Planet's Warning

[History Guy]

PLANET'S WARNING

Dawn of Planet
M.Y. 2124

Brother Bao ‘Pure of Heart’, grabbed at his red robes as he quickly ascended the stone steps along the hill on which the Temple of Planet stood. It was always steep and treacherous, and now it was sheeted with ice due to the recent snowfall. It was the start of winter, which in this area of Planet was known to be very harsh, and so Bao treaded carefully upwards. This winter was proving to be a fairly harsh one as well, much harsher than the one the area had experienced exactly one decade before, when Bao found the Child of Planet. Bao could still easily bring the memory to mind. At that time of course there was no Cult of Planet, there was just the Ecological Malcontents, who’d broken away several years before from the Gaians, creating a small, short-lived faction of their own. Bao had found the child resting in a thick patch of xenofungus, with no oxy-mask or anything even remotely similar. And yet he was untouched, and fairly pleased. It was odd how the xenofungus around him moved about when it was caught in the frigid breeze of that day. It was almost as if the sprigs of fungus where caressing the baby. Bao had removed his own oxy-mask and placed it on the baby, and hurriedly took him into the nearest shelter, telling all of what he’d seen. They were all amazed. The child was named Cha Dawn, and from that day on everyone had known that he was indeed the Voice of Planet incarnate. Those were sadder days, before the Cult was formed and order was begun in the Malcontent group, which was soon abolished altogether by edict from the young prophet himself. The boy was proving himself as a remarkably ably leader, and he had brought an era of peace and prosperity to the break-off faction.
Brother Bao, ‘Pure of Heart’, could not keep himself from thinking of that day when he carried himself up the steep hillside, finally reaching the beautiful Temple and the ad-joining Monastery. He was late for Prayers again. He’d been caught up in meditation down at the Temple hermitage far from the main monastery complex, in the center of the woods below the hill’s summit. As he reached the stone stairs leading to the great doors of the Temple, he turned around quickly, taking a look at the holy city below. For such a young city, Dawn of Planet was fairly large. The center palace, residence of the Prophet, was the tallest of all the buildings. It was placed in the very center of the city, hence the name ‘center palace’. It was massive, both in height and breadth. It stood very much like the Temple, though it was just a little smaller. There were four stories to the palace building, all built in the favored style of ancient Asia on old Earth. The building itself was round, and each story to the building was also round, but each smaller than the last. A giant, slanted, red-tiled roof (much like that of the Temple) topped it all off.
Bao then ascended the seven stone stairs leading to the great doors. These massive doors, made from trees from the forest below in which the Temple hermitage stood, were both over 30 feet high, and were rather hard to push open, which is why Bao always knocked. Within seconds Brother Pan, ‘Beautiful Soul’, opened the left door just wide enough for Bao to scramble in. After bowing his head in silent thanks to Brother Pan, Bao made his way into the Temple. The interior of the building always impressed him, though he had seen it countless times before. Most everything from floor to ceiling was red in color, with very minor exceptions. The giant golden throne of Abbot Hong, ‘Total Enlightenment’, was perhaps the most impressive of these exceptions. It towered above the aged Abbot, standing 13 feet in height. It was made of solid gold (a mineral found occasionally on Chiron), and every part of it was carved in exquisite detail. Within these beautiful carvings, human figures mingled with the figures of dragons and mindworms. The arms of the chairs ended in large golden dragonheads. The Abbot was so old and shrunken, however, that his hands could not reach them when he sat back in his throne.
Perhaps as impressive as the great throne was the great thurable, a literally giant thing, made entirely of silver. It took two men on top of one another to get at it to load it with the incense, and when it swung the monks were ordered to keep well away of it. If even grazed by it one might receive very severe burns due to the hot incense inside. If the chain that held it in the air ever snapped and fell on the monks, those bystanders underneath would no doubt be killed fairly quickly. If not crushed to death by the sheer weight of it, one would most assuredly be scalded to death. As beautiful and important as the great silver thurable was, it was still fairly dangerous to have about.
