Dark Matter

by S. W. Ahmed

  “We studied all your societies, and decided it would be easiest to infiltrate the Aftar first,” Jaegor said, pointing at the Aftarans among the intruders. “You lot were just so gullible and so easy to sway any way we wanted, just as long as we pretended to follow the ways of your ‘Creator’. Then, once we had the Dominion fully in our grasp, we moved to rekindle old wounds between the Aftar and the Phyrax, and between the Mendoken and Volona.

  “We built replicas of Volonan warships, after months of studying their designs in secret. The replicas were identical to the actual ones right down to the last detail, including all weapons systems. We then traveled with the replica ships into the MendokenRepublic, straight from here through consars. We destroyed targets inside the Republic, and came right back here again. The Volona vehemently denied that they had performed the attacks, of course, or that they even had consar technology. But the Mendoken, given their prejudices towards the Volona, didn’t believe them. Their distrust of their age-old enemy just intensified, and led to the beginning of a new war. It was a similar situation between the Aftar and Phyrax, archenemies just waiting for any reason to strangle each other. We simply edged them on towards the battleground.

  “Our goal was to have the Mendoken and Volona, the two more technologically advanced civilizations in the Glaessan, destroy each other completely. With the advanced military technology both of them left behind, we were going to equip the Aftar to easily wipe out the Phyrax. That would just leave the Aftar standing, which for the Masters would be a cakewalk to take care of during their subsequent invasion of your galaxy. Now the task will be harder for the Masters, thanks to your meddling, but it’s of no consequence. In the end, all your societies will be eradicated, the Masters will take over the Glaessan, and my people will finally be free.”

  A period of silence followed, during which Jaegor watched the prisoners. They all seemed far too stunned to say anything. Yes, the plan certainly had been ingenious, and it had worked almost to the very end. He turned his gaze up to the Masters with a look of content on his face.

  Finally, the alien Zemin spoke. “Your thirst for power and domination has turned your people into slaves of your own creations. And now you’re willing to destroy an entire galaxy, with all its civilizations and forms of life, all innocent of your transgressions, so as to gain your freedom? You want others to pay the price for your inexcusable mistakes?”

  “Like I said, we live by the law of the jungle,” Jaegor said. “We are out to protect our own interests, as are you.”

  “I don’t know what kind of jungle you grew up in!” the alien Zemin exclaimed angrily. “But where I come from, the basic law of the jungle is to maintain a perfect balance between all forms of life, from small to big, from weak to strong. Each species lives within its own boundaries and only consumes that which it needs. Nowhere is there any sanction for eradicating another species altogether to suit your own ends, let alone all other species in the jungle!”

  Jaegor was starting to get annoyed, and his patience really was running thin. “Spare me your morality! You have no knowledge of our suffering. I dread to think what your beloved Aftar or Mendoken would have done in our place, or the Volona or Phyrax, for that matter.”

  “Never!” Dumyan cried. “Our way of life and code of conduct would never allow us to be so callous and so incredibly selfish.”

  “Nor would we have ever developed a weapon we could not control,” the Mendoken Sibular added.

  “You lot have no right to judge us!” Jaegor rasped, his face green with anger. “And even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. Whatever you think of us, it will make no difference to the outcome, for the strong shall always prevail.” He pointed at himself and the crowd of Unghans around him. They all began jeering, many of them itching to lunge forward at the intruders with their long snouts.

  Before anybody else could say anything, the Starguzzlers began wailing again.

  “Stop the arguing, and get us our answers now, Jaegor,” the lead Starguzzler said. “We are running out of time.”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” Jaegor thought, clasping his long jaws together in frustration. His reptilian eyes narrowed as he stared at the prisoners, wondering who to torture first if they refused to cooperate, or even kill a couple right away to make a point.

