Chapter 1
Mike
(Present Day)
"Welcome Michael, of the Chosen."
He would have been perplexed if it weren't for the agony ripping through his body.
It Burned.
Pain akin to fire began tearing into his veins, starting from his head and setting ablaze every nerve ending along his body. He instinctively crumpled to the floor, trying... failing to halt the advance of wave after wave of nauseating affliction.
What is happening? I feel like I'm going to spontaneously combust, how the hell do I stop this?
He couldn't.
And after what felt like an eternity of suffering, a multitude of prayers, and embarrassingly, some ruined shorts, his brain hit it's limit, and succumbed to the sweet bliss of nothingness.
* * * * *
La'ar
[Two days ago]
This will be a cultivation to remember.
La'ar Vitae enjoyed cultivating. Taking an intelligent race and raising them up to contribute to a higher purpose. That's what it meant to be a 'Cultivator'.
No one, least of all the First Cultivator kept track of such things as 'how many cultivations' one achieved, such an arbitrary standard was folly for beings who lived for eons. Rather, the quality of cultivation and the skill with which it was executed, that spoke of true service to the Res Publica, as he so affectionately referred to it in the ancient tongue.
Being of highest rank in his station did nothing to dull his preparation for his most sacred task, and reading through the transcript on this race, he understood why he'd been sent.
This race is special.
Really special.
They have no magic whatsoever, yet in true sapient gumption they dream of it, making up for their inadequacies in impressive fashion with their astounding technological advancements over the last century. They are well on their way to becoming a true space-faring civilization.
Oh.
Well, they were.
It seems for all their gains, the inevitable collapse of much of their society is upon them once more, tragically driven by the usual suspects of megalomania, delusional practices, and societal degradation it would seem.
And right while they were on the cusp of greatness.
La'ar rubbed his enlarged temples, sighing as he continued the in-depth assessment. It truly paid to remain prepared.
This time, they can't afford a major war. There are too many fools with too little sense and far too much power to allow that.
Allowing the last 'World War' was a point of contention, with many a dissertation written on it by Livari scholars.
Nonetheless, having been sent by the Luminary himself, La'ar was indeed honoured to be the one to welcome these 'humans' to join them in their Quest. According to the assessment, they were practically the ideal warriors. Naturally dense muscles and bones, as well as legendary stamina and willpower for such a young race. Where others saw lack, he mirrored the Luminary's assessment.
Limitless potential.
Yes, the possibilities for the 'humans' are immense, but they require direction, something to keep them from killing themselves off. What they need is...yes. That will do nicely.
He noticed something.
Hmmm, strikingly similar anatomically, just no green flesh or accentuated temples, almost attractively flat-headed at that! Will the Link affect that? I suppose only time will tell. Even if they don't like it at first, they will come to cherish the Commonwealth.
They'd arrive in little over a day or so, and then, they could get started. Naturally, it wouldn't do not to stop and inspect a few of the breathtaking planets in this fascinating system. After all...
This won't take long.
* * * * *
Mike
[Two days ago]
"..ike.."
Ugh.
"Miiike..."
The door creaked opened.
"Nuh-uh, it's weekend! Don't..."
The darkness of the room was invaded by far too much light for a Sunday morning.
Aunty Lauren really doesn't know how to sleep in.
Her beaming smile competed with the morning glare, she ripped open the curtains, banishing any semblance of further rest for poor old Mike.
"Whyyyy?..." he groaned, curling into fetal position in a vain attempt to hide from the far-too-bright world.
"Come on, your tea's getting cold. I already woke you twice. If I don't wake you up before I go, poor Joe will be waiting outside for hours."
He gave her an unfocused look, unable to clearly see her barely wrinkled face. Oh right, it's Sunday, Joe's coming over. Huh.
"That was just one time..." he protested, yawning into a stretch.
He could practically sense her sideways look, the gray flecks in her hair reflecting the sunlight. "The fact that you're defending it just makes it worse. You both need to get off your phones at night and get some proper sleep, then you wouldn't be so tired..." she lectured as she strolled out of his room.