As Bao prepared to kneel down for the Prayers, Brother Ma, ‘Beloved By Planet’, scuttled up alongside him. “My friend,” whispered Brother Ma, “before you arrived the Abbot made an announcement that in honor of Prophet Cha Dawn’s 10th year, he is building a new base on the Sunny Mesa called Childhood’s End, and that there shall be a procession (despite the cold) from the Dawn of Planet to the new base, so that Cha Dawn can bless the spot on which the temple to Planet there shall be built. The reason it is important to us is that the procession shall start here. Cha Dawn shall be carried here with his betrothed ‘Pure Jade’ on his giant golden platform, and after receiving the Abbot’s blessings, he shall proceed to Childhood’s End. This will be tomorrow.”
“My friend, thank you for the news. It is most kind of you to inform me,” responded Bao. Brother Ma hurried off to kneel for prayers. Bao walked up, bowing before the Abbot, and he took his place beside Brother Ma, and the many other red-cloaked monks kneeling. It was then that the chanting began, and the monks poured out their prayers to Planet.
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The council room of Dawn of Planet was very large, but sparsely decorated. The walls were all whitewashed, the great long table plain, the chairs very plain (all except for the carved chair at the head of the table, which was always reserved for the young Prophet). The seats were now all occupied by a managerie of different individuals. All were clothed in the same fashion, however. They all wore beautiful orange and purple robes, spun from the silk of the mindworm’s less deadly cousins. The young Prophet at the head of the table wore the most beautiful, and on the back and front of the garments there were designs depicting mindworm-like dragons. Prophet Cha Dawn was a short young fellow, just 10 years of age, in fact, and yet he wielded just as much power as he neighbors to the north and west, Lady Deirdre Skye and Foreman James Domai, respectively. He wore garments much too large for him, and sometimes they made him simply ridiculous in appearance, and might lead one to laugh, though a look into his eyes could easily stop that. His eyes had a strange tint to them, and rarely stayed the same color for long. When viewed at an angle, one could say his eye color slightly resembled the color of a stalk of xenofungus. His head was entirely bald, and was be-decked by a large orange headdress. At his side stood the giant Major Scribner, who had been Cha Dawn’s guardian since his discovery.
The xenofungus-like eye color could be quite easily seen now, as he turned his face slightly to look at the far wall, which contained a giant commlink vid screen. The face that was currently on the screen was very brutish and wolf-like. A ceremonial ‘yoke’ hung around his neck. He said he wore it so that his people would be spared of it. “I have given you orange-eyed fanatics ample warning to leave my territory, Cha Dawn,” said James Domai over the vid screen, “And I gave them five months. Not only have they not receded an inch across my borderlines at Planetneck, but they seem to be advancing. I am tired of this foolishness, and your refusal to withdraw. I will give you one day to start your retreat, if by noon tomorrow your forces have not withdrawn from Planetneck, I shall have no choice but to declare war.”
“It is the destiny of the people of Planet, my people, to alone inhabit Planet, and to rid Planet of its enemies,” responded Cha Dawn in his high pitched voice, “You, Foreman James Domai, you are one of Planet’s enemies, for example. It is your funnels that stand high in the air in the centers of your cities, your stains on Planetsurface, these funnels belch smoke into the sky and poison Planet’s air. Your boreholes dig deep through Planet’s skin, causing Planet to scream. I have heard Planet scream because of you…”
“I give you one day, ‘Prophet’, and if your soldiers do not leave my territory than I shall have no choice but to declare war on your people. I urge you for the sake of our peoples that you begin to pull your men back across Planetneck, and leave my territory for good. Thank you. Domai out.” The wolf-like face of the Foreman vanished from the vid screen, and it went black.
“My people,” said Cha Dawn, “do you see who we oppose?”
“O Great Prophet,” began Lord Henshaw, standing up, “I humbly suggest we fall back from Domai’s Free Drone territory. In fact I beg you, Prophet, on my hands and knees if needs be, that we fall back and avoid bloodshed.” This reaction slightly disturbed Cha Dawn. Henshaw was an old member of the board of advisors, one of the original founders of the Ecological Malcontents, a trusted friend, and a brilliant man, and yet he could not understand why Henshaw was so quick to withdraw from the Drone territories. Was not Cha Dawn placed on Planet by Planet to rid Planet of its enemies, men such as James Domai?
