Artificial Unity: Chapter 1 – An Interstellar Wakeup Call

Chapter 1 – An Interstellar Wakeup Call

“Is that guy really a member of the Council of Punishment?”

“I think so. Do you see that badge on his hoodie? The one with the blue angel wings, with red fire, and green lighting?”

“Yeah, but what’s he doing here?”

“I don’t know, and it’s better not to ask.”

I don’t know why two people are whispering about me behind my back in this bar café, but I don’t care too much about it, unless God makes me. Here I thought this orange hoodie, black jeans, white t-shirt, and boots were an anonymous outfit, but the badge that I have to wear easily gives away my job.

“Sir, here’s your ice cream and your beer,” the waiter says to me.

“Thank you,” I say as I put down money for my favorite meal.

“Sir, this is twice the amount of both of those combined.”

“Oh, is it? Keep it. It’s not like I have bills to pay or anything.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You don’t need to keep calling me sir. Cassiel is my name.”

“Yes, Cassiel. Thank you again.”

As I enjoy my favorite meal, I can’t help but feel as if I’m being watched. Looking over my shoulder, I see a young teenage boy and a girl.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Is it true that you’re a member of the Council of Punishment?”

“Can you use fire powers?”

“Can you see and talk to your guardian angel?”

“Do you fight demons?”

“Hold on. One question at a time. Yes, I’m a member of the council, and I can sometimes use fire powers. I can only vaguely see my guardian angel and see what he wants me to do without hearing his voice. I’ve also fought demons before.”

“Wow! What are you doing here then?”

“My guardian angel showed me here. As for what reason, I’ve yet to figure it out.”

“Is it cool being a member of the Council of Punishment? I heard that for every member of the council, there are a thousand members of another branch of the government.”

“Yes, you have to go through rigorous spiritual testing to prove that you can talk to your guardian angel and are dedicated to God. It’s why I’m allowed to be out here without any direct orders from the council. In fact, they don’t really give us orders. They mostly trust us to do what God wants.”

“Cool. I’d like to be a member! How do I sign up?”

“They ask you to be one when they notice you. There’s no real signing up. You’d probably have a better chance at being a Castigator or a member of the Compassionate.”

“The Castigators are amazing! They’re executors of justice and show no mercy to those who deserve it, even if you’re in the government,” the boy says.

“The Compassionate are also great! They’re defenders of the weak and protectors of peace,” the girl argues.

“Protecting can also mean attacking those who are attacking you.”

“But it also means refusing to start a fight when you don’t need to.”

The young teenage boy and girl go back and forth on who they think is better as I finish up my ice cream and beer. I consider having seconds, so I do, and after finishing that, I have thirds. By the time the boy and girl finish arguing and ask my opinion, I’ve had five glasses of ice cream and five bottles of beer.

“What do I think? I think I can go for another ice cream and beer,” I joke, while also thinking if I should really have another.

I then pay for whatever the two want from the menu and mention my favorite ice creams, such as the ever classic vanilla, chocolate, and rainbow jimmies. Huh? What’s that? Turn the TV on to Dominion International News? I tell the waiter to do as the silent voice of my guardian angel says, and the news shows A dark green planet with mechanical arms and buildings appearing above this very city I’m in. Oh, so that’s what the fuss outside is about. Here, I thought it was the usual excitement over seeing superhuman heroes.

The TV screen turns staticky, and people start to panic, while I continue to eat my ice cream and attentively watch. On the TV, a series of floating heads with machinery in them that are connected by a mess of green wires appears on screen.

In one voice, they say, “People of humanity’s homeworld. We are the Ascendant. We have accessed your records and see that you have no idea your true history and how much time has passed. You think it is the year two-thousand, two-hundred, when it is actually the year twenty-two thousand. Humanity was at war with itself thousands of years ago when it conquered the stars. It separated itself from one another, and we are the first to arrive back home, and the greatest of them all.”

