Charger Chronicles 3: Charger the God

by Lea Tassie

  Two months passed before Jet said to Abarth, "I have mastered the systems. We can get the Grays onboard now without problems from Dayton's lock-outs, which means we have full control over the ship's systems. I have also finished the neutrino weapon, though I do not intend that we will ever use it. The threat should suffice."

  Abarth responded coolly, "I won't let you down. I'm sure humanity will accede to your demands. We just want them to understand that we are doing this to better them as a people, and to show them that their government is conspiring with science to hold back progress."

  Jet relaxed and pushed his horn-rims onto the top of his head. He understood very well the destructive powers this weapon could wield. Neutrinos had always been accepted as perfectly harmless to life, so small that they almost never interacted with particles of any type.

  What Jet had created was similar to his smart viruses, which were large enough to hold quantum sized brains that provided a limited form of intellect. Here the neutrinos were bonded together to create super-sized neutrinos, still with the ability to pass through any object. By adding a limited form of intelligence to these mutant neutrinos, the weapon was able to target only living bodies, like a smart bomb. The neutrinos would excite the cells of the body, creating friction and heat which vaporized all the moisture. The result was a pile of ash where a human once stood.

  "Did you add the protection code to the weapon as I suggested?" Abarth asked slyly.

  "The weapon cannot be detonated without the code and I'm grateful you suggested I do that." Jet replied, confident that he was the only one who knew the code.

  Jet was a scientist, not a student of human nature, so it never occurred to him that the other two conspirators would look at his work. But Abarth and Spyder rarely missed any information they could use for leverage, so they knew full well what the code was.

  With Abarth taking the form of the Grays' new supreme god, he ordered these monstrosities of blended Dinosaurians and Grays to board the world ship for departure. Excited and mostly out of control, this army rampaged through the interior of the black world and destroyed the beauty of a space once created to please the human eye. In the year-long travel through space, they laid waste to every building and every town, so that when it finally arrived in Earth's solar system, the interior of the world ship was as black as the exterior. This Gray army even made it a point to defecate on any place where humanity once stood, in an attempt to defile the works of man. They had also spent the year working themselves into a frenzy and, when the ship finally made orbit again around New Eden, it took everything Abarth had to restrain and control them.

  When the world ship again dominated the night sky, the reappearance of the moon that New Eden had once enjoyed came as quite a shock to the citizens. The four worlds that circled the sun — Earth, New Eden, Mars, and Ceres — all became aware of its arrival within minutes. At first the moon was welcomed, the people assuming that government computers had managed to return it to its place of origin. Then Abarth's army struck with such savagery and violence that everyone simply panicked.

  The first world to be invaded was New Eden. The Grays poured down onto the surface from transport ships. Slashing and tearing the flesh of frantic citizens, the Grays tore bodies limb from limb in an orgy of violence before finally hitting the one spot on the body which killed the tormented.

  ***

  "This is impossible! I thought people had gained immortality because of the longevity program!" Delliam yelled at his sister Bethillian, as they struggled to stay ahead of the surging mob of frightened city dwellers. Delliam held his younger sister's hand, and they raced down a side street in their bid to escape.

  Bethillian sobbed as the two tripped and stumbled over more broken and shattered bodies, strewn on the roads like toys in a child’s room. "I'm scared," Bethillian cried as she was yanked along by Delliam.

  "Here, in this building!" Delliam yelled as he shoved his sister, almost tossing her small body through the doorway. Bethillian hit the floor with a thud and, scrambling to her feet, kept on running. The two dashed down the hallway and then up stairways, climbing until they reached the roof. The sounds of violence faded behind them.

  The two were panting for air, but this was an automatic reaction since such response was now unnecessary due to the longevity program. Then they saw a small spacecraft hovering just above them. The two were hiding behind the building's rooftop mechanical units when Dart called down to them, "Here!"