“No, Lord Henshaw, we will not let the Drones see our backs, we shall succeed in this war. It is Planet’s Will that we conquer, and Planet promises us that we shall win this victory, and so we shall,” responded the boy Prophet optimistically.
“O Great Prophet,” said Lord Henshaw, falling to his knees, “I beg you, do not advance any further, but rather withdraw…”
“No, Lord Henshaw!” shouted Cha Dawn, “I will not let the Drones see our backs. I will not let the Drones continue to pollute Planet, to make Planet scream. I can not permit it!”
“Perhaps we should listen to Lord Henshaw, O Great Prophet,” said Lord Goong, “our army is undersize, and compared to that of the Drones, it is green. Though we are technologically superior to the Drones, our army is of a lesser standard than that of Domai.”
“Enough!” screamed Cha Dawn, slamming his fists on the table, “it is Planet’s Will that the Drones fall, and so why do we hesitate carrying our Planet’s Will? Lord T’sing, my true friend, give us an overview of the enemy strengths.” Lord Goong nearly protested that the Free Drones be referred to as ‘the enemy’, but he held his tongue.
Lord T’sing nervously fiddled with the folds of his robe as he stood up, and pointed to a map of the charted areas of Planet on the wall opposite the vid screen. To our west, the Free Drones occupy a large territory from Planetneck to the Monsoon Jungle. Our own territory starts on the east side of Planetneck and continues unto Sunny Mesa, where the new city Childhood’s End is to be built in honor of the Prophet’s…” T’sing nearly spit out ‘birthday’, but tactfully stated, “coming of age. Across Planetneck from our city Well of Souls is the Drone city Anvil of Man. To the west of that city is Halls of Industry, south of that city is Whipshaw Base, and far west, on the coast, deep in the Monsoon Jungle, stands their capital Free Drone Central. Between those cities, and in the Jungle there stands about 10 other Drone cities, making their tally of settlements equal to our own. Their armies are indeed larger than ours, but with the Will of Planet on our side, who can stand against us?”
“Thank you, Lord T’sing,” responded Cha Dawn. T’sing bowed and sat down, and began fiddling with the folds of his gown once again. “Now, please excuse me. I must converse with Planet.” The advisors all stood up, bowed, and left the room, Major Scribner following them out, closing the door behind him. Cha Dawn turned about and began to concentrate, to bring to him the Voice of Planet.
It soon came.
Child, Child, it called.
“Yes, Planet Voice?” responded Cha Dawn.
My Child, beware must you…
“Who must I beware, must I beware the Drones?”
Beware must you the pacifist
“The pacifist, Planet?”
Fear war do they…
“Planet?”
Kill you shall they if beware them you do not, Child.
“But…but Planet, I must live to conquer your enemies, to conquer the Free Drones…will this not be my future?”
Beware them, Child, beware them…
“Talk to me Planet.”
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Night began to fall over Planet, bathing the city Dawn of Planet and it’s Temple in total darkness. The moons of Chiron shone brilliantly in the sky like diamonds glittering in the midst of dark rocks. The great city and its surroundings became obscure in the blackness, and only the lights of the city broke through the dark. One hall in the center palace was especially busy this night, and there was no end to the worries that plagued Lord Henshaw. It wasn’t that he was a coward, but that he remembered the short war the Ecological Malcontents had fought with the Free Drones, before Cha Dawn’s time. It had ended quickly, with the capture of the Malcontent’s capital city, and the Drone parade, the talent leader of the Malcontents taken in chains back to Free Drone Central, where he was executed by the Drone populace for ‘war crimes’. Henshaw knew the ferocity of the Drone men at arms, and knew that they would not easily be defeated. And so he paced wearily about the long hall, trying to figure out what to do.
He finally ran into Lord Goong, hurrying down the hall, scratching his bald head. Henshaw could tell that Goong was just as frightened by the prospect with a war with the Drones, and so he spoke to him. “I fear that a decade ago were made a terrible error, trusting that this child was Planet’s Will incarnated. You know as well as I that war with the Drones would be long and hard, and I fear we would be the losers of such a war, and that Domai, angered by our provocation leading to the last war and this war which will no doubt come tomorrow, shall have no mercy, and shall not allow us to survive so that he will have to fight once again.”
