threat. We need to unite to fight the enemy in front of us,” Jack added.

  “He is not a threat to us. What do you guys say in America? Seems like a ‘you’ problem!” Alexander was enjoying the fact that for the first time NATO was looking to others for help.

  The doors opened to the room and Omega walked in. the Room went silent. Alexander walked up to Omega and greeted him with a big smile on his face. Xing followed Alexander with greetings from China.

  The anger towards Omega from the NATO members in the Security Council had turned into fear as they sat across from Omega.

  “Ok! I am here. What do we want to talk about?” Omega got right to the point.

  “We need to talk about what you did to our soldiers. You crossed the line. It was barbaric. We are not going to allow you to turn into the next Hitler. We understand you are powerful but we can’t allow you to do whatever you feel like.” Jack did he best to assert himself but you could see the fear in his eyes.

  “And what do you plan to do if he refuses? Attack him again? How did that go last time?” Alexander added with a smirk on his face. He was trying to use this situation to push NATO members into a corner and distancing Russia from their actions.

  “I gave you fair warning not to attack my people. Did you really think you were going to get away without consequences?” Omega asked.

  “But did you really have to burn the captured soldiers? We have international treaties about respectful treatment of prisoners of war,” Jack replied.

  “I agree. You could have sent them back to us. They were unarmed. You didn’t have to burn them alive,” offered Ambassador of France Lafayette Moreau.

  The disdain was clear on Omega’s face and in his voice, “You dropped bombs on innocent people. What about the innocent people that were burned alive by your missiles? Your soldiers didn’t have to attack innocent people but they did. I didn’t have to burn them alive but I had to enact justice. It was a fair punishment.”

  “The treaties you are referring to are between you humans. If you forgot, I am not one of you. You made it very clear when you tried to kill me as a baby. Don’t you humans have some rules against that too?” Omega said with anger in his eyes. “The only thing that stops me from burning you alive right now is that at least for now we are here to negotiate. Now, what do you have to offer me?” Omega said with total disrespect for the Security Council.

  “I just want to clarify that we did not attack your people. It was a unilateral decision from NATO.” Xing explained as he tried to distance himself from the NATO members.

  “We were against it. I apologize on behalf of our nation. We should have done more to stop them from trying to attack your people,” Alexander added. He was really enjoying pointing Omega’s anger towards NATO.

  “So, what are you offering me? If you have nothing I would like to call an emergency US General Assembly meeting and address the world,” Omega added.

  “We are just trying to avoid any additional bloodshed,” Xing added as he tried to calm the room.

  “If you follow what I tell you there will be no need for more bloodshed. But having a better understanding of human nature you will never be able to do that. You will try to defy me again and I will be forced to kill more. Since you have nothing to offer me we should end this meeting. You can call a General Assembly meeting for me to address the nations,” Omega instructed Xing.

  “How about we don’t blow up all your supporters you terrorist?” Jack asked angrily. Frustration boiled over as the bully was not used to being bullied.

  Omega was not about to back down. “You could try but you will fail. This time every man, woman, and child in your country will pay the price. I will wipe you out from existence. Actually, I can start with you right now with you.”

  Lafayette jumped in to diffuse the situation, “There is no need for that. We will not be attacking you or your people. We will call the emergency General Assembly meeting right now. Looking forward to your speech.”

  After failure to reach any resolution during the Security Council meeting, nations had to quickly pull together and start figuring out their alignment in the potential new world order. There was a power shift with a new player entering the world stage. They were made aware of Omega’s vision and had a choice to bend the knee or prepare for war.

  Elliot, Kat, Sol, and the new addition Jack Helm were all there with Omega to work on backroom deals with nations ahead of Omega’s speech.

  There had never been more universal anticipation for a speech than the one Omega was about to give at the UN General Assembly today. It was going to be telecasted live across the globe on every major platform.

  Omega walked up to the podium of the general assembly meeting room with the President of United Nations Security Council sitting behind him. President Khanna gave him the go ahead to start the speech.

