Four Horsemen Chapter Two

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Four
(4)

Horsemen

Chapter Two

Once upon a time, in a future, far far away…

The discovery, & introduction into the galactic community, had two inevitable major ramifications for the Human race. The first would witness most of the Human race become vital members of this community. In doing so, the greatness of the Human race, always evident even during the most darkest of times, began to shine brighter than ever. Creativity, tolerance & above all help for the oppressed & needy were seen everyday in many ways to creatures that were not even Human. This activity, though, were not unique just to the Humans, in fact most species practised similar virtues, but most Humans appeared to do it as a matter of course: it was as if it were their duty to do so.

Naturally, some friction did take place, especially from those alien civilisations which seldom practiced the more liberal interpretations of virtuous deeds. Some were even down right hostile to Humans as they were seen to be meddling in internal affairs of others. War was usually avoided at all costs, but if one thing got Humans going more than most, it was obvious displays of injustice. Where other alien civilisations merely looked away, or tried to negotiate peacefully with others over such matters, Humans on the other hand threatened action more than mere words. Ironically, even though Humanity preached peace, they, more than anyone else, were prepared to go to war. Yet, as strange as it seems, wars never lasted for long regardless of the greater technological level of advancement. Furthermore, only three wars took place all involving humanity. And annoyingly to some members of the galactic community, the Humans won all three wars convincingly.

However, even with three such "Liberation Wars", as the Humans called them, the alien societies involved, regardless of their often violent repression of various species, were no match against a technologically equal civilisation such as the Earth Commonwealth. Through various means, whether it be a weapon or strategy, the Earth Commonwealth went undefeated. This began to concern others, even the Corvus, who became concerned as to the real intensions of their new friends the Humans. Yet, as fast as these wars were over, the Humans were more than happy to hand back to the people freed the, administration & government of the civilisations that had been defeated. And more importantly, the injustice that was present beforehand was now no more.

Having said that, it was not until 2600AD that the Earth Commonwealth, or more importantly the Humans, were finally accepted without concerns into the galactic community. By that time, not only had differences with the Earth Commonwealth & several other civilisations been settled, more often than not through diplomacy, but a dark undertone of the Human race had itself, more or less been ostracised, from not only the galactic community but from the Earth Commonwealth as a whole.

The "Others", the "Outcasts", the "Old Ones", or whatever else they were known by, thanks to the discovery of Warp Speed, soon discovered, to their repulsion, that aliens existed throughout the galaxy. It was not, however, that they existed, which caused problems for the Others, but the fact that they were different. Ironically, though, it took discovery of aliens for them to finally unite under the one banner. Previously, the Others were those Humans who had rejected the Earth Commonwealth & all the virtues that it stood for. Furthermore, they did not want to get along with other Humans anywhere other than those in their own nation. And even then, if they had a different coloured skin or followed a different creed, they still rejected anything which was different to them.

This situation, however, had changed. Now, other Humans, for once, actually were the same, except the other Humans, the vast majority, wanted nothing to do with their the old ways of ignorance, racism, sexism or anything else that had brought destruction so many times to the Human race. For most, everything about their very existence had changed. All that their past problems been destroyed in the nuclear flames of the Tribulation. Humanity was now different. And humanity was greater for it. Alas, the Others disagreed.

Yet if the rise of the Others appeared as an unwanted reminder of the past, something else was also happening. Out in deep space, light years from the nearest living world, a strange phenomena began to grow. No one knew of its existence at first. Nonetheless it had been growing since the last day of the Tribulation. It began as an atom, more or less, it was that small at first. For the first one hundred years of its existence, it did not grow much further. On its one hundredth birthday, it was no bigger than a soccer ball. This, however, would soon change.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, as the Human race was beginning its first steps into the great unknown, small groups of citizens began a vigil that would last for nine centuries. Over the years the numbers would come & go. Several times an alarm would be sent throughout its members as crises came & went. Many began to believe that it was a meaningless duty, that they endured, citing how much their fellow Humans had changed. Now was the Age of Peace & nothing seemed to threaten anyone. Even the galaxy seemed to have become a virtuous place thanks to the Human race becoming involved in all things.

