Blessed is the Mind Too Small for Doubt

There are two groves. One is good. One is bad. Everyone begins in the good grove. Many people go to the bad grove. Beware the bad grove. The clever, the curious, the foolhardy, the doubtful, confused, the wicked, the crafty, the brooders, the angry one, they all tread to the edge of the good grove, and once they step into the bad grove, they can never return. Each grove lives off the energy of each person who lives in them. The more who reside in one, the strong it becomes, and until eventually one will overpower the other, and plunge our world under its control.

The Reader set down The Prophecy. I had heard it before. Everyone had. From one cover to the other, we all had. It had been engrained into our minds since we could understand the first word of it.

“Blessed is the mind too small for doubt!” cried the Reader. “Blessed it is!” called back the audience. With that, everyone began to get up and leave. I shifted my weight. The shoulder armor on the left side still wasn’t balanced quite right. The gun at my right was locked to the right arm, with its barrel pointed straight up along my arm, as it should be. At my left, the Sword was clutched, with the tip firmly planted in the ground. It was a painful position at first, looking ridged and perfect, and yet my finger still clutched the trigger and my wrist was pulled back to hold the grip of my gun, so I would be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. It was a painful position, but I was the Commander and had to live with it. At least I wasn’t Janson, who got stuck with roof duty. Poor guy was probably drenched with the rain, his body armor weighing twice as much as the padding got soaked. He was stuck up there, scanning the sky for any attacks, yet stuck with his gun at his left in the same position as mine, while his right had to hold up in the firing position a homing rocket launcher. I knew he was in pain, but that is what all Soldiers had to do when they were the newest recruit. After that, he would be inside, and have to hold his gun nice and rigid like the rest of us inside.

A voice on my commlink said, “Commander, once the civilians leave, report immediately with your squad to the Command Fortress. We’ve got a job for you.” The voice was unmistakably Gabriel’s, even with the distortion from the earpiece and transmission devices. “Roger that. Should we pick something up to eat on the way, Gabe?” I responded. “Negative, Michael, get straight here.” Gabriel responded. I smiled. I whispered the commands to the squad through the commlink, and immediately heard Janson. “Commander, does that mean I can get out of the rain now?”

“Negative, just use the jump packs and get down when you see us leave.”

“Feh, you’re not the one soaked up here.”

“Bika. Just do as you’re told.”

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Over and out, sir.”

I saw the last of the civilians leave, and the Reader finally picked up The Prophecy from the stand, and locked it in the Titan safe. I walked up to him and presented the Sword to him. He took it and placed it in the display case. The doors closed with a hiss to lock in the two sacred treasures.

“Ok, men, let’s move out,” I called.

Carefully they each came out of the ceremonial stance and into battle readiness, each holding their guns across their chest so they could quickly pull it into firing position. Then, they each formed the standard double lines to exit. On the way out, we heard a loud roar and saw Janson swooping down from the roof using his jetpack. Somberly and alert, they reformed into the three-by-three grid, and began a quick march to the Command Fortress. The hard metal of our armor clanged in unison with the hard stone streets. There wasn’t much light except from the surrounding buildings and the lights mounted on our suits. Suddenly, Janson’s voice came on the line. “Sir, the radar shows something coming, and it’s big.” Quickly everyone came to battle ready. As we each scanned using our infrared and normal vision through our helmets, nothing could be heard except the patter of rain and the breathing through the link. Gabriel’s voice suddenly crackled over the link. “Commander, we have two unidentified units coming down the street. Stay alert, and fire on sight.”

Janson suddenly started firing his gun, but nothing happened. “Bika! Stop shooting at shadows, Janson. Don’t waste the bullets if you can’t hit something.” I recognized it as Samuel. The critic of the group. He was always cynical, but a deadeye and a perfectionist when in battle.

Two dots of red showed up on my infrared vision, and the group began slowing moving toward it. Then, we began to make out a human shape. The only difference was a strange hex on their forehead. “Heretics!” Janson cried, and we all opened fire. The Heretics turned and ran, but they were dispatched before they could get very far. Once they were dead, and nothing else stirred, we formed up and headed off to the Command Fortress.

