“Alright class, settle down!” The instructor called out as she approached the podium. “Today we will be focusing on the first years of the founding of the Federation. We have few surviving documents from the founders that survived the tests of time. One of the few that did is a journal entry from the Inducted Damian Campbell. It is not clear if he intended to leave it for someone specific or just for anyone to find it. Turn your eyes to the screen and we will begin reading.”
The class eagerly looked at the screen. The founders were near-mythical figures in the history of the Federation, with many having their adventures turned into Saturday morning cartoons. Text began to slowly crawl up the screen, ensuring even the slowest readers could follow along with the narration.
It is on the eve of our last mission to free Earth from its current disaster, and I find myself needing to put thought to paper. I invited my friends over for a BBQ to celebrate how far we’ve come. I find the story Mal told me last night stuck in my head and feel the need to write it down. The story is as follows.
‘When the Supreme created the universe, he looked out and was dissatisfied with how empty it was. Thus was born his first son, Life. Life was a curious and loving child, and he went out into his father’s universe and filled it with as many kinds of life as he could manage. However, it was not long before Life discovered a problem: his creations harmed each other to see who would rise to dominance. Bothered by all the hurt left in his wake, Life ran to his father’s side and asked him how to fix it.
His father smiled gently at his son and said, “I knew this would happen sooner or later, so I was thinking of a solution. Life, I would like you to meet your brother, Death.”
Death was a serious boy yet not an uncaring one. He saw the hurt in his brother’s eyes and vowed to ensure it would not remain a moment longer. And so Death went forth and brought about an end to all that could no longer meaningfully live. He put an end to suffering, both of his brother’s creations and his brother’s own turmoil. The cycle of Life and Death came to be, two brothers, both cleaning up after the other. Yet the universe still lacked something.
The Supreme looked upon his creation and saw a lack of spark, of imagination. Thus was born his third child, a daughter, Magic. Magic loved her family and especially her eldest brother’s creations. She would spend her time watching them live their lives. One day she decided to speak to one. She met a young man and found in him a wondrous playmate. She taught him how to weave the elements to do his bidding, how to summon matter from nowhere, and how to create beings to serve his whims. The young man thanked his friend and teacher and asked if he could share what he learned with other mortals. Magic thought that was a wonderful idea and agreed. Little did she know that it was a shard of her own power that allowed her friend to perform the art she taught.
At first everything was fine. When the mages, as they started to call themselves, died, her power would return to her. But some who gained power didn’t wish to give it up. They sought to take as much as they could and cheat Death of his designs. Eventually something had to give, and Magic fell into a coma, never to wake up. With her incapacitation the mages’ vaunted power disappeared, and they were helpless before the two furious brothers who descended upon them with unholy vengeance.
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With the universe wiped clean so that none would remember Magic and harm her again, Life began the cycle of mortals once more. Yet still the Supreme felt something was missing, the universe lacked drive, it lacked purpose. So he released his final child, his second daughter Fate, to guide the universe. Fate was a lazy child; she preferred to watch the mortals her eldest brother created. She saw how hard her two brothers worked and wished to ease their burden yet didn’t want to set a person’s path in stone. That was boring!
Then Fate thought of her sister. Her sister did love the stories mortals would invent about monsters and those who opposed them, heroes and gods. Perhaps she could take advantage of that and, at the same time as easing her own workload, wake Magic up! So she wove the last remnants of her sister’s power to fuse with the legends and beliefs of the mortals. Thus were the gods and monsters born. Now she just had to figure out how to give the universe purpose without it becoming boring and predictable.
She did not like the idea of a set destiny that could not be fought against. After all, a destiny you did not choose was not a purpose but a burden. Then she had a wonderful idea! There were only two constants in a mortal’s life: that they were born and that they would die. But the important question remained, how did they get from the first to the last? Fate decided that she would place choices in the path of each mortal, such that they could have agency in their own destiny. Each choice given, each path taken and not taken would weave their story into the tapestry of history, and it would be of their own choosing. Then Fate gathered together every being who had sway over choice and destiny and had them preside over the process so she could watch the story of life unfold. Thus was our universe created.’
If this story holds true, and with Mal’s cryptic smile and knowing laugh, I have reason to believe it is, then Fate is responsible for how our world turned out. Yet I can’t bring myself to hate Fate. Yes, she caused my home to be overrun by monsters by providing the opportunity, but it was our ancestors who made the choices. I’ll probably never like this Fate, but I won’t deny that the choices she laid in front of me gave me good friends, a loving family, and a home I’d die to protect.
The reason I am writing this down, and what I believe the lesson in the creation fable is, is this: Destiny is not a path with guardrails and a moving walkway taking you from point A to point B. It is a path you choose to walk, no one forces you; it is all your own effort and desire that pushes you on. With this certainty I have confidence we can succeed. I can hold my head high and say: I am Damian Campbell and my fate is of my own making. I leave this note on the off chance I will not be able to tell you in person, but I want you to remember what I say next. Only you decide where your life will go. Fate will not guide you; gods cannot force you, and monsters cannot stop you. So stand tall, stand proud, and know I am behind you all the way.
The teacher’s voice rang out again as the narration came to an end. “Fun fact! While there is speculation that this was left behind for his niece or nephew should he perish, there are some who believe it was for a child he was expecting with an unknown partner! Next, we will look at the turning point of Earth’s integration. Please turn your books to page 352.”
