Story # 5.1: Conquest

It is now 2030, nearly 20 years after "The Fleece Rising" and the events leading to Jay's death and resurrection. During that time, Pat, Rob, and Jay, now indwelled by Britton, had been hard at work reshaping the planet's landscape with their new ultimate power...The Fleece.

The Fleece easily destroyed the largest mountain on the planet, leaving a crater of debris in its wake. Upon its emergence, the Fleece secured a position on the far side of the moon while Pat and Rob revived Jay as Britton. There, they began to strategize ways to fulfill their ultimate plan: the conquest of the world. The primary goal of the plan was the Activation of the Remnants. The remnants referred to the scattered remains of the ancient Atlantean Civilization around the globe. When the Atlanteans disappeared, at Pat's doing, millions of years earlier, their technology and culture were left behind. Over the many years that followed, some remains of the civilization were buried or outright destroyed. Some have stood the test of time, like the Great Pyramids. But regardless of their positions on the planet, it would be essential to locate them with the help of people from all walks of life. This meant the plan also must entail sociopolitical means and influence. Rob did not agree, however. The immense power of the Fleece was more than enough to press down on humanity, and Rob wanted to decimate entire areas without warning. Conquer through brute strength and force, and destroy as much of humanity as possible.

Britton disagreed. Britton always believed it was necessary to make humanity submit to them, right from the start. Britton wanted humans not only to obey them, but also to treat them all as Gods. Pat agreed with Britton. In due time, humanity's fate would be sealed, and Pat knew this. The human race had reached the end. In a few millennia, humans would go extinct, no matter what Pat, Britton, and Rob decided to do, from the repercussions of climate change associated with the Sun's fuel consumption. There would be no way for humans to continue. Pat simply wanted to speed up this process over a few years.

They all agreed that it would then be necessary for one of them to gain power in this world. To be a leader of one of the more powerful countries on the planet. Since Britton was in human form in Jay's body, she had to become this new leader. Pat and Rob were not human and therefore needed to stay in the shadows, orchestrating from behind closed doors, much as Pat had when the Fleece was in hiding. But Rob questioned, "How would they enter the world's political arena?"

"That's easy, son. We'll give them something they could never achieve on their own. Some of the power of the Fleece."

Pat's move was to provide the leaders of the world with a revolutionary new fuel, the kind that powers the Fleece. Additionally, they would assist in advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence, or contrived intuition (CI), as it was sometimes called in this society. The Fleece's technology was millions of years more advanced than anything in this world. It would be easy to dazzle society into believing these three men had unlocked something important and new for the planet.

The plan began with the introduction of a fully self-propelled automobile, complete with a CI uplink to allow the vehicle to operate without a passenger, and run on the fuel cell created from the Fleece. The company producing this new vehicle was known as Argonaut. The vehicles called Argo J18s became an instant hit on the world markets within 5 years of the Fleece Rising. By that time, Britton had become a trillionaire with this new technology and commanded the respect and admiration of people around the world. As Britton's power grew, so did her connections to political figures, celebrities, resources, and clout. No one knew that Britton was not what she seemed. She corrupted and shattered Jay's body, engaging in debauchery of all kinds. Britton used her name, but took on the last name of Hister. Britton Hister was a player, an actor, a deceiver of many. Whether indulging in romantic interludes with various women or same sex relations, Britton was twisting the wills of others over to her diabolical scheme. The goal was always conquest and destruction, never coexistence. 

By the year 2022, Britton was a formidable political figure, growing in popularity among the citizens of the United States of Columbia. Columbia was the most powerful country on the planet. It only made sense for Britton to take control from there. By this year, Britton had become a senator in the government and was starting to push for a campaign run as the next Chancellor in the 2024 election. The parties, as they were, had become destabilized, some of this stemming from Pat and Rob's behind-the-scenes activities. Pat and Rob were good at stirring up trouble. Protests had become more commonplace. Citizens in a very prosperous country began to turn on one another over opinions and beliefs. At one point, Pat instigated the release of a biological weapon preserved from the previous civilization loop. The Sars-CoV-2 had never been released on the planet in the previous loop. Instead, the SARS-CoV-3 virus was released and was far more devastating to that civilization. Pat secured COVID for a later date, such as now. He also enhanced the virus's virulence, making it much more potent and deadly. When COVID hit this society, the effects were much more severe, but nothing like the Anderson Loop had been. COVID killed 243 million people and infected over 2 billion people around the world in the year 2024. The controversy over lockdowns and preventive measures stirred emotions worldwide, making Britton's entry into the election campaign later that year easy.