* * * * *

“Good work dispatching those Heretics,” Gabriel commented. Janson still looked a little shaken. I tried to explain. “Janson, it’s alright. Those people aren’t humans anymore. They’ve been seduced and taken by the Dark Grove. If we kill people that the dark grove controls, then the Dark grove will have less power. That’s our mission, to destroy the Dark grove so the Light grove can win.” “Listen to your Commander. He knows his Prophecy,” Gabriel said. “Now, to business. The reason I need your squad is to seek out and destroy a Heretic band. We have information that there is a network of them living in the Waste. Your mission is to find it, kill any Heretics there, and see if you can follow any contacts or connections there to other Heretic contacts. You’re on your own until you find a trail, then and only then back-up will be authorized.”

“No other support?”

“Nothing.”

“Why not?”

“I, we, can’t afford to throw in support firepower. Our resources are thin in that area, and we can’t afford to launch a full-out strike either, or any leads we could have may be destroyed. This is a surgical strike. Once we have leads to other clusters in their network, a full-out attack may be worthwhile.”

“Fine.”

“I don’t like that tone Michael.”

“Sorry, Gabriel.”

Gabriel turned to the screen behind him. A map appeared of the area, blue dots showing where our troops were and red where there were known Heretics. A few gray dots caught my eye. “Gabriel, what are those gray dots there?” Gabriel muttered a curse under his breath, “The Imperial Guard has been stationed in a few positions. Apparently someone higher up feels we aren’t doing a very good job. If you help root out this group of Heretics, maybe we’ll be redeemed in their eyes.” He pointed to the map at a small cluster of red dots. “That’s the target area. There’s been reported activity there, but no one’s investigated it yet. Not much intel for you guys, but I’m uploading the information we have to your neuralnets now.” There was a quick sensation in the back of our heads, and the information was there in our minds. The data showed lots of rocks, low levels of radioactivity so we wouldn’t need special suits, and lots of dirt. It didn’t seem like we needed any special equipment except the standard anti-air missile launcher and a sniper rifle. There were no recorded explosions, so excavation was unlikely and thus no underground caverns that we would have to deal with. All weaponry and ammunition would be in full stock so we wouldn’t run out in case we were stranded, and the transportation was going to be a Carrier, the basic land vehicle with mounted turrets. “Requesting an Acolyte, sir.” I called. “Granted.” Gabriel then turned to us and nodded. We knew that meant leave, and good luck.

* * * * *

We loaded up all the necessary equipment and armaments into the standard Carrier. At a quick glance, it looked like every other armored vehicle with its large treads, large metal frame, and a few sensors sticking out of the front to allow the driver to navigate. The Carrier, though, was outfitted with four turrets, each manned by a Gunner. Also, the back had been changed into troop carrier, with the large loading area modified with benches and a few light fixtures in the ceiling. The rear doors were also heavily armored and opened like a gigantic drawbridge. Since it was a modified supply craft, the rear cargo space was closed off from the driver’s station, but there were ways to communicate by commlink, even through the heavy reinforced steel walls. Also, if the Soldiers inside wanted to, they could hook their neuralnets into the Carrier’s mainframe to see readings from the sensors and other data that the Carrier’s computer system had available.

The Acolyte suddenly appeared just as we were preparing to load in ourselves and head out. “Acolyte James here,” he cried. Everyone turned and saw a scrawny young man. He was lean, had black hair that flowed down to his shoulders. He was dressed in the usual gray garb covering his white robe, and carried on his waist a belt of various ointments and a few religious articles. I was fairly annoyed that Gabriel had sent this kid, but he did say that their resources were low. Someone shouted from the squad, “Kid, you look unready for a Heretic. You’ll flip over when the first bullet flies!” “Quiet in the ranks!” I cried over my shoulder. When I looked at James in the eyes, though, I saw a glowing fire. This kid has much to prove, I thought. “James,” I said, “I believe that you should demonstrate your capabilities.” James’ mouth drew thin into a smirk. “Gladly.”

He turned around and rummaged in his cloak. Then, he whirled around and fired from a small plasma pistol. It hit me square in the shoulder and seared into the muscle. I winced in pain, but then it ceased. I looked at my shoulder, and saw the skin regenerating over the wound. I glanced at James and saw his hands holding a small rod. Its tip glowed blue. I recognized it as an advanced healing stick, wielded by higher level Acolytes. This little kid was actually part of the Upper Ring, and probably trying for the Reader Exam. His raw power was clearly evident, and the fire in his eyes showed an equal raw skill.

