"Contemplating the humans
again, I see."
An evil voice, one
that seethes with evil, hate, and the desire to destroy.
My mortal enemy.
"Crayak."
He is little more than
one large eye, more machine than lifeform. I cannot completely remember
how he became this way, he and I have existed and fought each other for
so long that we can remember nothing of our origins. It is probably just
as well.
Crayak is as twisted
inside as out, evil personified. He has destroyed dozens of peaceful species
- the Pemalites, for instance - that knew nothing of violence, that only
knew peace. Now the Pemalites exist only on Earth - but not physically.
They now exist in the souls of a playful species that the humans call 'dogs.'
It is another reason
that Earth is so precious.
The Pemalites - like
so many others - were annihilated by Crayak's Howlers, a race that destroys
only because they believe it is a game.
But I have a plan to
make these terrible creatures useless - it will culminate the next time
Crayak and I start a dispute over the future of a race.
I smile to myself.
Crayak stands - hovers,
really - right next to me, staring out at the image of Earth. "You will
never win, you know. Even with your so-called resistance to occur fifteen
solar cycles from now… a hopeless cause."
I do not respond, except
to say, "Sometimes lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for." His
presence makes my skin crawl, as the humans say, but I do my best to endure
it.
"The battle will result
in my inevitable triumph, you know that. All your efforts are only prolonging
the inevitable."
"I have seen the future,
Crayak, just as you have. And I have also observed the past, which you
love to interfere in so much. Did you not learn? Adolph Hitler - your finest
creation - killed thousands upon thousands, but he claimed one last victim
at the end of the war: himself. On this planet, good triumphs more often
than evil."
"Not so much anymore,
dear friend," he replies, his one eye glowing with glee. "Your beloved
humans are fighting in wars for the purpose of economy! For government!
They are becoming corrupt, and you know it." He laughs, a terrible sound
to my ears. "They are doomed. From the moment that your beloved John Kennedy
refused to put his foot down on the Soviet Union holding missiles in Cuba,
and from the moment of his death - which I am proud to say that I caused
- evil has begun to grow stronger. Look upon the future for yourself! Children
are killing each other! Children! They are killing for the sake of killing!
Unborn human babies are being murdered for the sake of a woman's choice!
And people are cheering them on! Face it, old enemy, this race is lost."
"You underestimate
humans, Crayak. Humanity will not go quietly into the night."
"Your foolish hopes
of changing this race have always led to a hope-bringer's death. You brought
a man named Abraham Lincoln into the world, into this America place, and
I brought a man named Booth, who is now known for only one thing: he shot
and killed your beloved Lincoln in the presence of his wife and children!"
I sigh. Abraham Lincoln
was my finest creation at the time. He was a kind man with a good heart.
He gave his nation a reason to fight for renewed unity - the destruction
of slavery. After the war was over, he wanted to bring about change that
would send America into a golden age. But Crayak had him killed.
It took America a century
to bring about the change that would have taken one fifth that long under
Lincoln. The country is still struggling to change.
"And then," Crayak
continues gleefully, "your friend Franklin Roosevelt. A sad case. He was
almost unable to walk, and yet he brought his nation into a war that…"
He trails off.
I smile. "That destroyed
your finest work. Hitler was a sad case, as well. A man who was obviously
psychologically unstable from the first World War on. And you think I make
pathetic choices."
"You do."
"You made a bad mistake.
The Japanese - Hitler's allies - were responsible for bringing America
into the war. They enraged America so much that they had no choice but
to enter the war on the side of Britain and the Allies."
"Your Franklin Roosevelt
died before he could end the war. His successor - Truman, was it? - brought
nuclear
weapons to use on this planet for the
first time."
I sigh. "And the last
time."
"We shall see. And
then there was the other half of the twentieth century. Pathetic! Peaceful
revolution? Gandhi was no better than a Hork-Bajir! He was weaker than
any other man I have ever seen, and it cost him dearly." Crayak chuckles.
"It cost him his life, and the ability to bring his hopes to fruition."
"Gandhi's methods succeeded.
But India is still free."
"India will have nuclear
weapons in fifteen solar cycles, and its people will equal one sixth of
the planet's
population. One billion people! And with
a religion that will not let the people consume beef - a resource which
is virtually unlimited in India - it is a nation that is starving itself
to death."
"But it is also the
world's largest democracy."
