FLASH.

A flash of thunder exploded.

But it was a strange thunder —— it was not raining. Rain would be a strange thing as well, as this case of thunder flash is in Mars. Things do not work the same way as Earth.

Armed with questions, Shana looked at the photo that Raziel had gave him. Hold on, this looked off, he thought.

This thunder was made-up. Someone out there caused this.

But Why?

For the sharp-gazed man, it is time to look into the Red Planet.

“You have arrived at your destination” the navigator notified. Shana looked at his surroundings. Now in his fifth form, taking form of a tall young man with a short dark blonde hair, complete with a sharp pair of icy blue eyes. He gazed at the sign on his right.

The sign reads “Ward 16”. From the looks of it, the ward is full of dormitories. Dormitories? How could a thunder could've come from them?, he thought.

The photograph Raziel's assistants took does not seem strange....it is just a flash of thunder. But why? A thunder on Mars?

“Very strange indeed, Shana” Raziel said to him, “But the coloration made it look off” she continued. Shana then pointed out that due to the low shutter speed, she was able to point out how it looked artificial. Not in the 'digitally-added thunder' sense of artificial, but rather, the thunder was manually caused by someone

“Interesting, I'll go to Mars right now” Shana responded.

They all looked the same, put on a sleek corridor, but he saw an outlier in the corridor —— a double door.

Shana recalled that this corridor belongs to living spaces for two people, and he pulled out his commuphon. Quick inspection of the dorms shows that the double door is twice larger than the other dorms. Perhaps strangely, he finds that the strange dorm was privately owned, an anomaly in Planetary Branches, in this case the Bowie Branch, as no one is able to privately own these dorms.

Shana's scanner showed that the door was unlocked. Normally, Shana would never bother with open doors, unless it is part of his business, but something tells him to go to the room.

And he did.

The room was messy, full of papers scrambled on the floor. All the window shutters were broken beyond repair. Bottles of Earth-imported alcohol circled the floors, and hard drives were scattered on tables. Shana took all of them to inspect its conditions, and thankfully all of them are in mint condition. No bad volumes, good., he said to himself.

But the whole place is wrecked. It doesn't looked like a place trashed from a party or a bad hangover, as Shana can felt anger through the room. Shana can sense that there were swinging emotions that are responsible for the sorry state of the dorm room. Even the kitchen looked sorry, with the refrigerator door being split into half. What the hell is up here, Shana said to himself, wondering.

”...!” a sound entered Shana's ears. It came from the bedroom.

Armed with caution, Shana entered the bedroom. It is as messy as the living room and kitchen, with sheets all over the place, contents of drawer being thrown, and papers dumped all over the floor. What a mess, Shana said.

“Get outta here, Irishman!” The man scoffed at Shana. Shana makes a disappointed glare at the man. I'm Shana, for Eden's sake, he muttered to himself. He looked at the man, and then he shifted into a big smile.

“Hi hi hi there, Shana-brother!” A cheery voice said to him. It's Mara. No, not the real Mara the deity, but the alien of the same name. Shana recalled that the alien species often names themselves after gods and deities —— Mara is no exception. “Sorry-y! Really thought you were a randoom-y Irishma-n!”

Shana inspected Mara's appearance —— still the same, with his luscious long hair, chest-exposing robe, and snakey accessories. His appearance made him worthy of the real Mara, being able to seduce any mortal into doing his bidding.

But what surprised Shana is Mara's position. Mara isn't standing, he's not even sitting. That's right —— somehow, someone cornered Mara into a wall, and tied him up to a pole. The strange thing is, Mara didn't made attempts to escape. He stayed still, tied up into a pole with his hands on his back. Mara was even smiling all along.

“What....is going on?” Shana looked in shock at the situation. Normally, it's Mara who will get humans into willingly tying themselves up for him, but this time, it's the other way around. What human being is capable of doing such a thing?

“Ahhh....Stephen X, so angry of me-y”, Mara said in a cutesy tone, but quickly dropped it off, “He got mad that I stole his money, hee-hee”, Mara continued on a normal tone.

