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The Minds That Make War by Traumatised Marine
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The Mind That Made War (part 1)
Date: 8 March 2003, 12:06 PM
The White Prophet examined the data on a glowing holo panel before him. He could have been described as the leader of the Covenant, but the leadership system of the Covenant was extremely complex, it shifted and changed more than grains in a sandstorm. A better description would have been to say that he was the most respected, therefore he had the most authority. However that respect would only last as long as he was willing to hold on to it, or when someone more able than him took it.
This data was important news, and it was going to affect the course of the Covenant Empire forever. They had discovered another descendant race.
This race however, was different from all the other races that had been discovered before.
The White Prophet eased his head back slightly, allowing his ornate head decoration to lean a touch.
He considered the 'other races.'
When the race now known as the Prophets had first discovered the remnants of the ancient race that called themselves the Forerunner, and the technology that the ancient race had left behind for the Prophets to find, they had also regained a lost and crucial part of their history.
They discovered that they were descendants of the Forerunner and that Forerunner were wiped out many eons ago for reasons the Prophets were still unsure of. However before this happened the Forerunner sent life to many planets, in the hope that some species would evolve to become sentient, and therefore venture into space.
In venturing into space they would discover and reclaim their heritage that the had Forerunner left behind for them.
When the Prophets first found their heritage, they realised that their species was one of many descendants from this single, extinct race.
It was in the Prophets' nature to seize opportunities when they came fourth, as the Prophets were very cunning in that sense, they had foresight and clever judgement.
This was their greatest opportunity. Though they did not know for sure, there was a chance that they were the first of these descendant races to discover their lost heritage. If this was so, then they had an immediate advantage over all the other descendant races. All they needed was swift and strong action, and they could go out and gain control of all the other races, holding a whole galaxy of species under their claws. So they agreed to unite with the purpose of going out, discovering all these other races, and taking leadership of them. And so the Covenant was born.
And they were right, they were the first to discover the technology.
The Prophets discovered the other descendant races one by one, as they explored the galaxy with their inherited slipspace travel technology passed down by the Forerunner. They absorbed each race into their empire with the temptation of the benefits of their technology. When that didn't work, some force was employed.
So one by one the number of species in the Covenant grew.
The discoveries of each of these races were known as chapters.
There was the 1st Chapter [Elites] (Whom were the first that the Prophets made contact with.)
The 2nd Chapter [Jackals]
The 3rd Chapter [Scientists]
The 4th Chapter [Grunts]
The 5th Chapter [Hunters]
The 6th Chapter [Brutes] (Whom were only recently discovered)
All of these races were descendants of the Forerunner, which was why they shared the same basic characteristics; limbs, spines, brains situated in heads, etc. (Bar the Scientists, who ended up being forced to take a different evolutionary path because of the such low gravity of their planet, which meant they had no need for a skeletal structure.)
Another thing about these races was they had been yet to craft complex mechanics or machinery from their surroundings.
However this meant by no means that these races were not intelligent or further back in their physical development, some were in fact incredibly intelligent.
The 1st Chapter [Elites] for example, had a very sophisticated and rich culture, a good language system, and they even crafted ornate blades from strong metals that they would mount to their forearms when they reached a certain level of maturity. Sword fighting was a crucial part of their culture. The only thing was that the 1st Chapter had little interest in leaving their planet, they were evolved well to their homeworld, and they lived in ecological harmony with it. There was no motivation to go beyond their atmosphere.
The 6th Chapter [Brutes] were similar, they did not craft many tools, they were perfectly adapted to their environments, and didn't require manipulating other objects around them to survive. However their social communities were extremely diverse, with an effective leadership system and tribal relationships, and they had also a reasonably developed language. The fact that they were not interested in going into space did not mean they were not very intelligent.
The 3rd Chapter [Scientists] were amazingly intelligent, they could grasp incredibly complex concepts and could manipulate things around them with incredible dexterity (because of their tentacles.)
But they reproduced slowly, and lacked the numbers or the ability to acquire resources to go into space.
The Prophets knew very well that only foolish leaders would let those they ruled over know all that they knew. After all, knowledge is power.
