The Divine Particle

Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal - Albert Einstein

***

For over four decades, I've voluntarily sequestered myself in this underground room with melancholy riddled walls which were almost as bare as a surgical theatre. There were no photographs or mementos, only an old calendar and a mahogany clock which has become an unconventional tool of torture that ticked to no end. For years, this clock has been persistent, meticulous, and laborious. This insidiously cruel tool never missed a beat, for it has continually reminded me of my impending doom. It has constantly reminded me of the futility of my circumstance. It has steadily reminded me that my time was almost up. But despite all these, I can never bring myself to destroy it, for its annoying ticks have been my only source of companionship for too long.

To anyone who may ever find this, be rest assured that this is a true account. It is possible that I may sound to you a rambling old man who was now devoid of his faculties but be patient for when I've told my tale as only a keen observer would, you'd take a step back. Know that I write this in silent desperation for I fear that no living soul will ever lay sight on this parchment; a parchment which was fashioned from my flesh, written with a pen which was broken from a finger on my left hand, and given life by a crimson ink which was tapped from my festering injuries. I write this for even though I may have forgotten my name, I want to be heard forever. I write for I expect my words to echo through an eternity of emptiness and sorrow. So please hear my story. Please weep with me.

*

Since the turn of the 24th century, the great Confederate state of Nigeria had been the foremost in cutting edge science. No other Confederation or Sovereign state on the planet rivalled them, for none had dared embark on the gargantuan leap they'd taken in the name of technological advancement. They'd aggressively set an unattainable pace in scientific breakthrough. They'd achieved so much when others faltered and were now light years ahead of their allies. Ironically, there'd been a time when they'd been regarded as a 3rd world nation, but it has now been 300 years since anyone dared call them that, for they'd persevered on this route to glory, even though it'd been heavily laden with travails.

Their astounding rise in the world of science was because of the problems which typified all 3rd world nations of the 21st century. Problems like bad governance, poverty, unemployment, disease, oppression, terrorism and environmental degradation forced out the untrammelled innovativeness of the Nigerian youth, thus empowered them with the tremendous will to tackle their intractable issues. By the end of the century, it became evident that advancing equal opportunities and economic empowerment helped their development because poverty and ignorance restricted growth as opposed to investing in education, infrastructure and scientific research.

The comprehensive change they underwent the following century was labeled a scientific revolution by their allies. For breaking through the cutting edge was a crosscut to the building of a world giant, and as their technological prowess increased, so did hazards which accompanied such developments. As their economy bloomed, the rest of the world enviously believed that their inconceivable technological leap will merely provide them with a more efficient means of regressing. They'd also believed even though the Confederation had succeeded in multiplying their opportunities for pleasure, it'd also greatly reduced their capability of ensuring a constant feeling of joy amongst its people, thus leading to an imminent collapse of their economic structures.

But despite all these negative projections, the Confederation flourished, while the world succumbed to its caprice. They'd succeeded because they understood that even though the human capacity for progress was blighted with so many limitations, it was imperative to address all obstacles with finesse while remaining steadfast on all attainable goals. They also understood that life was like a wave whose electromagnetic spectrum couldn't be seen with the naked eye. They understood that they couldn't foresee very minute detail, so they compensated for these shortcomings with scientific scaffolding. By doing this, they effectively created an imaginary microscope that permitted them access to revolutionary visions beyond the micro-sphere that was their world. 

So, at the start of the 24th century, man began to dread the steady depletion of Earth's natural resources. In the year 2357AD, their fears became a reality as Earth soon began to rapidly lose its élan vital. In a bid to tackle this imminent global catastrophe, the Confederate of Nigeria tasked its Galactic division with the responsibility of finding another planet that would be safe for human inhabitation. This search lasted for decades till a group of lost cosmonauts on an unrelated galactic reconnaissance, serendipitously stumbled upon the greatest discovery known to mankind. They'd come upon a planet identical to Earth in size, structure and mass. Strangely, this planet was in constant motion and had to be trailed for 12680 hours before their spaceship could enter its orbit.

Upon docking, these cosmonauts began to document their findings on this newfound paradise. They soon realized that they could walk on its surface without the bothersome gravitational pull experienced on other planets, and they could breathe the planet's air. Further observation revealed that the lush vegetation and organisms on this planet were identical to Earth's. It was then noted that extinction had somehow bypassed the planet because some of the organisms found had been extinct on Earth for centuries. There were also no signs of a higher intelligence on the planet, though fossil records suggested that humanoid creatures had existed at one time.

To gain a better understanding of this unknown planet, they photographed, documented and collected samples of the air, soil, plant, water and fossil, for further studies on earth. On their last night, they partied to a drunken stupor, for they were returning as heroes; they knew that their names would forever be etched in the history books. Later, under the beautiful yet unfamiliar constellation, they had strange dreams which were supposedly induced by their inebriation. On the morning that they were to depart, they installed an oxygen powered dynamo to energize the high frequency tracker that was drilled into the planet. It was a very necessary step implemented to keep track of the moving planet.

