Rejecting Prometheus

[UCBooties]

This is a one shot original sci-fi story I wrote about a year ago when I was still able to devote some time to personal creative writing. I was wondering what all of you would think of it so I’ve decided to post it.

Rejecting Prometheus

Doctor John Lyle watched the masses line up to be checked. One by one they slid their card through the reader and pressed their eyes to the benign looking glass lens set in an equally benign looking white box. It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and these machines were designed to throw those windows open and read everything within.

Are you having a bad day? Are you getting a divorce? Are you on your way to a wedding, a funeral, a family vacation? Are you cheating on your wife? Are you carrying a bomb? They know, and there’s no amount of concentration or memory technique that will stop them from finding out when they unfurl your mind like a tapestry and instantly map every thought written there.

Doctor Lyle’s attention was caught by a nervous young man in rumpled clothes. He was obviously trying to calm himself, running grease stained fingers through sweaty, unkempt hair. Every time the line moved forward he would shoot a glance at the white box and the armed guard wired into it before quickly dropping his gaze and letting his trembling hand follow the already well-plotted course from his brow to the back of his neck. As he neared the front of the line Doctor Lyle prayed he would see sense and duck out of the line. Anyone who left the line could do so unopposed. Over the years Doctor Lyle had seen several people in similar condition to this young man make that choice and save their lives. He had also seen dozens face the consequences of staying in line. The young man stepped to the red line set in the clean, white tiles and Doctor Lyle resigned him to his fate with a weary half sigh.

The young man, barely even that to judge by his face, fumbled his identity card from his beaten jacket of brown leather and swiped it through the reader. Doctor Lyle was at the wrong angle to see it but he knew a small blue light had just flicked on above the glass eye; the man obligingly slicked his dripping locks back one last time and pressed the right side of his face to the black ring of soft rubber encircling the reader’s eye. The machine devoured his thoughts, knew intimately that he was discontented with his place in the world, and declared him guilty.
There was no blaring klaxon, no flashing light. The only alarm was the one that would sound inside the guard’s brain. The guard pivoted and pressed his silver gun against the young man’s head as he stood eye to eye with the machine.

The crack of a gunshot shuddered through the high, vaulted arches of the spaceport and whipped at Doctor Lyle’s eardrums even as he stood behind the protection of nearly two inches of glass. Red splashed across pristine white tiles and looked nearly black in the harsh relief of the glaring white lights. The guard stepped back into his place as a silent, immobile sentinel and holstered his weapon. The line was efficiently shunted to the two stations on either side as a white garbed cleanup crew efficiently removed the body and scrubbed all traces of blood and brains from the shining floor.

Doctor Lyle turned away from the spectacle with another half-sigh. When he had first seen it happen, he had been horrified. His whole being had balked at the swiftness of the act, the lack of warning, the empty eyes of the guard turned executioner. Now that he had witnessed it as many times as he had, he just felt a little numb and a little sick.

What, nagged a little voice in the back of his head, don’t you feel guilty any more? Doctor Lyle supposed it was his conscience. After all, where would project Prometheus be without you?

Doctor Lyle ground his teeth at the thought, but refused to justify himself to what amounted to a voice in his head. I’ve come this far and I will not second guess myself into a mistake at this stage.

“Doctor Lyle, the shuttle is prepared to take you to Olympia station.” John turned to see a clean faced young woman in the crisp uniform of the Earth Expansion and Defense Fleet. John fought off the nagging sense he had met her before and glowered internally at the Emperor’s fondness of using clones to crew Fleet ships. There was nothing more disturbing than walking onto a command deck to see that everyone standing there was a carbon copy. John sometimes wondered if clones resented individuality or if they were so conditioned that all traces of independent thought had truly been burned from their genetic structure.

“Thank you,” he replied and picked up his brown case from where it had been resting by his feet.