  Bethillian had barely time to glance up as Delliam was already in action. He pulled on her arm, yanking her along as they ran toward the small ship and climbed aboard. Without hesitating, Dart throttled the small craft to full speed to make good their escape.

  "What the hell is happening?" Delliam asked Dart as he fastened his sister into the seat harness.

  "I have no idea, but being here is not safe," replied Dart, as he swerved the small craft between buildings. Several Gray reptoids leapt from windows or roofs, trying to grab the escaping ship, but Dart was quick to react. Time seemed to slow down as he zig-zagged, almost being caught by rabid Grays bent on killing everything.

  They really had nowhere to run. Because war had become a thing of the past, there were no military bases where they could find safety. And, the way things looked, even military bases wouldn't be safe.

  "Where are we going?" Delliam asked as he fastened himself into the co-pilot's seat next to Dart.

  "I was hoping you might have an idea," Dart replied, looking rather frazzled. "I just thought we shouldn't be where we were." The small craft had the appearance of something Henry Ford might have built when the car was a new creation but, for all its primitive features, the tiny craft was well equipped and technologically superior to most of that size.

  It was Bethillian who replied. "We could go to the country house. That might be safe." Her family's country house was not on New Eden, but hidden on a small orbiting rock just a scant few miles across. Sometimes they went there when her father wanted to get away from people.

  "That's a good idea," Delliam replied, confident that the invaders wouldn't be interested in what looked like just a bare asteroid. Not yet, anyway. "I will punch in the coordinates; it shouldn't take us more than a few hours to reach."

  "Sounds fine to me," Dart said as he relinquished control to Delliam. "Any place has to be better than here."

  ***

  Behind the tiny, fast-moving craft, an intense, brilliant light filled the sky. Abarth had used the neutrino weapon from the command center of the world ship, while Jet watched in horror. "What are you doing? You said you wouldn't use the weapon!" Jet stammered, as his body shook violently.

  "I tried to talk to them, but no one answered," Abarth replied as he again pressed the button to unleash the neutrinos. "When they finally did respond, they said they were not interested in listening to you, so I ordered the attack. Then they threatened to retaliate so I used the weapon to let them know you're serious."

  "Stop saying, 'you'!" Jet snapped. He was starting to realize the extent of the calamity befalling the human race. "I don’t think you're doing this for my benefit."

  "That's simply not true," Abarth said, with such sorrow in his voice that Jet felt nauseated, then Abarth again hit the button. "Have I not stood beside you through this whole ordeal? Did I not rescue you from that prison? A prison with a system that unfairly condemned you and your brilliant work?"

  "Yes, but…" Jet tried.

  "Yes, but what?" Abarth placed a hand on Jet's shoulder and, with his free hand, hit the button again. "This is the price humanity must pay for unjustly imprisoning you. You watch, the government will soon relent and then we can go about the process of improving on the human condition." It didn't matter in the least to Abarth that some of the people below him were his devoted followers; he just kept pressing the button and unleashing the deadly neutrinos.

  Spyder stood at the viewing window, smiling.

  Chapter 12 Fighting back

  Dart'
s small craft moved swiftly away from the fighting while the three occupants nervously speculated on what was happening behind them. As they approached the small asteroid where Bethillian's family had a country home, the building and the surrounding gardens responded to their approach. Light, heat, and oxygen all switched on. The feeling of being welcomed home made the three feel a little more relaxed.

  "So, what do we do now?" asked Bethillian, as she entered the home and tossed her coat on a rack.

  "Turn on the interface and let's see if there's any news," Delliam said. He hurried toward the main room.

  The other three worlds reported shocking news, with people standing terrified and unable to act. New Eden was being consumed by the Gray horde as they rampaged out of control. Seeing little resistance, Abarth began sending forces to Earth and Mars. Everywhere, people were too terrified to resist. The only thing humanity could do was to blink out of their planetary system into space.

