Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Golemites: The Age of Awakening

    When the Golemites were first created, there was some question about them. They were made from Human genetic material after all. So while they were genetically altered in many ways, they were still human in the eyes of some.

    As time wore on and the war finally came to a close, the generations that followed slowly started to see Golemites as nothing more than tools. So as tools, they were expendable because another one can always be cloned. This attitude changed some when humanity was starting to ascend.

    A few people started to ask “What about the Golemites?” and as more and more humans left, those voices became louder. One of those voices was the distant relative of the scientist that helped make them, Dr. Malinda K. Fahtoom. She alone was in the unique position to help them as humanity moved on. With the help of her colleagues in the Golemite Management Bureau, a plan as set in motion. Sadly they could only help those Golemites that lived on earth, but if it worked they would be free to create their own civilization.

    Twenty years after the last humans left Earth, a timer ticked to zero. Moments later the Golemites neural inhibitors turned off. At the same time the cloning procedure for the Golemites changed, the implants that kept them docile and infertile would not longer be installed. In time the Golemites would be able to have offspring naturally.

    Unaware they were now free of their bonds, the Golemites kept to their work of maintaining the machines and structures of Humanity. Though slowly their behaviors changed. Instead if going to work then back to their homes, the Golemites started to go to places they had not been before.

    They started to gather and socialize discussing why they had not done this before. Older Golemites that had been active while humanity was still around would converse about how they felt people were missing from these places. But no one knew if it was real or just a dream.

    Golemite society progressed well in the early times, The oldest and most skilled became leaders of a caste system that defined to roles of every Golemite. But unlike many caste systems, theirs was less rigid and did not punish those of lower castes and even allowed migration between castes if the individual could serve a roll of value.

    Religion also spontaneously formed as those that once tended to the libraries and archives of the old world started to marvel at the works of those that came before. Humanity was through by removing almost all data from their existence on their machines. But the Golemites tended to the forgotten archives that were enshrined in tomes long forgotten by much of humanity.

    From these books and lost records rose The Order of Fahtoom. Fragments of knowledge and history were taken out of context, and their distant creator now became a God to those that would believe. Quickly “The Order” would rise to be the top caste of their fledgling civilization. Though there was a new trial for the Golemites to deal with, the machines they used were failing.

    As a stop gap, The Order and caste leaders put in place an initiative. They would keep the machines going as long as possible by salvaging every part they could from machines that had failed all over the planet. The highest priority was to maintain the cloning tubes and to prioritize the cloning of those that maintained them.

    One hundred and four years after their awakening, the last machine of human design stopped working. The last cloning tube ceased to function and in it, the last cloned Golemite before it could know life. With this revelation, many Golemites stopped working at all.

    Much of Golemite civilization hung by a thread as the news spread across the Earth. Attendance of Order services grew sharply while depression and anxiety ran rampant over the population. To combat this some took to the lower sections of the cities where the lowest caste of society resided, the Caste of Flesh.

    In a place known as the Den of the Flesh, one of the prostitutes had been sick for some time. The Madam of the den had started to worry as she young lady was new to work. One of the last to be cloned, she was the first new girl the Madam had seen for ages. To have such a rarity be sick was not something she needed at this time of turmoil.

    A doctor was called and arrived promptly. And shortly after he started to examine the patient. The young Golemite was lethargic, had been vomiting each morning, was running a fever, and early on had broad emotional swings. Test after test were negative until the doctor started imaging her. In her abdomen he found what appeared to be a parasite of some kind growing in an unused organ.

    As the doctor ran more tests and stay with the patient, an assistant was sent to the archives held in the Order compound. Searching through ancient texts with the help of the librarians, the answer was found. The prostitute was not sick, she was pregnant.

    The tests for it were found and she was tested immediately, she tested positive. Much like the news concerning the last cloning tube, the news of this woman’s pregnancy spread quickly. The word “pregnant” had never been part of Golemite society until now and few knew what it meant. But as more learned that it meant to have offspring, numerous women left their caste to join the Caste of Flesh.

    Faced with the rapid influx of new workers things changed rapidly. With this caste now seen as the hope for Golemite society, its leadership chose to change the castes name to the Keepers of Hope. This was not the last change though, the caste was elevated to the top caste in their structure. And while the Order agreed to this, the change has always been a sour spot for them.

    Finally the leadership of the Keepers of Hope called for doctors all over to test the fertility of all their workers, male and female. As well as the fertility of all applicants. Only those that were found fertile and capable of bearing children would be allowed in. Later, this last order would be repealed when the last of the old Golemites passed on.

    The Keepers of Hope took tithes from all other casts to support their efforts. Hiring doctors and giving the women the best care possible. The Order of Fahtoom also collected every text they could find on caring for the pregnant and children and gave them freely to the Keepers. Eight months after the doctor was called, the first Golemite baby was born, it was a girl and she was named Hope.

    Slowly but surely time marched on and the nascent civilization of the Golemites grew. They discovered magic and worked to harness it creating technology vastly different from their creators. As the cities of humanity crumbled to time, the Golemites built new edifices in their place.

    A thousand years would pass before the Golemites had another major change to their society. It was a chance encounter with another child of Humanity that would pave a path into the stars and to war.


To be Continued: “Kudu: The Age of Awakening”

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