“Right this way sir.” She gestured down a long glass tunnel that led to what appeared to be a large metal ring with a silver cone resting on it. The cone was actually a teardrop shaped structure resting in a bowl shaped depression. That depression was the grav catapult which would propel the unassuming silver shell into a precisely calculated orbit to intercept the gigantic installation that was Olympia station.

Doctor Lyle marched down the tunnel and tried to ignore the odd sound of boot heels striking glass that seemed to echo in his head. In any direction he could see the shimmering expanse of white, silver, and glass that was Athens space hub. Gravity catapults launched shuttles into the lower orbits where they could dock with the low orbit stations where the actual starships were located. Middle orbits were reserved for Fleet stations and the mighty warships that berthed there. The high orbit was where the mighty Olympia station lorded over all the Earth.
The naming of Athens space hub was misleading since it was actually located outside what had been Washington D.C. during the early days of John Lyle’s life. The naming of the Prometheus project had amused the Emperor and he had chosen to carry the theme of Greek mythology into his other works. Washington D.C. remained a regional center of government, but as the twenty-first century was drawing to a close, the world was united once more under Olympia, the mountain in the sky.

John approached the end of the glass tunnel as it opened onto the shuttle platform. A hatch irised open and a stiff wind snatched playfully at Doctor Lyle’s black suit and thinning brown hair as he stepped onto the platform. Two more soldiers, identical to the woman escorting him, stood on either side of the shuttle’s open hatch. John composed his features into serene calm as he stepped past them. There would be no reading machine to pick at his treasonous mind; no pulse pistol to throw his guilty thoughts to the howling wind, but why take the chance that signs of stress would arouse suspicion? Doctor Lyle held a black level security clearance and it was considered too much of a risk to allow his thoughts to be read by anyone. He carefully hid the ironic smirk threatening to break forth at the thought that his years of absolute loyalty would allow him to commit this, the ultimate treason.

He stepped past the guards and strapped himself into the only chair in the small capsule. The hatch hissed closed, sealing Doctor Lyle and his thoughts inside.

* * *

Before the Glorious Ascension, before the Imperial conquest, and twenty years before Olympia would rise into the sky on pillars of living light, there was the good intention that brought the world to its knees under one man. It was December of the year 2020 and the United States of America was preparing to hand the reigns of power to the youngest man ever elected President. He would become known as the Most Honored Person, First Among Men, and Lord High Imperial Majesty of the Earth, but then, he was just Alex Myron.

John Lyle had two years to go before he would become Dr. John Lyle, and was working in NASA’s astrophysics laboratories trying to develop the unpromising project of amplifying gravitational acceleration. If he had known then how heavily the future would weigh on his work, he probably would have burned his notes and taken up botany. Instead, he stayed late one night to work on what promised to be a total dead end. At four o’clock in the morning he put his coffee cup down on a piece of scratch paper and when he lifted it again the brownish ring left behind linked three unrelated geometric equations.

Frustrated and seeing little else to do, he fed the newly correlated equations into his computer to run a simulation. The results changed the world. It seemed impossible at the time, but later experiments proved it to be true. With small modified electromagnets, one could not only affect the magnetic and gravitational fields of objects, but also manipulate those objects on a molecular level. The government declared his work confidential after the first successful test when a one kilogram block of concrete was levitated a full ten meters.

During the three months it had taken to set up the first test, President Myron was sworn in. Upon hearing of the new development, he ordered top scientists from every conceivable field of study to begin expanding the technology. John Lyle was given authority over all of them.

In five years, John Lyle’s discovery allowed for the most rapid scientific development in all of human history. Molecular mapping allowed the human genome to be completely decoded in only two months. Research on the human brain allowed technologies to be form fitted to the human neural system. Gravitational manipulation allowed for the construction of structures that would have been utterly impossible only a decade before. One discovery would cascade into dozens more and the knowledge of mankind grew and spread like wildfire. It was that nature which caused John Lyle to name his project Prometheus. Just as the first fire had allowed the first humans to recreate their lives and their world, this new element would change humanity in ways that could never be measured.

