Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 19

Under siege

For months the forbidden city felt like a dream. The raven did not need to hide or work or fear. He would read books, drink wine and talk to the citizens there. He was the traveler’s favorite.

And then, one day, the skies opened.

Everyone in the forbidden city heard the metallic shriek. They stopped what they were doing to look above. Thousands of machines poured out of the sky, eclipsing the Sun himself. The traveler whispered into everyone’s mind,

They are coming for us. Everyone head to the temple.

The temple was a massive underground fortress that stood immemorial in front of the garden. It had several levels with beds, halls and well-stocked supply rooms. The machines landed before all citizens could enter the temple, murdering everyone left outside and obliterating the city. Not a single stone was left in its place, not a book, building or animal survived. After the temple was sealed and the city destroyed, the machines flew away and disappeared into the sky. But the traveler knew who they were. They were only waiting for them to come out, so he ordered everyone to wait.

The traveler leaked water and air through the walls of the temple to sustain his people, but he could not produce animals. As weeks went on, morale and supplies waned. The raven knew there was only one way out of a siege:

Citizens, listen to me. Our enemy is strong, but so are we. We must face them in open battle.

But the traveler opposed him.

You have no idea who they are, the things they have done. They will kill you. We just have to wait and—

Wait for what? Until we’re too weak to fight? I’m sick of waiting, we all are. Who here would rather wither away than die with glory and pride?

The citizens agreed with him. The traveler said,

But you’ll die…

Aren’t we already dead? Aren’t we only delaying death because we trick ourselves thinking “if I only hold on a little longer…” They have taken our lives already, we must accept it. All we have left is our dignity, and I won’t let them have it.

The raven started dressing himself in battle clothes while the citizens watched. Soon others took up arms. The traveler whispered into the raven’s mind,

I have waited for billions of years. I sailed the stars and ended up stranded here, to drown in madness. But humans saved me, they talked to me and gave me a reason to live. When you walk out of those gates, they will murder you and I will have nobody left to talk to. I will once again become blind and deaf with anger.

But what choice do we have?

None, you are right. You must fight and I must go insane, that is our fate.

I don’t believe in fate.

Indeed, why should you? But fate doesn’t care whether you believe in it or not. There is only one future, one actual outcome. Your fate is to die. Mine is to rot, trapped in here.

No, mark my words, I will return and take you out of here.

That morning, the raven discussed the strategy against the machines. At noon, the raven opened the temple’s gates and walked into the ruins above. Soon the citizens followed. The metallic shriek flooded the air, announcing their coming. Once again the skies darkened with the deadly machines that resembled metallic chariots. But this time, the raven stood up to them with an army behind him. The shriek grew as the machines approached ground. They fired down on the defenseless warriors below with their rifles.

The raven lifted off and flew straight toward the machines. The machines, at first shocked, started firing at him but he was too fast. The raven reached one chariot and struck its rider, knocking away its gun. Up close he realized it was a machine, but also a man. He struggled with him until he was able to smash the rider’s head against the chariot until it broke. He threw the rider overboard and crashed the chariot into another chariot, bringing down both.

Below, the citizens hurled large harpoons at the chariots to then pull from the rope tied to the harpoon and thus bring down the hooked chariot. The chariots fired at the citizens, inflicting heavy casualties.

War raged on for an hour, until there were no more chariots. The raven could hardly stand, as he had been bruised, cut and shot twice. Most of the citizens were dead or gravely injured, but those who remained smiled proudly.

If not even the heavens can stop us, then none can!

The metallic shriek pierced the skies once more, this time louder than anything they had heard before. The skies opened and a second, larger wave filled the skies. The raven smiled a tired smile. He looked at the citizens behind him and said,

Lay down your arms. We fought bravely but the battle is over now. I am honored to die by your side.

The traveler, revived by hope after the initial victory, screamed,

No!. Fight back. Fight back!

The chariots came closer, the noise became deafening, even over the traveler’s screams:

You have to stand up. You can do this, come on. Don’t give up!

The traveler seethed with anger, causing earthquakes across the continent.

The raven stood up proudly, his arms wide open. He watched the chariots descend as the ground shook and the distant mountains crumbled. A volcano erupted not far from the city, its lava blasting into the sky. Then came the shots, raining down on the weary citizens. A single chariot came next to the raven and a man-machine jumped out of it. It walked up to him and pointed its rifle at him.

He started laughing, which stopped the man-machine in his tracks. He laughed maniacally while the man-machine stared. The man-machine came one step closer. A burst of rounds knocked him down.

His blood covered the ground below.