What would you do if the earth began to fall apart? Your friends and family die while two superpowers battle to the death. Would you give up and let death take you, or would you survive to live and tell your story?
What would you do if the earth began to fall apart? Your friends and family die while two superpowers battle to the death. Would you give up and let death take you, or would you survive to live and tell your story?
I remember the war. The war that ended all others. The war was all started so easily yet,it was so hard to end. At times I question if my existence is worthwhile, then I remember all that happened and I know I must remind others of our folly.
I suppose it began after the Voyage 1 space probe was caught in the gravitational field of the planet now known as Juno. I don't know the specifics, but apparently the probe detected a strange magnetic field that resulted from massive amounts of valuable minerals. The government was interested of course and began the third space race. My country was sure that they would win as we had done in the last two, but the Russians beat us to the planet. We landed shortly after and began to mine immediately. The unfortunate crew of the Apollo 41 soon learned that even though the minerals appeared to have a minute amount of radiation the shear quantity on the planet made it deadly. The last signal that was received from the dying crew was a warning of how the planet wasn't worth the suffering it caused. We didn't listen.
Soon my countrymen were up in arms. Furious at the Russians who hadn't warned us of the danger, while ignoring the fact that they had won by such a short increment of time that if we had been warned it would be too late to save those aboard the Apollo 41, and just as the first great war had begun the third started with countries being drawn into the fray by either treaties or by lust for the spoils of war.
At first those of us who didn't believe in the conflicts righteousness thought that this would simply end as the cold war with a bunch of threats and a few acts of violence. We were wrong; a terrorist attack on Boston was blamed on the Russians and we fired the first shot at St. Petersburg. The Russians and their allies didn't like this. They retaliated by targeting Washington. Soon every country with registered nuclear capabilities, and a few who without it, began to fire their weapons at each other.
It was just our luck that most of the countries with missiles could defend from the opposing ICBM's to continue firing on each other. The war became a battle between the resources of two opposing forces that crushed all others in between. Within a week Polynesia and the Middle East, which were in between the two superpowers, were decimated by radiation from intercepted bombs. in the following months, countries that ran out of weapons were in turn destroyed.
After almost a year of war only the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Spain, France, Russia, and China were left as island floating in a sea of lifeless desolation. The western half of my country had been lost after three months and eastern Russia was now a giant crater. The remaining countries continued to fight, even if they didn't want to because to stand down was to open your defenses wide to the enemy. Moral in the two countries that started the war was still high. No one really thought that we could loose. I, admittedly blindly believed that we would win to become the greatest county in the world as many others did. This changed after the fall of New York. The loss the big apple, as it once was called wasn't the point that caused so much despair; the facility located the city. Unknown to the common citizen there was a lab located in an undefined area of the city. This lab contained experimental genetic mutations. One was a strain of small pox that was being tested as a weapon in chemical warfare. The radiation that resulted from the destruction of the surrounding area causes the disease to become a deadly plague that spread like wildfire. Somehow the plague spread to all remaining counties of the world infecting and killing the population.
Five years after the outbreak of the plague only the original fighters of the war were left to battle until the end. Moral was low for both countries and very few still supported the war. Those who continued fighting grew fewer in numbers and eventually they won.
A kind of peace was formed between our two powers, the eye of the storm. Both countries had been bluffing about having any more weapons for some time. Then my country launched a final and desperate surprise attack. Our leaders had decided that if this final strike didn't work then we would surrender to our enemy's forces. It never came to this though, the final nuclear strike was so sudden that it actually worked.
My country had won the Black war, as it was called then, but we had also lost. In the struggle we lost any chance of claiming our prize. In our prime we had a population of three-hundred fifty million; we were now down to only six-hundred and dropping. The plague was killing us faster than we could be born. The scientist who had survived the war happened to stumble across the remains of the lab from New York while looking for a way to cure the plague. They were able to recover some data from the genetic experiments done there. The discovered that they had enough data to create a new race of creatures that could aid us in our fight against our worlds destruction. The plan was foolish and I'm sure that nothing came of project Mannulus. I partook in the project know as Tempus Inalgesco.
The idea of the project was to place the select few into a state of deep sleep that would allow them to awake when either the pod was manually activated or a certain time limit passed.I was one of the first to test the chamber. A the time of my procedure the earths population had dropped into the early hundreds and the other project had created their first beast to assist in earths cleaning and repair.