Alex Myron had a good heart, and it was that which led to the near enslavement of humanity. With such flourishing development, problems like hunger and disease became non-issues overnight. Rather than hoarding these miracles, Alex allowed for distribution of the new technologies throughout the world. The world began to buy exclusively American, and the United States’ ailing economy soon became the only economy. Alex Myron was recognized as a champion of all mankind for his determination to help all nations, weather they were allies or foes of America. He was hailed as the unifier of mankind.

As the last year of his final term was drawing to a close, something unthinkable occurred. America did not hold an election. There wasn’t an official order or a showdown in the capital. Candidates simply didn’t campaign and voters didn’t go to the polls. A nation bewildered by its own boldness watched carefully as the second Tuesday of January came and went.

When Wednesday arrived, Alex Myron was still in office. Impromptu parades formed in city streets. Foreign ambassadors lined up to pay their respects and the United Nations honored him for “holding fast to the position on which the hopes of all humanity may rest.” It wouldn’t be official for another two years, but from that day forward, Alex Myron held the world in his hand.

* * *

The journey to Olympia was brief. The shuttle had no view ports of any kind and the first indication that Doctor Lyle had that his journey was ending was a brief chime that sounded moments before the hatch hissed open. Doctor Lyle felt a momentary pang of regret that he had not been able to take a more conventional rocket from which he would be able to witness the approach. Seeing the enormous crystalline station rise over the curve of the Earth was one of the most awe inspiring things John had seen in his life, even though he had designed the station to create just that effect at Emperor Myron’s request.

He stepped from the shuttle to see an escort of six more identical soldiers waiting to escort him. Shuttles docked on a ring set at the bottom of the station. This ring was connected by a long transport shaft to the Nexus, which all other sections of the station spiked out from. Rising for a full kilometer above the Nexus was the Spire, home of the Emperor himself. At the very center of the Nexus was the Prometheus core that sustained and reinforced the entire station. Indeed, without it, the massive construct would have been impossible.

John strode forward, case in hand, and stepped smartly into the waiting elevator. The transport shaft was two hundred meters long and constructed entirely of crystal steel. Because the Prometheus drive acted as center of gravity for the station, John felt as if he was watching the massive expanse of the Earth rise away above him as he fell towards the glowing core of Olympia.

Olympia station was part fortress, part research laboratory, and part palace. Every aspect of Prometheus research was controlled from this one station. If the galaxy at large was to be saved from mankind and mankind was to be saved from itself, Olympia would have to fall. Doctor Lyle felt better considering the monumental task ahead of him in those terms. It wasn’t the overthrow of the most powerful force in the history of the known universe; it was just a simple logic equation.

John tried to smile as he stepped out onto the spherical deck of the Nexus, instead he just felt ill. The incredible power of the Prometheus core throbbed beneath his feet. He had been told that most people felt nothing unless they were being directly moved or altered by Prometheus, but he always felt as if he were standing near some barely contained ball of unimaginable power. Maybe it was because he best understood what Prometheus really was. It had become the means to bend all aspects of the Universe to its controller’s will.

A gruff voice rang out, “Doctor Lyle! Welcome aboard.” John turned to see Admiral Hill striding over the curving deck to meet him. Admiral Hill was totally bald, with a craggy face that usually conveyed displeasure, even when he was happy to see someone.

“Hello Admiral, are we ready to begin the test?”

Hill shook his head, “Everything’s prepared, but there’s going to be a conference before the test. I’ve been sent to bring you up to the Spire for the presentation.”

John followed as he turned and led the way to the lift shaft that would take them to the top of the mountain. “Will the Emperor be there?”

Hill nodded curtly, “His Majesty will be attending. This is a monumental day for all mankind.”

The Earth fell away beneath them as they rose to the opulent corridors and chambers that housed the heart of the Imperial regime. Admiral Hill led Doctor Lyle through spaces John had not seen since their construction. They stopped before two doors of pale wood that swung inwardly at a wave of Admiral Hill’s hand. The officer stepped aside and gestured into the darkened room beyond, “After you, Doctor.”

