Sci-Fi of the Day
Out of context: Reply #219
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- GeorgesIV2
"Welcome to Unit 82," Commander Pierce barked. "You all have been selected for your exemplary service to the Crown. And we expect you continue that service in your duties here. But first, let me remind you that everything you learn from this moment on is completely private. The death penalty may have been abolished in much of the Commonwealth, but it is still in full force right here." He stomped his foot for emphasis.
The young soldiers gathered in the auditorium glanced around at each other, searching for some sign of recognition or understanding in the faces of their peers. The looks of confusion were clear enough to show that none of them had been told exactly what their duties would be, and the threats of death weren't clarifying anything.
The screen behind Commander Pierce came to light with an image. It showed a man's body with the head of some sort of falcon, and above him, a massive golden disc. Egyptian hieroglyphics formed a border around the image. "Who knows who this fine gentleman is?" Pierce asked. Hands shot into the air, and Pierce nodded toward a young woman in the front.
"Ra, sir," she answered. "Sun god of the Egyptians."
"Very good," he answered. "You may know that the Empire has a long history of activity in Egypt. The Canal gave us a pretty convenient excuse, but the real reason was a closely guarded secret." He flipped to the next image, showing a massive temple complex surrounded by desert. "Here in the City of Ra, we found evidence that great plagues had been unleashed on Egypt not by the Israelites, but when they neglected the worship of Ra for too long."
The students in the room were confused, but their training taught them not to question a superior. The image changed once again, showing the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico. "Another set of relics were discovered by British archaeologists and removed to the British colony in Honduras before Mexican authorities could confiscate them. The pattern repeated in Mexico, leading to the demise of Mayan culture that was recorded by the neighboring Aztecs in etched tablets."
The images changed again, showing relics and temples from all over the world. Idols from the Barotse tribe in Africa. A Buddhist carving from Myanmar showing the bodhisattva of the Sun. Images of Christ against a backdrop of the Sun, watching over humanity. A massive red-brick temple to the Hindu deity of the Sun, Surya.
"The images from this collage make it clear that nearly every culture in the world has worshipped the Sun at one point. And many in the public now find that a ridiculous, antiquated notion. They'd rather go sit in a nice cathedral and listen to hymns than make sacrifices to a burning ball of gas. But some of us now know that that's not all there is to the Sun. There's something inside it. And turns out that the ancient peoples of Earth knew what they were doing. The Sun does indeed recognize our fealty, and requires that we make offerings."
A cadet in the back of the room laughed audibly. Pierce waved with his hand, and two of the armed soldiers at the back of the room grabbed the cadet and frogmarched him out of the room. No one else dared make a peep.
"The problem," Pierce explained, "Is that the sacrifices must be constant. Everywhere that the Sun shines, it must be welcomed with tribute." The last image of the slideshow showed a map of British and Commonwealth territorial possessions, from the South Pacific to the Falkland Islands. "And now that modern religions have begun to neglect their duties, it is up to Unit 82. We are spread over all of Britain's worldwide territorial possessions, where the sun never sets. We are the ones that appease the Sun. And we've been failing." He let that sink in for a moment. "For the past few decades, we have had a harder and harder time scrounging up a sufficient sacrifice. And the Sun has noticed. That is the real cause of Global Warming. And that's also why we are recruiting you all for this new initiative. You all will be tasked with stealing large herds of cattle and other livestock around the world, and bringing them back to British bases. Any questions?"
No one dared speak. At least two thirds of them thought that this was some elaborate practical joke. But finally, one young man dressed in a RAF uniform stood up. "Why us, sir? Why don't we enlist the aid of other countries?"
Pierce sighed. "Oh, we've tried," he answered. "What do you think the Napoleonic Wars were really about? In the end, we've reached a tenuous compromise that allows us to continue our work from our worldwide bases and from the other commonwealth countries, but they refuse to participate."
Another soldier stood. "And that's it? We just have to live in fear of the sun for eternity? And the rest of the world is doing nothing about it?"
Pierce smiled. "For the most part, yes." He turned to the projector again and brought up one last slide, showing an American space shuttle. "But our counterparts across the pond are currently working on a more long-term solution."