“Stephen....X?” Shana asked

“That Earth billionaire....or should I say, former Earth billionaire? Haa-haa!” Mara continued humorously, “Well, I sent him here but he failed to bring someone I want to see.”

“How did it come to this....?” Shana continued, while noticing a large paper on the wall. It is a map of Bowie Branch, filled with 'X' marks on residential areas of Bowie Branches, but on the edge of the map, a large 'YOU CAN'T BE HERE' was written three times.

“Oooooh, that-tie! Stevie thinks he's genie-ous!” Mara looked into the map and said to Shana in a cutesy tone, though he dropped it again, “Poor sod thinks he can escape to Jupiter” Mara continued.

Shana and Mara concluded that Stephen was trying to escape from Mars to Jupiter. But it was impossible, Shana thought.

“Jupiter....that's off-limits” Shana said to Mara, “You can't even approach the Kubrick construction sites, let alone the Clarke Outposts, without Choi's permission”, he continues while he looks over papers.

“Yeeeesh, what a drag that Choi lad is” Mara said, “Biometric signatures? Military grade encryption? The hell Choi's thinking, it's like he's some hot shit or anything”, Mara continued.

Shana instinctively attempted to contact Choi, with his commuphon automatically searching for Choi Yeon-woo, director of the Kubrick Branch construction project and a human he knows. But the only thing that greeted Shana was his commuphon receiving connection error. No use, Shana said to himself. Shana then attempts to untie Mara.

“No fucking use, man, this shit is Stephen's own invention” Mara said to Shana, “Fucker added a lock over there, unlockable only with his computer back on Earth”

“Well, shit” Shana exclaimed, while remembering why he was here at the first place. The Thunder, “Mara, what was that? Earlier?”

“Earlier? The Thunder you mean?” Mara responded, “See, that Stephen fucker used my jammer over there,” Mara continued while he shook his head to the corner of the room —– where a jammer device is placed, “He must've been setting the jammer too high to cause an electrical reaction —– which caused BOOM! That” Mara continued.

“The jammer.....it blocks communications systems and shit for 3 hours” Shana said, “He's.....trying to get to Earth without the outpost's permission”, Shana continued.

“Ex-fucking-actly! That shit thinks it'll jam the ATC, but fucker forgot that he needed permission using Bowie's GBR connection to even start the engine” Mara continued.

Shana knew what he meant. It means that Stephen is still on the hangar. “Mara, I need to go. Sorry I can't do anything” Shana said as he hastily ran off from Mara's place.

“Welp, good luck with it, Kiddo” Mara said to Shana. As Mara is left alone, tied, again, he thinks of Stephen's motivations. He fears that he will lose everything and himself, but his desire gets him into this strange journey.

Fear is the mind killer, Desire is the mind stimulator.

Being tied up for hours isn't something to get fussy about, Mara knows this. He is semi-divine, after all. His race can withstand abandonment like this.

Boredom took over his brain, however. And boredom can lead to unthinkable ideas in mind.

“Jupiter.....great idea”, Mara muttered to himself. Yes, Mars is no longer cool. It's been ruined by pesky humans. he thought. The fact that Mars is now an extension of Earth makes the planet no longer fun for him. He can't run around doing his dealings without being noticeable to normal humans.

Jupiter is on the verge of humanization. There's only smart people in Jupiter, hahaha, he continued his thought.

His eyes are now scanning the entire room, to scattered papers that Stephen spread the floor with. One print of paper in particular caught his eye.

“Aha....there you are, darlings” Mara's voice momentarily returned to his high-pitch voice. He makes a curling smile. The paper's contents are what he needed.

On the left of his position lies a paper detailing the schematics of a space station, with the words Clarke Ganymede – Entrance Protocols. That gave him the answer on how to arrive at Jupiter.

Below the paper lies another paper that made him chuckle a little. It is a blueprint of a Satellite, meant to be for telecommunication operators. It is covered with the paper above, but Mara can deduce what it's for. His guess is correct, as he kicks the papers to reveal the full title: Dullea-3 Orbiter – HSD Receiver.

