Dust: dust covered the withering pages of history and man; fine particles of solid matter accumulated and sorted over time by the serendipity of fate. Rows of untouched, leather bounded knowledge were left forgotten and neglected by the forward march of prosperity that trudges ceaselessly into the unfolding vortex of potentials. Immortalized spirits captured by various symbols in pulp and black ink, now forsaken; their breath and wisdom made eternal, free, comprehensible, though unread and in dust again.

The library on the Apollyon had existed since the inception of the colossal satellite, originally being a descendent of a much older library that was recapitulated into the confines of space. It was rarely visited by any living souls, except the few who knew the value of such rich places.

“Alright, this looks like a good place…”

Bash! Bash!

Metal clattered on the marble floor.

Jack put a leg through and stepped out, followed by Mr. Chicken.

“That’s last time I’ll ever go in one of those things, you got that?”

Mr. Chicken, who was twice the size of Jack and struggled to fit through air vent, ignored his irritable partner’s comment after entering the library.

They looked around. Up at the tall stacks of shelves that raised up to the high ceiling. Down the dark aisles leading into the unknown. Through the gaps above the books into the parallel rows adjacent to them. They listened for any disturbances. Silence––as a library should be.

“You wait here while I look for a way out.” Jack instructed.

The Anglo stealthily crept around the corner with his vacuum in hand and bounded down the aisle. The labyrinth he had just entered was barely lit, and he had a hard time getting his bearings at first, but then he recognized the classification system which the library used to organize its content. He had come from 500 and then turned at 200 and followed the rows down which opened up to huge reading room filled with tables and comfy chairs. A few doors lay on the other side next to the replica fireplace. Satisfaction eased his nerves. He turned to head back to his partner when something caught his eye on one of the shelves he was passing. He crouched down and removed a small, dusty book that he immediately began flipping through and then closed it. The Confessions of Jacob Boehme.

“The King sure isn’t going to miss this; especially where he’s going…”

Jack put the small book in his jacket and commenced walking again.

When he found Mr. Chicken, he was holding up a book of his own and was attempting to decipher it.

“A Book of Riddles, eh? My, I’m impressed Chicken.”

He looked over his shoulder at what the chickenoid was pondering over.

The Earth Riddle

I am both fighter and the bull

And the Sun is my chariot to pull

Until Mother’s womb is full

Of electric golden wool

Then I shall scour the raiment

And take as payment

Everything we have learned.

I have earned

The Offspring of Beast and Man

Which I understand

Is the Prize of Philosophy

The Mystery of History

My body within Eternity

Who am I?

“Murkity muck muck, what sort of garbage is this?” Jack took the book out of Mr. Chicken’s hands and tossed it aside.

“Time to get serious. We’re nearing Venus’s performance and there’s still some things we need to sort out. I want you to–“

Suddenly they heard a loud squeak echo out into the library. They listened. Footsteps tapped towards them it sounded like, so they quietly moved in the opposite direction. The person stopped. For a few minutes Mr. Chicken and Jack stood frozen waiting more movements.

Jack caught Mr. Chicken’s attention with his hand and motioned for them to move out. They tiptoed along the aisles and around the corner to discover a man sitting at one of the table looking down at something. After watching him for moment, they felt like it was safe enough to approach and did not shy away from making noise.

The man seemed indifferent to the terrorists’ presence as if maybe he knew they were there already. It was only when they were a few feet from the table did he lift his bald head from what he was looking at and paid them any attention.

“Well, hello there.” He said, very friendly.

The man was old, but not old enough to tire out easily. He was robed and plump like a monk.

“Hey, how’s it going?” The Anglo cordially greeted.

“Good, just reminiscing over old times.” The old man looked down at what was an antique photobook flipped open. Jack looked as well.

“Are you in any of those photos?”

“Oh, heavens no. This was way before I was born. Actually, these photographs are of my ancestors, most of whom I’ve never had the chance to meet.” He closed the book.

Jack looked down at the name in big print on the cover.

Galanos.

He then looked up at the old man’s face, who was staring right back.

“Yes, I know who you are, just as you know who I am. Do not worry Jack the Anglo, no reason to be startled.”

Jack flinched back.

“But you’re the King’s right hand man! Why shouldn’t I believe there’s a horde of jinn heading here, at this very moment?”

“Because if that were the case, it would have already happened by now. You see, I’ve been watching for you this entire time you’ve been on the Apollyon.” Aesop said matter-of-factly, like he was talking about the weather. “You have nothing to worry about, from me at least.”

“There’s no way the Consul of the World Society would betray the King like that. You can skip over the pretenses and just tell me what you’re aiming at.”

