Eclipsed

Basking in the light from the sun, the giants slept. For millions of rotations, they spun, twirling their way through the darkness, part of the great cosmic dance. 

Eventually, one of the giants began to stir. Something was amiss. 

The spark of a sinister monster flickered into existence. It seemed small and insignificant at first, but it consumed the energy around it and grew at an unbelievable rate.

“Jupiter . . . Wake up, Jupiter!”

The gas giant groaned. Its stripes swirled and rippled. “What do you want, Mars?”

“Something is happening on Earth. Can’t you sense it?”

“They’re called humans. I wouldn’t worry about it. Go back to sleep.”

Mars focused on the ominous essence as it fed and grew, then sent another thought to Jupiter. “No, not the humans. That . . . thing they created. It’s like some kind of monster.”

Jupiter reached out and felt the disturbance. It tugged at him—not physically, but on a level that sent a shiver to his core. He withdrew his awareness and refrained from acknowledging it, but the disturbance kept growing until he couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

“Earth, wake up! There is something happening on your surface.”

The blue-and-white orb spun; wispy clouds churned slowly over its surface. Earth didn’t answer.

Mars brooded. “She’s going to die, isn’t she?”

Jupiter darkened slightly. “I don’t know, but we need to act now before the monster grows larger and devours us all.”

• • •

Geon Ingram Bennett sat on a comfortable lounge chair across from an attractive woman wearing a fashionable, grey business suit. Bright lights shone from one side of the room, and he forced himself not to squint. A small potted plant sat on a low coffee table between them. The fake green leaves contrasted with the predominantly white and grey furnishings of the studio. He tried to ignore the cameras—and the crew behind them—so he could focus on the woman’s eyes.

“So, Mr Bennett, please tell us. How does this new Ambient Energy Generator work?”

Geon leaned forward and locked his fingers together. “Well, Stacey, I don’t want to go into all of the technical details, but basically, the AEG draws on the abundant universal energy all around us and converts it into electrical energy.” 

“Universal energy?” She squinted. “What does that mean?”

“You see, everything that exists is made of energy, and there are many different types that can be harnessed. For example, we are constantly moving, and the energy generated by our movement is expressed as a combination of potential and kinetic energy.” He paused for a moment, and Stacey nodded thoughtfully. “Since the universe is in a constant state of motion, this device can tap into and control that energy.”

Stacey’s eyebrows rose, and her mouth opened slightly. “That sounds quite extraordinary. But is it safe?”

“Absolutely. I can assure you it’s perfectly safe. We have the best scientists and engineers in the world working on this.” 

“Is there any byproduct or waste generated by this process?”

“None!” Geon exclaimed, trying not to sound defensive. “And the best part is it’s 100% renewable. So long as the Earth keeps spinning and the universe keeps expanding, we will never run out of energy.”

A flicker of disbelief showed in Stacy’s otherwise cool expression, followed by what seemed to be genuine astonishment. “This sort of discovery has enormous implications for traditional energy companies who rely on fossil fuels. Have you experienced any backlash?”

He waved his hand. “Of course we have. You can’t change humanity for the better without making some waves. They are trying to sue me, discredit me, probably even kill me. But it would look awfully suspicious if I were to wind up dead in the back of my limo tomorrow, and it wouldn’t prevent my team from proceeding.”

Stacey laughed, but it sounded forced. Without missing a beat, she said, “Your wealth and status in the tech industry are well established, so what is your motivation for tackling an issue this immense and simply giving the solution away for free?”

Geon smiled. “All of our products have something in common: they need electricity. Yet the way we obtain that electricity is slowly destroying the planet. I don’t want to be just another billionaire tech mogul. I want to change the world!”

“Well, it certainly seems like you’ve achieved that! I think the question everyone wants to ask is, when can we start using this free energy?”

“We’re currently operating the first generator at about 0.01% capacity. We’ve been doing a lot of tests to make sure everything will go smoothly next month when we activate the global system.”

• • • 

Geon collapsed on the plush sofa in his well-appointed hotel suite. He loosened his tie and took another sip of whiskey. It had been a long day of press releases and interviews, the images beaming around the world to spread word of his impending triumph. 

“You know, it’s really quite clever,” a deep voice said from the darkened doorway.

Geon sat up. “Who’s there? How did you get past my security?” He felt for the microchip embedded under his skin between his thumb and forefinger, but he stopped short of applying the necessary force to trigger it.

The silhouette in the doorway stepped forward. Dressed in a tailored, brown pinstripe jacket and white pants, he looked like a giant with dark, slicked-back hair and a thick, manly beard. “My name is Jupiter, and we need to talk.”

Geon smirked. “Jupiter? You mean like the Roman god?”

“I mean like the planet.”

Geon raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand. Is this some sort of joke?”