John dipped his head and stepped into the chamber. Dim green lights ran along the floor and ceiling, casting a weak glow onto both a conference table of black onyx and the shadowy figures sitting around. John felt his way to the only open chair left, murmuring greetings to the others waiting in the room. He dropped into his seat and waited for the show to start.

A burst of three clear trumpet notes resounded in the room and the curtain at the head of the table swept aside. Beyond was a towering figure silhouetted by the sun framed in the transparent wall. “Greetings,” a heavy, bass voice filled the conference room.

The view port began to filter the harsh glare of atomic fire as the lights rose to normal levels. The starbursts began to fade from Doctor Lyle’s eyes and he was able to distinguish the features of the man standing before them. His Imperial Majesty was nearly eight feet tall, dressed in flowing white and gold robes that did nothing to conceal well toned muscles and a lithe, powerful frame. At the age of one hundred and three, Emperor Myron wore the features of a man younger than when he had been elected president. His eyes were golden orbs with violet irises and white pupils, and golden blonde hair that shimmered into new colors under the light fell to his shoulders in loose plaits.

Like most people, John had used the medical breakthroughs of Prometheus to extend his lifespan and keep himself fit and healthy in the later years of his life. Alex Myron, on the other hand, had totally immersed himself in Prometheus, using the awesome power to remake himself into something almost godlike in appearance. He settled regally into the chair set for himself and folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes. “Today we will mark the greatest achievement of our time. This will far surpass any of the others that have abounded during this, the greatest age of progress in all of human history.” The gleaming eyes swept each person seated at the table. “Gathered here are the most eminent in their fields, those who have done the most to push forward all of the accomplishments of the past decades. Your work has allowed us to take hold of all the Earth. Now, with the culmination of your work on the Prometheus Star Drive, we will be able to take hold of the stars as well.”

“Hear, hear!” a hearty voice cried at the end of the speech and the exclamation was repeated by all present. John smiled in spite of himself. Though it had been short, the speech was effective and delivered with such calm authority that it was hard not to be moved.

The Emperor dropped his iridescent gaze onto Doctor Lyle, and John could feel the awesome power of it like a spike through his mind. He tried not to squirm in discomfort as the Emperor began to speak directly to him. “Your development is what has made all else possible. Without you, we would never have been able to finally unite the world in peace. It is with this in mind that we will bestow on you the honor of performing the first test.” He shifted his gaze away and John slumped in relief. “We have had the first Prometheus star drive installed at the very heart of Olympia itself. From there, Doctor Lyle will guide this station to a distant point in space, and return us instantly to our proper orbit.” The eyes fell on John again, “Do you have any words before the test commences?”

John well understood the honor being presented to him. The core was the Emperor’s private domain. The core was where he saturated himself with Prometheus and bent the very laws of the universe to his will. Swallowing hard, John quickly mastered his nervousness and composed his features into the stern calm he had presented students with for years. “First, I must express how deeply honored I am to be allowed to conduct this test. Second, I ask that each of us reflect on the new responsibility we are about to shoulder. We must ensure that when we venture out to the stars, we show the best possible example of humanity to the galaxy at large.”

The Emperor nodded his head gravely, “All gathered here are aware of this great responsibility. I confidently attest that we stand for a united humanity, a humanity that should be proud to take its first steps out into the larger universe.” He gestured imperiously towards the door, “The test shall begin.”

John stood and bowed formally to the Emperor, then turned crisply and exited the conference room. The Prometheus core was a small chamber that had been designed to accommodate only one person at a time. This meant that John would enter the core alone while the rest of the design team monitored the proceedings from the Spire. Six identical male guards fell into step around him, forming an honor guard to take him to the lift. John completed the picture of the resolute explorer by looking neither left nor right, but marching purposefully into the lift shaft that would drop straight into the core. The guards peeled to either side as he strode into the waiting lift. John spun about face and stared straight ahead as the lift doors hissed shut.

