Birth Of A Goddess

by Mark T. Bacome

  “What about the other centers?” Junk asked.

  Grafter looked around as though an answer may be waiting to be found. “Jenai--are you able to communicate with the other detention centers?”

  “Yes.”

  “We need to communicate with the Earth humans at each detention center and let them know what's going on,” Grafter explained.

  “I can communicate with the other detention centers leading AIs, but, I have no authority to allow

  communications with Earth humans in detention there,” Jenai announced.

  “Who has the authority?” Grafter asked. Junk shook his head as if Grafter had asked him.

  “I have no current protocols or standing directives as to who has authority, or who is responsible, other than--I am not,” Jenai affirmed.

  “The only person of authority I know is you,” Junk pointed to Grafter.

  “Do you wish to be a person of authority and take responsibility?” Jenai asked.

  “Uh--” Grafter felt a little stunned at the simplicity of what appeared to be the procedure for taking control and being in charge.

  Junk nodded. “Sure he does--don't you?”

  “I will need a confirmation directly from the one designated as 'Grafter,'” Jenai requested.

  Grafter straightened his shoulders and adjusted his over-coat. “I--accept, full responsibility and authority.”

  “I have duly noted your authority and acceptance of responsibility, and have recorded your DNA and voice pattern sequence for authentication,” Jenai announced with a tone of formality.

  “That's it?” Junk asked.

  “Are there further procedures you would require to complete the process for your acceptance of authority and responsibility, Grafter?” Jenai asked.

  “I do not believe that to be necessary.”

  “Very well. You now have appropriate authority,” Jenai affirmed.

  “Good. Now let's get to work,” Grafter commanded.

  *** Although not visible in this realm, Cain could feel the ring on his finger. It burned with an ever-increasing appetite for life energy, growing stronger everyday. Until recently, Cain had been able to quench the need with the occasional life of a captured Elvonian, Corporate personnel, or any number of afflicted Trupes as they neared death from the growth of lumps caused by the affliction. But as his own strength had grown, so had the raging demands for more life energy by the ring. The pain was near unbearable, and his hand began to glow, as though the ring might try to absorb his own life energy.

  Cain turned to K'nal Lluxi, standing by the throne ready for orders. “GET ME A TRUPE--NOW!”

  Lluxi snapped to attention and made for the entry to Cain's personal quarters only a few paces away. A Trupe was standing duty just outside the entry and Lluxi motioned him in with haste.

  “Come HERE!” Cain ordered. The man bowed on one knee before the throne. Cain stepped down and knelt next to the Trupe. “Would you give your life for your Egal?” Cain asked, his voice and demeanor changed to one of pleasant conversation between old friends.

  The Trupe, unsure what was happening, still dared not raise his head. “I would gladly give my life in battle for my Egal.”

  Cain tightened his jaw. “I never mentioned anything about battle. I ask you again--would you give your life to your Egal? Your God?” Cain's voice turned raspy and icecold.

  Seeing Cain's glowing left hand, Lluxi understood where the conversation was leading. “My Egal, this Trupe is not on death’s edge from the affliction.”

  Cain raised his head only enough to give Lluxi a look beyond contempt. “LEAVE US!”

  Lluxi snapped to attention and left the room without further hesitation.

  “I--I would--” the Trupe answered with nervous anticipation.

  Cain raised his glowing left hand to the top of the Trupes head, and with a soft caress, brought it down to the back of his skull, before making a tight grip. “This pleases me,” Cain whispered into the Trupe's ear.

  The Trupe's eyes rolled back and his mouth opened wide, as the glow from Cain's hand moved down over his head, continuing to his chest and lower body. Cain was feeling some relief from the demands of the ring as the man's life energy was absorbed, when he felt another familiar sensation of travel to the dark realm.

  *** Cain could see the remnants of the Trupe’s life energy, but the flow of energy was not being absorbed into the ring. Instead the energy was streaming away to a distant form in the darkness. A crackle of lightning overhead, followed with a distant rumble of thunder, highlighted the dark form Cain recognized as Kyrios.

  “You would take from me, what is MINE?” Cain accused.

  “You would deny your God that tribute which is without question MINE?” Kyrios argued in return.

  “This ring has been for your benefit--NOT mine! You have been taking from me all this time?” Cain continued his accusation.

  “You could never withstand the full extent of the life energy. Out of my grace, I have allowed you to sample the nectar of the Gods--”

  “You are no God!”

  “How dare you insult the one true God of this universe! I alone saved your pitiful existence from a pit of despair and eternal anguish! And I, alone, can return you--” In that same instant, Kyrios stood before Cain, and a dark crystalline spire protruded from his chest toward Cain. Cain caught the spire in his right hand.

  “You presume belief you may stop me?” Kyrios's voice bellowed, as another dark crystalline spire jetted out from his chest toward Cain. Again, Cain grabbed at the second spire with his other hand, holding both from entering his chest.

  A thunderous boom echoed from the distance, that Cain soon realized sounded more like deep cynical laughter, as a third dark crystalline spire grew slow and methodical from Kyrios's chest. The spike, aimed at Cain's forehead, stopping a mere centimeter before making contact.