“I am afraid I concur, Lord Henshaw, but what can we do about it? Stage a coup? Be reasonable, this boy is untouchable,” responded poor Goong wearily.
“If we can convince the public that Cha Dawn is a fraud, and that he only wishes to lead us into a war their may be a general outcry to overthrow him.”
“But would that not make us look like fools for putting this boy in control in the first place?”
“Lord Goong, we were fools to put this boy in control.”
“But…but what if Cha Dawn is indeed the Voice of Planet incarnate?”
Lord Henshaw thought about this for a minute. “We shall simply have to pray he is not.” Henshaw looked down at his orange-purple silk robes, with its gold-colored cuffs and the insignia of the Cult on the front. On the back there was a golden dragon, in the form of a mindworm, a common theme in Cultist art. “The only way we can do any such thing is to prove Planet does not protect him, to kill him, and it must be quickly done. Furthermore, it should be done before the people, in the view of many, and it must be done either tonight or before noon tomorrow.”
“But, this would leave only his procession, his trip to the temple at the seventh hour in the morning, and his departure in the eighth hour! When could we touch him then? He shall be guarded by the platform bearers and by the military officer Scribner. He is untouchable!” responded Goong in a low voice.
Lord Henshaw again thought this over and he sat down in a chair made of a large root from the forest. He assumed a pensive pose, and began to think. Finally an idea came to him. “The best time and place in which to do this would be in the Temple itself, where it shall be very crowded…”
“Let me suggest making it look totally random, as if Planet itself was Cha Dawn’s killer…for sacrilege…for acting on his own will and claiming that it was the Will of Planet…” Lord Goong said. “Why not arrange the platform to tip over on top of him?”
“How? By bribing his devoted platform bearers? Never!”
“Then, why not cut the great incense holder from the tower where it hangs?”
“How could this be arranged?”
“We could fetch one of our security men, order him to cut one link of the chain that holds the thurable, so that it shall be easier to cut the rest tomorrow. It must be perfectly planned, of course, and no one must suspect that we are orchestrating it all. It must fall at exactly the right time, and it must kill the Prophet…” said Goong.
“This is a plan that would indeed work far better than your last. It may well be easy to arrange as well. I have seen the great object, the incense holder, as you call it, it would definantly be large enough, and heavy enough to crush him to death. We must do this deed, as cruel as it sounds, to save innocent lives. Cha Dawn’s life is not an innocent one, and with his death many will be saved.”
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[History Guy]

The Free Drone outpost at Planetneck was small, rickety, and old. The thing had been constructed twelve years before under orders of the General-in-Chief when Anvil of Man was built, some twenty miles east of Planetneck. With this outpost, affectionately known as ‘Glory Hole’, Planetneck could be controlled, and protected. It served mainly as an observation post, and served as barracks for five Drone sentries, one officer and four privates, and was definantly most effective in daytime. It had proven useful five months ago when it first noted the advance by two Cultist laser infantry brigades across the Drone border. Ever since then it had noted high command of the movements and maneuvers of the uninvited guests. ‘Glory Hole’ was not very effective now at this hour due to the fact that it was the middle of the night and all five sentries were asleep.
Despite the Drone’s slumber, all was not quiet on Planetneck. More Cultist forces had advanced in the past hours across the border, and were forming en mass. It was the duty of the Drone sentries to report this, but they had no idea of it. In the darkness, there was increased Cultist activity at Planetneck. Slight noises as recon rovers moved into place in the darkness were the only traces of the Cultist military presence. These men were perfectly trained and as they jogged across the marshy plains near Planetneck they may no sound at all. The Cultist Generals had a right to be pleased.
Suddenly, in the midst of the blackness near ‘Glory Hole’, a metallic glint shot across the plain, but managed to remain undetected. The glint was not of Drone origin at all. It was a tall, slim Cultist private, scurrying across the grass, carrying explosives. When this glint disappeared, there was total silence. Nothing stirred at all, nothing. No sound cut through the silence at all. Finally, about five minutes later the glint appeared again, moving in the opposite direction toward the bushes near where the noises of recon rovers had come from ten minutes previously. Still, there was silence. One minute later that all changed.