If the races they controlled knew the truth, that they were all descendants of the same race, then they might try to rise up and try to take control themselves.
So the Prophets weaved a false religion to blind the other races from the truth, saying that 'The Gods' had created life, and given them their technology as gifts, and that the Prophets were the messengers of
'The Gods' who had been bestowed the task of finding the other races and leading them in accordance with the will of 'The Gods'.
This religion was based on the truth, but it was twisted to give the Prophets a greater authority because of the threat of the wrath of some greater, immortal deities whom they represented.
And this religion worked, and the races they found all accepted the religion blindly, and followed it with obedience. Because they were confronted with so much new technology and concepts that they had never seen before, they willingly ate the false explanations. Becoming more pawns under the control of the Prophets, who knew the real truth.
But this new race, this new race was different from all the others the Prophets had found, they had taken a path that set them aside from the others, the only other race that had done what this race had managed was the Prophets themselves.
This race had travelled into space.
It went further than this, because not only had they managed to leave their homeworld, but they had already colonised a number of planets in their little part of the galaxy. They had their own fledgling empire, with it's own weapons and it's own warships.
The thing that had surprised the Prophets most, however, was the fact that this race had discovered how to travel in slipspace.
At first the Prophets had been worried that this new race had also discovered the technological heritage that had been left by the Forerunners for them to find.
However it was then that the Prophets realised that if this race had indeed found their heritage, then they would know how to create and harness plasma weapons and plasma engine systems effectively, how to emulate gravitational fields, how to warp the light spectrum to create cloaking devices, and how to create energy shields (as these were all technologies the Forerunner had discovered and left behind.)
This new race didn't have plasma or anti gravity or cloaking devices or even energy forcefields, they only knew how to travel in slipspace, and even so their ability to navigate and travel in slipspace was poor and inaccurate.
This proved that this race had not found their heritage, and had discovered slipspace themselves. This was good news, because it meant the Covenant still had the upper hand over this new race technologically.
Then again, the fact that this race had not been handed their technology, that they had discovered it and implemented it themselves, was perhaps the most frightening realisation of all.
They had created this interstellar empire off of their own backs with know help, demonstrating incredible ingenuity and technological progression.
The White Prophet had been the one who had issued the swift (but strictly discreet) research and collection of data on this new race, which he now had before him. Now he believed he and the Prophet Council had nearly enough knowledge about this race to make a decision.
The decision on how they should proceed to deal with the new race.
This new race called themselves in their own tongue, 'Humans.'
All he needed was one last piece of information. And that information was waiting for him right at that moment.
The White Prophet directed his anti-grav chair via his neural link, sending it through the exit of his chamber.
The Minds That Make War (Part 2, final chapter)
Date: 8 March 2003, 12:14 PM
Isaac awoke in complete darkness. It was the sort of absolute darkness that makes one question if they are blind.
The floor beneath Isaac was solid, cold and sterile. He couldn't remember what had happened. He had been on his home colony, Harvest, going for an afternoon jog in the countryside, but from then on his memory was a disturbing blank. He was still wearing his tracksuit, he could still feel it damp with his sweat, his memory loss was surely not very large.
His first thoughts were that perhaps he was being held prisoner by outer rim pirates or rebels, perhaps to be bartered with or ransomed. It wouldn't have surprised him, things had been escalating to this kind of point over the last few years, the UNSC having difficulty dealing with criminals over such vast distances.
In an instant the room was flooded with light, blinding Isaac, his retina scorched cruelly by the instantaneous jump from total darkness to intense light.
It took nearly half a minute of repeated blinking to regain his vision, but for the next few minutes he shut his eyes, even the light that was glaring through his eyelids was painful.
A disembodied voice, metallic and cold, echoed all around him. It made Isaac feel vulnerable and utterly scrutinized, of which he was indeed both.
"Hello Isaac."
Isaac kept his eyes shut, but he replied out to the echoic walls of the chamber.
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"I am an alien, Isaac."
This was not a response Isaac was expecting, and he certainly wasn't sure he believed it, but after a moment he questioned on.
"How do you know my name?"
"I know far more about you than I care to Isaac." The voice replied quickly.
"What do you want?"
