Humanity had always thought themselves alone in the vast cosmos, the sole heirs to the bounties of creation. Until they discovered they were not. It was my ancestor, Isabella an Erduk, that first reported the existence of the corpse of a star-eater. And that was only the start, further time revealed the corpses of uncountable species. Space was not a land of bounties, but rather a graveyard. My ancestor dug deep, and in doing so, found the first record of Angelica an Erduk, detailing the reason for her treason. God. The creator. The savior. The butcher. Knowledge is like a flame. For some it is power, illuminating light in the dark. However, with enough, that fire only burns. Ignorance truly is bliss. But it is bliss we cannot afford. When the cleaver turns on us, we must be ready.
Isabella an Erduk flew through the streets of Rashek, marveling at the metropolis it had grown into. Tower of sleek steel and glass pierced the sky, surrounded by fleets of hover cars, like little flies, buzzing around them. Verdant walkways connected the skyscraper at every level, overflowing with plants and flowers. In fact, plant life sprouted from nearly every available surface, making the city look like a forest from above. In the center of the magnificent city, a tower, larger than any other, spiraled towards the heavens. The Mortal Bridge Tower was the home of the World Council. They convened at the very peak of the tower, exposed to the elements, connecting humanity's humble past on the earth, to its glorious future in the heavens.
Isabella tore her gaze away from the tower and focused back on the task at hand.
“17 Thomas St. 7th District.”
Isabella’s virtual assistant, a hologram of a middle-aged woman popped up. Imitating concern it asked, “Are you sure, mistress? That place is known for violence. It might not be safe.”
Isabella scoffed, “If any of them can hurt me, I deserve to be injured.”
The assistant rerouted the hover car without further questions. In the end it was merely a soulless AI. Isabella hated talking to them. As sensitive as she was they gave her the creeps, mimicking the behavior of souled individuals despite not having one.
In all honesty, Isabella didn't particularly want to go there either. But someone in there had the information she needed. Knowledge was power, and an Erduk didn’t turn down power.
They used it.
—------------------------------------
Isabella knocked on the door, ignoring the stares she was attracting. Even when trying to hide it, she was a stunningly beautiful woman, with thick dark hair and brilliant sapphire eyes. She rather liked her appearance, but in times like this she wished she blended in a bit better. Why did he have to insist on meeting her personally? She knocked harder, betraying her annoyance.
“I'm comin, I'm comin, calm down.” a voice slurred.
The door opened revealing an aging man. His frame betrayed the might form he had once had, leaving behind only a husk of the man.
In more than just body, Isabella noted as she gazed into his haunted red eyes.
He froze upon seeing her, a small frown appearing on his face.
She cleared her throat, “Commander Fury?”
For a second his eyes sharpened, revealing the man he once was, before they deflated once more.
“I ain’t no commander no more, lass. You must be the Erduk girl.”
“Isabella an Erduk, commander.”
“I told you, I aint a commander no more. Anyways, come in.”
Isabella followed him into the ratty old apartment. It was only a single room, with a bed stuffed in the corner and a small table in the center. The floor was strewn with empty alcohol bottles, and if one looked closer they could find hints of more potent substances as well. The man, Fury, sat down and popped open another bottle. Isabella looked around in shock. She had met Fury once, when she was a young girl. He had been imposing, steely willed. Nothing like the wreck before her.
Fifteen years ago, Commander Fury, one of the most decorated and respected commanders of all time, suddenly resigned and disappeared. Nobody knew where he had gone, until Isabella got a call last week, setting up a meeting. He had not explained what for, but Isabella had had a feeling it might be important. Looking around, she found that feeling validated. Men like Fury didn’t break easily.
“Are…Are you sure you should be drinking that much?”
Fury ignored her, finishing off his bottle and throwing it into the corner.
She looked down at the pathetic wreck of a once great man, and felt a surge of unexpected rage. She remembered Fury in his prime, even though she’d only been a girl. He had been imposing, strong. Unbreakable.
“What happened to you?”
He chuckled. “You always were curious.”
“So.”
He stopped chuckling, his posture taking a far-off quality, “Some things can't be faced.” he whispered.
“Sure they can. If one only has the courage to try, instead of hiding behind a goddamn bottle!” her last words came out in a yell as she kicked a bottle across the room. It shattered on the opposite law. She stopped, confused, she wasn't sure where that had come from.
Fury shook his head sadly, “Ignorance truly is bliss. Sometimes the flame only burns.”
They stood at an impasse for a while, Isabella waiting for Fury to say something, and Fury content with his bottle.
Isabella was the first to crack, “So?”
Fury looked up, confusion evident in his alcohol addled eyes.
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“Why did you invite me here?” Isabella prompted, “How did you end up like this?”
Fury hesitated, “Are you sure you want to hear?”
“Is that not why you invited me here?” Isabella replied, her annoyance clear.
He sighed, “I’m finding this harder than expected, but very well.”
His eyes sharpened again, “Engage full cloaking protocols.” he commanded, sounding like his old self for a second. A mechanical whirl escaped from the walls and something within them shifted.
Isabella whirled to face Fury, “What was that?!”
“Full cloaking protocols. You can be the only one to know this.”
Isabella felt like a girl again, eagerly waiting to receive a secret.