The lecture wasn't exactly new coming from her, and even though he was trying to drown it out, he knew she was right of course, but just didn't appreciate her sage wisdom at the moment. After such a rude awakening on a Sunday, he felt less guilty for not listening properly.
"...and you have half an hour till he's here, so don't stay in bed. At least brush your teeth before he get's here. You boys smell terrible lately, so please have some mercy on the rest of us. Ok, see you later, love you!" she called as he heard the front door close.
"Love you too!" he groaned as he sat up, running his hands through his short brown hair.
Aunty Lauren's an absolute trooper, and even though she's a little straightforward sometimes, I know she loves me. At least you always know where you stand with her.
And she made him tea every morning.
Exactly like they used to.
As he picked up the cup and let it rest in his lap, his gaze drifted towards the mirror, seeing his shaggy brown hair and skinny-fit physique, a melancholy smile only reached his mouth. It felt so long ago...
He sipped his tea, letting the peppermint wash away the pain as he tried desperately not to slip further down memory lane...
He had some time to shower and become a functioning human being. As his personality loaded under the warm water, he got stuck in a memory. I guess the peppermint really wasn't enough this time.
* * * * *
(8 years ago)
"...in other news just in, a tragic incident involving five researchers, two of which were American, has occured at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe. Three of the researchers were pronounced dead on the scene, whilst two others remain in a comatose sta..." the TV winked out as a wide-eyed Aunt Lauren quickly grabbed the remote.
Little Mike, who was being babysat for the week turned his dazzling blue-green eyes to her in a moment that would haunt them both forever.
"Aunty Lauren, was that mommy and daddy on the news?" his eyes began to water and his lips quiver.
Lauren had never experienced grief so shockingly intense in her life, her sister's child was looking at her... through her for answers, but nothing she wanted to say seemed good enough. It was as if she and Mike could sense the same truth, that somehow beyond any real knowledge, Mike's parents were...
"Mike, sweetie," she said shakily, "We don't know anything yet, it could have been anyone. I promise I'll call to find out what's happened. Don't worry, I'm sure they're just fine." she said with a hollow smile. "Come on, how about some ice-cream?" she ushered Mike into the kitchen, grabbing the newly opened mint-flavoured ice cream and spooning some into a bowl. "And why don't you go play some of those games you like to much? You go play a little, and I'll go make that call, okay?" she put the bowl in his little hands, and he slowly walked back to the TV.
Somehow, they both knew what the result of the call would be.
Lauren cried for weeks on end, while her husband, Uncle Ray, did his best to lighten the load, and be there for her and Mike.
Mike knew they were trying their best, and welcoming a child into their home was something they had never planned for. He did his best to just be a good boy, like his mommy had told him before she left, but when his new godparents weren't looking, he cried quietly in his new room, remembering how his daddy hugged him tight and said 'Love you Mikey! We'll see you soon!"
Liars.
* * * * *
Mike's eyes stung, but not from the shower.
I guess it never gets better, it just gets a little easier. He smiled sadly as he turned off the water and the last few droplets splashed around him. I miss you guys.
The doorbell rang.
Shucks, Joe's here already! Mike dashed out of the shower, toweling off in a fury before jumping into some clothes and opening the door to bring Joe inside.
"Wow, you weren't asleep this time! I'm actually impressed." a mismatched pair of eyes looked at me with mock surprise from behind Joe's glasses. Mike was genuinely happy Joe was here, but bro code dictated...
"Oh yeah? Thanks! I showered just for you too, you know, maybe so you'll take a hint sometime!" Mike shot him a cocky grin before dodging a packet of crisps aimed at his head. His best friend was partially blind in one eye, which served Mike well in this instance.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Asshole, maybe I should just go home and study by myself since I'm not the one who needs the help." Joe said haughtily, walking in and dumping his bag on the table before taking a precarious seat on a chair far too rickety for Joe's pudgy frame.
