Naqada Galaxy, 17 million light-years from Earth
A metallic ring appears out of nowhere, trillions of miles away from the nearest speck of matter.
It’s been dormant for millions of years, and the first thing it does is to allowi a robot wolf to reach this galaxy. The ring is far bigger than the robot, which anchors itself to the object by magnetizing its paws. It’s a F.E.N.R.I.S., and four more of its kind follow it. Their fully configurable bodies scan the immediate vicinity to verify that the way is safe, and send a signal through the portal.
Then the N01-Ragnarok emerges from the portal. It’s followed by two ships that share the same exact design, complete with a Neutral Matter hull, the N10-Quetzalcoatl and the N12-Yama.
They position themselves around the portal until it releases an additional eight ships: the entirety of the Surtur-class ships, then followed by another thousand F.E.NR.I.S. units.
Noriko Null is overseeing the operation from the captain’s chair of the Ragnarok bridge, concentrating on the reports from the fleet.
<I’m not detecting any hostile ships. It seems it worked: Anubis has no idea we’re here.> she says.
<Unless he noticed a fleet appearing out of nowhere in the middle of his territory.> Kari Zel comments.
<It’s a big galaxy. Even the gods can’t know everything, no matter how much they love to say that they do… no offense, Vesta.> Noriko answers.
The goddess doesn’t say anything, keeping her arms crossed and staring blankly into space. Torn is doing exactly the same thing, but for him it’s business as usual.
<Everything okay?> Noriko asks Vesta.
<I don’t like the Egyptian galaxies. They give me the creeps.> she admits.
The demeanor of the other goddess on the bridge couldn’t be more different: Amaterasu is gleefully looking at the billions of stars visible through the viewscreen.
<Sooo pretty!> she says.
<We’re not here to enjoy the scenery. How do we find Max? It’s a whole freakin’ galaxy and we don’t know where to look, it’s like a needle in a haystack!> Kari points out.
<How so?> both Torn and Amaterasu ask.
<Nori, please tell me we have a plan that doesn’t revolve around these two.> Kari says, rolling her eyes at the duo’s antics.
<We don’t.> Noriko admits.
<Then what? We’re going to search an entire galaxy with thirteen ships and some robot dogs!?>
<I mean that the plan revolves entirely around Torn.>
<Seriously?>
<Anubis brought several Demons to this galaxy. Torn should be able to sense them through the Blood and lead us to their position… right Torn?>
<Indeed.> the Demon nods.
<Then we find Quantum and we take him back to our galaxy. Easy, right?> Noriko says, receiving a less than enthusiastic reaction from her teammates.
<And if Anubis tries to stop us? Last time he thoroughly kicked us backsides.> Vesta notes.
<And how are we going to free Max from his control?> Kari adds.
<Yeah, I’m gonna be honest guys… I haven’t figured out that part yet.> Noriko nervously admits.
<We are SO doomed> Kari facepalms.
Nowhere
Max Black has had his fair share of hangovers, so waking up on his couch feeling like crap isn’t an unprecedented experience for him.
For a moment he wonders if he just had a bad dream: the last thing he remembers is being on an alien spaceship with a cyborg as his only company, but now he’s back in his apartment, alone.
Still half asleep, he gestures towards the TV. He hasn’t used a remote for years: usually he just sends an infrared signal through his fingers. But now it’s not working.
<We had to turn it off, Mr. Black. We are sure you understand why.> he hears someone say.
He turns towards the voice: there’s a woman sitting on a chair, with her legs crossed. She’s wearing a yellow office suite, she has blonde hair cut in a short bob, and her skin is golden.
<You’re one of the Eden, right? How did you get into my… wait, how did I get back in my apartment!?>
<According to our studies of inferior lifeforms, exposure to a familiar environment should make your mind at ease. This appears to be incorrect.> the woman notes, tilting her head.
<Well no s#it, blondie!>
<Perhaps something with a higher emotional attachment will have the desired effect.> she says, nodding slightly.
As she does so, her chair becomes golden. The color expands to the floor, with everything that touches it becoming the same shade of her skin: very soon, Max is the only thing in the room that isn’t golden. Then everything starts to change shape.
The couch dissolves into a mass of golden sand, as does the TV, as does the entire apartment. All matter reshapes itself into something else, and then the gold changes into many different colors.
The result is stunning: in a matter of seconds, a New York apartment has been transformed into a two-story house in Chicago.
<This… this is where I grew up!> Max recognizes. A quick glance fills him with childhood memories. Every little detail is perfect; it even smells like his parent’s house.
<No, this is better. This is Eden. We hope to make you understand.>
<Okay lady, what’s going on here? Aren’t you Eden all about assimilating people into your weird New Age Borg cult or whatever?>
<Our goal is to elevate lower species into infinity, yes. But you, Mr. Black, are a rather peculiar specimen.> she says, standing up. Max steps back, making sure to keep a safe distance.
<No sudden moves. I don’t know how you took away my powers, but I’m not letting you get anywhere near me, okay?> he says; he’s backing up so much that his back is against the door.
