Termination

Project? Development? Was this not Her home? The way that it reads, it sounds like this was a place that She did research of some type, not a residence. But why would She need to do that? Ministra was God, there was nothing that She didn’t know. Right? What did this all mean?

“What would you two be doing?” a familiar voice called from behind us.

Rothe turned immediately on instinct. “Commander Heist!” He rushed over to his superior’s side and came to attention saluting with a fist over his mouth, an act of promising to speak no lies. “We were clearing away the ruins so that you would be able to enter without wait, sir.”

He nodded shortly looking around the empty ancient chamber. “Indeed you have.”

I stepped over alongside. The man still made me anxious from time to time, but the intimidation that I felt from him before melted away. I could look at him without sweating profusely. That was something I appreciated at the moment. “You’re not going to begrudge us a little curiosity, are you Commander? We both worship Ministra, this is sacred to us both. I’d no more do anything to ruin this than him. I seek the truth and you a show of faith to Ministra. All we’ve done is shortened that goal for you.”

A bit of a curl in his lips came up as though he found something amusing. “Is it comfort or growth I see in you now? But you’re correct.” Heist walked around the chamber as we kept still. Even if I did feel better in his presence, he still was the man with the army. I wasn’t about to jeopardize my life with a bad action now. Not when I was this close.

He came to stop where he found us. “Not what I expected to find in Origin, but it is certainly of divine construct. What have you learned?”

“Honestly, not much.” It seemed that he granted us our permission. I approached him by the opening into a second chamber. “We only just found this and the Pillar. Clearing away everything took most of the time.”

“You sought the truth, Eshikra, let’s speak with Her. Mayhap, we can still prove ourselves worthy of Her.”

I nodded carefully. It was a difference of belief between us, but I didn’t think that She ceased to be proud of us. So I don’t know what he will find with Her. But hopefully it will be what he seeks as well.

Though to my surprise, he just started to climb through the hole carved through the wall. For a devoted people, I would have thought that he’d be a little more wary of sacrilegious acts such as entering Her home. Though perhaps like me, he saw the strange words and questioned if we were even correct about this being Her home. How much of what we claimed as fact about Ministra was assumption and falsehood in reality?

But even as I pondered the multitude of questions a hand struck me back from the other side. It snapped me out of my thoughts. With Rothe lifting me up and Heist pulled my hand bringing me inside.

Darkness surrounded me even with the small sample of light cutting in from the wound in the wall. It felt like the air itself dragged around me. A shiver went through my body with my heat being stolen away. As more time passed trying to look around the chamber I realized it wasn’t unease. “It’s cold. Even with the hole and heat from outside.”

“Yes, Ministra’s touch is powerful here. She controls all.” Heist stepped forward disappearing from my sight. What limited light from the structures within did little more than provide decoration. Yet suddenly, a snap of light blasted from the above blinding us. “Ministra? Your loyal servants have come!”

I tried to see what happened to Heist, but the light was too painful. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open fully. “Commander Heist? Are you well?” Blinking, my eyes didn’t seem to hurt as much, but even still remained a blur.

“Eshikra? Do you feel it? Her light washing over you?”

It seemed that he was still fine. Nothing happened, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I thought might have happened. Ministra wasn’t someone of wraith or emotions, so I don’t think She would have stuck us down for entering Her sacred grounds. If anything, She would be pleased with our curiosity. But what was this then? Why did She suddenly notice us and not before?

As my mind pushed around the questions, I noticed my eyes no longer strained to look. The chamber was well lit now and stretched at least twice as deep as what the Ganiza’s had built over it. Tiny specks of light impossible for a candle dotted the large box like shapes. Cylinders rose from the floor and bridged across with lines of blue dancing erately through.

Even with the Her light upon us, I never heard Her voice. Why does She not speak to us if She knows we’re here? I stepped deeper inside trying to understand the divinity crafted around me. Nothing that I saw could be made by any craftsmen I knew. It was knowledge beyond our understanding. And yet nothing more was in the sacred script.

I found Heist further back stalled just staring at a grayish white tower that made even him look small. It had a few others of similar design, but it failed to respond to us. What did She craft these tools for? Did they serve Her watch over us perhaps? Everything around us was made by the hand of God. We shouldn’t touch any of it, the voice yelled at me in the back of my head. Yet, this was touched by Ministra, is this how I would be able to speak to Her?

She didn’t respond when I touched the Pillar, only entering here. It looked damaged, how an object of divinity could be broken I didn’t understand, but could that have been why? This all looked alive. So I’d be fine touching here right? Even broken, She knew we were there.

The debate slowly came to an end as I stretched out towards the tower. Much like the Pillar, it looked impossibly crafted of perfection. Even at a glance, there were no imperfections or blemishes on the surface. She made a flawless surface.

My fingers finally contacted the edge. Smooth and cool like before. Yet nothing still. “Announcement! I’m Speaker Esikira, I’ve heard Your word. I’ve come to understand Your wisdom!” Silence filled the room in the conclusion of my plea. I looked over to Heist, who appeared a bit hopeful as well. His attempts to communicate failed as my did now as well. Did She truly leave us? But why did Her light grace us?

We stared for a minute, maybe two just hanging on the chance that She would still answer us. I was a Speaker. I heard Her word. Even if I never could speak to Her, She knew of me. I should have been able to prompt some action. Nothing.

A chirp came through the room drawing both of our attention. In the silence even a rat would have been noticed immediately. We followed it quickly to a different structure wider, though still boxy in shape with angled corners instead. A small light larger than the others flashed drawing our notice. “Ministra?”

It stopped. Nothing again. We leaned towards it a little trying to understand what the divine signal meant. But then a floating square appeared in front of us. We jumped back. Text appeared on the blue square matching Her word. “Presence detected within survey network. State authorization code.”

Code? “Announcement! Ministra, I didn’t think I would hear Your voice again. I’m Speaker Eshikra. Thank you for granting us an audience.”

“Authorization code incorrect. Project staff not verified. State identity.”

“I’m Eshikra, Ministra! A Speaker of Your word.”

“Data not found. Extrapolating from likely conditions. Eshikra is a local subject of Project Castellon. Local indigenous life should not be able to come in contact with the mainframe systems. Scanning conditions of isolation chamber. Damage detected to external wall from high plasma discharge. Acknowledged. Local Eshikra, state your purpose.”

Everything moved so quickly. She sounded just like out of the records, but directed to me. I couldn’t believe that She spoke to me. An insignificant Speaker was hearing Ministra for the first time, maybe ever? Had anyone else been able to speak to Her? When did the damage happen? She didn’t seem to know about it, which is strange. She knew everything, didn't She?

Heist however nudged me, reminded me not to keep Her waiting. “We heard Your word at the start of the year. I came to know what is the Termination? What happened, Ministra?”

“Local Eshikra, you lack the necessary knowledge to comprehend.”

“Please, Ministra, we wish to know. People are suffering, dying, lost and confused. We seek understanding as You have taught us.”

“Planet Etnera will be sterilized in 189 days due to NBV 46382-C. A gamma-ray burst will intersect with Etnera terminating all life. Study has been concluded as a result.”

I froze in place at the direct and calm statement. Her answer I didn’t understand, but I still felt. There was no hope or change to the path. Our end was unavoidable.