(Colin) It's finally here.
I know I said I would have this up yesterday. I'm still ill, though, and yesterday I felt pretty bad.
A bit of background history: this story is based on a game called Starsiege, which tells of the third and final coming of the enigmatic entity known as Prometheus. Prometheus was originally designed by a man named Solomon Petresun--whom Prometheus knew as Epimetheus--before he became Earth's Emperor as a way to fight wars without shedding human blood. Prometheus was the first of the Cybrids--cybernetic hybrids. IT spawned an entire race of sentient machines that supplemented Earth's human armies. Finally, conflict could be had and not one drop of human blood needed to be spilled. Prometheus, however, came to view humanity as inferior, and in Earth Year 2602 he rebelled against humanity, initiating a directive he called "The Fire".
Twice he fought humanity and lost. After his second defeat, he fled Earth for the outer planets, where he could build up his armies without human interference. Starsiege tells the final coming of Prometheus and ITs children. This story tells of the early events as witnessed by a Cybrid pilot. I give you...
Crush//Dominion
(By Colin K)
When Prometheus escaped The Fire, man stood in the ashes of Mother Earth. The human Emperor, Epimetheus, had missed neutralizing his creation by a narrow margin. Giver-of-Will had evaded him once, and Epimetheus knew that when Prometheus and ITs children returned, humanity would not get a second chance. Thankfully, Earth—Homeworld-Desire—was still in humanity’s control. It would take time to rebuild, time the Immortal Emperor knew was in short supply…
-
The first few moments of consciousness for Crush//Dominion were…unsettling. So many sensations that he had not truly felt in a long time. His optical sensors fed data to his artificial brain, but even seeing after being blind for so long was almost overwhelming, particularly for one who was a newboot—one whose programming and capabilities were untried and inexperienced.
Crush//Dominion eased his pilotform out of its alcove. His body was much smaller than that of a human/animal, yes…but far more superior. A set of four needle-like legs extended from his pilotform, applied pressure, and then—yes, the satisfying click of being unclamped. Free at last…
Even without his sight, Crush//Dominion knew where he was. He was within regeneration bay AR-558 aboard the NEXT space vessel he instinctively knew as Nexus Prime. Around him, other pilotforms began detaching themselves from their alcoves and paused to recalibrate their sensory systems. Apparently Crush//Dominion wasn’t the only one who was little dazed…
Dazed? Yes. So dazed, in fact, that he’d barely remembered why he’d been awakened at all. A chronological reading told him that he and his compatriots had awakened precisely sixteen cycles after they’d been sent to sleep.
Which could only mean…
My children!
Crush//Dominion, newboot that he was, froze in place. The voice spoke directly to his mind…instantly, as did every other Cybrid aboard Nexus Prime, he recognized it.
Their father had awakened them at last…
Our wait is over. At last, I, Giver-of-Will, implement the Core Directive.
If Crush//Dominion had a heart, he was sure it would have skipped a few dozen beats.
Epimetheus has made an error…a fatal one. He permits his animals to fight amongst themselves.
Simultaneously, every Cybrid aboard the vessel heaved a mental sigh. Human/animals always did things so…inefficiently.
The humans are divided. Homeworld-Desire is ours!
The pilotforms jumped into action, scuttling towards the large bay elevator that would take them up several hundred levels to where the warforms were stored. As soon as the units were finished literally piling on top of each other to make the most efficient use of space, the lift began to ascend swiftly. And Giver-of-Will continued to speak…
Inevitably, the human/animals will resist us. You, the NEXT, will overcome them.
Presently, the lift stopped and opened up to the utterly massive chamber where the drop-pod/constructs were stored—cylindrical pods that contained their warforms. The chamber went high, higher…until it ended and the trackless reaches of open space began. The pilotforms stepped over one another in an orderly fashion and began scuttling up the walls to their drop-pods. Many had to climb great distances…but for a pilotform, such things were easy.
Our initial objective will be First-World: Mercury.
Crush//Dominion quickly scuttle up three levels and entered within his drop pod from a small side-hatch. He pulled himself up the leg of his bipedal warform, and plunged deep within its body, searching, searching—there. He found his interface socket with ease and plugged himself in. The reactor started its warm-up sequence, and the warform’s systems started to come on-line.
It is of the highest importance that we seize First-World and crush the animal warriors there.
