by Bruce Burk
“We need to get it back to Clark to translate it,” John said.
“No. I can read it for you,” Fysi said. “How ... do you know this language?” John asked as the group looked at him with surprise. “It is an ancient language, but it is not unknown or unspoken. It is hidden deep within the consciousness of every person who’s ever lived. It is soul speak. I didn’t learn it, I simply just ... remembered how to speak it,” Fysi explained. He took the branch and read it aloud to the group:
“Preserve the Earth. Prevent the destruction of the planet by external natural or unnatural threats. Uphold the ozone layer. Preserve all natural processes which sustain life on the planet. Preserve all naturally occurring seeds, animals and biological life. Preserve liquid water. Maintain a natural balance of habitat for wild animals. Maintain a connection to nature. Conserve energy. Preserve life on other planets. Find a new Earth.”
The rebels sat in contemplation of the laws before them. They thought of the planet differently that day. John realized for so long that he had used things without any regard for the consequences it had on the Earth. He had used fossil fuels tons of times. He assumed that the planet had enough and never really saw it as his job to maintain the earth’s resources. He never considered his energy usage in the context of the planet's resources. He suddenly felt selfish. Like somewhere, there was a tiny hole in the Earth that he had himself put there. Fysi handed the branch to John.
“I trust that you will find the rest John Shepard. Please hurry. I fear the planet time is running out,” Fysi told John. Outside the temple, and near the shore of the island, some of the natives had ridden horses to the beach to go fishing. He was finally feeling better. Just as he pulled a fish out of the water, he heard a noise coming from up ahead in the distance. “Oh great,” he said. He could see drones and boats up ahead in the distance heading towards the island. “Come on, we have to warn the others,” Gavin said as he quickly jumped on his horse and road towards the village. He leaped over branches and rustled leaves as he galloped as horse as fast as it could. He finally came to the village. Many women and children were out, picking berries. The elders were congregating in the center and everything seemed normal. Gavin rode past the tents. “The One State is coming! The One State is coming!” he yelled. The men grabbed their spears and primitive weapons. The elders led the women and children into an underground hideout.
Back in the Iam Temple, John spoke to his father, “Did Grandfather ever tell you about the Knights of the Living Earth?” John asked. “I knew some things. I started to suspect things when he was gone for long periods of time; always writing on those small pieces of paper. But I never really wanted to be a part of it,” his father said. “I thought some parts of it to be at odds with my faith. After all son, we are not to build structures of order in this life, but prepare for the next. God will be the judge of these people. I raised you to be a man of faith, of principle, not to be some sort of shadow assassin defying the principles of scripture,” he said. “Father you don’t understand. The world is different now,” there aren’t any more Bibles! I had the last one! I lost it to the One State! I'm the leader of the Knights of the Living Earth,” John said. “Son! How could you betray the cross like that? How many people have you killed? You have blood on your hands,” Jack said. He ripped open John’s shirt. “And your cross! You don’t even wear it anymore.” John replied, “God has betrayed me Father. He betrayed the Earth. I don't believe in him anymore.” John's father looked at him with such concern—with such disappointment, like his soul had been wounded.
“Father, I promised Grandfather in his last moments that I would find these branches and that I would defeat the One State. If I do that in the name of Christ or in the name of the Knights of the Living Earth, I will still honor my promise. That is all I want. It is all I know. I don’t want to believe in a God who would let everything he said be erased from the planet,” John said. “I don’t even know you anymore,” his father said. Suddenly a large sound blasted the ceiling of the temple and several rocks fell from the ceiling. The Temple started shaking from multiple blasts.
CHAPTER 19 – SOUL SPEAK
Gavin contacted John through their comlink, “John, they found us. The OSS will be on the island in minutes,” he said through the distortion. “Tanks! Drones! The One State is coming,” he shouted “Quick, we have to get to the village,” John yelled. The Temple continued to fall apart around him. The rebels ran through the temple. The ground started falling apart under their feet. They hopped from one stone pillar to another, leaping with the faith they had come with. Suddenly, Jack and Sophia both fell through the stone floor. John grabbed a hold of both of their arms. “I got you,” he said to both of them. “You can't pull us both up,” his father said. “The hell I can’t,” he responded as he reached deep within himself. John filled with adrenalin. John's face turned bright read and he struggled, pulled and threw his father and Sophia onto the ground behind him.
