by David Kempf
Ian did not know it but he had terrible night terrors almost every night. He didn’t know because it was impossible to wake up screaming in the sleep chambers. They were designed by the masters to provide adequate rest.
The masters wanted their property well rested for the servitude that was their duty. It was the natural order of things. It had been that way for a long time.
There were rivers of blood in his dreams but he didn’t know it. The fiends who controlled every aspect of his existence would feast on him every night. Ian would never remember this. He was much better off not remembering. There was a long table where the Gongorites would dine on human flesh and blood. Ian would always be the last to be devoured. He always watched the hundreds who were ahead of him go first. Sometimes they would laugh and remind him that he was a coward. He was the one who was destined to give them everything so he could die last…….
Ian opened his eyes.
“The time is now, Ian Harris.”
He looked up and saw a strange man. Ian realized that he had somehow fallen out of his sleep chamber. No. It had been opened by the stranger.
“Come. The time is now.”
“Charles sent you?” Ian asked.
“That’s right, Ian. Charles sent me,” said the strange man.
So this is all really happening, Ian thought to himself. UHR was real. It not only existed, but this “freedom fighter” was going to take him to meet the legendary leader.
Ian realized that he was going to have to lose consciousness again. The location of the UHR headquarters had to be kept secret. He felt the needle going into his arm. He realized he was quickly becoming unconscious. It was hard for him to accept that all these things were truly coming to pass.
Ian opened his eyes again. He now saw an elderly man surrounded by many armed guards. They were somewhere outside the city. Ian could not hear any of the noises he had come to know in the city. Ian also noticed that he couldn’t hear any human voices outside. There were also no human voices. The thing that was most prominent to Ian was that he couldn’t hear any Gongorite noises! There was none of their loud growling sounds. There wasn’t any of their propaganda constantly playing over and over again in human language. It was like a miracle.
“It’s something not to have to hear those things torment your ears. Isn’t it?” the old man asked Ian.
“You’re Charles Moulin.”
“Yes.”
“Then all of this is real. How long have you been doing all this?”
“Ian, we’ve been doing this almost since the beginning.”
“You mean since they came to our planet?”
“Yes.”
Charles smiled at Ian. Then he moved to the side, revealing another man standing behind him. It was Jack.
“Hello, Ian.”
“What are you doing here?”
“You made contact with them first. I just happened to arrive here before you did. My sleep chamber is closer than yours is to this remote location.”
“You need to tell us everything, Charles. Jack and I need to know all about you. We need to know all that you do. Then we can work together to try and rid humanity of this curse from beyond the stars.”
Charles laughed. He seemed amused at these two men who couldn’t be any older than in their early forties. Charles was especially interested in Ian. He seemed impatient and idealistic at the same time.
“All you need to know is right here.”
Charles pointed to a banner that was hanging behind him.
“There are no gods because there are no gods.”
“There are no laws to be followed by men that are not man made.”
“All dissenters will punish those who oppress them.”
“The laws of the Gongorites must never be obeyed.”
“That’s all you ever need to know, Ian. This will, of course, be removed when we leave this location tonight. Its message never leaves. We will fight to the last drop of blood of one of the species is spilled. It’s a war unlike any other in the history of either species. It’s going to be the ultimate war.”
“Charles, it doesn’t have to be the ultimate war,” said Ian.
“Ian, I know you’ve made a remarkable discovery. You’ve found something that could turn this war around for the human race.”
“I’ve discovered something in their religion that can be exploited. They believe I’ve been chosen because I translated from their sacred text. These things believe that all of humanity will become like them,” Ian explained.
“They mean this literally, I take it,” said Charles.
“Yes.”
“It’s a stupid question; their faith is as blind as it is violent.”
Charles looked at Ian and began to laugh again. He enjoyed laughter. It was part of the human rebellion. The Gongorites hated laughter. They hated it, of course, except when they could inflict pain on other living things. That was their idea of laughter. Charles loved to laugh out of joy. The fact that the monsters hated laughter made him feel even more joyous.
“So…you’re the long awaited blessed slave are you?”
“Yes and there is more….”
Jack stepped into the conversation. He thought that this all seemed absolutely surreal. He had heard of this legend. This delusional myth of the existence of this group called the UHR. He never thought they were real. Now he was surrounded by people who were part of it. They were true revolutionaries in every sense.
“Ian, we need to talk about the crystal,” said Jack.
“I was getting to that part, Jack.”
Charles smiled again. He looked at Jack and Ian. He had been waiting his entire life to say what was about to be heard.
“The time to remove their sacred crystal is now upon us. Only when these things get their long awaited discovery by humans can their prophecy be proven to be true. Now only when part of the prophecy is proven can their entire sick religion be disproved forever,” said Charles.
“I don’t know how you intend to accomplish this,” said Ian.
“You leave that to us. The UHR can easily take care of doing that. They leave the statue’s crystal unguarded because they believe that their gods protect it. It doesn’t need anyone to guard it. They think it’s invincible due to divine intervention.”