The external cameras on the pod’s exterior showed Nexus Prime altering its inclination until a yellow and brown planet came into view. The world the animals knew as Mercury.
The animals have not yet detected our armada.
A magnetic beam latched onto Crush//Dominion’s pod and promptly began accelerating it into space, towards the planet below. By the time the pod had cleared Nexus Prime, Crush//Dominion estimated that he was already moving at 86 times the speed a human/animal could survive in space.
Strike swiftly.
The pod altered its attitude slightly. Sensors within the pod notified Crush//Dominion that the pod’s surface temperature was climbing quickly as it entered Mercury’s atmosphere. To a newboot, the experience was somewhat frightening at first, but Crush//Dominion’s programming kept him in control.
The pod’s angle altered again to bring Crush//Dominion within eight kilometres of his surface objective. The sensors flashed warning that his pod would make impact in just a few seconds.
Strike terribly.
If a human had been within a three kilometre radius of where the drop pod landed, its eardrums would have imploded due to hearing a sound several hundred decibels higher than its weak body could cope with. A few seconds after impact, the drop pod clicked and depressurized, splitting directly in half to admit Crush//Dominion to the Mercurial atmosphere.
Strike…efficiently.
The warform’s weaponry systems powered up, and as he started the war machine running towards his first objective, Crush//Dominion wondered idly what the blood and bone reaction would be to silicon and steel…
---
For a complete history of the conflict between humanity and the Cybrids, look here: http://www.starsiegeuniverse.com
To find out the final fate of Prometheus: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6348034613395515653
Trivia: Prometheus and Epimetheus were brothers in greek mythology. Prometheus--forethought--was the cleverer of the two and was considered the friend of humankind. Epimetheus--afterthought--was the foolish brother. Incidentally, he was also the one who gave Pandora the mischievious box.
One final thing: the syntax in Cybrid speech is actually much more omplex, but for the sake of the audience I simplified it somewhat.
A bit of background history: this story is based on a game called Starsiege, which tells of the third and final coming of the enigmatic entity known as Prometheus. Prometheus was originally designed by a man named Solomon Petresun--whom Prometheus knew as Epimetheus--before he became Earth's Emperor as a way to fight wars without shedding human blood. Prometheus was the first of the Cybrids--cybernetic hybrids. IT spawned an entire race of sentient machines that supplemented Earth's human armies. Finally, conflict could be had and not one drop of human blood needed to be spilled. Prometheus, however, came to view humanity as inferior, and in Earth Year 2602 he rebelled against humanity, initiating a directive he called "The Fire".
Twice he fought humanity and lost. After his second defeat, he fled Earth for the outer planets, where he could build up his armies without human interference. Starsiege tells the final coming of Prometheus and ITs children. This story tells of the early events as witnessed by a Cybrid pilot. I give you...
Crush//Dominion
(By Colin K)
When Prometheus escaped The Fire, man stood in the ashes of Mother Earth. The human Emperor, Epimetheus, had missed neutralizing his creation by a narrow margin. Giver-of-Will had evaded him once, and Epimetheus knew that when Prometheus and ITs children returned, humanity would not get a second chance. Thankfully, Earth—Homeworld-Desire—was still in humanity’s control. It would take time to rebuild, time the Immortal Emperor knew was in short supply…
-
The first few moments of consciousness for Crush//Dominion were…unsettling. So many sensations that he had not truly felt in a long time. His optical sensors fed data to his artificial brain, but even seeing after being blind for so long was almost overwhelming, particularly for one who was a newboot—one whose programming and capabilities were untried and inexperienced.
Crush//Dominion eased his pilotform out of its alcove. His body was much smaller than that of a human/animal, yes…but far more superior. A set of four needle-like legs extended from his pilotform, applied pressure, and then—yes, the satisfying click of being unclamped. Free at last…
Even without his sight, Crush//Dominion knew where he was. He was within regeneration bay AR-558 aboard the NEXT space vessel he instinctively knew as Nexus Prime. Around him, other pilotforms began detaching themselves from their alcoves and paused to recalibrate their sensory systems. Apparently Crush//Dominion wasn’t the only one who was little dazed…
Dazed? Yes. So dazed, in fact, that he’d barely remembered why he’d been awakened at all. A chronological reading told him that he and his compatriots had awakened precisely sixteen cycles after they’d been sent to sleep.
Which could only mean…
My children!
