Inherent Destiny
All of us attain the greatest success and happiness possible in this life whenever we use our native capacities to their fullest extent…. And every life must be chalked up at least a partial failure when it does not succeed in reaching its inherent destiny.
- Smiley Blanton
Introduction
What defines a person’s destiny? Is it a pivotal moment in time where one choice leads to an inevitable destination? Do we define our own destiny? Do we have a choice?
Such questions had been presented to the council at the beginning of the first cycle. By now, all research had been completed and the findings were uploaded into each member’s Holo in front of them.
Umit and his team knew that this would change the course of history for Lexu and implementation of the new calender would be the least of their troubles. The good thing was that the transmissions from Earth were no longer considered classified and were released for the public into the archives. At first the council was concerned that Order Breakers would be inspired by the tactics and means of destruction that the humans of Earth had devised but it was determined by committee that this was a necessity as it foreshadowed their eventual extinction. The inhabitants of Lexu were following a similar fate and unless drastic measures were taken, the planet would be reduced to a husk of scorched planetary matter.
Umit cleared his throat nervously and loped to the centre of the room. His purple eyes were wet with excitement and he wiped his damp palms against his tunic and proudly thought, this is the beginning of a new era! No longer will the Rimen be thought of as labourers and stupid. I did this for our people. We make our mark today.
Umit looked around the room and explained his proposal.
"Greetings delegates and honoured guests, I am Umit, head of the research team on Lexu. As you well know, war has been steadily growing on Lexu and if not for the transmissions from Earth, we may have been on the same path to our own destruction. For the past three decades our governments have cooperated and sought to find some commonality between all races and creeds, and we have made some amazing discoveries."
Umit looked around to see that he had everyone’s attention and continued.
"What we found was so remarkable but subtle that we would have missed it completely if not for this joint cooperation. I and the citizens of Lexu sincerely applaud you for being able to put aside the conflicts of old and to venture forward to a new era of mutual cooperation!"
The delegates nodded and applause echoed throughout the chamber.
Umit waited for the room to settle and pressed commands into a holo station. In front of each delegate, appeared the findings of the research.
"Over the course of three decades, a pattern seems to emerge every twelve years. Why this is, is up for debate. It could be that our star influences our genetic makeup in some fashion or that we are all connected to reach other on a subatomic level; but we’ll leave that to the holy ones to discuss mystics."
Laughter ensued except for the lone delegate from the Order who frowned disapprovingly.
Umit winked at the priest and smiled, "Come now Ania, I don’t mean to undermine what you represent."
Turning back to the room Umit directed them to the next screen.
"What we do know is that in all cases; all cases, honoured guests, there exists one singular thread that connects all individuals born in the same year."
Umit paused a beat to let the information sink in.
"We didn’t see it at first but once we knew what to look for, it was as clear as the brightest harvest moons during the dark season. Please turn to the next screen."
As the delegates tapped their desks Umit waited patiently.
"The first group we followed for thirty years and all ended up with law significantly impacting their lives in one way or another. We’re talking life changing impact, honoured guests. On earth they would call this something that was ’destined to happen’ and we usurped this phrase. Twelve ’destinies’ , if you will, were confirmed and this pattern is seen even to this day. I know this is a lot to take in but please let me finish. "
"The reason why we didn’t see this earlier was that within the destinies, twelve distinct personality traits were observed and although consistent, these traits were fluid. Please proceed to the next screen."
"The data shows that there exists a wide variety of individuals who may not, at first glance, appear similar but with interviewing and using a specially designed aptitude test we were able to definitively conclude that those born in the same month share a common personality trait. In and of itself, this means little but combined with what we know of the destiny of the individual, it raises some very interesting possibilities!"
"Now if you will, honoured guests, please proceed to the last screen. We wanted to pay tribute to Earth in some way for bringing about this discovery and so we’ve adopted two of their calenders as our own. As you can see, the year of birth and the destiny associated with it has similarities to the Chinese zodiac. We’ve kept some of the signs to suit the destiny description but you can see the influence. Next, the month of birth and the personality that is attributed to it is similar to the horoscope on Earth. Again we’ve kept some of the signs to suit the particular description."
Umit paused and allowed himself to enjoy the moment. This was history in the making and he was a part of it.
"If the council finds this favourable we will begin the new cycle in the new year. This will give us time to implement policy and adjust our education systems to better instruct our children according to their destinies!"
The room erupted with applause and Umit bowed his head and silently thanked the Gols for allowing him to serve in such an important role.
"I’m extremely pleased to announce the first year of the cycle as the year of the Owl! The destiny of those born in this year will be in the academics."
