Death
/For an Integrated experience, the author suggests listening to ‘Angel’ by Massive Attack whilst reading this part. The author claims no ownership, copyright or control of this song.
Patience. All he had to do was wait. No-one escaped his grasp. Wealth, family ties, personality, religion, social status, all meant nothing to him. Everybody would eventually be taken.
"Wait long enough and they will all succumb to me, I am the final messenger, the last all encompassing truth. Destiny.”
He lived for it. Addicted to the reaping. The feeling was intoxicating, satisfying him to the core. The more souls taken the more sustenance he gained, growing stronger with each passing century.
Plagues, famine, war, murder, displacement. The only thing that humans could do better than killing each other was reproducing.
“They keep multiplying and spreading... like a virus they move across the land. The more they spread, the more they breed. All the more for me."
His future seemed limitless. Death was, in fact, a growth industry. Back then his harvest was bursting. Endless. The tears of sorrow from the families of those left behind were mirrored only by his own tears of joy. Countless wars were fought and he appreciated each and every one. Whatever the 'reason', the result was the same, millions dead and millions more displaced. Slaughtered in the name of ‘democracy’, ‘peace’ or the prevailing religion of the time.
"Religion. What a glorious thing to fight over. Killing to prove whose God is more loving. What a sanctimonious concept.”
The wars of the 19th and 20st centuries were magnificent. He marvelled at the destructive capabilities unleashed. Never before had humans had the capacity to kill each other on such a large scale, never before did the technology allow it.
"Give a man a knife and he will get his revenge, give him a gun and he will slay a handful. Give him an atomic weapon and he will destroy nations."
New war machines were constantly being invented. The pioneering scientists that could create more efficient ways of killing were regarded as heroes. Children's computer games, social media and entertainment of all kinds increasingly focused on death and destruction. Money that could have been spent on health care, eliminating poverty and the like was diverted to war.
"Don't try to save them, they are too far gone. There is money in this for you. Munitions contracts and bribes. It's far cheaper to kill than to create, more efficient to destroy than to develop."
The pleasures of the past paled in comparison to the wonders of humanity’s latest creations. Every new discovery the humans created seemed to serve one of two purposes: procreation or destruction. A never ending cycle of death. It was ideal.
The ‘War of Resources’ was the pinnacle of Death’s existence. Joy and ecstasy on unimaginable levels. Humanity’s self-destructive capabilities were shown off to its fullest extent. The global devastation was invigorating and enthralling. Orgasmic.
"Every time they detonate, it's like an explosion of energy enters my being. The essence of millions seeps through to my very core, bursts of pleasure pulsating through me like the beating of a drum. Wave after blissful wave takes me to a place I never thought possible."
But for Death, this glorious time could not continue indefinitely. After the last atom bomb was dropped, he waited anxiously. Fidgeting like a junkie craving for his next fix.
The winds whispered his prayer to the soul of man.
“Do it ... you must... they are over there... using what little is left... you can't share it with them... they will betray you... how can you trust them?... the only solution is to keep fighting... kill them and claim what you rightfully deserve... please... it's your birth right... only the strongest will inherit the earth... you must act now...before it's too late."
But Death’s pleas went unanswered. For the humans realised that there was something more fearful than scarcity, more dangerous than starvation. They realised that they could be the cause of their ultimate demise. Global annihilation at their own hands well before the last piece of food was consumed or the final drop of clean water was drunk.
With the establishment of the Nations for Lasting Peace, all potential uprisings were brutally and swiftly cut short, leaving potential human dissenters with little room for revolt or revolution. Death was reduced to a shell of his former glory, now only surviving off the ever decreasing pockets of revolutionary fervour and Natural illness.
But history had taught Death one thing. The capacity for human destruction is cyclic. The bountiful wars of the 20th century lead to “The Long Peace”, as humans desperately attempted to develop the structures to foster peace and the technology to enforce it. Yet once the lessons of prior generations was lost to the ages, humanity was apt to repeat history once more.
“You have learnt, and as such, you will never fight again. Perhaps your children will listen to your warnings and believe your stories. But what about their children? The ‘War To End All Wars’ comes around every 3 to 4 generations. I will be waiting eagerly for it. Your so called ‘Nations for Lasting Peace’ will fall. Its reason for existence will be called into question, its mandate challenged. It will fail like every similar conception to come before it.”
Yet, despite his faith in human nature, Death was growing anxious. Until now, every year since the dawn of man saw a net growth in military spending and capability. Nations would rise and fall, yet their capacity to kill had always increased. Loaded guns would breed more loaded guns. Perceived threats led to real retaliation. Anxiety had led to war. But this was no longer the case.
Under the Global Health Initiative Scheme, the militaries of superpowers and smaller nation states alike were not only saying that they would disarm, they were actually going through with it. The combined forces of the world reduced to a mere fraction of its former power. But the humans did not stop there. They doubled down on their assault, investing it all in medical technology.
The same private enterprises that were once lucratively rewarded for creating machines of death now worked on prolonging life.
“Stop. You are ruining everything … My children are no more valuable than yours … Cholera, Tetanus, AIDS, Polio, Malaria, Diabetes, Cancer … all gone. Give them back! Set them free once more! Please … I need this … please.”
When iCorp floated their idea for Integration, Death felt his first real sense of dread. The possibility that this time it was not an aberration. That the cycle was coming to an end. Life expectancy levels were beginning to rise exponentially. War was a distant dream. Illness and disease was almost eradicated or left completely impotent. Even the crime rate was practically non-existent.
All that Death could do was feast on the dwindling numbers of Naturals. He savoured every last drop. Although it was theoretically possible for an Integrate’s body to die, it rarely happened. Worse still, the part of them that Death craved was always just out of reach.
The natural order was broken. Integration altered humanities fundamental nature, leaving him wanting. The part he needed had simply dissipated from the human being’s construction. Death was left to desperately scrape any remnants from their discarded biological husks.
So used to being there in the final hours of countless billions, taking their essence, feeding upon their terror, Death began to ponder what awaited him. As the final Natural began the Integration process, a small chuckle escaped his lips.
“Rather than fearing me, you should have worshiped me. I gave you purpose. Your limited time gave you a reason to act. When I am gone, you will never perish. But for what? Without an ending, there is no reason to do anything. I was your reason. Now I am your final casualty. You are the ones who will suffer. You have made life meaningless.”
‘Death’ is part of Upgrade
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