Divine Evolution (2021 Watty Awards Shortlist)

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Our race is old," Niko murmured, his gaze focused down at some point on the floor. "Some believe we were the first made by the Creators, but no one clearly remembers. We call them the Creators because we don't actually know if they were gods or not. Certainly, they were more advanced than us. We were their pets, and they gave us abilities surpassing anything we've seen in any of the other races we've encountered so far. So they made us, then they left. It's said they slipped through a rift in the Timespace and disappeared from this universe. Some of my race hope they'll return. Others hope they never come back. But before they left, they told us there were other races out in the Timespace, but none as special as us. And because we were the jewels of the universe, they said it was our duty to seek out these others and care for them. We were to make them the best they could be and give them the tools to become like us. So we did, because it was an imperative breed into us we couldn't fight. We've seen empires rise and fall, helped nurture fledgling species, and destroyed those we felt were too dangerous to exist. For countless generations we've done this because that's what the Creators made us to be. To fight against that drive was impossible.

"My father believed otherwise. He thought we should be rulers, not caretakers. The Creators weren't coming back, so no one could prevent us from being more. Other than fighting against the biological compulsions breed into our race, who in the Timespace could stand against us?"

"You make it sound like you're animals," Cyann whispered.

"As I said, we were pets. As advanced as we seem, whatever codex the Creators used to mold us, we haven't been able to overwrite it. Not entirely. My family is one of the first genetic lines the Creators made. As a result, we are slightly...more than the rest. So when my father spoke, many listened and followed him. Many didn't."

"He could work against the compulsions?"

"To an extent. When he couldn't fight them, he found a way to work around them. We never got along; I was always a disappointment to him. Not ruthless or pragmatic enough, if you can believe it. Said I got too caught up in the details instead of the bigger picture. The problem was we could never agree on what the bigger picture should be."

She nodded, though she didn't really understand. "I only know what I experienced in the village, but I assumed all families took care of each other. I guess that's not really how it is though, is it?"

"If you're lucky, it can be. However, not in my case. By the time I realized my father was setting himself up as an emperor—enslaving worlds and choking the life out of the spirals for his gain—it was too late to reason with him. He didn't just go against the Creators' mandate; he went against what it meant to be Dragoron. He had an army of supporters, ready to tear our society apart. I did what I thought would save the greatest number of people. I told him I wanted to be part of his plans, which thrilled him; he thought he finally had the son he'd always wanted. And when I could, I killed him. I don't regret it. I accepted what happened, went to trial, and took the punishment I deserved. I'd rather be known as a criminal than have him destroy countless worlds because he wanted to be served rather than serve."

"Your mother couldn't do anything to stop him?" she asked.

"My father murdered her a long time ago. It was said he hated being tied him to a woman he didn't want but who held so much power of him. Once he'd Claimed her, he was biologically linked to her, unless she formally repudiated him, and she wouldn't. It meant he couldn't father children with another woman and if by some miracle he did, they would be low caste and not recognized by the Council of Lords. And what was probably worse for him—she could control him, but he was limited by my mother's genetic standing and potential. He couldn't use his queen to advance while she had the power to bring him to heel and he hated that."