The Pathfinder Project (24 page)

“Get out of my quarters,
David
,”
Jack shouted, reaching out to grab the man’s arm. Again he felt astonishment as
his hand passed right through the man’s body. He stepped backward, completely
surprised and quickly reached to turn on the lights. His hand hit the wall
pretty hard, making several quick thumping noises before he finally found the
correct switch. David was still seated on his couch, smiling gently at him.

“
You hold a lot of anger in
your heart, don’t you Jack
?” guessed David. “
You lost your wife and two
children and you’re angry because you weren’t back on Earth with them when the
attack came. That way you’d be with them in paradise right now, rather than
having to fend for yourself on a ship full of non-believers… am I right
?”

“How do you
know
all of
that?” Jack asked quickly. “How do you know I had a family?”

“Had
a family? I think you
give up too easily
,” David pointed out. “
You come from a rural region on
your world. Perhaps they survived the attack and are still alive
.”

“A whole lotta good that would
do me, stuck out here.” Jack said spitefully. “You should
hear
everyone
talking about the ‘wonders’ that we’ve already found exploring. I didn’t get
transferred off of the
Pathfinder
in time to go home, and now we’re
never going to go back.
In fact, we keep going in the wrong direction!
”

“
If the Brotherhood remains
in control of Earth for any length of time, then I think that your presence
here is the best thing for you… don’t you
?”

“No!” thundered Jack heatedly.
“What the
hell
good does it do for me to be alive if I never get to see
my family again.” He sat down on the couch beside David and began sobbing. “I
miss my family
so
much it’s killing me! Things were going to be so
great
for us in another year or so. I was almost in a high enough position with my
company where we’d have been able to get a decent house and possibly have
another kid.”

“
You look a little flushed,
Jack. Perhaps you should lie down for a bit
.” David suggested, reaching
over and placing a hand on his forehead. The deckhand began to feel very dizzy
suddenly and a distinct chill swept through his body even though he usually
kept the room’s temperature quite warm. He swung his legs up on the couch,
noting idly that they too passed completely through David’s body. He settled back
into a comfortable position, feeling a wave of fatigue sweep through him and
decided that the day wasn’t a total loss. After all, it wasn’t every day that
he came home to find God waiting for him.

*    
* * *     *

The spy continued gathering
scrapings from the single remaining mineral rock as fast as he could. Too many
people had passed by in the corridor outside for it to be a coincidence anymore
– they
must
suspect him by now. That meant he didn’t have much time.
Sweat was running down his forehead in large drops and his shirt was completely
soaked with it. Occasionally he had no choice but to pause periodically and
wipe his face with a large towel in order to avoid dropping beads of moisture
into the pile of dust he was working so hard to create.

He had turned the room’s
temperature down twice now but continued to feel extremely warm. The letter
opener slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor as he noticed that he had
accidentally cut his hand with its gradually sharpening edge. Cursing, he quickly
wrapped part of the towel around the blood that immediately began to spatter
onto his desk.

The sudden, unmistakable sound
of movement from behind caught him completely by surprise and he turned,
shocked to see armed Brotherhood soldiers. There were two of them wearing dark
black uniforms, and they each held pistols at the ready. Both men watched him
silently and he slowly held up both hands cautiously – to avoid provoking them
– before carefully moving to set the letter opener down on the desk.

“How the hell…?” he wondered
out loud. Neither of the soldiers responded and he took a slow step forward,
pointing at his chest with his bloody, towel-wrapped hand. “Hey,
why
are
you guys holding weapons on me? I’m
one
of you – remember?”

“
What do you think?
” one
of the soldiers asked curiously – his voice a stale, emotionless monotone. “
Do
you want this tripe kept alive
?”

“Huh?” the spy asked in
confusion. “What are you talking about?” He was totally puzzled, particularly
because he had never heard a non-clone soldier speak without first being spoken
to.

“
He’s not talking to you…
”
said a voice from across the room. The Brotherhood spy whirled again and saw a
tall, dark-haired man dressed in civilian clothing. The newcomer was smiling
shrewdly at him as he leaned casually against the kitchen counter. “
They
follow
my
command
.”

“Who are you?” the spy asked,
his attention momentarily distracted from the soldiers. “How did you get in my
quarters?”

“
You should already know
who
I am
,” the newcomer replied. “
And you should have expected that I would
stop by for a visit sooner or later. Once you commit blasphemy against God then
you’ve begun walking down a path that leads you in only one direction. Punishment…
severe punishment
… becomes inevitable
.”

“I don’t understand,” the spy
protested, his face becoming red with anger. “Who are you?” he asked again.

“
Maybe I am someone you know
and maybe I am not
,” his adversary stated simply. “
Whoever I am doesn’t
really matter though, does it? Whether you’ve murdered innocent people in the
name of God or in the name of the Betrayer, the Lucifer, the Satan? Murder is
still
murder
isn’t it
?”

“I haven’t murdered
anyone
,”
the spy hissed sharply.

“
Oh perhaps not directly,
but you did make certain the Brotherhood’s attack viruses were successfully
passed on to the fighter and shuttle software back on the moon, and you’re
planning violence right now.
Look
at the blood on your hands already.
It’s kind of symbolic, isn’t it?
”

“Shut up. I don’t believe you.
Who are you?”

“
Great blasphemy brings with
it a long and lingering punishment
,” the man said, walking toward him. “
Kneel
before me, and continue aiding me in my cause – I can spare you that particular
destiny. All you need do is give up control of your soul. I will take it and
keep it safe for you
.”

