Human Time Line

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Human Time Line

Book Four -The Renascent Epoch of Mankind

Chapter 4 Angels & Devils

Sown Seeds

It was apparent to all that stage one of Operation Archangel had been successful. The destruction of the Apparitions had been all but complete. Only a handful of the Apparitions had escaped the result of their comrades & hid as best as they could from the Guardians. Unknown to these fugitives, the Guardians had to be recalled, due to concerns raised by a number of Elysium universe civilisations. It was a fact that the Assembly of the Elysium Union (EU) was determined not to drag everyone into a conflict over the no violence protocol. Its policy was hence to appear as peaceful as was possible & not to conduct any activity that could be interpreted as the reverse.

Having said that, many voices began to be heard in the Assembly advocating an expansion of stage one of Archangel to include the policing &, if need be, the eradication of the remaining seven Boycott civilisations. Like the Apparitions, the seven other Boycott civilisations conducted hostile or evil acts. Some did these acts in the Elysium universe itself, but only within their own respective "territories". A few ventured, however, into the real time & space universe to undertake their business. None of them, though, conducted missions like the Apparitions in feeding upon the life energy force of sentient beings. Some did it for slaves, other for material gain , while others did it because it was in their nature.

All had one reason or another for conducting their hostile actions, but it was the Haledeco that were the most dangerous. Union Explorers Union (UEA) clandestine teams, now that the Apparitions had gone, began spying on the seven Boycott civilisation with much enthusiasm. While the remaining seven were all corporeal, extremely intelligent & advanced beyond many others, most were coincidently little beyond savages & barbarians. All were but for the Haledeco. Unlike the others, they conducted their activities for ideological reasons.

The Haledeco had taken it upon themselves to help Junior races evolve according to "nature", although this meant helping them along whether the Junior raced agreed to it or not. To the Haledeco, the consent of the Junior races did not matter & needless to say was not asked for. Most of the time, the Junior races did not even know that they were being manipulated by a higher force. Instead the Haledeco would deliberately force a conflict among neighbours. The war that would follow would see one race victorious over the other. Sometimes this would mean annihilation of the defeated, but this was rare. Basically, the Haledeco was enforcing the strongest survived, while the weak perished, theory. It was pure evolution in its most basic form.

For the SSS, however, this ideology was in conflict with their perceived approach to evolution. Although there was the aspect that the strong survived, there was also the concept of strength through unity. Furthermore, for sentient beings, knowledge was just as, if not more so, powerful as physical strength alone. Thus knowledge meant conflict was far from being the only way leading to advancement. As Dyn Lishary once said "Power may come from a barrel of a gun, but it is the mind telling the finger to pull the trigger that is the real force behind that power."

Any plans, though, of taking on the Haledeco were put on indefinite hold by the Assembly. Lucifer, as voicing his opposition to such ideas, clearly had the majority of support within the Assembly. Not only did the Haledeco had nothing to do with the Milky Way Galaxy with their meddling, the Tempilous & now the Orville were still sniffing around trying to piece together the "incident" at Ongoum City. Having already gotten their hands dirty in the Apparitions, most SSS believed a new offensive against another of the Boycott civilisation was tempting fate.

There was also a domestic angle as well to backing off any further military action. The after effects of the conflict with the Apparitions were still being felt. As it was, the Post-Cathartic Lyonies were outraged that, not only had the conflict developed into a full scale war, but that the UEA took it upon themselves to intervene in Pre-1945 Lyonies affairs against their wishes. Although only a small group in the overall population of the EU, they nonetheless made themselves heard. This discontent soon spilled over to the other small groups in the EU &, although their numbers never reached more than 1 billion out of 17 billion, it was still a major division between the citizenry.

In addition to this split, Lucifer continued to heighten concerns related to the Apparitions business to the point that: " … the majority of the Assembly were against any further offensive action conducted in relation to the affairs of those civilisations in the Elysium universe" (Assembly Hansard). This clearly tied the hands of UEA & above all the Guardians. Although Gabrielle & Michael were not overly concerned, it did mean that difficulties would arise if an ally of the EU, such as the Ongoum, requested help, it may not get the support required in defeating an attacker in the same manner as with the Apparitions.

Another angle to all of this, was a major policy change for the EU. Previously, EU policy towards the rest of the Elysium universe was one of openness & inclusion. If communications & friendly relations could be established with those civilisations throughout Elysium, so much the better. But now a change was taking place. The withdrawal of all Guardian teams meant a reduction of EU presence. The result being that the first steps of isolationism were being taken. This suited the Lyonies fine, but it was not in the nature of the SSS who made up the bulk of the population.

