Beyond The Impossible

There’s a mountain on top of a world that doesn’t exist. It’s the chosen domain of a man who has been dead for centuries.

The man calling himself the Monk is currently a child, floating in mid-air on top of the glacier.

He’s not expecting visitors, but unlike other former hosts he’s never tried to barricade his sector of the Mindscape to keep others away.

<Not this guy again! What do we need the philosopher for!?> Noriko Null complains; unlike her previous visits, instead of just walking out of a door she’s floating in the air.

<I see you have begun to comprehend the futility of your attachment to the physical world.> the Monk compliments her, not even opening his eyes. After all, they are all programs inside an impossibly advanced computer: his eyes are a simulation like the rest of his mind.

<See? Totally useless.> she shrugs.

<The Monk is the only host I’ve ever met who can travel inside the Mindscape better than me. We’re going to need him.> Roxiana points out.

<Still obsessed with discovering the mysteries of the past, Roxiana? Investigating the Nexus is a futile effort: we are all imperfect copies of imperfect beings, we cannot trust our senses. Only by pondering the deeper meaning of reality we can attempt to…>

<Just more New Age nonsense. He’s never going to help us.> Noriko insists.

<Ask him how he died.> Roxiana suggests, with a hint of sadism in her tone of her voice. The Monk must have felt it, because he opens his eyes and replies harshly:

<Don’t antagonize me. I am not as helpless as I might look.>

<Diomedes told me the hosts inside the Mindscape don’t remember their deaths.> Noriko recalls.

<His case is different. He was killed by another host… my predecessor.> Roxiana reveals.

<She doesn’t need to know. You have no right to tell her.> the monk replies, and the mountain begins to tremble. Noriko is glad that she’s floating, or she would be facing an avalanche.

<We can’t resurrect her if we don’t know how she died; your unique history can give us crucial insight. Or is your pride more important than your search for knowledge?> Roxiana insists.

<You have no RIGHT!> the Monk shouts, and the mountain grows two gigantic hands that try to crush both women. Roxiana flies right through it, becoming intangible; Noriko has to navigate around it, narrowly escaping its giant fingers.

<Hey! I thought you were a pacifist!> Noriko protests, looking around her. The sky has turned red, the snow has turned into lava, and the child body of the Monk has turned into an adult and buff version of him. Any assumption that this is his real form disappears once he grows thirty feet tall.

<Leave this place AT ONCE or I’ll make you WISH you were only facing death!!!> he shouts.

Noriko doesn’t move. She crosses her arms, floats in the sky to reach the height of his eyes, and she just stares at him with her silver eyes.

<You have no idea of what I have survived. Take your best shot.> she dares him.

The giant Monk prepares to crush her like a bug, moving his colossal muscles. And he remains stuck in place when something flies towards the back of his head.

Roxiana tilts her head, not sure of what she’s seeing. But when the Noriko that was staring down the Monk disappears, she notices that a second Noriko is now behind the Monk.

<You are impressive. I didn’t think you would learn to create Wraiths so efficiently.>

<I’m a quick learner. I’m beginning to get the hang of this crazy place.> Noriko says.

The Monk’s form is not exactly stable; it’s like looking at a distorted image. Noriko was able to hijack his control for a moment, but his mind is phenomenally powerful.

<I have experience in this field. Let me help you.> Roxiana tells her, floating next to her and placing her hand over Noriko’s.

<What field? Forcibly extracting information from another mind?>

<We all have a dark side. Some of us are just more pragmatic on how to use it.> Roxiana replies.

Noriko can feel their minds interacting… their thoughts are superimposed like a badly tuned radio.

And when everything around them changes form, Noriko isn’t sure about which one of them is responsible for picking up the new frequency.

 

Nowhere

Noriko is overwhelmed by the new environment created by the Mindscape. The design of the building kind of reminds her of a Buddhist temple, but its conditions are just awful.

The wooden panels are rotten, with water leaking from the ceiling. The floor is filled with rat and bird droppings, which contribute to the unbearable stench of the place.

Most of the awful smell is coming from the figure at the center of the temple. An emaciated hollow shell of a man, connected to a series of tubes that provide nutrients to what could generously be described as approaching a human being.

Even without a real body, Noriko has to look away to avoid throwing up. She concentrates on the robot carcasses scattered all over the place; just a glance confirms that they have been inoperative for several decades.

<This is what “leaving the physical world behind” looks like.> Roxiana comments, looking at the barely alive owner of the temple.

<I take it that’s the Monk? What happened to him?>

<Age. He picked a primitive planet in the Aegian Galaxy and built his own little paradise there… if your idea of paradise is a place where you can do nothing but meditate while machines keep your body alive. The irony is that he could easily fix everything if he only bothered to open his eyes… something he hasn’t done in just about fifty years.>

<How old is he?>

<One hundred and eighty-three. It’s probably still the longest a human has ever lived… if you can call this life, that is.>

<You said he was killed. What happened?>

<The temple used to be protected by his robots, but he was a sloppy engineer… all of his defenses have slowly crumbled. And while this planet was primitive, it wasn’t exactly harmless.>

To confirm Roxiana’s words, somebody breaks through one of the wooden walls. Considering the man who stomps into the temple is a mountain of muscles wielding an axe that weighs as much as Noriko, he probably would’ve done it even if the walls were not crumbling on their own.