“We’ll do what we can to help you,” said Jack.
“No,” Charles replied.
“No?”
“I appreciate all that you two men have done in the name of human liberation. It was very dangerous to bring both of you here tonight. We will be the ones to remove their crystal. The rest is up to us now,” Charles explained.
“We can’t just stand by and do nothing,” said Ian.
“Yes you can. That’s exactly what you are going to be doing. We will see you back to your sleep chambers now. Thank you.”
Those were the last words that Ian remembered. That is, if you want to call the experience remembering. He was out cold and unconscious in a split second. Ian opened his eyes in his sleep chamber. He was awake again. The whole experience was like a half-remembered dream. Ian asked himself if he really met the legendary Charles Moulin. He knew in his heart of hearts that he had. He wondered if this man could really exist in the world as it existed now. The audacity this man had, to have hope and believe in freedom and dignity for all humans. It seemed too good to be true.
Ian was raised in a world where the monsters ruled over everything. In his mind, the entire experience took place in another world and another time. He knew that he would soon have to return to the world he knew was real, the world where he was surrounded by misery. Yet he was among the most fortunate. He was, perhaps, the most fortunate man on the planet.
Jack and Ian greeted each other and spoke nothing of their remarkable meeting the night before. Jack looked at Ian and could see that he was also in a state of utter disbelief.
“Greetings, Jack, the slave.”
“Greetings, Ian, the slave.”
T
he Gongorites were always prayerful. Balaam was in a state of deep meditation. He was kneeling before statues of some of the lesser gods in his temple. Arian slowly walked in behind him.
“Master, I still have not heard anything from my slave. He must freely offer the revelation to me. I cannot extract it from him or the prophetic writings will not be proven to be of divine origin.”
“No, you cannot force him to confess what has been revealed. You also cannot ever tell another creature about this revelation. It is best kept secret until the time is correct. This is the most important thing of all. You must keep all of this a secret,” said Balaam.
“Then only you and I know about the human’s discovery?” Arian asked.
“Yes, only you and I know.”
“That’s good, master. That’s good.”
Balaam looked at Arian for a moment. He needed to pray and was quickly growing tired of his presence.
“Leave me. I need to pray. I sometimes wonder if these minor gods ever grant prayers. We must pray to all our gods. The Gongorites cannot rely on our superior god, Ulam, alone.”
Balaam closed his eyes. He continued to pray and slowly moved into a great trance-like sleep. Arian realized that this was his chance. He reached over with both his arms and broke Balaam’s neck. Arian could tell that Balaam died instantly. He was in a perfect trance. There was no struggle. Gongorites had been known to perish in states of deep spiritual meditation.
Arian did struggle with his decision. He had grown weary of obeying this inferior creature over the years. Arian believed it was he who would usher in the new age of the Gongorites. It was his slave who had come across the revelation. It was his guidance. The gods obviously favored him over Balaam.
“Sometimes the lesser gods do answer prayers, master.”
Jack was trying to fight the despair inside of him, the dark forces of doubt and fear that had haunted him his entire life. The idea of hope was here for the first time.
He glanced over at Ian. He knew that they had to pretend things were business as usual. If they did not continue to act as if today was ordinary, there would be extraordinarily bad consequences. Jack knew that this was the day that things could change for the human race forever. Today, this wicked species that oppress and kill could be stopped. The most extraordinary thing was that they could be stopped by their own primitive religious beliefs. It was ludicrous that a race capable of producing such great technology still relied on absurd spiritual writings. No living things could truly predict the future. Even if they could, it would be a mere coincidence. The Gongorites’ failure to predict the future could be humanity’s chance to save it.
“We will meet tomorrow, Jack the slave.”
“We will meet tomorrow, Ian the slave.”
Neither Jack nor Ian believed their parting statements to be true. There would not be another tomorrow. There would never be a tomorrow like today or yesterday. Something extraordinary was about to occur. These two humans would not come in tomorrow to do the bidding of their slave masters anymore. They would either be leaders of a new humanity or martyrs among mankind’s failed attempt to gain independence. There was no middle ground or grey area anymore. Ian had made a discovery that the creatures believed was prophetic. That could never be changed. Once they contacted Charles Moulin, there was no turning back from it. They had set in motion events that would forever change the lives of the people and the monsters.
Arian realized that there was no turning back time for his deeds. He had murdered his master and pretended it was an accident. Soon, one of the priests would discover his body in the temple. Arian was walking around the city, second-guessing his own homicidal actions. The cowardly part of him wanted to turn himself in for his crime. That way only he would be executed. In the holy writings, the penalty for murdering someone from a superior class was clear. His entire clan, all blood relations, would have to be sacrifices. Every living generation would fall in to a merciless volcano. Arian had risked the extermination of his entire family. Why? He risked their lives because he was extremely selfish and believed he should be in control. His lust for power had no ends but only he knew it.
