Chapter 30. Schemes

The Facilitator, this title that had been earned, felt more like a burden to bear as of late. Clavius Graedig sat in his quarters silently. He watched the cleaning bots clean and sterilize the spot previously occupied by the corpse of the impetuous young one who had made the mistake of delivering unwelcome news.

Clavius found the mindless, repetitive actions of the cleaning bots therapeutic. He found himself envious of them—not of the bots in particular, but of the void of stress and responsibility that he felt.

Clavius had been tasked with facilitating his people's re-emergence into the wider cosmos. It would not be easy, and the groundwork for this re-emergence had been laid thousands of years ago. His people were banished after losing a war. Banishment was bad enough, but they had been banished to an alternate dimension that acted as a prison for what remained of his entire species.

At first, his people, the proud Havokium people, were satisfied to just survive extermination at the hands of the Universal Council. They decided they would rebuild and make the most of their situation, and at first, it worked. His people lived in the peace of knowing they were out of danger and would survive. They were happy for a time.

It took centuries for the feeling of being imprisoned to fully take hold. His people didn’t age, they couldn’t propagate. They were stuck in time, and stuck in a dimension populated only by themselves. Over time this became a torture that twisted the mind and empowered the wills of his people.

Once they started to plan a re-emergence, it became increasingly clear that it would be easier than expected. The wider cosmos had mostly forgotten about them, over time the memory of the Havokium people became a legend and the Coeus collective was born. The Universal Council was complicit in the creation of the Coeus Collective. The knowledge that the Havokium Empire had been banished was a closely guarded secret, and over time this secret was completely lost.

The Havokium people lived in seclusion without contact from the outside world for nearly ten thousand years before being contacted. While the Havokium people had never forgotten the people that had imprisoned them, the outside world had seemed to have forgotten them. So, when the first communications channel in ten millennia was opened, they took on the alias of the Coeus Collective. They would become an ally to the Universal Council, a resource. The Universal Council had no record of who they were but understood that banished species were not to be reintroduced into the cosmos. Greed, however, outweighed good judgment.

The Universal Council, upon discovering the Coeus had the technology to create pocket dimensions, employed them to be the architects of the Reaping trials. The Havokium people played to their greed and became trusted allies over time. They were still not allowed to escape their prison, but they could establish communication avatars at specified locations. The Havokium people would use this to create the resources needed to facilitate the re-emergence.

The Pocket dimensions of the Reaper Trials allowed the Havokium to plant seeds and rumors. They would need allies if they were to execute this plan. The ability to control the narrative was important, and as everyone seemed to have forgotten the sacrifice they made for the ancient races, it was necessary to create that narrative.

“Havokium Empire…” Clavius clicked his tongue as he whispered the words, still lost in thought.

“The Havokium Empire was weak; the Coeus will be the wave that cleanses this foul universe of lesser beings.”

Clavius was determined to leave the stain of defeat in the past and fully embrace his people's new identity. First, however, he would need to deal with the summons and debrief that he was expected to give the Authority under the watchful eyes of the Administrator. Clavius stood up, straightened his robes, and walked to the lift chamber.

His foot squished as he stepped into the half-cleaned puddle of gore that was once the young one. Clavius stopped; he curled his toes into the soft floor covering so he could better feel the remains of the life he had just taken.

“Mmmm,” Clavius groaned as he reveled in the feeling.

Ding

Reminder- your presence in the Chamber of Authority is expected in 15 minutes.

Clavius snarled at the automated message, which reminded him of his debrief and that he was not yet in a position to deny that request. It was only a matter of time, though; for now, he would comply.

The circular blade doors of the hyper-lift retracted with a metallic hiss, and Clavius stepped through. The foyer of the Chamber of Authority was well-lit, with large windows expanding from floor to ceiling on both sides of the long chamber. At the end of the chamber were two intricately carved wooden doors made of dark wood and carved with images of a Havokium holding the corpse of a giant serpent into the air. The serpent had 12 spikes protruding from and running along the length of its back. The spikes were meant to represent the 12 seats of the Council. Clavius found the image comical as the Havokium Empire had been the ones to be beaten and banished. He kept his amusement to himself though. Clavius approached the large wooden doors as they slowly opened to allow him entry into the Chamber of Authority.

The Chamber was overly large and resembled an amphitheater in layout aside from the fact that the room was enclosed and the podium that occupied the front center of the chamber was lifted. Clavius approached the Authority, walking with purpose along the red-carpet pathway in the center of the room.

“Approach, Facilitator.” The voice was polyphonous and unsettling.

“Authority,” Clavius bowed deeply as he approached podium of Authority.

Clavius cringed as he heard the voice behind him, “Authority,” the Administrator said as she also bowed deeply.

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“Shall we get straight to the point then?” the Authority asked.

“Of course, Authority. I have prepared a debrief of the re-emergence stratagem. I believe you will be pleased with the progress being made,” Clavius said.

Authority was a figure of great power and respect. Clavius, however, could never grow accustomed to the creature's physical appearance. Clavius believed it to be a perverted amalgamation of the elders of the original empire. The Authority’s body was a twisted mass of limbs covered in a black tattered robe. It had not 1 but 5 heads. These heads operated as a hive mind and spoke and reacted in unison. The five elders of the Havokium Empire had made the decision to become the monstrosity after the shame of their individual failures drove them to seek a way to become more powerful. Clavius had always felt uneasy when in the presence of the creature.

Authority turned its heads in Clavius’ direction.

“You have prepared a… debrief?” Authority asked.

“Yes, Authority. I can update you on the progress of the stratagem and the next steps. The plan is well underway, and we should expect to begin re-emergence in the near future,” Clavius said, head still bowed.