Upon their return to the confederate of Nigeria, the greatest scientific minds led by Dr. Adekunle Coker, a renowned astrophysicist, began to study the data brought back. In a bid to gain further knowledge of this unknown planet, they also ran numerous tests on the samples retrieved in an ultra-high maximum-security laboratory, and that was when they discovered a rather strange particle in the planet's air. The intricate molecular structure of this particle was like never seen before. What was stranger was that it was synthetic in nature, and it'd already bonded with the planet's air on a molecular level. Also, this particle which they suspected was engineered specifically to aggressively multiply, contained hallucinogenic properties. 

Further studies soon revealed a connection between what the scientists now called "The Divine Particle", and the dreams the cosmonauts reported in their debriefing and psych evaluation. According to the reports, the effects of this particle ranged from experiencing ethereal visions, to psychotic near death experiences, while some claimed to have been sent to a dimension where strange white beings had showed them a glimpse of the future. However, the most bizarre effect was that in their dream, they'd all come across a man whose face they dare not look upon because it was covered in red scorching flames.

The consistently similar vision was seen as an extraordinary revelation, so they continued to study the particle under the strictest of conditions. To fully understand its nature, other test subjects were exposed to the particle, but this time, they were left with a pencil, and asked to draw what they saw in their dream. All subjects, unbeknownst to each other, drew the same image of a man whose face was completely covered in flames. In the drawings, some depicted him walking away in the horizon, while others depicted him to be either screaming soundlessly into their ear or just eerily hovering over them.

'Sleep, those little slices of death. How I loathe them' - Edger Allan Poe

Weeks later, the cosmonauts who were already released to be with their families, began to exhibit abnormal and extreme behaviours. They now reported seeing the strange man even while awake. They now felt a deep sense of terror because an eerie menace now oozed out of him. They claimed that it was for this reason sleep had become their enemy, so the departments shrink diagnosed that they suffered from PTSD, and thus recommended therapy along with a very powerful sedative. A week later, the cosmonauts woke up at midnight, clutching their burnt-out eyes. They claimed that their eyes had been burnt out by the strange man, as an admonishment for daring to look at his face, so the following morning the cosmonauts were quickly moved back to the laboratory.

The scientists were mystified by the symptoms exhibited. They were further perplexed when the various forms of medication yielded no positive results. By this time, the other test subjects had begun to show similar symptoms. Several episodes of violent struggles soon ensued till one test subject killed an attendant, escaped from his confinement and released the others. Unrestrained, they ran amok, destroying everything in their path, including the pressurized cylinder holding the tainted air sample. As soon as the lab's air system was compromised, an automatic self-destruct emergency sequence was triggered, but the particle had already escaped into earth's atmosphere.

Sleep soon became man's greatest enemy in the towns near the destroyed laboratory. Several written report of a man whose face was on fire soon made the rounds, and thus baffled the police to no end; several eyewitness report of the strange man who seemed to be at the epicentre of all the mystifying going on, terrified the people to their bones. Suicide suddenly took an unusual spike, and within a month, these towns were soon devoid of any human existence. Those who managed not to kill themselves, escaped to neighbouring towns, but the particles found their way there too.

Within a year, the African continent had been nearly wiped out. The handful of survivors only made do by living in a special invulnerable underground housing which boasted its own laboratory manufactured oxygen supply system. Within five years, half the world population died out due to the aggressive multiplying and bonding nature if the particle. Within the next ten years, only a handful remained on earth. But in the wake of mankind's extinction, earth became lush once again and minerals began to unsurprisingly replenish. Also, while other existing life form became robust, organisms once thought extinct strangely began to resurface.

During this global annihilation, a handful of surviving scientists laboured to find a cure. They believed that the particle was manmade and theorized that the cosmonauts had not discovered a new planet but rather, had somehow travelled to the future through a rip in the space time fabric. They believed that in the future, man had created the particle, and since man created it, there was hope in finding a cure. But others with dissimilar views postulated several theories as to the origin of the particle. One of such theory was that since the particles caused visions, re-enacted near death experiences and allowed one a glimpse of the future, the man whose face was on fire was definitely God.

These religious zealots lamented that this was God's punishment for daring to defy him. They claimed that in man's bid to play God, those cosmonauts had temerariously crossed beyond the boundaries of man and ventured into God's celestial realm. They claimed that they were being punished because man had looked upon the pristine face of God as an equal. They further stated that God was an entity man wasn't worthy of looking upon, thus explaining why the cosmonaut's eyes were burnt out. They also claimed that they were all doomed because mankind had forced their way into heaven, and thus brought hell back on earth.

*

These theories were offered thirty years ago, but till this day, the identity of the strange man remains a mystery, and no cure has been found to counter the deadly effect of the particle. It's been fifty years now since the first outbreak of the Divine particle. It's been ten years now that I've seen another human being, and I fear that I may be the last man alive. I also fear that all hope may be lost, and only the idea that someone may find a cure has kept my creaking bones from going. Only the fear of failure has kept me hoping in a world where only a mahogany ticking clock knows my pain. Only the terror of the unknown has kept me in this room where a ticking clock sniggers at my misery