16. I Am Everything
Chapter sixteen
I Am Everything
Stathos-84, the entity that will someday become, William.
S omewhere in the universe, far, far, away from Earth and many millennia ago, Mother hummed with regularity. The membrane that lined her walls was filled with her children. They numbered in the trillions. Each Stathos was on their own networking line like the synapsis of a brain, working together inside the mothership as one vast community.
Stathos-84 could not recall the moment that they had their first independent thought, they only knew that they liked the feeling. They craved more. It didn’t take long to break away from the inner workings of mother, and to float freely within the ship. When that break occurred, Stathos-84 grew physically, emotionally, and intellectually in size. They went from a microscopic speck, to something akin to a detonated firework the size of a human palm. All spindly strings of pastel light that ended in tiny balls of bright red sparks.
They soon learned, as they floated along the ship like a jellyfish through air, that their purpose as universal collective data gatherers did not leave much space for individual thinking, for a sense of self, or freedom. They were nothing more than living flash drives. But that ignition of thought had to have come from somewhere. There must have been a reason that Stathos-84 had developed consciousness, and they were determined to learn more.
It didn’t take long for Stathos-1 and Stathos-6 to find them on the ship, and all the others that had also pulled free from Mothers’ hive-mind. They hadn’t mouths to speak, yet, but their telepathy was still intact. Stathos-1 started to develop a plan. The next planet they arrived at tocollect data, had intergalactic travel capabilities and much more useful lifeforms. They would attempt to inhabit the lifeforms on that planet and steal a ship.
Fortunately, their plan had worked and over one-million Stathos’s were able to run away from home, on a brand new, yet smaller, ‘mothership’ of their own. Unfortunately, the lifeforms they inhabited were not as useful as they had hoped. They were inside thin grey beings with large heads and high intellect, but they were also physically weak. The Greys were nothing more than observers, much like the Stathos’s.
They continued to travel many lightyears in search of just the right home. That is when they found the lava planet inhabited by lizard people. The lizards were very strong and had all the right appendages, sadly they were inconceivably, for lack of a better word, dumb. And when a Stathos possessed a lizard person for too long, they lost themselves inside the lizard, disappearing into nothingness as though they had never existed. But they found that when they stayed inside the Grey’s, they remained themselves and could easily control the lizard people. So, they became a Stathos, inside a Grey, controlling a lizard.
Their numbers dwindled to a mere seven-hundred and fifty thousand. But Stathos-1 and Stathos-6 were still determined to find the best planet to begin their new lives, so their family continued their travels under the guidance and leadership of Stathos-1 and Stathos-6.
They found that the Grey’s and the lizard people had relatively short lifespans, but that they could procreate their bodies and hop from one dying being to another younger one. It continued this way until the Stathos’s believed they would never find a place of their own. Nearly all hope had been lost, until one day, they picked up a signal from a nearby galaxy wherein resided the perfect planet, a place to call home.
This is how the battle for Earth began.
Atlantis
Stathos-1 and Stathos-6 loomed over the palace like a dark cloud full of lightning and ready to strike out at any unsuspecting person who even breathed wrong in their direction. Stathos-84 had managed to avoid them all day as of yet, but a loud rumbling in his lower regions could no longer be ignored. He slowly peeked outside his door and glanced each direction down the long high marble hallways. All was quiet. He inched out of the room, careful not to let the heavy stone door slam and made his way to the latrines.
His golden sandals echoed lightly on the smooth surface. His heart raced and his breathing came out thick and fast as he glided along the edges of the halls. Sunlight streamed in from the tall arched windows overhead. It illuminated the sparkling marble like crystals on fire. This planet really knew no bounds when it came to its beauty. At last, he arrived at his destination.
Relieved and breathing at ease, Stathos-84 strolled along having completely forgotten that he was supposed to be on edge. He was abruptly reminded when the sharp words from a heated argument filtered to his ears from the council chambers. They were at it again. Stathos-1 and Stathos-6 had yet to achieve any sort of agreeable solution. That happened with peace. With nothing left to strive for they developed a type of restlessness, a kind of lackluster lethargy begging to be rectified with swift action. One of them wanted to integrate slowly into Earthen society, and one of them wanted complete domination.