The one thing Britton offered, if elected, was salvation. She would be the redeemer the world had been hoping for over the ages past. Her plan was the unite the people against this plague on humanity. Britton brought a cure for COVID, since the virus had been engineered by Pat. This hope of salvation from an ever-spreading disease allowed Britton to win in a landslide victory in the Columbia election. As the new Chancellor starting at the beginning of 2025, the virus was completely eradicated. This led some to believe, with the creations and inventions Britton had become known for around the world, that she was, in fact, the long-awaited Protector, or what we refer to as the Messiah. 

Britton went so far as to unite the Central Eastern World, known to them as the Sumer Region. There, she brought peace and prosperity to a region long mired in conflict. As the warring people of the world met with her, she announced her identity as non-binary, essentially allowing herself to be called a man or woman if she pleased, and encouraged many others to follow suit. This indiscretion was meant solely to see how people would respond, with no real basis. Society erupted again, with more protests, as peace talks eventually transitioned into negotiations with world leaders on a new government. A system where one leader would oversee the rest, allowing the planet to be divided into regions under one governmental model. It was known as Unisecularism but was colloquially referred to as The Hister Empire. This one-world government began to flex its muscles against those who did not obey. Eventually, Pat and Rob deployed the latest in Bot CI technology, including automated drones and soldiers known as Argo Calvary. They were sleek, metallic, and lethal when needed. These automatons replaced human security and police forces around the world, providing a 24/7 infantry to oversee humans. In all, the Cals had over 200 million deployments worldwide by 2027. 

Pat, Rob, and Britton had an army. They had control. People obeyed them. Rob was now the ruler of Columbia, seizing the country's capital for himself. Britton and Pat had set up their ruling location in the Central Eastern World, near a place called Jezreel. To us, this place was called Megiddo. An entire city was being 3D-printed at this location, creating a grand site for the world's imperial ruler. But Pat felt it was necessary to make the world understand something. Pat wanted to be sure that, in the midst of all this new power, the original plan was not lost and ensure that not only would humans obey, but they would yield their complete devotion to all three of them.

For this reason, Pat unleashed the Fleece's power. From Jezreel, the Fleece rose into the air high above the created city, to the astonishment of people around the world. Videos reporting on the event showed images that amazed and terrified people at the same time. But in the blink of an eye, the Fleece darted toward the largest city in the world. What we referred to as Paris was a much larger, sprawling metropolis in this world. Known as New Rene, this city was 3 times the size of Paris and housed many of the world's financial, political, and technological resources. Although New Rene was thriving, assistance from Columbia had enabled this, as many of the surrounding countries were in near-poverty. But on this day, there would be no New Rene any longer. The Fleece unleashed a blast on the city that wiped it off the face of the planet, turning parts of the land into glass. 

People from around the world were horrified as Britton, the Supreme Imperial Chancellor, addressed the world, letting them know that, from this time forward, all financial, political, and technological means will flow through Jezreel and the Supreme Imperial Chancellor. They would all accept this rule or suffer the same fate as New Rene. Finally, by the beginning of 2028, the suspension of elections was mandated. Britton would continue as Supreme Imperial Chancellor for life, and she would assign whom she wanted to lead the other regions. All persons would now be mandated to use the same currency, or they would be refused any services. The currency became known as J18. With the Cals worldwide, the Fleece became the command ship controlling them all, continuing to grow in number through mass production. This world had become tyrannical, allowing for a totalitarian regime to completely dominate everyone in existence. It was all for one purpose: the complete extermination of the human race.

Now, in 2030, Britton, Pat, and Rob were preparing for the Activation of the Remnants, which would help finish off humanity once and for all. For years, scientists had been assisting with SIC-funded site excavations to locate all the remnants. Almost all of the remains of the Atlantean civilization had been found. It was now only a matter of time before the activation sequence could commence, and once it did, the genocide of humanity would begin.