“Administrator, what do you say to this debrief?” Authority said, his head snapping to look in the administrator's direction.

“My lord, I believe that the Facilitator has been impeding the flow of relevant information in regard to the stratagem. I believe there are extenuating circumstances that might jeopardize the operation if not acted upon immediately,” the Administrator replied as she turned her head toward Clavius.

“Interesting. It seems my two most senior agents find themselves at odds. I will hear your update, Facilitator,” Authority said.

“The Human Andrew Dawes, as you know, is in possession of the weapon,” Clavius said.

“I am aware of the Human; I am aware that he bonded with the weapon and the ship. Did we not assist him and his team in the Reaping trial? I believe we were able to strike a blow to the Universal Council in the process. Why are you spewing old intel Facilitator?” Authority asked.

“Forgive me, my lord, I only meant to be thorough. The Human has been transitioned to the pocket dimension that contains the Seed of Power. He, along with an ally of his choosing, is currently operating on the second level of the tower. The human is under the impression that the Seed will grant some great power to the inhabitants of the universe and, as of yet, hasn’t questioned his mission. He has proven himself capable but has merely scratched the surface of the weapon and has no understanding of its true purpose. He assumes that the weapon is his and has only used its most basic capabilities as of yet,” Clavius said.

“Do you not fear the human gaining a deeper understanding of the weapon? If he suspects he is being used we may lose our only chance to activate the Seed. I don’t need to explain what happens if the seed is not activated, Facilitator,” Authority said.

“No, My Lord, you do not. I am aware of the consequences of failure for both myself and our people,” Clavius responded.

“And once the seed is activated? What are the next steps?” Authority asked.

The seed will act as an anchor and blend natural and artificial realities. Essentially, all dimensions and artificially created pocket dimensions will merge into a new amalgamation of reality. We will destroy and rebuild reality in a matter of minutes. Once this blending of reality occurs, the chains of our people’s bondage will be broken, and we will emerge into the cosmos to take our rightful place as rulers.

“What are the expected side effects of this blending of realities?” Authority asked.

“The biggest concern will be the rules of physical reality. The inhabitants of the natural universe cannot currently access the tools necessary to create the aetheric properties necessary to access individual powers. We grant access to participants of Reaping Rituals. Still, on a universal scale, there are an insignificant number of Aether wielders, to the point of not even knowing the correct term or limits of the power they wield. That power is commonly referred to as being given by the system, and there have been no cases of a user progressing beyond the most basic power level. In short, it has not been a concern since all members of our race have been empowered and are capable Aether wielders,” Clavius said

“His plan will possibly give every inhabitant of the universe access to Aetherial power! This cannot be an acceptable outcome! The power is the divine right of our people; even allowing access to the number of people we have is an outrage!” the Administrator hissed the words, and she pointed a finger in the direction of Clavius

The heads of the authority shot in her direction at her outburst. All ten eyes glazed black as the Administrator floated off the ground. She began to tremble as Authority’s power took hold violently. The finger she pointed in Clavius’ direction snapped and folded back on her hand. She tried to scream but instead began foaming at the mouth.

“Decorum, is oft forgotten. Let this be a lesson, Administrator. My chambers will not be a sanctum for you childish squabbles.” Authority said, “Continue, Facilitator.”

“The weapon is the key. It is both the catalyst needed to activate the seed and the way we shall stop the proliferation of Aether wielders. A subroutine has been programmed into the weapon to bypass this particular side effect. I am confident in its success, My Lord,” Clavius deepened his bow before standing erect.

“Possible failure points?” Authority asked.

“The weapon has no AI. That was the point of providing such an advanced AI in the vessel we provided the human. The human does not understand how to access the deeper functions of the weapon fully, and based on the technological inadequacy, I do not expect him to attempt it on his own. In short, the Human can’t unlock the true potential of the weapon, and he has no AI in the weapon to teach him. He has bonded with both the weapon and the vessel AI more than expected, true, but I don’t see that as a problem. We set the narrative, and as he grows more powerful, it feeds his desire to follow further instructions from us. He sees us as an ally and has acted accordingly. We have one other contingency if he strays from the path, but I prefer to keep that to myself for operational security purposes. I am fully confident in the plan so far Authority,” Clavius said.

“It shows great foresight that you didn’t place a native AI into the weapon. If there had been one and it had bonded with the human it could educate and empower him. I commend your actions to this point Facilitator and I will allow you to maintain the secrecy around your other contingency for now. You are approved to continue your work, for now. You are both dismissed,” Authority said.

Clavius turned to leave the chamber. He spared a glance for the administrator who lay unconscious on the floor, foam still trickling from her mouth. Her finger would heal but the lesson was learned, she would not be a problem for some time. Clavius smiled, content with how the meeting had gone. Now it was time to return to his schemes.

I sat in a chair inside the safe room talking to Kaj about the first floor and what he had experienced.

“Yeah, So I guess Elvis installed this AI into my armor. It was a big help, even if he is a massive A-hole. His name is Sherlock.”

Sherlock appeared, standing beside me. He was wearing what looked like a tweed suit and a deerstalker hat. He pulled a pipe from his mouth as he turned to Kaj.

“Pleasure, I’m sure,” He said with disdain as he puffed his pipe.

“How are you here?” I asked, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“There are things you don’t know? I never would have guessed.” Sherlock said with disdain.

“Let me just see if I can give Tiff a call…” I said.

“Oh, fine. Hi, nice to meet you and all that. Are you happy?” Sherlock asked before disappearing.

Kaj looked at me, confused, “What was that?”

“Oh, that? He has a thing for Tiff. I use what I got to keep him in line,” I shrugged and went back to telling Kaj about the first floor.