I entered the pod and was strapped to the protective casing. Life support was tested and I was hooked up to the pods computer. The door closed and carbon dioxide was pumped into the pods main chamber.Then everything went black.
"I've never seen technology of this caliber before," muttered Twilight.
The lavender unicorn was standing next to a large metal device. The machine was in a large room that was part of a massive excavation site. The site had been found by construction ponies in the crystal empire and, until recently, had only revealed artifacts such as old bricks, broken glass, and rusted metal parts. The researchers who had been excavating the site had little hopes of finding anything useful until a large, half collapsed chamber had been opened by workers.
The researchers had called in both Celestia and her student, Twilight Sparkle, to assist them in the analyzing of the site. the room contained a row of metal devices made of technology far superior to that of Equestria. After studying the machines, it became clear to Twilight that they were pods meant to contain something very valuable. All but one of the pods were obviously broken or inactive. The one that was functioning was damaged and contained an organic form. The contents, to all the researchers surprise was still alive.
"The pod has a very complex lock that appears to be activated by inputting a series of energy surges to certain ports that, unfortunately are controlled by the pods exterior console which has been uninstalled forcefully. Add to that the multitude of damaged power conduits and the chances of properly opening the pod are slim," Twilight announced to the nearby researchers and workers. A few of the researchers nodded their understanding, but most simply stood and blinked a few times. "but there also appears to be another lock that has its circuitry built on the basis of a clock that, according to my calculations, has been going for almost twenty-thousand years, and should open at a prerequisite time."
One of the braver workers asked, "So, what do we do about it?"
Twilight sighed,"I guess we have to cut it open." The workers smiled; finally something that they all understood.
"Shall we begin now, Princes?" a worker asked Celestia, who, until now, had been observing the proceedings with an emotionless face.
"If my student suggests so then you have my permission."
With the help of Twilight, the workers began to magically cut through the pod's shell. They followed a small seam that appeared between two of the metal plates. 'I pray that this isn't something that should have been forgotten along with the origins of Equestria,' thought Celestia.
"Princess?" asked a researcher,"Does something trouble you?"
"No, its nothing," she replied. The researcher seemed unsure but said,"We've almost cut halfway through."
Suddenly the pod began to make a series of hisses and started to activate its primary function. A computer voice was heard as lights all over the pod lit up,"Engaging auxiliary power. Please stand by. Power levels 20%...50%...90%...Power levels stabilizing at 90%, analyzing damage levels."
"what is it doing?" asked a worker, to which the machine responded,
"Damage levels critical, ejecting primary objective." The seal that had been in the process of being cut began to spray gas out of the inner components. The pod began to rock violently and sparks flew from the remains of the control panel. "Warning, contamination seal breaches detected in multiple areas. Shall I proceed?" the voice announced.
"I think it's talking to us. How is that Possible?" the purple unicorn questioned.
"Indefinite answer. Please reply in correct format."
'Where have I heard that voice before?' thought Celestia,'Could it really be... Yes, I recognize it now.'
"Um, I don't think we should proceed,"said Twilight,"Cancel proce-"
"Computer, proceed with directive!" yelled Celestia in the royal canterlot voice. All the other ponies, especially Twilight, jumped at the use of the royal canterlot voice.
"P-princess?" squeaked Twilight in a great impersonation of Fluttershy.
"Proceeding with primary objective. Voice analysis under way. Preparing new vocal profile in 3... 2... profile recognized; ending profile creation. Welcome Project Unit 6: Celestia. Primary objectives complete. Please unlock the control panel and activate release valve. Engage unlocking mechanism to deactivate Gateway Pod."
A hiss of steam came from the vent and most of the lights on the pod went out. Twilight continued to stare at her mentor as she returned her students gaze with an expectant look. "Well?" she said, now in her regular voice,"Aren't you going to open it?"
Twilight continued to stare at Celestia in a stupor for a few moments. "Yes! Of course princess,"she quickly recovered. She trotted forward and sent a burst of magic through the mangled wires that were the remains of the control panel. The plate covering the pods entrance moved a little. One of the workers came over to the door and pulled on a pair of handles that easily slid out of the entrance. "Gate going offline. Have a nice day Mark..." and with those final words the pod's lights went black and the voice shut down.
The researchers all rushed forwards and crowded the pod's now open entrance to view the object of all this effort. Twilight was knocked out of the way be the mob of ponies. Many of the researchers pulled out notebooks.