Similar feelings, it must be said, were shared by the galactic community by 2600AD. Even the energetic Humans had settled down &, in fact, had become essential to the workings of trade, diplomacy & peace. This was so much the case as that by 2700AD the Earth Commonwealth had convinced several other alien civilisations, including the Corvus, to join in an association of friends. This would mean little than recognising the current situation, but it did free up trade & travel immensely. Now aliens were free to travel within Earth Commonwealth territory without any restrictions whatsoever as they enjoyed the same rights as any Human citizen. Likewise, the same benefits were award to Humans within the boundaries of alien territories which were also members of the Planetary Association.

The greatest achievement, which came by way of the Association, was the exchange of cultures. Now much had already been shared, but with the ease that came with the Association, it was now unrestricted. Soon scholars, academics, writers, scientists, actors, artists & so forth, began coming together from across the galaxy swapping thoughts, forms of art, sciences, food, & literature in a heady swirl of creativity. All were blessed & none forgotten. Somewhere there was always something interesting to someone from another place. Humans were chief among both the providers of culture & the takers. Likewise, aliens soon feel in love with playwrights such as Shakespeare, whilst unknown playwrights from other alien cultures soon found their way into Human culture as well.

It was probably this event, as much as any, which turned the Others away from, not only their Human fellows, but more so against these alien invaders. For not only were their fellow Humans leaving behind, what they believed made them Human, but it appeared aliens were taking over the Earth with the help of the Earth government. And even though, various measures such as participatory democracy in the Earth Commonwealth was supposed to ensure every Human had a voice in governmental matters, the Others believed that participatory democracy was nothing more than dictatorship of the majority. In some respects they were right, but then again their way was no longer the Human way.

It was in this regards, then, that the Great Exodus took place. Demanding that a much different way was required for the Human Race, one which meant that it had to be free of alien influence, millions of Human literally packed their bags & left overnight. Buying hundreds of large ships, purpose built for colonisation, 25 million Humans left for the star Arneb some 900 light years away from Earth. Their sole purpose was to venture as far away from Earth as possible, whist still remaining close enough so that word could be sent for others to join them.

The journey of the Others would be an uneventful one. Being able to travel at speeds up to 500 light years, meant that it took just under two years to reach their chosen star. Once there, it did not take too long to find a suitable planet. Although various life forms already lived there did not stop the colonists from establishing several cities at convenient locations. Furthermore, the absence of any intelligent sentient life form also ensured that there were no significant hassles in claiming the planet for themselves. Then, not long after settlement was established, several of the Others colony ships returned to Earth to collect anyone else interested in Arneb.

This going back & forth would take up much of the Twenty-Eighth Century. Overall, close to 100 million Humans had rejected the Earth Commonwealth & all it stood for, especially contact with aliens, & had chosen a new life. The life of their ancestors. In the meantime, the colonists had renamed their planet Babylon as it was abundant with natural resources ensuring wealth for all. Unfortunately, their instincts soon got the better of them. Their new planet was soon divided up into several countries similar to how Earth was once. And immediately, upon drawing up these borders, disputes over these new borders soon erupted. As a result of these disputes, armies were soon built. Within fifty short years, it seemed like Armageddon was about to destroy everything on Babylon. The mistakes of the past were about to be repeated. Or so it seemed.

Whilst the various armies of Babylon were about to destroy everything on the planet, Earth was beginning its Golden Age as Humans believed it to be. Now that Earth had rid itself of the Others, few problems now took place. Crimes were at an all time low. Poverty had well & truly disappeared. Fear of ones neighbour, or an alien visitor, had dispersed. Evil, & everything that came with it, was gone. Six billion people lived on Earth with nothing to fear. Even the fear of fear itself had vanished into thin air as indeed that was all it ever was. Profits, instead were made, not just in goods & services, but in kind deeds towards each other. Utopia, it seemed, had been finally achieved as indeed it was Utopia.

Likewise throughout the Planetary Association, regardless of planet, peace ruled everywhere. Poetry was written, songs were happily sung, whilst great philosophers debated the meaning of life, the universe, & everyone’s favourite television show. Everyone, far more importantly, were treated as equals & no one was left out, or so it appeared. Alas, there were still members of the Others around, & although their numbers had been drastically reduced, thanks to the Great Exodus to Babylon, some remained. These, by the very nature of their beliefs, usually gathered together in order to share their dark ways. More often than not, however, they would eventually travel to Babylon expecting great things.