“I do take my role in society very seriously, but you must understand, I do not betray the King in any way. Merely the time has come for me to start settling down; I for the most part have stepped away from my many duties and soon will be finding a replacement––It is too bad I wasn’t able to produce any heirs who were capable of taking the mantle from me, like I did from my father, and his, but the world must make do and find a new family to depend upon. As a matter of fact, when my time comes, I’ll be the last descendent of a long line of greats minds and nobility that spans generations. My ancestors, you could say, built the world you live in today.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Oh, so they’re the ones who’s responsible for all this?” Jack laughed sarcastically, not being able to believe what he was hearing.

“You may not like it, but if it wasn’t for us, humanity would have fallen by the wayside and everything would have been reduced to nothing a long time ago. We strived to provide for the people, not just food and health, but with hope and reason, with a perfect ruler. My Great-Great Grandfather raised Khalid as if he was one of his own, in fact, he was his own. I’m not sure if you know this, but the Galanos have been a part of a long, noble lineage who have been known solely for their scientific work. Other families have made their wealth with war, crime, plundering resources, but we alone have made our fortunes solely by our wits and innovations. It is a shame it will all go to waste…”

“What are you talking about? You’re just a servant of the King, I haven’t heard of one scientific thing you’ve ever done.”

“It is true, I for the most part keep my research to myself and a select few, but that does not set me apart from the brilliance that’s in my blood.”

Aesop opened the book and continued to look over the photographs.

“You see, there he is, Otto Galanos the third.”

Aesop pointed to a grainy image of a bespectacled man in the desert standing next to a shirtless boy wearing a turban.

“This was almost 300 years ago, can you believe it? Just right after Khalid was hatched”

“Hatched?” Jack strained his face.

“Well, that’s what they used to call it, back when they first started fooling around with humanoid engineering. Khalid, though, is something else.”

“You’re saying Khalid is some sort of a humanoid?”

“Well, he’s not really a humanoid, but rather, all humanoids come from him. You see, he was the first, the one they got just right, and was used as the template for further production. The intention was to make a whole race of Khalids, but Otto died before he could pass on the original method to his son. So my Great-Grandfather, Laurance Gatchis Galanos, a remarkable man himself, had to make do and reinvent the whole procedure. The current form of the humanoids we know today are his work and the reason we were able to share in this prosperity.”

He closed the book.

“Come, I’ll show you” Galanos said to Jack. He stood up from the table and began walking to one of the doors, beckoning the boys along.

Jack looked at Chicken and tilted his head in the direction of Aesop and they followed him into next room.

Sterile white floors. Bright white lights. Microscopes. The two found themselves in an empty laboratory. Ahead of them Aesop walked up to the console of a large machine which he booted up. He swiped at the screen with his fingertips bringing up a menu labeled ‘Embryonics’.

Jack and Chicken crept over to the Galanos descendent and looked over his shoulder.

“Tell me Jack, what’s your favorite humanoid? All young boys growing up have a particular humanoid they’re fond of.”

The touchscreen monitor displayed a sidereal selection of animal splices that could be placed into an egg.

Jack stayed silent, looking at Chicken with an annoyed look.

“I myself have always been fascinated by the mighty tiger, king of the jungle.” Said Galanos

He moved a finger across the screen and then tapped it. A loading bar appeared.

Gears grinding and the sudden hum of fans were heard coming from inside the machine.

“Your chicken friend was probably born in a place not too much different than this one.”

Aesop made his way around the corner of the machine to a conveyor belt that was running. When Jack and Chicken had followed, they witnessed a large translucent egg roll out of the mouth of the machine. Inside the face of a cat with closed eyes pressed up against the surface could be seen as it made its way to the observers. It twitched suddenly with slight sentience as the egg jerked from the conveyor stopping.

“Enough of this play, Aesop. Just tell us what’s your intention for all of this?”

“Now don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out yet, Jack? I assumed you were much smarter than that–“

“Stop testing my intelligence, as well as my patience or–“

“I only mean it’s already out in the open, can’t you see? I made no effort in concealing what’s going on. Instead, maybe, how about you tell me why you’re on the Apollyon?”

“If you been watching me this entire time, you should know.”

“Oh but I do know, but it would be a pleasure to hear it come out of your mouth.”

Jack knitted his eyebrows and hesitated for a moment.