"What is it?"
"That's what all this was about?"
"Is it still alive?", the questions poured out of the research team.
"What are you talking about? Please move so I can make my analysis!" Yelled Twilight, but only a few of the researchers responded. Finally the researchers cleared enough for Twilight to get a good look at the contents of the pod.
Inside the pod was a tall bipedal creature. Twilight saw it open it's eyes suddenly to stare first at her then slowly at Celestia. It slowly pulled an old recording device out of a pocket in its clothes and offered it to Celestia. Its mouth opened slightly and it attempted to speak, but all that came out was a course whisper. "D-did it end?"
Twilight was perplexed,"Did what end?"
Instead of answering the man continued to look at Celestia and barely held the recording up. "T-the story of... of our fall. Here, please, take it and may your people not suffer and die as mine had." He reached into his pocket and brought out a wad of shredded papers. He looked through them with care only letting a few drop from his weak hands. He finally selected one and brought it closer to his face to compare the contents with Celestia. "Learn from our mistakes, Celestia, our final success."
Celestia took the recording device and inspected it. I was in good condition for being almost twenty-thousand years old. As soon as Celestia accepted the plastic box the man keeled over, falling onto the ground. His form lay splayed on the floor as the remaining papers in his hand dropped away from him. A researcher rushed forwards to check on the man. "He's not breathing and I don't know where to check for a pulse!" he yelled. The silence that had filled the room as the human had talked shattered. Researchers and workers either ran for help or tried to revive the wounded human. Celestia knew that he had used the last of his strength to give her the recording device before some pony else got their hands on it. She still attempted to heal the man even though it was useless. She knelt down next to the man to find any obvious injury. All she observed was the twitch of his mouth into the form of a small smile. He was at peace.
Princess Luna had just been getting to bed when one of the royal guards burst into her room. She had really wanted to get some rest after a long night of work. The night had been more interesting than most due to a rampaging Ursa Major that was barely stopped from reaching the the city of Manehatten. Luckily, no pony was hurt and the beast had been sent back to the stars where most of it's kind resided.
"Your highness, your sister Princess Celestia requests that you speak to her immediately. She did not say what the matter was, but she did make it clear that it can't wait," the guard panted.
"I'm surprised that Celestia is back so soon from here little excursion to the crystal empire," Luna replied,"I might as well attend to her wishes."
Later, in the throne room. "Sister, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes Luna, do you remember that trip I took to the dig site?"
Princess Luna sighed," Of course I do Celestia. You only returned from it a few hours ago."
Celestia blinked,"Oh, yes time seems to pass quickly when you have something on your mind."
'What could Celestia be so worried about that she had lost track of time?'Luna wondered. Celestia walked over to a shelf and removed a small black object that was made of something Luna hadn't seen in a very long time, plastic. Celestia handed it over to Luna who gave her a questioning look.
"There was an incident at the dig site. The site contained some old world technology that housed the remains of many creators; one of them was alive. It gave me this and told me it contained information on the fall of their race. After he gave it to me he unfortunately perished," Celesia said all this with a stoic face and was obviously trying to show no emotion; her facade wasn't working,"Shall we see if the recording still works sister?"
Luna stared at her sister as many memories washed back to her that she had pressed down into her subconscious for years on end. "Why should we sister? We already know more than we want to on the subject. Why would we want to learn anymore; even though you try to act indifferent I can see this troubles you," Luna snapped at her older sibling with spite evident in her voice.
Celestia paused for a moment then quietly said,"You don't have to watch then the recording if you don't want to sister. I know it pains you more than it does me, but I also know that you will stay with me for the same reason that I didn't destroy the recorder. You know we owe it to him, you know what he went through to give this to us."
Luna turned away from Celestia for a moment, sorrow had replaced the spite. "Sister, must we?"
"Yes, Luna, we must."
"If it is for the best sister, then please do the honors."
At her permission Celestia gave a sad smile and began to search her memory for the necessary spell. The elder princess's magic flare for a moment, focusing on the recorder then it dissipated as the device buzzed to life. Quiet beeps were audible and two lights blinked to life.
"System rebooting, accessing messages. Two video files recorded, one audio file recorded."
Celestia looked to Luna who nodded. "Access and play the first video file."
"Video file loading... Now playing."
A tiny panel on the device slid back to reveal a cube that was promptly raised by a cylinder. Light shone from the cube, searching for a flat surface. After finding a blank section of wall the recording began to play...