"Democracy." He says
it like a curse. "People governing themselves? What a ridiculous idea.
People are corrupt as a whole, and you know it. Nations run by a monarchy
or are under a fascist regime are prospering."
"But their people are
dying. Monarchy is dying out. Even England - the oldest monarchy in this
planet's history - has a monarch who is there for little more than ceremony,
and the scrutiny of the world's media. Monarchs have no power."
We are both silent
for a time.
"Crayak," I say, "violent
revolution is not always the answer. Gandhi's methods have worked so much
more
effectively than any violent revolution
ever could. Take Dr. Martin Luther King - an absolutely wonderful man with
wonderful ideas. He got his people justice
in a country that hated them for their skin color and little more."
"Dr. King was shot
and killed five years after Kennedy!"
"By a coward."
"He is still dead.
'I have a dream,' indeed!"
"His dream is coming
true. People are becoming tolerant of each other. Eventually they will
no longer despise that which is different."
"They have grown more
tolerant for evil."
"Perhaps."
After a long pause,
he continues, "Eventually my Yeerks will have this planet. I should thank
your friends the
Andalites for helping get them off the
ground." He cackles madly.
The Andalites. I wince.
They are no friends of mine. They despise the handicapped, are unbelievably
discriminatory, and they do not care about
many other planets. The only reason that they would come to Earth is
because there are so many humans that
the Yeerks could conquer the universe.
But then, the humans
were like the Andalites once. I do not mean that they were cold, cruel,
and reclusive. I mean that they shared the same prejudices towards handicapped
people, different races, and people with different beliefs… I suppose there
are more parallels between the humans and the Andalites than I thought.
This is another reason
that humankind is precious - the humans and the Andalites could learn so
much from each other. If the humans could learn to consider themselves
as one single race, as once species, and the Andalites could learn to put
physical differences behind them…
The Yeerks would not stand
a chance, and Crayak fears this.
The present situation
is dire for the Andalites, however - they would rather destroy this beautiful
planet than let it fall into Yeerk hands.
That will not happen.
"The humans will not
let themselves be conquered. On this planet, the more horrible the conqueror,
the more terrible and total his defeat will be!"
Crayak laughs again,
this time with glee. That sound always sickens me. "But… it would be glorious,
wouldn't it? Watching all five billion of them - six billion by the end
of this century - trying in vain to stop the Yeerks! Hah! It
would be a massacre, and the universe
would be a more empty place."
I sigh. I know that
he is somehow right.
I must do something.
I must.
But finally, I have
an idea. An idea that will play to Crayak's ego so much that he will not
be able to pass it up. I only hope that it will succeed. I sigh deeply,
and say, "I grow weary of war."
Crayak grins. Or what
passes for it since he has no lips. "So you plan on giving up?"
"No. I will not give
up willingly."
"Then what?"
He is curious. Good.
"One last battle, and the war is over. No more waiting. No more twisting
space-time to get what you want. We both grow weary of waiting for one
side or the other to triumph."
"But I am winning."
"No, old enemy, you
are not. Just when it looks like you have won, there will come something
so unstoppable, you will be forced back. It always happens. Bringers of
hope are assassinated, killers of hope face justice."
"Then what do you propose?"
I smile inwardly. It
is working. I almost cannot believe it. I know Crayak well enough to know
that he will make rash choices. I also know what he will choose to do.
Fool.
"One last fight. Two
beings, both of the same species to ensure that neither side will have
any sort of advantage. On a planet of your choice. I merely choose the
time and the location. Each of us chooses one being."
Crayak looks tempted.
I know that he will consider saying no, but in my heart I know him well
enough…
"Any race?"
Yes!
"Any neutral race,"
I say. "However, you may not choose your Howlers, I may not choose the
Andalites."
He slips a tentacle
into my palm. "Deal."
I try not to look like I know he's falling
into my hands, but I know that there is a chance that he might succeed.
Very slight, but he does not know this.
Fool.
In front of me, a small
form speeds away from Earth. In space-time, you are able to see any place
and time past or present, without the need to adapt to a new atmosphere,
gravity force, or weather conditions.
An Andalite fighter
speeds away from Earth. The fighter belongs to Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.
The soon-to-be
savior of the human race.
I smile to myself.
Elfangor - who will be an Andalite Prince in less than a decade - will
return to Earth is about
fourteen solar cycles for the Time Matrix.