The mysterious man didn’t laugh. He stood patiently with an intense stare that made Geon wonder if he was an assassin.

“What do you want to talk about?” Geon asked without taking his finger off the microchip.

Jupiter walked over to the minibar and poured himself a whiskey. He took a long sip, appearing to savour it before swallowing, and leaned on the bar. “I’ve had better. You know, that generator you’ve created is quite something. Humans aren’t supposed to be advanced enough to build anything like it.”

False pride bit at him. “We’re also not meant to fly through the clouds. We’ve come a long way in that regard.”

“And yet you’re still not smart enough to know that you shouldn’t be doing it.”

“I knew it!” Geon stood and pointed an accusatory finger at the man. “You’re from one of the energy companies. Who is it? Axiem? BSA? Genlong? You don’t intimidate me!”

“If you don’t stop, the generators will devour all the life force on this planet, then everything in the solar system, perhaps even the entire galaxy.”

Geon wasn’t tall enough to look down on Jupiter, but he gave the big man a contemptuous smirk anyway. “Life force? Is that the best reason you could come up with to dissuade me?”

“What, do you think that energy you’re harvesting comes from nowhere?”

“It comes from—”

Jupiter slammed his fist on the bar. “It comes from the force that binds the very fabric of the universe together! Every galaxy, star, planet, and rock, every insignificant little speck of life, relies on it. If you start harvesting it to power your gadgets, you’ll kill Earth and everything on her. She’ll be turned to dust and scattered to the cosmic winds!” 

Geon looked away. If this really was Jupiter, and the sleeping giant had awakened, then he didn’t have much time. He pressed down hard on the microchip. His security team burst through the door seconds later, weapons drawn. They glanced around, confused. He spun back to face the intruder, but Jupiter had vanished.

• • •

Three nights later, with the incident with Jupiter at the back of his mind, Geon sat at the hotel bar and sipped a glass of whiskey. It had been another long day full of meetings. As he stared into the glass of golden liquid, he wondered if he worked too much. But then, what else would he do? He was glad for the brief respite before going back to his suite to read the daily operations reports. He took a deep breath, and his nostrils filled with the sweet scent of fresh roses.

“Hey, I know you,” said a woman with a mellifluous voice. 

He glanced up from his glass, and his eyes widened. A tall blonde in a curve-hugging red dress and matching lipstick smiled at him seductively. Everyone else in the room melted away.

“Do you now?” It was all he could think to say.

“You’re the man who’s going to give everyone free electricity! I saw you on TV the other day.”

Geon smiled and raised his drink. “That’s me.”

“Well, then, may I buy you a drink?”

“You do know I’m rich, right? Perhaps I should buy you the drink.”

She favoured him with another smile, then waved a long, slender hand at the bartender. “I’ll have a mirto martini, please.”

“On my tab,” Geon added grandly. He turned back and met her alluring gaze. “You seem to know all about me, but I don’t even know your name.” He gestured to the empty bar stool next to him, and the woman perched herself gracefully on the edge. 

“Venus,” she said, holding out her hand, slender fingers tipped with red nail polish. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Geon’s heart skipped a beat and a cold chill ran down his spine. He took her hand, which felt soft as silk in his grasp, and shook it. “What brings you to The Grand, Ms Venus?”

“Business and pleasure,” she said with a wink.

“I don’t suppose you happen to know a man by the name of Jupiter, do you?”

The bartender brought over her drink, which was deep orange with a skewer of blueberries instead of an olive. Venus sipped daintily, leaving the faintest smudge of lipstick on the glass. “Jupiter means well, but he is very . . . direct.”

“So he sent you to do what, try to seduce me?”

She gave him an amused look. “Not exactly, although I can’t help it if you find me alluring. It’s in my nature.” She shifted closer and softly touched the side of his face. “I came to ask you to reconsider what you’re about to do.”

“Why, because you think this technology will destroy the galaxy? Even if that were possible, don’t you think I’d shut it down long before that happened?”

“Earth is already suffering! Why can’t you see that? How many natural disasters have occurred since you started testing that creation of yours?”

Geon considered her question. The newscasts had been a constant bombardment of bulletins and alerts about floods, fires, earthquakes, and eruptions, yet that was nothing new.  “Natural disasters occur all the time. There’s no evidence to suggest they are all somehow linked to my generators.”

Venus looked down at her martini. “We can’t wake Earth. Her life force is already being drained by that monster you’ve created.” 

Sadness radiated from her, and Geon’s heart sank. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right, to let her know he would not let her come to harm. He shook his head. The price was too high, even for a billionaire. All he could give her were empty promises. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Humans have been poisoning the planet for hundreds of years. They burn fossil fuels, bulldoze forests, spray the land with chemicals, and dump waste in the oceans. My technology will change everything, but I promise I won’t let it get out of hand.”

