Tevun-Krus #100

56 - Fate of the Sensus Omni - @wdhenning - SoulPunk

Fate of the Sensus Omni

By wdhenning

Before the neutron star eats my starship for breakfast, I thought it time to make a checklist of what brought me to this point. Let's see... Waking up on my ship with a hangover to discover I had a new wife and daughter, according to the legal document anyway. Discovering that said wife was a Chaos Witch, and that she and her daughter were the most wanted people in the galaxy. Being pursued by the full might of the Federation navy, who's favorite negotiating strategy utilized quantum torpedoes. Yeah, that about sums it up.

With a directed thought, I increased the magnification of the forward display, centered on neutron star NX-13257, which I unofficially named 'don't go there or you'll die'. Both terrifying and beautiful, a wispy glowing halo, the accretion disk made up of its former outer layers, surrounded a blazing blue-white sphere. With the mass of an enormous star compressed to a twenty-kilometer sphere, space bent eerily around it. The gravitational lensing effect createddistorted images of the stars and ghostly dust behind it.

Tarha, my new wife, stood just behind my left shoulder wearing a blue gown and head cover, the traditional attire of a Chaos Witch. I should say 'Veritas Illuminatio', which she much preferred over the common and sometimes derogatory term.

The Chaos Witches were either a crazed cult or an enlightened order, depending on who you asked. They preached the purity of human spirit and vehemently rejected the neural implants that were the basis of modern society's function. The implants extended mental function in much the same way that tools extended hand function. With mine, I could control every system of my cargo starship and see through its sensors as if it was part of me.

Only recently revealed, the Chaos Witches had embarked on a two-century-long genetic breeding program to create the Sensus Omni, a person with the extraordinary ability to alter the very fabric of reality. A savior to them, but a dire threat to the authorities. Which brings me back to the present situation, since this Sensus Omni was onboard as a thirteen-year-old girl.

I turned my head back to Tarha. "Are you sure this is the way? Flying straight at a neutron star is generally not recommended."

The gravitational shear forces would rip the ship apart if the magnetic flux didn't do it first. The three Federation frigates tailing us wisely turned away. Smearing our atoms across the star surface would save them the trouble of killing us themselves.

"Have faith, Duncan," she replied with a calm smile and far-away gaze. "You shall see."

Faith was an extravagant luxury in my corner of the galaxy, something that got you killed. Kinda like now. Not that it would be so bad, since I was slowly dying of something far worse.

The Soul Plague infected me like it did so much of humanity. I had good days and bad days, the bad ones marked by spirit-crushing despair and emotional numbness. Food lost its savor, deep space its wonder, a smile its warmth, and life its meaning.

The plague took away consciousness itself, the experts said. It started long ago and spread almost imperceptive at first, and by the time it was widely noticed, it encompassed humanity's worlds. Even with all the resources of the Federation, they could not even determine what caused the sickness, much less a cure. No pathogen or poison would explain it, spreading seemingly without a carrier.

Those stricken eventually became little more than zombies, alive but not living, until even that was taken. Most ended their own lives before that point. Many scientists predicted the Soul Plague would lead to human extinction.

Enough of those thoughts. I spun around in my chair. "I have to know. Did you use some witchy power to make me marry you? I still don't remember." Most believed Chaos Witches possessedmental powers of persuasion.