“James, you’re quite qualified to be a part of this mission. Welcome aboard.” I heard groans behind me as I said this, and knew they hadn’t seen the blaster shot and many didn’t recognize the healing stick. “Quiet in the ranks!” I shouted again. “Load up, we’re moving out!” This command brought different sounds, remarks that usually come with the excitement of battle. I walked over to James and smiled. He smiled back, almost like the little kid he still was. I escorted him into the Carrier, climbed in myself, and took a quick survey of my squad. Nine men, not including myself, all equipped and prepared for a mission against a deadly enemy. What could be better than this feeling on the edge of battle?

I pushed the button on the wall and the doors rumbled closed. “Driver, let’s move out,” I commanded into my commlink.

* * * * *

I awoke in the dark as the driver announced we were entering the Waste. I could see from the dim lights the squad was either sleeping or listening. It took a minute to figure out who was talking, but then I realized it was James. He was talking about The Prophecy.

“You see, the Prophet wrote down The Prophecy. He had seen the world in turmoil long enough and saw too many people lost and ruining the world. He then was gifted with a vision of the different world, where our very souls wander the Groves. He saw souls walk into the Dark grove and become consumed by it. He tried to rescue others from the same fate, but then the vision ended. He then wrote down what he saw in The Prophecy, and we have lived by it ever since.”

There were murmurs among the audience. They had enlisted in the military training, and had never learned about the stories behind The Prophecy. Even though they had heard it hundreds of times from Readings or from guard duty for Readings, they hadn’t been exposed to the tales of how it came about. James continued once it quieted down. “The never ending goal is to keep people from wandering into the Dark Grove. It seduces, it tricks, it lies, and it lives off the evil hidden in each one of us. With training, we can keep it locked away and under our command, but once your release it and let it consume any part of you; you become slaves to the Dark Grove. The Heretics believe they are correct, that the power from their dark arts is strong. They pay dearly, though, for that power. They pay with their very souls. Beware the lies, the…” And snort interrupted him. “Are we there yet,” muttered Janson, then he nodded off again, this time snoring very loudly.

“Permission to shoot and heal Janson,” said James. “Denied,” I responded over a few murmurs for “Granted.”

“Sir,” came a voice over the commlink, “I have a few Heretics on my scopes. Should the turrets engage?”

“Negative.”

“Roger that sir. Um, sir?”

“Yes?”

“Who’s that snoring over the commlink, sir?”

“That would be Janson. Let the rookie rest, OK?”

“Roger that sir. Over and out.”

I sighed. Shooting at a few Heretics wasn’t worth it. I knew if we scared them away, but didn’t kill them, they’d be more on alert since they had been spotted. I wanted leads, and we had to catch them lax. “Coming up on the Nuclear Ravine. Stay sharp on those turrets,” I heard over the commlink. I brought up the map of the area on my neuralnet and saw the gorge. I groaned as I saw that intel really was bad. The map had been reconstructed in the areas the Carrier had gone through, which meant that the previous surveyors had done poorly and the scopes on the Carrier had corrected the map’s landscapes.

The Ravine was a particular place of radioactive readings, and was dubbed Nuclear Ravine since a stockpile of nuclear weapons from long ago had accidentally exploded there during a raid against the Heretics. It wasn’t a true ravine, but more of a scar across the rocks. The pass through it sunk below the ground, and the remnants of the explosion piled large mounds of dirt and rock on the edges, giving the illusion of being in a canyon, and making the pass the only way through the area. To go around, you’d have to circle for several miles to avoid the rubble. The accident destroyed tons of weaponry, and created a nuclear wasteland, now called the Waste. There were still pockets of nuclear radiation in the Waste, but most was now inert and only existed under the protective layers of metals poured on the ground to help shield from the underground radiation still in the water and deeper sands. It was also a perfect place for ambushes.

“Heretics spotted,” called a voice, “I’d say about three.”

“Turrets 1 and 3 report activity. Commander Michael, may we open fire?” called the driver.

