The Phugwak planet: A Journey To Another Possibility

by Ayman Ghalit

  With a nervous and fearful voice tone, Mort tried his begging trick, “Please, I swear, we weren’t looking for you. It is an unfortunate coincident that brought us in hear.”

  “Coincident!” Arthur questioned. “Then, why did you stop for too long? ...To be honest, it is impressive for a musty ship like yours to be able to reach this place.”

  “We swear, that we weren’t looking for you.”

  Arthur calmed, looked at them for a brief moment, hummed in questioning thoughts while sitting on his chair, and said, “I truly wish to believe you. But even if I managed to do so, I will never let go of you, for you know where JuMaDA is. Leonard made me the vile one, the traitor, the wicked backstabbing devil. Thus, an unethically fatal move won’t hurt a bit. You are now a threat to my existence; therefore, I have to neutralize you… it is just precaution.”

  “No one believes Leonard’s claim,” faintly, said Carl.

  Arthur swiftly raised up his right eyebrow, turned to Carl, and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Most of the people do not believe the media, nor do they believe the bounty posters. They see you as the honest Hero. The one who sacrificed everything for the sake of peace. You destroyed the gold planet to prevent a potential war that would have been ignited again between the Virgo and the Mother. Were it not for you, the humanity would have kept bleeding for ages. The people in general, admire and respect your courageous decision.”

  Arthur paused for a moment, looked at Hunfried and Ulz who were barely holding their breaths, then they burst out laughing. Carl, who was confused and feeling a bit embarrassed, asked, “Why is the laughter?”

  Ulz said while still chuckling, “Well, thank you for the laughter. I didn’t laugh like that for a long time in this useless scrap heap.”

  With a serious tone, Carl replied, “It wasn’t a joke! It is the truth, you are the Hero.”

  While his smile slowly fades, Arthur, who lent back on the chair, gazed at the ceiling, nostalgically exhaled, and said, “We are not heroes. We were not in the past, nor are we now, and surly will never be in the future. The truth is, we are nothing but approved criminals. Fools given the green light to kill. We sought fame by blood and we ended up drowning in it.

  “No, you are the Hero.” Carl insisted.

  “No, kid. I am nit... If you want the whole story, then I shall deliver it to you... When I was a kid, I was surrounded by innocent dreams that reached beyond the universe. We were in a family trip with my father, William; who was a military General back then, to Planet Gathrus in the Elephant Tusks Solar System. It was a long and tiresome trip, but my father said that he knows a route which will shorten the distant to a nearby military wormhole. He took the route, and in the middle of it, my father stopped for us to dine and enjoy the view of an astonishing nebula that was so magical through a child’s eyes. And while my family were eating, I was bouncing from a window to another to questionably gaze upon the dark universe, asking myself, “Where is up, and down? What If I fell, am going to hit the wall? The universe walls?” And while I was still gazing, I noticed a black circle that disturbed the glittering-stars pattern. I thought it was a black hole at first, but I asked myself ‘why isn’t it pulling us yet?’ I rushed and told my dad about it, but he didn’t care. Rather he felt bothered saying, “Fasten your seatbelt, son. We are moving.” I realized that it was a planet. Dark, because it is too far from any light source. An orphan planet that belongs to no solar system. Free from any gravitational force. A lonely planet that heedlessly floats free in this obscure universe... And when we returned to Earth, I was fully curious as I searched in the network about a planet that belong to none. I discovered that there are lots like it, but I didn’t find any clue that leads me to that one in that particular location. And after a while, I lost interest...

