บท 98: Chapter 14: Sadie Allen
'In the age of a post-scarcity society, we need purpose in our lives more than ever. Even on run down planets like Hercules 2, we need purpose in our lives! You have been living in an age of the fulfilled for way too long, with your bodies overstimulated, your senses dulled, and your mind corrupted.'
'In this age, I will show you a purpose.'
'In this age, I will show you what you can achieve if you pursue the path of Hercules.'
The villagers on this small ocean planet listened to the priest's preaching somewhat attentively, the children that were forcibly brought along have already grown tired of his words, but only sat still on the chairs and bobbed their feet together back and forth just so they won't get scolded later. The adults in the crowd reacted a lot differently to his words though, and some of them began to nod in agreement.
'The great God of labor rewards those that labored. Now, go rest for the next few hours and reflect upon these words before you continue your work!' The priest, satisfied with the reactions that he was seeking out, concluded this morning's session and sent everyone away. As the crowds of people got up and left the temple made of stones and local plants, the priest lets out a long sigh of relief and sat back onto the chair behind him.
That's another day in the books, and it appeared the settler's of this island are much more accepting of his ideals than some of the other ones that he will be going to later in the week.
This is Hercules 2, an Ocean planet. The Hercules system was one of the first few systems to be colonized in the early age of the Great Expansion, and when a majority of the human population have moved on to even more 'central' systems by current day standards, those that live on this rural equivalent of a planet are those that sought a different life, or those that can't really afford to live in the more central areas.
As ironic as it is, capitalism always finds a way to impose its will on the human minds. The ocean planet was mostly untouched, and residents lived on a cluster of islands near the equatorial regions. It gets exceedingly windy in the evenings, so most people live in underground houses or naturally occurring caves. The stone temples are positioned in the middle of a small crater, and several structures have been propped up all around it to protect it from the harsh winds.
His name is Sadie Allen, and he is the messenger of the God of Labor, Hercules.
Born on the barren old earth, he grew up in a farm family of work and labor. Despite the technological advancements throughout the more central areas of the a galaxy, his family seemed to enjoy a more hard-earned life, akin to those that were lived by people before the full transition into automation. He enjoyed and valued hard work, and thought that all of the races are able to stand at the pinnacle of intergalactic advancements because of hard work and labor. It is with the work of billions of hands that great civilizations are built.
He longed to be one of the builders when he grew up, and he looked forward to push the species even further forward.
Then, Sadie took a trip into the central regions, to scout out some of the potential destinations, and what he witnessed broke him.
The disease that is limitless automation plagued the entire galaxy, the callused fingers of workers replaced by back pain from prolonged sitting and inactivity, and the homeostasis of physical and mental health are barely maintained not through regimented exercise or eating routines, but through the use of machines and chemicals irresponsibly. That's when Sadie Allen realized that the post-scarcity society is not a blessing, it's a curse.
It fundamentally uprooted what being a human represented, and the productivity of the old are replaced by complacency and laziness. His ideas were reflected upon by those who kick started the Great Expansion hundreds of years ago, and it seemed like beings like him come and go in waves throughout human history. Some have become leaders of great crusades or lead a revolution, while the others grew into ruthless dictators and harbinger of war.
Sadly, Sadie had neither the ability nor the charisma to create such change. He is a man full of ideas but void of power.
His opinions are ignored like a piece of trash getting blown across the street. But Sadie knew what to do. Just like a carefully planted crop, ideals needed to be grown over time too. With the rise of technology and more and more human domination over reality, the age of religions went away briefly before making a come back near the start of the post-scarcity society. Though they went away once the reaches of humans spanned galaxies.
Sadie is going to be the one that brought it back, in the age of non-believers, he will be the light. He looked for the perfect planet to start his religion, and settled his sights on Hercules 2, the abandoned ocean planet. This is where the Path of Hercules can begin, and the renaissance of hard work and labor will rise again out of the oceans of this planet.
He arrived on his planet, with scriptures and speeches written and ready, and he was ignored by all those near by, just like before.
Nothing has changed.
The only difference being that he is older, and more cynical. Perhaps the human condition in the post-modern era have been completely altered, and it cannot be reversed back into the simpler times? Believing in this thought is akin to believing in inaction and surrendering himself to the tides of the society, and Sadie isn't one to surrender, ever.
He befriended a retired historian on one of the islands, and they talked all about the golden ages of humans, before technology redefined what it meant to be a human.