“Negative. Keep going. Let them believe their spying on us hasn’t been noticed. There’s not enough to impact their population.”

“Roger that.”

Janson was still snoring. Now it was a deep snoring from the back of his throat. James had given up trying to talk over the snores, and was getting a little rest himself. Samuel was busy cleaning his gun. The sniper gun was completely dismantled and he was cleaning each piece. His pistol lay on the bench next to him, partly disassembled. It looked like he had started on the pistol, but changed his mind and started on his sniper gun instead. It was also the third time he was cleaning every speck of dust off his sniper rifle since we left the Command Fortress, and he hadn’t fired a shot from it yet. “He certainly loves that weapon, eh Commander?” whispered someone. I turned to my left and saw John. He was slouching in his seat. “Just like you love watching all of us, right?” I answered. John just smiled. He was the smartest of the squad, but very lazy. “You guys are just so interesting to watch,” he said.

“We’re almost out of the Ravine, sir. There are more Heretics now. They all have the Hex. May we open fire?” came the voice of the driver.

“Wait until there’s at least fifteen.”

“Roger that sir.”

“Where are they coming from?”

“Can’t see it, sir. We just keep seeing a few heads pop over the ledges and rocks to watch us, sir.”

“Thank you.”

“Um, sir? There is a large reading coming up on our scanners. Looks like radiation. Be advised.”

I groaned. There wasn’t supposed to be any radiation in this area. I hooked my neuralnet into the Carrier’s mainframe. Instantly my mind accessed the system, and in my mind I saw the readings. There was definitely radiation ahead, dead center where our path was. I wasn’t worried too much, since the Carrier’s insides were impervious to radiation, but if we were attacked no one could leave the inside of the carrier without being exposed to large quantities of radiation poisoning. Also, the reports had picked up nothing of this magnitude in the area before we left. Curious, I switched to the visual scopes. The path was fairly rugged, except a small crater dead ahead.

Then it hit me.

I overlapped the radiation scan over the visual scope, and they both pointed to the crater. The crater was the source of radiation.

It was also made recently.

“Driver, abort path,” I said, as calm as I could.

“Pardon sir?”

“Abort your current path. We need to take an alternative.”

The tension in my voice began to arouse the squad.

The driver’s voice came in again. “Sir, we are in the middle of a ravine. There is no alternative. We also don’t have enough fuel to take a detour around the entire ravine either.”

“Driver, for the last time abort the path.”

“Commander, I have been given my orders, and from what I can tell there is no alternative. I must override you this time, sir.”

“Driver, evade. It’s a trap.”

The Heretics must have been listening to our transmissions.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the Carrier. I was still connected to the Carrier’s mainframe, and saw instant reports of damage to the underbelly. We had run into a planted minefield. The Carrier’s full weight came crashing back down jolting everyone awake and ready.

“Driver, activate the reverse drive and all turrets may fire at will.” “Good to hear it Commander, my sentiments exactly.” I set my teeth and tried to remain calm. “Driver, now is not the time to be sarcastic. Just carry out the orders.”

“Of course, Commander,” came the voice again, but I realized it wasn’t the driver’s. “Of course, he would comply if he wasn’t dead at the moment,” the voice said.

“Who is this?”

“Why, don’t you know? Seriously Michael, I’m appalled that you forgot my voice so soon. I thought you had vowed to track me down and kill me.”

I quickly disconnected my neuralnet. I began to sweat and shiver. It was Joseph. He had once been my superior officer, but betrayed his squad during a raid and disappeared into the Heretic fold, leaving me and the squad without a Commander. If I hadn’t stepped up, we would have been slaughtered. When we returned, I was instantly promoted and assigned the rank of Commander and given my own squad. I vowed during my commendation acceptance speech to use my squad to hunt down the man who betrayed me.

“Joseph, what is the meaning of this?” I shouted into my commlink.

“Of, we don’t mean to kill you, and didn’t mean any harm. But, the driver would have run your Carrier from our trap and the turret gunners would have shot us, so of course they had to be, how do I say it, dispatched.” responded the voice.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Our guns can’t penetrate the Carrier’s hull. We only have snipers. But, of course you can’t leave the Carrier this close to a nuclear radiation area.”