The Gongorites were like people in many ways. They put on a façade when it was in their best interest. This was especially true when they felt threatened. Although Arian’s very life was not at stake from his master, something important was. It was something more important. It was his ego. The monsters always had huge egos. As a matter of fact, it could be said that their egos may have been bigger than their grotesque physical bodies. Arian was now the self-appointed leader of the brave new world. Perhaps even a brave new galaxy or universe. There was no limit to what he hoped to accomplish. His false religiosity was shameless even for his despicable species. His thoughts were filled with delight and laughter. There was no holding back now. His time had finally come.
There were many skulls on sticks. There were perhaps thousands of them, meant to intensely frighten home sapiens. Jack walked around the field. He had never walked this far outside the inner territory before this. He wondered why the monsters needed to kill so many humans to make their point. They were in control. They are the masters. We are the slaves. All humans understood this. The ones who failed to understand were soon a part of this field of nightmares. The skulls were more than just a means to terrify. They were a sign of power. Humans could look and see that if they wanted to, the Gongorites could have all humans killed. Sometimes it seemed like that was their ultimate intention.
Ian grew tired of looking at the human skulls in the field. He decided he wanted to do something else and started to run as fast as he could. He had never run so fast in his entire life. It was so exhilarating! Then just like he had always dreamed, he began to fly. He was coming off the ground slowly at first; then he began to really go up into the air. The skulls on sticks grew smaller and smaller as Ian went higher and higher. Ian wondered if he could fly far from the monsters. He wanted to fly so far from them that he could forget what they looked like! Life without the creatures would be a just reward for a life of humiliation and servitude.
Suddenly Ian felt guilty. He forgot all about poor Jack who was still walking around the field of skulls. Jack screamed up to him.
“Ian!”
“I’ve come for you, Jack.”
“I know. I’ve been expecting you!”
Ian started flying at a fast speed. He was coming right towards Jack. Ian saw Jack smile. Ian smiled back, although it wasn’t a pleasant smile.
“I don’t think you expected this, Jack!!”
Ian took Jack into his arms. He then flew straight up into the sky. Higher and higher he flew. Jack was very confused.
“Where are we going, Ian?”
“You’ll see.”
Jack noticed that Ian’s arms were slowly changing. They were not the same color that they were just a few moments ago. A moment ago they were the color of human flesh. Now they were green…..green like one of them….
Jack felt heat and fire beneath him. He looked down and saw that they were flying above a volcano.
“Ian, what you’re thinking of doing......”
“There are no gods but our gods.”
Ian dropped Jack into the fire below. Jack screamed. He screamed like he never had before in his life, a life filled with terror from those damn things. Those horrible creatures were here to destroy all humanity. They may even have wanted to put an end to all life itself. Anything their fictional gods told them to do was fair game. Jack screamed his last scream and then woke up.
“The traitor slave has awakened.”
Jack was still sleepy from the nerve gas he had been secretly given. He wasn’t sure who had given it to him. Someone called him the traitor slave. Who was it? The voice was familiar. It was Arian.
“You didn’t wake up first. Another human captive woke up before you.”
Arian slowly stepped aside. He was blocking Jack’s view. Once he backed away, he watched Jack’s facial expression with
much amusement.
“Arian, you’re a fiend!”
It was Charles Moulin. His head was on a stick.
“The prophecy is fulfilled,” a voice said.
Jack was terrified. “Who said that?”
Ian had said it. He began to walk slowly towards Jack who was now emotionally overwhelmed. Jack appeared as if he was in a state of shock.
“Today, the prophecy is fulfilled. I will be the first to transform into one of the mighty and righteous. This is the day I join with the master race of living things. This is the day I become Gongorite!!!”
“Ian, this can’t be happening!”
“It is happening, human slave. After a blessed event, I will begin my transformation and fulfill the destiny of this wretched planet.”
“What is the blessed event, Ian?”
“It’s a family tradition, Jack.”
He suddenly realized where he was. The shock of betrayal and the effects of the nerve gas hindered his senses. Arian had enormous strength. Jack’s hands and feet were tied with heavy chains. Jack was brought up to his feet by Arian.
“Read the writing on the wall, Jack.”
This was the first time that Ian sounded remotely human since Jack had woken up to this nightmare.
“I won’t do it and you betrayed me, Ian!”
“The human part of me still desired to give you mercy. Hanging is for minor infractions, Jack. The other Gongorites wanted to torture you for months. I wanted to give you mercy while I am still a member of your species.”
“Damn it! You’re not a Gongorite. What are you going to do when you’re still human after you hang me? What are you going to do tonight when you’re still human?”
“I think you lack faith, Jack,” Ian said calmly.
It suddenly dawned on Jack that it didn’t matter whether Ian physically changed or not. He was one the monsters already. In a few hours Ian would still be human, but excuses for religious fervor would be made. Ian’s appearance would not matter. Even if he wasn’t betrayed and they carried out their plan, it would make little difference. The sacred crystal of Ulam could be evaporated and it still would not matter. The monsters had great, blinding faith and would always believe in their religion.