“We’re not alone in the cosmos.” Fury blurted out.
“What?!”
“We’re not alone in the cosmos.” Fury stood and started pacing around agitatedly, “There are other creatures out there.”
The room whirled around Isabella. She had not expected something of that magnitude. In an effort to recenter herself, she seized on the first question to pop up.
“Why did that of all things reduce you to this? “
He froze, then agonizingly slowly he turned to her. Terror and shame lurked in his eyes.
“Because” he whispered, “They were all dead. It was a cosmic graveyard of unprecedented scale, trillions upon trillions. And at its center? A giant that dwarfed stars.”
He took a deep breath and a swig of alcohol to calm his shivering.
“Oh Jausn, its eyes! Dead orbs as large as a star. You don’t know, can’t know what seeing that much death does to a man. It's unbearable!”
He took another swig and started shaking, gently rocking back and forth.
“I felt it,” he whispered, “Death. It was there the whole time, watching me. It's always watching.”
He started sobbing softly.
Isabella stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder comforting him until his sobs trickled off.
“Where, Fury, where.”
He looked into her sapphire eyes, searching, and finding.
“Sector 101, 83.5 light jumps true north from the heart.”
“Thank you, Fury. I’ll send some help.”
She walked out the door, shivering as she realized what this meant.
But first, she had to see it with her own eyes.
Far above, I shivered.
Soon my failures would be exposed for all the universe to see.
—-------------------------------------
“75…76…77…78”
Isabella felt the tension rise as they got closer and closer to the so-called Graveyard. The men and women behind her shuffled nervously, as if sensing something they couldn't comprehend. Isabella felt the same, but clearer. She was an Erduk after all. The spidery fingers of death reached out from a place ahead. A place they were heading straight towards.
“79…80…81…82.”
Isabella set her back straight and held her head high. A leader must inspire confidence in their followers.
“83…stand by…”
The bridge was absolutely silent, with even the normal clicks and whirls somehow silenced.
“initiating half jump…”
The ship disappeared into a tunnel of stars.
“83.5…arrived.”
Before them stretched a horror defying description. For as long as the eye could see, as long as the ship could sense, corpses populated the void. The corpses were of every size and shape imaginable. The smallest of them were multiple times larger than the biggest humans, boasting dozens of flexible tentacles each. The biggest of them loomed in the middle of the corpse patch like a mountain in a plain. Large enough to devour stars, even in its death the creator loomed large.
The presence of so much dead pressed down on them like a physical presence. Some fell to their knees crying out in agony. Others maintained their footing, faces pale. Isabella alone maintained her outer calm. But, on the inside she wasn't so composed.
“What is this?” she whispered.
They were the remnants. The soulless beings that I created and destroyed in my quest for life. They were the record of my failures over the eons. And they were many.
Isabella collected herself further, projecting that calming presence over her crew. Slowly but surely they adjusted enough to regain functionality, though they were still pale and shaking.
They carefully guided the ship through the corpses, collecting samples and pictures.
One of the pale scientist walked shakily up to Isabella, visibly stabilizing as he approached,
“Milady, we found something.”
“What have you found?”
The scientist waved a hand, pulling up intricate diagrams in the form of a hologram.
“Well, we have managed to divide the dead in distinct species and–”
“How many?”
“Well…we’re still finding more.”
Isabella nodded.
“Anyways, the thing we wanted to show you is this.” he pointed to what looked like a 3 dimensional graph. “That graph represents pretty much every single material composition our civilization can conceive. And here” —he waved a hand—”is the distribution for the sample we collected.
Dots appeared, in every possible corner, nearly filling the entire graph.
“Every single species has a vastly different material composition. It's like the universe was playing material bingo.”
I chuckled at that image. I suppose I was kind of playing material bingo in those early years. Trying everything in hopes something would stick.
“And furthermore,” the scientist continued, “We’re still in the early stages but we can already tell all of these organisms are vastly more complicated than us.”
“What do you mean by ‘complicated’?” Isabella questioned.
“Well most of them possess physical forms vastly stronger than ours, strong enough to walk the void of space. And their minds” —he shuddered— “they make us look like dumb animals.”
Another scientist rushed up to the bridge, panting but triumphant.
“Alex!” he yelled at the first scientist, “We found some of their tech!”
The first scientist didn't even spare Isabella a glance as he immediately sprinted towards the lab, nearly hitting the second scientist on the stairs.
Isabella chuckled amusedly as they vanished. Scientists. All the same.
Then frowning, she turned back to the corpse field, pondering the revelations she’d just been handed.
In truth, most of the failures were indeed vastly superior to humanity in both mind and body, but none held any spirituality. They were essentially biological robots. Humanity was different. They were alive.
They continued through the graveyard, each mile bringing new corpses and new discoveries.
Isabella wrestled with the flame that was knowledge, struggling to make it illuminate the direction she wanted. Fury’s words came back to her, sometimes the flame only burns.
But she was Isabella an Erduk and she refused to turn away, refused to return to ignorance.
Her refusal became clarity and finally, it seemed she had found the question.
“What created these creatures?” she whispered. But then she frowned.
“No, that's not the question. What destroyed them?”
Above, the void within me howled with laughter.
It wanted more.