Astronomy 102 - Part 3

My name is Mercedes Whitman and I'm a hero on a foreign world. I'm the daughter of two heroes, and was trapped on this Earth during an Event that sealed the way back home forever. They call me Black Sapphire when I'm out patrolling, and these are my Blogs.

"Once upon a time I was one of the Cataloguers, and I failed my order after failing my blood brother. I am now Nameless, but I still possess knowledge. The following are excerpts of a conversation that I witnessed firsthand. These are only excerpts because their talk took hours." He sighed. "Spectacular doesn't know how to shut up..."

SATURDAY SUPER STORIES - ASTRONOMY 102: Part 3

"No One Can Hear You Scream."

********

THE ARRIVAL

Spectacular maneuvered his craft through the depths and ignited the forward thrusters to come to a stop before the gigantic entity before him. He exited from a hatch in the side of the ship and space-walked towards the being. His suit pinged and blipped as it ate the raw data streaming from the being, data he would spend decades pouring over and never coming close to understanding the being's true nature or origins.

"WHAT INSECT DARES COME BEFORE ME? A MEAGER HUMAN?" The Entity spoke and its voice carried, even in the vacuum of space.

"Ha Hah! You confuse me with other humans! I am one of the, if not THE smartest people on the  face of the Planet Earth. You may refer to me as Spectacular, the world's smartest and most dashing man. What may I call you?" His helmet glowed as it projected his voice to the being.

"My true name is unpronounceable in your language, but the Universe has taken to calling me The Entity." His voice narrowed and seemed to be carried right to his ears now.

"Is that so? Doesn't seem too foreboding enough of a name to me, with your destructive purpose and all."

"My purpose is not inherently destructive; the end goal tends to lead to destruction; destruction caused by my Scions. I feed upon Chaos and destruction is a seed sown by them."

"Your Scions?"

"I imbue some with genetic superiority... vessels that are able to contain my God Seed... pieces of my essence... to be my children. I send my Scions forth to find worlds to sow the seeds of Chaos so that I may harvest and feed upon it."

ON THE ORIGIN OF A SPECIES

"Those who came before decided that if they were to be the deities of this new universe that they had forged on the bones of the one before, they must purge themselves of the traits that might affect their judgment. So my brothers and sisters and I were born. Each of us an embodiment of an attribute they found to be cumbersome."

"Eons passed and eventually some of us began to war with one another. This was a dark time for us. By the time everything was said and done, there were only a few of us left. The remains of my brothers and sisters evolved in the ether, and became what humanity has come to call the Star Forces."

"The Star Forces are the remains of dead Gods? Fascinating." Spectacular was genuinely surprised and astounded.

"They who were slain were scattered apart, some of their essence evolved into the Star Force and the rest of their life force became the stars that burn in the heavens."

THE NATURE OF THE KALEIDOSCOPE CASCADE

"Every universe out there is but an echo of one or more of the Prime Universes." The Entity seemed to ponder this as it spoke.

"Throughout the years I've traveled to several alternate dimensions, and I have met other versions of myself. On one he was Fantastic, another was Amazing, and the last was Incredible," Spectacular reminisced to himself.

"How did you achieve this?"

"I traveled through the Kaleidoscope Cascade... a hole punched through all realities."

"The Cascade is all that remains of the first of us."

"The first of you?"

It nodded. "Those Who Came Before crafted the first being of their new universe. It was so powerful and insane that it committed suicide with just a thought. Its death ripped a hole through Reality, and created the Cascade."

"Why didn't they seal it?"

"This I do not know, it is beyond me. I do not think the Cascade can ever be sealed."

"There are days when I wish it could be. We've been having incursions from parallel realities, growing in frequency. I fear that we may soon be at war with another universe."

********

Soon...

Sapphire screamed against the howling vortex, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS, PANDEMONIUM!!"

She looked back at Black Sapphire with a sadness that had never before crossed her perfect features. "If I do not, then they will win. We cannot allow this to transpire. We have already lost so much."

"But...why does it have to be you?" Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"Because of what I represent. When I am gone, the world will be a better place." She turned away and leapt across the void, the Cascade shuddered and snapped back in on itself and ripped and tore at the Universe. The Armada was lost, and the Cascade was gone.

"She saved the universe..."

To be continued in Astronomy 102: Part 4

********

Spectacular finished the last adjustments on a device, harvesting the technology from a dying hybrid of another world. "Okay, let's try this again.  Tell me your name, Entity." He flipped the switch and the machine powered on.

“KEODUHFOIFWPOIDJPIFJDPFNPNSXPWNOIDUHATYGCBJEBOFUDHFWDOFBPOWFCBUDHIFWHPVCNCIWPNPIHWPDYFHPFWPIFJHPFIH

NFWPIFHFPWIJPF," The Entity finished, and stared expectantly at him, waiting for the results.

The device pinged, finally translating the word. "Ted."