Mike closed the door and picked up the crisps, "Awww, but then you'd be so lonely, and you'd have to look after your sister, who you love oh so much..." Mike said sarcastically, opening the packet and pouring it into a bowl for them
"Geez, no need to blackmail me. So are you just gonna insult me all day, or can we get to studying?" he said, sitting at the table.
30 minutes later, Joe was giving up.
"Mike, you're totally gonna fail." Said Joe, holding his head in one hand.
"Huh? Why?" Mike said distractedly, eyeing the PlayBox instead of his books.
Joe sighed in exasperation and pushed back his glasses, "Because, unlike normal people, you may be able to get away with not studying, but even you need to do more than play games all day to pass Maths. At least look at the work we're trying to study."
Exams ended tomorrow, and while Grade 9 was kinda tough, it hadn't been that difficult. Mike knew he didn't have to work all that hard to pass, things just clicked for him usually. Geometry though, that he couldn't suck out of his thumb. It was kinda why Joe was here. He honestly couldn't think of anything he wanted to do less.
That was when it began. Unbeknownst to almost all of humanity, the ship had arrived, heralding the end of humanity's era of ignorance. There was a Link that needed establishing, a debt that needed collecting, an enemy that required warriors, and an acute angle that needed measuring.
Destiny called, and it wouldn't take no for an answer.
* * * * *
[One day ago]
This was it, make it or break it! He’d been preparing for this moment his whole life.
Kind of.
He was sure that this time he’d nail it.
Hopefully.
The moment of truth.
He turned the paper over…
'YES!' he shouted in his head, fist pumping and looking smugly at Joe, who stared back in disbelief.
I have the best luck in the world!
Multiple choice to start with, in Geometry! What were the chances?
Joe started his test mumbling something about 'unfairness of the world', while Mike scanned the rest of the pages.
This was gonna be a cakewalk!
It was.
He walked out of exams with a smile on his face. Joe, although initially grumbling, was also in high spirits. The end of the year was over, and it just so happened that Mike and Joe had a lot of gaming to catch up on after all their studying.
"Not to be that guy, but that was extremely easy!" He slung his backpack on as he waited for Joe to pack his bag amongst the steady trickle of students finishing their own exams.
"Hardy har har, yeah, it kinda makes me regret studying as much as we did, although Mrs. Dickerson did say she wasn't feeling well, so maybe she just drew up something that wouldn't be hard to mark?"
"That could be it! Or... I'm just the luckiest guy alive." he grinned knowingly.
Joe hoisted his bag while pivoting slightly, knocking Mike against the wall.
"Hey!"
"Oh, what happened? I could have sworn you were the luckiest guy alive." Joe deadpanned.
"Asshole."
"Dumbass, someone's gotta cut down your ego. Just now it grows so large the world can't handle it, and we all die through spontaneous combustion as we bask in the ethereal glow of your oof..." he was cut off as the luckiest guy alive jabbed him in his plump belly mercilessly, before taking off down the hall in shoes that were far too slippery to run with.
Joe chased after him in the increasingly busy hallways, skidding around people and getting shouted at by a grumpy teacher as they raced through the school until arriving at the parking lot, hot, sweaty, and with beaming smiles on their faces.
"What have you two been doing?" asked Joe's mom, Mrs. Frake, with a semi-serious smirk as they piled into the back after unloading their bags in the trunk.
"Joe was being a big crybaby because the test was so ooof, easy..."
"Mike's head got so big I had to chase him through the hallway so he could ugh..decompress.."
"Boys, settle down, or there's no dessert for either of you."
They quieted down rather quickly after that, with tell-tale grins on their faces. Joe's mom was serious about discipline, but a softie nonetheless. Though, the threat of not getting ice cream on a scorching hot day like this was enough persuasion.
On arriving at Joe's, the heat convinced them that swimming was non-negotiable. After changing, and sprinting to the pool before cannonballing in, as was their usual tradition, Joe eyed Mike critically.