  “What will you do now?” Kyrios mocked Cain. “You are no match for me. I can, at will, dispatch you as I did Li.”

  “Li?”

  “Oh, did I fail to inform you?” Kyrios brought his tone of voice down to a deep, foreboding sarcasm. “I have done in one swift moment, what you have failed to accomplish over a very lengthy and wasted period of time--I destroyed Li!”

  “She was not yours to destroy!”

  “Everyone and everything is MINE to destroy,” Kyrios stated with supreme authority. Cain noticed a jagged white ring on Kyrios's chest, like a scar. In an instant, he understood the meaning. “She hurt you--she BROKE YOU!”

  “I allow this blemish to exist merely as a badge of honor to my action sending her to oblivion,” Kyrios argued. “As I will with you!”

  “You can be hurt--you're fallible. You're damaged--”

  “Do not presume you have any power over me! You are as insignificant as a grain of sand, compared to my power in this universe. You are nothing without me.”

  “You NEED me!” Cain argued.

  “I need NO ONE!” Kyrios bellowed. Again his voice echoed into the distant darkness.

  “You need ME to access the Light Realm! Without ME-you are powerless to get through the wall--”

  “You have no understanding of my power and my position over your very existence.”

  “THEN END THIS NOW!” Cain shouted and waited as Kyrios said nothing more, only a low rumbling of distant thunder rolled into the black. Without warning, the ends of each of the three dark crystalline spires grew out into needle-like appendages, each entering Cain's chest and forehead at once.

  The pain was beyond compare, and Cain screamed with all of his existence. In that same instance of Cain's contorted grip, he felt all three dark crystalline spires shatter. Cain could never have imagined the inhuman howl that followed before all went black.

  *** Jenai projected a holographic map of the one hundred and six detention centers into the middle of the room. Junk found himself standing in the middle of the map and scurried out of the way.

  “Where are we now?” Grafter
asked. Jenai highlighted the facility and zoomed in until all that was visible was Detention Center, Twenty-three.

  “Detention Center, Twenty-three is also the site location for regional craft maintenance,” Jenai explained.

  “Those things out there?” Junk asked, looking out into the large space below. Jenai turned on the overhead lighting above certain locations, highlighting specific craft in the hangar bay. With the exception of a couple of small craft directly below, the rest were very large. Junk pointed and counted. “I'm counting eight--including these two below,” he concluded.

  “That is a correct assessment,” Jenai answered.

  “Is there a map of the facility itself?” Grafter asked. Jenai changed the view of the holographic projection to include a visible underground display. Grafter could see far more than what they had explored earlier. “What are these other spaces?”

  “Mechanical rooms, waste treatment, environmental control and storage,” Jenai listed, as she highlighted the areas in turn.

  “Zoom out to the next closest facility, please,” Grafter asked.

  Jenai complied, keeping the underground projections visible. “Detention Center, Thirty-five, eighty-three kilometers, north-northwest.”

  Grafter felt a little confused. He was certain he understood Corporate’s numerical system, and the next closest detention center was not anywhere near the number of their current location. “Explain the numbering of the sites?”

  “I do not understand your request?” Jenai replied.

  “The number of the next closest detention center is not sequential?”

  “No. The sites are numbered in the order of construction, not location,”Jenai explained.

  Grafter was unable to find any paths between the two sites; however, he noticed what appeared to be a long tunnel system connecting the two detention centers underground. “There is only an underground path to Detention Center, Thirty-five?” Grafter asked.

  “The maglev tunnels are not pressurized, but the maglev transports are pressurized for personnel transportation between sites. Transport beam systems were determined to be cost prohibitive on the originating contract.”

  “Pressurized?” Junk asked.

  Grafter had a realization based mostly from a distant memory from the entity, Cain. He walked over to a portal looking out. “The moon has no air, Junk. We can't walk between the detention centers.”

  “Well--how are we going to walk home?”

  “There will be no walking home from here, Junk,” Grafter answered, as he stared out of the portal, onto the barren landscape.

  *** Once Cain realized the obnoxious, incessant screaming in his ears was that of his own voice, he stopped. The silence that followed was comparable to the darkness that surrounded him--complete. Even the constant pounding of his own heart, and sound of air rushing in and out of his lungs were gone. His own thoughts seemed so loud, as though he were still shouting. This was complete and utter silence, surrounded by complete and utter darkness.

  After an undetermined amount of time, the strain to see anything at all was relieved by a gradual shift in the blackness to a lighter gray, changing to color and even shapes. He looked down at his hands and to his amazement the ring on his left hand was gone--only a glow remained as a reminder. While the thought of the ring being gone passed through his mind, his

  surroundings began to take precedence. This place was like none he had ever seen.

  The floor was of a polished marble, that appeared more like mirrored glass. The walls were the same, yet glowed of shifting colors, and two rows of large pillars reached up to a tremendously high ceiling that looked more like a universe of stars. At the far end were two very large ornate doors.

  No--that is not correct, he thought. I have seen something like this before.