“Come on,” we have to get out of here. Finally, they made their way out of the Temple before it collapsed. John picked up Fysi and put him on his back. The drones rained blaster fire onto the forest floor and put him over his shoulder. The trees were shattering into woodchips around them. The One State’s mighty robot army finally came to the shores of the island. There were robot tanks on wheels that had moving arms with blasters for hands. There were balls that blew up when they arrived. There were OS troopers inside mechanical armor that tripled their size. There was insect shaped artillery that lit up the sky. Several drones followed Gavin is he galloped through the forest. They fired multiple shots, nearly missing him and damaging the forest as he rode through. “Come and get me! Come and get me!” he said. Clark sat in the underground hideout with the elders. He peaked his head out of a lookout point and fired his EMP into the sky. Several of the spy drones overhead fell to the ground. However, the smaller attack drones seem to be unaffected. He filled the room with his holo-gram hacking formulas and data fields. The tribal women and children watched in awe.
John rushed with the others back to the village. He withdrew his matter sword quickly as a blaster shot came hurling towards Fysi’s head. John caught the beam and sent it flying back into the drone, sending it exploding into a nearby tree. He took his blaster in his other hand and shot down several drones flying by near him. Several fighter jets entered the airspace. “Clark, I need an EMP blast right now,” Shepard said. Clark shot the fighter jets from the sky before they could do any damage to the village.
Aiden stuck is head up from one of the tanks. “I’ll find you Shepard,” he said as he looked through the jungle using heat signature finding binoculars. “Clark, see if you can take out some of those tanks too!” John said. Clark tried shooting the EMP at some of the tanks near the shore. “It’s not working. They must be immune to electromagnetic interference,” Clark said. Just then, the One State jammed the Knights’ communications. “Clark! Clark! John cried. But he could hear no response. “Damnit,” John said as he saw more fighters heading towards the village from behind some mountains that were not visible to Clark at his current location.
“You aren’t confound to these electronic systems that you have been wearing,” Fysi whispered into John’s ear. “Speak to him. Speak through the network of information nature has set up. Soul speak,” he said to John. John closed his eyes. He became conscious of the universe around him and within. He reached deep within himself and his soul spoke to Clark’s, “There are two fighters coming from the West,” he said. Suddenly, Clark felt strange instinct to look west. The fighter pilots locked onto the village. Right as they fighters thumb went to press the button, Clark shot the planes down with an EMP blast and they fell into the ocean. Aiden’s tank continued to move forward. The blasts from the drones shook the children in their underground hiding place. Finally, One State forces made it to the village. The dark marines ran onto the beach. John saw them approaching up ahead. He put Fysi into the underground hideout. “Clark we need
you up here,” John said. Clark climbed out and followed John. Just then, Gavin road up on horseback and leaped from his horse is a somersault right next to John and Clark. The rebels took out their matter swords and stood strong between the One State and the sanctuary of nature behind them. The dark marines charged toward them with their blasters. John leaped forward, jumping right in the middle of two marines, cutting them in half. Clark shot some of the tanks on the beach with his EMP.
“The EMP is not working,” Clark said. The tank in front of him blasted the rocks in front of him as he dove out of the way. A dark marine shot Gavin. He absorbed the blast with his matter sword, turned around slowly and whipped it right at the marine’s face. Several drones flew in towards John, shooting several red laser blasts him. He caught the blast and slung it at a marines face, then sliced the drone in half. One of the dark marines jumped on Gavin’s back. They struggled until he flipped him over and stabbed him through the chest. The tribesman came to the aid of the rebellion. They began tossing spears at the OSS’s legs, inflicting a good amount of damage. The OSS shot many of the tribesmen, who were simply unmatched to their skill. Sophia perched herself on the hill and shot several of the OSS officers. One officer turned and aimed strait for her but John quickly threw his matter sword at officer and ran him through. John leaped over another marine, grabbed his sword and deflected several blasts back at them as he dove behind some rock. Gavin saw several of the officers that he knew from being in the military with them.