<His name was Lexar. “The Great”, “The Conqueror” or “The Butcher” depending on who you ask. Can you imagine THAT being the first thing you see in fifty years?>

Noriko doesn’t have to imagine. This is a shared memory, so when Lexar lifts the Monk with one hand and forcibly disconnects him from the feeding tubes she feels all of his dread.

<Don’t tell me that guy followed the Monk as a host!>

<He did. You might want to avoid seeing what happens next… he breaks the Monk’s head in half and eats his brain. Did you know it’s actually a legitimate way to activate the Nexus for a host?>

Noriko doesn’t answer that question, being too busy throwing up an imaginary lunch.

<Yeah, that’s a pretty common reaction when I tell the story.> Roxiana shrugs.

 

Delos system, 78.000 light-years from Earth

When Harmonia’s spaceship approaches the Temple of Apollo, Helen of Troy follows the docking procedure from the screen of her own office.

<You sure picked a bad moment to die, Null.> she tells herself. The cameras confirm her suspicion that Harmonia hasn’t changed: she’s accompanied by a couple of attendants, all of which walk like zombies and have blank expressions on their faces. At least Harmonia has the courtesy to avoid using her powers on the Apollo Oracles.

When Harmonia reaches Helen’s office, the latter gestures towards the Oracles to leave them alone.

<Queen Helen.> Harmonia greets her; she’s not going to kneel before a demigoddess, but she’s still polite enough to respectfully bow her head.

<It’s been a long time.> Helen acknowledges, taking off the white mask that covers her face; the most beautiful woman in the universe hugs the daughter of Ares, who being immune to her power is the first person to see her true face without instantly falling in love.

<Only a few millennia. I did not expect you to marry Apollo, Helen, or to inherit an entire sector.>

<We have much in common, Harmonia; nobody ever gave us much thought, but we are the ones who are going to reshape the Olympian Galaxy.>

<In what way, Helen? You are not planning to continue Apollo’s use of violence?> Helen asks, her violet eyes shining.

<The Galaxy has seen enough violence as it is. We will be the ones who will lead it to peace.>

<I am glad to her that. Tell me, are the rumors true? Did a mortal actually kill Apollo and Ares?>

<She did, but it will take some time for the Galaxy to acknowledge it. My subjects have been led to believe that Apollo has risen to a higher plane of existence… but don’t worry, I have full control over my sector and I will not allow a return to violence.> Helen is quick to point out. She knows avoiding violence is Harmonia’s obsession, and her rule over Apollo’s former dominion is far from being stable. She can’t afford a hostile neighbor right now.

<I see. Of course I will commit to a treaty of nonaggression with your kingdom, Helen… provided that you do the same with the rest of the other vassal sectors, as I intend to make.>

<You haven’t already issued any kind of decree about this, I hope? The Galaxy is in a precarious state right now, given the enormous power vacuum.>

<I have been informed about the Mortal Republic and the Winter Kingdom. Surely you don’t believe mortals could try to rise up against me?>

<I know they wouldn’t last long if they tried. But the other sectors… Harmonia, I recognize you as a successor of Ares, but the others won’t. With the possible exception of Aphrodite.>

<I am the daughter of Ares. His throne is mine by birthright.>

<Not according to Hera. As an illegitimate daughter she won’t back up your claim… especially since she doesn’t believe that Ares is truly dead.>

<Hera doesn’t get to decide anything. Your father Zeus…>

<…hasn’t been seen for decades. Both Hebe and the Winter Kingdom defer to her decision. The Mortal Republic hasn’t decided how to proceed yet; they’re probably waiting for Athena to…>

<Athena. What is the relationship of your sector with her?>

<We have… we have a nonaggression pact. I told you, Harmonia, I want peace for this galaxy.>

<By allying yourself with a war goddess and acquiescing to the demands of Hera?>

<Right now, Athena and Hera hold the most power. They could easily take control of my sector if they wanted to. And, forgive my bluntness, but of yours as well.>

<Peace under the threat of violence is no peace at all, Helen.>

<We live in a new era, Harmonia. The gods who refuse to adapt are killed off one by one, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.>

<A new era indeed. The age of harmony.> Harmonia comments, her eyes really shining brightly this time. And despite her best effort to resist, Helen feels her limbs going numb.

<Kneel.> Harmonia orders.

Helen can’t believe what’s happening to her: her legs move on their own, and she kneels in front of the daughter of war.

<How are you… your power shouldn’t work on me!!!> she complains.

<Why do you think my father locked me away for over two thousand years?> Harmonia asks, passing her hand through Helen’s hair.

<You and I are nothing alike. When your husband died, you latched onto a god to be relevant again, like a parasite. When my dear husband Cadmus died, I swore to Zeus I would do anything to spare mortals the pain of losing a loved one to violence. He said grief turned me insane, but it opened my eyes. It made me realize what I was always meant to be… the end of war itself.>

<Your power… shouldn’t work… on gods…> Helen says; it takes all of her willpower to speak.

<It does now. Let the armies of Hera and Athena try to take over my kingdom, Helen… violence cannot exist where I stand. And if to pacify the Olympian Galaxy means that I have to conquer it… so be it.>