  “Thank you, President Khanna. All of you have been witness to the events over the last couple of months. Some of you may see me as an enemy or a danger to your existence. That is not my intention. My intention is to preserve life on this planet and that includes human life. Humans claim to be the most evolved species on this planet and have declared themselves in charge of the ecosystem. What you have done with that extremely important responsibility is beyond disappointing. Instead of being the protector of life on this planet, you have been on a mission to destroy it. This behavior will eventually lead to the extinction of your own species. You have been abusing other life forms on this planet for your own gain. You are wiping them out at an alarming rate. You are not only destroying their habitats you also steal their young, you torture them, you mercilessly kill them, sometimes just for fun. The ones you need to sustain are being treated worse. You imprison them, rape them regularly, beat them, and take their
newly born away from them and murder them. I don’t understand how the self-proclaimed most evolved species in any ecosystem can be this destructive to the ecosystem it needs to survive. You have become an uncontrolled infection on the ecosystem. The unwarranted cruelty you show towards other species who mean you no harm makes you unworthy of being part of this ecosystem. You are a virus spreading across this planet and slowly killing it. Instead of wiping you out entirely I am giving you a chance only because not everyone amongst you deserves that outcome. There are some good people amongst you who are fighting of those who don’t have a voice. From this moment on you owe them the remainder of your existence. I am allowing the human race to go on but things will have to change.

  “The destructive behavior of the human race will never change on its own and will lead to the extinction of all life. Freedom for all humans was never a good idea. Democracy and choice have been a failed experiment. Humans require rules and consequences to be able to function as a society. So, I am here to announce a new set of rules humans need to live by. These will not be optional and anyone violating these will be punished accordingly. You have already witnessed what I do to those who defy me. These rules are required for the greater good of all life on this planet including your own. You have shown the inability to self-regulate so this is the only option left. You are in the middle of the sixth extinction and you still can’t control your destructive behavior. You keep hoping that someone else will come in and fix everything so you don’t make even the simplest sacrifices. That someone is me and these new laws will save your world. You may not like the new rules but you will follow them!

  “First, all humans will be required to move to Eurasia by the year 2040. We will give the rest of the land to the other species. They will have equal stake in this planet and will be given a safe place to live away from you. This has to happen because humans will not be able to co-exist with other species within the ecosystem. It will allow the planet to revive itself and provide enough clean air for humans to survive. Any humans found outside of Eurasia at the beginning of 2041 will be immediately terminated.

  “I don’t just mean humans leaving these continents. All hazardous waste created by you also needs to be removed from these continents and oceans by 2040. Concrete jungles will need to be removed from these lands to allow other species to take over those lands. Citizens from these lands will be given refuge in Eurasia upon successfully completing these conditions.

  “The human population will need to drop to 2.5 billion in the next 40 years. Failure will result in forced planetary-expulsion or euthanasia of any excess humans. To help reach the goal as of right now no human will be allowed to have more than one child until the goal is reached. Breaking this law will result in euthanasia of the mother, father, and the newborn. Anyone with the knowledge of violators who fails to report this to the authority will also face the same consequence.

  “There will be a complete ban on the extraction and production of new fossil fuel products in 5 years. This means all products including but not limited to fuels and plastics. You will be allowed to recycle existing fossil fuel-based products. All existing plastic pollution has to be removed from areas that will be allocated for other species by 2040.

  “A similar ban will be put on the extraction and production of nuclear energy in 5 years. All nuclear material and nuclear waste needs to be safely removed from the planet the following year. This ban will stay in place until science figures out a way to safely create nuclear energy without creating any hazardous waste.

  “All Artificial Intelligence development will need to put under a new AI Regulatory body headed by Jack Helm. AI can really help humanity if it is developed responsibly. Uncontrolled and unpredictable AI can lead to the destruction of human civilization.

  “Along with that, new laws will be implemented to protect animals from human cruelty. No one will ever be allowed to hunt any endangered species. No over hunting of any species that can have adverse effects on the ecosystem. You have already witnessed the punishment I handed out to Roman’s killer. For those of you don’t remember let me restate the punishment. Anyone breaking these laws will be skinned alive and beheaded. This will apply to any parties that were directly involved or had knowledge and failed to stop it. Their heads and skin will be mounted in front of their house. Anyone who takes down the head will also meet the same fate.

  “No wild animals can be taken out of their habitat and kept in cages or unnatural environments. Proper reserves that provide a good quality of life need to be created for animals that were taken and cannot be sent back to the wild.

  “Humans will not be allowed to kill animals for anything other than food. With how much your civilization has advanced there is no reason for you to continue using products made from animals. You have alternates but you continue to do it because you are good at justifying cruelty as necessity. Animals can no longer be used as test subjects in labs.