These steps were followed by others as Lucifer convinced the Assembly that all remaining UEA missions be curtailed. This came about by a high powered delegation visitation from the Tempilous & Orville. Having conducted an investigation into the "incident" at Ongoum City, they had pieced together enough to know that a major battle took place there & the EU were definitely involved. Furthermore, it was pointed out that military action had continued after the battle for some time that was clearly offensive in nature. Even though the no violence protocol could be wavered when acting in defence, any offensive action was a clear violation. Although threats of retribution were not actually mentioned, the Assembly knew what was being alluded.

The delegation had not finished. They further stated that they suspected that the EU was the key behind the Apparitions attack. Although they had no idea what this was, it was a clear warning to the EU that, as far as the Tempilous & Orville were concerned, the EU themselves had been placed on the hostile list of civilisations. It would now only take one excuse, & next time the Tempilous, the Orville & their allies, would do to the EU what they had done to the Apparitions.

Germination

Debate immediately erupted when the Tempilous/Orville delegation left. Passions ran high. Immediately there developed three groups all with differing opinions on what had just taken place. All three, however, agreed that the EU had just received a deadly warning & had been found guilty without even a trail. Needless to say, no one was happy about the situation.

The first group, lead by the Lyonies, argued that the conflict with the Apparitions should have been avoided at all costs. They were against it then & their opinion had been vindicated. Although previously they had not clearly stated it, now they were determined to implement a policy of isolation. All external contact was to be cut. They should answer no communications, regardless how critical the situation was. This last demand was watered down, however, to limit contact to a high governmental level, somewhat akin to the Compa, in order to gain extra support. However, overall their numbers only amounted to 2 billion.

In reality, it came down to the two main groups that were to determine the future of the EU. In some respects, the group that was led by Lucifer, shared many policies with the Isolationists. But Lucifer differed in a number of ways, the first of which was to keep contact with other civilisations in the Elysium universe. These civilisations would not, though, include corporeal ones such as the Ongoum. As far as Lucifer was concerned, such friends would only led the EU into further trouble. The current crisis was evidence enough. Instead the EU should be more involved with the Tempilous & the Orville. By doing so the EU could clearly demonstrate that the only thing it was guilty of was ignorance. It meant, however, selling out the Ongoum & others, losing the independence to conduct EU affairs, & becoming dependant upon the goodwill of the Tempilous & Orville, who clearly had contempt for everyone around them; especially the corporeal civilisations.

The final group was clearly in opposition to the others. There would be no attempts at isolation, nor for that matter any surrender of the EU’s independence to the Tempilous & Orville. If anything, the status quo would remain. Of cause this would also include the restrictions placed upon the Guardians, but there would be no acceptance of the intimation attempted by the Tempilous & Orville. Furthermore, as Michael argued, "If the Tempilous & Orville attempt to delivery some form of retribution upon us, then they are clearly violating their own protocols - ones which no one, I might add, in the Elysium universe have actually agreed to! We were right in our actions against the Apparitions. A blind man could see it. The hypocrites can do what they like, but we have a mission to conduct - Operation Archangel."

Just the mention of Operation Archangel got everyone even more stirred up. Since the completion of stage one, stage two of Archangel had never commenced. Events of the Elysium universe took over all business while Gabrielle had to keep the UEA explorer teams on hold. Now all the old issues, in regards to Archangel, came back to the surface. Amongst these, Lucifer added a number of conditions if stage two ever got off the ground. Significantly these were safe guards more than anything.

The battle between Alpha-Charlie One & the Apparitions had never really been analysed before, let alone discussed, but now it was brought in as ammunition against Archangel. Lucifer demanded to know if the UEA explorer teams were going to act in a similar reckless fashion. "Alpha-Charlie’s accident was pure luck. What would have been the result if that accident did not cause the Big Bang, but stopped it? Everything would have been obliterated & our arrogance would have meant our deaths. Again I say that our meddling with the course of nature will lead to disaster."

Lucifer went on to demand an investigation into the actions of Alpha-Charlie & if need be, prosecute its members. Both Gabrielle & Michael jumped to the defence of Alpha-Charlie’s members, but it was to no avail. The Assembly, albeit by a slim majority, voted in favour of Lucifer’s demand on an investigation, while no decision was reached as to the future of both Archangel or that of the EU.

Cultivation

The investigation into Alpha-Charlie went wrong from the start. Technically speaking, the investigation should have been conducted by the UEA. Ironically, considering the present situation, it would have given the UEA something do to, for only the clandestine teams were currently operating - all the explorer teams were on hold & the Guardians were on tedious guard duty. But, due to the serious consequence of Alpha-Charlie’s actions, the Assembly decided that it would conduct the investigation itself.