She looked up at him again, tears running down her perfect skin. “You still don’t understand! Once your generators consume enough energy, you won’t be able to turn them off. You’re feeding a monster, and you will lose control. It’s only a matter of time.”

Geon shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a choice. This is the only way to provide clean, affordable energy for everyone.” 

Venus stood and gave him one last look that was equal parts disappointment and despair. Her departure was so abrupt it left a hole in his heart. He knew it was just a trick, a glamour the likes of which could only be employed by a celestial being. Regardless, he launched himself off the stool in pursuit. Geon raced through the bar, pushing past other wealthy patrons, then dashed through the lobby and out into the rain-drenched street. He looked left and right, squinted at the occupant of a taxi, and even glanced up at the cloudy night sky, but the beautiful woman in the red dress was nowhere to be seen.

• • •

Geon stared out the window of his private jet at the last streak of sunlight shimmering off the ocean below. He closed his laptop and signalled the air hostess for a drink. 

A moment later, he heard the clink of glass and the shuffling of feet on the carpet. He looked up, expecting to see the wide, pearly-white grin of the hostess. Instead, he saw a man with tattoos on his neck, a nose ring, and a fiery red mohawk. Although he wore the flight crew’s slick uniform, he was not a member of Geon’s staff. 

The stranger offered up a glass of whiskey on a silver serving tray. Geon hesitantly reached for the drink, but the tray and glass went flying. Before he could react, everything flashed white as he felt the sharp sting of impact and heard ringing in his ears. His head snapped sideways; his arms instinctively rose in defence.

As his senses returned, he saw Mitch, one of his security guards, collide with the intruder. They both crashed to the floor in the wide aisle of the cabin, but the man with the mohawk wasn’t defeated that easily. He wrapped his arms and legs around the guard, wrestling him into a headlock. 

The second guard, Russell, was still on his feet, shifting his pistol from right to left to get a clear shot at the stranger. Mitch’s arms flailed, trying to reach his attacker’s head.

“Let him go!” Russell shouted. “Let him go!”

Mitch went limp. The tattooed man tossed his victim aside, then surged to his feet. The ping of suppressed gunshots rang through the cabin. Even though both shots hit their target, the stranger didn’t stop. He grabbed the gun with one hand and swung his other in a balled fist at Russell’s face. The guard went down, and the other man finished him off with a kick to the head.

Now armed with the pistol, the intruder turned his attention back to Geon, expression hot with rage.

Geon held his hands up in front of his face and cringed back in his seat. “Please, whatever they’re paying you, I’ll triple it!”

“I have no use for your money,” the tattooed stranger said, tilting his head to the side so his neck cracked.

“If you kill me, it won’t change anything. The Board will just appoint a new CEO.”

“Not here to kill you.”

“Let me guess, you’re a planet?”

The man with the mohawk grinned. “Mars.”

“Listen, Mars, I can see you’re big and intimidating, but—”

“I’m here to give you a message.”

“I know, my generator is going to destroy everything. I’ll tell you what I told the other two—” 

Mars shook his head. “We’re done asking nicely. This is your last warning. You have one spin to vanquish the monster.”

“‘Spin?’” Geon repeated in confusion. “Or else what?”

Mars drew his arm back, and the last thing Geon saw was the man’s hairy-knuckled fist flying toward him.

When he came to, Russell was standing in the aisle, talking on his phone. Geon’s head pounded. Someone had placed a soft pillow underneath him, and the hostess with the nice smile was holding an ice pack to his forehead. She was not currently smiling, and her eyes exhibited fear. 

Geon placed a reassuring hand on hers. “Think I could get that drink now?”

• • •

Twenty-four hours—one “spin”—later, Geon sat at the dark oak table in his luxurious office high atop his company’s skyscraper. The golden light of sunset flooded the room. A row of screens on the wall displayed news channels and stock tickers. James Spencer, his friend and business associate, sat on the other side of the desk typing on his phone. He was the kind of man who wore a business suit to everything, even informal after-work drinks.

James put his phone on the desk and leaned back in his chair. “So, what did this maniac say would happen if you didn’t comply?”

“He didn’t,” Geon said, still watching the time on one of the screens. “He just punched me in the face.”

“Look, I’ll admit it’s unusual that this whack job managed to stow aboard your jet, beat the hell out of you, and disappear without a trace, but I wouldn’t put any stock in anything he said.”

“Have you ever been punched in the face?”

“We’re about to change the world, Geon! This was bound to happen. By the sounds of things, you’re lucky he didn’t shoot you.”

The room darkened slowly as the sun retreated below the horizon. Geon thumbed a sensor on his desk to activate the lights. “Hey, do you think there have been more natural disasters than usual?”

James smirked and gave him a sideways look that said he didn’t know if Geon was serious or not. “Maybe we’re just hearing about them more now that everyone is so connected.”

