OMEGA ARMAGEDDON: BOOK ONE OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  Whoever it was had quite an arsenal of weapons; and weapons like that don’t get used unless the betasapiens are involved, and with rumors swirling of an upcoming war, Jonah felt that there was more to this rogue knights death than meets the eye.

  At the moment there was no war; but from what his father had told him and the rumors he had heard from outlaws, religious folks, and superhumans; the betasapiens were gathering an army to fight a Great War. A war that would be almost as large as the one that put the world into the state that it was currently in, and if that were to happen, it would be the end of freedom as well as the end of the human race on earth.

  As his thoughts raced on about war and knights and fighting, he quickly brushed them away and focused on the task at hand; finding out who this dead person was and returning them to their family and friends for a proper burial. A part of him felt guilty for not doing anything when he heard the initial noises and commotion, but he thought that by doing this it would make that guilt go away. He then kneeled over the body to see if there were any ID cards or other ways to identify the person. As he went through the pockets all he found was a small book; it was a Bible. There was no name on it but there was a bookmark and it read, “Denver Collective Church of Worship – Come One, Come All.”

  As Jonah stood up, a woman’s voice yelled, “Hey you, what are you doing over there? Don’t let me call the vigilantes.”

  “I didn’t do this, I saw the commotion and I came down to see what happened,” Jonah replied.

  “Not from where I’m standing,” the woman shouted back.

  As Jonah was about to reply, a voice said, “Look lady, my son was with me when this happened and he came down to help.”

  Startled, Jonah looked back to see his father – Dean. Jonah then agreed with his father and reiterated his words, and he then wondered if his father was there the whole time observing him. “Were you there the whole time looking at me Dad?” Jonah asked.

  “Of course son, I wouldn’t let you come down here on your own,” Dean replied.

  “I’ll be okay; go and stay with Ava; she’s alone,” Jonah said.

  “She’ll be okay son, let’s sort this mess out. I’ve set up a perimeter around the apartment, if anyone enters, I’ll know.” Dean told him.

  Then, as the lady left, she told them to hurry up and get the body out of there because if they were seen by a vigilante they would be caught and eventually end up in prison, or even worse they could end up dead, and Jonah and his father knew this very well.

  The vigilantes, although they mean well and try their best to keep order, are very military–like in nature and sometimes serve punishment even if they have no proof or evidence.

  As Dean went to get the airmobile, Jonah wrapped the body to take it to the Denver Collective Church of Worship. As he flipped the body to get a good grip, he accidentally let it go and the body turned onto its back. What Jonah then saw left him with more questions than answers. On the upper chest of the lifeless body, there was the sign of the World Government, but it was barely noticeable, and it looked as if it was purposely scraped off.

  Startled, Jonah tried scraping at it some more; as he did so; the human skin began to peel off to reveal the golden armor that was underneath it. It was a golden knight of Africa; and Jonah tried to contemplate the many scenarios of why someone would want to kill a rogue knight. After all, rogue knights chose their destinies rather than living the life they were built for; all they wanted was peace. But someone took that away from this knight; took his freedom away. Who would do such a thing?

  Back in the apartment, Dean tried waking Ava to go with him and Jonah to the church; “C’mon Ava let’s go, I’m not leaving you here alone,” he said.

  “Dad I’ll be okay. I know how to use a laser. You know that right?” Ava said to him.

  “Yes I do but you’re still my little girl and you’re not staying alone for who knows how long,” Dean replied.

  “Dad I’m not a kid anymore, I’m almost eighteen, trust me I’ll be fine. And on top of that you left me on my own this morning and I was okay,” Ava said.

  “Yes but that was only for a few minutes and in addition to that I set up a perimeter and if anyone entered the apartment I would have known, end of conversation let’s go.” Dean said, and with that, Ava begrudgingly followed her father to the airmobile.

  As Dean and Ava arrived with the airmobile, they saw the look of concern on Jonah’s face.

  “What’s wrong son?” Dean asked.

  Jonah then showed him the markings on the knight, and Dean looked at it not exactly sure what to make of what he was seeing. Either way, he knew the answers to their questions would begin at the church. They then loaded the knight into their airmobile and began to fly towards the church. As they arrived, there were a few religious folks standing outside. Dean then quickly called out to them, and he then exited the airmobile and began walking in their direction.

  “Hi I’m Dean, I need to speak to someone who works at the church,” he asked.

  “I can help you Sir; my name is Luo and I work at this wonderful church,” said an old Asian man named Luo.

  Luo was a devout Buddhist and one of the leaders among the religious folks. Not only was he God–fearing but he was also known for being quite a warrior when he was younger.

  Luo then introduced his three companions to Dean. First, there was a middle–aged woman named Glenda, she was of the Hindu faith; then there was Adam who was in his twenties and was of the Muslim faith; and finally there was George, who was a young man of the Christian faith and was marked by the tattoo of the cross on his forehead.

  “Are you from this region? I’ve never seen you before,” Luo asked.

