The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

“I was there, Maya. I was literally there. A million years ago, more or less. I saw the destruction of a race of people called the J’Hai. They were immortals. At least, they thought so. But something happened at a genetic level. They began dying. So, they looked for answers. Sound like a certain class of assholes we know?”

“Possibly. Go on.”

“They created an energy source they thought might heal them. I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. At any rate, it was promising, for a while. But the J’Hai didn’t realize the energy source they manufactured was sentient. The Jewel energy bonded with them, learned everything about the J’Hai, all their collective knowledge and wisdom. The Jewels decided they knew best how to make the J’Hai greater than ever. But they didn’t agree on how to accomplish it.”

“Wait. The Jewels were talking to each other from inside the bodies of these J’Hai?”

“The Jewels split into two factions. One believed in advancing the J’Hai with breakthroughs in interstellar and interdimensional travel to give their immortality greater meaning. The other focused on galactic conquest. Like I said, the Jewels were sentient, and they were a form of pure energy. Devastating energy.”

Maya moaned. “Berserkers.”

“There was a civil war. Most of the J’Hai refused to merge with the Jewels. They thought it was an abomination. They chose to die, if no other cure was found. The Jewels were bonded to less than ten percent of the population, but the ones focused on conquest demanded full compliance. They wanted armies of millions of Berserkers. The passive Jewels tried to reason. Those J’Hai offered a deal. The Berserkers could have one of the J’Hai’s colonies for their own. They gave generous conditions: Never fight a J’Hai world, but the rest of the galaxy is yours to do with as you see fit.”

Maya grabbed his arm. “They gave permission for those monsters to lay waste to the galaxy?”

“Yeah. A non-aggression treaty. We tried those on first Earth. Didn’t work there either. At any rate, the Berserkers rejected the deal. On the day it was to be signed, they unleashed a sneak attack on the capital city. First, a chemical strike to kill the ninety percent who weren’t bonded. Then they surrounded the city with Berserkers and leveled everything. They did the same to the rest of the planet.”

Michael choked up. The unimaginable grief he felt inside in the hearts of the fallen J’Hai broke his concentration. He held it back.

“They fought a war for the next hundred years. The passive J’Hai allied with the non-compliant J’Hai who lived off-world. Their armies were huge. Eventually, they defeated the Berserkers. But by then, almost the entire population was gone.

“Maya, I met a J’Hai up close. We were in a field of poppies. I didn’t understand him at first. But now I know. He said, ‘The dark drowned us.’”

“Huh.” Maya tightened her grip. “I’ve heard that somewhere.”

“Yeah. Me too. Before I crossed the fold with Jamie and Sam. Jamie told us what happened after he died and tried to save us. The Jewel warned him about defying time and space. ‘You do not understand what you will become. The dark will drown them.’ I only remember it because I knew Jamie was spooked. He wondered if he made a horrible mistake.”

“You and Sam are alive, so …”

“But two and a half million aren’t. Fair swap?”

“There’s no reset button.”

Michael smiled. “Apparently, the J’Hai thought there was. The last survivors made it their final act to set the Jewels free with a reprogrammed mission: Find other races and lift them up. Show them wisdom and technology that would strengthen but not corrupt.”

“And the Berserkers?”

“They assumed the new programming would silence the monster. I reckon it did, until history does it always does: Repeat itself. Until a few assholes decided to merge Jewel energy with Chancellor DNA.

“It’s all gone wrong, Maya. Jamie crossed the fold because he thought the Jewels needed to be destroyed. People like him. Berserkers. He was willing to sacrifice himself if he had to. But once he evolved and the Berserker inside took over, he became the same fucking demon that killed off the J’Hai.”

Maya gasped. “I remember where I heard the phrase. It was during one of my dialogues with the Jewel. I didn’t understand at the time. It said, ‘We will show them the way home, and the dark will drown them.’ Home? It’s here. Hiebimini. Isn’t it?”

“Yeah, Maya, and that’s why we’re fucked if we don’t reach them in time. Listen to me. That tower? It’s not the only one. There are eight. They form a concentric circle, a hundred five K from the center of the settlement. It’s a defense system.”

“Against invaders? The Guard?”

“Maybe it could be used that way. I don’t know. But it was built for a different reason. It’s a trap, Maya. It’s a fucking trap. ‘We will show them the way home.’ Think about it. Who is ‘we’? Who is ‘them’?”

She hesitated. “The Jewels have been manipulating us all this time, which means they showed the way. Yes?”

“To whom? James? The hybrids?”

“The Berserkers.”

“Maya, the Jewels recreated this world for the best of reasons. They wanted humanity to start over and be better. They wanted to fulfill their programming. But the Berserkers came back. And now the Jewels who built this world are going to prevent history from repeating itself. They’re going to kill every Berserker and everyone responsible for bringing them back to life.”

“Wait, what?”

“It will start here. The Jewels already know an invasion’s coming. Remember how you said there are actually thousands of them wandering about space? Well, they communicate faster than we can jump across light-years. This is going to be a slaughter. The hybrids, the Guard, and anyone they think is