“Kufufu, my new little radio tower!” he chuckled. Now he knows what to do next.

All he can do is to wait for Shana to untie him. He wouldn't notice, after all, what's behind Mara's childish smile.

Lore Compendium: – Commuphon: Smart Watches with Holographic screens. Can be used as cloud computers connected to a main computer. – Branch: Official term for space stations. So far, there are three 'branches'; L-Post Branch (Lagrange Points), Bowie Branch (Mars), and Kubrick Branch (Io, Callisto, Ganymede, Europa). Planetary branches are always named after artists whose works are related to topics of outer space. – Outposts: Space terminals. Functions as 'airports' and transits. Not for habitation. – GBR: ISP of Bowie Branch. An acronym of “Gebura” a.k.a “Geburah” (Sephirot). In the Martian system, the ISP is connected through a series of satellites named Ziggy orbiters.

#writetober #writing #OCs #override #shana

As she looked around her, she remembered the celebrities she had met. Though in her definition, “celebrity” meant any human being, or mortals, who contributed a lot to mortal history. Anyone has the potential to become a “celebrity” by marking themselves in human history, and being seen as important.

Looking to her left, she remembered the day she saw Montgomery Clift in person, in 1949. Looking at the Union Square, she remembered seeing Zelda Fitzgerald jumping on the fountain. Of course, there was no way of stopping Zelda. That was out of the question, Shana! she mutters to herself.

Now 1948, Shana had found herself back in New York, New York. Of course she isn’t alone this time.

“♪ New York, New York! ♪ It's like in Martin Scorsese movies!” A young man shouted in excitement.

“Eddie, be careful when mentioning names from the future”

“Sure, it is a fine day. Though dear lord, New York is too much even in the past!” Eddie muttered as he approached Shana.

Of course, this young man isn’t an ordinary man. Firstly, he is from 2010, secondly, his young, healthy face comes with an athletic body, ready to outrun marathon runners by the standards of his time period, that is, 2010. It was pure luck that Shana had found him for this task.

“Eddie, you better be glad. Enjoy this New York while it lasts” Shana responded with a forecasting tone.

“I’m just saying! Good to be out from that heavenly hole” Eddie says happily.

“Watch your mouth, Eddie. Dainichi Nyorai can still hear us”

“Right, right, we’re from the future and all. Now what are we gonna do today?”

Shana handed Eddie his mission, the reason why he was sent back to the late 1940s. Sending divines from Edentrius is too risky for it, hence the reason why Shana picked up Eddie. It helps that Eddie needed money, and so begins a strange transaction. She recalled the brief with Dainichi Nyorai in Paradiso.

Pay him, take him to 1948, get him to do your bidding, then come back. That was the directive from Dainichi Nyorai. “Okay, don’t forget to tell him to be careful. New York is full of celebrities. All the time”, Dainichi Nyorai added. It could be potentially damaging to human history to interfere with one. “Eisenhower wasn't the only celebrity in that university”

“Understood, I apologize for the difficulties in correcting the Isaac Newton incident”, Shana responded. She still remembered how tiring it was, trying to get that apple to fall as it should after some prankster tied it up so that it couldn't fall.

Well, for now it should be different. Just don’t let the nephilim interfere with anything that will be part of history.

“This nephilim is potentially interfering with time. There will be an important summit with Eisenhower at Columbia University later today. This nephilim looks like it's going to interrupt it.”

“Right, butterfly. Dangerous”, Eddie said, knowing that one wrong move can alter history forever, given that Dwight D. Eisenhower is attending. In this time, he has yet to be known in American history, but if the nephilim disturbed his agenda at Columbia University today, human history will distort forever.

“We must remove it, unfortunately, this one had spiritual disturbance when it was born, resulting in—-”

Eddie noticed that the nephilim in the photo is missing a pair of wings, “Born without it?” he pointed at it, interrupting Shana.