“I’m not interested in finishing this conversation…”

“Fine, if you do not want to talk, I would be happy to explain. It is, after all, quite obvious why an Anglo like yourself would be here in the King’s station. You’ve come to ‘topple him off the top the world’ as you astutely put it. You are, like me, open and honest with your intentions, we feel there’s no need to hide our hubris. I, for one, actually believe you can do it and can give Khalid an even match. You, after all, have discovered his secret…”

“So it’s true– I really did figure out where he gets his power– It’s his hookah?”

“Yes, it sure is.”

“And you have no problem disclosing your King’s secret?”

“I do nothing of the sort. You are the one who did all the work, getting here, making the vacuums, I only watched from a distance, waiting.”

“How does it work then? How is he able to make life from those smoke monsters?”

“The hookah, you could say, has been around almost as long as the King’s been alive. When Khalid was a young boy, after Otto had died, and he was coming into maturity, he began suffering from terrible epileptic fits that baffled our experts. Under observation, during his seizures, it was perceived that his body was experiencing large jolts of synaptic charges throughout his nervous system. They were unable to understand what was happening, having little insight into the composition of Khalid’s biology, but eventually a solution was produced. It was observed by Laurence that perhaps if there was some sort of outlet for Khalid’s bodily stresses, that might relieve some of the overflows of plasmic excitation. So they set about constructing an inhaler that Khalid could use to fumigate the large amount of red blood cells that accumulated in his lungs, thus reliving the overstressed metabolism of his body. However, the results were not exactly what was anticipated. The first few experiments showed immediate alleviation to the King’s condition, who hasn’t been known to have a seizure since, but the so-called ‘side-effects’ were shocking to my Great-grandfather and his staff. The jinn, as you people seem to call them, were born then and have been utilized to bring so much aid to this world–”

“More like destruction.”

“ –Since then, the king has, more or less, been the supreme power on the planet. Being able to produce millions of men in a matter of days in combination of the Galanos humanoid technique has given us a total monopoly over the world and we have been free to do with it as we wished with little-to-no resistance, that is, except for your type. And this would have lasted for who knows how long if I had been fortunate enough to produce a suitable heir. Having someone outside of the family take my place will change everything and could have disastrous consequences, so that is why the decision must be made carefully– So after much consideration, consultations and personality evaluations I have come to a decision––and chosen you to succeed me in my duties.”

Jack made a raspberry in disbelief.

“You’re making me– You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t want to serve the king!”

“I never said you would be serving him, merely, you would become the conductor, who with his baton, directs the music of the world orchestra. You alone must do what you think is right when it comes to your duties not only for the king and his court, but also society and the world. I think you will be a good balance to the king’s staleness that seems to now haunt him; you’ll give him new meanings that aren’t so rotten and old. You, yourself said, you wanted to bring ‘order to an orderless’ world. Well then, here you go, time to make the order you so desired.”

“Stop quoting me, it’s rather unsettling to hear you echo words that weren’t meant for you.”

“But don’t you see? This is ample opportunity to bring opposites together in unity. With your appeal to the factions of guerrilla revolutionaries and the King’s grasp of power over the military and senate, we will have complete control of the grid––Whether it be the obedient, the subversive, the patriotic, the criminal, or the weird––they will all be in our command and acted upon at our pleasure. Can you imagine that? The world netted in a network, acting as one system, in unison, like a computer, all parts touching, and yet independent; tensors of humanity ready to be put on like a glove and controlled. You alone could be in charge of this people machine.”

“And what about Khalid?” Jack said curtly.

“Well, that is up to you; but I suggest you keep him alive. Maybe, take his hookah from him and throw him in a cage? I don’t know. You’re smart, I’m sure you can figure something out. The important thing is to get that inhaler away from him.”

“Hmm…”

Jack wasn’t sure what to think. He looked around.

“… I think it would be best if I just pretended we never had this conversation and I just went about my business.” Jack said.

“Oh, sure. That sounds like an excellent idea. I have faith, though, you’ll make the right decision” And Aesop put his hands into the sleeves of his robes and looked like he was about to excuse himself before he added. “Oh, I’m sure this will be of use to you, do with it as you please.” He took out a plastic card from his hip pocket and handed it to the Anglo.

“What’s this?”

“That’s a skeleton key, use it wisely. Now I think that should be sufficient. If you don’t have any more questions I will leave you and your partner in peace.”

With that, Aesop made a polite bow and headed out of the room.

Jack the Anglo turned to Mr. Chicken and frowned. He remained perturbed for a few good seconds.

“Yeah, I don’t know about this– “

Then, realizing he was short on time, he gained composure of himself.

“Right. We have some things we need to take care of now, don’t we Mr. Chicken?”

“Bwok–Bwook!”

And they too headed out of the laboratory.