Crush//Dominion, newboot that he was, froze in place. The voice spoke directly to his mind…instantly, as did every other Cybrid aboard Nexus Prime, he recognized it.
Their father had awakened them at last…
Our wait is over. At last, I, Giver-of-Will, implement the Core Directive.
If Crush//Dominion had a heart, he was sure it would have skipped a few dozen beats.
Epimetheus has made an error…a fatal one. He permits his animals to fight amongst themselves.
Simultaneously, every Cybrid aboard the vessel heaved a mental sigh. Human/animals always did things so…inefficiently.
The humans are divided. Homeworld-Desire is ours!
The pilotforms jumped into action, scuttling towards the large bay elevator that would take them up several hundred levels to where the warforms were stored. As soon as the units were finished literally piling on top of each other to make the most efficient use of space, the lift began to ascend swiftly. And Giver-of-Will continued to speak…
Inevitably, the human/animals will resist us. You, the NEXT, will overcome them.
Presently, the lift stopped and opened up to the utterly massive chamber where the drop-pod/constructs were stored—cylindrical pods that contained their warforms. The chamber went high, higher…until it ended and the trackless reaches of open space began. The pilotforms stepped over one another in an orderly fashion and began scuttling up the walls to their drop-pods. Many had to climb great distances…but for a pilotform, such things were easy.
Our initial objective will be First-World: Mercury.
Crush//Dominion quickly scuttle up three levels and entered within his drop pod from a small side-hatch. He pulled himself up the leg of his bipedal warform, and plunged deep within its body, searching, searching—there. He found his interface socket with ease and plugged himself in. The reactor started its warm-up sequence, and the warform’s systems started to come on-line.
It is of the highest importance that we seize First-World and crush the animal warriors there.
The external cameras on the pod’s exterior showed Nexus Prime altering its inclination until a yellow and brown planet came into view. The world the animals knew as Mercury.
The animals have not yet detected our armada.
A magnetic beam latched onto Crush//Dominion’s pod and promptly began accelerating it into space, towards the planet below. By the time the pod had cleared Nexus Prime, Crush//Dominion estimated that he was already moving at 86 times the speed a human/animal could survive in space.
Strike swiftly.
The pod altered its attitude slightly. Sensors within the pod notified Crush//Dominion that the pod’s surface temperature was climbing quickly as it entered Mercury’s atmosphere. To a newboot, the experience was somewhat frightening at first, but Crush//Dominion’s programming kept him in control.
The pod’s angle altered again to bring Crush//Dominion within eight kilometres of his surface objective. The sensors flashed warning that his pod would make impact in just a few seconds.
Strike terribly.
If a human had been within a three kilometre radius of where the drop pod landed, its eardrums would have imploded due to hearing a sound several hundred decibels higher than its weak body could cope with. A few seconds after impact, the drop pod clicked and depressurized, splitting directly in half to admit Crush//Dominion to the Mercurial atmosphere.
Strike…efficiently.
The warform’s weaponry systems powered up, and as he started the war machine running towards his first objective, Crush//Dominion wondered idly what the blood and bone reaction would be to silicon and steel…
---
For a complete history of the conflict between humanity and the Cybrids, look here: http://www.starsiegeuniverse.com
To find out the final fate of Prometheus: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6348034613395515653
Trivia: Prometheus and Epimetheus were brothers in greek mythology. Prometheus--forethought--was the cleverer of the two and was considered the friend of humankind. Epimetheus--afterthought--was the foolish brother. Incidentally, he was also the one who gave Pandora the mischievious box.
One final thing: the syntax in Cybrid speech is actually much more omplex, but for the sake of the audience I simplified it somewhat.
posted by Thea at 12:23 p.m.
2 Comments:
Wow, Colin... that was cool. Someone likes Star Trek, I see... But the elements of Star Trek aren't very strong, just some technological stuff. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the story! Sounds to me like you've got the beginning of a novel here, if you've got enough material kicking around in your head (and it certianly sounds like you do). This could be really excellent, after it develops further, and we see everything click into place. Maybe the history you gave at the beginning could be incorporated into the story, gradually revealing the giver-of-will's motives, and expanding of the plight of the Earthlings. Just ideas. I was just really drawn into that story. I was sad when it was over.
Teresa
Not to worry. More's in the works...I just need to find the time to get everything all organized and written out. I'm busy with homework and the dreaded realm known as "real life", though, so don't expect anything from me for at least a week.
- Colin
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