  The blink system had been designed for the safety of humans and, normally, it would never have allowed people to blink into empty space. But empty space was the only safe option now and so it worked. Millions began abandoning the planets in a desperate bid to survive.

  ***

  "There, you see, I was right! The rats are all running away. Soon the worlds will surrender to you, and then you can go and show mercy," Abarth said confidently, as he turned the weapon on the peoples of Earth and Mars and repeatedly pressed the button. Ceres was not spared, but the crafty nature of the humans who took the form of Dwarves had driven them to hide in their many caves. Abarth assumed they had all run away. The Grays, which soon occupied Ceres, indeed found very few Dwarves to torment and kill.

  ***

  "I wish my father were here," Dart blurted.

  Curious, Bethillian asked, "Who is your father?"

  This caught Dart off guard, for he didn't realize he had spoken aloud. There was a long pause before he answered. "My biological father is the guy that we fought a little over four hundred years ago, the one we sent off into deep space."

  "What? You mean that monster, the guy called Charger R/T? That’s your dad?" Delliam asked in astonishment. The incident with Charger R/T was a vivid piece of history, and people everywhere remembered it.

  Dart realized that he had probably over-stayed his welcome, and cursed the fact that sometimes he didn't know when to shut up.

  "Come to think of it, he would be kind of handy right about now. But I seriously doubt that he would show much compassion," Delliam said.

  "From what I know of him, he does seem to understand us, and history records him as helping. Well, sort of helping." Dart was never very good at defending his father.

  "Seriously? Who was your mother? I mean, really, look at the size of that guy," Bethillian said, not giving too much thought to how her question sounded. "And it's not like he's some kind of superhero type. He might even help the invaders kill us, or get us killed."

  Bethillian did not realize how her words impacted Dart. He always tried to appear as if he accepted what people said.

  "Let's say for a moment we could get to Charger R/T. Do you think you could persuade him to help us?" asked Delliam, as he turned away from the chaos being reported on the view screens.

  "If we could get to him, I'm sure he would help. The problem is that we used the world ship to cast him out and, since that's being used to attack us, there's no chance we could steal it back and go find him," Dart said.

  "Well, we might not be able to get the world ship," Delliam said, "but my father is the guy who modified the blink system we use today. Lately he's been working in a lab on Crest, that’s a planet a few light years from here. It was appropriated by congress a number of years back, chosen for its proximity to its star. It seems that the orbit of Crest and the surrounding planets make it ideal for the type of science my father does."

  "It might be easier to get people to start fighting back than it would be for us to get to planet Crest," Dart replied. As good as the blink system was, that stretch of distance was just way out of reach.

  "Tell him," Delliam said to his younger sister.

  She sat for a moment, then realized what her brother was asking. "Our father comes home from work once a month on weekends to visit us. He has a direct link to Crest from this house and also from our house in the hills above Eur. The scientists created way points on planets in stable orbits and they're used as a way to blink from planet to planet until you get to Crest."

  "So you see," Delliam added, "we do have a way to get to my father, and from there he might be able to help us get to your father. That is, if you're interested in trying."

  "The longer we stay here, the more people are dying. Let's go!" Dart exclaimed. He chose to appear passive at times, but he liked action better than words.

  The three moved to the basement of the house and Delliam entered his father's code to activate the blink system. The distance was so vast that the process of transiting was going to take a few days of travel.

  ***

  Earth was the first to fall, followed by Mars, then New Eden. Ceres appeared abandoned and therefore was of little concern to Abarth. He had won his victory and enjoyed his revenge. Jet was devastated at the great loss of life, and pleaded with Abarth to stop the continuing slaughter by the rampaging Gray mutants. Even with the absolute surrender of the passive humans, the Grays continued relentlessly.

  Those humans who blinked to avoid the fighting had no place to go, and ended up blinking on a one-way trip to nowhere. They found themselves floating in the vast empty void of cold space, unable to return, and not knowing whether they would die or be trapped there for eternity.

