Clouds. The sun shines brightly directly above. A woman looks at the fluffy clouds below her through a small window. She is currently drinking a glass of lemonade while playing a game on her phone.
She hears an announcement coming from an intercom. But she cannot understand it. The man heard through the intercom is currently speaking Farsi.
The woman looks around. In front of her is a woman sitting down while reading something on her own cell phone. A beautiful woman with wavy black hair, a lithe figure, white blouse, black pantsuit, medium-high heeled shoes and her legs crossed.
“Rosana, you speak Farsi, right? What’s the pilot saying?”
“Don’t worry, Ana, he’ll give a subsequent announcement in English. He’s just saying that we’ve arrived.”
“Oh. Already arrived, huh...”
The woman named Ana takes a look through the window again and can now feel the plane descend. The clouds change position to above her and she can see the ground below now.
A desert area in the middle of which stands an air traffic control tower as well as a landing runway.
Another announcement is made but this time in Turkic. Ana waits to listen. She is wearing a beautiful, reserved navy-blue dress with a skirt that goes down to just slightly above her knees.
She has brown hair draping her shoulders and her brown eyes continue to stare out the window at the foreign land before her.
Yesterday, she was studying for a second year Calculus midterm at Samuel Johnson University. Then suddenly, there was a request that she didn’t imagine ever receiving. A request to come to this place.
“Hello, dear passengers, we are arriving at our destination in the Holy Zoroastrian Godlands. Please note that the weather is a very hot sixty degrees Celsius or one hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit. For our lovely VIP, the Holy Temple of Oromasdes is located about ten kilometres from this airport. You will be escorted to a limousine upon arrival. Please be respectful and solemn in this very sacred ground. You will not be searched again upon landing. May I remind the escorts as well, please be respectful to her as well.”
Ana looks around the plane to see her escorts once again. The Persian woman in front of her, named Rosana, smiles. The other three men, Persian in origin as well, whisper prayers to themselves.
Ana and her four escorts are about to visit a very holy place. The holiest place in this world.
Ana takes some time to pray to herself as well. Everyone on this private plane, including Ana, is a believer in a religion called Zoroastrianism. This religion experienced a resurgence in the world in the past few years.
In fact, this religion now leads the world. About thirteen years ago, there was a terrorist incident that killed about forty thousand people.
The incident itself was committed by a fascist organization in charge of the operation of the world for the entire 20th and 21st centuries.
The organization included the leaders of every major imperial power as well as high officials, businessmen, ultra-wealthy individuals as well as those operating major intelligence services.
It was believed that they could never be countered. But immediately following the incident, one by one, the members of the organization started dying.
Their replacements directed the forces of the military to the extermination of the other members of the organization including their descendents.
They were rooted out by the governments of the world and when they were trampled over, world leaders and celebrities (who hadn’t been implicated) one after another converted to Zoroastrianism.
A series of new policies were then instituted to get rid of homelessness and world hunger. Change was occurring that transformed the world into a place that favoured human life over profit.
Just last year, the nations of the world were joined together into a body encompassing all of humanity named the Unified World Nations. Zoroastrianism was then made the world’s state religion and right now, a total of eighty percent of the global population worships Ahura Mazda.
The capital nation of this new world is the Holy Zoroastrian Godlands.
Ana is about to get closer to something at the root of this world. She didn’t even believe this temple existed, it was always just a rumour. After all, the leaders of Zoroastrianism themselves haven't been very open to the public.
All that is truly known about them is that they administer the world behind the masks of the public world leaders.
Ana lands on the tarmac. She is currently at a specially designated airport which is located close to the central temple and only the central temple.
The temple’s personal airport. A sign that this place she’s about to reach is probably the real deal.
The outside is much warmer than Ana’s used to. She is quickly escorted to a driverless limousine. There is a man waiting in the limousine who begins delivering instructions about the temple and procedures to enter it.
The limo travels swiftly to its destination.
“Miss, upon reaching the sacred temple, we will leave immediately, is that understood?”
“Huh? Why? You can’t come with me?”
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Ana examines the man. Clearly, a high ranking religious official from his noble religious garb. The kind of person who would lead her through the temple, right?
“We have not been given permission to accompany you to the temple of Ahura Mazda, nor will there be any escorts at the temple itself. Do not worry however, once you enter the door, you will be given further information about why you are here.”
“...Are you sure?”
“Those were the instructions given to us by our superior for this assignment. Although this is the temple of our God, we have not been given knowledge of its interior. It has been built recently for your arrival.”
“My arrival? Why… Why me? I am a worshipper of Ahura Mazda but… I’m not as devout as some others, you know? I’m definitely not as pious as you, sir...”
“I do not have the details but… our superiors have been keeping an eye on you for a very long time. You are an important existence to them, to the faith itself.”
“Huh? B-But--”
“We’ve arrived.”
