As the planet loomed closer, ever expanding against the great void, Sci, inside his tiny starfighter, streaked towards his objective. The peaceful, smooth thrust of his craft sailed him onward as the the warmth of the far-distant star began to warm his cockpit.

I followed him, waiting for him to slip up. I knew he wasn't who he said he was. I knew it couldn't be true. He lived on the edge of the Law. He bent everything I knew until I could no longer distinguish the black and white. Finally I saw my chance. It was perfect - it had to work. It could not fail. I knew where he would be. I brought the authorities there and yet he still defied the Law; still acted in that 'I-am-God' tone. I despised his attitude. I was disgusted with the way he carried himself. He spat in the face of everything I knew. He was a heretic and a popular heretic at that. He HAD to be stopped. I HATED him.

I felt smug as I watch the judge conduct his trial - there was nothing to be done - the populace was teetering on civil war over this man. It was noble justice that he should die. I grinned widely as I watched the authorities beat his face in - I would have helped if they'd let me in. I nearly threw up when I watching him walk out, but I wish they'd been able to press him closer to death. The bloody pulp of a heretical, treasonous traitor was then sent out to the gallows. If I hadn't been reminding myself that he was the lowliest scum of the earth, a treasonous radical against God, I would have felt pity for him.

I wanted them to kill the man who carried his bandage for him - to even touch his clothing would make a man in such filthy sin that all the lambs in the world would not save him.

As they inserted the nails into his arms and his wails began to ring out, I gritted my teeth. But I knew this was justice - he HAD to die. He was a blight upon the earth - the worst, dirtiest, filthiest most despicably sinful man ever to walk to the earth. I could literally see the rotten core of his being oozing out of his long, gaping wounds.

As they hauled his carcass up, seething with blood I felt a twinge of vindication. The sky began to darken and the rain began. I saw him crying, wailing, exhaling his spirit. I stood back - I didn't want any of his tainted breath to stain my cloak. Suddenly he looked down at me from atop his cross. Not just at me... INTO me. His eyes pierced my soul. I felt the sin inside and around him - every thought and dream the Satin had ever known was upon this man - the every sin of humankind, from the beginning to the end of time surrounded him, permeated him. His visage wreaked worse than a battlefield that turned to a cesspool in the rain. In an instant, I saw all these things in -me-. Had it flowed into me, tainting my insides, turning my once pure soul into an abomination almost as hideous as this man!? Every wrong thought, every wrong deed churned up in the tumult of that moment. Was there no hope!?



And then I realized as His eyes pierced my soul, turning it inside-out:


He -did- carry the sin of every person of every time. It was the most complete of injustices for Him for to die. But not in the way I would have imagined two minutes before.

He carried -my- sin. Everything. All. From every moment I failed to think of God, to every rape, murder, and theft I ever thought about.

It was injustice because all the lambs in the world could not pay for -my- sin, much less mankind's. It would take the only Perfect Being in the universe to empty his life-blood to cover the depth of my sin. And He did. I fell to my knees in total and desperate awe, grief, and terror.

The last thought I had before the earth began to shake and I lost my consciousness was a wailing so loud my head could not contain it for forgiveness. Words cannot describe my experience there in the rain.

When I awoke, He was gone. The massive amounts of blood on His cross and at the foot of His cross made me vomit. I caused His death. HE DIED BECAUSE I DOOMED HIM THERE. I KILLED MY GOD. I picked myself up and returned to the city. Everything was in a gloomy light. All the faces were smiling, knowing, as I had, that we had enacted justice. A crier in the town rushed by me screaming that the curtain in the tabernacle had been torn in two. The crowds became hysterical. Everyone thought the world would end - and so did I. After-all, we had just killed God.

A few days later, I heard a whisper that he was still alive. I wept for joy. I avidly sought Him out, asking everyone I saw about news.

After many days of nothing, I gave up. I sat in an alley and cried myself to sleep. I awoke to see man with brutal and ugly scares on his wrists. My heart leaped into my throat - all my sorrow and fear imploded in that instant - not even my wish to apologize and ask desperately for forgiveness could be thought, much less said. I understood. And so did He. I murdered Him in hate. Yet He had risen. And He had risen in love... love for mankind. Love for me.