"Mike, are you getting a six-pack?"
"What? I don't think so?" He looked down at himself, before realizing the trap was sprung. A small shove was all it took, and he was tumbling into the water with Joe cackling right after him.
Mike always held his nose when jumping into the pool. Apparently, according to his Aunt, when he was 2 years old, he fell into the pool and nearly drowned. His mom dove in to save him, but she misjudged the shallow water and wrecked her lumbar spine in the process of saving him, necessitating a spinal fusion.
Mike thought that must be why he hated when water got in his nose, why he panicked whenever it happened, and why he got so pissed off over a simple prank like this.
Gasping as he shot up for air, he snorted water out his nose as he grasped for the side of the pool, spluttering amongst the sloshing water. He heaved himself out and took deep, steadying breaths. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and each time Joe forgot, he got a serious earful.
This time a glare was all it took, as Joe sheepishly apologized from the pool after realizing his mistake.
"Sorry." A frown colored his damp features, "I always forget."
Mike didn't let it kill the mood though and instead enjoyed splashing Joe up his nose using his feet as righteous retribution.
All forgiven, they played around some before Joe did something he never normally did.
"I'm gonna teach you how to block your nose properly. Without holding it."
Mike's expression couldn't have been flattering.
"Geez, you look like I just offered you a week-old chicken-mayo sandwich! I think it will be useful for you, and you should really try to learn."
"I don't know Joe, I've tried before, and it sucks every time."
"Trust me, let's just try one more time, no half-assing though, try for real."
"Fine. How?"
"Think that you 'block' your nose with your tongue! On the inside. You're doing it right if you can't push air out your nose."
He tried it, eyes furrowing in concentration. Once he thought he had it down, he looked at the water, and with determination, submerged himself.
He rocketed back up, coughing against the sensation of water in his sinuses.
"It didn't work, water still went up my nose!" He accused, shaking my head.
"Duh, it's not a magic air bubble. It's gonna go in your nose, but you must fight the instinct to breathe when it does, then you can keep yourself and your lungs safe and sound."
"Your lectures suck, never become a teacher."
"You're just jelly I'm actually better at something than you."
Mike smiled as he rolled his eyes. "As if!"
He concentrated again, and Joe got quiet.
Lowering himself slower this time, he kept the pressure in his mouth steady as he submerged. At first, he kept his nose from letting any air escape.
But how will I learn if I never try?
He tilted himself backward, and the bubbles escaped. Water flooded his nostrils and the immediate panic set in.
This time though, he was ready. No gasp came, but his nose was definitely burning right now as the unwelcome water took up residence.
Then he blinked.
I'm doing it! I'm actually.. uh oh.
He burst from the surface, snorting out water. "I almost had it! I was so close."
"You'll get the hang of it. Come on, Mom said lunch is ready while you were drowning. It really sucks to have such a bad student you know.."
Joe and most of his once-dry towel got splashed. As Mike climbed out of the pool, Joe swiped his towel for himself and dashed off.
Just as Mike grinned and bent to grab the discarded wet towel, the sharpest pain he'd ever felt lanced through his head, bringing him to his knees on the wet grass. He gasped, clutching his head as his ears rang, feeling almost as if he was gonna pass out, so sudden was the pain.
"Hello, Michael."
Mike would have paused at that, but the pain inside his head doubled down, and he toppled over onto the grass. Just as he was about to cry out in pain, it subsided to the dullest thud.
Joe was at his side an instant later.
"Mike, did you fall? You okay?" he asked in a rush.
Mike looked around in a daze as he sat up.
"I don't know Joe, I just got the craziest pain in my head, I couldn't even stand!"
"Hmmm, maybe some water got in your ears? My mom says she gets headaches if she goes underwater."
That didn't explain the voice though.
"Is your head still sore?" Joe looked concerned as he helped his best friend to his feet.
"Yeah, but it's just a dull ache now."
"Okay, well, if you want, after lunch we can give you some meds?"
