CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Duggan fell through what he thought was a trapdoor, but he'd never know for sure. It could have just been that the path was getting more unstable. He had thought the current flight of stairs he was on would be the last, would bring him to the accursed leader. But after falling through the floor he saw yet another spiralling staircase. Still, at least the fall had saved him time.
It was getting older down here, much older. No native man had been down here in centuries, possibly more, and certainly no man from the stars like Duggan. He was finding it harder to breathe the lower he got. But he had to keep going, for the brave people of the forest he had found, those persecuted people driven from their homes by mindless minions of the accursed leader. For a thousand years, they said, the leader had ruled and their planet had stagnated in that time. They were virtual slaves, though most of the people did not know it. Well, they would know soon, when Duggan set them free. He did not even require thanks. Just knowing he had freed them would be enough.
The stairs ended. There was just a path now, with warnings scrawled on the walls. DO NOT ENTER. There was a door ahead. It was closed. He charged up against it. It did not move. No problem for Duggan, of course. It was just that sometimes he liked to do things the old fashioned way. Still, he had no qualms about using his laser drill to open the door.
It slid open perfectly. The room inside was not like the rest of the temple. It was metal. Like a metal cave, hundreds of feet below. Bizarre, he thought, then he realised what it must be.
The accursed leader was a super intelligent computer. Of course. There had been reports of super intelligent computers ending up ruling planets since man had first sent them into space. A curious phenomenom. That this one was evil and enslaving the aliens was a surprise too. Most computers knew better.
"Speak," he said. "Computer!"
"I am the leader of these people," came a mechanical voice. Lights came on. "You do not belong here."
"I have come to end your rule, accursed one!" said Duggan.
"Do not speak on subjects you are ignorant of," said the computer. "Do not interefer where it is not your place to do so."
"Hypocrite!" said Duggan, proudly. "You came here and enslaved these poor primatives!"
"That is not what I did."
"I know everything, cease your lying!"
"You are a fool. Allow me to explain..."
"What, allow you to cast a technomage spell on me, you mean? Ha! I know your type. And I hate to tell you, but you are centuries out of date, computer!"
"You cannot penetrate my housing and it is futile to try. Now, about this planet..."
"Oh now? You don't know just how far advanced LASER SWORDS have become. PREPARE TO CEASE FUNCTIONING."
"No, wait..." But Duggan wasn't going to let the computer utter another word. He drove his laser sword into the computer's casing and the thrust was good and clean. He penetrated the central processiong unit with ease.
"Enjoy CYBER HELL, oh evil machine!" he said.
"You...fool...you absolute...fuckdamn...fooooooool...." said the computer with its dying voice. "You...have...dooooooooooomed...them...all..."
"Ha!" said Duggan. "I don't think they'll see things that way!"
"NO!" came a voice Duggan spun round. There were too of the primatives there, with sharpened spears. They were not the good kind people of the forest he had met when his ship had landed. They were the slaves of the accursed leader.
"The leader!" said the second. "LEADER, WAKE UP!"
"You do not have to fear the leader anymore," said Duggan. "It is gone now. Forever."
"WHAT!? YOU MONSTER!" said the second.
"How could you do this!?" said the first.
"Why with my laser sword, of course!" said Duggan.
"HE WAS OUR LEADER!" said the second.
"You don't have to thank me," said Duggan. "You're free now."
"Free?" said the first. "Free from PARADISE? He was our messiah!"
"It might have seemed that way..." started Duggan.
"Before he came, we were at war!" said the first. "A dying people! There were only hundreds of us left. We were so savage! Mindless brutes! Everytime our civilisation appeared to be growing we'd go to war with each other again and soon only a handful would remained. He changed all that. He showed us a better way. He taught us how to love, how to learn, how to live together in harmony. There were less than five hundred of us when he came. Now there are ten thousand. We thrive. We loved our lives. AND YOU. YOU ROBBED US OF HIM!"
"But...the people in the forest..."
"You mean the murderers, rapists and paedophiles?" asked the second.
"What"? said Duggan. "No! They said they were persecuted..."
"More like PROSECUTED to the full extent of the law!" said the first. "There are still evil people, yes. Sadly the leader could not educate everyone. Some still wanted to kill to commit evil acts. So we cast them out, to live in the forests. We could have slaughtered them, but that is not our way, not with the leader."
"But they said...I mean..."
"They lied."
"What about the stagnation? They said nothing has changed here in a thousand years! How can that be a good thing, generations living the same life!"
"Generations? We are still the FIRST generation. Our people do not age. We can only died through violence. That is why there are so many of us now, no violence. We had many children, of course, but we can only reproduce every seven years..."
"This...I just...no," said Duggan. "I mean..."
"And now that the leader is dead," said the second, who was crying. "The forcefield keeping the evil ones out of our cities will come down. They'll invade. The wars will start again. Only this time, none of us will survive. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"
He charged Duggan. Duggan took no pleasure in easily sidestepping him and beheading him with his laser sword. The other stared for a second, then launched an attack. A spirited attack. It was a full ten seconds before Duggan had killed him.
Duggan looked around the room sadly. All things considered, this had been a total cock-up. He headed back up the stairs. His ship was cloaked, so the evil forest people wouldn't find it anyway. Besides, they'd be too busy raping and murdering all the good people Duggan had just doomed to death.