  I grew up, and followed my father’s path in the military. I do confess that I was privileged, and was in a unique place to easily dig my way up to become a space battleship captain. But regardless of that, I was truly determined, disciplined, and one with strong will. We struggled in every battle against the Virgo. Lots of Commanders were forced to resign after their shameful defeat. That cleared the path for me; from a powerless lieutenant, a battleship captain, a fleet commander, till I reached my dream of becoming the captain of JuMaDa, the flagship in Fading Stars Battle! *sighed* To be honest, the main reason that made them chose me amongst lots of Generals whom were much older and more experienced than I am is that most of them rejected and refused the offer, for it was nearly impossible to achieve victory in that specific battle. But we managed to achieve a jaw-dropping victory, thanks to the cunning mind of Ulz. We also stained their flag by capturing their commander, Tahbert the Black, alive. It was too bad for him, for we were blinded by anger, and were spinning down in a vortex of vengeance and hate. I tried to convince Hunfried to spare him, for it is a sordid and unethical act, but utterly deaf his ears were, and vengeance was clearly sparking from his hard eyes... Celebration spread along the Mother Empire after that. Attention, deafening applauding, blind cheering, and fancy banquets and dinners with arrogant imperil figures became... stressfully frequent. Lots of new born babies named after me! *pityingly chuckled* It was nice, but I was dying from the inside. I wished so hard to cry out loud in their deaf ears, “It is a lie!”

  “What do you mean?” curious Carl asked.

  “It was a lie. Just as I told you before. We are nothing but criminals. Fools who were ready to squeeze the trigger to kill. Saddled and blindfolded donkeys for Leonard’s and his retinue’s loathsome and possessive rapacity.”

  Carl, whom his tongue stuttered in disbelieve, said, “That’s... that’s not true.”

  “It is …and it was clearer than day, but shortsighted I was, and little did I thought that it might be the other way around. That we are the wrongdoers! We were fighting only for Leonard’s colonial ambition. Fighting to further his sovereignty. I, Hunfried, and Ulz swore to each other when we were still soldiers that we will only fight and rebel Evil. Our goals were all honest and pure, mostly concerning the establishment of the galactical peace that yet couldn’t be achieved! Pity, indeed. It was so clear, but we were deafened by the endless news that being poured in our ears day and night. News claiming that we are the good guys. It was so repetitive it made me think it was impossible for us to be wrong. But how heedless I was! We discovered that the main reason for most of the battles against the Virgo was a strategic wormhole that will instantly deliver you to the Python Eye Solar System. And if you manage to use your brain and connect the dots, you will find that the war against the Python Eye started after the controlling of that wormhole. And the main reason for the war against the far, faraway Python Eye is the discovery of a solar system that contain three gold planets!

  Henriette, because it was his expedition that discovered the solar system, is the rightful owner of them. But Leonard’s greedy-rich advisors told him that it is too critical for the wealth he amassed to leave Henriette take it all!

  Happiness devoured me when I heard that Henriette wiped them all. I did joyfully smile, and sincerely wished to personally express my gratitude to him... But, Leonard, that sneaky sonofabitch, managed to destroy all the golden planets, leaving Henriette empty handed. That’s why he agreed to unconditionally withdrawal.”

  Arthur paused silent for moments, then he heaved, and went on, “Haunting nightmares visit me in sleep. Nightmares that reminding me of that battle. The sight of the countless dead bodies calmly floating is space, were… dreadful. And what is more dread than that, is knowing that you are one of the main reasons for it. More than 20 million humans died in that battle which lasted only for seven Earthily hours!”

  Ulz calmly added, “They say most of the bodies had been pulled by the gravitational force from a Saturn-like planet. And now they are stuck in one of its narrow rings. Endlessly rotating its orbit alongside with small rocks and dust... indeed, I do pity the dead.”

  Hunfried inhaled and exhaled wha
t he smoked, and replied, “One must not pity the foolish.”

  Remorseful flashbacks made Arthur gnash his teeth, then he went on, “Exalted by our number and might, we went wrongfully astray. O! The gruesome flashbacks are coming. I can’t get rid of it... Most of the dead were young, naive, enthusiastic, miss leaded, and fools. The only thing that Leonard did to saddle them up is by giving a deceiving pastor and a hypnotizing nationalist a podium to publicly and relentlessly roar negative and false accusation toward the Virgo. And it was a matter of time for the religious and the patriotic fanatics to gather up and heedlessly jump in the fight.”

  Arthur let a faint pitiful chuckle, saying, “I thought that I am the one who will bring this galaxy to peace! How foolish I was. You must have heard about the backstabbing story regarding Julia, ruler of the Griffin Empire, no?”

