Prologue: The Seed

  The abyss twisted, spasmed, and, with a heave, disgorged the formless thing that’d been straining it. The object coalesced quickly, deciding almost instantly on the camouflage it’d take. A rocky, pockmarked structure wrapped around the thing as it computed, cloaking its infernal machinery from the void. Approach was always the riskiest part of its mission. Too out of place, or too in place in the system, and it’d generate a response. In this instance, because it now resembled an asteroid. One on just the slightest collision course with the only habitable planet in the solar system.

  It wouldn’t quite look like that to any outside observers, though. Any projections anyone could make of it would be marred by the idea that it couldn’t change direction. It could, of course. Not with the same speed as which it’d suddenly arrived (a different structure had seen to that), but it certainly could move swiftly enough that its current trajectory wouldn’t be an obstacle.

  The {([First Strike]Seed)(Blossom[OF RUIN])} didn’t activate its primary functions until it slipped past the pale surface of the planet's orbiting moon. The instant it did so, the device activated an immense array of internal scanners and sensors. It immediately used them to ascertain the relative technological level of the host species, and quickly deduced that they wouldn’t be a problem-

  [ERROR]

  No. It detected an unusual number of anti-satellite weapons, one-millionth of a second later than expected. Strange. Host species weren’t often allowed to develop such technologies, nor would they be expected to conceal them. That meant precautions had to be taken. The power supply of the {(Seed)} fluctuated as it activated its third skin, causing calm teal lights to blink on its crust in warning. From now until impact, the molecules in its outer layer would actively avoid detection.

  With its initial reconnaissance complete, the {(Seed)} continued its mission by scanning and pinging everything in range with every sensor under its shell. It detected how much light the planet received, the geological makeup of its moon, the geological makeup of locations dotted across the planet's surface, and more. It skimmed radio signals, sensed colors and lifeforms, analyzed topography, and scanned the seas. Finally, after hours of revolving about the planet, it focused on population centers. It had to make one its landing site-

  [ERROR]

  There were so many! It attempted to find an optimal landing site for milliseconds, ten thousand-thousand times longer than usual. Strange.

  [ERROR]

  And why were so many, so important? Data and nerve centers never varied from the largest population point. It would be inefficient. And yet on this world-

  [STABILIZED]

  Instead of focusing on data centers or population or anything of the like, it decided to focus on orbital communications.

  Certainly, this aspect severely limited the choices of the {(Seed)}. After a few more milliseconds, it finally found a target. This one was on the planet's largest continent, in one of its largest cities. There was an immense amount of information flowing to a particular satellite in orbit from that location. Whether the orbital facility was used as a weapon, a research station, or otherwise, the {(Seed)} didn’t care. All it cared about was the significance of its target. It had to be destroyed.

  With its scans complete, the weapon began its descent. It’d take one more revolution to be sure it hit the right spot, and then-

  [ERROR]

  {Statusof[PrimaryQuery](Unresolved)}

  [STABILIZED]

  [ERROR]

  [SYNCHRONIZING]

  [ERROR]

  {Statusof[WorldSoul](?)}

  7:46 P.M. East Africa Time, December 12th, 2041

  Nathaniel Yacoub popped open his truck door with a heavy sigh, before cracking his knuckles and pausing to collect his thoughts. He bobbed his head for a moment, then rolled his eyes to himself and gave another sigh before hopping out. His vehicle barely shifted once his feet touched the driveway, but he only got to take a half step before he slapped his forehead.

  “Get a hold of yourself, Nathan.” He grumbled, before immediately doing an about-face and reaching into the passenger seat for his satchel. He tried to yank it out with a heave and a grunt, but ended up slamming it into the center console first for an added dose of frustration.

  Nathan rolled his eyes again, before giving the satchel another yank, successfully freeing it. He closed the door a bit more harshly than he needed to, then turned and began lumbering toward his house, nestled safely away in his very own corner of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It wasn’t anything too special, and didn’t particularly stand out from any housing nearby, on account of the moderately wealthy neighborhood. Its defining feature was probably its remoteness; while his humble, two story abode was close to the city, it was a couple hundred meters distant from his neighbors. Mainly due to the plot of land that he owned, and the dense forestry that he’d left up while developing the property. Just the way he liked it.

  — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

  Nathan let his front door close with a heavy bang, then wearily tossed his work satchel onto his sofa, just to the left of his house's short entry hall. Technically that was the entrance to his “living” room, but he really lived upstairs; down here was just for show. As it was now, the downstairs was something of a mess. Documents of varying significance were cluttered everywhere, but all were at least related to his employment. Nothing incriminating, but if he was ever caught it’d provide a good distraction for any investigators. That was only half of the reason he left them scattered over every surface, though. Mostly, he just didn’t care to keep it organized. He remembered where everything was anyway.

  Nathan stumbled into his kitchen through the maze of documents, folders, and books. He blearily tried to remember where he kept his coffee, certain he’d get it eventually, before he recognized that the bag was sitting right in front of his coffee machine. He shook his head lazily, then opened it up and got to work.

  He plugged in the grinder and started heating the water, then poured a quarter cup of coffee beans. He started up the grinder, and while it whirred he whipped open his fridge and poured himself a small cup of milk. The water had already started to steam, giving him a chance to dip a small valve on his coffee machine into the cup. The milk immediately started foaming, and he worked it until the grinders whirr lessened to a softer tone.

  Nathan snatched a mug and a small stirring spoon from his cupboard, then poured the warm milk, keeping the foam steady until it was all that was left in his cup. He set the foam aside, turned off the grinder, and immediately uncapped it and poured the grinds into his coffee machine. He started it, and slipped his mug under the spout just as it started to pour. A pleasant, earthy aroma warmed his kitchen, and within a few moments his coffee was done. He whipped up the foam cup, carefully whittled it atop his coffee, and took a light sip. It was much too hot for him to down, but the jolt of routine got his mind turning again after his grinding day at work.

  He gripped his mug tightly, already feeling more awake, and turned to begin maneuvering his way around the paper metropolis. He reached the stairs much more easily than he had the kitchen, and walked up them briskly. There were a few other rooms up here too, but he mostly used them for storage. The only one he cared about was at the end of the hall, shared by his bedroom. Nathan pulled open the door, taking care with his mug, and let his eyes glance over his computer bank. It was an impressive set up, with a wall of computers plugged into a few monitors that he did his real work on. He’d have preferred more processing power, but as far as avoiding attention went, it was perfect. Nathan quickly stepped over to his desk and sat in his office chair. Then, after flexing his fingers, he powered up his computers and set his mug down carefully. Finally, he could relax.

  Not for long, though. Just as he’d settled, his phone rang. Nathan lept in his seat, bumping his desk and causing his coffee to wobble dangerously. He lunged for his mug with a yelp and steadied it, then ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to ease his frustration. The phone chimed again, his ringtone repeating, and he hesitantly reached into his pocket to answer it. His wife calling was just about the only thing that could ever distract him from his projects.

  “Hey honey. What’s going on?” He asked, as he adjusted his glasses. They’d nearly been knocked off when he jumped, but the round frames were easy enough to perch back on his nose.

  “The usual, just wanted to check up on you since Zera’s down for the night. I’m unwinding a bit, now. How’s work?” Aysha asked.

  “Works same ol’ same ol’. I’m just relaxing now, myself.” He replied, before settling back down to keep plugging away. Injecting code was usually pretty easy, but his current string of projects was a doozy- he’d been working on them for a few weeks now.

  “Come oooooon Mr. Yacoub. You know what I meant. It can’t really be ‘same ol’.” She echoed, mocking the language. Western slang was something he’d picked up back in school, and she never let him live it down.

  “It is, really. The Americans and the Russians are still at each others throats, as per usual, with the Chinese caught in the middle. It’s been the same shit since they tried to take Taiwan a decade back. You know how it is. Everyone tries to eke out their own sly stuff, and everyone's caught in everyone else's crossfire.” He said, sighing. He could feel the raised brow through the phone. “These idiots just frustrate the hell out of me.”

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  That at least got a chuckle out of her. “Good thing ‘those idiots’ still don’t have a clue you’re snooping around, then.”

  “Well…” he began. The truth was, he knew it was a matter of time. His digital trail wasn’t a problem, even if the Americans or Chinese got involved- it was what his doctorate was about, after all. The more of their bottomless resources they shoveled into the continent though, the closer they’d get.

  “Not yet, no. This next one might give them a clue, though.”

  “Uh huh…” Aysha responded dubiously. “You’re not going for like, missiles or nukes, right?”