  Chapter 38

  Sharjam stood still, listening intently to Jaegor’s fantastic story about the history of the Unghans and the Starguzzlers. It was incredible to think how low a level of morality and ethics an entire society could stoop to, to do all the things the Unghans had done. He closed his eyes and issued a prayer of thanks to the Creator for always guiding the Aftar along a path of relative enlightenment.

  It was also incredible to think that a small band of reptilians, hiding deep underground on a remote world millions of light years away from his home, held the key to the survival of his people and that of all other species in the entire Glaessan galaxy. And right now, it was up to him and his companions to figure out a way to stop these reptilians from carrying out the inevitable.

  Actually, as he well knew, it was up to just him. He was the only one with enough knowledge of the Scriptures and the enchantments they contained, enchantments whose powers were the only chance he and his companions had to get out of this quagmire.

  Dumyan, it seemed, knew this too, for he was trying to buy as much time as possible by continuously asking Jaegor more questions. Every now and then he was stealing a glance at Sharjam, as if trying to gauge if Sharjam had figured out which enchantment to use.

  Sharjam hadn’t figured anything out, however. He had only brought two scripture coins with him – the Scripture of Faith and the Scripture of War, since those were the only ones he had thought he would need. His mind was racing now, trying to sift through pages and pages of those two Scriptures from memory. But he couldn’t concentrate. Too much was happening around him, too much new, frightful information coming out of Jaegor’s mouth. Enacting an enchantment always required total concentration, patience and careful preparation. He had none of those luxuries at the moment, nor did he even know which enchantment to try.

  As Jaegor’s account came to an end, Sharjam knew he and his companions only had minutes left to live. Now they would be forced to reveal whatever the Starguzzlers wanted to know, and as soon as that was over, they would be blown to bits by those pole-like weapons. He tried his best to calm his mind and his nerves, praying to the Creator to give him strength and guidance. Then he focused his thoughts on the task at hand.

  He thought first about repeating the disappearing enchantment he had orchestrated on Meenjaza to rescue Marc, Sibular and Zorina, but realized it wouldn’t work here in the same way. Not unless he had the time to transport one individual at a time out of here and come back to get the next. No, it would have to be a different enchantment that required him to stay put and send his companions one by one to the surface of the planet. The question remained whether he would have enough time to get everyone out before the Unghans realized what was going on and fired at him, but it was better to save at least some of his companions than none at all. He had never tried such an enchantment before, so he didn’t know for sure how quickly he would be able to get everyone out.

  There was also another issue. It was clear that the Unghans had this so-called transference capability of their own, which they probably regularly used to travel between this settlement and the replica ships in orbit around the planet. That explained why there were no ships parked on the surface, except for the ones Jaegor and his cahoots had used to escape from Bara Dilshai. Jaegor had probably been in such a rush to call this meeting that he had landed straight on the planet, and had then used transference from the surface to reach the underground settlement. Using the same mechanism, some of the Unghans could easily transfer from here to the surface and pursue Sharjam’s companions as they tried to escape. The Unghans could blow the Mendoken scout ship apart before it even had a chance to take off.

 
No, there was only one possible way out. As this realization dawned on him, he began to feel afraid. His thoughts went to Raiha, the one who he had decided to finally propose to if he ever made it back home. The one who he was ready to spend the rest of his life with, regardless of what anyone else thought or said, the one he had finally found again after all these years. He thought about Autamrin, his kind and loving father, who had always protected him and guided him with words of wisdom. He remembered how his father had ruled the Dominion with a just and benevolent hand for so many glorious years.

  Sharjam turned to look at Dumyan, who had just started explaining to the Starguzzlers how he and his companions had gotten here. Dumyan had not given Jaegor the opportunity to threaten coercion, and had instead voluntarily begun talking. Spending a lot of time on details, he was giving a vivid description of how they had followed the escaping Unghans through the consar.

  But Sharjam wasn’t really listening to what Dumyan was saying. His mind was wandering, remembering all the adventures he and his brother had endured since their departure from the cave on Tibara. He could still hear his father’s words of wisdom, saying that their mission together would make them begin to appreciate and understand each other. After all they had been through, Sharjam finally felt he had a brother that he truly loved and a friend he could trust with his life.

