Ever wanted to shove money at Erli and me and support No End? You know we have Patreon? Right now you can pick up -- amongst lots of other neat stuff -- these gorgeous flower portrait wallpapers!
So I was inspired by @guljerry and egged on by @borg-apologist to post this.
In 2006 I made my first nano attempt and got to 38k words before it became such a mess I quit. So this is the beginning of the first chapter to that original sci fi story and has a fuckton of biblical shit
It's both post apocalyptic and pre apocalyptic in that there's already been a "collapse" but humanity survives. There are those tribes in the oceans with their coveted technologies and the land dwellers above. When Set's lover the inhumanly strong telepath Alexander destroys Genesis and tells him to meet at the rendezvous Set has no choice but to obey, before he destroys them all.
Warnings: the biggest one is crap writing since it's 12 years old but also SERIOUS religious shit (blame my Catholic upbringing >>) and some language as well as homophobia
Alright, here goes nothing:
The sun rose, more red than it once had been, yet at the same time cooler. The gray atmosphere swirled around the planet allowing a faint pink glimmer to break through in areas. It might have been any time of the day for those without the means to judge. Set looked at his watch covertly as he walked through the center of the town. A few murmured whispers met his ears but he ignored them as he looked for a certain building. He gave a small snort of derision from behind the cloth around his face. He'd always detested these barren primitive outposts full of nothing but horse shit and superstition. At least the larger port city had cars. Professor Galton had always held his ear when describing the lower dregs of society and their inability to comprehend the technology they envied. Galton had never been to any of the great land port cities such as Denver. Set glanced around at the dirty faces. They'd have exterminated the lot of them if they been worth the effort to waste the resources. He carefully kept away not wanting to come within the infection radius. The rampant pestilences; the old throwbacks to the Collapse had all been but eradicated amongst tribes like Set's. Those in the possession of the old technology and books. But amongst these cattle one could never be too careful. The men selected for such trading errands had to be carefully vaccinated upon departure and arrival: and Set hadn't the good fortune to get his shots before the whole thing was blown to hell.
Alex... The name haunted him. It stuck to his tongue when he tried to pronounce it. The young man who promised him heaven and brought him hell with impassioned words and a mouth no less bold. He shuddered as he approached the building. A frown crossed his face behind the cloth. The secretive garb and long cloak marked him as one of the elite; the insignia crest on his chest the sign of Genesis. However, no ungifted pig would realize that he bore the mark of a tribe supposedly eradicated. He could however, tell that people were speculating as to the nature of his physical form. That used to irk him far more when he first began. Genesis was all pure homo superior. No genetics alterations during the old technology golden age as far back as any could trace his or her ancestry. No filthy half animal mongrel would ever make it into Heaven. He'd kill for a clean bed, and dazzling crystals of light instead of some rat trap with death dancing at the ends of waxen cylinders. Still his money was better than any other's. He could buy the whole filthy town in exchange for the small orb on the back of his neck to control his migraines.
With a quick glance to make sure no one was following him, and a slight audio scan, he entered the old building. The door was wood and for a few moments he paused to caress the grainy surface. It wasn't often one encountered such a relic. Even the architects in the land dweller's port cities had enough of the old knowledge to use easy sliding titatnium entryways. He sighed. This had to be one of the most primitive places that he'd ever been to. But at least he could ensure that no one from Apocalypse or Misfits would have his location yet. Fallburg... Landworth.... whatever the hell this backwater dump was called wasn't even a blip on the radar. The door creaked slightly, normal for a wooden door, as he opened it. He found the sound entirely unpleasant. The noise outside of Genesis was the worst. The hodgepodge of primitive sounds, structural imperfections, native beasts. It was like a cacophony of animals. He twisted the disc on his earlobe to dampen the non communicative sound. The low rumble of wind, insects, animals and all the other miscellaneous claptrap ceased. He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered; his boots making no sound on the floor to his own ears.