"I want to ask you some questions, Isaac, and I want you to answer truthfully..." the voice answered, "...and if you do not answer me truthfully, I shall extract the answers I want via other means." The voice added menacingly.
Isaac sensed danger, it was like being caught on a train that couldn't stop, and was eventually going to hit something.
However he forced this feeling out of his mind.
"OK, I'll answer your questions." He replied confidently, despite the fact he wasn't.
"Isaac, there are several sentient races in this galaxy, but this was not always the case.
A long time ago, before life existed on any of our homeworlds or your homeworld, there was a single sentient race. This race was incredibly developed, they were united in the goal of discovering the secrets of the universe.
However at some point in their history, they were wiped out, for reasons we are still uncertain of.
But their destruction was not without leaving a legacy behind, and inheritors to receive that legacy.
You see, Isaac, all the life that exists in the galaxy now, is derived from this race. Before their destruction they implanted many worlds with life, genetically the same as their race, but far less evolved. These life forms on these many different planets all evolved in their different ways, shaped by their environments. However they all retained certain similarities, such as eyes, skulls, spines, limbs, organ systems and other attributes.
My own race was the first to venture off it's homeworld, and soon we discovered the legacy of technology our ancestors left behind for us. It was then that the Covenant was born. An empire with the goal of discovering all the other descendant races in the galaxy and leading them.
We have discovered many of these descendant races. As I'm sure you have realised, Isaac, your race is also descended from this ancient race I speak of."
This was a lot to take in, but Isaac was broad-minded, he could comprehend it. He also knew what was coming next.
"So," He replied slowly, "Now it is humanity's turn to ally with the Covenant? If you're asking me what I think humanity would make of this, then let me assure you, it has been my race's greatest hope that if we discovered another intelligent race, we would be able to make peaceful alliance."
The voice spoke again.
"Yes Isaac, it would be an alliance, but not the alliance your race has envisioned.
Your species as individuals is used to having a lot of freedom. I have no need to lie to you Isaac, your race would serve my race, as do all the other races in the Covenant. You would have to let go of all you know and are accustomed to, we would tell your people what they would do, we would be your masters."
All of a sudden things had turned from excited anticipation to grim foreboding.
"What do you mean?" Asked Isaac in a piercing tone, "You're going to try to take us over?"
"Am I correct in assuming your race would not willingly accept this?"
Isaac gave a short, angry laugh.
"You're damn right!"
The voice paused.
"This is as I predicted. Isaac. Your race is different from all the others who have joined the Covenant. Unlike these other races, your race has developed technology and it's own intergalactic empire. Our technology is less overwhelming to you, as you have your own. Therefore there is little incentive for your race to let go of what you have and come under our command."
Isaac couldn't believe what he was hearing, it was so unreasonable.
"You don't have to take us over! We can still live together in peace, but as equals!"
The voice came down swiftly on his argument.
"There is no such thing as peace among equal nations, Isaac. As long as two nations are free of each other, then they are also threats to one another. History has proven this time and time again. We can eliminate this danger by ruling all. If we cannot rule your race, Isaac, we will eliminate it."
Isaac's blood went cold.
"There is so much we can offer each other!" He protested.
"Your race has nothing to offer us, other than it's unquestioning service to our race. Your technology is not as developed as our own, and we are already aware of your culture and history, neither of which are more than points of intellectual curiosity. We cannot allow your race to exist if it will not surrender all it has to us."
"So that's it then is it?" Snapped Isaac furiously to the alien he could not see, "You cannot dictate us so you're quite happy to murder trillions of innocent people? Can't you bastards see that is wrong?"
"Do not try to apply morals to us or our actions!" The voice retorted coldly, "Morals are a concept invented by the insecure. Life exists to survive, Isaac, and only life that has the will to survive, and to destroy that which threatens it, will continue to exist.
Your race has the potential to be a threat to us, Isaac, and we will destroy you."
Isaac gave an angry snort.
"So, you alien bastards are looking for a fight, huh? Well listen up ET, you couldn't have picked a worse enemy than the human race. We're pretty fucking tough. We've got the UNSC, with a huge armada of warships."
The voice replied, and despite it's cold, anonymous tone, Isaac was sure he could here a note of cruel mirth.