"Yeah, that would be great thanks!"
As they walked back into the house toweling off, Mike couldn't shake the feeling that something was... different. It was almost as if that ringing in his ears hadn't quite subsided yet, but he could hear perfectly well, and he wasn't dizzy.
They both became distracted by the heavenly smell of completely unhealthy, yet utterly delicious homemade burgers. Sitting at the table in damp clothes and eager anticipation, they said grace and tucked into what must have been Heaven-sent food on a perfect start to the holiday.
Are hot crispy french fries healthy? Nope. Do I care? Absolutely not.
2 scrumptious burgers and a veritable mountain of fries later, Mike and the rest of the Frake's moved on to dessert: Ice cream drizzled in the best sauce imaginable. Caramel!
"You're crazy if you think caramel beats chocolate. Chocolate is the superior sauce."
Mike was enjoying dessert too much to do more than roll my eyes at Joe, having all but forgotten about the newfound zinging that was gradually becoming less annoying.
They changed afterward and got down to serious business. The type of business that wasn't to be interrupted in a boy's sleepover...
Gaming.
It always got an eye roll out of Joe's sister, but Mike brought along his ancient PlayBox 2, and as was tradition for them, they started up Space Wars Battlefront II. The games nowadays just didn't do co-op like they used to!
The hours ticked by and soon it was evening.
"Wanna tell me what happened earlier?" Joe asked nonchalantly.
Mike shifted slightly, "Honestly, one moment I was about to chase you, the next, my head felt like it was gonna pop."
Joe had known him since they were tiny, and no one else could see Mike's reclusive tells. Joe knew he wasn't quite alright.
"And?.."
Sighing in frustration as he got killed in-game, Mike was simultaneously grateful and annoyed that he couldn't hide anything from his best friend.
"Something... Weird happened." he answered cautiously as their level ended and they waited for the venerable console to start the next match.
"Yeah? Weird how?" Joe looked over at him, sipping on some juice.
Joe wasn't the type to make fun of something if you took it seriously enough. They trusted one another implicitly.
"I heard a voice," Mike said solemnly.
Joe went quiet as they chose their characters and began their mission.
"This isn't gonna be like that time when you told me you could put papers on discs in the PC and change games with it right? I believed you."
"No way Joe, this was different. Sorry about that though."
The silence hung for a short while after that.
"Thanks." It felt like a rift had been healed. "So, the voice. Was it like... God, or..?"
Mike let out an exhale. "I don't know man, one moment I was fine, the next I was floored, in pain, and this... presence, that I kinda 'felt', just says 'Hey Michael', nearly makes me pass out, and then, I'm just fine! With a small headache. And that's when you got there."
He didn't know what Joe was really thinking, but he was exasperated with himself. Did he just imagine it? Was he sick? Maybe he...
"I've never seen you look like that Mike. You're really fit from all the ballet and everything, so seeing you lying there pale and nearly passed out really worried me. And you've been really quiet since then.''
Joe paused the game. He really was the brother Mike never had. He felt a gratitude swell inside himself. Joe just took it in stride, as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world.
"So, did you hear the voice like, physically? Or did you 'feel' it?.." he signed with his fingers.
Joe was a saint.
Mike smiled despite himself. "All I 'felt' at the time was pain, so I guess...you know what, I think what describes it best is like, your internal voice? But not yours. It's just there."
"Hmmm." Joe was pensive. "And it obviously hasn't happened again right? Since you haven't been in pain after the tablets we gave you."
"No, but something else has kinda stuck around. There's this sort of, zing, I think? It's like ringing in your ears, but you can feel it instead of hear it?"
"Zing?" Joe looked at him incredulously. "That's the best you could come up with?"
"Well, what else should I call it, my tingle? My vibe? They don't exactly scream 'good word choice' do they?" he asked, nearly gesticulating his juice onto the floor.
Joe cracked a smile, "I mean, we could call it your heebadabujeebees?"
Mike deadpanned. "No."
