Timeline: Past
Point of View: Claudia
Location: Red Planet
Claudia didn’t know if she believed in heaven or hell. Her grandparents were of the generation that believed in the Christian God and attended church weekly. Her parents believed in the same God, but were more lax about it, and didn’t believe that church attendance was a necessity. As the trend continued, Claudia grew up going to church rarely, mostly on the holidays or when grandma and grandpa were visiting. She didn’t mind the sermons. They were long, wordy, and boring, but behind the sermons were generally good messages about what it meant to be a decent human being.
Her mother would claim that the world, which seemed to be becoming more and more degenerate every day, needed more Christ in people’s hearts. Claudia thought that was an oversimplification. History was full of examples of people being generally shitty people, and it seemed that the present was the safest and happiest time to be alive against the backdrop of what had come before. It seemed to Claudia that people were simply never content, and they endlessly sought perfection in an imperfect world.
So Claudia didn’t know what she believed. She thought there was something out there, something bigger than humanity, something bigger than the universe that contained them, but she acknowledged that she didn’t know what that was. She didn’t know if that was the same God her mother believed in or something else entirely. Frankly, she didn’t really care what it was.
But now, with her physical body disintegrated, she felt she might be as close to the answer as was humanly possible.
Was this her soul? She wondered. She no longer had a physical body that tied her to any planet. So what was she? She wasn’t anything tangible, but she was still able to think. She didn’t feel anything, not in the physical sense, but she could still feel her emotions. She could still feel her essence. Whatever she was now, she was the part of her that was outside, or maybe inside, the prison that was the body.
She'd fallen into the core of red planet, at least she still thought she had, but that too didn’t fully make sense. The center of a planet was only molten rock, condensed and super-heated by the oppressive weight of gravity.
So she was dead, then. She’d killed herself, and her thoughts were only her remaining essence, collapsed within the center of the red planet, waiting to be dispersed back into the creatures that were still living on the surface. It was the only thing that made sense.
Would she be conscious in this way for eternity, until she was reused? Or would her consciousness fade over time, like a battery that slowly deteriorated and lost its charge when unused?
YOU WILL BE REBORN.
It wasn’t a voice that she heard in the physical sense. Nor was it like the voice she heard in her head when her essence spoke to her. This was a booming voice, a voice that seemed greater than what she was or what anything in the physical world could be. It was a deep, powerful voice, a voice of commanding power. It sounded ages old, and was neither male or female in tone.
What are you? She asked, or thought she asked, because she had no voice to speak with.
I AM CTAOLTHOST, THE SOURCE OF LIFE ON THIS PLANET. ALL CREATURES HERE ARE BORN OF ME, AND THE ESSENCE YOU TAKE FROM THEM IS MINE.
Must I give it back, then? I rather like it.
LIKE THE ONES BEFORE YOU, I BROUGHT YOU HERE FOR A REASON. ALL THOSE BEFORE YOU HAVE FAILED. WILL YOU, TOO, FAIL?
What is it that you need of me?
I WILL GIVE YOU MORE OF MY ESSENCE AND WILL IMPROVE YOUR VESSEL. I WILL MAKE YOU AS CLOSE TO A GOD AMONG MEN AS IS POSSIBLE FOR A BEING OF ORGANIC MATTER. BUT WITH THE POWER, YOU AGREE TO ASSIST IN MY MISSION FOR YOU.
What mission?
YOU COME FROM TEGREX, AND IT IS DYING. DISEASED. SPOILING. YOU MUST SAVE TEGREX, OR IT AND ALL LIFE UPON ON IT WILL DIE.
What is Tegrex?
TEGREX HAS MANY NAMES, BUT YOU CREATURES CALL IT EARTH.
The buzzsaws, those creatures that took me captive. They’re trying to get to Earth. What will they do if they do, if they visit Earth like we’re visiting this planet?
THAT WILL HAPPEN SOON. WHEN IT DOES, THE CREATURES FROM HERE WILL DESTROY MOST LIFE ON YOUR PLANET. TEGREX IS WEAK, AND ITS CREATURES ARE WEAK. IT IS AN INEVITABLE BUT NECESSARY EVIL.
How can you say that? How can you not care at all if the creatures you created, the creatures... Tegrex created, live or die?
Tegrex... Ctaolthost... Claudia thought that she most certainly was speaking to a God, and Tegrex was just another name for her God. Was that possible? Or was she mad?
LIFE DOES NOT EXIST WITHOUT DEATH. LIFE IS BORN, AND LIFE DIES. LIFE IS INCONSEQUENTIAL, A MANIFESTATION OF OUR ESSENCE. LIFE KEEPS OUR ESSENCE STRONG, RECYCLES IT AND CHARGES IT. MY CONCERN IS ONLY TEGREX, NOT THE LIFE THAT RECYCLES HER ESSENCE.