The audience stood together as the Conache, Rimin, Baysh and Kra delegates touched foreheads as a gesture of trust and unity.
In four months time, the first cycle would begin and with it, a united future for all.
Prologue
Long ago, the inhabitants of the planet Lexu received the first transmission from an ancient alien race within their galaxy. The message was encoded within a repetitive pattern consisting of 1,679 dual numerals, transmitted at a high frequency and modulated by shifting the frequency by a factor of ten for approximately three mols. Based on the strength of the signal, the scientists estimated that it would have been sent approximately 25,000 starlight cycles ago.
The first messages were ones of greetings, information about their planet, and descriptions about the race that sent the message. The message contained information that indicated that these aliens called a distant star system, known to the citizens of Lexu as Solaria, their home.
As the alien’s technology advanced, so did the sophistication of the messages. Through a clever coding system, the senders were able to paint a picture of their life on the planet they called Earth. They called themselves humans.
Fascinated at seeing the entire history of the humans of Earth unfold before their eyes, the citizens of Lexu held their collective breath to find out what drove the humans to extinction for SIIL or Search for Interstellar Intelligent Lifeforms had scanned this cluster of stars as a potential source of intelligent lifeforms but presently, no indications of any life could be detected. The planet was a wasteland.
The tragic history was revealed as information came faster and in larger segments until it was a steady, constant stream of information.
The sense of hope and curiosity reflected in the early messages became cries for help as it became clear that the cause of humanity’s destruction was not due to an intergalactic event or planetary pressures from within but was because of their own undoing. Humans had constantly found new ways to self harm and eventually found a way to make the destruction permanent.
As Earth was the same class and distance from its star as Lexu, it was little surprise that their evolution followed in much the same way as the Kra. There were obvious differences between the two such as history, types of conflicts, native species and advance of technology but there were many similarities also in terms of ecology and mannerisms. It was as if the Gols had placed two identical species across the universe from each other and observed how the histories would differ between the two groups.
How the progression of history unravelled for each could not have been more different however. While the citizens of Earth embraced technology as a means of destruction, the citizens of Lexu both limited and encouraged the use of technology for the betterment of the colonies.
The Kra learned of humanity’s self-destruction through ever increasing corruption, greed and war. To avoid a similar fate, the Kra, Baysh and Conache poured their resources together to find common ground. They used the information from the Earth transmissions to educate and teach that only through cooperation can they ensure the survival of all species on Lexu.
For a brief time, this was well received. To some, however, progress was seen as too slow and aggressive expansion was necessary to save the future. They argued that if a species had the power to wipe themselves out, could they not do the same to those in the Gatin star system if given the opportunity? These detractors needed only to point to the transmissions to show that the humans were hostile and capable of total destruction.
Their pleas went ignored and, frustrated, a group of militants left the planet to colonize the outer rims to establish a group sympathetic to their cause. They believed that it would only be a matter of time before another hostile lifeform saw that Lexu was defenceless and it was up to them to create weapons to ensure its survival. They were the first Outliers.
From analysis of the Earth data, there did not appear to be other intelligent lifeforms on Earth other than humans but on Lexu there were many. Dominant lifeforms included the Baysh, a species built seemingly out of minerals; the Conache, a reptilian water dwelling species; the Kra, similar to humans of Earth and the extinct Rimin, a subspecies of cave dwellers.
Each species had their own rules of government but contributed members to the General Council to resolve disputes in an open forum. Using data from all species collected over an extensive period of time, the General Council found a commonality through all species in the Gatin star system.
They realized, that the concept of one’s destiny can be predicted to an extent but is not a fixed variable. They found that through a comparison of multiple data points across every known spectrum, a pattern emerged. This pattern was consistent and could be based on a cyclic twelve year calendar.
The research showed that one unique significant factor united all citizens born in the same year and that each year was a different factor. They called these factors, destinies, as they represented defining moments of the being’s true essence. They hoped that this new development could unite the citizens and act as a guide for peace and harmony.
Twelve destinies were identified and within the destinies were twelve separate personality traits. These traits could more appropriately be called concepts and thus the Zodioscope was created.
CHAPTER ONE
4 Rand, 4th Red day. "It’s happening! The baby is on his way!" Shanh excitedly told her husband Yon.
They were forty weeks along and expecting their firstborn any day. It was nearing the end of the year and they knew that the baby would most likely have a Horse destiny but this being their first child, the birth could be delayed by several weeks. In that case their baby would be born into a Spider destiny.