Unbeknownst to any other creature in the galaxy, I have adjusted
space-time so that he will meet five human
youths at his landing spot, including his own son.
A legend will be born,
and the Yeerks' days will be numbered.
I have not told Crayak
of this. He does not know. Crayak cannot look upon or tempt any being under
my protection without my permission. This rule applies both ways.
Crayak is looking upon
the planet as well. "Humans."
I turn. "What?"
"Humans. The two champions.
They will both be humans. Children."
Crayak knows about
humans, and that children are easily swayed to his cause. That is how he
turned a young
soldier from Austria into the most hated
man in human history. How he persuaded a young boy from the American South
to take the life of a great leader who would have spared his homeland a
half century of agony.
How he twisted the
mind of one young human boy thousands of years ago, so that someday an
entire religion - almost an entire ethnic group - would seek dominance
over the planet, and the destruction of all that they do not like. On the
other hand, his brother would become the father of many nations, and eventually
his descendants would found two other religions, just as powerful.
Over the millennia,
I have noticed that children have more potential for good than for evil.
I smile inwardly. If I had given myself the option, I would have chosen
children myself.
Children. It was all
too perfect.
After all, five human
children and one young Andalite will change the course of a galaxy's fate.
Six human children, I correct myself.
"Done," I say.
"Both boys," he continues,
blinking rapidly. He does this when he is excited. "I have just the child
in mind. He will not be born for a year, but he is perfect."
I remember that some
very famous conflicts started between two boys. Not all were assisted by
Crayak or myself - we have only interfered in human history for the last
two centuries.
I remember that the
first murder on this planet was one brother killing another. Cain killed
his brother Abel. This, of course, piqued Crayak's interest in this planet.
Then there are two
others - Isaac and Ishmael. This happened a few centuries later. They were
only half-brothers, but they would be the fathers of two of the world's
oldest religions. Not to mention a blood feud that to this day threatens
to destroy humanity.
Crayak - or one like
him - had sown the seeds for an entire planet's destruction.
It makes sense that
Crayak would choose two boys for a battle to decide humanity's fate. It
would not take effect immediately - of course - after one side's victory,
that side would need time to implement its will on Earth.
I nod. "Done. Any human
born between now and the human year 1990 is fair game for us. But, only
one child."
"Very well," he says.
"One child." He blinks again. "There is a child to be born in the human
city of Seattle that suits my fancy nicely." After a moment, he looks at
me. "When will it take place?"
"The battle itself?
Only after the human year 2001. The beginning of the third millennium."
"Done."
"And it will take place
in the area that Elfangor lived in with his mate, Loren." I pointed. "Here."
"This champion of yours…
it cannot be Elfangor's human son, who will be born in a few months."
I nod. "Done. The last
battle will merely occur where Loren's son will grow up." And where the
resistance will begin in thirteen solar cycles, I add silently.
"Very well. The Yeerk
invasion is already to be focused there. That is, for now." He laughs.
I wish I could see what he is laughing about, but I cannot see the activities
of the Yeerks. They are his children, not mine.
"It will not be for
long," I say confidently.
"We shall see, old
enemy, we shall see."
I pause for a moment
to think. "Crayak, old enemy, we have not yet discussed the conditions
of victory."
He nods. "Ah, yes.
A victory for either side will not mean immediate results. The results
will come more slowly."
I thought so. "What
do you mean?"
He smiles. "Should
my champion win, your little resistance on Earth will slowly die out. The
Yeerks will eventually dominate Earth, unless the Andalite fools come to
try and stop them."
I nod, understanding
now. "And should my champion win, the Yeerks will be weakened, but not
entirely
eliminated?"
"Precisely."
I have to think about
this for a moment. I know that either condition brings a chance that I
might lose Earth… but somehow I know that with the right boy, the battle
will be won in a decade or so. Probably much less.
So, I nod. "Done."
"Very well then. If
you win, your champion will have to find a way to completely drive the
Yeerks from Earth. If my champion wins, there will soon be no resistance
- courtesy of my champion - and Earth will fall within a few years."
"That will not happen.
I shall never let your Yeerks have this planet. Not so long as I am still
able to do so."
Crayak once again does
what passes for smiling, since - of course - he has no lips. "We shall
see." He vanishes.
"Yes..." I say, almost
to myself. "We shall see, indeed."
To Be Continued...