“Joseph…”

“Now, if you’ll be so kind as to wait right there, we’ll be sending another driver down to take you away. I’m sure you’ll comply, since you can’t do anything else except wait.”

The commlink went dead. I looked around. The men were looking at me strangely. Apparently Joseph’s commlink hack had only cut into my commlink’s receiver. The other men were oblivious to what I had heard. They didn’t know that they were defenseless, a few feet away from a nuclear pit, and had Heretic snipers trained on the Carrier. I tried to feign ease, but my clenched fists and set teeth didn’t help the situation.

The Carrier began to move again. It was moving forward; past the crater, and into hostile territory.

* * * * *

I heard Joseph’s voice again. “I suggest you tell your men that they are in a Heretic base, with automated guns trained on the Carrier’s door. Also, you had better tell them that in thirty minutes the rocket launchers will be here and the Carrier nothing but a molten, twisted clump of metal. Furthermore, you had better inform them that they should disarm their weapons and throw them out the doors far away from the Carrier. Oh, and this little bit is just for you. Don’t try to conceal any weapons. Your driver’s neuralnet filled us in quite nicely about what armaments you have. Too bad the map was so shoddily done.” The commlink went dead. I took off my helmet, and slowly the rest of my squad took off theirs.

James was finished by now with his healing stick on any injuries incurred during the ambush. Samuel’s sniper rifle was reassembled. Janson looked pale, and a bag at his feet stank of puke.

“Gentlemen, I have been informed that we are to disarm all weapons, open the doors, and throw them out. They have guns trained on us. In thirty minutes they will kill us if we don’t comply, and we can’t try to keep any since they downloaded the mission schematics from the driver.” I tried to keep a steady tone in my voice as I continued to explain what had happened. Even as I spoke several men were unloading pistols and rifles. Samuel stubbornly tried to take pieces out of some of the weapons to construct a new one while keeping the illusion that the others had not been tampered with. Twenty minutes later, I opened the doors.

Out of the Carrier, everyone peered into a dimly lit hanger. The walls were almost completely metal, and turrets were mounted in the walls. The hanger was empty from what we could see and the emptiness and echoes of our murmurs gave the impression that there was nothing we could run to for cover. Steadily we began throwing out weapon after weapon. Samuel finally gave up on his attempt to build a weapon and threw out the parts. Janson began shake and clutched his automatic rifle nervously. John was casually napping in a corner.

James and Janson started whispering together in the corner. James was making motions and Janson was reluctantly listening. Suddenly, Janson bolted from the Carrier. Instantly, turrets opened fire, but Janson kept running. “Bika, he’s gonna get creamed,” yelled Samuel. James just kept running in circles and screaming, just outside the Carrier’s rear doors. I glanced at James and saw his stick glowing, which explained why Janson was still running around with his body almost torn to shreds. Finally, though, Janson turned around and came running back to the Carrier. His automatic rifle had been shot to shreds, and he wasn’t looking very good. Scared crazy he leapt back into the Carrier, and the guns stopped.

Everyone was silent. The last few guns left were immediately thrown out. In a few minutes Janson finally got a hold of himself and described the hanger. It was completely empty, and there were at least ten turrets ready to fire on us. There was only one door, but it was guarded by two entrenched turrets. Most of the walls were dirt held up by metal mesh, or rock with steel reinforcing bars. The wall our doors faced which was the only one almost entirely covered with metal. Turrets were mounted in the metal ceiling as well as all the walls. After his hasty report, he fainted, and James’ stick stopped glowing.

The squad became a little unnerved. There was no training for this; they had never considered being held captive by Heretics. It was always training on how to attack the Heretics, or how to evade them, or strengthening their minds against supposed dark arts of mind control. They never expected to actually be held captive in such a sophisticated base. They were sitting ducks held captive without any real firepower, and a dead commlink system. Some even began to swear under their breath, a few others were fervently praying or reciting The Prophecy.

The commlink came alive again. I put on the helmet, and heard Joseph’s voice, “So, trying to run and hide? Not going to work. I hope your friend has informed you that it’s impossible to escape, even with an Acolyte to help. But still, I’m a compassionate person. Here’s the deal. Michael, you are to exit the Carrier without any armor and exit through the door. If your men so much as twitch, all of you will die. If you don’t do this quickly, you’ll all die in your Carrier. Your ‘choice.’” The commlink went dead again.