Claudia felt disgusted. She felt confused. She felt as if she’d never understand her purpose in life. For a short time, she thought maybe she’d be able to save her and Lisa, and that would be purpose enough. Then, she wondered if she could help the human race protect itself from the creatures on the mysterious red planet. Now... what? Was she supposed to let life on Earth suffer only so she could save… A dying planet? A God?
NOT JUST A DYING PLANET, BUT THE FUTURE OF LIFE ON YOUR PLANET. YOUR RACE IS BUT A BLIP AGAINST THE GREAT EXPANSE OF TIME. YOU WILL COME AND GO, AND OTHER CREATURES WILL TAKE YOUR PLACE, JUST AS YOU TOOK OVER FOR THE CREATURES BEFORE YOU.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Can’t you just stop your creatures from going to Earth? Make the connection one way?
NO. I CANNOT INFLUENCE THE ACTIONS OF LIFE, ONLY MAKE LIFE POSSIBLE. I’VE ESTABLISHED THE CONNECTION AND AM GIVING YOU THE POWER NECESSARY TO SAVE TEGREX. THE CREATURES HERE ARE INTELLIGENT, AND WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CONNECTION WHILE IT IS OPEN. IF YOU WISH TO PROTECT YOUR RACE, YOU MUST SAVE TEGREX QUICKLY. ONCE TEGREX IS RESTORED, I WILL BREAK THE CONNECTION, AND ALL THINGS CAN RETURN TO NORMAL.
How do I save Tegrex? How the fuck do I save an entire planet?
ON THIS PLANET, THERE ARE SIX SOURCES OF ESSENCE. YOU’VE FOUND THE FIRST. TEGREX ALSO HAS SOURCES OF ESSENCE, BUT THEY ARE WEAK ANY DYING. YOU MUST FIND THEM, ENTER THEM, AND SPEAK TO TEGREX TO FIND OUT WHAT IS CAUSING HER AILMENT.
Her. It wasn't the first time she'd heard it use the female gender to describe Earth. Claudia thought it interesting. Mother Earth. It would seem humans had guessed right. Or had they always known?
I WILL GIVE YOU THE LOCATION OF THE OTHER ESSENCE FISSURES ON THIS PLANET, BUT I CANNOT TELL YOU WHERE THE ONES ON TEGREX ARE. I DO NOT KNOW. IF YOU WISH TO INCREASE YOUR POWER, SEEK OUT THE FISSURES ON THIS PLANET. EACH FISSURE RELEASES A DIFFERENT SPECTRUM OF MY POWER THAT CAN BE INFUSED INTO YOUR VESSEL. HOWEVER, BE AWARE THAT DIFFERENT CREATURES HAVE SETTLED ALONGSIDE EACH FISSURE, MOST MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU.
How will I find the other pylons? Or fissures, I mean?
THE CREATURE YOU TRAVEL WITH HAS THE ABILITY TO SEE EACH FISSURE AND CAN TAKE YOU TO THEM. THERE ARE TWO AT EACH END OF THE RIVER. BEYOND THESE TWO, THERE ARE THREE MORE. ONE IN THE OCEAN, ONE ALONG THE MOUNTAIN RANGE THAT LINES THE OCEAN, AND THE FINAL ONE DEEP WITHIN THE DESERT THAT COVERS THE MAJORITY OF THE PLANET.
How much power do I need to meet Tegrex?
ONLY WHAT IS NEEDED TO PROTECT YOURSELF. TEGREX AS A PLANET IS WEAK, BUT IT WILL SOON BE OVERRUN BY MY CREATURES. FIND WHAT YOU NEED TO AID IN YOUR SURVIVAL, THEN TAKE LISA WITH YOU TO LOCATE THE FISSURES.
How do we return to…Tegrex?
SOME OF YOU WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL FREELY BETWEEN PLANETS ALONG THE ESTABLISHED CONNECTION. YOU BOTH DO NOT. YOU WILL NEED TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER TO COME. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SOON. IF THE ONE THAT ARRIVES CANNOT TRAVEL, THEN SPLIT OPEN THE BODY AND PIN ITS FLESH AGAINST A SURFACE. ONCE CHARGED WITH ESSENCE, THE CORPSE WILL ALLOW YOU TO TRAVEL ONE WAY. THIS IS HOW LIFE ON THIS PLANET WILL FIND A WAY TO YOURS.
Jesus I’m not going to mutilate a human being simply to return to Earth.