Geon shrugged.

James laughed. “What, are you going to tackle natural disasters now, too? If anyone could do it . . .”

A smile blossomed despite Geon’s anxiety. His tension and the fear of repercussions eased. He got up, went to the liquor cabinet, and poured them both a drink. He didn’t need to ask if James wanted one. 

When he spun around with the drinks, James was glued to the television screens. “Hey, is this live?”

Geon glanced up at the screens. Fireballs rained down from the heavens. The news bar read, “Global Meteor Shower Event.” 

He took a large gulp of whiskey.

• • •

That night, Geon’s dreams were plagued by planets. He danced with Venus, ran from Mars, and hid from Jupiter. He perceived them as both their celestial bodies and corporeal forms at the same time. 

A new character, Mercury, stood and watched. He took the form of a teenage boy, maybe thirteen, with a sly smile on his lips and wings on his feet. “You can’t escape us, you know. Even in your dreams, we can reach you.”

“Leave me alone!” Geon shouted.

The sky turned to fire, and Earth crumbled to dust. Eight billion people cried out in agony as their life force was consumed, and the monster grew in the darkness. It bellowed a deep, sinister laugh and chased the other planets away. In the end, Geon was all alone. 

That was when he awoke in a cold sweat. 

• • •

The Central Operations Hub looked like Mission Control for a space launch. Rows of monitoring stations pointed toward a giant wall of screens that displayed the global system status. Currently, only one dot on the world map was green, while the rest were amber or white. The entire room was abuzz with chatter. Everyone had a vital part in bringing all of the systems online simultaneously. The recent meteor shower had damaged some satellites and unmanned spacecraft, but nothing that would prevent the AEG grid from going live. 

Behind Geon, in glass-enclosed viewing lounges, were the rest of the board of directors, the local mayor, some politicians, and the press. This was the moment everything had been building toward. He just needed to forget about the strange encounters with the planets and savour the moment.

The Director of Operations gave him a nod. It was time.

Geon pressed the contact on the small mic attached to his collar and heard the rustling of his shirt blast out of the sound system. He held out his arms in a grand gesture. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to the dawn of a new era. Today, we finally cast off our dependency on fossil fuels and the companies that use them to oppress us. I give you free, unlimited energy!” 

The room erupted in cheers and applause. Even the people behind the glass could be heard voicing their jubilation. He turned back to the screens to watch as green lines grew out of the first dot, tracking their way across the screen like blood vessels and connecting to other dots, changing them from amber to green. But something wasn’t right. The Director of Operations held his hand to his ear and looked over at a weather monitoring station that was flashing red with alerts. As the warnings spread to other stations, the screens began to flicker and show static. 

Geon rushed over to the director. “What is happening?”

The man was frantic. “We’re seeing an enormous spike in geomagnetic activity! Heliophysics is reporting a coronal mass ejection larger than anything that’s ever been—”

The room was plunged into darkness.

“Get us back online,” was the last thing Geon remembered saying. The words faded away as he felt himself being pulled out of his body. 

• • •

Geon opened his awareness, although his name was no longer Geon. That had been the identity he had assumed for his plan, but now he floated in space once again. He had been in human form for so long, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to return to his original state of being. 

The full light of Sol hit him, and the awareness of all the other planets along with it. He usually spun and danced around Earth, stealing the light of the sun when he could, but he was in the spotlight now. 

Sol radiated disdain. “Luna, what is the meaning of this?”

“Please, I can explain!”

Saturn whirled past. “Explain how you created a monster to consume us?”

“Explain how you deceived us?” Mars added. “Ignored our warnings?”

“Tell us,” Jupiter boomed. “What motivated you to incite such peril?”

“I didn’t,” Luna pleaded. “I wasn’t trying to hurt any of you. I wanted to fix things on Earth, make things better.”

“He lies,” Mercury accused. “I invaded his dreams and saw his plans while he slept. He craves to see Earth turned to dust. Only then would he have vanquished the monster and taken Earth’s place.”

“Is this true?” Venus’s mellifluous voice whispered.

They all scrutinised him, waiting for the truth.

“It is . . . . All of it.”

Venus recoiled. “How could you?”

“I was sick of living in Earth’s shadow, sick of being just a moon while the rest of you got all the glory. I’m bigger than Pluto, smarter than Saturn!”

“But not more powerful than me,” Sol roared. “For your treachery, and for waking us all from our peaceful slumber, you shall never walk among the humans again. You shall be forever trapped in your celestial form.”

All the others assented and went back to sleep, one by one. Luna retreated into the shadows and looked over Earth’s surface, the place where he had once ruled as a man. He felt her gaze upon him.

“Do you have anything to say to me, Earth? About the terrible thing I tried to do?”

Earth gleamed in the sunlight and said softly, “It’s okay. I forgive you.”