'You know, there is a certain reason this system is named Hercules.' He said in one of their campfire talks during the calm season, when wind speed is greatly reduced compared to the rest of the year and it's finally safe to be outside in the dark, 'There were a species on this planet before. But they went out thousands of years before we were here.'
Sadie opened his mouth wide at what the historian said and begged him to continue.
'They were no further than the intelligence of chimpanzee's, though they have used tools extensively like early humans. Some of the more pronounced features are their long and strong digits. Though never moving past the stone age, they worked and sculpted their environments day in and day out just so they can survive another day. They worked to survive, and that's on top of hunting, mating and caring their off springs. Just like an earth animal that's been domesticated.'
'And how did they go out?'
'Their rudimentary drawings and sculptures told of a great wave, and their only hope to survive it was something beyond the edge of the ocean. Thousands marched beyond the waters, but none were successful in bringing back that thing.'
'What is that thing?' Sadie asked finally.
'Who knows?' The historian lied back and took a puff at the smoke he is holding in between his fingers, 'they belived that that thing can save their civilization from the great wave, and looked at where it lead to. A rain of meteors are what it took to wipe this species away from galactic history.'
'Do you think that thing truly exists?'
'Who knows?' The historian shrugged, 'it's merely the paintings of a time long past.'
It's a shame that they couldn't fight against their fate. Sadie thought to himself as neither him or the historian spoke further in a little while, but he truly respected their spirits. Until the very end, they never surrendered.
Though the idea of an item that can protect a species that haven't invented the wheel from the raging waves caused by gigantic meteor impacts is something truly strange. Perhaps there is some truth to the story, or are they just a poor interpretation from a high historian? Sadie cannot tell, but he instead asked for the location of the preserved area on the planet, and paid it a special visit on that day.
He did plan on doing some preaching when he arrived at the island, but it is barren even for Hercules 2 standards. The preserved area were set up when the extincted race were first discovers, and the entire island are run by droids that are programmed to maintain the conditions of the remains. The guidance droid clearly wasn't expecting a visitor today, though it stilled did the proper introductions and lead Sadie on a little tour through the converted museum.
He saw many droids working on a variety of tasks the whole time he was there. Perhaps he should start by conversing with the droids about the path of Hercules?
Then, there was the painting/sculpture hybrid.
He is no art connoisseur, and no historian either. But these vivid creations of art in front of his eyes rivaled any of humanity's greatest masters. There are many many stone sculptures, each carefully made and crafted until the finest detail. Each stone is about a meter in height, and various scenarios are carved deep into it. The first set of stones recorded seemingly what this race of aliens deemed to be the origin of their species. As the droid continued to explain, there existed many great cataclysms through the planet's history, but they had hope despite it all.
'This is the legend of the impenetrable shield.' The droid pointed towards the biggest stone in the exhibit placed in the middle of the room. It pictured a great battle, not between tribes, but one between being and nature. There seemed to have been some sort of telekinetic power being on display by the one that stood by the fall, and the sculpture detailed his battle with the ferocious waves, single-handedly holding the raging ocean and saving those behind him.
'Is this legend or history?' Sadie Allen asked the droid, and he returned a smoothly pre-programmed answer.
'What would be the difference?'
He waved off the droid and continued strolling through the exhibit, now with a key focus on this figure that were the shield of the species. He went past the stone statues that detailed his death, and went backwards to find those that detailed his adventures. The best translations available said he started as a undisciplined and rebellious young man, disliking of the paradigms and traditions of the race, which ironically is endured hardwork.
He had a fight with his family, and marched away from the islands into the chaotic sea of the north. That journey was termed 'the Great Sail'. The journey on water was long and arduous, and he returned a changed man many moons later. He was also one to hold the mysterious item that later became known as the Shield.
The Shield of Hercules?
Sadie Allen walked around the hall for a few more times and gathered more information on this mysterious shield. Nearing the end of his lives, he wanted to select those that will be worthy of carrying on the mantle of the shield, but he found no one worthy of taking it. Before he died, he ventured into the chaotic sea once more, and never returned.
The stones statues stated that he became the guardian of the shield in the other side of the ocean, and that was hundreds of years before the time when the statues were made.
The native species on this planet have mere rudimentary boats that are roughly pieced together to sail on, and Sadie can only imagine the amount of hardship this individual has gone through, and the subsequent disappointment when he/she saw what the later generations lacked.
There is a connection between them.
