The Effigy had lain dormant for millions of years, waiting as it always did without thought or decay, in perfect stasis. Jamos stood bewitched by its piercing beauty, the first to view its glittering beauty for countless eons. It stood pointing towards the sky, standing impossibly tall with an inert stillness that did not seem natural. Quivering almost in anticipation, Jamos was enthralled.
The material it was made of mockingly defied their scanners. That’s a few billion in royalties’ right there, Jamos calculated greedily. He cackled, it was such a rare find in a deserted part of the galaxy, but it would ensure that not only him, but also his entire family for generations to come would never have to work again.
“Move in closer for analysis and take some core samples.” He commanded imperiously to his team.
They all agreed readily. He could see their bent space suits looking the effigy up and down. No matter how much you looked at it, you just needed to look at it more, study it up close and more intently. It was almost painful to look away and many of them hadn’t slept since they had landed on the remote planet more than a week ago.
It rippled in the light. It was black, but at times it looked crystalline and translucent. Some of his team swore blind that they had seen movement on the surface. But that must have been a trick of the mind because the translucent areas when reported by one person would be black as night when others looked where the person was pointing.
But what did it signify? What was it? Was it an immense statue to a long forgotten god? Was it a derelict piece of technology? Was it artwork left by a dead race? Why were they so drawn to its inexplicable beauty? The questions raged on endlessly.
The more Jamos thought about it, the more enthralled and irrationally driven he became. He wanted to possess its secrets and unlock its mysteries. It was his find and therefore his right to unlock the enigmas and be there when they were unveiled, when they were drawn into the light.
A small voice, barely perceptible in the back of his mind whispered urgent warnings in his ear. This isn’t you, it pleaded, think about what you‘re doing! Jamos knew it was true. He had never been the greedy type, nor a man taken to the whimsical and recklessness. He would consider all options before making a careful and calculated decision.
But not now and certainly, not here. With The Effigy, he could become a living god. All his dreams were within his grasp, all he had to do was reach out and grab it. If he held back, allowing fear and cowardice to dictate his actions, he would end up with nothing, relegated at most to a small footnote in the tomes of history for his discovery.
Macalister, the navigator of the expedition reached The Effigy first. He reached out to touch it but collapsed before he made contact. The man behind him, Jamos couldn’t tell whom, scrambled up and stepped over him, not even bothering to glance down at his fallen comrade and within moments also succumbed to the same fate.
There was a pause, for a moment that seemed to be drawn out towards eternity. The Effigy, without moving, shifted somehow. It was as though it had adjusted itself in accordance to the presence of humans, but as always, it remained unchanged, unmoved and eternally beautiful.
Everybody in the vicinity started to move towards The Effigy with renewed vigour, in an almost hypnotic state. As they got closer, they all collapsed and fell victim to something both unseen and unheard. There were no screams of pain or warning over the communications channel, only an eerie silence that could in no way be natural.
Jamos was furthest from The Effigy, but even he felt himself suddenly surging forward, running towards The Effigy, not caring and jumping over those fallen at the base of it. He lost himself in the mad scramble, all thoughts at self-preservation or warning thrown away from his mind like a paper bag in a tornado.
The majority of his crew had already fallen. Whether they were dead or dying wasn’t a consideration to Jamos, his only goal, his only initiative was to reach The Effigy and be the first to touch it. Everything else was forgotten and deemed unimportant. All that mattered was reaching his destination.
As he came closer towards The Effigy, he could feel his mind being broken apart, by his desire to reach it. He heard a pathetic whining from somewhere inside his helmet, but it didn’t matter. He was almost there, almost within reach of it.
If he could have turned and looked around, he would have seen that his entire team had fallen. That he was the last one on his feet. But Jamos couldn’t look around, couldn’t take his hungry maniacal eyes off his prize.
As he reached the base, he tripped and fell to the ground with a heavy thump. He struggled and convulsed, trying to get back to his feet, but he couldn’t make his legs work properly. His mind was slipping away. As he had gotten closer, segments had been pulled from it forcefully. He had forgotten how to talk, how to walk, and even his very name.
One of the last things pulled from his mind were spatial co-ordinates to Earth. But these meant nothing to the dribbling wretch who had even forgotten how to breathe. He died within moments, a vacant stare on his almost serene face, which could easily have been mistaken for a blank slate.
The Effigy stood, as it always had, unmoved. But now, it had a new target. A new destination. It had lain dormant, a devastating final weapon of a long forgotten war between a long dead species. Every so often, a new race would discover The Effigy. A new target would be acquired and The Effigy would once again carry out its one and only function.