"What are you doing over here by the wire?"
"Well, like I told Max here, I was trying to get my... "

"What were you doing by the wire?"
"Well, like I told Max... I was trying to cut my way through your wire because I want to get out. "

"Are all Sparatan officers so ill mannered?"
"Yeah, 'bout ninety-nine percent."

"Perhaps while you are with us you will have the chance to learn some. Ten days isolation, Sci."

"-Captain- Sci."

"Twenty days."

"Right. Oh, uh, you'll still be here when I get out? "

"Cooler!"

"Right."


...............................................................................


"Spiros, isn't it?"

"Sci. Just make it Sci."

A bright flame streaked through the twilight sky of Sparata. The long, scratching whispers of the wind began to still as the fire tumbled through the atmosphere. The extreme velocity of the object created a sound more forceful than the wind. One could almost see the air compressing against the flame, creating a brighter leading edge. A contrail of smoke and scorched ions etched an oily purple-green hue into the deep, brilliant sky. The wind rose its voice again as the fireball fell out of view. Watching from the dusky desert sand, a small boy in tattered clothes with a crude sword strapped to his back. He began to run after the magical curving in the sky before it dissapated into the brisk air. His sandals flopped, each step kicking up little tufts of sand as he made his way over the vast expanses of the Sparatan desert...

[Planet Log: Kænj'ir]

[Sci's Datapad]
[Description: Kænj'ir]
[Entry:

Planet: Kænj'ir
Region: Molira
Type: Urban Metropolis, high mountains with polar ice caps
Climate: Cool, marginal seasonal flux
Population: 17 trillion
Inhabitants: J'ir [indigenous]

The most note-worthy aspect of the J'ir is their system of government. Adopted in the centuries following a horrible accident in their democratic system, the Ji'iri system of governance is actually quite profound. They have two branches of government - Judicial, Legislative. Instead of having Krinar, or senators, vote on how to spend the federal funds, the J'iri themselves vote personal funding, or remove personal funding, to the issues canonized by the senators. Taxes are essentially non-existent on Kænj'ir because even military and most governmental paychecks are voted on in a 'stock-market' type exchange, and though the federal officials have the considerable power to determine what projects get posted as official, the people decide how much funding each project receives. This initially led to high crime waves, as factions collected and tried to persuade the vote. As such, one of the only enforced taxes is for law enforcement along with the criminal justice department and the federal law that all citizens must have a personal weapon.

Unfortunately, bribery rates are exceptionally high on Kænj'ir, to the point, in fact, that it's basically an accepted profession. The J'ir economic system is also so closely intwined with the government that some say it's the the same beast. This is balanced by the fact that, in the end, the people still vote whatever funding they wish into the projects that are canonized via bribery. As an obligatory, though not enforced, tax, the people are to 'tip' law enforcement for deeds done. Since the J'ir are a very wealthy people, this works well, as most spend lavishly, and, citizens without much personal funding can buy stock in companes who vote a particular way. In fact, some companies are purely politica...[data corrupt]...ortunately, the J'iri constitution and it's judicial branch worry almost exclusively about government violation of citizen rights. It could be argued, in fact, that the Rokti [judges] actively seek to reign the legislators in, as the less people spend on the legislative system, the more they spend on the judiciary. Unfortunately, the system is not perfect, as most people do not pay anything for the government, thus making the ultra-rich or politically savvy citizens have the most say in the direction of the Krinarior. [government] However, as soon as the middle-class citizens get outraged or find an issue they care about, their votes are instantly cast by pumping funding into other projec...[data corrupt]...nterestingly, the judiciary system is funded by levvied taxes, which are levvied by the legislative branch. Thus, the more money that goes to the judiciary system, the less goes to the legislative. [data corrupt]...wever, a voluntary judiciary donation can be gifted as well, as the legislators rarely rarely provide funds themselves, thus, like competing companies, the government strives for perfection. The only downside to this system is that 'political class' citizens are essentially conscripted... [data corrupt] ]

Here comes the sun...