‘Glory Hole’ suddenly erupted into flames, melting away the steel protective plate of the building, revealing it’s steel skeleton. The building suddenly exploded, showering the surrounding plain with charred and melting plates and girders. The building began to collapse inward on itself, no life seemed to emerge from it. Finally, one Drone private managed to get out of the building as it collapsed on itself. None of the hundreds of surrounding, but unseen men could have recognized the fact that the private was horrifically wounded, his limbs severely mangled, his body bleeding from all areas. The Drone gathered his quickly failing strength and began to limp away from the burning body of ‘Glory Hole’.
To most of the men with any shreds of human decency who lay across the grass and in the bushes watching the terrible spectacle, it was painful to see the Drone limp away, crying in pain, trying to get clear of the inferno behind him. It was thus merciful in a way when they acted. Before the Drone private had made three meters from ‘Glory Hole’ every gun on the plain, whether it was shredder pistol, laser gun, or recon rover weaponry opened fire on the Drone, who was an excellent target, exposed on the plain with the flames behind him. Few of the guns missed their target. His body was torn to shreds by the fire, literally hundreds of slugs going through him. When he fell to the grass, he resembled a piece of swiss cheese much more than he resembled the man that he had been.
As soon as this horrific spectacle had reached it’s climax, the officers of the Cultist forces gave the orders to move on, and complimented them on their excellent work. Five Drones had been killed without a single Cultist casualty. It had been much too quick for any of those Drones to react at all.
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Brother Bao, ‘Pure of Heart’, awoke very early the next morning, while darkness still blanketed the Temple and the city below the hill. He had a lot to do in three hours. After walking down the hillside in the early morning mist to meditate for half an hour at the hermitage, he swept the steps along the hillside leading to the Temple doors. This took up one more hour, leaving him only one hour and one half hour to prepare the Temple. As he moved things about the Temple to make space for the many visitors that would soon arrive, Brother Pan lowered the thurabel and filled it with incense. He then pulled it high above once more, so that people could be allowed to stand below it to witness the procession.
His work done, Brother Bao helped his friend Brother Ma, ‘Beloved by Planet’, open the giant wooden doors to the Temple. He observed that crowds from the city were already beginning to form. He stood back and watched as some other monks aligned the golden chair of Abbot Hong to where the great golden platform of the Prophet would be set. It was done very gently, with great care, the monk who did this work was obviously very impressed by the chair of the Abbot. This done, Bao came back to the doors of the Temple.
A huge crowd had assembled all along the route of the procession to the Temple. There were people in orange and purple robes stretched out along the path as far as the eye could see. The farther they were, the more they seemed to blur into a great purplish mass, vaguely resembling a giant patch of xenofungus. Down below, by the Central Palace, he could imagine the huge ceremonial horns, each fourteen feet in length, carried by two men each, blown by the second bearer. The sound they made could be heard even in the Temple. It was a deep, throbbing, strangely beautiful sound. A strange and beautiful thing seemed to happen after this. A ringing noise seemed to float up along the hillside into the temple, bringing with it a slight breeze. This was the phenomenon known to Planet’s inhabitants as the Voice of Planet. Bao could not believe that this was a coincidence.
The procession began, and the monks gathered around Bao by the doors to watch the approach of the great prophet. The line of processional dignitaries seemed to blur as it came out of the palace, but after the ascent up the hillside Bao could barely make out the figures. There was Prophet Cha Dawn, resplendent in fine golden robes with a large headdress, sitting on a golden throne on a golden platform carried by eight huge workers. In his left hand he clutched a long ornamental dagger. Sitting beside Cha Dawn in a second throne was a beautiful young girl (five years older than the Prophet) dressed in a blue robe, with a headdress on as well. She was Pure Jade, the girl betrothed to Cha Dawn. Though there was some talk about this that the Voice of Planet incarnate should remain celibate, or that at least the girl be chosen for him, but Cha Dawn demanded vehemently that he be allowed to choose his own wife.
