Aeneid 0

Aeneas entered the portal from Troy to Dardania in full sprint, but ended up in the Cyberlimbo instead of his home planet.

I’m too late, he thought in weightless darkness. The Horse beat us to the portal and trapped all the Trojans here forever.

He was right about everything except the timescale of his imprisonment, for just then a holographic image of his mother appeared in front of him.

“I’m sorry to see the tragedy that befell your home, my son”, Aphrodite said solemnly. “However, the Horse virus that corrupted the Trojan network is only a spark in the wildfire that ravages the entire human universe as we speak.”

“How is that possible?” Aeneas exclaimed. “Is it Kronos? Has he risen again?”

“No, the trouble you reap is the trouble that you have sown,” she said, a hint of cold in her voice.

“How do I stop it? Tell me my quest!”

“You cannot stop it. Your task is not to prevent humankind’s extinction, but to ensure its resurrection. Humanity is defined by the seven virtues, each of which is fossilized in a specific flower. Your task is to collect the seven Virtuous Flowers and plant them on an inhabitable planet in the System of Rhome.

But the Flowers themselves won’t be enough, for it was those very virtues that brought this Tartarus upon you. You must also learn the stories of the destroyed worlds and pass them on to the New Generation, so they don’t make the same mistakes. I wish you good luck!”

The hologram disappeared, and a portal appeared in its place. Aeneas floated through.

***

When his eyes got used to the light, he realized he was in a glass box not much bigger than himself. The box was in a much larger space, encircled with a row of Ionic columns.

“Welcome to Ephesus, Aeneas of Troy!”

Aeneas turned toward the voice to find a group of women standing on the other side of the glass. They were all dressed in hazmat suits except the woman with a bow, which he immediately recognized.

“Oh, mighty Artemis,” he whispered, bowing. “And the Huntresses.”

“Get up, young hero. No time for formalities,” said one of the Huntresses. “Of all the trials in your quest, this one will be the easiest. So take this peony,” — she pointed near his feet, where he noticed a small pink flower — “hear my story and begone.”

Aeneas picked up the flower. “What happened here?”

“A century ago, the people of Rhodes created a genetically modified virus, which proved efficient in killing the tumor cells. The virus was made airborne and released into the atmosphere — a kind of global cancer vaccination. However, it soon evolved and began attacking healthy cells. There was no cure.”

“And how did you…”

“The fate of the human race depends on your speed”, Artemis interrupted him sternly. “Don’t waste its precious time sating your curiosity. Take the Flower of Health and move on!”

A portal opened behind Aeneas, and he wordlessly obeyed the Goddess of the Hunt.

***

Aeneas found himself in another glass container, only this one was spherical. Desert dunes spread around it as far as his eyes could see.

On the glass floor were the holographic transmitter and a culm of bamboo. When Aneass grabbed the transmitter, a holographic woman emerged from it, and the sphere started to roll. Aeneas lost balance and almost fell, but soon caught up, strolling in the same direction as the vehicle.

“Welcome to Babylon, young Aeneas,” the woman said as the sphere glided along the dune. “My name is Semiramis, and I’m the acting president of the planet. By the time you see this, I’ll be dead along with the entire population.

“The Holy Demeter prophesied your arrival, so we designed this vehicle with a twofold purpose: to transport you from one portal to another, and to show you what befell us along the way.”

The sphere began to climb a dune that was higher than the rest.

“To expand the inhabitable land, we first destroyed the forest,” Semiramis said, “believing we could synthesize enough oxygen by ourselves. At least, we relied on the sea algae to help until we perfected our technology.”

As the vehicle reached the apex of the Dune, a mesmerizing view stretched before Aeneas. The dunes before him were soon replaced by giant ocean waves, crashing violently against the desert shore. The sea was as none Aeneas had ever seen – it was much bluer than any on Troy. Aeneas had been a sailor back home and assumed that a sea of such color and clarity must be practically lifeless, for it was the microorganisms that made the water gray and murky.

“But as the air warmed up, so did the sea, and everything above the abysmal zone went extinct before the Photosynthesis Machine was completed”, said Semiramis, confirming his assumption. “As I’m recording this, I’m in one of the final remaining oxygen alcoves on the planet. As my people are currently at war with most of the universe around us, no one wants to accept us as refugees, and we are forced to choke to death.”

“Well, not really,” she added with a sad smile and produced a small pill. “Young Aeneas, take the Flower of Growth and let the New Generation use it more wisely than we did.”

Aeneas saw his destination — a portal hole shimmered on the water’s edge.

Semiramis swallowed the pill. “Good luck!”

Her image faded away as the sphere entered the portal.

***

Instead of passing through to the other side, Aeneas was once more trapped in darkness.

Cyberlimbo again, he thought bitterly.

But he was wrong this time.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my grand-grandson.”

The voice was coming from all directions. It was ice-cold, just like he imagined his to be.

“Hello, Kronos,” said Aeneas, realizing where he was. Tartarus was a giant black hole in the center of the galaxy into which Zeus had imprisoned his father. There was no way of escaping it for mortals, gods, or titans alike.