Ironically, even though Babylon beckoned from a great distance, once refugees arrived from Earth, they were to be greatly disappointed. For as Earth had become Utopia, united & free, Babylon had returned to the ways of the past. Great armies, armed with nuclear weapons, faced off against each other, ready to unleash nuclear death upon all. Yet, as disturbing as this reality was, refugees from Earth were usually accepted by one nation or another. What was even more disturbing, yet with much irony, the threat of nuclear destruction had kept the peace for the most part. Just as in Earth’s Cold War of the Twentieth Century, so too the military doctrine of MAD ruled the planet of Babylon. The only difference was the better judgement of angels seemed to be absent on Babylon. There was little hope, little love & almost no help for those who decide to allow oppression & tyranny to be better virtues than freedom & democracy.

And thus it came to pass, as the Human race on Earth had rejected on every level, especially on the spiritual level, evil deeds, those Humans on Babylon only knew such things. But it was not overly important that such feelings existed, but that its energy radiated out into space. It grew & grew, partly in rejection, partly as transmission. The People of Earth may have rid themselves of evil, whilst for those on Babylon it was all they knew. Out into space this evil did go. Out into deep space did the Entity grow. Once no larger than an atom, then a century later no larger than a ball, it soon grew much larger & powerful, thanks mostly to the evil on Babylon, so much so that it began to become self aware.

Thus was the situation in the galaxy until about 2900AD. For it was around this time that, ironically, several reforms took place on Babylon. Against all the politics of the previous century, the governments on Babylon decided to join into a one world government which was, in effect, an oligarchy government that was essentially a council of all the national governments at that time. This took place for no great apparent reason, other than the fact that such a governmental organisation was far better, in dealing with an unhappy population than continuing their Cold War tension against each other. In other words the governments of the various nations feared their populations far more than each other. Coming together, hence, as a one world government would ensure that they could control their respective populations far easier. Ideals, however, like freedom of expression, trade & so on were far from being implemented. Instead repression remained the norm throughout the entire population.

Ironically, just as the establishment of the new Babylon Government had settled down to govern, many within the government, & elsewhere, soon felt an irresistible urge to begin space exploration. Although endeavours into space was nothing new for Babylon, as much space weaponry, satellites & so forth was always common in Babylon’s short history, this was something new. It was the urge to discover what was out there beyond deep space. And this would be something new for Babylonians to do, as previously, little exploration had been done outside of Babylon’s solar system.

Soon, as to the call of the Babylon Government’s desire, several exploration missions began. These were all short range missions at first, because, as said, little had been explored in the region. It did not take long, however, before long range missions began. This was not overly hard as Babylonian technology was always on a par with Earth as Earth’s technology & industries were utilised in the first place so that the Great Exodus could commence. Furthermore, thanks to the century of the Babylon Cold War, technology, especially weapons technology, had been further advanced from the original Earth designs. So, in this environment, explorers from Babylon ventured further out.

Further & further the Babylon explorer ships ventured. Little, however, was found. Several solar systems were lifeless, although one was discovered which showed much hope. Thoughts about colonisation, though, were put on hold as the Babylon Government feared that the establishment of a colony, some 50 light years away, might soon mean that the colony could rebel & break away. It was not the thought of having a possible unruly colony, which the Babylon government believed to be the problem, but the signal that such a rebellion would have on Babylon. Either way, however, the Rulers of Babylon believed that this habitable planet was not what they were looking for & other missions were, hence, sent out.

A year later, one such new mission came across an interesting solar system. Much evidence was around to indicate that a space faring civilisation once lived here. Although there was no evidence of faster than light travel, numerous abandoned ships, some larger than the Babylon explorer ships, practically littered the solar system all dead. Furthermore, a planet was discovered which had all the tell-tale signs of a massive nuclear war. Although the Babylon government did not quite know what to do with this evidence first, soon they put on display, in a very liberal fashion, everything that was deemed to be in the public’s interest. It was a radical step forward, by the Babylon government, but it was far from a pious one. Instead it was seen as an education & propaganda device in order to show & warn the general population as to why the government was so strict in all matters. In other words, the message was, this is what was in stall for our planet if it was not for the planetary Babylonian Government. The Government’s message was almost true, but then again in every good lie, there is always eighty percent truth.