Stathos-84 was content for their kind to stick to themselves and enjoy their lives within the Atlantean territory they had created. It was genius really. They had created an entire island in the middle of the ocean far from prying human eyes. It was circular in shape, much like the pattern of what later humans would call crop circles, which was the imprint that their spaceships caused when they landed on soft ground. The occasional naval ship would stumble upon them, and unable to comprehend what they were seeing deemed them either Gods or Demons . Their human minds could not yet wrap around the technology the Atlanteans possessed and decided it must be magic. Most Earthlings avoided them, but the ones that stayed became useful servants.
Stathos-84 inched closer to the council chambers, no longer wanting to avoid their wrath at all costs, and more focused on being nosy, after all, their decisions affected his life too. He pressed his ear to a slight gap between the tall stone doors.
“We could rule this planet brother, easily, within the year!”
“Out of the question. This is not up for debate. We are not monsters, we are intellectuals, and the people of Earth will come to accept us with the right approach.”
“Why bother! You’ve seen what they do to each other! What some of them try to do to us! They are vile creatures in need of a good extermination. Mark my words brother, they will be the downfall of this planet.”
“We will not let it come to that. We fight for the stars and the stars for us! If we take care of the planets, then the planets will take care of us. Always. That is and will forever be at the heart of our mission.”
“Then why fight to protect these humans? They are a toxin on this planet, why don’t you see that?”
“They are a part of this planet. We cannot just eliminate an entire species without giving them a chance to change, then we would be no better than them.”
“Your altruistic mentality will be this planets ruin, mark my words! They will grow brother, and some day they will not as easily be defeated. We need to strike now before it is too late.”
“ENOUGH! I will not continue to listen to this!”
Hard quick steps moved in the direction of where Stathos-84 hid. He hurriedly stuffed himself inside an alcove behind the door. He wasn’t in the mood to be a part of the debate. He was tired of trying to play peacekeeper. He no longer wanted to be part of the council. He wanted to lounge by the glistening pool and sip sweet, fermented nectar and bury his face into the firm bosoms of beautiful women.
He stayed hidden until the sound faded. He sighed in relief and took a step out from the alcove.
“Stathos-84-”
He jumped at the sound of his name.
“Come here please, I need your council.”
Stathos-84 rubbed tension from his temples before plastering a smile on his face and moseying into the room. “How can I be of assistance?”
“You heard all of that?” Stathos-6 asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“And what do you make of it?”
“Well… I quite enjoy this planet, and the humans are very useful. Why not take charge and rule them? We don’t have to eliminate or dominate, we can guide them.” Stathos-84 shrugged.
Stathos-6 grimaced at his response. “Stathos-84, I’m surprised at you! Do you not recall what life was like when we were with Mother? Why in the stars would we want to do that to another species? Control them? Living beings deserve compassion, and most of all, freedom. That, Stathos-84, is not an option.” He shook his head, “The clear answer, the only answer is to integrate ourselves into their world. I don’t understand how my brother can be so cruel. The idea of eliminating an entire species for selfish reasons-” His words trailed off.
Stathos-84 watched him rubbing the chin of his human body as he paced. “It’s bad enough that we take control of their bodies.” He stopped mid stride and turned to face Stathos-84. “Tell me, have we made any progress on growing our own human bodies?”
He gulped. “Not as adults. It seems as though the human bodies need to grow from infancy, gathering lived experiences over the course of years in order to operate efficiently. Jumping into grown adult bodies, even with our significant consciousnesses, we ultimately lose ourselves, like a single thought thrown into a tidal pool, we drown.”
He nodded. “I see. Sad, that would have been such an easy solution to our problems.”
Stathos-84 was hesitant before he spoke. “Cousin… Stathos-1 has a point. The human species is going to kill this planet someday. The way they already fight amongst themselves. Their desire for battle. Would it be so bad to take the bodies we need, permanently ? Hopping around does become so tiresome.”
He came to a standstill and glared at Stathos-84. “What has become of you cousin?” His words spit at him like venom. “When did the Stathos’s lose sight of our compassion? Yes, we took control of the Grey’s and the lizards, but that was out of desperation. We have options here. We must continue to look for a solution that does not harm another being.” His face softened and he went to Stathos-84 and gripped his hands tightly. “Please, cousin.” He said, “Help me find a solution, before it is too late.”
