The Revenant

[Garrett Jax]

Chapter Five

Darius awoke with a screaming headache. He brought his hand up to try and massage it away, only to find half his face was bandaged. What happened? His face felt like someone beat it with a sledgehammer.

His memories came to him in a rush as the automaton entered the room. He tried to get up but his head hurt so bad, he fell back down.

The automaton rushed to his side. “Careful, human. You are recovering from surgery, you need to lie still.”

“Surgery?” asked Darius. “What the hell did you do to me, robot?”

The automaton almost jumped with excitement. “Oh, we improved you significantly. Look here.”

It reached overhead and pulled down a swiveled monitor. “This was your brain before we operated.”

Darius saw a standard MRI picture of a human brain.

“Now, look at what we did,” the automaton said, excitedly. The next picture showed the same brain, but with a small round spider shaped dot planted on the cerebral cortex with long thin tendrils branching out to the different lobe regions. “You will see marked improvement in your memory, perception and motor skills among many other areas.”

Darius groaned. “Why did you do this to me if your goals are to eradicate humanity?”

The automaton laughed again. It was an eerie sound. “Did you not listen to what I said, human? The Daam K’vosh do not wish to eradicate humanity completely. They only wish to confine them to the inner core systems. The Daam K’vosh are not savages. They wish all dwellers of this galaxy to live in peace. However, humanity is like a plague that needs to be contained.

This time, Darius laughed. “Why don’t you get the Nomads and their Wilde to help you?

A pained look fell across the automaton’s face. “The Nomads are corrupted in mind and purpose. Whether through ignorance or willfulness, they have followed a different path from the Daam K’vosh. They have not responded to my efforts to reach them. If the will of my Masters is to be fulfilled, it will be at the hands of humanity.

Darius looked disgusted. How was any of this possible? Even if he were inclined to observe the will of an ancient race of super beings, how could he even hope to succeed? They were many, he was one. Even enhanced, he stood no chance.
He yelled at the automaton. “What you ask is impossible. You expect me to maintain a line of demarcation between the Nomads and humanity. I would be hated by all. No allies, no support, no nothing.”

The automaton remained emotionless. “You will carry the name, The Revenant. You will recruit followers to assist you. You will be branded a terrorist by humanity and a heretic by the Nomads, but you will find allies for our cause. You will bring them here and we will convince them our way is right. We will enhance them, like we did with you. We will strengthen them for the task ahead. For the sake of peace, you will wage war. Until the day comes when the Daam K’vosh return and restore peace to this sector, you and your followers will act on their behalf. As far as any living creature is concerned, you are the Daam K’vosh.”

---