Yon was a Horse destiny with a Scorpion personality trait, which could have ended up badly, but was raised with a firm hand and his parents reined in his tendency to overreact and jump to conclusions. It made him a great field operator though as he was able to make quick decisions on limited information and, if not for his upbringing and training, he may have been on the hard side of the law. In two days their son would be a Horse destiny with Andromede characteristics instead of identical to Yon. In a few weeks, if the pregnancy was delayed, they would have a Spider destiny with Fire characteristics baby.
"It’s happening? Now?" he asked as he jumped out of bed and into his clothes.
He had everything prepared months in advance and had his "go bag" ready by the door and everything on hand. He even mapped out alternate routes for their SATcar (Satellite Assisted Transport) compensating for traffic patterns at different times of the day. This being quite ridiculous as the computer would make all the calculations in an instant but it made him feel better.
"Do you have enough digital dollars once we are at the hospital?" Shanh asked Yon as she calmly stepped into the shower. Always calm to his storm, Shanh was Yon’s perfect balance.
"Digicash?" he responded using the slang term for their currency, "yes and I have our Universal Card as well."
"Ok good," she said as she dried herself off, "because we need to go. Right now."
***
Teo was born in the year of the Horse with Scorpion characteristics on the fourth Red day at 19 Rand 27 Mols. Yon and Shanh held their little one with tears of joy as he protested being removed from the comfort of his mother’s womb with his first breath.
"Hi Teo," whispered Shanh as she was handed her little bundle after he was assessed and cleaned off. Instinctively he opened his mouth and Shanh offered her breast to feed her baby. He wrapped his hands around her finger and sucked fiercely as if the milk supply would disappear once he let up.
"Easy Teo," cooed his mother, "I’m not going anywhere my love."
Yon watched his tired wife glow with relief and joy as she gently held their baby’s head. She looked up and met his eyes and knew that their lives would never be the same again.
CHAPTER TWO
The new parents did not get much sleep over the next few weeks as they adjusted to their son’s schedule. Sure as his Scorpion personality, he had already proven to be loud, strong and demanding.
Yon loved his son but was concerned as they shared the same destiny identity as well as personality trait. This would indicate that father and son would have some clashes in the future and, if they were anything like Yon’s relationship with his father, who was a Dragon destiny trait with Unicorn personality, the fights would be spectacular.
True, Yon’s father tried to raise his hot tempered son with a patient hand but the only language that was understood by the strong willed child was plenty of discipline and an assertion of dominance.
Being a Unicorn personality probably saved Yon a lot of trips to the health labs as his father tempered his discipline with instruction in the ways of the Holy Ones.
As his wife closed her exhausted eyes, he took Teo in his arms and rocked him gently. Teo, now with a full stomach, smiled contently and followed his mother to sleep. Yon looked at his sleeping newborn son and was amazed that he was holding new life that he was responsible for. He marvelled at the little hands that had little fingers that sprouted tiny little fingernails. This was a living breathing and soon to be thinking and growing being that would someday choose its own path within his destiny trait, which was law. Yon would do everything to ensure that his son was fully equipped to make an informed and educated choice but there were so many unknown variables.
What if he got involved with the wrong crowd? One could go crazy thinking about everything that could happen. Control what you can control; don’t worry about the rest. Equip your child with the right tools and it is up to him to use them or not.
Feed the baby. Change the baby. Put the baby to bed. Repeat. Every cute bodily function recorded and uploaded instantly to the family archive. Teo was a big boy. Fully 95% taller and heavier than other infants.
Even the medical android remarked, "The child appears to have advanced muscular development and range of motion for his age."
This should have been a time of celebration with his parents but Yon had not spoken with his father for two years ever since his father Rao had opposed his marriage to Shanh. This was because she was not of the same people and did not practise the way of the Holy Ones.
Yon was raised in the belief that true oneness came with isolation and segregation and a denial of worldly pleasures. Although he tried to be obedient and follow the teachings of his elders, he was restless and to his parents shame and heartbreak decided to leave the Order. Hopeful that Yon would return, his parents understood that he needed to find his own way.
When he met his wife Shanh, she stated plainly that although she respected his beliefs, she did not wish to subscribe to a belief that she was not fully vested in. To give it lip service and not be fully committed to such an important part of many people’s lives just to be accepted into the family was to disrespect it and yourself. Yon admired this honesty in his wife and found it refreshing compared to the hypocrisy he encountered in the Order.
So, in line with his Scorpion trait, he broke free and courted Shanh knowing that if he married her, he would become an outcast. The last thing his father said to him was, "as you have broken my heart, yours too will be broken thrice."
As a Unicorn destiny, this could have been prophetic but Yon passed this off at the time as the angry curse of a prideful man who had lost face. Now, with Teo being born into a Horse destiny and Scorpion personality trait, he had to wonder.