The Armistice
[[[[Historical Record]]]]
Solar Year 3698 AD (200 years ago)
The following is a historical record of the Armistice signing between the Ravens and collective humanity following the Ravens March and the systematic eradication of 99.999999% of all human life within the 26 galaxies that formed the core of the Asphoto Region of the Cosmos.
The war had been as brief and bloody as it was one sided. In a matter of three months over 678 trillion human lives had been extinguished by the Ravens and their vastly superior technology. The war was unprovoked and utterly catastrophic. What had started out as an incursion quickly became a route as the Ravens moved from planet to planet, from system to system, from cluster to cluster, from galaxy to galaxy, each attack a purge of those deemed inferior to themselves. However, this was the first time that the Ravens had deemed humanity worthy of conversation. After all the killing and horrors inflicted upon humanity, the Ravens on their Eve of their final victory having since made it to the ancient human home world of Earth, finally decided to converse with their victims.
President of the United Colonies Edward Drafus, Military Chief of Staff of the Untied Colonies Fleet Admiral Lancaster, and Chief of Zenobiology Research Dr. Oliver Drekk had just boarded the Raven ship orbiting Earth. This ship, a biomass of living machinery the size of the moon was wrapped around the Earth like a giant claw grappling its prize. The footsteps of the three men echoed through towering metallic corridors pulsating internally with what seemed to be a heartbeat. Together, the two men in black suits and the military officer dressed in white finery entered a vast chamber easily the size of any of Earths Mega-cities.
The room was spherical and at its core was a black bubble pulsating with energy and twirling in suspended animation with artificial gravity. The three men wobbled uneasily as additional artificial gravity beams activated, levitating up metallic plates to form a bridge across the vast chamber. Their feet tapped, drummed, along the floor as they approached the black sphere. Here, fleshly sticky pedestals ascended from the bottom of the chamber, and descended from the ceiling, to clutch the black pulsating sphere.
Screaming, no, it was actually binary static, a screech like nails on a chalkboard echoed loudly from within the ship and the black sphere shattered like glass causing a ripple within reality as it forced its way outward. There was now a naked woman suspended by long metal cables coming out of her back, hanging limply from the ceiling. Her arms and legs jerked and the cables slackened to lower her to the floor. The three… humans… were shocked as they took in her appearance.
She was in her twenties, female, with dark chocolate skin, red eyes, and long black hair. She also had sharp pointed ears like an elf.
The woman’s feet gracefully touched the ground with a wet smack as the cables detached from her back causing a splash of light green liquid to cascade into the air in a brief watery flurry. Her back, where the cables had been attached, phased into flesh as if the machinery had never been part of her body.
In silence she glanced at the three humans, ignoring them, and then she nodded briefly to some unseen entity. The red fleshy pedestal under her feet sent a wave of organic materials up her legs. The pink flesh, for the lack of a better term, formed around her body, and then it solidified into a black latex-like seamless catsuit with high heels, hardened plates on her chest, shins, and arms; with a raised collar around her neck.
President Edward Drafus cleared the air of shock and surprise by giving a fake cough, “I am the representative of the United Colonies summoned here to announce our unconditional…”
“I do not care,” she interrupted, “your surrender is irrelevant to us. We are here as a representation of infinite probability. The Raven exists as a possibility acknowledged and taken form by the universe. We mean you no harm…”
“Bullshit!!” yelled the Admiral, “You just killed 700 trillion people!!”
She eyed him with a degree of disdain, “To kill is to imply that we ceased their existence, but we did no such thing. We aborted their existence by deleting them from the timeline. With every human deleted, everything that entire person had accomplished had been removed as well. Therefore, ships and planets, constructed and settled, were reduced to non existence as the deletion of the one caused a chain reaction for deletion of the many. We never killed because they never existed to be killed. Therefore you are in error…”
“Deleted,” started Dr. Oliver Drekk, “how?”
The Raven smiled at him, “We used quantum variance to hack reality and remove the individual sources of variance through altering the invariable data attributed to the placement of mass in space as it exists-existed during a determined moment in time. In short, we found when people existed and deleted the data of their existences.”
“That’s the same thing as murder…” muttered the Admiral.
“No, it is not. You contribute existence as being finite. We Raven know better. The existence of an individual is maintained by the placement of their mass relating to what you call space and time. We are capable of determining the placement of all mass in existence at any given interval. Therefore, we are capable of disproving the existence of such mass by removing the numerical possibility of its existence. If you erase a person’s variable potential to exist then they cease to exist. Since these people never existed no murders were committed.”
“That’s fascinating… how do you do it?” Dr. Drekk studied the alien in fascination.