  “Hah hah! Uh, no. No no no no.” He said, before pausing a moment to think. “This is probably just as bad, though. I’ll get to see in just… about… now.” He pressed a few more keys, and finalized his injection. The moment he got control, an incredibly detailed image of… India, he recognized, splashed across his monitors. Specifically, an image from orbit. “Wow.”

  He heard his wife sigh. “Let me guess, schematics? Or is it something else? Regardless, don’t you think nuclear blackmail would get you what you want a little quicker?”

  “Still no nukes. That’s not quite my style. It’s um… a satellite grid, it looks like. Got in through a Chinese lab on Aerospace technology. This is supposed to be a research satellite, but I think…” He trailed off, before pressing a few more keys. He laughed again at what he saw.

  “You’re doing it again.” She pressed. It was endearing, but a bit annoying when he got too excited to finish his thoughts.

  “Ah, sorry. Well, it’s certainly not a research satellite.” Nathan replied. “Unless they’re researching American and Russian satellites, that is. This is… phew, wow. It’s been a while since I hit something this big.”

  “As long as it’s safe, Nathan.” Aysha chastised. There was some worry there, and he frowned at that. For as much as he liked to tease, Nathan hated worrying her or Zera.

  “For now, definitely. It’ll be even safer once I skim a bunch of data and…” Nathan trailed off when he noticed that she’d quieted.

  “Babe…” She began, trailing off herself. Nathan sighed, and began drifting the camera around the subcontinent. On the Chinese feed, it’d look like some minute calculations were just fractions off. That was the hope, anyway, and he drank in as much footage as he could. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what Aysha was going to say, anyway.

  “I know you’re trying to make a difference, but…”

  “You don’t think it matters. Won’t stop me from trying.” Nathan shot back.

  “That wasn’t what I was going to say. It’s just…” She started, then stopped. “I hate talking to you about this. But every risk you take, every ‘even more top secret’ government thing you backdoor into… I just know something is going to happen, eventually. I think you do, too. And you’re horrible at listening to that part of yourself.”

  Nathan gave a dry chuckle. “Well, you’re right about that. I just- I can’t-” Nathan paused, trying to find the right words. “The worlds broken, honey. You know that. Maybe it always has been, but every crack I mend gets us closer to fixing it. I was careful with these projects before I had you two in my life, and there's all the more reason for me to be cautious now. They’re just… grander”

  “I get that, but… maybe keep it to research labs and data centers? Those things I understand well enough. Military satellites, though? You can’t really argue that’s worth the risk”

  “Aysha, trust me, please. You know I’m careful about it. I wouldn’t crack these things if I wasn’t, and I’d have been caught well before now. Yeah, military satellites aren’t exactly small fry stuff. But it’s not like there’s any other little guys looking out for everyone else. Someone’s got to keep these big bads in check, and if no one else is, then I’m going to. Well, I'm going to try, anyway.”

  “That’s my- look, every time you hack something, you put yourself in danger. Put us in danger. I know you’re making the world a better place the only way you know how. But something is going to give eventually, and these powers you’re trying to stall? It’s probably not going to be them. I love your idealism, ok? And your optimism, and your compassion, and your good looks, and everything else about you. Sometimes though, it just feels like I’m the only one thinking about how much trouble you’re getting yourself into.” Aysha countered

  “Hey, I think about that too. Believe me, it’s a good incentive to make sure I’m cautious.” He joked, trying to lighten the mood. “But you’re not in any danger, ok? I’d never let that happen, and I don’t ever want you to be worried about that. I’d gladly burn myself before it got that far. Besides, even if something did happen to me, it’s not like I don’t have enough set up for you and Zera if-”

  “You don’t have an extra you set up for me and Zera, Nathan. You can’t make a backup plan for you.”

  Nathan sighed, and rolled his neck. He hated when they argued. “It’s just- I can’t-” He sighed again. “You have a point. You always do. I’ll… I’ll try to think of something else, ok honey?”

  He could feel the eye roll through his phone. “I’m pretty sure you say a variation of that every time I win this argument, Nathan.”

  “And I mean it every time, Aysha. But I can’t just turn my back on things that I know need to be changed. I know you’re worried, but…” He trailed off, squinting at his monitor as he saw something appear out of the void. He initially thought it was another satellite, but it was odd that it was close enough for him to see. Aysha started talking again, but the sound was muted in his ears as he watched the distant thing get bigger and bigger. There was a glint of light off of it, a dull surface appearing, and then- “WOAH!” He yelled, as something huge skimmed past his occupied satellite.