“Andrew? It’s me. Gavin,” he said, thinking that he would see him and stop shooting. “Freeze terrorist!” He said instead. John could see the read in his eyes, the shell of his former friend. “What happened to you?” he said to himself, looking at his strange red eyes. His former friend jumped on him trying to kill him. “Stop! Stop! You give me no choice!” he said. Regretfully, Gavin killed his old friend and his lifeless body fell to the ground. He stared into the red eyes that remained that way even after death It was clear he was consumed by the One State. Many of their tribal assistants fell to the OSS. Several more ships arrived with more dark marines.
John ran through a line of OSS officers stabbing one through the stomach. Another one shot at him and he reflected the blasts onto three guards simultaneously. The tanks fired at him and he dove over the blast and threw his matter sword into the tank, disabling the firing mechanism and killing the dark marines inside of it. A very large dark marine came up to John from behind and slammed him to the ground. He struggled to get back up. The dark marine aimed quickly for John’s head. Suddenly, Jack drove a spear into his back. His father helped him up. Several of the OSS officers grabbed Jack and pulled him away from John.
“Father!” he cried. “There are too many of them. We have to fall back!” Gavin said as he sliced through two of the OSS. “Retreat!” John ordered. The remaining tribesman and the rebels began running through the jungle. The One State rained fire upon the village, destroying every tent and hut they had constructed. Hundreds of male soldiers lay dead on the jungle floor. A storm began to brew as Aiden and his men stormed through the rubble, rushing after the rebels. The winds picked up and lightning filled the sky. John spotted Aiden from far away. Aiden came to a bloodied and broken arrowhead in the ground. He stopped for a moment and picked it up. Looking at the sharp pointed tip, and the texture of the stone from which it was carved.
“Run! Head for the pier!” The Knights and remaining tribesman ran onto a wooden pier that stretched several hundred feet out into the water. “Clark, can you get us out of here?” John asked. “My connections are jammed. I can’t get into the network!” Clark yelled through the wind. The murky water beat up against the old pier. John looked up into the sky again, hoping for a miracle. Aiden and his men came to the end of the pier.
“Give it up Shepard. You have nowhere left to run,” he told John. The rebels inched closer to the edge of the pier. Sophia nearly fell into the water until Clark grabbed a hold of her arm. “Surrender and I will consider letting you live,” Aiden said. “Never,” John said. “Very well, perhaps your friend can be more persuasive,” Aiden said. He brought Jack to the middle of the pier with the arrowhead in his hand. He held the arrowhead to Jack’s neck. “Surrender now or he dies!” Aiden told John. John’s heart leaped into his mouth as he saw his father at the mercy of the One State. “Ok. Let’s just relax for a second,” John said. Jack turned his head to Aiden, “You’ll never win Aiden. Once you crave power for its own sake, you have already lost,” he said. “I forgive you, Aiden,” Jack said. Aiden knocked him in the head with the spear and he moaned in pain. “Just let him go,” your quarrel is with me Aiden. Leave him out of this. “I’m going to count to 3,” Aiden said. “We can work this out peacefully Aiden,” John pleaded. “1.” “Ok, just let me think for a second.” “2.” Just then, Aiden slit Jack’s throat. His limp body fell onto the pier.
“No!” John cried as he tried rushing at Aiden but Gavin and Clark held him back. “Dissent is Treason. Don’t you understand? His blood is on your hands, Shepard. You caused this. You questioned the authority of the One State. You rebelled against the law. Now you face justice,” Aiden said. “You’re just Eidolon’s puppet. You will never succeed. The human soul longs to be free. The more you tighten your grasp, the more you ensure your defeat. We will not surrender,” John said. “So be it,” he replied. With that, Aiden shot John in the chest with his blaster. He shot Sophia. He shot Gavin. He shot Clark. Then, he shot the rest of the tribesman. John’s limp body fell slowly into the murky water below, along with all rebels. They sunk into the dark water. John’s limp face showed pain as he descended into a watery grave. A large wave came towards the pier. Aiden and the OSS retreated to the island as the pier was engulfed and destroyed by the power of the ocean. The water covered the island and displaced all of the inhabitants. Bubbles escaped from John’s nose and mouth as he watched the top of the water move further and further away from him. Several drones fired on the water to assure the rebels were dead.