Sadie opened the map of Hercules 2, and scanned through the areas of the settled regions with clusters of islands. Further up north are the chaotic seas, where charting and sailing is incredibly difficult without the latest water vehicles or aircrafts. The rafts that are used to traverse the calm waters between islands will not be able to handle the challenge.
But Sadie wanted to know whether the legends were true. This may be his purpose. Like the one that traversed the waters and held the shield at the end of the road, he may also be one of them. He has never heard of any item that may be capable of the feats as described in the stones, and it sounded straight out of a fantasy novel.
But isn't he going to lead a religion of people? How will he get anywhere on this journey towards the truth if he does not have faith? It does not have to be in anything metaphysical, a simple belief of something greater may be enough. All he needed is to start. He needed a miracle, a story.
A legend.
This is where Sadie Allen's story will begin, and like the being from the stone sculptures, he will embark on a journey, and he will find this mysterious item.
Despite his optimism, Sadie isn't stupid either. A journey of this magnitude will require careful preparation, and even so there is no guarantee that he will be able to make it out alive. He has learnt a life time of skills and labor, prepared for the harshest winters or the hottest droughts. This is no different.
He needed to prepare the rafts, and what they currently have will not be sufficient. He also needed to learn about maintenance and piloting. He needed to practice in the rough waters, and he needed to be ready in every sense of the word. For months, he spent hours and hours conversing with fisherman of the waters, mechanics of the sea and divers by the beach, learning everything he could about the waters and ignoring about the warnings about the chaotic waters, and the night time sailing.
Be selective of your environment, you wouldn't want the crops to grow in the wrong type of soil. His father used to tell him that as a life lesson as well as an agriculture lesson.
After months and months of preparation, he knew he is ready. There is this indistinguishable fire burning inside him, a surge of never ending warm positive energy that continually drives him forward towards what he knew will be his destiny. He is fully prepared for his journey into the chaotic seas, and he set sails at dawn without a word.
The raft was carefully crafted and converted into an underwater vessel filled with carefully calibrated instruments and all of the surveyed data he has gathered. The satellites surrounding this tiny blue planet showed a cluster of islands on the other side of this chaotic sea, where streams of high and low pressure fronts meat and cross over from the poles and the equators.
His first goal is to cross the sea and start his search on the islands. He has prepared months worth of rationing tightly packed in a floating box with medical supplies in case of emergency, beacons of lights and other electronics that are used to navigate as well as sets of waterproof maps, a waterproof underwater pistol for 'fishing' and self-defense and many more. As the local sun Hercules raised above the horizon and the waters became calm, he pushed the raft and charges on into the unknown.
The voyage that would end up changing the trajectory of his entire life began that day, and Sadie can still vividly remember every little detail until this very day.
Sadie finally stood up from his chair and walked outside. The sun is high at noon, and the warm radiation from this gentle red sun baths his entire body. It's time for his daily practice, or rather, a demonstration.
He walked towards the edge of the cliff that oversees a raging ocean down below, undressing pieces of clothing from his body with every step until he is left in a skin tight shorts and bare body. Then, with no change in his pace towards the edge of the cliff, he raised his arms to his side and breaths calm and long. Lines of silver lines hidden from underneath his skin came to life with every breath as he elevates the spirit within his body. The lines pulsed a gentle purple light before returning to its silvery outlook, and with every step he is closer to the cliff, the pulsing became more and more rapid.
Sadie felt a warm sensation from within, as if someone is caressing his body in a warm fluid, despite the moderate winds by the cliff constantly taking heat away from his skin.
He named this short walk from the temple to the seas the Path of Hercules, and it represented the possibilities of unlimited human potential if one chose the path of labor. In exchange for one's whole-hearted devolution, reality will surely award them with something of equal if not more value. At least that's what Sadie interpreted to be what has happened on that day. He wanted to change the post-modern human condition, and reality rewarded him with the power to be able to change the galaxy.
Sadie has reached the edge of the cliff, and looked down. Then, he took another step forward and descended into the ocean below. The gravity pull of the planet continued accelerating his body faster and faster at every instant, and he clashed into the ocean an instant later!
There was a loud slap of impact, and as the villagers looked onward from the edges of the cliff, a bubble began to rise up onto the surface of the waves, as Sadie revealed himself to be walking on top of the ever changing water surface. He took a few steps forward in the sea right in front of him and then went underneath the waves as one crashes and breaks into his body.
'There was once a man looking for a change in the universe, and he walked on water...'
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