Aumeha Chronicles: The Expedition

Chapter 14

A few decades back, this was not the scene. Aumeha was a bustling city. It didn't have fortified walls. There were huge buildings and towers. People were welcomed from all across the world. South of Aumeha was a big vast desert. And north of it was the big open sea. Aumeha was the hub of world trade. Aumeha was also famous for its advanced technology and education.

A person would wake up, get ready, and within a few minutes would reach his office for work. The public transportation was so good that 90% of the people were using the public transport. It was made operational 24X7. The traffic planning was so advanced that it could predict an accident or a breakdown well before it happened. And in the worst case if it so happened the diversion of traffic was seamless and anyone could reach their destination on time. There were multicuisine restaurants, malls, gaming arcades, amusement parks, gardens, theatres and schools, hospitals, libraries, etc. for the recreation and welfare of the people.

In terms of research it was the world leader. Any Technological breakthrough was first implemented here and then passed on to the rest of the world. The city was the experimental ground for the world-class universities of Aumeha, which made aumeha always a step ahead of the world.

Its safety and security system was the most robust in the entire world. It could even survive a nuclear missile blast, provided it could enter in the vicinity of the city. Robust patrols and surveillance made it impossible for wrongdoers. The punishment for anything illegal would be banishment from the city. Nobody in the city would be unemployed. There was always a job for someone which made crime rare too.

But, to become a part of the city is a different challenge altogether. Easiest would be to get an admission to the university which was considered to be the toughest exam in the world else, you have to set up a business with them.

All of this also meant that it was the most powerful state in the world. And being this powerful you had a responsibility that all ran well in your city as well as across the globe.

The city had a monarch Ashur, who was loved by everyone. He was visionary, intelligent, and well-read. He had twin sons – Yodha and Ruther. Both of them grew up as aces. They were top of the classes, excellent decision-makers, excellent marksmen, and athletes.

Ruther grew interested in genetics and how it could be used and modified naturally. He started experimenting with small animals and had a good success rate of getting an offspring of a singular trait. These experiments slowly turned into an obsession and then a mania for him. He often didn't attend social conventions and get-togethers, and when he did he created some or the other kind of ruckus in the hall. Ashur always had to apologise for his behaviour and covered any of his wrongdoings.

One day, Ruther asked for doing human experiments. His idea was to have offsprings among people who were excellent in the same field. Yodha intervened, he countered that there were couples who had the same profession, similar hobby or similar tastes. He could study their offsprings for research. Ruther did not like to be told how to do his work. At that point it was sensible but, did not bode well with Ruther and he had to ultimately give into Yodha's suggestion.

Ruther started various other experiments and people were relieved that he was not following the last experiment. He started behaving normally again, attended social conventions, and helping his father take key decisions for the city.

Soon, Yodha got married to Eulia, a girl he loved since school. It was a grand and pompous celebration. It was a grand day for the whole city and people from far away had come to pay a visit to the newlywed couple. Ruther did not like the attention the couple got.

Ruther continued with his experiments but, little did they know that the experiments were all leading to his earlier motive. Instead of humans he started using test-tube babies. He used to dissolve any baby which did not give desirable results or had low expectancy. Using advanced techniques, he could estimate how the baby would do in the future. If it was successful for the desired trait, he could prematurely develop the baby to a young grown adult within weeks. He did this over and over to get an army of best of traits. He had an army of the most powerful, most intelligent, prettiest looking, and quickest people. The only drawback was they had a very short life expectancy owing to the synthetic ways of growing them. Nevertheless it was a success in Ruther's eyes.

One day, Ruther presented this idea in front of the whole palace. And the army which followed behind was astounding! The whole grand palace was filled and that was just a third of the whole army. Yodha quickly told Eulia and his closest aides to head to the desert and go as far as possible, until he comes to rescue her. So, they went to leave the city as fast as possible. Yodha came down and saw the huge army of bioengineered humans. It was a spectacle nonetheless. Everyone gaped at what they saw in front of them. There were only a few different faces and multiple heads donning the same face. Ashur was speechless with what he saw in front of him. It was inhumane and ghostly. The sight had sent shivers through the whole city already. The guests present there already started to leave hastily.

At this moment the whole city of Aumeha stoodstill. The fastest city of the whole world stood absolutely still at theinhumane sight.