The Followers of Athona

A SpaceResidence lands on a planet. After almost a thousand years, it’s still there.

The Followers of Athona

A Short Story

Written By

SpaceFaction

     A large SpaceResidence lands on a deserted planet. For as far as anyone can see, there is nothing but white sand surrounding this SpaceResidence. At least it looks like sand. It also appears this whole planet is nothing but this white sand. There is nothing else on this planet, including anyone in this SpaceResidence.

     About a hundred years later, this SpaceResidence is still there. The only indication that it has been there all these years is the decaying, the ruination of it, and the myth, legend, etc. that goes along with it. It also doesn’t
look like no one has been living there all these years.

     As the Stavroms get closer to this SpaceResidence, the two Stavroms behind the controls of their transport can see that there is no one living there. “So, that’s the famous SpaceResidence that almost everyone in this part of our universe has heard about,” says Lemom Stavrom.

     “Do you know why it’s called a SpaceResidence?” Lemon asks. “It’s because it came from space and landed here about a hundred years ago.”

     “I know that,” answers Geomi Stavrom. “Almost everyone knows that.” Suddenly, Geomi starts pointing at it. “Are you sure no one has lived there for almost one hundred years?”

#

     Lemom and Geomi have returned to their spaceship. They go directly to talk to their Co-Commanders, Wonica Stavrom and Beamic Stavrom, about what they have found on the planet below them. “What did you just tell us?” asks Wonica.

     “Is this planet inhabited?” asks Beamic. “I thought only this SpaceResidence landed there. There isn’t supposed to be anyone living there. At least that’s what I thought.”

     “That’s what I also thought,” says Wonica. “It looks like we have been wrong about that.”

     Beamic holds out his exposed palm to Lemom and Geomi. “Let’s see what you have seen on this planet.”

     Lemom and Geomi look at each other, but it’s Geomi who gives him a small flat and round circle to Beamic. Beamic hands this circle to Wonica. Wonica places it in an indented circle on the right side of a control panel under a large Image Monitor.

     A moving image suddenly appears on this Image Monitor. It shows eight individuals. These individuals are talking to each other. The Stavroms can’t see if they are humans like them because they are all dressed in black from head to just below their shoulders.

#

     “What are we going to do?” asks Wonica to a group of other Stavroms in a large Eating Room. Some of them are eating, but most are either getting their food or they are watching Wonica and Beamic walking among them.

     “We are supposed to be looking at this planet for possible colonization,” continues Beamic. “I’m not the only one who isn’t here because they want to be. There are a lot of us here who don’t want to colonize this planet because of this SpaceResidence.”

     Beamic and Wonica stop walking when they get to the end of this group of Stavroms. Everyone else is now eating, but they are also listening to what Wonica and Beamic are saying to them. “I know this isn’t the best time to be talking about this, but it is the best place to do it,” says Wonica.

     “Personally, I don’t think we should colonize this planet,” says Beamic. “I don’t want to admit it, but I don’t think we should do it because of what we have found out about this SpaceResidence.”

     Wonica looks at Beamic. “I agree with Beamic about colonizing this planet, but I am curious about what we have found out here.”

#

     “It has been almost a thousand years since we colonized Stavrom Six Twenty-One,” says Plaum Stavrom, who is standing in front of a lot more than fifty thousand other Stavroms. “When we first colonized this planet, we were very advanced. Within a hundred years, we lost that advancement ability. We have been living like this ever since then.”

     “Why have we been living like this?” Plaum starts walking among his fellow Stavroms.

     Plaum stops walking when he gets to a large image of the only SpaceResidence on Stavrom Six Twenty-One. “I think this is the reason why we have been living barely beyond the primitive state.”

     “We started living on Stavrom Six Twenty-One with about fifty thousand Stavroms. Now, there are over a million of us living here, and most of us are Followers of the individuals in this SpaceResidence, especially their leader, Athona.

     “These Followers are always at that SpaceResidence. What is going on there? That’s what I want to know, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. There are a lot of us who want to know how Athona has done this to us, and why they have done it.”

#

     Four Stavroms suddenly start shaking wildly on four different sides of this SpaceResidence. They are all dead before they hit the ground. All four stop shaking, but they start foaming a light reddish foam from their mouths. A lot of other Stavroms see this happening, but no one tries to help them.

     A few minutes later, four animal lead transports show up with four Stavroms in almost invisible protection, and get out of each of these transports. These sixteen Stavroms place the other four dead Stavroms into these transports. The transports take them to a nearby large hole with several thousand other Stavroms in it.

     All four are also dropped into this hole. After they drop these Stavroms into the hole, the four transports are taken by large animals to a structure where there are about a hundred more Stavroms dying. They aren’t dead yet, but some of them look like they are about to die, and some look even worse than the others.

