powers to suppress my people’s nuclear weapons? Why didn’t one of the attacking species use their knowledge to splinter my world with an asteroid or fry my people with mass carnage? Your armies on my world-they all have these weapons at home, don’t they? But they can’t use them!”
The Hivvan tried to explain, “It is a matter of balance.”
Trevor yelled again, “Fools! Voggoth does not want us all destroyed, he wants us beaten and weakened. He wants the survivors for himself!”
The assembled children exchanged a series of glances.
Trevor told them, “Yes, I know what happened to the Feranites. You spoke of sterilizing them, but when the time came of their defeat Voggoth had another suggestion, didn’t he? It sounded oh-so-merciful to you then. But it is what he has planned for all of you.”
“No.”
Trevor remembered The Order at its basic level: “On my Earth, his token force used implants to consume and control living human bodies, warping them into his slaves. Making them into lifeless creatures bent to his rule. Voggoth has not been a silent, passive observer or a token participant. He has been manipulating and guiding this entire war, on all the Earths.”
“You are incorrect.”
“That would contradict what I was promised.”
“You were promised?”
Stone recalled, “It was Voggoth who orchestrated my abduction to another Earth in an attempt to engineer the downfall of my species on this planet and, at the same time, to try and finish off the Chaktaw on their Earth. He gave the humans from Sirius access to the Nyx’s abilities to steal me away.”
He thought of Nina and that first year. He told them, “And it was Voggoth who, in the very beginning, tried to sabotage the survival of humanity by implanting one of my followers and using her to betray me. This was an attempt to lure my race’s survivors to an early and fast transition to The Order’s ranks. How did that serve the challenge? How did that prove or disprove mankind’s worthiness in comparison to other races? It did not. It only attempted to hurry humanity’s ultimate conversion to one of Voggoth’s legions.”
“This suggestion is outrageous.”
“Outrageous?” Trevor nearly cried out. “What has been outrageous has been your complicity in the breaking of these rules! I am certain that some of you standing here know exactly what Voggoth is doing on my Earth, but you don’t protest because he has whispered in your ear that he wants you to win the challenge. He wants you to be the last race standing. And he hasn’t said that to only one of you. He’s probably said it to all of you!”
“Voggoth’s interaction on each of the subject worlds has been limited.”
Trevor continued, “And I’ll bet he told it to the Feranites, too. By the time they were double-crossed, it was too late for them. None of you listened then, because with the Feranites gone, you were one step closer to victory.”
“The human does not know this to be true.”
But Trevor did know it to be true. He recalled the words Anita Nehru had shared from her tomb deep within Red Rock. The final piece; the last truth. The ultimate truth. What she had discovered in that lair of horrors. The answer to the Fermi paradox.
“I ask again-how old is Voggoth? How old are the universes? Why are they so empty?”
“Voggoth,” Alenna repeated the answer provided previously, “is older than the universes. He predates our existence by uncounted millennia. His consciousness existed long before the first sparks of our life. We are the first to come since. Despite our age, we are still young.”
They stared at Trevor. He told them, “No. You are not the first. You are only the most recent. The next-the next victims. Look at the minions of Voggoth-look at the Mutants and the Wraiths. See what waits for you. See what became of all life before you!”
Silence. No reply.
“The universes are empty because the arrogant fools of races long past fell for the same trick. I wonder what words he whispered in their ears that convinced them to hand over their souls? I suspect those words sounded very much like what you’ve heard. It is the only way he reproduces. The only way his power expands. And you-you evolved superior beings-you have taken the bait again. It is not good enough to be so strong and so smart. You have to be the strongest and the smartest. Along the way you have handed your lives over to the darkness.”
Still, no replies.
“It may be too late. Voggoth has grown too powerful. While he himself is not allowed in the physical universe, he has built an army that mimics organic life. It grows. It devours. It infects with parasites, taking over my people and multiplying. Combined with his soulless armies, he is on the march here. Look close and you will see that his ‘token’ force is massive and nearly unstoppable. He will wipe us out and you will stand by and let him do it because we will be one less participant in your challenge. Even now what remains of your forces on my Earth converge to join Voggoth’s army to strike the last blow on humanity. And when he has destroyed my people he will move on to the next Earth, his ranks expanded with some warped version of mankind, circumventing the gates you control by using the Nyx directly-a back door he will exploit against us all. And soon he will no longer need your help to destroy one another. Soon what little reach he has into your universes will be enough. Then, just as he seems ready to do here, he will take over your bodies and swallow your souls!”
“Enough!”
“There is no reason to discuss the matter with one who cannot understand!”
“Fantasies and stories to save his people, nothing more.”
“We are superior. We can see through these fabrications.”
“We must leave! We must take the human surrogate and complete the reunification. No more time should be wasted in senseless discussion.”
Alenna stepped forward.
“Our time here is over. We must consider the effects of this contamination.”
The Duass spoke, “The interaction between your son and Voggoth changed everything. The reunification of our physical bodies and greater essence was reserved only for the victorious race.”
Trevor mumbled, “It is still not too late for you all to be victorious. The strong survive together. Division only serves Voggoth.”
But Trevor had barely the strength to mumble, nothing more. All of it had poured from his body. Exhaustion overtook not only his person but his mind.
The row of children retreated. Alenna hovered for a moment longer. She found Trevor’s eyes, smiled in sympathy for his plight, then followed the rest as they faded into the white light.
The children of the races departed.
Trevor turned his attention to JB.
His son staggered to his feet, having regained some control. The glimmer of light surrounding the area began to contract, forming a ring around the boy.
“I have to leave now.”
Trevor stepped closer but was held at bay by a field of power, like electricity-but not quite-around his son.
The stuffed animal-Bunny-wrapped in a blanket-lay on the dead floor of the temple. Trevor stooped, grabbed hold of the plush toy, and cradled it in his arms. He knew his son would no longer need it.
Trevor said with deep regret, “I know.”
JB tilted his head, blinked, and gazed at his father with curiosity and awe.
“I’m sorry, Father, that things turned out this way. I’m sorry you did not have a normal son, or a normal life.”
Trevor half-smiled and told his child, “It would have been nice to-to watch you grow up. To see you play little league and go to school. To see you meet someone, and start your own family. You’re missing so much of what it means to be human. You’re missing so much of life.”
“That would have been nice. But we all have our roles to play. Our parts. No one knows that better than you, Father.”
The energy began to circle around Jorgie; a growing funnel. Sparks of wondrous colors flickered like a rainbow of camera flashes.
