[Inaius] The Golem
- Thread starter Yalkan
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- cosmic horror inaius
The universe is ancient.
The distances incomprehensible.
It came from the void.
The night sky was beautiful this time of year. Crisp and clear as ever. Perfect conditions for some skywatching. To call it Astronomy would be a bit much, Benji thought. He helped around in his father’s observatory to be sure, but what he was doing was more of self entertainment than actual scientific research. The scheduled observations had already been logged, so for the time being, the very large and very expensive telescope was his for the rest of the night. Benji hoped to catch a glimpse of the large rings surrounding the gas giant, Aran IV, their high metallic composition in combination with ice made them glimmer when they caught the light just right. He scooted his chair towards one of the many computers to plug in the proper numbers. Soon after the entire room started to shift ever so slowly. Benji leaned back in his chair watching the night sky rotate as the telescope moved into position. He smiled. While he didn’t particularly enjoy the number crunching and the constant data entry, this part was nice. The solitude was peaceful. Just him and the great beyond. Like it was his own prized painting to look at. Yes there were more modern, faster telescopes, but Benji paid it no mind. Something about this place brought him great comfort.
The room stopped shifting with a great clunking noise of locking mechanisms activating. The computer beeped whilst blinking repeatedly to inform Benji that the alignment was done. Going over the screen to make sure everything was proper, he rolled his chair back to the telescope itself and slid on the observation headpiece, covering his eyes. The headpiece flickered to life and there it was, Aran IV. Its rings had just begun to catch the light of their sun, Aran, in such a way that made them shine in an array of colors. Benji giggled. A masterpiece by the cosmos. He sat there watching the intricate light show, but just as soon as it arrived, it faded back to its normal colors, leaving only the yellow Aran IV and her moon left. Benji sat back and raised the visor taking a moment to reflect at the end of his little adventure. Maybe he should apply to be a shipping pilot, he thought. It only took a handful of years to get certified. He’d be able to see them up close. Maybe sign up on a trading freighter. See other systems. The possibilities were endless. He chuckled to himself. Father would be furious, he thought. He clicked the head-visor back down to take another look. There she was again, Aran IV, yellow as ever. Her rings, dark as ever. Her moons, bright as ever. Benji reached to turn off the headpiece, before his hand froze.
“Moons?” Benji blurted to himself, “Moon, not moons!” He adjusted the settings on his headpiece which were plugged into the telescope. He adjusted the zoom multiple times. He panned every which way he could to make sure it wasn’t light bending or bouncing off something from the rings. He took off the headpiece and rolled back to the computer, frantically trying to run a diagnostic check on the telescope. All components reported functional. Benji scratched his head. He rolled his chair, the wheels now whining over the strain, over the hard records they kept in a file-safe. He retrieved a book that logged the maintenance schedule they maintained. His finger went down the page, they weren’t due for maintenance for another few months. He rolled back to the telescope and put on the headpiece. There it was still, the second moon, bright white and now casting a shadow on Aran IV itself! Benji felt his mouth go dry. He shakily pressed the button for recording on the side of his headpiece. Benji tried to roll back to the computer to confirm the video and picture recording. With the headpiece still on. Immediately the large metal cables leading to the back of the head piece did what they do best. Stay put. Benji was pulled to the ground with a loud thud. He laid there not moving for a moment.
“I need to call somebody… “ he groaned in pain.
A few days later.
“It’s a sign from the four! We have strayed from our right path!”
“Scary to think we’ve been here how long and we’re only now discovering a new moon?”
“Actually it’s technically not new is it, it’s just been on a super elliptical orbit, it’s an old moon, it’s just new to us, hey where are you going!”
“I think we should call it McMoon. What you don't think so?”
“The light of the pale moon will deliver us from the oppression of our masters!”
A week later.
“Supreme leader, we have reports of unrest all over. We’ve done a survey over the course of the past seventy two hours, most people are saying that the government is responsible for this catastrophe.”
“It’s not a catastrophe,” responded the old man sitting at the head of an ornate table in the center of the great hall. “It’s just a damnable rock floating in space.”
“That may be, Supreme leader, but the people are fickle and they are expecting us, you, to do something.”
“What are my options Garrus, hmmm? We can’t destroy it! It’s a whole planet! We’re already observing it heavily! Its orbit is steady around Aran IV! What else is there to do?!” the old man yelled, standing up from his seat. He stared at his Secretary of Administration waiting for a response. Silence fell over the room. The other Secretaries and aids all waited as if frozen in place.
The secretary coughed into his balled fist slightly before responding, "We could launch an exploratory mission. Perhaps change the public’s view from one of fear to curiosity of the unknown.”
“Like that would change anything, we should just ban all coverage or conspiracy from the hollownet, crack down on any naysayers,” the old man shot back.
Garrus was not intimidated by his Supreme Leader. “We can do that in addition to the mission. It will be both parts a cover up and display of the truth,” he replied, “The people will accept it easier and faster comparatively to the wild rumors and conspiracy that are abound currently” The old man turned his back on him as if to ponder and run the numbers in his own mind. Realistically though, Garrus knew this was really the only solid choice at his disposal.
The old man’s shoulder slouched in resignation after what seemed a few tense moments. “Fine,” He said without turning to face Garrus or the rest of his staff. “Make it so. And one more thing, I don't want to hear anything about this new pale moon cult ever again. Destroy them.”