  “Yes, we’re from this region but we live on the other side of the city. We have an urgent matter, can we talk inside?” Dean replied.

  “Sure,” Luo said, and he said goodbye to his friends as he and Dean went inside.

  Jonah then flew the airmobile to the back of the church with Ava alongside him. As Dean and Luo stepped into the church, Dean couldn’t help notice the deteriorated walls and outdated furniture, “Time for some renovations?” he said jokingly.

  Luo then glanced at him with a look of disapproval; after all, this place was very close to Luo’s heart and this was Dean’s first time inside the church walls.

  “What would you like to discuss?” Luo asked.

  “I have to show you something out back, I’m not sure what to make of it,” Dean said.

  As they made their way to the back of the church, Luo opened the door and standing there were Jonah and Ava with the airmobile hovering a few feet above the ground.

  Dean then went to get the body; it was wrapped in a tarp and stuffed inside a plastic storage container. As they brought the storage container into the church and opened it, Luo was in shock.

  “What is this? Did you do this? Why would you bring the body to the church? If the vigilantes find out about this they will think we went against the pact,” Luo said.

  The vigilantes that Luo spoke of were a ruthless and strict group; in the absence of government laws and law enforcement, they imposed their rules as the laws of the land, and citizens dare not get in their way or they would be severely dealt with.

  If the vigilantes knew that a dead body was in the church without them knowing or being consulted about it, they would hold the church responsible and unleash their wrath upon them.

  Back in the church, Jonah shouted, “We didn’t kill this person,” shocked at the thought that Luo would think that his family had something to do with the death of the golden knight.

  “It’s not even a person; it’s a rogue knight,” Ava said.

  “Sorry Luo; this is my son, Jonah and my daughter, Ava,” Dean said as he interrupted Ava.

  “Welcome to the church,” Luo said. “A rogue knight – dead – who would do this?” he then asked.

  “We’re not sure, we were hoping you would be able to answer that question; we fou
nd this with him,” Jonah said, showing Luo the Bible, along with the card for the church.

  “Let me go and get Ahmad; he may know more as he teaches Bible classes here at the church,” Luo said, eager to find out what Ahmad knew about the deceased rogue knight.

  Luo, Jonah, and Ava then left to go and find Ahmad, while Dean stayed back with the deceased body. As they reached Ahmad’s room, they knocked on the door and he answered.

  “Ahmad we need your help with something; there is a dead rogue knight downstairs, who we think attended Bible classes; we need to know if you know who he is?” Luo quickly said as Ahmad opened the door.

  With that, the group then headed back downstairs to where Dean was watching over the dead knight. As they made their way back they met Sarah; she was the head of the church and one of the leaders of religion in the Americas. Although she was only thirty–five years old she was wise beyond her years. Her eyes then immediately became fixated on Ava and Jonah, and as Jonah made eye contact with her, he began feeling dizzy and fainted, and as Luo and Ava saw that, they both rushed to his attention.

  “Are you okay Jonah?” Ava shouted, concerned about the well–being of her brother.

  Sarah then bent down and felt his head and told Ava he would be okay, and that he just needed some rest and water. Ahmad then quickly brought him some water and splashed it on his face and with that Jonah awoke; “What happened to me?” he asked, his head still groggy from fainting.

  “You just fainted, are you okay?” Ava asked.

  “Yeah I’m fine,” Jonah replied.

  “You should go home and get some rest,” Sarah said.

  “Yes he will; we just have to finish our business and then they will be on their way home,” Luo said.

  And with that, Sarah then left to go to her living quarters, and Ava, Jonah, Luo, and Ahmad headed back to see Dean and the deceased knight. As they entered the room, Dean said, “It took you guys long enough; I thought you forgot about me.”

  “Jonah fainted dad,” Ava told her father.

  “Are you okay son?” Dean asked.

  “Yeah I’m fine; I just want to go home and rest. I still feel dizzy,” Jonah said.

  Dean then removed the tarp and asked Ahmad if he knew who the knight was, and upon seeing the knight, Ahmad immediately knew who he was, as the knight attended classes and was a regular at the church.

  “Yes I know him, however, I don’t know his name and I had no idea he was a knight; but he was very kind and polite; I’m not sure why someone would want to kill him,” Ahmad said.

  “Well we’ll leave him to you, at least give him a proper burial as you would a human; it seemed like he really wanted to be one. We have to head home, Jonah needs to rest,” Dean said, and with that, they mounted their airmobile and headed back to their home.

  As they were leaving, they told Ahmad and Luo if they found out who did this they would let them know; and Dean gave them his address in case they needed to reach him.

  As they flew out on their airmobile towards the front yard of the church, Sarah gazed down at them from her living quarters as thoughts of wars and prophecies raced through her mind. Somehow she knew that this was not the last time that she would see Jonah or Ava. She then tried to convince herself that her visions and dreams were not real. It couldn’t be; for if it were, it would signal the beginning of the end for humans, as well as everything else on earth.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  As soon as the airmobile was out of sight, Sarah quickly started packing her clothes and some personal belongings, and she called Luo on the internal phone system to tell him to get her airmobile ready.