THEN YOU MUST WAIT. EACH OF YOU WILL HAVE DIFFERENT ABILITIES. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW LONG YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT. IT WOULD BE EASIER TO OPEN A BLOOD PORTAL. HOWEVER, YOU MUST NOT SACRIFICE THE CREATURE YOU TRAVEL WITH. HER ABILITIES ARE CRITICAL FOR FINDING TEGREX’S FISSURES.
I understand. What… what happens if we fail?
IF YOU FAIL, TEGREX WILL DIE. ALONG WITH TEGREX, ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET WILL USE ITS REMAINING ESSENCE AND, TOO, DIE. TEGREX WILL BE ANOTHER BARREN ROCK FLOATING THROUGH TIME AND SPACE. MANY OF OUR KIND HAVE ALREADY DISSIPATED INTO BARREN ROCKS. I HOPE FOR BOTH YOUR SAKE AND MINE YOU CAN PREVENT ANOTHER FROM DESTRUCTION.
Clauda again felt the oppressive weight of responsibility on her shoulders. Yet, she found that she wasn’t scared. Instead she felt powerful and rejuvenated. She felt purpose and meaning. For the first time in her life, she felt as though she had a clear path in front of her, something bigger than herself. Her parents had thought her meant for something bigger than herself, and it would seem they had been right. However, she wouldn’t be simply a doctor or a scientist. She had the potential to quite literally save the world. Not simply humanity, but the planet and life itself.
I understand the mission, then. I am ready to return. I will find the next pylon and await another human to find us. When we find someone with the ability to teleport, we will return to Tegrex and speak to it.
ONCE TEGREX INFORMS YOU OF WHAT AILS HER, RETURN TO ME. I WILL RETURN YOU TO YOUR PHYSICAL FORM NOW. GO SLOW AT FIRST. YOUR BODY WILL FEEL DIFFERENT. IT’S A RECREATION OF THE OLD ONE.
This fact sat uncomfortably with Claudia, as she realized that she had died, her body incinerated within the center of the red planet, consumed by… Ctaolthost. Was she to be respawned as if a character in a video game? Or was it more like reincarnation, only the body she’d be reborn in was an imitation of her old one?
As these thoughts crossed her mind, she felt again.
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She’d forgotten what feeling was. Her mind erupted with a kind of migraine, an intense pain at the forefront of her brain. She felt pain in all of her joints, too, and they felt hard and firm. She attempted to bend them, and electrical shocks rocked through each joint. She screamed out, and her throat burned with fire as if scarred and dry. She painfully rolled to her side, her appendages resistant but obedient to her commands. She was frustratingly reminded of what it it must have been like to be a newborn, synapses firing in the brain, arms and legs flailing without control. She was learning how to move and breathe again, but this time on a fast track. She threw up to her side, and felt the liquid splatter along her arms. She opened her eyes, and the red light of the planet burned painful signals through her optic nerves and into her occipital lobe of the brain. For a brief moment she worried that she, too, had become blind. She closed her eyes and continued to blink until the painful light faded into the normal dull tones of the living.
“Claudia, is that you?” Lisa asked from somewhere in the distance.
“Yes, Lisa. It’s me.”
“Good. You’ve returned,” Lisa said, “I need you I’m afraid.”
Claudia ignored the odd statement for a moment, choosing instead to look inward at her own essence, needing to take stock of her new place in the world.
Name Claudia B. Lafleur Base Ability Mental Manipulation Essence Current: 50 | Max: 50 Tiers Achieved 1: Energy Awareness
2: Super Human Learned Abilities • Enhanced Strength, Agility, and Hand-to-hand Combat
• Minor Astral Vision
• Healing Touch
• Searing Touch Pylons Located 1
“Searing touch,” Claudia said to herself. “Good… That sounds good.”
“Claudia,” Lisa said again, and Claudia looked towards the sound.
Her friend sat on the ground a short distance away. She had her clothing on still, but now it was clean and freshly sowed. It seemed Ctaolthost was kind enough to give fresh clothes with their renewed vessel. She saw Lisa’s eyes, then, or rather her lack of them. Unlike before, where her body had attempted to rebuild those eyes, her new body had forgone any attempt at all. Her face was smooth where eyes would have normally been, as if fresh skin had been sown over the holes. Only her eyebrows were there to give any indication that eyes had ones rested in that skull.
“It would seem that Ctaolthost doesn’t deem me worthy of eyes any longer. It would seem that my ability to see the flow of essence is more critical to his mission."
Claudia looked at her friend, uncertain of what to say. How could it give her fresh clothing, but no eyes? Didn’t it understand the importance of eyes to humans?
Ctaolthost cares only about the mission, and her sight for essence is more critical than her ability to see in the visible spectrum.
Claudia understood the logic but was still sickened by it. Further, she found herself sickened by her acceptance of it because it made sense.
“Ctaolthost is fucking asshole,” she finally said, and Lisa only smiled.