So, how was he supposed to get out of here?

“I have a story for you, young hero. It is a generous gift to humanity from a civilization far more powerful than anything you’ve dreamed of. Far more powerful than anything I’ve ever dreamed of…and I dream here a lot!”

I can imagine, thought Aeneas.

“The Egyptians have encountered the Civilization by accident while exploring the outer rim. They foolishly made contact, hoping the Civilization would be benign.

“And they were lucky, for the Civilization was benign indeed. It gave the Egyptians a powerful technology, called the Brick, to accelerate their scientific growth.

“However, the Egyptians had other uses for the Brick; they hid it in a Great Pyramid in their capital of Giza, attempting to find a way to use it against their donors. However, the Civilization saw through that cheap conspiracy and erased the entire planet in the blink of an eye.

“Such is the power of the Civilization that It can even overcome the gravity of the Black Hole. And thus reward those who serve It,” Kronos finished sweetly.

A portal appeared in front of Aeneas, but he hesitated. “But if Egypt is destroyed, how do I find its flower?”

“You must learn to be a better listener, young hero, if you want to succeed in this quest”, Kronos laughed. “Egypt was not destroyed, but erased. And all that’s erased can be retrieved. The Flower of Deception will await you at your next location.”

An invisible force hurled Aeneas headlong through the portal.

***

Finally, oxygen.

Aeneas savored the clean air in his nostrils as his eyes adapted to the light once more. He was in a large forest clearing, surrounded by a crowd that sighed unanimously at his arrival.

“The Goddess was right.”

“The universe will be saved.”

The murmurs subsided as an old man with dishevelled hair approached him. “Greetings to you, Holy Aeneas. I am Herophilus, the representative of the people of Alexandria. We are honored to have you with us on the Final Pilgrimage. Come!”

He put his hand on Aeneas’s shoulder, and they started to walk, the crowd silently following. They were moving toward a tall lighthouse rising from a rock in the sea, connected to the land by a wooden bridge.

“We are so honored your mother chose to spread our philosophy through the universe,” Herophilus said, “as befits the Goddess of Love.”

“What is your philosophy? I don’t have much time…”

“Forgive me. Every second wasted is another second of pain inflicted by the Ignorant,” the old man said somberly. “As you know, most human civilizations have stopped exploiting animals once they realized their level of consciousness. They called themselves vegans.” He said the word with great disgust.

Like all of the Troyans, Aeneas had been eating only plant-based food his whole life. His civilization had stopped farming animals centuries ago to prevent a climate catastrophe like the one that had ravaged Babylon.

“A century ago, we made a discovery that made us take a step further,” Herophilus continued. “Using AI, we learned how to communicate with plants. They taught us to consume the energy of the Sun like they do, so the genocide we’ve conducted on them was over, too.

“Humanity was finally sinless after so many blood-soaked millennia. At least we thought so until a decade ago, when we discovered that not only bacteria and viruses have conscience, but that the very molecules can feel pain.”

They were on the bridge now, wild waves splashing around them.

“The biggest particle that causes no pain to others is an atom”, Herophilus continued. “Thus, if we want to be truly sinless, we must disintegrate into atoms.”

“How are you going to do that?” Aeneas asked as they entered the lighthouse and started ascending its round staircase.

“With atomic bombs, of course. When you leave to spread our word throughout the galaxy, we’ll detonate the bomb at the planet’s core and bring all its mass into the Realm of Maximum Empathy. We hope that everyone will do the same when they hear your word.”

Herophilus gave Aeneas a pink tulip. “This Flower of Empathy chose to sacrifice itself to show them the Sinless Way.”

They reached the top. In front of the portal lay a rose.

Herophilus picked it up and frowned. “But you weren’t sacrificed willingly. I wonder who committed such a terrible crime…”

Connecting the dots, Aeneas snatched Kronos’s Flower of Deception from the old man’s hand and disappeared through the portal.

***

“I knew you’d come.” A young man bowed to Aeneas. “My name is Chares of Rhodes.”

When his surroundings closed in on him, Aeneas was seized by vertigo. He gazed down at a bronze statue that must have been more than 30m tall. The figure's hand was outstretched upward, holding a torch. They were in the torch.

“We don’t have much time,” Chares said urgently, snapping him back to reality. “The Apolloneans’ Death Strike is upon us.”

He pointed upward. Aeneas squinted at the sky and saw one of the stars getting bigger.

Not bigger—closer.

And it isn’t a star, but a projectile, he realized.

“Who are the Apolloneans?”

Chares pointed at the sculpture beneath them. “This is Helios, the one and only God of the Sun. Apollonians misbelieve that the title belongs to Apollo. We did our best to convert them, but they are so stubborn in their heresy. We’ve been in war with them over the Holy Moon of Selene, land of Helios’s sister. They claim that Selene is called Artemis and that it belongs to Apollo’s sister.

“Selene was destroyed in the battle. After that, we destroyed their planet. But not before they launched their Death Strike at us, as it turned out.

