GCLopes
patreon
Prologue - Beginning of the End
🕑 Added 2024-11-02 01:32:06 +0000 UTCSeoul, Korea
2055 - 6:36 AM
"Dad, Dad! How much longer until we get there?" Oliver asked.
The boy had already finished watching yet another series about survival in the jungle. It was one of the few things that kept him entertained in the car.
"A few more minutes, we're almost there." His father answered.
Oliver's entire family was from the outskirts of Seoul, but his father had moved to the United States to work in a big tech company. Oliver was born in the US, and because of this, his parents thought that a common name would make it easier for the boy to adapt to the new country.
Despite this, no one could believe his name was Oliver when they saw the young, clearly Asian kid. His thin black hair and slender face made him stand out among the other boys at his school.
Finally, he was "home" to visit his grandparents. After a long trip, it was only a few minutes until he met the rest of his family. The car was clogged with so much stuff. The young Uber driver didn't imagine his first drive would be with an entire family: Oliver's parents and dozens of suitcases.
"Dad. Dad, what's that in the sky?" Oliver spoke with uncertainty in his voice.
The boy's endless curiosity led his father to take a deep breath and consider an answer to his challenging questions.
The driver, distracted, glanced up and suddenly hit the brakes, causing the whole family to lurch forward.
"I don't think we will know what that is, kid." The driver spoke with a trembling voice.
After recovering from the sharp break, Oliver massaged his forehead, which had hit the seat before him, while his father looked out the window.
Even though it was morning, the sky was crimson red. The car's occupants trembled, shocked by what they saw.
"W-what's happening?" The driver asked, but no one knew the answer.
Other cars on the avenue began to brake while others tried to reverse and move away from the city.
"I think we better turn back; something is wrong." Oliver’s father spoke, but uncertain.
The rest of the sentence was never pronounced. Small flames and a loud noise emerged from the red sky. From there, a titanic triangular ship emerged.
The hearts of everyone in the car were beating so loud it seemed audible. Oliver's mother was the first to snap out of the stupor.
"Go—go! Let's get out of here now!" Oliver’s mother screamed, trying to wake the driver.
But he never had time to react.
A tiny beam of light was directed to the ground from the enormous ship hovering over Seoul.
Three seconds later.
Boom
The first of several bombings shook the earth until there was no city left.
--
--
Somewhere in Europe.
"Mr. President, we need to move faster. We are among the first to arrive, but other leaders are anxious to start the meeting early." The diplomat explained.
He knew that hastening a meeting after the incident in Seoul would most likely jeopardize world peace. However, getting so many leaders in the same room was already a miracle. He didn't know the diplomatic effort it had taken, but at least it hadn't started a third world war yet.
"Fuck. Do you have anything to help me with this hangover? My head is killing me." The President whispered while holding his head as if it would explode at any moment.
Smith was in his final year as president, longing to finish and enjoy a lengthy and peaceful retirement. It wasn't the first time he'd woken up in the middle of the night to handle a diplomatic matter, but waking up after drinking heavily the night before was taking a toll on his sanity.
"Yes, we do, sir." The diplomat answered, knowing what to do next. It wasn’t the first time he had to help Smith recover from something like this; still, he was glad it wasn't something worse than booze.
Smith turned on the small TV in the presidential limousine while taking a pill for his hangover.
"Urgent News: Seoul was bombarded four hours ago. No country or group has claimed responsibility yet. Some images are arriving as we speak. We urge the survivors who captured any footage to share it with the world."
"Alexander, can we keep the images from going public? At least for now." Smith asked while looking at his other assistant.
The young major had risen quickly through the ranks in recent years, becoming one of Smith's right-hand men. Even so, he was stunned by all the events of the last few hours. Yet he tried to appear calm while only superficially. His square face and dark blond hair were well-maintained, as expected of someone in the army.
"Mr. President, we can contain them for the next few hours. But with the rescue of survivors, someone will likely release the images or post them online."
After a quiet ride, the three approached a military base. It seemed tiny compared to the gigantic mountains around them, which helped hide its location in the Swiss Alps. It was one of the few zones not disclosed by the UN, making it a safe place to discuss diplomatic matters away from public view.
After a standard security check, the limousine was guided to the official garage. With a slight jolt, the floor began to descend. After a few more minutes, the presidential car was ten floors below the surface in the most secure bunker in Europe.
A place even the presidential security detail was unaware of. The three were ready for the day's most harrowing moment: facing the other leaders to find out who had ravaged Seoul.
After passing several more security points, the group arrived at a dark hall. Like the General Assembly, each leader sat facing the stage, the only part of the room illuminated. The hall felt extremely cold, yet Smith's hands were sweaty.