Things could not be any different than back on Earth. Even though Earth was well & truly a central member of the galactic community, as well as the Planetary Association, the Earth Commonwealth decided to enlarge handsomely its efforts in galactic exploration. Hence, at around the same time as Babylon was investigating the planet which was destroyed by a nuclear war, Earth Commonwealth explorer vessels began to reach the rim of the galaxy. Exciting as this feat was, there were little discoveries of any magnitude. But Earth Commonwealth vessels went in other directions as well. Being far more faster than their Babylon counterparts, the most advanced explorer ships could reach speeds up to 1 000 times the speed of light. In other words, they could reach somewhere like Babylon in under a year. Yet, unlike most Babylon ships, even explorer vessels, the Earth Commonwealth ships carried few weapons.

The meeting between Babylon & the Earth explorer vessel, EC James Cook, was far from successful. Although the Earth Commonwealth had more or less forgotten that Babylon existed, a few people remembered the Great Exodus. And so it was that the James Cook was dispatched to renew ties with this lost Human colony & see if some form of formal diplomatic ties could be established between the two human civilisations. Furthermore, the James Cook was also ordered to explore this region of space as little of it was known to anyone back on Earth or elsewhere for that matter.

The James Cook would be at least successful in the later part of its mission. The first, the dropping in on Babylon, would be nothing short of a disaster. Within a few minutes of arriving in Babylon space, menacing & threatening messages were received from the Babylonian authorities. Even though the captain of the James Cook tried to acted diplomatically, the Babylonian response was nothing short of a declaration of war. The captain decided to accept the fact that his ship’s presence was far from wanted & began to make plans to leave the area immediately. No sooner had he issued his order to leave than a Babylon warship arrived & began to track the ship with its weapons. Knowing full well that the James Cook had little to compete with a warship, the James Cook quickly entered Warp Speed & left Babylon behind.

To the frustration of the captain of the warship, even when at flank speed, the Earth Commonwealth ship was far too fast. The chase was soon stopped, although a warning went out to the rest of the Babylonian fleet, both explorer & military vessels, that an Earth Commonwealth ship was somewhere within reach of Babylon. Furthermore it was faster than anything they had. The Babylon Government, regardless of diplomatic relations, in fact they had none with Earth, wanted the James Cook captured so they could copy the technology. Clearly the Earth had greatly advanced their technology since the establishment of Babylon. Thus capturing the James Cook would be an ideal way of catching up.

To the discredit of the Babylon ships, they never did catch the James Cook. Her captain, knowing that he was almost a years journey from Earth, decided wisely that Babylonian vessels were to be avoided at all costs. This was not overly hard as the James Cook enjoyed the latest in detection scanners which were far more impressive than even the latest equipment the Babylonians enjoyed. Needless to say, detecting things was part of its job &, although Babylon was avoided by a healthy distance, the James Cook nevertheless continued successfully exploring this region of space.

Although the Babylon warships & explorers had no luck discovering the James Cook during this period of time, one particular explorer vessel did discover a strange reading on their scanners. It was most certainly not the James Cook, but something far more unusual. Just because these Humans were not from Earth any more, did not mean that they were not curious. On the contrary, they were. In fact the freedom, which came with space exploration, often saw explorer crews become mutinous at times & several crew members, over the years, had been executed for various crimes leading to mutiny. But on this particular occasion, the crew of the X-51 did not mutiny. Instead their curiosity lead them onwards which, incidentally, meant that they were following their orders.

It was not very hard for the X-51 to make its discovery. As they got closer to the Entity, its signal became stronger & stronger. It was as if it was acting as a beacon, signalling to the X-51 all the information that was required in order for it to be discovered. For, unlike a century before, the Entity had grown greatly in both size & strength. Now it was about as powerful as a small sun. But unlike the light which a sun would give off, it instead gave off no such light. Instead there was a menacing looking blue mist that seemed to float off it into nothing. Having said that, the Entity gave no intension of harm. As the X-51 came closer, the Entity merely floated over what was once its home - an ordinary looking asteroid in an ordinary part of the galaxy. What happened next, though, was a complete surprise.

The EC James Cook scanned something for an instant, but then it was gone. Its captain, like everyone else, had no idea what the ship’s scanner had just picked up. He was as mystified as anyone else. Furthermore, like most Humans, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Yet, even though he gave the orders for a new course in the direction of the unidentified phenomena, which the ship had just detected, he was certain that no Babylonian vessel was anywhere nearby. More importantly, the location of the phenomena was a very long way from Babylon. If there was something there connected to Babylon, then he would be very surprised.

