I pretended like I didn’t hear him properly, but he repeated the same sentence many times. Finally, I asked him directly, “Konu, are you telling me that you will soon be the supreme commander of the Amians armies? When? You are only a colonel in General Affairs, my friend. You still have a long way to go, if it’s not already over for you. Plus, you are not affiliated with the politics of the clans. If this is your opening joke for me after all this time…, well, I have to tell you that is not a good one.”
“The First Citizens will appoint me soon. Jazir, surely you heard about the project code name ‘Supernova,’ haven’t you? After all, you are in the navy.”
Perplexed, I said, “’Supernova’? Tell me about your appointment and by whom? The First Citizens? Why would they appoint a new chief of the armies suddenly, just like that? I beg you, let’s stop talking about this, please.”
“Alright, sorry about that. Maybe mentioning the First Citizens was a mistake. Let’s forget about the whole thing, shall we?” He replied with obvious disappointment.
I felt pity for him, so after a few awkward minutes of silence, I said. “Yes, of course – Supernova. But that seems like it’s more a myth than a reality. I’ve heard it talked about, but no one seems to stumble on any file or budget allocation for the project.”
He replied, “It exists. The submarine class Supernova is almost fully built. It is undetectable and equipped with the latest ONC hypersonic, stealth, interplanetary missiles with super-nuclear capabilities – and a closed AI.”
I was really starting to worry about him now. “I am not sure why you are talking about the Supernova project. You just told me that you will be the chief of the armies. Konu, is everything alright?”
“What do you know about the enemy’s response in case of a total attack?” he asked
“All empires have military bases operated by AI machines in the Solar System. They are equipped with interplanetary, nuclear weapons that are set to strike back in case the empire is destroyed. Because of that, I would think a submarine is insignificant in the options concerning a war of complete annihilation.” I said
“Supernova’s main mission and capability consist of destroying any military installation in the Solar System. It’s a mobile and undetectable heavy, interplanetary missile launcher.” He paused here and set back in his chair, allowing me to absorb all he had just said. He took another sip of his tea, and then said, “I’ve invited you here today because I would like to appoint you as the commander of the Supernova vessel.”
That was it! I finished my tea quickly and thanked him for the invitation. Then I left, avoiding eye contact with him. While driving my car, I burst out crying, thinking about him. The Black Unit can take your life or your mind. In Konu’s case, it was his mind. I couldn't believe that he was losing it. The chief of the armies? The Supernova destroying the solar system?
I never called him back or even wanted to get in touch with him since then. I didn't want to see him in such a decadence state. In my memories, he is always at his best, and I wanted to keep that image of him. But, around five weeks later, Konu's photo was on the front page of the AmiansNews with the heading “Could the new head of the armies be this unknown man?” The state had leaked that rumor to the press to prepare the transition.
That morning, the phones were ringing everywhere in Arc’s military headquarters. Kadar, the top general of the Secret Service, seemed to be perplexed. Even he was caught by surprise. And, if the Secret Service didn’t know about this, that meant no one took the rumor that seriously. The information wasn’t raised up the hierarchy as it was dismissed and classified as a grotesque joke. But yes, now, here is Konu, and now everyone must deal with that.
A week later, he was officially appointed by a decree from the Prime Minister, but everyone knew at the Arc that the First Citizens had ordered that. Suddenly, nothing made sense. But what I liked about the way Konu handled that confusion is the total indifference he showed toward the promotion. He gave the feeling that it's a job like any other job, and its business as usual. Also, he gave the impression of humbled, super-confidence. A combination of all this brought back everything to normal.
Suddenly people began to talk about his achievements and give him the credit of being a genius, even if there were no geniuses in sitting in the General Affairs bureaus, responding to complaints of harassments and so on. Through his non-action and indifference, he did achieve what many of us were trying to gain desperately, respect.
I received my appointment to command the top-secret submarine class Supernova, and it was signed by him. I blamed myself for dismissing him and taking him as a fool when he invited me. I did that every time I went to the simulation for practice and with every maneuver I made in the simulator. I wondered how he made it to the top, and that perplexed me so much I couldn’t focus on the exercises. Finally, I gave up my doubts and surrendered my thoughts to the fact that he always had been and still is a mystery.
On my first time and last visit to the secret site, where the last touches were being made on the Supernova, I was supposed