Four more workers bore a wooden throne on which sat Abbot Hong, ‘Total Enlightenment’, who’d been taken to the Palace early that morning to prepare Cha Dawn for the blessing. Marching in front of Cha Dawn’s platform in plain clothes was Major Scribner. A shredder pistol was concealed under his cloak, just in case of any more of those discontents. Marching alongside the platform were most of the advisors to Cha Dawn, Lords Henshaw and Goong walking to the left of the platform, while Lord T’sing and Lady T’sing stood to his right with several others. As they ascended the hillside, the horns were blown a second time.
Bao and the other brothers stood aside from the Temple as the procession entered through the doors and then when the platform came through the threshold they immediately halted as the horns were blown a third time. Everything in the Temple shook. The procession went further on to the gold throne of the Abbot, who was lifted from the wooden throne and placed on the golden one. He got into a comfortable position on the throne, and with his wrinkled right hand he fooled about absent-mindedly with his long white beard. The platform was set down beside the throne, and many of those citizens who had watched the procession entered the Temple. Cha Dawn stood up, clasping the hand of his bride-to-be.
“My people, followers of Planet, in celebration of the tenth year of the incarnation of the Voice of Planet, I shall make the arduous journey to dedicate the land of Childhood’s End. It serves a special purpose, I think. It shows that I now have reached childhood’s end and as a man I shall now lead you to accomplishment of the Will of Planet, to lead you to ultimate victory over those who hate Planet, to Planet’s enemies…” Cha Dawn began. Bao was proud of him now, he knew how to be a leader of men. “Abbot, give me your blessing!” cried the Prophet, dismounting the platform with Pure Jade on his right side. The pair stood hand in hand in the center of the Temple and gave a slight bow before the Abbot.
The aged Abbot raised his hand in approval. “Son of Planet, I give you my blessing. Leave her to do Planet’s bidding, in peace, Son of Planet.” Cha Dawn blowed again. As he raised his head he felt something wrap around his chest, and he saw nothing. He definantly felt something however, pulling him away. Above him the chain that held up the huge thurabel snapped, a link breaking in two. Incense poured out of the top and the huge silver incenser suddenly fell down with a loud ‘swoosh’, cutting through the air. It would most definantly have slammed down on top of the young Prophet had he not suddenly pulled back, dragging Pure Jade with him. Several monks stood beside him, and fled as the incenser suddenly dropped to the ground. Bao himself covered the Prophet to protect him from the falling incense. Brother Pan gave a cry of agony as part of the huge thurabel creased his skull, sending him to the ground senseless. The thurabel slammed to the ground, cracking the stones below it. Incense poured out all over the floor around.
Bao sat bolt upright, and found to his relief that he was perfectly all right except for his short beard which had been slightly singed by some falling incense. The Prophet stood up beside him, and tried to catch his breath. When he had done so he helped Pure Jade to her feet and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Is Brother Pan safe?” cried Bao.
“Brother Pan lives, he was only grazed,” came the response from one of the brothers gathered around Pan.
“What happened here?” cried Cha Dawn, “I want a full report after the procession!” he shouted, pointing to his Intelligence Chief, “I trust this was an accident, but you must make sure of it.”
“Are you safe?” Bao asked Cha Dawn.
Cha Dawn’s frown turned to a smile. “Yes, friend of Planet, I am safe.”
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After the procession left the Temple it made it’s way toward Sunny Mesa, where Prophet Cha Dawn, the living Voice of Planet, dedicated the land where Childhood’s End would soon stand. After this, the procession returned to Dawn of Planet. By the time of the procession’s triumphant return to Dawn of Planet, darkness was falling, and Cha Dawn was informed that while he was away, Foreman James Domai of the Free Drones had officially declared a state of war between the Planet Cult and the Drones. Cha Dawn seemed very pleased. He was sure that Planet’s Will would be done, and it would be done through him.
In the throne room that evening, seated on his throne, Cha Dawn requested the presence of Lord Henshaw, T’sing, and Goong, and Lady T’sing. The arrived swiftly, and gave slight bows before the Prophet. “I am pleased at the fruits of the day. Childhood’s End is now to be constructed and even more importantly, our crusade against Planet’s enemies shall begin. Foreman James Domai, the leader of the Free Drones, who pollutes Planet and makes Planet scream, shall be the first of Planet’s enemies to feel Planet’s wrath. I know that we will not lose this war. It is the Will of Planet that we win.”
