Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

Notes

Philip Costa, Commander and Research officer, The Henosis.

N_1.1_ABOUT TERRA:

As we – the human race – have struggled through the eras of our history from ancient to medieval to modern there has always been an element that has eluded us: Peace. In the twentieth century we attempted to make this a reality, but the result was catastrophic. By the late twenty-first century it was clear that we would not achieve this objective on our own. Armed conflict had only increased; not for petty concerns like borders or gold or racial prejudice or oil. The new wars were wars for essential commodities: arable land, water and the control of Earth's ever-growing population.

In every crisis comes a threshold; ours came in the first years of the twenty-second century. It had nothing to do with us common people; as always, we diverted our energy to survival. But, we were faced with a choice: would we retain our human dignity or descend to the sub-human?

Would we hold to the Ancient Code which stated that there is more to life than what we can physically quantify; that each person has inherent value regardless of nationality, race, religion or social status; that the well-being of humanity is the duty of all? If we followed the Code there would be sacrifices to make, but some of us considered it a fair exchange.

Then it happened. Our worst nightmare became reality. The Beast was awakened: that ravenous monster that devoured the land and its inhabitants. The Device. It was impossible to predict the outcome. The primary effects were beyond imagination, but the secondary effects were worse. All of the natural world was thrown into chaos. Our planet was indeed dying, and we were to blame. If we did survive it would not be as the human race. All hope was lost.

Who first pushed the button? Who pushed it next? We may never know. The fact is that the button was pushed when the button was first connected to the device. That was at the end of the Second Great War – about 1,180 years ago (TS). It was inevitable. Two such devices had already been used on human cities. It's shocking now to think that all such devices were not destroyed immediately, but such is the nature of humankind.

In 2118 there was a full-scale exchange. It happened so quickly that only the button pushers were aware of it – and it was over in a matter of hours.

It was humanity's darkest hour. And in this hour help arrived.

I will not recount here Earth's story, because the story I am about to tell you – Ophilion's story – is a striking parallel. I was one of those who lived by the Ancient Code. I lived on Earth during its dying days, and I lived to see its resurrection and restoration. It took time, as all good things do, but from the day they came hope was reborn. We knew we had a chance not only to survive, but to thrive and regain more than just our humanity.

N_2.1_ABOUT OPHILION:

The mystery of life; the reason and purpose for existence; human consciousness and free will – these are questions we may never be able to fully answer, but we are closer now. We have a deeper understanding of this greatest of gifts: Life.

Life.

In time, the beings which came to our aid began to teach some of us the deeper knowledge of the Ancient Code, and we began, slowly, to comprehend. I had wondered many times as I looked up at the night sky and the thousands of twinkling points of light why it was so big. Isn't there something out there, far away – someone – a world; beings with whom I could interact; people with aspirations like mine, who could reflect my emotions?

It was like looking into a mirror with a mirror behind and seeing an endless reflection of myself that went on until it faded to black. What if someone on some world out there was thinking a similar thought at this moment? What if I could reach out and touch them? be a part of their world – part of their history?