  Abarth gloated as he stood before the government council that he had demanded face him now. That council had once imprisoned him and he relished the thought of unleashing his Gray mutants like wild dogs to torment and terrify them. "You see?" Abarth snapped as he repeatedly poked his index finger into the chest of one of the council members. "This is what you get for being passive! I told you that humans had become sheep! I told you that I would be the only one capable of leading us all to greatness! You should have punished the doctor that killed my wife and daughters!"

  One of the leaders stood up. "In all fairness to you, Dr. Mannish is a quack. She clearly had no idea of the medical procedures required by the longevity program, and she should have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However, as the law preventing the prosecution of medical doctors using the experimental procedure had just been enacted, our hands were tied. If it will stop this madness, I can promise you the government will make an exception and prosecute her." The man who offered this was a cowardly little man, a lawyer, and his hopes of swaying Abarth fell on deaf ears.

  "If you truly want to make amends for your transgressions against my family, then feel free to step in front of my neutrino weapon and press that big red button there," Abarth replied in an icy voice, as he pointed to the control panel that fired the weapon. The man looked around nervously, then responded, "If you kill me, then it is unlikely you will get justice from the law."

  Abarth laughed. "I am the law! And what makes you think I want justice? I have already sent troops out hunting for Dr. Mannish. When I find her, she will spend a significant amount of time realizing her mistake. As for you and your kind, I will find my justice in your deaths!"

  Jet watched the madness unfold as he stood by in silence, guilt-ridden and broken in spirit over the deaths of countless millions of humans. He had become death incarnate and was trying desperately to reason this through. He just could not fathom how his great intelligence and willingness to benefit humanity could have led to all this carnage. He stared blankly at the monitors that showed the Grays' campaign of destruction as it went on. Jet finally felt compelled to speak as he witnessed a young woman clutching a child and being savagely beaten, "Abarth, can we stop these Grays now, please? I'm sure we have succeeded beyond anything you dreamed of."

  Spyder looked at Jet in amaz
ement. "What do you care about these people?"

  Then Abarth turned to Jet, annoyed and frustrated at the display of sympathy being shown. He snapped, "As the god is my witness, if you don't stop interrupting me, I swear I will turn my troops on you!"

  Jet was intellectually brilliant but, like most humans approaching immortality, he had become a pacifist. The look on his face spoke volumes. He was an unwilling accomplice and helpless to stop the slaughter.

  Abarth still had need of Jet and, realizing he had crossed the line again, tamped his anger down and tried to soothe the man. "I realize this is difficult for you, but we have to be strong. We cannot allow these mongrels to dissuade us from our righteous course. My faith in you and in god have gotten us this far. If it helps, I will pull back the forces, but if just one of them steps out of line, we must respond with full force."

  Jet was relieved that Abarth was stopping the slaughter. But it was not done soon enough for the woman and her child. The images of their deaths were burned into Jet’s retinas, a picture he knew he would see forever.

  ***

  When Dart, Delliam and Bethillian arrived unannounced at planet Crest's main laboratories, the staff were both alarmed and confused, for their blink system was supposed to have a secure interface. Disassembling human matter and transporting it along a beam of hard light, then reassembling it at a specific location, was not something that was considered easily done. The science behind the blink system was both highly complex and back engineered from the Grays' technology. Alarms rang out as the trio suddenly appeared on the blink pad in the main lobby of the building, sending security forces into overdrive. Aiming exotic weapons, the guards surrounded the trio.

  Delliam exclaimed, "Whoa, hold up there! We come in peace!"

  Bethillian added, "We are here to see my dad, something terrible has happened!"

  One of the guards looked at Dart and asked, "And who are you?"

  "I hope I'm a reassembled Dart, but I'm wondering if I got some of Bethillian's matter mixed up with mine," he replied, without much thought to what he was saying.