Chapter 653 A Truth  

Lightning, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t move at the speed of light. The invisible “leader strike” travels from the cloud to the ground at around two hundred thousand miles per hour; a far cry from the speed of light, which travels at upwards of 670 MILLION miles per hour. But what people think of when they look at lightning isn’t the invisible leader strike, but what’s called the “return stroke”, which heats the air in the ionized pathways left behind by the leader strike, turning it to plasma. That travels significantly faster, at around a third of light speed or 60,000 miles per second.

So when the people surrounding Aron and the awakener supremacist, Alejandro Garcia finally blinked their eyes clear of the temporary blindness caused by seeing a return stroke at incredibly close range, all they saw was the emperor of mankind standing in the same position he had been, slightly leaning forward with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin jutting out. But behind him was a headless corpse, still standing on its feet, and a fine red mist suspended above the neck, which was spraying arterial blood from where its head should have been.

Then, they finally heard the cracking whine of a pulse rifle round echoing out from one of the white and silver towers circling the park they were standing in and understood what had happened. Someone had stupidly attacked the emperor of all mankind, assuming that the visible security was the only security that Aron had accompanying him. It was a fatal mistake.

Aron relaxed his stance and turned to the newscasters in the distance, their cameras all focusing on him. As the corpse behind him finally fell with a thud, he said, “Thus is the fate of anyone who attempts to overturn the foundation of Our empire. No mercy shall be shown to those who believe themselves better than others by a simple quirk of chance, a cosmic event that just so happened to land in their favor.

“Awakeners are no better or worse than everyone else. All of humanity is equal. Equal in terms of opportunity, and equal in terms of squandering or grasping those opportunities. We all live, we strive, we succeed, we fail, we love, we laugh, we cry, we mourn, we bleed, and in the end, we all die. Some, perhaps, sooner than others. But that doesn’t change the fact that no human is inherently better than any other.

“As for this man, his crime wasn’t his words. We are not a petty man who would execute one of Our citizens simply for espousing their beliefs, no matter how wrong they are. But that man—” Aron gestured at the corpse on the ground beside him, “—took his wrongheaded beliefs and attacked Us. He has paid the price for his mistake, and it was the last mistake he will ever make.

“So far, We have allowed the discussion of equality to continue on without weighing in for or against. But We have seen what’s happening around Us. We’ve seen the divisions fostered among Our people by these supremacists. And We’ve seen your suffering and pain as those who mistakenly believe themselves superior enforce their wills upon you, Our beloved people. “Here and now, We promise you this: no longer! Things that threaten to divide humanity will no longer be tolerated! Anyone that seeks to enrich themselves by beggaring others will find themselves on the opposite side from Us. And We will not be merciful! We will bring down the full might of the Terran Empire upon the cancerous blight growing in the dark, the so-called criminals of the popular phrase ‘capes and criminals’. As will the full force of the empire be brought to bear on those unawakened that agree with such an insidious, divisive opinion as awakened supremacy.

“Not too long ago, We stood before what should have been a symbol of unity among humans, a united leadership that should have strove for peace, justice, and unity. And while We were there, We saw that it did anything but. So, We replaced it, because humanity MUST. BE. UNITED!” Aron hammered his fist against his other palm to emphasize the last three words.

“It seems that some have forgotten that humanity must stand united thanks to an outside, potentially hostile, force heading our way. Yet what I see now are people striving to return to the days of tribalism, of humanity being as disunited as a dish of loose sand. They have forgotten why We have done the things We’ve done. We eliminated hunger, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and war. We’ve increased the standard of living for everyone, doubled your lifespans—and then some—and We’ve taken humanity and dragged Our species out of the dirt and into the stars!

“And was it the so-called ‘superior’ awakeners that did all of that? Did they do ANY of that?” Aron paused in his impromptu speech to let his points sink in, then continued, “No! The people who pushed humanity to the stars, the people who feed humanity, the people who study the mysteries of existence and push human technological boundaries to a point that every single day is a day with a myriad of discoveries, both scientific and technological... have almost entirely been Our unawakened citizens.

“So the claim of ‘awakened superiority’ is an outright, utter lie. It’s a lie perpetuated by those who feel strong, and in their minds, they think strength should be used to bully the weak.

“They have no idea what true strength is. But We will show them precisely what it is. That, Our dear citizens, is another promise I am making to you, and another promise that will. Be. Kept!”

Aron took a deep breath and his expression returned to his usual impassive, authoritarian gaze. “We are not a despot, however, nor are We a tyrant. If you truly desire change, then fight for it with your words, with your ideas, with your passion. If you truly feel superior to your fellow humans, then show it through your actions, your deeds. Be better. Take the high road. Do good. Enrich and encourage your fellow human beings.

“But whatever you do, do not use violence. Do not bully the weak. Because if you do....” Aron turned his head and glanced at the headless corpse next to him. “If you do,” he continued, softer this time but with Nova ensuring that his words were clearly recorded by the cameras in the distance, “then this will be the only end you face.”

Without another word, he turned and strode toward his shuttle, his back ramrod straight and steps steady and even, ignoring the shouted questions of the journalists in the distance. He had just given them a truth, and they would need time to digest it before he spoke on the matter again.