The Effigy knew of no war. The Effigy knew of no peace. It only knew of its next target. As with the last race that had discovered it, The Effigy now launched itself towards the Homeworld where it would be worshipped and loved. Earth.
The material it was made of mockingly defied their scanners. That’s a few billion in royalties’ right there, Jamos calculated greedily. He cackled, it was such a rare find in a deserted part of the galaxy, but it would ensure that not only him, but also his entire family for generations to come would never have to work again.
“Move in closer for analysis and take some core samples.” He commanded imperiously to his team.
They all agreed readily. He could see their bent space suits looking the effigy up and down. No matter how much you looked at it, you just needed to look at it more, study it up close and more intently. It was almost painful to look away and many of them hadn’t slept since they had landed on the remote planet more than a week ago.
It rippled in the light. It was black, but at times it looked crystalline and translucent. Some of his team swore blind that they had seen movement on the surface. But that must have been a trick of the mind because the translucent areas when reported by one person would be black as night when others looked where the person was pointing.
But what did it signify? What was it? Was it an immense statue to a long forgotten god? Was it a derelict piece of technology? Was it artwork left by a dead race? Why were they so drawn to its inexplicable beauty? The questions raged on endlessly.
The more Jamos thought about it, the more enthralled and irrationally driven he became. He wanted to possess its secrets and unlock its mysteries. It was his find and therefore his right to unlock the enigmas and be there when they were unveiled, when they were drawn into the light.
A small voice, barely perceptible in the back of his mind whispered urgent warnings in his ear. This isn’t you, it pleaded, think about what you‘re doing! Jamos knew it was true. He had never been the greedy type, nor a man taken to the whimsical and recklessness. He would consider all options before making a careful and calculated decision.
But not now and certainly, not here. With The Effigy, he could become a living god. All his dreams were within his grasp, all he had to do was reach out and grab it. If he held back, allowing fear and cowardice to dictate his actions, he would end up with nothing, relegated at most to a small footnote in the tomes of history for his discovery.
Macalister, the navigator of the expedition reached The Effigy first. He reached out to touch it but collapsed before he made contact. The man behind him, Jamos couldn’t tell whom, scrambled up and stepped over him, not even bothering to glance down at his fallen comrade and within moments also succumbed to the same fate.
There was a pause, for a moment that seemed to be drawn out towards eternity. The Effigy, without moving, shifted somehow. It was as though it had adjusted itself in accordance to the presence of humans, but as always, it remained unchanged, unmoved and eternally beautiful.
Everybody in the vicinity started to move towards The Effigy with renewed vigour, in an almost hypnotic state. As they got closer, they all collapsed and fell victim to something both unseen and unheard. There were no screams of pain or warning over the communications channel, only an eerie silence that could in no way be natural.
Jamos was furthest from The Effigy, but even he felt himself suddenly surging forward, running towards The Effigy, not caring and jumping over those fallen at the base of it. He lost himself in the mad scramble, all thoughts at self-preservation or warning thrown away from his mind like a paper bag in a tornado.
The majority of his crew had already fallen. Whether they were dead or dying wasn’t a consideration to Jamos, his only goal, his only initiative was to reach The Effigy and be the first to touch it. Everything else was forgotten and deemed unimportant. All that mattered was reaching his destination.
As he came closer towards The Effigy, he could feel his mind being broken apart, by his desire to reach it. He heard a pathetic whining from somewhere inside his helmet, but it didn’t matter. He was almost there, almost within reach of it.
If he could have turned and looked around, he would have seen that his entire team had fallen. That he was the last one on his feet. But Jamos couldn’t look around, couldn’t take his hungry maniacal eyes off his prize.
As he reached the base, he tripped and fell to the ground with a heavy thump. He struggled and convulsed, trying to get back to his feet, but he couldn’t make his legs work properly. His mind was slipping away. As he had gotten closer, segments had been pulled from it forcefully. He had forgotten how to talk, how to walk, and even his very name.
One of the last things pulled from his mind were spatial co-ordinates to Earth. But these meant nothing to the dribbling wretch who had even forgotten how to breathe. He died within moments, a vacant stare on his almost serene face, which could easily have been mistaken for a blank slate.
The Effigy stood, as it always had, unmoved. But now, it had a new target. A new destination. It had lain dormant, a devastating final weapon of a long forgotten war between a long dead species. Every so often, a new race would discover The Effigy. A new target would be acquired and The Effigy would once again carry out its one and only function.
The Effigy knew of no war. The Effigy knew of no peace. It only knew of its next target. As with the last race that had discovered it, The Effigy now launched itself towards the Homeworld where it would be worshipped and loved. Earth.
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