  “Where are you going?” Luo asked her.

  “I’m not sure Luo, but while I’m gone you’re in charge. I may not be back for a while,” Sarah replied.

  “Very well my leader,” Luo said.

  Then, as he was about to hang up, Sarah told him, “You are one of my best friends and my most reliable companion Luo. You are the only person in this church that I truly trust. I don’t really know where I’ll end up, but while I’m gone the church is yours. If anyone asks, tell them I went to visit our friends in Alaska. I’ll be downstairs in five minutes,” and with that Luo began to prepare Sarah’s airmobile.

  As she arrived downstairs, Luo noticed that she was sweating and acting very nervous, and she was not her usual self.

  “Are you going to be okay Sarah? Someone should go with you. You need protection and company,” Luo said.

  “I’ll be okay my friend; give the knight a proper burial right away, we don’t want the vigilantes finding out about this,” Sarah said, and with that she loaded her belongings onto the airmobile and mounted it. She then input her coordinates, and within seconds, she was out of Luo’s sight.

  Luo then said a prayer for Sarah and wished her a safe and secure journey and then headed towards the back of the church to get the knight prepared for his burial. As he made his way to the back of the church, he wondered what could have caused Sarah to leave in such haste. Was it the knight? Was it Dean or Jonah? What could have caused Sarah so much panic?

  After a few minutes Luo began digging a grave for the knight; and given his age, he dug slowly. It had been years since he had to do this, and as he dug into the ground, memories of warfare flashed before him, and the stories he heard as a boy about the invasion raced through his head. He then remembered stories of the war that was so imperfectly coined as “The Cleansing”; after that war, the worldwide human population plunged from thirteen billion to less than one billion. It was the greatest loss of human life in earth’s history.

  Entire populations of countries and in some cases continents were wiped out. Not only were billions of humans killed; but also destroyed in the catastrophe were the lands in which they lived in, the infrastructure for their day to day lives, and the communication lines that kept everyone connected and gave them a sense of unity and friendship were all annihilated.

  In addition to that, government institutions, sports and entertainment stadiums and arenas, wildernesses, livestock farms and major water dams were targeted and demolished. Almost anything that could have been destroyed was destroyed.

  The war not only took a toll on the humans but also on the betasapiens and knights as well. Their losses weren’t as bad compared to the humans, but they also experienced a massive loss of lives. The betasapien population plunged from fifty million to less than ten million, and over one billion knights were destroyed during the war. Another fifteen million knights left their betasapien creators, and some of them went to live with the humans in the last frontier while many others dispersed to remote parts of the earth far away from humans and betasapiens; and as time passed, those knights became known as rogue knights.

  Somehow during the years of war, their minds evolved, and they became compassionate; especially towards those that they fought against, and in some incredible way, the knights managed to oppose their sole purpose which was to follow the commands of the betasapien leaders; and they became free thinkers, following no one, living lives of isolation; alone and desolate, neither helping nor fighting the humans.

  After the First Great War, the humans – what remained of them – regrouped as best they could, but the unity and the will to achieve a greater life were gone, and as the division and discord set in, splinter groups surfaced, and what was once a force to be reckoned with, was no more.

  Before the war, the humans and betasapiens made a pact to live freely alongside each other. The betasapiens were intellectually more advanced, and some among them were known to detest and loathe humans. They believed humans were below them and thought of themselves as their superiors who would not live alongside nor share the earth with those who the deemed as mentally and physically deficient. Little did they realize that it was partly due to evolution and mostly due to a genetic anomaly and sheer luck that their race was born.

  Many decades ago at the beginning of the twenty–second century, a human scientist created the firs
t group of known betasapiens; they were made of flesh and blood but were not born naturally.

  The project to create these magnificent beings were funded and run by the governments and large institutions of a few powerful nations as well as by the leaders of major organizations and was dubbed as project betasapien. It was a project that was created by humans, some of which had good intentions, but in the end it would be a project which ultimately led to the downfall of the human race.

  As Luo’s thoughts about the war ended, he realized that he was almost finished burying the knight and he was standing over the grave. He wondered what the world would have been like if project betasapien was never created. He wondered if the world would have been a better place. Would people be kinder to each other? Would the world be in a better state than it was currently in? And would life have had meaning again? As his mind wandered in thoughts about the war and the state of the earth, a voice yelled out to him, “Hey old man what are you doing? Stop right now and put your hands up where we can see them.”

  The voice startled Luo, and he looked in the direction of where it came from. As he squinted he could see two men racing towards him with lasers in their hands; and in the background, he could see about a dozen more men looking on. At first, Luo didn’t realize who they were, but as they came closer he knew all too well who these men were. The church would no longer be under their protection, and the decades old pact was now broken; it was the vigilantes.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Project betasapien was a venture initiated to create an intellectually advanced species; in essence, a species of scientists and inventors whose initial purpose and goal was to solve major world problems that the humans weren’t able to accomplish.