I removed my helmet.

I removed my leg armor, the chest armor, and then paused.

And then I removed the rest of my armor in succession.

I commanded the squad to stay put in the Carrier. They nodded silently, as if I was going to my grave and I had just pronounced they would die too. The lives of all my men weren’t worth it. Maybe I could work out their release, and they could get help. There were too many maybes.

I exited the Carrier doors.

The turrets followed me but didn’t fire.

The door opened as I neared it, and swooshed smoothly shut as Heretics escorted me through.

* * * * *

Joseph‘s appearance didn’t seem much different except for the hex I saw on his forehead. He looked like a normal person, with a natural lean, smooth clean jaw and trim body, and was the first Heretic I’d seen without the robes and armor. Nothing was extreme about any feature, except for a scar on his nose from a fight. “So, now that you’re here, what ever shall we do with you?” he said. After a beat, I finally opened my mouth. “I would like you to release my men.”

Joseph’s eyebrows raised a little. “And why would you want that? I’ve promised not to hurt anyone, and we only kill to ensure our own security. Otherwise you would be another crater right now in the Ravine.” Thousands of thoughts ran through my mind. Was I here to be tortured? Would they try to use my neuralnet to extract secrets? No, they would know I’m too strong, and the neuralnet can be wiped clean in an instant by a trained Soldier.

“Still wondering why I’ve let you live? Tut, tut my old friend. It’s because we’re here to save you and your men,” he taunted.

“Save us? From what?”

“From your own foolishness, from The Prophecy.”

“What’s wrong with The Prophecy?” I said cautiously.

“Ah, is that doubt that I hear?”

“No, just defending my beliefs so I won’t become consumed by darkness and the Dark Grove.”

Joseph rolled his eyes. “You still don’t understand, do you?” he muttered. “After all these years. Didn’t you ever once wonder why that squad made it out alive when I joined the Order? We didn’t open fire on you after I left. After I ‘defected’ to the Order, the soldiers there didn’t fire until you gave the orders to eradicate them.” I wasn’t moved. “Come now, Michael. Why didn’t I just ‘defect’ and let open a rain of bullets and plasma on you and the men right then and there? You were outnumbered, and yet the doorway out of the building was unprotected and we let you escape without a chase? Please, we aren’t that disorganized. Our hanger should have told you that.”

He stood up from behind his desk.

“You were spared. The Order doesn’t want to kill. We kill out of necessity.”

I decided to speak up. “Joseph, the Heretics are evil and blinded by darkness.”

“Wrong, you are blinded by ‘light.’”

I stopped short of punching him. He continued, “The Prophecy isn’t the end all of truth. In ancient times, there were other beliefs. You would call them heretics and infidels, but they loved and believed their ways just as fervently.”

He motioned to a seat. I inspected it, then sat down. He sat down behind his desk again. He sighed. “It’s not going to be easy to hear, but I have to tell you the truth. It’s because it’s my duty as a member of the Order, it’s because it’s my duty to spread the truth, but mostly because I can’t stand you living in their lies.” I cringed inside. He had just done some of the greatest blasphemy I knew of. If we were back at the Fortress, he would have been shot instantly. Here, I was under guard and had to listen and put up with it.

“It started a long time ago. This whole world, built upon the ideas of one man. You call him the Prophet. That’s what he signed his book as. He wasn’t a saint, as you believe. The story has been warped with time. He was just ordinary, but with ideas. He was called a philosopher.”

“He was a saint and gifted by the Groves.” I interrupted. He ignored me and went on.

“He was just an ordinary man. He decided to put forth his ideas about how people should live, to live well, to live with truth. He believed that people who do wrong once are invaded by it, and then become a breeding place for evil. Steal once, and you will probably steal again. Cheat once, and you’ll keep on cheating as long as you aren’t caught. So, to make them stop, you punish the wrongdoers. Your kind of punishment is quite brutal. You call it Correction, but we call it murder. Back then the punishment was simply to be put in jail or fined money. The Prophet’s belief was that people should abstain from wrongdoing, and the world would be a better place. He illustrated this by the picture of two groves of trees.”