Suddenly, several gray fins showed themselves in the water heading straight for John and the others. John could see he gray shark-like figures headed straight towards him. The branches in his pockets also fell towards the ocean floor. He had breathed his last breath. He had been drained of all hope and now only awaited death.
CHAPTER 20 - SCIENCE
Bob Loyalist turned on his holo-screen. The state-run news media came on to tell him what was occurring in his world. “We have received a report that several of the terrorist rebel leaders were killed today,” the anchor said. Bob went about the monotony is of his average day. They showed a picture of Aiden at the One State capital. “My marines and team have conducted an operation that have killed the wanted terrorists. Their bodies were buried at sea. Today, the One State is truly secure,” Aiden said. Bob subconsciously gave his approval to his government as he turned off the holo-screen and went to work. When he got to work, he read several message about the database. It seemed that some of the database code during the Unification of Language program had become corrupted. Bob’s job was to go through and read the code and then correct it manually. He never really questioned his job or how what he was doing fit into the larger scheme of things. He spent most of his day looking at pictures on social networks and watching holo-screen shows. They uploaded videos, laughed gossiped, and argued about the lesser forms of the zeitgeist. Like most government jobs in the One State, he was paid more for his loyalty rather than his efficiency. Many of the old Chinese languages did not translate into English. He went through and made sure that any of the corrupted Chinese language that didn’t translate was deleted. Of course, any of the old traditional values contained in the language was also removed. Bob looked over his shoulder and searched for the word truth: Truth: information that comes from and is approved by the One State. There was no longer any separation between the language and the state.
Back in the waters of the destroyed island of Cozumel, the gray figures emerged as a lar
ge group of dolphins. The dolphins came to the aid of the rebels. They swam down and looked at John. They could feel the branches he was carrying. The dolphins attached themselves to the rebels and carried them away from the war-torn island. The sea creatures spoke to one another. Hundreds of swordfish swam towards the group of dolphins. Several strange fish emerged from deep within the ocean to bring healing properties. They touched the wounds of the rebels. Nature itself kissed the cuts on John’s stomach. The swordfish took the rebels from the dolphins and headed east. Several swordfish carried the Knights at extremely fast speeds through the Atlantic Ocean.
John’s eyes fluttered open as a crab walked right passed his face. It was night on the shores of the Old United Kingdom. He slowly picked up his head and looked around. Sophia, Clark, and Gavin had also made it. He walked toward Gavin to check his wounds. They were gone. So were Sophia’s and Clark’s. They rebels coughed up salt water and rose slowly to their feet. John helped Sophia to her feet. “What happened? Where are we?” Sophia asked. “I have no idea,” John said. He looked up at the stars and tried to figure out where he was. Clark began checking his equipment that was mostly destroyed from the saltwater. All they really had was their matter swords, which were not damaged by the water. “Ok. There’s the North Star. Based on the location of the moon and Alpha Centauri, we are in the Old United Kingdom.” “How did we get all the way across the Atlantic Ocean? Did we get put on a ship?” Clark asked. “I find it hard to believe that we were on a ship given that they are all owned and occupied by the OS,” John said. Concerned, he opened the damp Book of Remembering, “The fifth natural law should be here somewhere," he said. Multiple OSS guards marched up ahead of them. The Knights concealed their faces and disappeared into the shadows of London. The One State marched in formation across Westminster Bridge Road while they watched from afar. Big Ben was dressed with the One State flag and the Parliament was of course just another command center for Eidolon’s minions. The home of the industrial revolution was now one of the largest military industrial complexes in the world.
