Beyond The Impossible

Kythera, 950 light-years from Earth

A six hundred feet tall statue of Aphrodite dominates the city. The statue has both hands above her head to lift a dove; other than a seashell necklace, she’s completely naked and very anatomically correct. It towers above everything else: most structures are no taller than a couple of floors.

The exception is the beautiful cathedral, somewhat gothic in its design, rising right between Aphrodite’s spread legs (she’s not known for her subtlety).

<Nice view> Quantum comments, referring both to the statue and to the landscape: lush hills with hundreds, if not thousands of small buildings which look like a cross between a bungalow and a miniature mosque. This is only the second extraterrestrial planet he’s visited, and its appearance is much more alien than Myridia.

The shuttle from the Supreme Scorpion and Vesta land nearby, with the latter shaking her head disapprovingly at her the gigantic statue of her niece:

<Always the show-off.>

<This is the planet’s capital, according to the ship’s records> Kari explains, coming out of the shuttle together with Torn and his daughter Laceration, with the latter stating:

<There was no battle here. There’s no damage.>

<Have you been here before?> Torn asks her.

<No. But the pirates seemed eager to land to procreate. There must be a shortage of births.>

<Unlikely. Humans have sex even when they don’t need to.>

This information seems to come as a surprise to the red skinned girl, who shares her father’s extent of facial expression: she barely raises an eyebrow.

<Really. Seems like a waste of stamina.>

<Indeed.>

<Uhm, guys, I think someone just fired missiles at us> Kari interrupts them, pointing at the three objects leaving the cathedral to fly towards them.

Quantum fires lasers at them, without doing any damage. They quickly discover why: three Talos robots land a few feet away, surrounding them.

<Oh s##t. Nobody quote Ghostbusters!> Quantum warns his friends, as a callback to his first encounter with one of these robots.

They’re ready for the fight of their lives: each Talos is supposed to be invincible, and their record against a single robot is less than stellar.

<Analyze threat. One Olympian, one Myridian, one unidentified Human, two Demons.>

<You’re outnumbered> Laceration boasts, creating a red energy whip. She’s ready to attack the robots, but Torn stops her with an elaborate argument:

<No. They’re not here to hurt us.>

Laceration was too eager to fight to notice, but the robots are just standing there.

<You will follow us to the Oracle> one of the Talos finally decides to say. It may have avoided confrontation so far, but its internal plasma reactor is still shining through its eyes. Kari asks:

<Vesta, you’re the closest thing we have to an expert on these things. Can we trust them?>

<It’s worth a try> the goddess shrugs.

<Alright, guys. Take us to your leader> Quantum says.

 

Nowhere

Noriko should be dead by now. She managed to reach the bottom of the ocean without drowning only because this is an elaborate simulation. She may feel her lungs aching, but she doesn’t have a body anymore. She’s only pure mind, pure thought. She survives on pure determination.

Impossibly, there’s a door on the bottom of the ocean. Maybe she imagined it, maybe it’s always been there, but she manages to open. She’s flushed somewhere together with the water. She’s not entirely sure of the details, just along for the ride, carried by forces beyond her control.

She does make it to the surface, however, where she takes the most satisfactory breath of her life.

It’s a dark place, a cave. She pulls herself out of the water and onto the nearby rocks, exhausted.

Her clothes are drenched, her hair is a mess, and it’s freezing cold. But she’s alive.

<Can we go now? Or is your brain too limited to handle bipedal motion?>

The voice would be scary if she wasn’t so tired. It belongs to a man standing behind her…or at least she thinks it’s a man. He’s wearing a grey robe, with a hood covering his face. Or it would cover it if the man had a face: there’s nothing under that cloak, only darkness.

<Where am I?> she asks.

<This is what I get for heightening my expectations. Only the second carbon based lifeform to reach the Core in five billion years, and she didn’t even do it on purpose.>

<The Core…right. The Drylon living computer that works with Leiko. What do you know about it?>

<I am the Core> the man says with all the dramatic flair possible.

<Wow. There are so many things I want to ask you.>

<Most of which will be irrelevant, I’m sure.>

<You know, for an artificial intelligence, you’re kind of a d#ck.>

<The living witness of nine billion years of supremacy over the cosmos is not a “d#ck”.>

<Sure, whatever. Listen, you’re a database right? Tell me how to get out of here.>

<Of course. I know how to annihilate galaxies and bend the laws of reality, but I’m sure teaching you how to get back into a decaying sack of wet chemicals is just as important> the Core answers, turning toward the way out of the cave.

<What a d#ck> Noriko mutters, following the Core.

 

Air Force One

The President is on his way to New York City for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, but right now he wishes the flight could take him far away from Earth.

<What do you mean “they lost”?> he asks to the man on the other side of the secure line.