“No, it was it’s soul. Its’ magia is incomplete. It's wings had disappeared and suddenly it has a dislike of divinities such as myself.”

“Y’all and this thing is like fire and ice, got it”

“Exactly. Let’s get onto it. I will bring you to Andy Warhol’s parties if you do it well. 1960s should be easy to go to”

“Ahaha, no thanks. Didn’t like his stuff. Was so confused in art class!”

“Alright, let’s——”

“WAIT!!” Eddie shouted as he glimpsed a strange figure, startling Shana.

Eddie grabbed the photo of the nephilim and ran off at incredible speed as he noticed a strange bipedal being with eyes scattered on its head. Wow, it looked like what Angels looked like in the Bible! He said to himself whilst running. As he noticed the bipedal being’s form on further inspection, he came to understand it as the nephilim.

The nephilim looked back at Eddie in a 360-degree head tilt and increased it’s speed. It had no wings, so it was pure running. Off to Manhattan it goes.

“Oh shit” Eddie worried as he passed through Columbia University. That's where it's going. Shit. he thought.

But strangely enough, it kept running beyond Columbia University. The nephilim kept running as if it's life was threatened. Now both of them approached a crowded Waldorf-Astoria hotel full of people in formal outfits.

“Come the fuck on! Not this!” Eddie screamed as the nephilim ran into a crowded area. Now it's going to hit on a potential celebri—-

“Argh!” Eddie shouted as he suddenly fell as he bumped into someone. He felt a heavy object in his back. It was a camera. Eddie grabbed the camera and turned his body. Fortunately, it was fine. Not even a scratch was seen.

Eddie gets up to help the photographer, who was trying to get up, “Are you all right?” asked Eddie to the photographer.

“I'm f-fine. Camera….”

“Here, don't worry, there's no damage” Eddie handed the camera to the photographer, “I'm deeply sorry for this!”

“Thank you...it's alright” The photographer calmly responded. He then stood back up, one thing that Eddie had noticed is that the photographer was noticeably shorter than him.

“OH SHIT—–” Eddie falls again in shock from the sight of the photographer's face. His face was familiar to Eddie. The photographer's brooding, strongly-gazed eyes….Eddie instantly knew who he was. He was a figure from recent history.

“C-celebrity….!!!” Eddie shouted as got up and ran away, not looking back

“Wait, you left this!” The photographer calls while Eddie disappears from his distance. Eddie seemed to have dropped the photo of the nephilim. It's in the photographer's hands now.

But to his surprise, the nephilim was immobile. It was watching Eddie with that photographer this whole time. With no hesitation, Eddie grabbed the nephilim. To his surprise, Shana was waiting for him.

“That was quite an act” Shana commended

“Shit's fucking mental! Don't tell me you saw that!” Eddie exclaimed seriously to Shana in a rush.

“I did. Don't worry, you can ask questions later” Shana responded, “Great job, Eddie.”

“You….better answer!”

They later find themselves back in Paradiso, with Shana handing the Nephilim to Dainichi Nyorai. He looked as if something heavy had been lifted from his chest, and is now free to relax from work.

“Seems that it ran out of Magia after all that running. And as Eddie is human, its incomplete soul reacted more strongly to mortals than us divinities” Shana explained, “The ordeal was just magia interference”

“Well, I can tell. It doesn't hate us anymore. But I think it's content with not having wings anymore”

“That's a good thing then” Shana responded

“Very well. Finally I don't have any more time-corrections to do. Fuck yeah. Thanks y'all” Dainichi Nyorai thanked Shana and Eddie very informally. “Gotta go real fast, Suryani needs me ASAP”

“Thanks, Eddie. Now get that bread, boy” Dainichi Nyorai greeted as he warped away, while throwing money at Eddie.

“Phew, that was something” Eddie sighed in relief with his hands holding his payment. “But I have a question” he followed. Before Eddie could ask any question, an angel approached them. It was an archangel.

“Raziel, fancy seeing you here” Shana greeted Raziel as she walked into them.