All in all, it took about a week to arrive at the location which the scanners had estimated to be where the phenomena was. Immediately, all the crew members felt something that they had seldom experienced before. It was fear. But this fear was something else, it was not like being caught in an automobile accident, or some such, but it was akin to the fear of death. Or more precisely the fear of evil. Simultaneously, the ships scanners picked up an energy source unlike any seen before. Naturally, the captain gave the orders to head in the direction of the energy source which was somewhere in the asteroid field ahead. Sensing, though, the same irrational fear as everyone else, the captain ordered for a probe be sent forward to investigate instead of endangering the ship. It would be a very wise decision in regards to the events which would soon follow.

Within a few minutes the probe was on its way. Unlike the James Cook, it had no crew on board. Likewise it had no Warp Speed capacity either. What it did have, however, were a lot of sensors &, needless to say, the probe was designed for exactly this type of mission. Minutes went by as the probe headed towards its destination. Soon a large black sphere, emitting an evil looking blue mist, could be seen in the distance. Furthermore, several, in fact hundreds of ships of many description, could be seen orbiting lifelessly around the sphere. Closer & closer the probe got to sphere until it completely took up the main viewer on the James Cook.

By now, everyone on the James Cook had become mesmerised by the entity. Few took notice when the energy levels began to dramatically rise as the probe got close enough to the sphere to conduct a full sweep of its scanner array. At the same time a giant flame of deadly blue shot forth from the Entity & surrounded the probe. Within a second it was over. All data coming back from the probe had disappeared, whilst the mood dramatically changed on board the James Cook. Panic & fear had set in. It appeared that everyone had lost their minds. Thirty seconds later the James Cook turned away & jumped into hyperspace. Only then did the crew regain their minds.

The Entity, through, was far from impressed with its capture. Realising that it was not what it wanted, it soon started to move. Noticing the James Cook jumping to Warp Speed, it too followed. But it could not achieve the great speed which the Earth Commonwealth ship enjoyed. Meanwhile, the crew wondered what had happened. Thankfully they had a captain who had the wisdom to program the computer to jump to Warp Speed & away from the sphere should anything unexpected happen. For unlike a human being, the computer had no feelings or such to interfere with. And so, unlike the fear which had turned the crew into panic, thus losing control of themselves, the computer did what it had been programmed to do. In doing so, the ship, & far more importantly the crew, survived.

The same could not be said for the crews of the hundreds of ships which had orbited the Entity. Having drained them of all life, the Entity had grown in much power. Yet it was angered by the escape of the James Cook. It had much potential to feed its hunger for power especially the souls of its victims. Fear & hatred was what it sought in its victims, & this ship seemed to at least have much of the former. Yet the crew of the ship before it had both in equal measure. Either way, the Entity believed that if it followed this escaping ship a rich harvest maybe found.

The scanners on the James Cook were more than an equal, in spotting the sphere moving at great speed, albeit slower than the James Cook. Still the captain decided to take no chances with whatever it was & shortened his escape course in order to widen the gap between him & his pursuer. The only problem was this took the James Cook within a few light years of Babylon. But the captain was convinced that any risk that Babylon could offer was minuscule in comparison to the Entity which followed.

Regardless of the objections from the James Cook’s first officer, the captain got his way. And even though Babylon authorities soon picked up on the Earth Commonwealth vessel flying at great speed nearby Babylon, there was nothing which they could do, for by the time the orders had be sent out to intercept the James Cook, the Earth Commonwealth vessel had well & truly passed the most advantageous interception locations & had well & truly gone. Still, that did not stop most of the Babylonian fleet from chasing after the Earth interloper, even though none of them had the speed required to catch the James Cook.

All the same, the captain of the James Cook watched on nervously as the ship’s scanners kept a vigil eye on the space nearby. Most important of all, the captain & crew were anxious to see what the Entity was up to. Clearly it did not have the speed to catch the James Cook, & nor did the Babylonian ships for that matter, but that did not mean that they were out of danger. Still, he gave a welcomed sigh of relief when it appeared that the sphere had given up the chase somewhere not far from Babylon. By that time, considering the speed with which the James Cook was going, it was not hard for the scanners to lose sight of the sphere for good. And with this assurance, the captain of the James Cook gave the order to head for home.

To Chapter Three

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