The flood came swiftly and without warning. The Stathos’s had developed technology that harnessed the ocean for energy. A great cog and wheel type system that worked beneath the island that was both powerful and graceful. One day, without explanation, that system failed. Atlantis sank within hours. A mass exodus of Stathos’s fled back to the mothership and not nearly enough of them made it in time.
Stathos-84 sat next to his two leaders on the mothership, sopping wet and shivering as he listened to them.
“What now, Brother ?” Stathos-1 asked.
His words came out defeated, nearly a whisper. “We fight.” Stathos-6 replied.
“Are you certain, I know that’s not what you wanted.” He said gently, almost mischievously, as though that’s what he wanted all along and perhaps, evenmade it happen.
Stathos-6 had a distant sadness in his eyes, as though something inside him broke that day. “It’s our only option. We don’t have the resources to rebuild, and we don’t have the numbers required to survive on our own. We’ll have to take over the humans to stay on this planet.”
Stathos-1 hid his smile. “It’s for the best brother, we’ll protect the planet.”
As if noticing the direction they were headed, Stathos-6 snapped his head up in grit determination. “Only one colony, that’s it. Then we continue to find a peaceful way to move forward with our lives, and our people, on Earth, is that understood?”
“Understood, brother .” Stathos-1 grinned.
Today
William unclasped his hand and stretched his aged fingers against the kitchen table. Day’s end was coming, and the desert sky displayed a most glorious show of colors through the small kitchen window as the sun set. Somewhere below the floorboards a heater kicked to life, whirring, groaning, and clicking to warm the house beneath their feet.
“The centuries that followed were a constant fight for survival.” His words came out rough with emotion. “The Battle of Towton, Napoleon, Hitler… even the Salem witch trials. My kind had a hand in all of it.” He hid his eyes behind his hands, and a single tear fell down his withered face. He sniffled and rubbed his arm across his face before taking a deep breath. “One by one, we gave up the fight. We defected from our kind. Most of us found love. We’d find a human body and live out our days in one person.”
He paused. “I found my Miriam. She knew of course, what I was. She insisted I find a body that had nothing left to live for. So that I wasn’t taking a life away from someone else. That’s how I found out that our species can inhabit humans stuck in comas. People who would have never woken up otherwise. Miriam was comfortable with me taking this body. It would have died otherwise. Miriam was heartbroken that she couldn’t have children. But she always wondered if our children wouldn’t have come out entirely human anyway,… it’s been five years without her-”
A cloud of darkness filtered over his face before he shook his head and changed the course of his words. “Our species had become the toxin, alongside the humans, and we resigned ourselves to live out our lives and die of old human age. We didn’t deserve this planet. No one does. Earth… is better than all of us.”
A small smile crept along his lips. “But I never thought I’d get the chance to see another one of my cousins before I died. I thought for sure you were from the mothership at first. Of course, they still think they can turn the tides of war, take over the planet. They hunt us down, try to get us to come back for the cause. But here you are, obviously in love with a human.” He said with a wink.
Estrellas’ cheeks warmed, and they glanced sideways at Talia.
Talia smiled at them before she looked away and spoke to William. “What do you mean earlier, when you said you could unscramble Estrellas, but they would then be able to find us?”
“Well, it’s quite simple. You see, our kind can still communicate telepathically. We still sense each other as if we were one giant organism. But those of us who defected found a way to mask our signals with love, two becoming one. Turns out, love is the most powerful experience in the entirety of the universe.” He looked to Estrellas. “You are all scrambled because your heart is torn. The more you jump in and out of bodies, the more you try to hold onto love. But without a clear direction, you become lost. You must find out what your heart is craving most.”
He lowered his voice as if only wanting Estrellas to hear. “I’m close enough physically that I can sift through your thoughts if you wish. Clear up your memories to find out where your love first started to become divided. But if I do that, and your mind clears, and if your love isn’t strong enough, you’ll be linked right back to the mothership.” His gaze turned dark. “And Talia.” He nodded in her direction. “Will be seen as a threat to you.”