Joseph paused. I fidgeted a little. He was telling me nothing new yet, except that the Prophet was not actually anointed. Joseph took a deep breath and then spoke again. “There’s one major flaw, though. He was not accepted by the public. He was a poor man, classified as a criminal and stationed in a mental insanity ward.” I bit my lip. Joseph spoke again, “His work had to be put under a pseudonym, and he called his philosophy book The Prophecy by the Prophet. If you don’t believe me, here’s a copy.” Joseph reached under his desk and pulled out an old box. Inside was a simple book. Nothing fancy, just simple bound paper. A red cover, and white words imprinted on it. It didn’t look like any of the sacred texts we had now. It was just a simple book, like the ones that were destroyed recently from a hidden stockpile. Any book besides The Prophecy deterred a person’s concentration and allowed doubt to enter their minds, they told us. It was necessary to destroy them. I didn’t care; I just put a torch to them. I never thought about it until know. Damn you, Joseph, for making me doubt my own actions I thought.

“It’s a fake,” I proclaimed. “Fine, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” said Joseph. He closed the box and put it away.

“People said it was a new idea. Soon, a small cult was formed around it just like any idea. As time went on, they began to take it to be a holy book. The very first edition was held on a pedestal. Richard Brown, who wrote the book, later died of natural causes. The cult mourned his death, and saved his DNA. They hoped by with cloning they could revive their great philosopher, what was called the Return of the Prophet. Unfortunately, the DNA vial was lost before cloning was made feasible, and the purpose behind the idea was soon lost in the sands of time. They set up a secluded camp where they lived by the ideals of the book and the philosophy of The Prophecy, hoping to unlock further secrets of how to help keep the Light Grove strong and how to defeat the Dark Grove. One day, a member of the growing enclave proclaimed that the Prophet had intended that they should help bring about the coming of the Light Grove. His reasoning was that any that were of the Dark Grove must be killed, so that it would lose its power, and the Light Grove will eventually overwhelm it. The cult agreed, and the Second Crusades began.”

I held up a hand. “This is all very interesting, but what proof do you have?” I said. “All I’ve heard is a bunch of talk and a little old book. This just sounds like a lie. The Second Crusades were lead by the Prophet himself!” Joseph shook his head. “No, they weren’t. Also, the Second Crusades weren’t an eradication of evil people like they tell you. No, it was a silent \, systematic assassination of anyone who wasn’t part of their cult. Their numbers grew, and soon they controlled entire nations. Anyone who resisted was killed, and the next generation was indoctrinated with their beliefs. If anyone rose up against them, they were killed. Also, the entire family was often wiped out, so that there was no dissent from them unless they pleaded for their lives and were exceptionally devout.”

“Lies”

“No, the truth. Your holy Crusade was closer to a butchering. Many innocent people died, some were simply questioning fine points and were quickly silenced. Most joined because of fear, but couldn’t prevent their children from becoming brainwashed members or else they would die with their children slaughtered before their eyes.”

I pondered this. How could this be true? And yet, he spoke so calmly as if they were simple facts. Yet, he still hadn’t shown any proof. “How did the Order come about?” I asked. Joseph smiled. “The Order was a group formed by the resisting nations. It was actually founded by a group of people known as Christians, for their knowledge and strong faith.” I cringed. The word of such pacifists was unnerving. How could the Light Groves victory come by gentle actions of mercy? Joseph continued unfazed. “There were also the Islamic, for their military tactics, and Buddhists, for their skills of fasting when food supplies were short, and so many other groups all rallied against the wave of death. It was a secret organization designed to help stop the killing. We’ve battled in open wars before, but eventually we believed that we couldn’t win. The infestation and connections of the cult were too widespread and too strong for open war, so we went into hiding to slowly prevent innocent bloodshed. That’s where the proof comes in, at least proof that you might believe. Name one time that we raided your towns.”

I couldn’t think of any.

“Name one time that there was an attack from our side,” Joseph persisted.

I couldn’t think of any.

“What, the great evil Heretics have never actually done something evil and vile? We actually haven’t ever killed your people? Of course, there were times cities were saved and soldiers killed in self-defense, but have we ever taken the offensive?”