  Lastly, Sharjam turned to look at Marc, and was instantly reminded of the reason they were all here. Marc Zemin, an alien from a small, unknown world, was the Sign, the Sign mentioned in the Hidden Scripture who would lead the Aftar to victory over the darkness that had befallen the Dominion. Sharjam and his brother had followed the prophecy to the letter. They had not hastened Marc’s advent, and had not waited upon his arrival.

  And indeed, Marc had not failed them – he had fulfilled the prophecy to the letter. He had lifted the curtain of deception and blindness cast over the eyes of the Aftaran people for so long, and had led them here to the very source of that darkness.

  The Creator’s ways were certainly strange, Sharjam knew, but in the end good did always triumph over evil. The Aftar and the other civilizations of the Glaessan would stand up to the Unghans and put an end to the Starguzzler invasion plan. Sharjam just needed to execute his part of the Creator’s will to make sure that was going to happen. He was an integral part of the prophecy, a key player in the series of events that would lead to victory of the righteous over the unjust.

  As Sharjam realized this, the fear in him subsided and hope took its place. The Creator was always on the side of the righteous, and the Creator was the most powerful of all. The Creator would protect him, in life and in death, and the Creator would also protect the ones he loved.

  Time was running out. Dumyan had just finished answering the Starguzzlers’ questions. As expected, Jaegor was now giving the order to his guards to fire on the prisoners. While everybody’s eyes were focused on Dumyan, Sharjam quietly slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out the scripture coin representing the Scripture of Faith. He held it tightly, feeling its warmth flow to his palm and up his arm. As the warmth spread over his entire body, he suddenly felt a surge of strength. Closing his eyes, he quickly whispered the following verse:

  When evil seizes upon you from all sides,

  When all chances of survival have faded

  Like the light of the sun at dusk,

  Lose neither hope nor faith,

  For through thick and thin shall you be led

  Back into the light of the sun.

  He opened his eyes after uttering the last word, and blew a puff of air in Marc’s direction. Marc instantly disappeared from sight. Without waiting, he blew another puff of air towards Sibular, followed by Zorina, and then the Aftaran soldiers and Mendoken troopers. One by one, they all vanished into thin air.

  Sharjam’s performance was so quick that by the time Jaegor and the other Unghans realized what was going on, only Dumyan was left. The Unghans began screeching in anger, and several of them jumped on Sharjam. They pulled his robe apart with their teeth as he fell to the ground, but not before he had successfully blown out one more puff of air towards Dumyan.

  Dumyan, obviously realizing that Sharjam was in trouble, yelled out in anguish. “Sharjam, wait, don’t…!”

  But it was too late. Dumyan faded away like the others, and was gone.

  The Unghans held Sharjam firmly on the ground, keeping his arms and legs spread apart. Jaegor approached and stood over Sharjam, his face seething with rage.

  “Your dratted magic will get you nowhere in our world, Aftaran!” he hissed. “We can instantly transfer anywhere ourselves, to the surface of the planet or beyond. Your pestilent companions will never escape. They will all be hunted down like prey and killed before they reach your ship. There will be nobody left to come back for you.” He then addressed the Unghans holding Sharjam. “Take the coin away from him. Then let him die a most painful death.”

  Sharjam screamed in agony as the Unghans tore into his flesh with their sharp teeth. They left no part untouched – the stomach, chest, legs, arms, even the head. More and more of the other Unghans in the square crowded around to witness the spectacle and cheer their support for the killers. He could never have imagined such savagery from a species so advanced and intelligent.

  Sharjam tried his best to keep his mind as focused as possible, to shut out all the distractions and the unbearable pain. The Unghans tried desperately to wring open his hand and grab the scripture coin from him, but he kept his fist clenched as tightly as he could. With whatever strength was left in his body, he whispered the next two verses from the Scripture of Faith:

  Should evil engulf you and tear you asunder,

  Still lose neither hope nor faith,

  For the evil shall itself be torn asunder

  By the power of the blessed Scriptures.