  “Yes, I did,” Carl answered. “They say he didn’t take back what she falsely took because he loves her.”

  They all sarcastically cackled for a moment, Arthur responded, “Did you take a good look at Julia’s face? That saggy hag surly need ironing. Besides, Leonard loves his wife more than anything. That the only undoubtful merit in him, and you got to give him that… The true reason is that he lost it to a card game. He and Julia were gambling on solar systems! That’s why he didn’t bother to take them back. Let that sink in for a while.”

  “He can’t do that!” Confusingly, Carl said

  “Solar systems are vast,” Ulz responded, “It is false and arrogant to say that you own or even partially control one, let alone 35 systems! Insignificant we are compared to a mountain, so what gives us the right to arrogantly claim Earth’s dominion and devour the others? The solar systems Julia took were in no good for Leonard, for he sent, before betting on it, lots of expeditions to search for any useful planet, but it all returned empty hands. So, he bet on them hoping to win a solar system that contain a planet covered with water from Julia who bet on it. But little did he know that she was a one cunning crone.”

  Hunfried asked, “And what prevent him from doing so? He is an absolute authoritarian ruler after all.”

  Arthur went on, “All the things that happened around us were a lie. Everything is a lie. We thought that we are the honorable knights who warden the realm. But, nay. And though, I indeed knew the ultimate plain truth, but I couldn’t summon the courage to fight them or at least abandon my position in disapproval. Depressed and feeling backstabbed, I was. I started to wonder if anyone besides me is aware of what is happening. And when I looked twice, I saw them all accepting this reality. Thus, I decided not to shoulder it all alone. Even if I did, it won’t change a bit. I just swallowed the fact, and followed the blindfolded hordes, saying, “Care not, Arthur. This is how things normally goes... I tried to live as a normal person again, but it is a wish every true soldier won’t achieve.

  Days past as my life became vacant and tasteless. I was feeling completely empty with nothing left to do. And once, when I was sitting on my couch, and while heaving boredom, I succumbed to slumber. Then, I dreamt about that planet, that orphan planet that I saw when I was a child. I cared not at first, but I dreamt about it again, and again, and again! I felt as if it was calling me, saying, “Don’t forsake me!” This dream became oddly so repetitive. For that, I couldn’t help but to propose a request to take JuMaDa for an expedition mission for that planet. I was certain that Leonard will reject the idea and give me a smaller ship. But surprisingly, he agreed saying that it would be shameful to refuse my request, adding that JuMaDa need to stretch its mussels! ... I asked Ulz and Hunfried to accompany me, and as dear friends, they agreed without a second thought, and without knowing it might be the last mission as ‘Heroes.’ We’ve searched for about an earthly week, but we didn’t find it. The crew spirit started to decay, and the chatters began to say that I might be crazy. We kept searching, but nothing did we find. I said to myself “Maybe it was my imagination?” But I was certain that my eyes didn’t lie to me back then. We kept searching, and after two earthly days, we found that lonely planet at last!

  A sudden flow of curiosity that coursed inside me, made me feel a cramp in my belly. Excited and tempted I was when we discovered that it is a telluric planet! Feeling akin to that with a treasure-hunter who sweeps by his metal detector an ancient ruin and suddenly hears the ‘Bleep.’

  I informed the high authority, who weren’t excited about it. I took another permission to land a probe in there and examine its nature. They granted me that, and I did. We studied it, and found it slightly bigger than Earth’s moon, harsh in nature, freezingly cold due to the lack of any heat source, and is spinning fast; it would take it four earthly hours to take a full spin around itself. Its rotation was in the opposite direction of Earth. And what dropped our jaws in disbelieve is that we found it a gold planet! A golden planet! The dream of every space traveler, was in our hand. I couldn’t believe this news that made my hands shake in denial. We checked it again, and all the results were showing that it is completely covered with gold! I ordered some of the crew to descend and ascertain the probe, for we must cut all the doubts suggesting that the probe might be in error. I didn’t think that there will be much volunteers, for it was a risky journey concerning how cold it was down there. But gold did its magic, and provided me with more than a hundred persons, ready to take the risk!