A scientist in a standard white lab coat leaned against the wall in the center of the room.
The scientist tugged his lab coat and briefly looked at his watch. "Come in, gentlemen. Take a seat; we should start shortly."
The president raised an eyebrow at the scientist's calm demeanor while in this situation.
"And who might you be?" Smith asked.
"You may call me-” The scientist paused briefly as if his mind had gone elsewhere. “Dr. Gordon.”
Smith tried to remember anything about a ‘Dr. Gordon’, but simply couldn't find it in his memory. At the same time, he felt something was amiss; Gordon didn’t look like a simple scientist. Sure, he had a lab coat on, but it was too clean for someone working daily. Furthermore, beneath his coat was a fine, Italian-cut outfit that a scientist would hardly bother to wear.
“I will lead today's meeting.” Dr. Gordon completed the sentence before further questions were asked.
Although the major tried to appear calm, beneath his skin, his entire body was at the peak of stress; this was the last straw. Seeing a mere scientist address them with "you" without the proper respect.
"Well, Dr. Gordon or whoever you are. What makes you think you have the power to lead now? You should defer to better men."
Though his voice carried a deep rage, the tone never altered, making Alexander's words even more vicious.
The simple scientist took a deep breath and looked at the major, who was much taller. But before his first word, his eyes began to glow with a purple hue. Seeing those eyes made the three of them feel a primal and uncontrollable fear. But as quickly as the eyes turned purple, they returned to hazel, and the three calmed down. Smith scanned the rest of the room with his gaze, noticing that other leaders had similar reactions. He felt this wasn't the first time this had happened.
"I suggest Mr. Alexander take his seat and understand that you have no power within this room, whether your rank is major, president, dictator, or religious leader. The command is mine, and I expect everyone's respect." Gordon spoke calmly, but his voice was cold and rigid.
The three men understood that though they were powerful forces in their country, somehow, seeing Dr. Gordon made them feel small and insignificant. Something deeper was before them, something their intuitions screamed that it was dangerous.
Smith became president due to his negotiation skills and diplomatic ability. Despite being a corrupt drunkard, there wasn't a single complaint against his competence. He grasped how the game was played in the room.
"My apologies, Dr. Gordon. We'll take our seats, but if there's an opportunity in the future, I'd like to discuss other matters with you." Smith spoke.
The doctor nodded and allowed the group to move to their seats. After sitting and taking a deep breath, Smith surveyed the hall. No country was missing; he wasn't just talking about the UN members. Every country was represented, even some religious leaders and industry magnates. The hall was filled with the world's greatest powers.
After a few more minutes, the doctor approached the hall's center, drawing everyone's attention. The silence was palpable in the room; in addition to the complete destruction of one of the largest cities on the planet, there was now a new actor in the balance of power. A scientist that no one knew but who appeared to have unknown control over them.
"Ahem. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we have everyone we can call leaders of the world. Rulers, religious figures, or businesspeople. Among you is every existing caste."
Gordon approached the pulpit and held the microphone in front of him. "First, let me introduce myself since none of you know me and may doubt if I'm the best person for this position.”
With a quick pull, the scientist removed the microphone from its place and began carrying it in his hands.
"Nice to meet you all; my name is Dr. Gordon, and I am your creator. Not just from a political, mythologic, or religious interpretation, I’m straight up the creator of the human race."
After a deafening silence, a single hand was raised in the hall.
"What do you mean by creator?"
"I built life on Earth for the research and development of human beings. In a way, I am the God you so often invoke." Gordon explained why they were there. "I’ve brought all of you today to start the Grand Game!"
“Bullshit.”
The sound echoed alone in the hall, even though maybe the intention was to say something quietly. Everyone had heard and started looking for whoever had spoken.
“If anyone has a question, speak now. I don’t wish to waste my time.” Gordon pursed his eyes, trying to recognize who was speaking.
At first glance, he looked like an Asian man, already old but who wasn't old in this room. His appearance seemed South Asian, pulling from memory. Possibly, he was the leader, who appeared to be from Laos, or at least that's what Gordon could recall.
Without waiting for him to be recognized, the leader stood up and spoke even louder to Dr. Gordon.
“I’m calling BULLSHIT. You must be crazy, an unknown scientist taking advantage of the whole Seul wild attack to try and push some absurd lies. Soldiers, arrest him; I won’t tolerate him any longer.”
The leader was short and had deep-set eyes behind his glasses. However, he behaved wildly to force a false respect of his fellow ‘world leaders.’
Like many others, he had an entourage of soldiers accompanying him.