John sighed and dropped the façade as the lift began to descend. Unlike the rest of the lifts on Olympia, the core shaft had opaque walls and John felt another pang of regret that he could not see the stars.

They didn’t understand. I think they’ve been so changed by power and by Prometheus itself that they can’t understand. I wonder… I wonder if, when it’s discovered that I was the one to bring down Olympia, anyone will really see why I did what I am about to do. This isn’t about overthrowing a dictator or freeing people, that will have to be left to others, this is about responsibility.

I am responsible for the path humanity has taken. I must find a way to spare the galaxy from a species that kills because of a single thought. I accept responsibility for the fact that humanity is not ready for this power. I accept my responsibility to reject this power and spare the stars from those who are still not ready to obtain them.

The lift stopped and the doors hissed open to reveal a spherical chamber with silver walls. A gentle pull tugged at John and he allowed himself to float to the center of the chamber. The lift door closed slowly and the chamber was swallowed by darkness. Though the chamber appeared empty, Doctor Lyle could feel the vast potential of Prometheus permeating the room. The universe seemed to shudder, awaiting his command. John wondered idly if this was where the idealism of a young man had been warped into the obsession of a dictator. Had Alex Myron immersed himself too far into the ability to bend the entire universe to his whim? Had he been so surrounded by his own myth that he himself could not help but believe it?

John brushed away his musings. Even if that was the case, it was all the more reason to reject the power immediately, before he became warped as well. He opened his mind and felt the room respond. Fingers floated out to instinctively manipulate controls that flashed through his mind.

The star drive lay waiting, just beneath the surface of his thoughts. He brought it up as if it were an idea that had just come to him. The walls disappeared and the stars lay spread before him in an impossible multitude, the earth looming at his back. He reached out and fixed on a star that flashed to catch his eye. The star leaped into focus and burned merrily in his vision. It took him a moment to realize that he, and the giant Olympia with him, had instantly made the impossible leap across light years of distance to arrive at this system. All of that impossibility had been accomplished with a single thought.

The Emperor was doubtlessly pleased.

John felt a moment’s panic, he had just reached out for a random star, he had no idea how he would find the Earth again. But as soon as he formed the thought he knew. He knew because Prometheus knew, and Prometheus knew because he had wanted to know. In another moment, Olympia was once more perfectly placed in its orbit above the Earth.
John understood something about Prometheus in that moment, something that would guarantee his success. Prometheus might manifest itself in an infinite number of locations, but it truly was a single thing. The Emperor had ordered that the original Prometheus apparatus be built into Olympia. This meant that the Prometheus permeating John’s body and mind at this moment was the exact Prometheus he had discovered years before. John Lyle lay in the wellspring.

“Prometheus,” John whispered into the darkness. The stars shone brighter than he had ever imagined and the Earth seemed to glow with an unfathomable power. John felt as if all of it was straining to do his command. “We’re not ready,” John stated simply, and the universe seemed to dim a bit in response. After a moment it flared back to its full potential. John shook his head angrily. “No! You must take back the fire. If we are left with it, we will only consume ourselves and all others that we meet. Prometheus must not be used until humans can truly understand the responsibility.” The galaxy flared even brighter, burning hot, daring John to stand firm in the face of the awesome power he was being offered.

“No. Prometheus must go. It must be gone from human lives, locked away from human touch. From the first, Prometheus responded to human thoughts, wishes, and demands. This is my thought, my wish, and my demand. Prometheus must be no more!”

The stars dimmed to their normal brightness and the Earth faded to its natural state. After a few moments the walls of the chamber died and John became aware that he was profoundly alone. The chamber was empty, and he was floating in what amounted to a gigantic shell.
Olympia did not fall to the Earth. It wavered, treading uneasily the line between existence and nothing as it fought to anchor itself in reality. The pull of the rejected energy proved too strong and the magnificent station disappeared from the sky. As he felt himself and the chamber around him fading from the universe, John Lyle had time to ask one last question. He would never know, but in his heart he felt the answer would be a hopeful one. Just before nothingness became him he sent his thoughts to the silently turning planet he could not see.