"Here comes the sun, da da da da

Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling
It's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, da da da da
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling
The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, da da da da
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling
I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, da da da da
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Here comes the sun, da da da da
Here comes the sun
It's all right "
It's all right 

[Planet Log: Rapata]

[Sci's Datapad]
[Description: Ripata]
[Entry:

Planet: Rapata
Region: Aeris
Type: Desolate desert with Urban, arboreal poles
Climate: Moderate, minimal seasonal flux
Population: 9 billion
Inhabitants: Ripari, Tris [indigenous]

The Ripari are technical beings who thrive on research and thought. They excel at research and engineering. Their great distance from the mainstream lends itself to their natural reclusive tendencies. They are a thinking race, with long, thin limbs that are not conducive to combat. Regardless of their physical stature, however, the Ripari are not idigenous to Rapata, and are thus conquerors who took the planet by force over five thousand years ago during a great crisis on the original home world of the Ripari, whose name has been lost to time, though it may be concieved that Rapata was the name of their first planet, as well. This entry will refer to the original Riparan homeworld as Rapata Prime, as Rapatan historians have come to call it. This Rapata Prime was apparently a lush, arboral moon of Rapata, however out of Rapata's four moons, only one is arboreal, and none show signs of life-supporting systems nor of previous civilizations. The indigenous Tris were only a few hundred years behind the Ripari at the time of first contact. Early Riparan space-farer's actually believed the Tris to be an off-shoot species of their own race; the smaller, thicker-boned Tris were otherwise very similar in appearance to the Ripari, however, this fact was quickly put aside when a Tris combat party raided a peaceful Rapari exploratory vessel. The Tris were much faster learners the Rapari, who had an arduous, yet elegant processes for canonizing new knowledge, and quickly reproduced a space-worthy vessel. An intense conflict followed which lasted over one hundred years. The intra-orbital war, known as the Sorian War from the Riparan word for sun or solar, "Sor'i," saw the tactical genius of the Rapari's long-standing logical tradition wage war against the Tris' sturdier frames and ever increasing technical prowess. There is very little recorded history of this war as both sides conscripted every citizen fit for combat, and the fighting was so intense, given the close proximity of the Rapatan moons to Rapata, that almost no could record events, and many that did were killed or their work destroyed, before it could be copied. Most of what is known is via oral traditions, which over five-thousand years have yielded legends and myths that intertwine with the facts, making them nearly indistinguishable. I was not, in my short time being stranded on the planet, able to deduce all of the stories, however most agree that the Tris started strong, beating the Ripari back nearly to destruction, and then a drastic event occurred which turned the tides of the conflict, ending in the evacuation of Rapata Prime and the integration and blending of Riparan and Tris cultures and traditions on Rapata. Currently, the Rapatans have a long-established symbiosis with both species, though there is still some social reservations regarding inter-special marriages and mating, the two work nearly flawlessly as scientists - the Riparan logic keeping the Tris ingenuity in check and the Tris fueling quicker advancements. Ironically, to avoid another genocidal conflict like the Sorian War, Rapatan law forbids combat vessels from being created. This creates an interesting dynamic for their interaction with intragalactic civilizations, in tha... [data corrupt] ...nost Rapatans in modern times are energy farmers, harvesting solar and geo-thermal energy for use at the intelligence hubs on the arboreal poles for tax benefits. Due to the Rapatan's placement in the galaxy, trade is rare and more of a social event than a way of life. As such, the Rapatans have erected a socialistic republic as their form of government. Senators are elected for life, generally due to patents they have filed rather than political prowess. Crime rates are very low on Rapata. The Ripari ancient laws, which were adopted by the Rapatan senate two hundred years after the end of the Sorian War when the senate was almost exclusively made of Ripari, charge even the most basic criminals with either months of torture, usually resulting in death, ejection via rocket into the Rapatan sun, Sor'i, or becoming a dueling slave in the great arena. Most request the arena, however the most common punishment is the removal of the criminal's left hand to signify their fall from social grace. The judicial system is enacted, enforced, and epitomized by the distinguished order of Rapatan Prætorians called the Riporii. The Riporii were traditionally Ripari, however in recent years a handful of Triso-Riparan hybrids have been admitted into their ranks. [data corrupt]...iporii elders are judges with the youth being trainees. Age brings rank as does exceptional bravery and service. The Riporii serve as the security forces for Rapata and Rapatan space. They research, develop, and manufacture the only combat-ready vessels and maintain the only combat infrastructures on Rapata. Interestingly, the Rapatan government refuses t... [data corrupt] ]