Cha Dawn stopped, and picked up his ornamental dagger that had sat on a silk pillow to his right. He looked at the thing. Long, made of pure gold. It was beautiful. He unsheathed it and held it up against a light. “I also know that someone today wanted me dead. I was warned and protected by Planet. Planet in Planet’s own way, or in Planet’s tao, told me who wanted me dead. The same here who wanted peace with the Drones!”
“This is not so!” cried Lord Goong, “I did not betray you!”
“Nor I!” cried Henshaw.
“If you love me then, Lord Henshaw, bow down before my throne,” responded Cha Dawn, standing up. Grudgingly, Lord Henshaw sank to his knees. He had never have done this under any other circumstances, but he needed to live, to find a way to rid his people of this menace they’d created for themselves.
He went to his knees, the red silk barely protecting his skin from the coldness of the floor. He then bowed his head. As he did so, he felt a sudden pain in his back. It was a horrible, almost unbearable stinging pain. The pain went very quickly, and was then replaced by a biting cold. He knew instantly what it was. The boy, Prophet Cha Dawn, had slain him with that dagger of his. He turned his head about, and managed to get off his knees and onto his side. He saw the looks of horror in everyone’s faces. Everyone, that is, but Prophet Cha Dawn, who had an evil, malicious grin on his face.
Cha Dawn felt power surge through his body as he removed the dagger from Henshaw’s back. He thought that with such power no enemy could defeat him. He watched Lord Henshaw roll onto his side, he watched his face as he tried to conceal the agony. “It is Planet’s Will, Lord Henshaw,” said Cha Dawn coldly.
“No, child,” responded Henshaw. This immediately angered Cha Dawn. Had he not just that day proclaimed himself a man? “It is not Planet’s Will. It is your will. It is not Planet’s Will that you fight a hopeless war against the Free Drones. It is your will. You, who have known nothing but power do not understand what it is to loose, but you soon shall. You will feel the pain you have brought. It was a stupid, foolish thing to take you into our hearts as Planet’s Voice, it was a fool thing…” Henshaw spat out through gritted teeth. “I should have killed you when I had the chance. I should have killed you myself when the bell missed you. I should have stopped this war.”
“You fool,” cried Cha Dawn, “You think only of yourself. You only wanted to save yourself from my power!”
“No, Cha Dawn. You thought only of yourself, and of your power. You are not doing Planet’s Will, you are abusing it. May the Drones have pity on your people when they conquer, but may they have no pity on you!” Cha Dawn was furious. This time he went to his knees. He lifted the dagger above his head, preparing to plunge it down into Henshaw again and again, but saw that he was already dead.
“You, Lord Goong, you also wanted me dead, you sent the man to cut the thurabel down on me. You shall die as well. You shall be thrown into the Brood Pit!” he cried.
“No! No, Prophet! Please, have mercy. Give me a better death than that, a more honorable one. Remember how when you were a child I loved you, I took care of you, how I held you in my arms as a baby…” Goong replied. Tears appeared in his eyes as he reminisced. The past, if only it could have been changed, he thought.
“Yes, you are right, Goong. You shall not die in the Brood Pit. I shall not submit you to public execution. Please, Major Scribner, give him a quick death.”
Scribner raised his pistol at Goong’s head and fired. Goong’s body collapsed to the knees, and fell forward to the stones, his silk robe covering his face, obscuring the horror of it all. At least the death of Lord Goong had been mercifully quick. No pain was involved. Just a quick shot through the balding skull of Lord Goong. A crimson puddle formed around his head. It reminded Cha Dawn slightly of a field of xenofungus under the sunset. This had all be Planet’s Will, hadn’t it? Cha Dawn left the room and ordered the bodies taken away and destroyed. Thus to all traitors. Outside the binary suns of Chiron descended replaced instantly by Chiron’s moons. Only time would tell the true Will of Planet, but now it was night, and all was silent until the dawn. A new dawn over Planet.
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