He'd never been one of those unfortunate to be assigned to missions in the populated inner towns. Scavenging old ruins brought a certain nostalgic peace and sense of awe for all the things even they had yet to rediscover. There was a quiet solitude and a clean sterility even amongst the wreckage. As he stepped inside and the powerful smell of smoke assailed him he almost gagged. Set faltered and had to catch himself on the wall. The texture of the wall was rough and unpleasant and he almost cringed. He'd battled, he'd bled, and he'd been scavenging through ruins but his senses reeled with the smells and the gritty textures. The wall almost felt alive beneath his skin and he felt his palm pulse against the solid surface. His eyes scanned the room and didn't have to look far. Right in front of his stood a middle aged man with some sort of primitive goggles on his face. He hadn't been required to attend any special briefing on land dweller technology. He grimaced and at least said a prayer of thank the man seemed to be fully human. Set took a deep breath and steadied himself as he approached "What is this substance on your walls?" He took satisfaction as the man swallowed nervously. This was a person who knew exactly what an incorrect answer would bring about. Set smiled behind the cloth and walked forward with much more confidence.
"Well?"
"P-paint sir. I assure you it's a very very old technology. It s-simply provides a coloring to the wall." Set nodded and mentally kicked himself for overreacting the way he did. There's nothing of interest here idiot. These people are one step above urinating in the street like primitive dogs. His lip curled as he resurveyed the room. Dull white coloring coated the walls along with some unremarkable pictures. There was wood beneath his feet and he wondered for a moment how these cities survived more than weeks in such storm ridden areas. He wondered briefly as he noted the different shades and manner of wood products if these monkeys didn't simply carve out trees to take residence in. No that wasn't entirely correct, he recalled. The outsides of the buildings clearly indicated some sort of stone masonry. He gave a curt nod looking at the man again. "Yes... definitely nothing of interest here. I'm looking for someone." No need to further engage conversation for pointless land dweller trivia. Set twitched slightly. He wasn't entirely thrilled to be forced to meet with the man awaiting him but he had no choice. Null was the final survivor of Genesis even if he was no longer considered one of them. "There is a man," Set continued, "That is 192 cm. Approximately 72.7 kg, green eyes shade 112. black hair shade 2, Caucasian skin shade-"
"God of Storms." The soft voice interrupted him. Set turned and felt relief to see a familiar face no matter how unwelcome it would normally be. "Yes. God of ... ah... Null." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. Given a choice of death or exile Null had been the only member of the Genesis tribe since its conception to choose exile. No name no identity and no connections and life amongst the land dweller was a far worse fate than death. "I want to live." With those four words Null had forsaken any hope of redemption and chosen some unbelieving land dweller hell. Set understood the protocol that had been established, however neither he nor anyone else had needed to recall such formalities when addressing an exiled one. What the hell does it matter they're all dead anyway. His stomach felt cold and his heart rate increased a bit. Bringing the reality to the forefront at times caused him a feeling of racing anxiety and he took a breath to quell it. Null simply smiled at him; licked his lips, and turned to the man behind the desk who looked increasingly alarmed. "It's okay Ben... He's with me." The elder man nodded before busying himself with some menial task, Set assumed. "Come." Null turned and Set took a moment to study the young man from behind as he followed him past the desk and up a narrow wooden stairway. It took some getting used to to maneuver at first but hardly challenging. Once again he longed for something more civilized. To distract himself he noted for future reference that Null, formerly God of Sacrifice, had acquired caucasian skin 58. Then ten shade shift was hardly unexpected however Set along with others of their unit had speculated to far more radical changes.
Land dwelling humans were hardly noted for their physical beauty as far as Set was concerned. Though as Set examined the smooth appearance of Null's skin and the length of his hair it occurred to him that it was possible that physically disfiguring diseases might be on the decrease after so long. Null's musculature was nearly identical and though he smelled stronger it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Set frowned not liking the direction in which his thoughts seemed to be going. "Ahh good old aberration number five." Null turned and performed his own retinal examination. His eyes glittered with the combination of optic sensors and pigment. "Don't look so stunned Seto I could always smell it on you." he smiled "But of course this is business." He took out a small golden object from his pants and inserted the long end into a hole in the door. Set watched curiously as he turned it and opened the door. As they entered he turned his sound dampener off... just in case.