“The Raven are a symbiotic race that depends upon machinery in order to exist. Each Raven, both I and my ship, are one creature and together we have massive processing power. However, in order to know the location of all mass everywhere at all times you require computing power far in excess of me. Indeed, you require a quantum computer comparable in size to an entire galaxy. We are in possession of such a device. This device, like myself, exist separate from reality as you know it. Thus my arrival was transference like all Raven into your reality through allocating mass to create the numerical potential of our existence.”
“Separate from reality?”
“Yes, the Raven, the entire species is one entity. We exist separate from your reality but are capable of interjecting wherever and when we so desire. Our existence is a quantum variation of numerical possibilities manifested into being. In short, we exist because the infinite data of existence allows for our existence in the first place. We never evolved into being, we simply existed from the very beginning because the numerical algorithms allotted for it.”
“So what? You’re a bunch of gods?” sneered the Admiral.
“If you were to place a term in definition of our characteristics for existence… then yes, we are gods. We have existed from the beginning and we will always exist because the variation of possibilities allows for such a thing. This is because your entire species, incorrectly, views time as straight line. We do not. For Ravens time is a mere variation of numerical data and the possibility of outcomes dependent upon the placement of mass.
“Why did you attack us?” asked President Drafus, instantly garnering the attention of the entire assembled party.
“Attack?” she responded quizzically, “I suppose you mean, why did I delete so many humans?”
“Yes.”
“Because, the numerical data showed that humanity was about to die out due to overpopulation. In terms of your observable time span, humanity has/had 3 million years before extinction due to the overconsumption of resources within the universe. For yourselves, this seems highly trivial, but for our species it was a matter of concern. We deleted vast amounts of humans in order to draw your numbers into something more… manageable. If I recall correctly your species does similar things to creatures called deer.”
“People aren’t deer you crazy monster!!” yelled the Admiral.
“From your perspective that is an understandable point. However, your species has only obtained the most basic levels of technology required for expansionism, namely Warp travel. You have not mastered slipspace technology, quantum technology, or even the most basic of Fabric technology essential for altering the fabric of reality. We have determined that before you reach those technologies your species will die out and this universe will need to be reseeded. Therefore, we intervened. As for you being deer, given our technological apex… you are most certainly an inferior species. For humans, we understand that your egos might not be able to process the fact that you are so beneath us, but it is a simple fact. Not opinion.”
“We are not beneath you, you arrogant alien!!”
The Raven now turned to face the Admiral. She was calm and emotionless, much more like a machine than a person.
“It is not arrogance. The Raven, we, have mastered all technologies and also poses a thorough understanding of all the occult and scientific principles that govern creation. Your species does well not to blow itself up with nuclear weapons. It is not a matter of arrogance to reduce the population of your species down to something capable of surviving a prolonged time-span since we more than you act as the custodians to creation. It is our understanding that humanity thinks of itself as the natural owner of creation, but in reality you are mere tenants. And, as mere tenants we were well within our rights to kick you out for violating your lease.”
“This is absurd!!” yelled the admiral, furious, “Who are you to judge us!!”
“We are those who allowed you to exists, expand, consume, and in the end disappoint. The data upon your creation showed potential to become more than you are, but in the end all your entire species has become is a tremendous waste of resources. Thus, we reacted and culled your numbers down to something more manageable. We have stopped our purge of unnecessary data because the data streams now show that your potential to reach the same technological apex as ourselves has once again become a statistical probability.”
“In other words…” started to Dr. Oliver Drekk, “You stopped not out of compassion, but because your actions were no longer necessary.”
“Correct,” continued the Raven, “Our kind views humanity with the utmost degree of contempt. We only acted to preserve the possibility of your kinds continued evolution into something much like ourselves. If we had intended for your destruction to be complete, we would have left you to your own devices in the first place. In that regard you should be thankful that we interceded.”
The Admiral was about to interject when the Raven curtly looked at the President.
“Your armistice has already been signed and delivered to your office. I will return to my people shortly. Leave my ship and consider the matter settled. However, be forewarned. If humanity expands once again to consume all the resources in the 26 galaxies without first obtaining the basic understanding of Quantum Technology, then the Raven will return to cull your numbers such is the nature of our relationship.”
Before the three men could respond, they blinked their eyes and were once more within the Oval Office of the United Colonies Presidency Residency on ancient Earth. They had no clue how the Raven had managed to teleport them without them knowing, and the warship in planetary orbit had mysteriously vanished without a trace.
This story was submitted by Logan Snider for the AE Stories Event. Image belongs to Manthos Lappas and streetX222.
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