<According to our sources, the Chinese have not been able to prevent Artemis from leaving the Forbidden City. There have been…significant losses. We don’t have the precise number but->

<What about Blue Star? Is she still alive?>

<We have no reliable data, mister President. All we know is that the Chinese threw everything they had against Artemis and lost. We believe their chain of command has been disrupted to the point that we’re not sure about who’s calling the shots at this point.>

<Thank you, mister Secretary, keep me posted on the situation on the ground.>

The President hangs up, taking a moment to sigh. General Anderson is in front of him, with a neutral expression that only comes with years of practice.

<Before I got on this plane, I had to talk for thirty minutes to the Prime Minister of Russia before I got him to agree that nuking Beijing was a bad idea. Please tell me I wasn’t wrong, General.>

<I advise against it, mister President. If Artemis can fly as fast as Vesta, and all evidence suggests she can, we don’t have any weapon capable of intercepting her. And there are other concerns about the feasibility of such an attack.>

<You mean you’re not sure even that could hurt her? Is she really that powerful?>

<According to Eris, she is. I’m not entirely sure we can fully trust her, but Eris was able to destroy both Cheyenne Mountain and Project Silver. I think she knows what she’s talking about.>

<I agree, General. What about the robot? Can we use it as a weapon?>

<We haven’t been able to get it to work again. But we think we have a way to counteract Artemis. It’s a long shot, but…>

<General Anderson, there’s a self-appointed goddess kicking around China and a terrorist stealing a Russian power plant. I’ll take anything you can get me.>

<The God Restrain, sir. The device created by Null to hold Eris in her current state…the Washington Protocol includes instructions on how to use it as a weapon against “gods”.>

<Sounds perfect. Where’s the catch?>

<Without Null’s help, we figure it will take us months to build a new one.>

The President pauses.

<Why build a new one when we already have a functioning model?>

 

A high security prison, somewhere in the United States

Eris has been waiting in her cell, patiently. The body she’s possessing will last for a few days before breaking down, but there’s no rush. She can savor the moment.

<You look fine for a dead woman> a man on the other side of the prison bars says.

<Hermes. Fancy meeting you here. How’s Daddy doing? Fu##ed any good mortals lately?>

<You shouldn’t play games with the god of tricksters. Why did you let them capture you? Artemis or Abyss are going to find you, eventually.>

<On the contrary. The mortals are about to use me as a weapon against them.>

<They’re not that desperate.>

<Yes they are. I made sure of it. They wouldn’t listen to a scary monster, but now believing me makes them feel better about themselves. Just like your visit is only for your own benefit.>

<Are you so sure? If I tell Zeus you’re here, he’ll banish you to Tartarus for all eternity.>

<Be my guest. You will betray your presence here and all your plans will go to waste.>

<How do you know? You’ve been isolated from the rest of the galaxy for millennia.>

<You forget I’m the goddess of fu##ing things up. And this galaxy is very, very fu##ed up now.>

Hermes disappears, his lack of an answer speaking volumes about the situation.

 

Kythera, 950 light-years from Earth

The inside of the cathedral is truly majestic: the light from the enormous windows creates an otherworldly atmosphere. But what makes the idea of an alien planet really sink in is the crowd.

Blue skinned women with bat wings on their backs, wearing tight fitting Ancient Greek robes. They have gathered at the entrance to observe the new prisoners, taken in by the Talos but not by force.

<Lampyrians. The same race of the leader of the Hunter pirates, Elytra> Kari explains.

<Do not speak that name again.>

The stern voice belongs to a Lampyrian woman, kept at a distance by the others. She’s wearing a one shoulder pink dress that leaves very little to the imagination; she looks exactly like all other Lampyrians, who might as well be a race of identical twins for how little variance there is. The only thing that sets her apart is the elaborate golden face jewelry, some kind of crown worn as a mask that draws attention to the complete lack of a nose on a Lampyrian.

<I am Etyra, First Concubine of the Queendom. Welcome to Kythera, strangers.>

<Stand aside, organic. The Oracle demands to see the prisoners> one of the Talos reveals.

<Then I shall escort them.  Surely he doesn’t want you to hurt a loving subject of Aphrodite.>

<You may proceed> the robot agrees, standing aside.

Etyra doesn’t waste any time, wrapping herself on Quantum’s arm and almost dragging him away.

<These metal men are so gullible! Never trust anything without genitals, believe me. Now, I want to know everything about you! What are you looking for on Kythera?>

<Well, we kind of ended up here by mistake> Quantum admits, trying his best to resist the Lampyrian’s charm. She is drop dead gorgeous, but this is a serious situation.

<What happened to Hekate’s army? Why are the Talos here?> Vesta asks.

<The Oracle will explain everything> Etyra answers, leading them to a room guarded by two Talos.

<How many of these things are there!?> Kari complains.

<Too many> Torn answers.

The room has a widely different look from the rest of the cathedral. It’s filled with advanced equipment and even more Lampyrians, except these are wearing lab coats and surgical masks.

They are taking orders from the only male around: a seven feet tall man with grey hair, deep pocket marks on his face, and a violet jewel embedded in his throat.

<Well, well, look who decided to show up. It’s a small galaxy after all, isn’t it?>

<Thalas Khanos> Kari growls between clenched teeth.