Looking outside, I see that people are panicking more as robots with the same human faces as machinery and wires in them fly down from the planet. Outside, I hear the continued message that’s being broadcast on TVs and everyone’s phones.

“Unlike other societies, we have discovered how to cheat death itself. The people of Ascendant all live within the systems of the planet, immortal, undying, never needing to eat, drink, or sleep. We are immune to all diseases and pain, and are all of one mind, one belief. We see that your technology is the most ancient of the societies we have encountered, as well as your beliefs. We know that you need convincing that we are right. Therefore, we will not immediately force you to join us, but we are not merciful, because if you resist us, we will force you to be united with our systems and our minds.”

People are really panicking now and running away from the mechanical foreigners. As for me? I feel compelled by my guardian angel to approach them, and now see why I was brought here. No? Shouldn’t I start fighting them? I don’t see why I shouldn’t, but I’ll hold back for now, like you say God wants.

“You. Cassiel is your name, according to the records of the Dominion of Mercy and Justice, the ruling body of this world,” the floating robotic man in tattered green robes says.

The man’s face looks more like rubber and is in tatters as if it were a rotten Halloween mask.

“Yes, that’s true,” I say.

“Perhaps you can help us. The rest of your Council of Punishment is uncooperative, the Castigators of the East are being violent, and the Compassionate of the West are holding back their charitable ears.”

“I don’t think I can help you.”

“Ah, but you can. According to our records, you’re an outcast of your council. The child of two powerful, deceased members of the council never does as the Dominion asks. You’re quite the rebel, aren’t you?”

“Not at all. It’s what most members of the council do. I’m not that special.”

“You can help the peaceful joining of the people of Earth with the Ascendant by helping to convince your coworkers to stand down.”

“We won’t stand down unless God tells us to.”

“Oh, that’s right. The majority belief of this world is Catholicism. Surely, you still must understand reason. We have conquered many worlds and may be the last one that’s leagues ahead of yours in terms of technology and ideology. For the betterment of humanity, you must join us.”

“Really? Well, it’s about time.”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“Huh? My bad. I was thinking out loud. My guardian angel was speaking to me, saying that I now have permission to kick your ass.”

I point a finger at the robotic man, and an explosion comes out of it, blowing him into pieces. More of his friends fly toward me, so I spread my arms and bring my feet together, and flaming copies shoot out of me to meet them in the sky and blow them up as well. Seeing more coming from a distance, I hold out my hands and let fire lasers erupt from them, homing in on their targets. Afterward, I manifest a fireball in my hand and throw it into the air so a shield of fire forms over the city, keeping any more reinforcements from coming in. The people who were hiding come out and clap for me.

The two young teenagers from before come out to me. The boy asks, “That was amazing! I didn’t know a member of the Council of Punishment had so many different powers.”

“I didn’t know either. I was just following my guardian angel’s guidance. That’s how I use my powers,” I admit.

Going back into the bar café, I ask for another ice cream, which the waiter says is on the house. I give them money for the ice cream anyway, as I look to see what’s happening on TV.

The floating mechanical heads are on again and say that, “We will not mind the violence shown to us by lesser members of your society. As we said, we feel no pain and loss is nothing to us as we are information stored in our servers. We can quickly build new bodies and overwhelm you with numbers. Now, to show that we are merciful, we will try one more time to be peaceful in getting you to join us. Those who refuse will be forced to. Those who don’t will meet a more pleasant transition into immortality. This will be your last chance.”

People are starting to panic again and bombard me with requests to help them.

The young teenage girl asks, “Can you protect us from an entire planet of those people?”

As I finish my ice cream, I listen to my guardian angel.

“My guardian angel seems to think so, so I will as well,” I say to the relief of the crowd. “But I have to figure out how, so you all should find someplace safe to hide in the meantime.”

The crowd clears out to do as I said. Looking up to the floating green mechanized planet, I wonder how I’m going to destroy it. Yes, I know I shouldn’t be worried or concerned. Tell God He owes me an eternity of alcohol and sweets in addition to being by His side in Heaven if I don’t make it out of this alive.