"Zing it is, for now," Joe said placatingly. "Alright, I say, that unless it happens again, you probably just heard God's voice or something, and we pretend this didn't happen. Maybe it was your blood pressure, I know my granddad struggled with that. I was actually worried you had a heart attack, cause my granddad also had one, and it was kinda similar, just not in his head, and..."
"Okay," Mike interjected, "before we wonder if I also have arthritis, let's agree that this never happened. Some more juice?" he stood grabbing their glasses.
As he went to the kitchen to pour, his headache started returning.
That couldn't be good.
Returning to the game, he tried putting it out of his mind. Was something...greeting him? Yeah right, whatever. Probably just blood pressure.
It was getting to midnight now, and their gaming was just getting started.
Yeah, blood pressure. That must be it.
* * * * *
[LaserSETI Observatory, Haleakala, Hawaii - One day ago]
George checked his readout for the last time that night. There were some interesting flashes coming from Saturn a few hours ago, but after some calibration, they were gone. Must have been a malfunction. The station was interesting, just not what you would call cozy.
He got up just in time to miss a notification that a similar spike had been detected just off of Jupiter. He put on the kettle and woke Sarah. She'd be taking the graveyard shift this time, he was beat.
"Anything of interest?" she called as she stretched, roused from her slumber by the unmistakable aroma of coffee filtering in.
"Nah, just a weird flash from Saturn. Did a calibration and it was gone, so." George sleepily offered her a mug which she gratefully accepted after a vast stretch. "Imma hit the hay alright? See you later." He brushed past towards the sleeping area.
"Enjoy." she said after him. Honestly, George must have been the cockiest yet least enthusiastic researcher at LaserSeti to date in her opinion. She sat down at the console and brought up the notifications for the last 8 hours as she sipped her scalding drink.
"Weird.." she muttered, staring at the identical wavelength reading from Saturn that just cropped up around Jupiter. Laser readings, while fast, were cumbersome at vast distances. At just past midnight, these readings occurred around half an hour ago in real-time. And the readings from Saturn occurred 2 hours before that...
"George?" she called out "Come take a look at this."
George emerged a minute later.
"What is it?"
"I'm getting consistent feedback from Jupiter. For the past 5 minutes now," she said excitedly. "From something clearly orbiting Jupiter at... Immense speeds!"
"Yeah, that's what I saw, but it's clearly an error. Watch." He clicked the recalibrate button.
"George!" she screamed, her nostrils flaring. "Why in the hell would you do that? We're getting readings here, hello!?" she said furiously.
George was completely taken aback. "What's the matter with you? It's only five..."
"Yeah George," she interjected, "5 minutes of data that we're gonna have lost thanks to you. You don't just pull that kind of crap in this job. Why would you do that in the first place?" she asked in rage.
"Geez Sarah, chill alright? I thought you would have done the math by now. That's why I recalibrated. It's not possible."
Sarah stalled somewhat, "What do you mean?" she asked in exasperation.
"Check the readings again from Saturn." he drew them up. "See that? The object first appears above Saturn's Equator, then moves across to just below it." he pointed.
"So what?" Sarah huffed in annoyance. George nearly rolled his eyes but refrained when he considered the outburst he just witnessed. "Well, if that's not enough for you, consider this." he scrolled on in the data. "After getting to the other side, it stops. We got the exact same returns for a minute. A whole minute, from a formerly moving object." he put his hands on his hips.
Sarah went quiet. "That would mean...was the velocity the same as for Jupiter when it showed up?" she scrolled. George squinted at the readout. "Yup, that's the same supposed velocity. That's why it's impossible. That would mean you've got an object going a tenth the speed of light, slowing down in nearly an instant, then booking it faster than that towards the next planet in orbit. Conventional wisdom states..."
The phone rang. The phone. The one that never rang. Sarah looked at George, first in shock, then with pity. "For being so smart, you may go down in history as the biggest idiot of the century." She picked up the phone.
It was pandemonium.