Ana looks through the window of the limousine to see a building. Quite a simple building actually. Its exterior is solid granite, built in the shape of an extremely large cube.
This? This is the… temple of God… Is God so brutalist?
The limousine stops right in front of the normal-sized door of the temple, and Ana exits.
“Good luck, Ana!”
Rosana gives her a look as if she has stars in her eyes. The men with Rosana also smile as they look at the temple. In truth, these escorts were for protection but every single one of them had also wanted to see the temple of Ahura Mazda with their own eyes.
A temple that few will ever see.
As soon as the door to the car closes behind her, the car speeds off.
Ana looks towards the building. She walks into the door of the temple. A solemn wooden door with a golden doorknob.
She walks through it. She doesn’t know anything about this temple but the rumour has been that the central temple of Ahura Mazda is built at the birthplace of the faith.
Past the door is a room of pure white. An extremely large room. The door closes behind her and locks itself. The only spot of brown compared to the rest of the room. Ana is slightly shaken by the locked door behind her but not deterred. She’s come this far.
There is a solid pitch black seat in the center of this pure white room built to be a combination of geometrically perfect cuboids as the back and seat of the chair.
She doesn’t know it’s significance but even to her eyes it appears most like… a throne.
The seat of Ahura Mazda? That would be pretty cool...
Not that Ana truly believes that this temple is the house where Ahura Mazda truly lives. Her belief in Ahura Mazda is that He does not live in the realm of mortals…
Ana turns to the left to examine the room's corners. She turns back and--
"Hello, Ana!"
"Whoa!”
Ana steps back quite a bit from the person who suddenly appears in front of her.
“Wh-Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"My name is Anahita. I have been tasked by my father to reveal myself to you first."
A beautiful woman with light skin, black hair and red eyes has appeared… out of nowhere. Ana looks around the room but there… is only one entrance that she hasn’t heard open or close. She can’t even see any vents close to where she is.
Although it is cool in this room just like the limo... The inside aesthetic certainly is interesting as well. I could definitely imagine God lives here. But, hold on...
“Where… where did you come from just now?”
“Well, I’ve always been by your side, Ana. I’ve been keeping watch over your life since you were... about seven.”
“Huh? How does that work? Are you, like, a spy? Why would anyone want to spy on me?”
“Well, you can consider me a spy. I like to consider myself your protector. Making sure that nothing in the world can possibly harm you, that is what I have worked to do throughout your childhood. I have been allowed to reveal myself to you to offer you… a choice.”
"A choice? A choice for what?"
"First, let me ask you about something that happened 13 years ago. Do you remember... what I'm referring to?"
Ana’s face darkens. Something she didn’t wish to remember has been dug back up by a person who considers herself to be Ana’s protector.
"Why... Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Well, it has to do with your brother."
"...What about him? He died in that terrorist attack."
Ana’s face fills with sadness at the memory of her brother’s death in that terrorist attack. He had been taking care of Ana since she was born. She loved him dearly, more than anything in the world. He had… his whole future ahead of him...
"Well, first let me tell you that it wasn't a terrorist attack that day that destroyed your brother's school. We used that special event as an excuse to start our purge of the rotten parts of… well, human society in general.”
“Huh? Then… then what killed him? What was that event? I was always told that it was like a mini nuke...”
“That was something like... a transportation ‘spell’. First, energy in the form of heat and life is gathered to fuel the spell’s ‘algorithm’ in something called the ritual of water. All of that energy enables a near light-speed transportation of matter across our solar system to another one. But, the algorithm doesn't use that gathered energy 100% efficiently. The exhaust of the ritual of water is released in the ritual of fire. That is what irradiated and rendered the surrounding land uninhabitable while the process of ‘launch’ occurred."
Ana looks at her in pure confusion. But that word sparks her curiosity.
"...Launch?"
"Launch designates the moment when the matter to be transported leaves the atmosphere and is accelerated until it reaches very close to the speed of light for the transfer to our neighbouring star system. In that star system about thirteen light years away is a world called Omicron. The physical matter in question that was transported include the students of your brother’s highschool including your brother Ajax himself. Ajax was transported as well, along with Shaula. He likely arrived on Omicron within this month. Don't worry though, because of time dilation, he was not conscious during the entire thirteen year journey. Hardly any time has actually passed for him."
"...what? What are you talking about? What the fuck are you talking about!? He’s dead. Ajax is dead. They told us over and over that he didn’t survive. My parents are still suffering now with the knowledge that he’s dead. We’ve gotten over so much… What kind of… why would you..."
“Rita Ana Leonid. I would advise you to listen until I get to the choice I’m offering.”
“...Don’t call me Rita. Only my family can--”
“Your brother Ajax Pristel Leonid is still alive. Which brings me to the choice I am going to offer you--”
“No, shut up! Shut up! This doesn’t make any sense… this can’t...”
“You can be given the opportunity to see him again. By going to Omicron yourself.”