I strained my memory to all the history I knew and all the missions I had been assigned to. I couldn’t think of a single time.

Joseph leaned forward in his chair, and said, “OK, now name one time you invaded us, or fired upon us first, or attacked us, or massacred us, or laid siege on our towns, or killed our children.”

I could think of ten just in the last year that I participated in.

Joseph chuckled a little. “Sometimes, I laugh that there are people assigned to guard duty over your Readings. Not once has there been an attack on one, and yet there’s always a squad there to prevent one. You have anti-air weapons for planes we never send, you have snipers and flame throwers for the mob that never comes, and you opened fire just yesterday on two kids walking your streets.” Joseph paused again. “Unarmed kids, mowed down on your streets. Never has The Order done this, only you.”

Joseph turned to a small console on his desk. He fiddled with a few controls and then a crackle came out of a speaker. “Commander Joseph. Your job is to eradicate a small settlement of Heretics. It is believed that they were part of the recent explosions in Sector 5A.” The voice was Gabriel’s. I was listening to a recorded transmission. “Sir, that settlement is in Sector 1G, how could they be involved?” That voice was Joseph’s. “We have the intel. Just follow the orders,” responded Gabriel’s voice.

A holographic picture appeared. I saw a picture of a few shacks and homes. It was a neuralnet recording, which can be stored for later viewing to ensure the missions were done according to protocol. The view started to run down the hill with other Soldiers around him. Screams came out of the houses as people began streaming out. A few Heretics grabbed weapons and tried to fire and stop the oncoming attack, but then streams of bullets began to tear into the little city. Mothers with children had their blood mix together. Several lay dying and moaning. A child screamed as his mother fell on top of him, dead. He was silenced with a quick burst of lead. Then, the feed stopped.

I had never seen this. I had never known that such a massacre of women and children had been carried out. All the battles I had been a part of were against an installation or a roving band of armed Heretics. This was the first time I saw the deadly carnage of innocents wiped off the face of this world.

Joseph looked at me with a mixed face. He seemed angry and grieved at the same time. “That was my personal feed. All neuralnets automatically record what the person sees and hears, but I stored this one away. It gnawed on me until I eventually left and joined The Order. Also, later it was discovered that the explosions in Sector 5A were caused by a foolish mechanic who accidentally set off a charge in the warehouse, and the stored ammunition went off like a chain reaction. The Order wasn’t involved at all.” Joseph turned to face me and looked me straight in the eyes. In them I saw hatred, pain, but also they were comforting in a weird way. “You know those kids you killed in the streets this morning?” he asked. I nodded.

“My son was one of them,” Joseph said.

Red lights burst on. A siren started blaring urgently. Joseph stood up just as the door blasted open. Gun fire and plasma came from the smoke, taking out the guards and Joseph in a clean blow before they could fire one bullet. Gloved hands grabbed me and pulled me through the smoke. I heard gunfire and smashing glass down the halls, voices shouting and yells of pain.

I was dragged down the metal halls and thrown into a Carrier outside. “We have the Commander. How many of the crew do we have?” came a voice. “We have all except Janson, sir. Apparently he bolted when the fighting started and was killed,” came a response. “Ok, then, let’s get out of here. Call in an air strike and the clean-up squads to see if we can get any information from the rubble.”

The Carrier doors sealed shut and the Carrier began to move away. A few moments later, a series of explosions rocked the Carrier. “Got those Heretics,” said another voice.

The man next to me took off his helmet. It was Gabriel. “So, you though we had left you out to dry? We had a homing device attached in your Carrier. Thought maybe the Heretics were smart enough to lay a trap. Looks like they did. Hey, Michael, you OK? You don’t look so good.”

I smiled. “Good to see you Gabriel,” I said weakly.

A man behind Gabriel turned his head and stared through his helmet. He turned to Gabriel and whispered in his ear. Gabriel’s eyebrows rose with surprise, then his eyes narrowed and he put back on his helmet. “Michael, how could you. Of all people,” he said. “What? What’s wrong?” I exclaimed.

Gabriel pulled out his pistol from its holster.

“You have the hex of the Heretics on your forehead,” he said.

He pointed the barrel at the hex like it was a bulls-eye, and pulled the trigger.

The End