  “Nathan? What happened?”

  “I have the satellites image up on my monitors. Something big just…” Nathan carefully skimmed the video feed, unable to believe his eyes. “Vanished.”

  “What do you mean ‘vanished?’”

  “I don’t know, it’s just… it looked like a big damn meteor, and now it’s not there. There’s not even anything recorded on the sensors. I’m going to try…” He trailed off, before pressing a couple keys.

  He was able to jump to the Russian satellite. The Chinese, apparently, were totally entrenched in the software. He quickly brought up another program, and with a few more key presses, and a transcription of data, he started to track the trajectory of the object. He looked at it with alarm, and immediately swiveled the Russian satellite around, throwing caution to the wind. The data range did not give him any optimism. Too much closer and it’d be-

  He caught a glimpse of it again, barely getting a better look at it before it seemed to literally erase itself before his eyes. He caught the barest glimmer of metal, though, and immediately started to cycle through the Russian sensors.

  “Babe, what’s going on?” Aysha asked. There was some panic in her voice, and that gave him pause for a moment. His franticness was worrying her.

  He tried to project a calmer tone into his voice. “It’s probably nothing, honey. Just a really big rock really close to Earth. Those usually skim right on by. It’s not like-”

  Nathan finally got to the spectrometer, and skimmed where he thought the meteor would be, attempting to analyze it. The moment he did, the satellite returned error codes, and the object vanished again. He tried an infrared sensor- nope, gone.

  “-Holy shit.” He said, bewildered. “It’s like it’s… shifting. Every time I try to scan it with something it just… vanishes. It’s gotta be…” He trailed off, trying to avoid saying it.

  “It’s not detecting you, is it? Nathans first time in space, and he makes first contact.” Aysha joked, but there was a tremble of nervous apprehension at the end of it.

  “God I hope not.” He let his eyes drift over to his tracking program, and swore softly to himself. “It’s definitely going into the atmosphere. Good news is, it’s small enough that it’s going to break into teeny tiny pieces before it does any damage.”

  “That’s when a small asteroid is going to do damage, Nathan.”

  He paused for a moment to consider that. Hadn’t it been metallic, too? That meant less silica composition, and more energy for a break-up event. And a greater likelihood of it surviving atmospheric entry. He had to know where it was going. If it hit the wrong place, especially with it being… what, stealthy? It could set off a firestorm of conflict. Coming down over India, it could hit anywhere. China, the Middle East, Russia, hell, even Europe. He had to know.

  “You’re right. I’m going to try and find out where it’s going to land.”

  “Be careful.”

  “A bit too late for that. I’m going to need to burn this project.” He grumbled, as he hit a few more keys and swapped over to the American satellite. It had by far the most advanced sensor arrays, and he was immediately able to lock onto the asteroid… until it vanished again. Luckily, the satellite had enough instrumentation that he could keep a close eye on it. Until he ran out of equipment to use, anyway, and the asteroid finally vanished from all of his sensors. He had more data than he needed by now, though.

  Just in time, too. Alerts flashed on his monitors from various firewalls he had- the Americans were probing him, trying to figure out what was going on. Nathan quickly severed his connection to the satellite, and activated a few more programs to burn down any trace of his activities. It was nothing strictly viral, but that Aerospace lab was going to have a hell of a bad day. It wouldn’t take too long for the Americans to understand what’d gotten into their satellite- namely, the nearby orbiting Chinese one. Nathan just had to hope the Americans wouldn’t overreact, and that the meteor wouldn’t do anything…

  Nathan transcribed all the data with a press of a button, and sorely hoped it was wrong. He ran the numbers again, and again, but it returned the same result. So much for the meteor not landing anywhere bad.

  “Honey? I’m going to need to call you back here in a little bit.”

  “It’s hitting somewhere. Don’t lie.”

  “Yeah, it’s definitely on track to reach the surface. The good news is, it’s not landing anywhere significant.” He lied, “But, I’m going to make some calls just in case. I’ll call you back really soon, ok?”

  “Go play hero, Nathan. Just remember what I said.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He said, the ghost of a smirk playing across his lips as his wife hung up. Then he ran a hand through his hair and gave a stressed sigh. “Now, what do I do with you?” He asked himself, as he tracked the meteors trajectory on his monitor from orbit, straight down toward Moscow.