Set entered after his former teammate and grimaced when he saw still more wood. Wasn't the damn stuff an endangered resource? A large rug was carelessly tossed in the center of the room, a light blue square likely woven with primitive instruments. There was a wooden bed with white sheets that seemed big enough for two which didn't please him. The room, like the rest of the place was still lit with those damn fire sticks mounted to the walls that were splashed with more of that 'paint'. "I suppose I don't need to call you Null... at least... that is..." He really didn't want to say it. Null was perfectly aware of the situation in any case. The young man smiled again; just a small upturn of his lips. Red 213. Set swallowed. Aberration 5 was normally treated for those willing with an easy injection. The genetic mods had long been lost. Of course they couldn't make him stop finding men attractive any more than they could the color blue, but at least sexual arousal was physically impossible. Set much preferred it that way. It was far less.... complicated. "Just think of good old baseball, lover." Alex seemed almost beside him whispering in his ear. Set shivered and only then realized that he'd closed his eyes to savor the old memory.
He heard Null laughing and his eyes snapped open and glared. "I trust you won't take advantage of my obvious... problem," he spat out through gritted teeth. He'd always had the impression working with him in the past that Null had always been laughing at some secret joke at his expense. "Null is fine." He answered Set's earlier statement with amusement. "I find that around here there are far too many 'Jonathan's and far too few 'Null's." Set walked to the bed and sat down. From what he remembered of the accommodations at comparable places this cloth bag stuffed with some fiver or another passed for "soft". "You never seemed the type to want to stand out." Conversation seemed a way to take his mind off the whirlwind of new and unpleasant experiences the last 2 days had brought him. Null chose to pull a wooden chair from under a desk in the room and sit across from him. "There's a lot you don't know about me Set." He shrugged. "We were teammates, not really friends. But I know you don't particularly enjoy small talk so let's just get to what you want."
Set took a deep breath and shut his eyes to steady himself. Of course Null had to know what happened. But he had know way of knowing how.... why... Only Set knew that dangerous knowledge. "Alexander... that is.... God of Death..." His voice trembled and his eyes grew somewhat wide. His heart pounded again and he could feel the rush of blood allowing him to hear his own throbbing pulse. He didn't think he could force the words out after all. "I... I need to meet God of Death." He met Null's eyes reluctantly. "In Heaven."
Null sucked in a breath and almost choked. He sat very still and Set wasn't sure if the shock had stalled any of his biological functions. They both sat in silence, Set growing more uncomfortable. He knew there would be lots of unpleasant questions to follow. He almost wanted to laugh. No matter what Null asked him he had no idea how to direct the questions to the answer that would shock him to the very core. Why should he. Why should anyone? "Set?" Oh, he was laughing after all. "Set!" Two hands on his shoulders shook him hard. Trained soldiers didn't laugh hysterically for no reason. Null looked at him worried and it occurred to Set as he calmed himself down how it must look. Genesis was annihilated. One of a handful of survivors was asking for help from someone who didn't technically exist and the rendezvous point was suddenly called into play a hundred years early. And yet...if only it was that small. "Set." The young man looked at him and then looked around nervously. He sounded almost afraid. Null, Jonathan Keller, God of Sacrifice, Unit S Squad leader who had died twenty seven times and been resurrected from blood and ashes, was afraid.
There was no other choice. Null had to know what he was getting into and right about now Set was wishing that he'd been exiled to be a fucking useless land dweller than the savior of the goddamn planet. "Alexander found It." It, being the only thing keeping the planet from dying out completely. It being the sole reason that Earth remained the only habitable planet in the solar system still orbiting the Sun whereas the smaller colonies of the outer moons had already been able to relocate to a G2V that wasn't nearly as old. It being the one thing that every tribe on the planet had absolutely swore never to seek and never to tamper with because the slightest disturbance could prematurely end life before Exodus. And Alexander wanted to blow the fucking thing up.
Null didn't say anything while all these thoughts were once again racing through Set's mind; not for the first and certainly not for the last time since his erstwhile lover had cheerfully told him. He rubbed his temples absently feeling a phantom ache that his regulator wasn't even aware of. Set was hardly surprised by Null's next question. "Tell me Set, what does Alex plan to do with It?" Set had to control his breathing a few times. He felt that giddy madness creeping up again. "The great God of Death version? or the short version?" In spite of the gravity of the information hanging between them Null smiled. "Surprise me."
