Alien wants Earth destroyed for universal safety |
"Supplicant Anseel Temis deCeer of the planet Tdieel, enter
the Chamber." Anseel cringed as the order boomed through the antechamber. The other petitioners looked at him with expressions ranging from surprise to anger. He understood the anger. Some of them had been waiting for days; he had just arrived. He started for the massive double doors that led into the Chamber of the Overlords. His crest quivered with nervousness. He reached up to smooth the drab brown feathers into place. His soft, useless flight feathers rattled in an apprehensive shudder. The doors swung open on silent hinges. Beyond loomed ominous darkness. He took several deep breaths, then stepped through. The doors closed with a soft sigh and the nothingness before him shimmered with pale light. Anseel smoothed his crest again, then remembered what his nest-mother had told him about Denesh Overlords. _You must face them with courage to gain their respect. Bearing matters far more to them than appearance. Be brave, little Groundling._ He stood straighter and raised his crest high. The pale light took form. Although he knew it was not real, Anseel's senses assured him he stood on one of the cold, dark, rocky worlds favored by the Denesh. Before him, three Overlords curled their long reptilian bodies on stony thrones. Their dark scales reflected the starlight with glimmers of rainbow color. High above, a fleet of Denesh warships hung silhouetted against the mists of a blue-green nebula. Anseel studied the ships, his beak rattling in awe. "We have read your petition, Tdieel deCeer." The Overlord's resonant voice jerked Anseel's attention back to the ground. "We find it intriguing. You have requested the destruction of the planet Earth across all dimensions. While we relish the challenge of pursuing this, such an endeavor is not undertaken lightly, nor is it without consequences." "I-- We understand, your Lordship." Anseel struggled to keep his voice steady. "However, doing nothing could have even more dire consequences." "Explain." Anseel took a shuddering breath and began his carefully rehearsed speech. "Using the multidimensional drive your people so graciously sold us, my colleagues and I undertook the study of the phenomenon of dimensional splitting caused by pivotal events. Our intention was to catalog what types of events cause the creation of new universes wherein each universe follows the path of a different outcome of the triggering event. During our research, we discovered an inordinate number of splits coming from a single nexus, Earth-prime. "Further investigation revealed these splits are so numerous they are thinning and weakening the fabric of the multiverse at the Earth locus. If that fabric tears, it could unravel across dimensions, and has the potential to destroy the multiverse as we know it." A rumbling issued from the Overlords, then another spoke. "Destruction of this world will end the threat?" Anseel nodded. "If you destroy every inhabited instance of the planet, it will." "How does one world cause such a threat?" "The inhabitants of this world have a form of entertainment in which they read, write, view, or otherwise participate in what they call 'fictions'--imaginary occurrences involving people, places, and creatures that never existed. These are not learning stories, not parables used to explain something or teach a lesson. They are pure fancy. Some recreate history, others create an unlikely future. Many have no basis in any reality or truth. "A number of these fictions are widely followed, to the point they are almost believed to be true, no matter how fantastic. This belief provides the power to create universes in which these fictions are real. Recently, this phenomenon has increased as expanding planetary communications have put more of the inhabitants in touch with one another, allowing them to share and create even more fictions. "Destruction of these fictions and of the people who believe in them results in the destruction of the universes they create. Destruction of all instances of Earth will prevent the creation of new ones. Thus we ask this favor of you not for ourselves, but for all life across all the instances of the universe." A long pause ensued. Low reverberations rumbled from the Overlords as they spoke to one another. After several moments, one of them addressed Anseel, "Your petition is granted. We will begin preparations immediately. Dismissed." # Four days later, Anseel received a message that the Denesh fleet had launched. As a tribute to those doomed by his petition, he opened the final file from Earth-prime. His colleagues had transmitted the information before leaving the condemned world. He needed to catalog the data, the last of the fictions, then he could close the case for good. He scanned through the translated stories, read a bit here, a bit there, to get a final sense of what the Overlords would destroy. As he skimmed the file, something caught his eye. He returned to the beginning of the fiction. His feathers stiffened and his heart pounded in horror as he read the first line: _"Supplicant Anseel Temis deCeer of the planet Tdieel, enter the Chamber."_ |