  Of course you have, a voice answered, as though hearing his thoughts. Cain turned to see a figure standing next to him, in a flowing white gown, long silver-gray hair and the most captivating facial features that he felt compelled to stare at at length. The figure was not threatening, yet he felt an air of authority.

  “I do not know you,” Cain said combative, although he soon felt his agitation slip into a calm to which he was not accustomed. “Who are you?”

  I am called by many names. Tutela-Anima, Guardian, Watcher, Teacher--which would you prefer?The entity's voice seemed musical, feminine, and yet masculine in demeanor.

  Cain had memories from Dravon's past, that described a 'Gate Keeper' to the after life. Only with his favorable judgment were the dead able to pass on to the other side. But Cain had seen the reality of the Dark and Light Realms, and death was no prerequisite for either of those places. “Am I dead?”

  Death has nothing to do with place as well...

  “Are you a God?” Cain asked.

  I make no such claims...

  “Then you are not going to pass judgment?”

  Who am I to be judge or pass judgment on another? Only you can pass judgment upon your own decisions and actions, as only you would be accountable for each, within your own path...

  “My path? What is my path?”

  That, which has led you here...

  “You speak in circles! What is this place?”

  A decision...

  Cain felt his agitation rise, and once more quickly subsided to a peaceful calm realization as he glanced over at the two large doors at the far end of the long glass-like room. “I am to decide whether or not to go through those doors?”

  That would be your choice...

  “Because I'm here at this time, I should be going through those doors, now?”

  Again, that would be your choice...you are here now, because your path has brought you here, you must follow your path as well as your heart...but know this, being here does not dictate the choice to pass through, at this time...

  “Do you believe I should go through those doors?”

  That choice is not up to me, whether I believe or not...I have seen your heart--your desires...you have experienced life, and in many forms...but only you can know if you are ready and make the choice to move on through the doors...

  “What lies beyond those doors? The Dark Realm? Light Realm?”

  Those doors lead far beyond the realms of light or dark...

  Cain felt conflicted. This decision was hard to understand. He had so much more to accomplish. He was only mere moments away from taking his rightful position as supreme leader among all of Corporate and possibly beyond. He had proven to himself, beyond a doubt, that Kyrios could be hurt, thus defeated. Where there is a flaw, there is weakness that can be exploited. Even the crystalline wall guarding the Light Realm was scarred with his touch. Soon he would be strong enough to break through. The realms were ripe for the taking. This was, without a doubt, his time. “The decision is mine alone?”

  Your path is yours alone to choose and follow...

  “This path I am on--it is the correct path for me?”

  That claim can be made by no other...If you feel this path to be correct, then no other can argue...

  “So I am judge of my own actions?”

  Judgment is yours alone...

  “Then I AM a God!”

  I make no claims, no assumptions, no arguments...I pass no judgment...

  “When I am ready to make this choice, I am allowed to return?”

  That too, is a decision only you can make...

  “I have no idea where this place is, how will I find my way here?”

  You found me once before without looking...how much easier will it be, when you seek me with purpose?

  “What is your purpose here?”

  To give guidance to the questions where your heart already knows the answers...

  Cain was convinced, now more than ever, his actions and desires were all validated. The doors to beyond were not the direction he desired. Conquering Corporate and then the realms--that was his destiny, his path, his choice--his desire. “You said I've seen this place? I believe I
have seen someone here--”

  Yes...

  “But--I've never been here before,” Cain argued. Part of you has...

  *** Damus stepped into the crystalline chamber Li had made, to find Novia facing away, kneeling in the center next to a folded pile of Li's clothing. She was covered with dust and dirt from a long day’s search of several passages.

  “We've searched as many of the main passages as we could, including several smaller ones--still no sign.” Damus spoke softly, regretting every word of his report. “We will continue again tomorrow.”

  Novia made no sound but he could tell, as her chin sunk to her chest, she was not taking the news well. Damus knelt down from behind, and caressed her shoulders with a gentle touch of his hands. “We will leave no passage unchecked. At first morning light, I will also be sending two groups of our most senior hunter-trackers to search outside.”

  Novia remained quiet, but did offer a slow nod, and reached back to her shoulder, with a hand on his, to show her appreciation.

  “Have you eaten yet?” Damus asked. Novia shook her head, continuing her distant stare down toward the pile of clothes. “You will need to keep your strength and eat,” Damus counseled with care to be polite. After all, though she was young, she was still the Pe'Atchdi of Clans. He sat down facing her and could see the dirty-wet streaks on her cheeks, betraying the strength she felt the need to project. Even Damus felt his eyes well up at the sight and he took her by the hands. “She will be--”

  “I let her down,” Novia interrupted.

  “No--don't say that.”

  “I promised to protect her...I let her down!” Novia tried

  to look away, but Damus gently turned her face back towards him. “Look around you, Novia. She did this...she made this place. Many of the tunnels and passages have evidence of her touch as well. Li is strong--very strong! Very special--”

  “I should have spent MORE time with her and the Rings and her teachings.”

  “You shouldn’t believe that.”

  “I should have been here with her--then I could

  have--”