  By the pincer S4100x, we managed to decelerate the planet rotation to about 20% of its speed, and we did adjust its atmospheric pressure to a point that calmed its stormy winds. Later, we sent six men who went and retuned with widened eyes and large smiles on their faces. Carrying with them, gigantic pure golden ores!

  Joy and delight became our default feelings when we undoubtfully confirmed that. Feelings akin to the feelings of that treasure-hunter who carefully began unearthing the bleeping spot to find an ancient golden artifact that none had beheld before.

  Promising expatiation and assured dreams that definitely will happen accompanied the crew, and finger-biting regret struck the hearts of those who declined my expedition request after hearing the news. Leonard personally contacted me to appreciate my find. I noticed how happy and content his voice was when he joyfully said to me, “You are the man, whom the wombs will fail to deliver his equal!”

  And with a big smile on my face, I daydreamed about retiring from the military, faking my own death, changing my identity and some of my facial feature, getting married, traveling from planet to another, and quitting this madness once and for all without looking back. It was not just me, every crew member started to dream, for we were resting assured that money will shortly flow in our pockets. But, Leonard, that loathsome, distorted, sneaky, and greedy sonofabitch had a different plan. I received a call from a dear friend saying that Leonard will only going to promote me, and give me ten million Sez. And aught is what the crew member will have! I couldn’t believe this at first, but I managed to confirm it true. I felt a dark mist of rage, hate, and anger clouding in my chest. Feeling akin to that treasure-hunter who have been expecting much from those who he trusted, but instead, they backstabbed him and took what he restlessly unearthed.

  I couldn’t hold my temper, so I cursed Leonard in front of high-ranked members. Cursing him considered treason, therefore death is its swift punishment. But they nodded in agreement and cursed him as well. A questioning silence followed after as we paused for a moment, looked at each other’s, and somehow, we understood our minds. We have decided that relinquishing our rights will never be an outcome. We agreed to oppose and defy Leonard by any means necessary till he gives us what’s ours. We said to him that every crew member must ‘handsomely’ benefit from the golden planet. But Leonard declined the request and ordered us to return. I refused, saying you must publicly agree on our request. Tenacious he was, as he gave us 10 hours to return, but I assured him that it won’t happen till he gives us what we said. Then, that dear friend of mine, called me again saying that it won’t happen. And Leonard’s had considered you a treasonous for your r
efusal to obey his command, and had sent a fleet to take JuMaDa back and bring you to the military court. I knew from my first refusal that he won’t let it go unpunished. I told that crew about what happened and they all agreed to stick to their rights no matter what it takes. I sat on this particular chair, looking to what was beyond the window. The dark planet that I believed in its existence since I was a child is going to be taken from me. My hands were shaken in indecision as JuMaDa’s radar started to detect the incoming fleet. It is not just the planet that will be taken from me. It’s my hopes, my legacy, my freedom, and… my life.

  A strange flow of calm accepting feelings embraced me. I sighed out fear, smiled, and said, “If it going down the drain, then let it be you who flush.” I commanded the crew to prepare, for we will do the unforgivable deed. He who doesn’t want to be part of this, is free to go and will never be blamed, nor judged. Nil, was the number of those who refused to leave.

  We took a safe distant, aimed Ender; the plasma cannon, toward that planet, and awaited my order. I looked at it for a moment, and waved my hand bidding it and my dreams a last sorrowful farewell. One cannon dart was enough to penetrate through the planet surface to its core. Turning it to a blazing sphere. Exquisitely victorious feelings gave me goosebumps that spread throughout my body when I witnessed it frighteningly explode and scatter. I was able, by JuMaDa’s lightspeed, to chase its scenery and behold it rive and scatter over and over again... Though, it was truly a sad moment, but strangely, it was relieving at same time! Knowing its fate is way better than drawn in doubt and remorse. *sadly sighing* Augh, why am I even bothering myself telling you this? You won’t feel how awful it is to witness your hopes and dreams getting killed and abducted.”