Soon all of Alpha-Charlie’s mission was under question. Not only was it obvious that Lilth was under attack for the battle at the beginning of the universe, but that her command decisions, especially in regards to lack of communications, were likewise reckless. Although there was no standing orders that Lilth should have contacted Guardian Command from time to time, this fact did not deter Lucifer who clearly used the evidence to his advantage. Overall his purpose was to discredit the Guardians. This in turn would discredit the likes of Gabrielle & Michael. Having achieved this, he would gain the necessary majority in the Assembly in order to control the destiny of the EU.

As it was, Alpha-Charlie did not get off lightly. Lilth & the remaining three members were censured for their behaviour & dismissed from the Guardians. This only incensed the UEA & their supporters. Noting the strained relations between the two main groups, a number of the moderates tried to cool down the tension. Even the Isolationists sided with the moderates as they realised that things were getting out of hand. Lucifer did not help matters at all, however, when he then demanded that the likes of Gabrielle & Michael be also censured & dismissed. It was argued that, as those in "… command were ultimately responsible for the actions of those under them, they too should share in the fate of Alpha-Charlie".

Both Gabrielle & Michael refused. So did the majority of the Assembly. But that did not stop members of Lucifer’s group calling for a re-examination of Operation Archangel. Considering the nature of stage two, if the UEA Commanders could not control a unit like Alpha-Charlie, then when UEA units with the mission to deliberately interfere with the real time & space universe went into action, anarchy would surely reign. This argument was further rammed home citing the fact that it was well known that UEA explorer teams were often rebellious & only obeyed orders that they agreed with.

If that was not enough, it came out that Lilth & the other members of Alpha-Charlie had not actually been dismissed from UEA, but transferred to the Clandestine Division. Cries of deception on behalf of the UEA were made, while Gabrielle replied that he wanted nothing to do with a blood hunt, "… particularly if Lucifer was deliberately trying to become the defacto tyrant of the EU".

The insult was too much for many. Demands were made of sacking Gabrielle, while counter demands began that Lucifer should reveal his true intentions. Things soon got worse, if things were not bad enough already, when a UEA clandestine team got caught whilst eavesdropping on private conversations conducted by Lucifer with his inner circle. Lucifer demanded justice in prosecuting the clandestine team via another Assembly investigation, one which was granted. Gabrielle was ecstatic that this was done &, contrary to Lucifer’s objections, the clandestine team shared with the entire Assembly the conversations of Lucifer’s inner circle.

Soon it was Lucifer having to explain himself. Although there was nothing actually about becoming the tyrant of the EU, it clearly brought into question his true motives. A fundamental consequence was a drastic change of support within the Assembly. Lucifer soon discovered that, unlike previously, his support base had dropped to about 30%, while the likes of Gabrielle, Michael, Uriel & Sariel had a clear majority, even with the Isolationists 2 billion members (12% support).

Now it was Lucifer under heavy fire. Knowing the shift in support had been dramatic, Sariel demanded an investigation be launched into the activities & plans of Lucifer. Unlike the rowdy Assembly investigations, this would be in the form of a Committee under the Chair of Jeremiel. Immediately Lucifer refused, demanding that UEA was illegal in spying on him & that all the evidence thus collected was inadmissible. The result, according to Lucifer, was no investigation could commence, either by the Assembly or by a Committee. It just could not therefore have the proper authorisation. Sariel countered that "… such legal argument was to be made before the Committee. Furthermore, the Committee was not a law court or anything akin to one, but an investigative agency acting on behalf of the Assembly to assess the legal position of all parties. It would, however, share all the powers of the Assembly"

Lucifer was trapped & he knew it. He continued to state that he would have nothing to do with the Committee. And so he did. After several requests to appear before the Committee, Jeremiel became totally frustrated. Eventually, in desperation, he ordered a summons, demanding Lucifer appear. If Lucifer ignored a Committee summons he was risking arrest. It would be the first arrest ever in the EU. And no one missed the possible outcome if matters came to that end.

Adding to the crisis was who would actually enforce the summons if Lucifer did not obey its orders. As the EU had no police force whatsoever, let alone court officials per se, it would mean Guardians would have to be brought in to take Lucifer into custody. Such a move would be seen by many as sinister, not to mention down right dangerous. But there was little other alternative.