“You are the one… as is written
in scripture… the one who was cast out, aren’t you?” the spy asked in awe.

“
That is correct. God tried
to punish me, but instead I now rule a kingdom far greater than His. He
presides over heaven, but I am the one who is left to command all that you have
seen before you out here in the
rest
of the universe
.”

“You are
Lucifer
, the
Dark One, aren’t you?”

“
I am many things and go by
many names. That is one of them
.”

“Scripture has records of you
battling God, but you were exiled to rule the underworld, were you not?”

“
I go where I will, and
right now I am
here…
standing in front of someone whose people have
killed billions
.
Your so-called ‘new society’ is literally afloat on a
river of human blood and that interests me more than you can possibly imagine
.”

“They
deserved
to die.
They had the greatest planet in the universe and what did they do with it…? The
most powerful nations used their resources to keep other countries trapped in a
permanent lower class. Their governments also repeatedly found new reasons to
murder those of us with less. We set out to reshape the globe… to begin again
by rising from the ashes with the Triumvirate carefully controlling
everything.”

“
They had great cities and
great farming communities
,” the other responded. “
And historically they
have had conflicts, but they have
always
chosen a negotiation table as
their final weapon. When – in their modern history – have they ever used
nuclear weapons against each other in the manner that your people have? You
have murdered
billions
and openly claim to do so in the name of God! If
that is not blasphemy, then what is?
”

“
I
personally had
no
control over that,” the spy protested, tears beginning to run from his eyes. “I
was assigned only to infiltrate the
Pathfinder
project… like me, many of
us had no idea what the end objective of our people was. If I had known what
they were planning…”

“
Billions!
” the other
shouted, placing his right hand on top of the spy’s head. “
There in your
home galaxy lays a world shattered by nuclear fire, their streets filled with
the dead. And you
dare
say that your people serve God? Your entire
Brotherhood serves only ME now!
”

“Stop it, please stop,” the spy
begged, falling to his knees. “These quarters are only semi-private and if
someone else hears you…” The other kept his hand on the top of the man’s skull,
and a wave of disorientation seemed to pass through his fingers and into the
humanoid. “I didn’t know that genocide was our ultimate plan, I
swear
.”

“
Of course you didn’t
,” the
stranger said, waving casually at the pair of soldiers still standing
motionless on the far side of the room. “
You simply helped with the plan to unleash
these killers and your war machine on the humans as a
peaceful
gesture
.”
He grinned wickedly, and his hand on top of the spy’s head began glowing with
scarlet light. “
Your people are powerful and – like me – are not afraid to
stand up and
take
what is theirs! I am here now. Join me and I will
spare you the punishment that is coming.
Defy
me and you will suffer for
all eternity! GIVE me your soul!
”

“I don’t know about the rest of
my people, but
I
am
not
a murderer,” the spy protested, noticing
that the room was beginning to spin slowly around him. He felt dizzy and
confused. “Not yet, at least.”

“
Of course you’re not, you
just spend all your spare time here in your quarters making bombs because you
are the kindest and gentlest of creatures,
” the other sneered.

“These people have killed mine!
I have the
right
to take revenge!”

“
Of course you do. Your people
kill billions by surprise and this ship’s crew manages to marshal a defense and
fight back. How
dare
they? I see your point completely, I do!
”
insisted the stranger. “
You have the superior intelligence, the strength,
and the ability to defeat them. Don’t get me wrong… I would kill them too! Your
people can make use of the technology on this ship. You have the right to take
it just as you had the right to conquer Earth!
” The hand came up off the
top of the spy’s head and clenched into a tight fist. “
Unite with me Brother,
you’ve already been helping
me
… not some weak and powerless God! Together
we will kill everyone and everything on this ship and take it back to your
people so they can further expand your new and
superior
civilization!
”

“Stop, please stop…” the spy
said again, sinking slowly into a tightly curled ball on the floor. “Please go
away… I don’t want to kill anyone… I never did.” The room grew quiet and he lay
there for quite some time, afraid to look up. When he finally did he could find
no trace of the stranger or his two soldiers. Sweat and tears still rolled down
his cheeks and he laid there on the floor, too afraid to get up and move
around.

He was still not used to having
all of these uncontrolled emotions and struggled once again to pull himself
together. After calming himself down, he stood up slowly and went immediately
to the restroom. The spy used its sink to hold and then splash cold water on
his face before bandaging his wounded hand carefully. He pressed a cool, wet
washcloth to his forehead to try and control the burning sensation inside his
head. Perspiration continued to run down his face and he gasped in utter shock
upon noticing his image in the mirror. The mysterious other
had
judged
him, of that much he was sure. But he hadn’t expected the Dark One to have left
his mark as well.

He stood there, staring at the
change to his appearance in shock, wondering how he was ever going to walk
amongst the crew of this ship again without being detected. They would be able
to see him for who he was at a glance now, and his next duty shift in the
hangar bay began right away the next morning. The spy cried softly as he
realized that discovery was now unavoidable. It was then that he heard the two
quick thumps on the wall separating his quarters from the next. It immediately
became obvious to him that
someone
on the other side of the wall had
overheard the entire conversation between him and the Devil.

True fear seized and held
him.

*    
* * *     *

“So how is Thomas doing?” Nori
asked curiously. She leaned out of bed just long enough to set her champagne
flute on the nightstand. Adam lay next to her, deep in thought, arms clasped
tightly behind his head.

“The kid is doing fine,” Adam
said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised, especially since he had such a complete
breakdown. Depression is one of those illnesses that will vary with each
individual – I’m amazed that our Doctors can even treat it.”