  “Killing of all baby animals without a justifiable reason is prohibited. Breaking this rule will result in the euthanasia of equal number human babies. I will let the local governments decide the selection criteria for babies to euthanize in order to deliver this justice.

  “Artificial insemination of animals will be prohibited for farming purposes. For a society that universally frowns upon bestiality your meat supply is completely dependent on it. On this one I guess I am just holding you to your own moral standards. Babies of animals cannot be separated from their mothers in their infancy. If you won’t do that to a human baby you can’t do that to animals either. I will give you a choice on this one. If you don’t want to change this practice for animals I will implement the same rules for human babies. I will take your babies away after birth and lock them away to be raised at government facilities in cages. You make that choice and let me know.

  “All animal abuse will be punishable by equally harsh punishment. If you beat an animal you will be beaten publicly until your injuries match that of your victim. If you starve an animal you will be starved. If you keep an animal in harsh abusive condition you will have to go through the same. What you do to them will be done to you as your punishment. Punishments historically used to be a lot harsher and were handed out in a public to deter others. Getting away from that has emboldened the worst amongst you. Your ancestors had it right and we will return to it. We will once again start handing out long, drawn out public punishments to deter others from committing the same crime.

  “Also, domesticated animal species cannot be euthanized due to overpopulation. You made them domestic, now it is your responsibility to take care of them. If anyone is found guilty of euthanizing innocent animals an equal number of humans will have to be euthanized in that area. Local governments can decide how they will select human candidates.

  “These are some of the new laws. An official list will be provided by my team to the UN. That document will establish the new world order. Everyone has to make a choice now. To all the citizens of the world listening to this broadcast; time to sit on the sideline is over. I do not want you to be punished for the decisions of your arrogant leaders. Make sure you don’t sit back and allow them to decide your fate. Lack of action on your part will make you complicit in the decisions made by your leaders. Once the lines are drawn I will be merciless towards anyone who decides to defy these laws.” Omega ended the speech and walked out of the room.

  There was dead silence in the room. No one knew how to react.

  On his was out of the meeting, Omega was stopped by a voice in the hallway, “You killed my son. You will not get away with this.” Seemed like this individual was waiting outside of the conference room to confront Omega.

  “Who are you?” Omega asked as the well-dressed man approached him with a security detail. He seemed to be someone important.

  “I am Noah Klan. You barbarians murdered my son. He was a good kid. He had a family. He didn’t deserve this. They beheaded him and put the video online. I never even got to bury his body. Those ba
rbarians skinned my baby and fed him to the hyenas.” He was choking up as he tried to talk about his son’s death.

  “It was justice. He was there to do the exact same thing to the animal he was hunting. He just got hunted by my people first. Good is relative to your world view. You consider you son to be good and my people to be barbaric. Others might see it differently,” Omega replied.

  “It was just an animal. He legally purchased the license to hunt the animal. The money from these hunts goes towards conservation of these species.” Klan was confrontational. A crowd of UN delegates had gathered around to hear the argument.

  “It’s not just an animal to their family. They mourn the loss of their family members too. Just how you are feeling right now,” Omega explained.

  “It’s not the same. They are animals. They don’t feel the same way we do. They are not equal to h….” Klan was not able to finish the sentence as his severed head hit the floor of the hallway. Omega had enough. He had bigger things in his mind and didn’t want to be bothered anymore.

  There was a loud gasp from the crowd as Klan’s head rolled a couple of times on the floor before coming to a stop. Klan’s security instinctively tried to jump into action but within a second they realized who they were up against. The head of security quickly instructed the team to stand down and told Omega, “We are good here.”

  The speech sent shockwaves around the world. There were those who were not over Omega’s recent barbaric punishments and were counting on their governments to fight back. Most experts believed that even if they did there was little hope that it would make a difference. There was a lot of uncertainty and fear amongst people about their place in the new human world in Eurasia. Some didn’t want to wait for the world to decide if they would be allowed to go to Eurasia took matter into their own hands. They wanted to get ahead of the official relocation. This created a refugee crisis on Eurasian borders.

  People were hopping island to island to make it onto Eurasian soil. For people coming from Australian and American continents it was a lot easier to get there via South East Asian islands. For Africans the preferred route to cross over was by the Red Sea. For those with means the path was lot easier. They bought their way into Europe to secure their place in the new world.