Harvest

As suspected, Lucifer refused to obey the summons. Jeremiel thus had little choice. Lucifer could not simply snub his nose at the Committee, let alone the Assembly, but that was exactly what he had just done. Clearly there was something seriously amiss. With much hesitation, Jeremiel issued an arrest warrant for Lucifer. The supporters of Lucifer in the Assembly cried fowl when news got out about the arrest warrant. Persecution was being conducted, it was claimed. It was as if the dark old days, long before the Catharsis ever took place, had returned. Arguments broke out everywhere, with some of Lucifer’s followers clearly stating that they would ensure that the warrant would never be delivered.

In such an atmosphere, that had spread out across the entire EU, it came down to the Guardians to do the unwanted & thankless job. One that could irrevocably split the EU, if not introduce worse & unwanted circumstances in the near future.

The EU was on the brink. All now rested with Lucifer. As the Guardians approached, he once again made it clear that he would not obey the warrant. With that, large numbers of Lucifer supporters deliberately blocked the Guardians. Even though the Guardians were more stronger than civilians, they were outnumbered. If violence followed, it may not go the Guardians way. Soon more Guardians arrived, which resulted in an increase of Lucifer’s supporters.

A tense stand off thus quickly developed, while the majority of the EU looked on with much fear. The Isolationists were the first to move. Convinced that things in the EU were only going to get worse, they announced their intension to withdraw from the Union. This came as a shock to the remainder of the EU, regardless of which group they were in. The sudden announcement appeared the make many take a deep breath, so to speak, & reflect upon the current crisis. It appeared that things may settle down & some compromise achieved.

It was a Guardian unit, come to reinforce the others at the stand off, that triggered the events that followed. Knowing the situation, this new Guardian unit decided to approach the rear of the gathering. Unlike the civilians, the Guardian units were well aquatinted with using flank &/or rear approaches to achieve the objective, so only a few of Lucifer’s supporters protected the rear. Without warning the Guardian unit pushed their way through the rear defenders, while ensuring no casualties, & grabbed Lucifer. Upon this action, it became apparent to everyone what had just happened & Lucifer’s supporters reacted. Although the Guardians wanted to avoid violence as much as possible, even a civilian SSS could unleash dreadful power.

Thus the nightmare became reality. In desperation, a couple of Lucifer’s supporters, with his consent, unleashed their power against the Guardians who had just grabbed their leader. Two of the Guardians died immediately. Soon other supporters began firing, heartened by the success against the two Guardians. The other Guardians were now given no choice: it was either open fire or die. The Luciferins began going down in large numbers. But, because of their larger numbers, they were able to hold the Guardians back as Lucifer was able to flee. No Guardian, however, at this stage was too concerned with Lucifer’s escape. Their concern was with staying alive. Furthermore, all of them were fighting a sickening feeling as they gave battle with their fellow kind. The EU looked on with similar feelings. Everyone felt ill as never before.

The first thing that Gabrielle ordered was the withdrawal of all Guardian units that had anything to do with the stand off & the subsequent combat. Other Guardian units were already aware of the fighting & immediately began guarding unprotected civilians that were obviously not supporters of Lucifer. This was for two reasons; the obvious being to protect them from attacks - the other was to prevent them commencing any.

Other Guardian units also began scouting the "locations" trying to identify the next actions of the Luciferins. Such operations, against an enemy, would normally be conducted by the UEA clandestine units, but most of these were elsewhere conducting their usual missions. Furthermore, after the episode with Lucifer, one concession that he did get was the Assembly outlawing any internal spying by the Clandestine Division within the EU - not that that mattered now.

The Assembly was soon recalled (in fact it was still technically in session), but it became instantaneously evident that 40% of its members were not present. The Isolationists group had clearly meant what they said. Information soon confirmed the fact that the Isolationists had left EU "territory" & were last seen heading off into unoccupied space. Some wondered if they would be ever seen again. Others wondered whether the Tempilous & the Orville might attack them. But most wondered what was the next move by the Luciferins would be.

Like the Isolationists, the Luciferins did not take their place in the Assembly. After recovering from the initial battle, Lucifer calmed things down by organising this supporters. The first thing was the establishment of his own version of the Assembly. The Chamber, as it was called, soon became the focus of the Luciferins. Debate centred around reacting to recent events. Although some urged caution, few listened to them. Most demanded revenge for the deaths of their comrades at the hands of the Guardians. Most also agreed with Lucifer that a war to purify the EU was required.

Soon billions of EU citizens flocked to their respective leaders that established front lines throughout the EU. The most unthinkable had come true. The EU was in civil war.

On to Chapter 5

This creative work is the property of David Mark Atwell.

Remember this is copyright protected!

Hit Counter