     A female dressed as a Healer walks up to one of the sixteen Stavroms. “Today isn’t over yet. There are seven more dead who have the sickness we need to be disposed of.”

###

     When the sickness started on the Stavroms who aren’t among the Following, it also made all the other Stavroms start becoming Followers. Now, almost every one of the Stavroms are Followers of Athona. There are about a hundred thousand Stavroms who aren’t Followers, but no one knows how many there are and where they are.

     Some of these hundred thousand are living among the Followers, but most of them are hiding from these Followers. They are hiding in the Mountain Openings near where the SpaceResidence is. It hasn’t been easy, but they are also in contact with others like them who aren’t Followers.

     All the Stavroms who aren’t Followers have been trying to get the Followers away from Athona, but they haven’t found a way to do this. The Stavrom who are living among the Followers are trying to do it mainly, but the ones living in the Mountain Openings are also trying to do it.

     It has been the hardest on the Stavroms, who are living among the Followers. After all, they need to be careful that Athona doesn’t find out what they are doing. They don’t know what will happen if Athona and her first Followers find out about them.

#

     “So far, we haven’t been able to get any other Stavroms away from Athona’s influence. However, she is doing it, and it’s very strong. I don’t think we will be getting any other Stavroms away from Athona,” says Hirmon Stavrom, who is talking to a large group of others in a Mountain Opening.

     “I agree with you, Hirmon. We aren’t going to stop what is happening here this way,” says Chanthi Stavrom, who is standing next to Hirmon.

     Hirmon and Chanthi are standing in front of this group of Stavroms, but it’s Chanthi who continues talking to them. “We need to do something to stop this from happening, but I don’t know what we can do to stop it.”

     “Unfortunately, I don’t think we can stop it. Athona and her first Followers have too strong an influence over the rest of us,” says Hirmon. “What I think we need to do is find out how she is influencing them. Only then can we stop her from doing it.”

     “I think I know how we can find out how she has been influencing us,” shouts a male Stavrom from among the others in this group. “We need to find out why this SpaceResidence is here.”

#

     Hirmon and Chanthi are among a small group of other Stavroms at the SpaceResidence of Stavrom Six Twenty-One. They are hidden so that no one knows they are there. Also, they are talking softly so that only they can hear what they are saying.

     “Almost everyone knows how this SpaceResidence came here,” says Hirmon. “We don’t know why it came here. I think if we know why, we will know how to stop this influencing from happening.”

     “I, we, me and Hirmon, think that going there will tell us what we want to know,” says Chanthi. “We need to be very careful, though, so that none of the Followers find us here. Who knows what will happen if we are found here?”

     Hirmon and Chanthi split up, each with three other Stavroms with them, and enter the SpaceResidence from two different sides. Both groups are looking for why Athona and her first Followers have come to this planet. They are only supposed to contact the other group if they find something, and it looks like one of them has just found something.

#

     Athona is talking to her Followers when Hirmon and Chanthi step in front of her. Her first Followers start moving toward Hirmon and Chanthi. “We aren’t here to try to get you away from Athona,” says Hirmon.

     “We are here to tell you about why Athona and her first Followers are here,” continues Chanthi. “They aren’t here like we are; they were forced to land here. The planet they came from sent them here.”

     “I know most of you aren’t going to believe us,” says Hirmon. “Maybe none of you will believe us, but that doesn’t matter now. Athona and her first Followers aren’t who they appear to be.”

     The Stavrom Followers start talking among themselves, asking questions, and making comments. They don’t believe what Hirmon and Chanthi are telling them. “Yanuc is the planet they come from, and it’s as advanced as we were back then, if not more advanced than us,” continues Hirmon.

     “At least most of it has been advanced,” says Chanthi. “There have been some groups that lived in the past. One of these groups is Athona and her Followers. They are the worse of the worse. Yanuc’s solution to their problem is to send them to this deserted planet.”

#

     “Another attack has started against Worldwide Rule Enforcers and some Followers of Athona,” says a standing Yanuc InformationReader in front of an Image Monitor. She’s standing between two large Image Monitors behind her, showing the attack that she’s talking about.

     One Image Monitor shows the attack from the WREs that are involved in this attack. The other Image Monitor shows these Followers of Athona, who are not only fighting back against the WREs, but are panicking about what is happening there. Some of these Followers have also been trying to help Athona get out of there.

     Both sides of this attack are trying to kill the other side. Unfortunately, both sides are getting killed by this attack. The Followers of Athona have been getting killed more than the WREs have been. Slowly, the WREs are getting past these Followers. They are also getting very close to Athona, who is trying to get away from there.

     Athona does get away from her SpaceResidence, but she doesn’t get very far before some WREs stop her from doing it. “It appears this attack appears to be almost over,” says the InformationReader. A few minutes later, Athona and her still living Followers are being escorted away from this SpaceResidence by a lot of WREs.

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