Where will we go from here?

End

I know there are some problems here, specifically, the element/technology of Prometheus is ill-defined and the story of it’s creation/discovery is almost nonsensical. I would appreciate feedback and advice regarding this aspect, and also what you think of the story and characters themselves. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think.

[Dark Hellion]

Prometheus really doesn't need to be defined. Its like the Praxis from Vandread all it has to do is serve its thematic purpose. Prometheus accomplishes this, it needs no specifics besides that it is a great power that man shouldn't have.

And I really like the last line, its perhaps the most important question that mankind can ask of itself.

[darthdavid]

It was very sad but I liked it.

[UCBooties]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to clean up the discovery/creation part of it, right now it just seems so stupid. Thanks for the positive feedback by the way. Now tell other people to read it and leave some comments... grrr. Anyhow, there are deffinately still some problems with it and I'd realy like to know what people think of it.

[darthdavid]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to clean up the discovery/creation part of it, right now it just seems so stupid. Thanks for the positive feedback by the way. Now tell other people to read it and leave some comments... grrr. Anyhow, there are deffinately still some problems with it and I'd realy like to know what people think of it.

I really do like the three equations linked by a coffee mug ring. I geuss, If I were you, I'd expand the discovery section, describe what it can do better. But I wouldn't go any farther into how it works. You do that and you start getting into tough ground (because if you can describe something that's a realistic way to do this stuff then you should be going to somebody and explaining how to do it, not writing stories about it . And if you can't explain it well enough to be able to do it then it'll just sound like BS (cause that's what it'll have to be )).

[Elheru Aran]

About time I replied to this, I suppose...

It's pretty good.

Question-- where does the name 'John Lyle' come from? Heinlein uses the same name for his main character in "If This Goes On--", his tale about the American theocracy in his 'Future History' series....

[UCBooties]

Does he? I've never read it, never, to be honest, even heard of it. I just liked the name. It's the name the charecter always had in my head even though it was over a year between getting the idea and writing the story.

[Elheru Aran]

Does he? I've never read it, never, to be honest, even heard of it. I just liked the name. It's the name the charecter always had in my head even though it was over a year between getting the idea and writing the story.

No sweat. Since Heinlein's story is actually pretty old, and you aren't publishing this anywhere else than here on SDN, I doubt you have anything to worry about. In any case, I imagine there's probably a few people out there named John Lyle... wouldn't be surprised.

[buzz_knox]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to clean up the discovery/creation part of it, right now it just seems so stupid. Thanks for the positive feedback by the way. Now tell other people to read it and leave some comments... grrr. Anyhow, there are deffinately still some problems with it and I'd realy like to know what people think of it.

Actually, the creation portion fits the rest. You've established that Prometheus is in a sense a living thing, which wants to fulfill humanity's desires. So, it would be appropriate that Prometheus (in perhaps its most primitive form) set everything in motion by setting Lyle's mind towards the equations, causing him to "accidentally" link them, and then to recognize the possibilities inherent in that linkage. Prometheus literally offered itself to humanity.

[Kuja]

Personally, I feel that this is a fantastic SF story. I like the 'save humanity from itself' angle, which for once wasn't done in a cliched way. I like the descriptions of the technology too, like the orbital transport, which give an impression that they're made for efficiency, not for human comfort. Nice touch that fits in with the rest of the piece. But what I really liked was Lyle's martyr attitude...knowing he would go down and hoping that humanity would figure out the reason why.

I've got to give this a 9 out of 10, or I'd be kicking myself. The only reason I'm holding back a little is because the rise of humanity feels a bit too clean...Prometheus is discovered and suddenly everything starts going right (disease, hunger ect) which sounds like something out of TNG propoganda. But other than that, a truly fantastic story.