“Salutations, Shana” Raziel greeted, “Good job on the nephilim, we will take good care of it”

“No worries, everything's under control” Shana responded, “Eddie did a pretty good job here”

“T-thanks” Eddie flusters as his face jumps between gratitude and confusion. Raziel can see his confused face.

“What is it, Eddie? Any questions?” Raziel asked, “You look confused”

“Y-yes. Celebrity” Eddie asks, “I….might have interfered with one”

“Interfered? What did you do?” Raziel asked.

“You see...I might have bumped into a celebrity…” Eddie responded, “When I tried to catch that nephilim, I bumped into someone and I fell….that s-someone….he was a photographer”

”....Is it who I think it is?” Raziel interrupted, feeling that she knew who Eddie meant. A late-1940s New York photographer who is recognizable by someone from the 21st century? Then the possibility is certain: it can only be that one specific “celebrity”.

“Precisely” Shana responded, “It was Stanley” she continued, as she nodded to Raziel. Immediately, Raziel’s expression shifted into an amusing face.

To Eddie's surprise, Raziel begins to cackle at him. It was a strange sight for Eddie, seeing an archangel —– a highly respected archangel, certainly one of the highest of her ranks —– laughing to his human face.

“W-wait! It was him! I've seen his face before!! I can see it from his eyes!!” Eddie frantically continues, “Are we...in danger? Because….butterfly, you know. I left an item there. He took it!”

“It was more of Eddie forgetting to take it back from him” Shana continued.

“My point is, I interfered with a celebrity. That's it” Eddie finishes his question.

Raziel then stopped laughing and smiled instead, trying to reassure Eddie that nothing's wrong. Besides, it was a minor inconvenience, nothing cosmically damaging. “I met Stanley. I went to a party in the Bronx once” Raziel explained as she handed a photo to Eddie. The photo was candid, but quite well-done. It was marked with ‘S.K’ in the back, to dispel Raziel's experience being a myth, “He took this picture of me. Great skills he had, that Stanley boy”

Eddie looked in a mixture of confusion and awe, “And yet, nothing happened. Mortal history still went as it should've” Raziel continued. And she tells Eddie that Norman Rockwell had also painted her at one point.

“Got Norman to paint a still life of myself, years after that photo with Stanley. Still, nothing happened. They might’ve forgotten me”, Raziel continued. Guess that humanity's ability to forget the strange is stronger than he thought, though Eddie found it hard to believe that incredible people like those two can forget. Guess they were truly humans after all.

Eddie now understood. Shana then explained lengthily that there are two rules in time travel: Do not change things, Do not spoil things. For an added rule: do not alter the fates of 'celebrities'. As both Eddie and Shana recalled, he did none of those two to the photographer.

“You did nothing wrong, you did not disrupt Stanley's future.” Raziel explained, “He still photographed stuff and made movies after your encounter with him”

Eddie stunned in silence. There's nothing he can say.

“That….sure is something” Eddie responded, “God this was the weirdest day I ever had. Can't believe I bumped into Stanley Kubrick! And almost broke his camera!“

“Trust us, there are stranger things” Shana responded, “And far more stranger things” Raziel followed, “After all, the world isn't as small and narrow as you knew” Shana tells Eddie with a sense of wonder.

Eddie's expression now turns into a laugh that follows with a smile. All that confusion in his mind turns into excitement. He looks at Shana with a curious smile.

“Can we do this again?”

Lore Compendium

Celebrity: Term for humans who contributed so much to human history. E.g inventors, politicians, rulers.

Historical Note: The events portrayed in the 1948 New York part of this story is Dwight D. Eisenhower's visit to Columbia University to be appointed as an important figure of the university. He would later become The President of the United States. In that event, he was photographed by a young New York photographer Stanley Kubrick, who will later become a director who would contribute to history of filmmaking in the western world. In short, both Eisenhower and Kubrick are “celebrities” —– if they are 'interrupted', human history will be different.

#writetober #writing #OCs #edentrius #Shana