  And as the sparkle of life in your heart fades

  Release your burden and rejoice,

  For you are of the righteous and just,

  And forever after shall you find naught but peace.

  Sharjam opened his eyes and stared Jaegor calmly in the face. “Surely the Creator watches over us in life and in death,” he said, and broke into a wide smile. Then he opened his hand and let go of the scripture coin. The coin, now glowing brightly in a golden color, hit the ground with a soft tinkle.

  Jaegor yelled to one of the guards holding a pole-like weapon to fire at Sharjam right away. But before the guard could break through the crowd and even aim the weapon, the scripture coin suddenly exploded with tremendous force, instantly pulverizing the bodies of Sharjam and all the Unghans around him. The shock wave spread to the edges of the underground settlement within seconds, obliterating everything in its path and leaving nothing but a cloud of fire and dust behind.

  The ground shook with ferocity, causing Dumyan to fall onto the dead, frozen grass. He had just magically appeared on the surface of the planet, seconds after vanishing from the underground settlement. He was back in the very clearing from which they had earlier entered into the labyrinth. The others were all already there, dazed like he was. All, that was, except for Sharjam.

  It took a moment for Dumyan’s mind to clear, for him to realize what had just happened. And as soon as he did, he cried out, “Sharjam! What have you done! What have you done!”

  Dumyan couldn’t believe it. He had expected Sharjam to try to initiate some disappearance enchantment, but he had also expected him to come with the rest of the group. The Unghans would have chased them, of course, but at least there would have been a chance for escape. He had not in his wildest dreams imagined that Sharjam would stay behind and sacrifice himself like that. That was not the Sharjam he knew.

  As Dumyan lay there in shock, the ground shook again. The others, all visibly stunned by what had just happened, came close to him.

  “Sharjam…?” Marc began. “What did he…?” His words trailed off. The look of horror and dismay on Dumyan’s face was too obvious.

  “
Ay, he is gone,” one of the Aftaran soldiers said sadly. “May the Creator grant him peace and happiness for eternity.”

  “Surely the Creator watches over us in life and in death,” the other Aftarans added in unison, bowing their heads in reverence for the fallen one.

  But there was no time for mourning. “We must get out of here, Dumyan,” Sibular said in his usual emotionless tone. “The explosion has made the ground unstable.”

  Sibular was right. The ground wouldn’t stop shaking, and the tremors were getting more violent by the second. The explosion had probably ruptured some fault line in the planet’s crust, setting off a series of violent quakes.

  Dumyan heard Sibular’s words, but felt no strength to get up. His mind was filled with the haunting image of his brother being eaten alive by those savage Unghans. He was the one who had hinted at Sharjam to take action. He was the one who had always prodded Sharjam to become more spontaneous and adventurous. He was the one responsible for his younger brother’s death, nobody else. Sharp pangs of pain hit his heart, and his breath grew shallow. He felt like he was drowning in a stormy sea of guilt and regret.

  “Dumyan!” This time it was Zorina, and her voice sounded a lot more urgent than Sibular’s. “We must get out of here! Come on! Now!”

  Dumyan didn’t budge.

  “Dumyan!” Marc cried. “If we don’t get out of here now, then your brother will have sacrificed himself for nothing!”

  Dumyan knew Marc was right. But where was his strength? He just couldn’t move. Then he felt several hands grab him and lift him up. They held him up until he was strong enough to stand on his own, and then pushed him to start walking through the forest. The walking soon turned to running, then to frantic fleeing.

  His senses began to come back. He could now feel the ground shaking under his feet, and could see the trees swaying around him. He thought he heard branches and even entire trees crash to the ground nearby, but he wasn’t sure. A couple of times he fell when the ground shook, but he just got up and kept on following the others.