Smith looked back to see who was speaking. At the same time, two soldiers started to move through the rows of the hall towards the doctor. Alexander glanced at the president to understand what to do, but Smith preferred to gather more information. He nodded for Alexander not to move and continued to pay close attention to the scene.
“Soldiers, I will offer you a second chance; withdraw now. As for your leader, there won’t be a second chance. Well, I wished to avoid this nuisance.”
Gordon raised his right hand and did a quick snap. It was a simple gesture, but two purple lightning were sent from his fingertips. A second later, the sound of a thunderous explosion startled the hall.
The two soldiers froze mid-walk while everyone turned around to see what had exploded.
The dictator’s head was scattered in thousands of pieces in the row where he had been sitting. His peers were in shock from the bloodbath they had received. The body that had been standing just moments before was now lifeless on the ground, spilling blood.
“To the two soldiers, take the body and dispose of it.” The doctor clapped his hand to get their attention but made a few more people in the room fear more explosions.
“Let's continue. I hope there won’t be any more interruptions unless there are questions.”
Gordon waited for some kind of confirmation.
“Am I clear?”
The hall, which had been tense due to Seoul’s bombing, knew that before them was a more immediate danger. Silence lingered until Gordon understood that this was a confirmation to continue.
“Great. I’ll offer you a summarized version to keep everyone up. Four hours ago, there was a bombing in Seoul. However, it was not carried out by any of you. No country or terrorist cell was responsible. In fact, it would have been impossible to achieve what was done today with your current technology.”
The statement pointed to two possibilities for everyone in the hall: either it was an unnatural event, or some agent not among the world leaders was acting against them. Smith felt a chill with both possibilities but needed to confirm.
Smith raised his hand and asked, "What do you mean by technology? How could the bombing not have been done by someone in this room?”
“Quite simple, Mr. Smith. It wasn’t a human who attacked you.”
Silence remained in the air. Some military officials had suggested the possibility of a non-human invasion, but until today, even the world’s most powerful governments had no way to confirm such information. But now “God,” or someone posing as him, stood before them, confirming their worst fears.
“Around 20 years ago, South Korean scientists achieved nuclear fusion. Something that is very common today and has brought many benefits to all of you. However, when this discovery was made, your entire race reached the level necessary to access the Grand Game.”
Gordon exited the pulpit and walked down the central aisle, passing through each row.
“You see, my mission is to evolve you. To take you to the highest level of civilization. However, my siblings and I believe the best way to prove evolution among races is by testing them against each other.”
The scientist paced back and forth in the aisle, looking at every person in the hall.
“Therefore, when you were accepted by the Grand Game, a signal was sent to all races that you were participating and could be attacked. There was a failure on my part in not preparing you enough to survive the attacks. Usually, I have protected and guided your race in the most critical moments. Unfortunately, I didn’t imagine there were races so close to this planet, which resulted in this initial attack.”
“Now, other ships are approaching your planet, and this will be only the first of many attacks. But in return, with each defense or attack you carry out, I will offer your race a small evolution. For surviving Seoul’s bombing, I will offer you the tool you need most right now: Z-Crystals.”
The scientist pulled a scarlet red crystal from his pocket. The crystal floated a few centimeters from his fingers.
Everyone in the room felt an energy floating in the air until a pop-up appeared in everyone's vision.
| Welcome to the Grand Game!
--
--
Back in Seoul
“Damn it! We need more people here. Another one has arrived!”
Inside the makeshift hospital, doctors and nurses rushed in every direction. The number of injured kept increasing. A city of over nine million people had been reduced to rubble, yet thousands were still trapped under the debris.
Among them was Oliver. However, it was uncertain whether he was alive.
“What the hell happened to him? His entire left side is destroyed. We don't have enough equipment to keep him alive.”
One of the doctors was nervous as he observed the boy hanging on by a thread.
“We should put him in hibernation and maybe try the VAT.”
“Damn it, it's still experimental; we shouldn't be using it on a child.”
“Do you have a better option? Hurry up! More people are coming.”
The doctor pondered for a moment; the procedure was risky and untested. But the child wouldn’t survive in his current state.
“Okay, okay. Take him to the VAT.”
The team quickly placed a mask over Oliver’s face. He tried to stay conscious, but the gasses gradually put him to sleep until it was too heavy to stay awake. As soon as the boy fell asleep, the team cleaned his wounds.
Two nurses placed new electronic pads to monitor the boy’s condition. Then, he was positioned in a transparent chamber.
Within seconds, a viscous green liquid began to submerge the boy until seeing him was no longer possible.
Comments
TheDjh8er
What a twist