"Do you think they'll ever truly understand how worthless they really are?" Rob asked Pat.

"They served a purpose to some degree, son. But their usefulness has certainly run its course."

Rob was communicating virtually from his office in Washington, D.A., to the Fleece, where Pat was stationed with Britton. Britton was being tended to by both men and women concubines, all of whom were completely unclothed, basking in the debauchery her rule had become known for. Britton placed on a robe to cover herself, pushing away the concubines to approach the screen where Pat was talking with Rob. She motioned for all the concubines to leave.

"He's right, you know, Rob. Without humans, especially me, we wouldn't have achieved as much as we have to this point. They were needed."

"Yeah, maybe to make you feel special," Rob retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Are you feeling slighted in some way, Rob?" Pat asked.

"No, it's just that our almighty ruler of late seems more interested in the latest concubine than actually accomplishing goals for our plans."

"I am focused on the plan, Rob. Pardon me if I like to indulge."

"You indulge quite a bit, Britton."

"And you don't? Wait, wasn't it you that had a harem not long ago, of women you basically molested?"

"And then burned. You forgot that part. They don't please me like they do you and the body you are in."

"Yes, be that as it may, you sure seemed to enjoy what you were doing, as I recall, prior to burning them."

"Enough, you two. We have to remember who our true adversaries are, and it's not the three of us," interrupted Pat.

Rob looked down as Britton looked away momentarily. 

"Humans have been and always shall be our enemy. Once all of this is settled, we will have a new world we can call our own with creatures we see fit to deposit here," Pat concluded.

"I can't wait for that day, Dad," Rob replied.

"In the meantime, Rob, make sure the forces in the western part of the Columbia are tightening things up. That governor out there thinks he can do and say what he wants sometimes. I think it might be time to liquidate him."

"It would be my pleasure, Pat. I'll check into that now. Keep me posted on any further round-ups in Continentals near the area of New Rene."

"We will, Rob. And I did not mean to antagonize," said Britton.

"Nor did I. Rob out."

The screen went dark for a moment, and then it displayed a painting of Paradise Lost.

Pat turned to face Britton, with no smile, no expression of any kind. Britton took notice of this.

"What?"

"These melodramas aren't necessary, Britton."

"I've told you before, Pat, I want them at their knees before we give them up. These creatures need to understand who is over them."

"Yes, but the indulgences are no different than what many people in times before wanted as well. You must still be cautious, even in this elevated state."

"Cautious of what, Pat? You were the reason those civilizations ended, as I recall. You tried all you could to wipe them out, time after time. Failing, might I add."

"It wasn't failure, it was intervention."

"Intervention from what? A group of people on the far side of the universe? You banished them for all eternity. The best they could do was to infiltrate dreams and send holographic images that didn't resemble humans. They are done for."

"Don't underestimate them, Britton. They are more powerful than you know."

"Spare me, Pat. They are as weak as these humans who have remained for millions of years. So fragile and corruptible."

"They can still create great things."

"Only to tear them apart with poor judgment and bad habits. As they have done for eons."

"Your arrogance is abundant."

"As is your belief in some so-called return. Do you really believe any of the Atlanteans will ever come back?"

"Yes, I do. Sooner than you think."

"It has been over 3 million years; surely they would have returned by now, Pat."

A man dressed in black entered the doors of the sanctuary, as it was known.

"My lord, there is something you need to see," the man in black said.

"You were not summoned," Britton replied.

"This was urgent."

The man brought up the display, removed the artwork, and showed a news broadcast. The person on the broadcast was talking about an extraordinary event taking place in the sky above. The camera filming showed seven glowing stars on the display in the sky; however, these stars were in a geosynchronous orbit with the planet, in the space between the moon and the home world.

Britton was spellbound, staring at the screen. The man in black looked at her as Pat approached her from the side.

"What is that?" Britton asked.

A smile crossed Pat's face. "That, my dear Britton, is them."

Britton, in the form of Jay, turned her head to look at Pat, as Pat slowly turned his head to face her face-to-face.

"The Atlanteans have returned."