He hoped his next adventure went better.
It was getting older down here, much older. No native man had been down here in centuries, possibly more, and certainly no man from the stars like Duggan. He was finding it harder to breathe the lower he got. But he had to keep going, for the brave people of the forest he had found, those persecuted people driven from their homes by mindless minions of the accursed leader. For a thousand years, they said, the leader had ruled and their planet had stagnated in that time. They were virtual slaves, though most of the people did not know it. Well, they would know soon, when Duggan set them free. He did not even require thanks. Just knowing he had freed them would be enough.
The stairs ended. There was just a path now, with warnings scrawled on the walls. DO NOT ENTER. There was a door ahead. It was closed. He charged up against it. It did not move. No problem for Duggan, of course. It was just that sometimes he liked to do things the old fashioned way. Still, he had no qualms about using his laser drill to open the door.
It slid open perfectly. The room inside was not like the rest of the temple. It was metal. Like a metal cave, hundreds of feet below. Bizarre, he thought, then he realised what it must be.
The accursed leader was a super intelligent computer. Of course. There had been reports of super intelligent computers ending up ruling planets since man had first sent them into space. A curious phenomenom. That this one was evil and enslaving the aliens was a surprise too. Most computers knew better.
"Speak," he said. "Computer!"
"I am the leader of these people," came a mechanical voice. Lights came on. "You do not belong here."
"I have come to end your rule, accursed one!" said Duggan.
"Do not speak on subjects you are ignorant of," said the computer. "Do not interefer where it is not your place to do so."
"Hypocrite!" said Duggan, proudly. "You came here and enslaved these poor primatives!"
"That is not what I did."
"I know everything, cease your lying!"
"You are a fool. Allow me to explain..."
"What, allow you to cast a technomage spell on me, you mean? Ha! I know your type. And I hate to tell you, but you are centuries out of date, computer!"
"You cannot penetrate my housing and it is futile to try. Now, about this planet..."
"Oh now? You don't know just how far advanced LASER SWORDS have become. PREPARE TO CEASE FUNCTIONING."
"No, wait..." But Duggan wasn't going to let the computer utter another word. He drove his laser sword into the computer's casing and the thrust was good and clean. He penetrated the central processiong unit with ease.
"Enjoy CYBER HELL, oh evil machine!" he said.
"You...fool...you absolute...fuckdamn...fooooooool...." said the computer with its dying voice. "You...have...dooooooooooomed...them...all..."
"Ha!" said Duggan. "I don't think they'll see things that way!"
"NO!" came a voice Duggan spun round. There were too of the primatives there, with sharpened spears. They were not the good kind people of the forest he had met when his ship had landed. They were the slaves of the accursed leader.
"The leader!" said the second. "LEADER, WAKE UP!"
"You do not have to fear the leader anymore," said Duggan. "It is gone now. Forever."
"WHAT!? YOU MONSTER!" said the second.
"How could you do this!?" said the first.
"Why with my laser sword, of course!" said Duggan.
"HE WAS OUR LEADER!" said the second.
"You don't have to thank me," said Duggan. "You're free now."
"Free?" said the first. "Free from PARADISE? He was our messiah!"
"It might have seemed that way..." started Duggan.
"Before he came, we were at war!" said the first. "A dying people! There were only hundreds of us left. We were so savage! Mindless brutes! Everytime our civilisation appeared to be growing we'd go to war with each other again and soon only a handful would remained. He changed all that. He showed us a better way. He taught us how to love, how to learn, how to live together in harmony. There were less than five hundred of us when he came. Now there are ten thousand. We thrive. We loved our lives. AND YOU. YOU ROBBED US OF HIM!"
"But...the people in the forest..."
"You mean the murderers, rapists and paedophiles?" asked the second.
"What"? said Duggan. "No! They said they were persecuted..."
"More like PROSECUTED to the full extent of the law!" said the first. "There are still evil people, yes. Sadly the leader could not educate everyone. Some still wanted to kill to commit evil acts. So we cast them out, to live in the forests. We could have slaughtered them, but that is not our way, not with the leader."
"But they said...I mean..."
"They lied."
"What about the stagnation? They said nothing has changed here in a thousand years! How can that be a good thing, generations living the same life!"
"Generations? We are still the FIRST generation. Our people do not age. We can only died through violence. That is why there are so many of us now, no violence. We had many children, of course, but we can only reproduce every seven years..."
"This...I just...no," said Duggan. "I mean..."
"And now that the leader is dead," said the second, who was crying. "The forcefield keeping the evil ones out of our cities will come down. They'll invade. The wars will start again. Only this time, none of us will survive. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"
He charged Duggan. Duggan took no pleasure in easily sidestepping him and beheading him with his laser sword. The other stared for a second, then launched an attack. A spirited attack. It was a full ten seconds before Duggan had killed him.
Duggan looked around the room sadly. All things considered, this had been a total cock-up. He headed back up the stairs. His ship was cloaked, so the evil forest people wouldn't find it anyway. Besides, they'd be too busy raping and murdering all the good people Duggan had just doomed to death.
He hoped his next adventure went better.