"Hello, is this on? Yes, its on now," a man in a gray coat said to the camera. A lamp in the back of the room shone brightly. "Celestia, Luna, if you are watching this then I doubt that I still draw breath, but I pray that you are in good health. I am preparing this recording in case we don't make it. By we I mean the creators." The man sat back into a leather armchair. "If everything goes according to plan I will destroy this recording device and congratulate your success personally. If not... well, we had better not talk about that now. I have personally done the calculations and it is possible to heal the planet with the help of you two." The man leaned forwards and whispered,"By the time that you are listening to this we will know whether my math is correct."The man paused; 'I hope they are for the sake of humanity,' he thought. "you two are responsible for filling the earth with life again in the event of total human extinction. I will have already taught you how to use your abilities to do this. I will also make sure that the main computer AI will assist you after we convert him into a mobile unit and-"
A knock sounded from the office door. "One moment please! I'm recording a message of great importance." The door opened and the man turned off the recording. "What is it you know I'm not to be interrupted during matters of this importance."
A young man wearing a military standard vest walked in saying,"I'm sorry Doctor Hollens, but the AI is acting up again."
"It's fine Mark, I'm glad you told me right away. I'll have to check his firewall again."
"No doctor you don't understand. It's different this time. He's was acting more violent and injured a few security guards before I was able to pull the plug on his main power supply."
"Well this is troubling. I shall see to it at once." Both the doctor and the youth hurried out of the office.
The recording ended as a silhouette opened the door. Both princesses were perplexed.
"I guess that the first recording was cut short..." Luna commented.
"Hollens acted as if these were important so whatever interrupted him was most likely essential. Let's watch the next recording. It may reveal some answers."
"Warning, system damage critical. Please use manual override."
Doctor Hollens ran towards his office as the base's security system blared over the loudspeakers. Two guards followed close behind him. One of the guards, Anderson, tripped causing laughter to erupt from the loudspeakers. The guard yelled in alarm as a mechanical arm grabbed his ankle. Hollens didn't look back. He knew the guards fate was sealed. The second guard, Mark, stopped for a moment to draw his pistol and kill the remaining guard before he could be dragged off. The fate of those who were captured had become well known and the quick death of a shot to the brain was a mercy.That only the lucky would receive. The laughter stopped as the prospect of Anderson's demise vanished.
"Shut the door quickly,"yelled Hollens as he and Mark entered the office," I made sure to shut his influence out of this place long ago."
Marked locked the door as the doctor walked over to his desk and turned on the recording device.
"I don't have much time,but I must give you all the vital information you need to finish your task", he spoke to the small box."You already know the basic patterns for creating life and the formulas for generating organic matter. With your unique powers you won't require the machinery in this facility."
"Doctor Hollens, what is so important about these recordings? Why are you talking as if someone is on the other side? Is this about that project of yours? It failed, remember?"
Hollens ignored Marks comments and continued,"You two are my greatest creations. You are my life's work and the greatest success of my kind. To others you are my projects and my research, but to me you are more than that; to me you are like my children. I love you both-"
A beeping sound could be heard from the recording device signaling that I had been turned off. The lights in the office dimmed and the computers shut down.
"What just happened? Where did the power go?"
"No... no no no no no!"Hollens what yelling,"He cut off our power." Fear had entered his voice and he turned to Mark. "This place is no longer secure. We have to move."
"We'll have to split up. That way I can cause a diversion and you can get to a pod."
"No, take this recording and head for a pod. He'll focus on me, a scientist who could stop him not you, a simple guard. If I get his attention then you will have a small window of time to escape."
Mark prepared to argue, but an explosion deep in the facility silenced him. He nodded and took the recording. Hollens turned from Mark and opened the office door.
The recording cut out suddenly leaving the royal sisters with more questions than answers. Celestia checked the recording date. The first recording had been made a year before the second.
"I remember that day,"Luna quietly said.
"As do I sister. How could I forget it. At least we know that he was sincere in his kindness to us," Celestia replied as a tear rolled down Luna's face.
The recording device beeped suddenly and began to play the audio recording unbidden. Both sisters were startled and paid attention to the voice coming out of the machine.
"I remember the war. The war that ended all others. The war was all started so easily yet,it was so hard to end. At times I question if my existence is worthwhile, then I remember all that happened and I know I must remind others of our folly..."