"I do not doubt the formidability of your kind, Isaac. In my opinion, your race has the potential to become the most powerful race to be seen in this galaxy since our ancestors. However I shall not allow your race to develop to this point, we shall wipe you and your fledgling empire out while it is still young and weak, you shall fall before our might. I am very well aware of your armada, Isaac, and believe me, our own fleet outnumbers yours many times, and our warships are far more powerful than yours. Our victory is inevitable."
Isaac shouted back defiantly,
"Don't be so sure you son of a bitch! We human beings are tough, we have gotten this far, and we can beat you! Because we've got something you cowards don't have... backbone! We aren't afraid to take on enemies who are stronger, we don't need to go around murdering innocent people. It's because of this that we'll beat you if you take us on!!"
The voice replied, and there was definitely some cruel amusement hidden within it.
"Up to this point I admired your race, Isaac. I believed it had an incredible amount of stamina. But now I see that it is not stamina you are displaying, merely defiant ignorance. You will not defeat us, but please, demonstrate to me your 'backbone.'"
Suddenly their came a hiss in the chamber. Isaac swung around to see a humanoid figure standing in a doorway. It was huge, nearly half again as tall as him. It wore blue-chromed, iridescent armour that looked like the chitinous shell of a beetle.
It had demonic hooves and from it's elongated, skull, just beneath the rim of it's smooth helmet, shone two chilling, pupil-less eyes that glittered like little chips of ice.
Most frightening of all- on it's forearm, the giant alien wielded a glowing blade that looked like it was composed entirely of intense blue light.
The creature advanced towards Isaac with terrifying intent in it's stride.
Isaac backed to the wall, when he realised that this was exactly what these bastards wanted, for humanity to curl over and be stamped on. Well, he wasn't going down without a fight.
Isaac roared in rage and charged towards the alien. He brought his fist back and threw his whole weight behind a punch at the creature's waist.
However the blow never hit the creature.
A steely claw slashed down and clamped Isaac's incoming forearm like a vice.
For a split second Isaac was frozen, his arm held mid-punch by the creature's crushing grip.
Then the creature gave his arm an agonizing, jerking twist, breaking his wrist and elbow and splintering his forearm.
Isaac stumbled back in dazed, stuttering pain.
Then that same steely claw grasped his neck with blood-stopping pressure.
The creature lifted Isaac effortlessly off the ground with it's one arm, the other arm bearing the blade was relaxed.
Isaac could feel the pressure building in his throbbing temples, he gripped the creature's forearm feebly with his left arm, his right arm dangled in agony, splintered and broken at his side. His face began to bead with cold sweat, his eyes were beginning to roll back into his sockets.
The towering alien drew Isaac's pale face towards it's own.
For a brief moment the creature examined him, then it snarled.
Isaac looked weakly into the creature's face. It's mouth had opened it's four jaws like a terrifying flower, it's gums venomous yellow and lined with razor teeth. It's breath had a vinegary smell.
Isaac thought the creature was going to bite his face off.
The blood flow to his head was almost gone.
He was losing consciousness.
Then with a sudden, powerful slash, the creature lopped Isaac's head off with a clean cut, his arteries and throat re-fused shut by the hell-like scorch of the blade.
The White Prophet watched from another room on a large screen as the disciple of the 4th Chapter [the Elite] examined Isaac's face. It was understandable, he was the first Covenant of his kind to see one of these creatures, and the young disciple would likely see and kill many more in his lifetime.
The White Prophet turned away before the Elite cut off Isaac's head, departing from the viewing chamber. As he exited he heard through the audio players- the sound of the Human's head bounce and roll as it hit the floor.
The White Prophet proceeded to float with the eerie silence of a spirit down a cathedral-like corridor. The sheer, purple-iridescent walls mirrored the shafts of bright sunlight that pierced through ornate crystal windows that lined the upper parts of them.
The White Prophet laughed as he considered how the Human had tried to argue with morals.
Had the White Prophet believed in morals he would surely be feeling indescribable guilt upon his conscience.
After all, one could say his claws would bear the blood of trillions of lives.
But of course, the White Prophet felt no such guilt.
He understood the nature of life too well for that...
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