“Your will is done, Supreme Leader.”
The distances incomprehensible.
It came from the void.
The night sky was beautiful this time of year. Crisp and clear as ever. Perfect conditions for some skywatching. To call it Astronomy would be a bit much, Benji thought. He helped around in his father’s observatory to be sure, but what he was doing was more of self entertainment than actual scientific research. The scheduled observations had already been logged, so for the time being, the very large and very expensive telescope was his for the rest of the night. Benji hoped to catch a glimpse of the large rings surrounding the gas giant, Aran IV, their high metallic composition in combination with ice made them glimmer when they caught the light just right. He scooted his chair towards one of the many computers to plug in the proper numbers. Soon after the entire room started to shift ever so slowly. Benji leaned back in his chair watching the night sky rotate as the telescope moved into position. He smiled. While he didn’t particularly enjoy the number crunching and the constant data entry, this part was nice. The solitude was peaceful. Just him and the great beyond. Like it was his own prized painting to look at. Yes there were more modern, faster telescopes, but Benji paid it no mind. Something about this place brought him great comfort.
The room stopped shifting with a great clunking noise of locking mechanisms activating. The computer beeped whilst blinking repeatedly to inform Benji that the alignment was done. Going over the screen to make sure everything was proper, he rolled his chair back to the telescope itself and slid on the observation headpiece, covering his eyes. The headpiece flickered to life and there it was, Aran IV. Its rings had just begun to catch the light of their sun, Aran, in such a way that made them shine in an array of colors. Benji giggled. A masterpiece by the cosmos. He sat there watching the intricate light show, but just as soon as it arrived, it faded back to its normal colors, leaving only the yellow Aran IV and her moon left. Benji sat back and raised the visor taking a moment to reflect at the end of his little adventure. Maybe he should apply to be a shipping pilot, he thought. It only took a handful of years to get certified. He’d be able to see them up close. Maybe sign up on a trading freighter. See other systems. The possibilities were endless. He chuckled to himself. Father would be furious, he thought. He clicked the head-visor back down to take another look. There she was again, Aran IV, yellow as ever. Her rings, dark as ever. Her moons, bright as ever. Benji reached to turn off the headpiece, before his hand froze.
“Moons?” Benji blurted to himself, “Moon, not moons!” He adjusted the settings on his headpiece which were plugged into the telescope. He adjusted the zoom multiple times. He panned every which way he could to make sure it wasn’t light bending or bouncing off something from the rings. He took off the headpiece and rolled back to the computer, frantically trying to run a diagnostic check on the telescope. All components reported functional. Benji scratched his head. He rolled his chair, the wheels now whining over the strain, over the hard records they kept in a file-safe. He retrieved a book that logged the maintenance schedule they maintained. His finger went down the page, they weren’t due for maintenance for another few months. He rolled back to the telescope and put on the headpiece. There it was still, the second moon, bright white and now casting a shadow on Aran IV itself! Benji felt his mouth go dry. He shakily pressed the button for recording on the side of his headpiece. Benji tried to roll back to the computer to confirm the video and picture recording. With the headpiece still on. Immediately the large metal cables leading to the back of the head piece did what they do best. Stay put. Benji was pulled to the ground with a loud thud. He laid there not moving for a moment.
“I need to call somebody… “ he groaned in pain.
A few days later.
“It’s a sign from the four! We have strayed from our right path!”
“Scary to think we’ve been here how long and we’re only now discovering a new moon?”
“Actually it’s technically not new is it, it’s just been on a super elliptical orbit, it’s an old moon, it’s just new to us, hey where are you going!”
“I think we should call it McMoon. What you don't think so?”
“The light of the pale moon will deliver us from the oppression of our masters!”
A week later.
“Supreme leader, we have reports of unrest all over. We’ve done a survey over the course of the past seventy two hours, most people are saying that the government is responsible for this catastrophe.”
“It’s not a catastrophe,” responded the old man sitting at the head of an ornate table in the center of the great hall. “It’s just a damnable rock floating in space.”
“That may be, Supreme leader, but the people are fickle and they are expecting us, you, to do something.”
“What are my options Garrus, hmmm? We can’t destroy it! It’s a whole planet! We’re already observing it heavily! Its orbit is steady around Aran IV! What else is there to do?!” the old man yelled, standing up from his seat. He stared at his Secretary of Administration waiting for a response. Silence fell over the room. The other Secretaries and aids all waited as if frozen in place.
The secretary coughed into his balled fist slightly before responding, "We could launch an exploratory mission. Perhaps change the public’s view from one of fear to curiosity of the unknown.”
“Like that would change anything, we should just ban all coverage or conspiracy from the hollownet, crack down on any naysayers,” the old man shot back.
Garrus was not intimidated by his Supreme Leader. “We can do that in addition to the mission. It will be both parts a cover up and display of the truth,” he replied, “The people will accept it easier and faster comparatively to the wild rumors and conspiracy that are abound currently” The old man turned his back on him as if to ponder and run the numbers in his own mind. Realistically though, Garrus knew this was really the only solid choice at his disposal.
The old man’s shoulder slouched in resignation after what seemed a few tense moments. “Fine,” He said without turning to face Garrus or the rest of his staff. “Make it so. And one more thing, I don't want to hear anything about this new pale moon cult ever again. Destroy them.”
“Your will is done, Supreme Leader.”