“Both our worlds will soon perish,” Chares continued with a sigh, and then clenched his fist in defiant triumph. “But I’m glad that only the true religion will prevail.”

He produced a sunflower and gave it to Aeneas. “When the Prophet told us an Angel would appear before the doom, no one believed her. But I knew Helios wouldn’t abandon us, that you’d come. Take this Flower of Faith and spread the Lord’s word as long as you live, young Aeneas. Remember that only faith can save the soul.”

Or destroy it, Aeneas thought bitterly, stepping through the portal. If you had more faith in the souls of your neighbors and less in the gods you invented, you would have both survived.

***

He was in a vast, empty corridor, its floor, walls, and ceiling casting a mild white haze all around. The lighting made his eyes relax in a way they had never before.

It was so comfortable.

As was the voice that appeared in his head. “Welcome to Halicarnassus, Aeneas of Troy. My name is Mausolus, and I will be your guide today. Please walk down the corridor as I speak.”

Aeneas started walking. “Who are you? A robot?”

“There is no AI on Halicarnassus; we’ve always distrusted what we cannot control. I am a human, like you, and my voice is transmitted to you by nanobots—injected into your bloodstream on your arrival—stimulating the hearing center of your brain. On our planet, we minimize the strains on our bodies to prolong our life expectancy; speaking unnecessarily strains the vocal cords of the speaker and the eardrums of the listener.”

“What is your life expectancy?”

“357 years for females and 297 for males. We managed to heal all the illnesses, and the only cause of death is natural cell decay.”

“If you cured cancer, why isn’t it known? I’ve been to a planet where the struggle with cancer was the main cause of the civilization’s extinction.”

“We avoid all unnecessary contact with other civilizations. We have reached an equilibrium, into which outer space can bring nothing but chaos. The only reason you’ve been permitted to take this tour is the council’s agreement that violating Aphrodite’s wish was more dangerous than complying with it. Please turn left.”

The corridor around the corner was lined with rows of sarcophagi stacked one on top of the other. One sarcophagus slid out of line, glided toward him, and opened. Inside was a naked woman resembling a corpse. She had barely any muscle, her jawline and ribs visible beneath the hairless skin. Between her small breasts lay a camomile flower.

“Zeus Almighty,” Aeneas exclaimed in disgust.

“To your untrained eye, this woman may seem dead, while in reality, she is enjoying levels of pleasure your brain is incapable of. She can taste (Aeneas felt a flavor of strawberries in his mouth), hear (a lyre’s soft melody drifted through his mind), or feel (a warm breeze brushed his skin) anything she wants until her painless death.

“Take this Flower of Pleasure and kindly leave our world in peace,” Mausolus concluded. “We beg your mother to do the same.”

Aeneas carefully picked up the camomile. As he headed toward a portal, he heard the coffin close behind him and glide back to its place.

They aren’t going extinct, he thought as darkness swallowed him once more. But are they even human anymore?

***

He was in Cyberlimbo once again.

“You're too late”, his mother told him. “The planet of Olympia is already destroyed. You will now go to your final destination, planet Earth in the Rhomes system, where you will plant the six collected flowers.”

“Can't you tell me what happened on Olympia?”

“No, the divine laws forbid it. Only from humans can humans learn.”

Her image disappeared, and Aeneas passed through the portal one last time.

***

It was raining when Aeneas planted the first flower. He got off his horse and gently placed the peony into the wet earth, which would carry the weight of the great Artemis's temple many centuries later.

Then he rode east for seventy-two days and planted the bamboo in a fertile valley between two rivers that the New Humans would call Euphrates and Tigris.

It took him one hundred and fifty-four days to cross the sea to the west and reach another great river on a camel. That's where he planted the rose around which the Great Pyramid would someday rise.

He followed this great river north for ninety-three days and planted the tulip on a rock at its delta.

Then he built a raft and sailed for forty-seven days to plant the sunflower on an island that would later harbor a grand colossus.

His task was completed sixty-eight days later, as the camomile was planted to grow in a land that would be excavated as humans erected their first mausoleum.

He spent the rest of his life roaming the Earth in search of a flower that would contain the lost virtue, but found none befitting. He was ninety-seven years of age and wandering through a Peloponnesian forest when Zeus appeared before him.

“If only more people had your perseverance, many a civilization could have been saved,” the God of Thunder told him. “You could have spent your life here, savoring the abundance of joy that nature offered you, but instead, you spent it searching for the last virtue far and wide.

“On this land, I shall someday raise a city under my protection and name it Olympia to honor the lost planet. Settle on this land, old hero, and with your death will the seed of sacrifice be planted into this holy land.”

Aeneas obeyed the Father of Gods and built himself a house in which he then passed away at the ripe age of one hundred and twelve. Thus, the New Generation of humanity was founded upon the Seven Virtues: Health, Growth, Deception, Empathy, Faith, Pleasure, and Sacrifice.

Whether these virtues can protect them from the disasters that ravaged the worlds of Aeneas’s time remains a question only the gods can answer.