The Ring of Acies

Epilogue: The Returned

The wreckage of Initium Station floats in ruin around the planet. All twelve duodecants and all twelve atmosphere processors were simultaneously destroyed in a powerful blast, the likes of which have never occurred in the universe before. All three billion inhabitants perished in the station's destruction. But despite all the death and destruction, this moment is not devoid of life.

As the ashes of Initium fall into orbit, hundreds of thousands of violet eyes illuminate the backdrop of space. Upon the destruction of Initium, the moment of death seized to exist. The moment in which nearly the entire population of Aciin visited and died in has been deleted. The returned float before the planet now.

One of the Aciin observes the wreckage with an understanding of what happened. As new moments that have yet to occur fill this Aciin's memory, it recalls a moment with the one who saved the planet. This sacrifice was not simply the work of one of its species. No. Members of the species inhabiting the ring saw the impending future and chose to act. They chose to sacrifice their own to save the planet.

Another Aciin feels the one's thoughts. It brings up the question:

"Had the beings known the cost of their actions, would they have still chosen to do it?"

The former Aciin replies to this question with another thought.

"We will not know their choices by their thoughts. We will only know their choices by their actions."

The Aciin recognizes the difficulty of the sacrifice and the unfair destruction of the innocent. It begins to wonder if death is the only possible future for these beings.

Before the Aciin can finish the thought, the other cuts in with its own.

"No. Such a thing is not meant to be done by us. We know what happens if they live past this moment. What they will do to the planet."

The former responds with a proposition.

"But what if they knew what we knew? What if they could feel the planet as we do? We could show them a way where they do not have to break the planet to fit their needs."

The latter responds:

"What you are implying will defy the laws of life and nature."

The former retorts:

"What they have done has already broken the ancient laws. The few triumphed over the many; the innocent were slaughtered for a truly good purpose. A member of a species intentionally irradicated its entire society, including itself, to ensure the survival of another. The laws are already broken. It is the responsibility of the returned to lay the path of the new moments."

The latter, with less restraint, thinks of a question:

"Do you truly believe they can change?"

The former responds with a hopeful spirit:

"I do not know in this moment what will happen to them or the planet. But I understand that billions of the innocent were murdered so that thousands of those whom they were unaware of could live."

The latter responds with one final question:

"So, you believe we owe them life."

The former finishes the combined train of thought.

"Yes, I believe we do."

"Very well." The latter implies. "They shall be reborn from the planet. We shall give them every chance to survive and thrive. But understand that if this is done, the duty of protecting the planet will no longer fall unto the shoulders of the Aciin, but unto the people of Acies as well."

"So it will be." The former implies.

"So it will be." The latter responds.

As if in response to the shared train of thought, the returned Aciin begin the work. Thousands of Aciin descend to the planet's surface and spread out across Acies' vast deserts. They convert their entire bodies into massive lungs and begin restoring the atmosphere to its original composition. Meanwhile, others pull the debris of Initium out of its orbit around the planet and leave it in organized patches surrounding the ruins of the atmosphere processors. The Aciin are delicate as not to destroy anything more than the initial destruction already has. The wreckage of what was once known as Duodecant III is left in a spiral pattern around the shattered remains of Processor III.

The most difficult task is restoring the people of the ring. Since its conception, the Aciin have been protectors of the planet, but none are equipped with the knowledge needed to restore a life. But in response to their fear, empathy, and grief, the planet shows them the way. Tendrils of violet light extend from the surface. The Aciin flow through them and pull them to the remains of every person who was killed in the death of Initium. Some require reassembly. Others simply require treatment for minor wounds and to once again be given the gift of life. Once the energy is brought to the people, they gain abilities they never had before. Once they return, they will be able to communicate mind to mind on command. They will also be able to breathe the planet's natural atmospheric composition and sense the planet's energy. These abilities will cause setbacks should they attempt to recontact other members of their former species. But it must be done for the symbiotic survival of the planet and its people. Once the changes are made, the people are brought down to the surface, lain naked as the day they were born, near the wreckage of their former duodecants.

In a blue grass field, a short distance away from the ruins of Processor III, the people once inhabiting Duodecant III are brought to rest. Most of the people are lain to rest in an organized fashion on a stretch of flat land. However, two are separated from the rest. They are brought onto a gentle hill overlooking a vast freshwater ocean. A hill that was visited by the Aciin who saved Acies long ago. The two bear pale scar lines where various limbs and other mounds of flesh were reunited with their bodies. As they lie side-by-side, a young Aciin and its parent walk up the hill towards them. Together, they gently drape blades of grass over the unconscious bodies of the ones known as Terrine Zafas and Nevistri Orisan. The young Aciin looks at the soft, lightly scarred face of the one known as Terrine. It senses some sort of connection it has yet to understand. As its parent calls it away, it looks back at the woman one last time. Something inside tells it that they will meet again.

~ ~ ~

Terrine's newly restored body begins to quiver and shake. This is the first time she will have set foot on the surface of a planet, and it will be the first time she experiences the full gravitational force of a world. Her breathing is slow and laboured at first. She inhales a mixture of chemicals that is toxic to her former species, the human race. But as her body recognizes it has the strength to survive in Acies' gravity, her breathing slows into a gentle and calm rhythm. She opens her eyes, and her new violet irises adjust to the bright and sunny blue sky of Acies. She looks in front of her to see the violet eyes of the last person she saw before she died as a human, staring back at her. The first emotions Terrine experiences after her rebirth are joy, love, and wonder. The ring of Acies has been destroyed. The people of Initium are dead. The people of Acies have been reborn, no longer members of the human race despite their appearances, but members of a new species, born of Acies.