ALPHA
Evan Jenkins
AuspexAO@hotmail.com

I.

"But you don't understand! We shall be as gods! Gods, Chairman!"

"The Board recognizes the potential of Project Omega, but it has not seen proof of your lofty claims. Where is the research, Doctor, where is the data that the board has given you such an abundance of time to procure?" Garnering no response from the preoccupied doctor, the Chairman continued with his reprimand. "The board wants nothing more than what you promised. We require a complete prototype for test purposes within the next month, or we will terminate funding. Is that understood, Dr. Zohar?"

Dr. Zohar could not believe what he was hearing. Only days ago had he discovered the phenomenon of what he called 'Perpetual Waveform Physics.' Only days ago had he first stared in awe at an unassuming computer fractal, like a man throwing rocks in a pond might stare if the ripples he had propagated never stopped flowing from the epicenter. Pushing from the center...yet also beckoning...

"Are you contemplating your seat on Olympus, Doctor?" A member of the Board jeered, much to the amusement of the lethargic court staff.

"Ahem, no." Zohar paused to regain composure. "I was merely, um, wondering who I should consult about compatibility...with...with your fleet's weapon systems," he stammered. Now fully released from his daydream, he added, "I have designed the Omega Project to be fully capable of interfacing with any starship function, including weapons and information terminals. The research staff is very proud of the Project's ability to learn and cope with even the most dire of scenarios."

Noticing the glassy stares of his peers, the Chairman gave Zohar a quick nod of appreciation and deftly interrupted the Doctor's endless stream of scientific babble. "Excellent job, Doctor. I will inquire as to who in the Defense Bureau will be assisting you, although I seem to recall that Commander Cortez is currently assigned to Project Omega."

Now it was Zohar's turn to nod approval. Mia Cortez's military rank was of less import in his eyes than the fact that she had revealed her scientific ability while co-developing the Cetacean-Class Heavy Cruiser. The very same starship that Omega was designed to interface with.

"Now go, sir, and next time bring us a prototype, or at the very least some data we can show the budget committee!"

The meeting of the Board ended with the usual lazy note-gathering and the slow exodus from the stuffy court chamber to the lobby, and from there to the intricate network of tubes the Farreach colonists relied on for transportation. The crystalline tubes themselves were just one of the thousands of contributions Zohar had made to the science of terraforming. They stretched across miles without regard for the jagged harshness of the planet's landscape. However, all roads eventually lead to the imposing citadel that held his darkest creation, although Zohar had made no conscious decision to arrange them that way. This could be because Doctor Zohar had an uncanny natural ability to understand and manipulate the macrocosm, to f--- with the Big Picture (as his colleague Dr. Quentin eloquently put it). Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before the government realized that a genius who could build entire worlds in weeks could probably destroy them in seconds.

The great door to the main tube was now closed and the even the stragglers had made their plodding egress. Zohar remained in the lobby, though, and waited to tell his colleagues all about the current crisis in the 'Project Omega' Saga. Once again, he released the Waves from their reservoir within his mind and allowed them to wash over his thoughts, just as their liquid counterparts would wash over a coarse beach to render it smooth. If he was correct, if these waves were the next step towards limitless power, then what would that mean for humankind's ambitions? A vehicle with limitless reach, perhaps? A medicine that could regenerate tissue again and again? A weapon...a weapon with immeasurable power...

"Good afternoon, Abe, what's the verdict?"

"Deus."

"What? Damn, are you alright, Abe? You look like...ah God! Don't tell me they cut our funding! I knew it, Dammit!" The new arrival, Dr. Quinten, smacked his hands together to accentuate his disappointment.

"Wha--no Sam, ah, everything is still on, but they're only giving us one more month to get results. Listen, Sam. How about we call it Deus?"

"Call what Deu--oh, you mean the Omega Project. Why?"

"I don't know. I think because that is what it is meant to be called, I don't think it can be called anything else."

"Whatever you want, man, I'll call it God if it keeps my family fed, ya know?" Quinten laughed and nudged Zohar. "Oh, here comes everyone else."

After pushing its way through the great door, the river of white lab-coats became an ocean, and forced the two doctors to seek higher ground upon the staircase leading to the court chamber. Zohar scanned the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Waves that propelled him manifesting themselves in someone else's eyes. It was the conviction, the faith, that had finally led him to the Waves. But alas, he saw nothing but the eyes of lambs waiting for their shepherd to direct them, so he did.

"Some of you might think this is good news, some might see it as a brief reprieve before our inevitable termination. The Board has decided that 'Project Omega' or, 'Deus', as it is now called, will be given one more month." Doctor Zohar paused to allow time for the whispering to cease. "However, in light of a recent discovery, I believe that we can finish the prototype in that time. Thank you for sticking by me in these last few months, and, believe me, when the time comes to unveil Deus for all to see, you will all be at my side to share equally in its glory!"

The crowd applauded the speech half-heartedly and exchanged pleasantries with each other and with Zohar before finally exiting the lobby. Zohar lingered a moment to let the waves cradle his skull, and then he too set out to bring about the birth of Deus.

II.

"The 'Path to Heaven,' the Babel Accelerator, is complete."

Commander Cortez was getting annoyed at Zohar's taste for allegory, having no such religious idiosyncrasy herself. "I don't quite understand what you plan to do with all of this expensive equipment, and I must say that I am not pleased to find that you are spending time and money on a project other than Deus!"

"Commander, Commander, this IS for Deus! At the other end of this acceleration lattice is the solution for Deus's annoying power drain problem! Until now, Deus was merely a slave to its fusion core, in other words, it could never be the perfect weapon because its heart was too weak for its mind's great ambition."

"This circular acceleration corridor, here," said Cortez as she pointed to the center of the enormous device. "This doesn't have anything to do with your fanciful Wave theory does it? Please tell me that you don't plan for Deus to run on cosmic waveforms."

Zohar regarded Cortez coldly and turned to admire his masterpiece. He considered this beautiful creation to be his greatest work, greater even than Deus. After all, Deus was no more than a very adaptable and devious set of parameters, linked to an intricate micro-processing plant. The Babel Accelerator was a direct roadway to the limitless power of the universe.

"You desire a demonstration? Then, Commander," he said with a grin of complacency on his face. "You shall have one."

III.

It was fo