<You are an anomaly, Mr. Black. There is Drylon energy flowing through your veins, but you are not a god. There are Anubis necrobots inside your cells, but you are free from his control. You are inferior to us, like everything that isn’t Eden, but you are something that we do not understand. We are evaluating you, in order to decide one of the only two possible outcomes.>
<I’m guessing one of them isn’t letting me go?>
<One, you are deemed worthy to join Eden and to share your power with us. Or two…>
<A free trip back to Earth?>
<… you are considered a threat to Eden and removed from the universe.>
<Well, uhm, if that’s the case, I’ll save you the trouble and see myself out!> he answers, opening the door and running out of the house.
On the other side, however, he doesn’t find the streets of Chicago but a desert of golden sand, as far as the eye can see. There is no sun in the sky, and the vast number of stars makes it clear that he definitely isn’t on Earth.
<Where the heck am I!?> he wonders.
<We have already told you. This is Eden.> the woman explains, walking through the front door of the house like a ghost.
<Do not be alarmed. We only wish to study you in your natural habitat.>
<And if I don’t agree to be stuck in a cheap copy of my apartment?>
<We have other ways.> the Eden says, as the golden sand changes form again.
A large rectangular mass emerges from the ground, growing at incredible speed; it’s the first of many, growing all around them, together with many other smaller structures. Max can’t understand what is happening until they start to change color.
First he recognizes the skyscrapers. Then the smaller buildings, then the sidewalk beneath his feet, then the streets filled with empty cars. He’d recognize the city anywhere.
<This is New York.> he says to his own surprise: the Eden just recreated the city in less than a minute, and the attention to detail is breathtaking.
There is only one thing that differentiates this place from the original: the people. The streets are as busy with life as the real deal, but every single person has golden skin. All men are identical to each other, as are the women. In a perfectly balanced proportion, exactly 50% male and 50% female.
<Well this is just disturbing.> he comments.
<What’s the deal? You always wanted to live in New York!>
The voice makes Max’s heart skip a few beats. The person who just spoke is the only one present without golden skin: a teenage African-American kid. His older brother Alex.
<This is a low blow, Eden. Showing me my dead brother? D#ck move, Eden, d#ck move.>
<Do I look dead to you, Max? C’mon, look at me!>
Max steps away, bumping into the crowd of Eden. Who are looking at him with blank stares.
<The specimen is in emotional distress. We will adjust our parameters.> one of the Eden suggests, rapidly changing his shape into an exact copy of Alex. As to all the other male Eden present, soon joined by the females who take the shape of Max’s sister Kayla.
<This isn’t helping, guys, at all. What do I have to do to get away from this place!?> Max complains.
<Nobody ever leaves Eden. Nobody wants to.> one of the Alex copies explains, once again changing shape. This time becoming a copy of Quantum, even wearing the mask.
<Welcome to Eden. You have all eternity to enjoy your stay.> the copy says, as his golden eyes shine ominously.
N01-Ragnarok
Noriko Null is sitting on the captain’s chair, biting her lower lip and nervously tapping her finger on the armrest. She’s looking intensely at the hologram of a galactic map; Vesta approaches her.
<That’s not the Olympian Galaxy.> she notes.
<No, it’s this galaxy. I downloaded something from the Shadow Network; check this out.> she says, tapping a few points on the map. Hundreds of small dots appear all over the galaxy; the vast majority of them are red, with just twelve green.
<Is this a map of the network?> Vesta asks.
<Just a sample; you’re looking at all the portals that the Lar used to have in the Naqada Galaxy, but only the green ones are active. We don’t even have a full map of this galaxy… this is just a three-dimensional extrapolation of data from Earth’s telescopes… but the Shadow Network still identifies the position of all the portals with pinpoint accuracy.>
<Wow. The Lar must have been a lot more advanced than we thought.>
<Yeah, no kidding. This is making my Negative Drive look like a high school project.>
<Well, you were a high school dropout when you invented it.> Vesta shrugs.
<Once I get my brain working properly, it’ll take me several months, even years to figure it out.>
<Speaking of which, how are you doing? You seem to be recovering.>
<Yes, I guess I am, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to use my golden eyes. And before you ask me to reconsider, we know that I’m going to have to use them against the Eden.>
<Just don’t use them at the first occasion, okay?>
<Don’t worry. I’m not in a hurry to die.> Noriko reassures her, just in time to see a pentagram of fire appear on the bridge. A couple of Demons try to come out of it, but they don’t even have the time to fully exit the portal before they are incinerated by a solar blast from Amaterasu.
As everyone else is ready to start a fight, Torn is sitting in a corner cross-legged when he says.
<Instinct. Killer.>
Several other pentagrams begin to form all over the ship, but the energy fizzles out in the middle of the process. Then Torn stands up and steps in the middle of the bridge: his body is glowing with a red aura of Blood energy, creating a silhouette around him that includes prominent horns.
<I isolated the ship from the Blood. We are safe.> he reassures them.
<That’s great, but what about the other ships?> Kari Zel asks, watching the viewscreen fill out with thousands of pentagrams as over a million Demons pour into space and rush towards the fleet.
Noriko is ready to give her orders, but she’s taken by surprise when a cyborg appears in the blink of an eye right next to her. Moving faster than she can think, he grabs her by the throat and lifts her with one hand.
<Sorry, Sunshine. Orders from Anubis.> Hermes says, his voice distorted by the cybernetic implants.
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