Kitobni o'qish: «Verse and Dimensions: Stories»
Hyperman’s Origin
In an alternate Universe in the year 56200 AD, a human boy named J. Christopher Trigonum was born. For some reason, his full first name has since been lost/obscured to all but Trigonum himself, and so only he will ever know what it means (If his first name even begins with a "J" for that matter).
So incredibly advanced was the native universe of Trigonum, that time travel was already invented in the year 456 BC. Needless to say, Trigonum already had access to the benefits of a highly evolved universe upon birth. But this Earth was not a perfect utopia by any stretch. In fact, some might even say that it was this rapid advancement that led to a decline in the quality of life for many of the inhabitants of earth; or, at least, one of the Earths.
Unknown-3
Long before the birth of Trigonum, humans had used their High Technology to wage war amongst themselves. The climax of this war, World War Six, was so catastrophic that the planet itself was split apart. This cataclysm is known as The Schism, in which shortly afterwards Earth became established as two separate planets – Terra and Gaea. The two planets had different ideals and laws, and were politically at odds with each-other a lot of the time.
The Terrans were the humans whose advancement had never stopped or even slowed following The Schism. Their science and technology was far superior to those of the Gaeans, but it had come at the cost of a clean spacious planet. The vast amount of industrialization which was born as a side-effect from the mass-production of technology caused much pollution, especially in its lower societal echelons that most of the impoverished humans were restricted to. They had an imbalanced economy, relying almost solely on industrial services to keep themselves afloat. Its air, water and soil was heavily polluted to the extent that it even corrupted its inhabitants' genes, making them sickly, weak and terminally ill.
Gaea, meanwhile, was a cleaner planet, free of toxins and pollution, and still with remaining patches of pure, untouched virgin nature. However, the Gaeans were far more "primitive" than the Terrans, due to their slower progression of science and their vastly outdated technology. However, one thing that they had which Terra did not was Time Travel. The Gaeans are the only ones who were able to save their time travel research and technology in The Schism, and they were able to further advance it afterwards.
As can be seen, Trigonum's life did not begin in the best circumstances, especially considering that he was born on Terra and grew up in one of its most urbanized and overcrowded slums. Trigonum remembered nothing of his birth parents, and neither did those who had found him. His childhood primarily was spent in an orphanage that he was supposedly left on the doorstep of after being born, where he labored away every day until being legally old enough to work a job, consisting of even harder and more rigorous labor. Although any "normal" boy (in Terran standards) would have been fatigued beyond all functioning, Trigonum was actually incredibly robust and energetic. This earned him the nickname among his peers as "hyper-man".
The Journey Begins
At this point, Trigonum’s outlook on his life and future was not too optimistic, and it was not helped by the physically deteriorating environment around him. However, despite this, he seemed to possess an advantage amongst the rest of the Terrans: in addition to his excess energy, he was also in the best health out of all of them. This could have easily been chalked up to simple good hygienic habits, and at first that was what Trigonum had done. However, a fatal flaw in this theory was that Trigonum had no financial or economic advantages over many of his other co-workers, and in fact was considered even poorer than most of them, and therefore his hygienic opportunities were only as great as theirs. Additionally, he soon found that he showed no physical signs of the genetic corruption that was present in so many others around him.
Many saw this as a "miracle" of sorts, but Trigonum believed it to be a mere fluke, and he felt put off by so many people seeming to perceive him as a “greater” being. There also were those who possessed an even more dangerous mindset, and attempted to ambush and kill Trigonum out of jealousy and fear. These experiences led Trigonum to realize that he would die if he continued living in the environment and conditions he did, and so he vowed to get out of the slums and move up in the world. And that he did.
Trigonum labored day and night, crushing his soul beneath the work. The fatigue and exhaustion he suffered from this was primarily more mental than physical. Eventually, Trigonum's hard work would pay off when he found a position in a corporation, one of the most powerful and successful in all of Terra, and also one of the very few institutions to not be industrial. While an office job might sound dull, this one was not, or at least that's what Trigonum convinced himself to believe in an effort to motivate himself. Trigonum worked hard day and night to his physical limit, trying his hardest to rise above his unfavorable position.
Trigonum had eventually accrued enough financial credits in his job, and he was able to transfer to a company established on Gaea. It was one place in particular that Trigonum had always dreamed of working at: Chrono Corp, the official Time Travel agency. The clean, unpolluted and safe environment was far more comfortable for Trigonum, and a welcome change.
Although he thought that the inhabitants of Terra viewed him as a supernatural being because of the extreme ratio resulting from their genetic corruption, Trigonum then found that even the Gaeans, who were "normal" also saw him as a greater being. He even began learning of cults that were starting to form. Trigonum was becoming disturbed, wondering why so many people were adamant about his “divinity", and why he of all people deserved such a status. He may have been a successful businessman, but he nonetheless saw himself as just that, and he came from one of the most godless places in the entire universe for that matter. He began to lay low, trying to stay above the suspicion of others. Eventually, after these burning questions lingered within Trigonum’s mind long enough, he finally tried to settle his concerns once and for all, and decided to test his DNA. He purchased the most expensive and advanced DNA testing tool that his credits could afford, to ensure the most possible accuracy and detail. What Trigonum found in his test results shocked him. The readings were so far off the charts, the data couldn't even be displayed in the results. Believing that the specific kit he bought had malfunctioned, Trigonum bought another and performed the same test again. The results were the same. He bought a third kit, and again the results still were the same. Trigonum could not ignore it any longer – his origins were greater than that of a normal human.
Trigonum’s new goal was to discover his origins, and track down his parents. He did this with every resource at his disposal, sifting through endless birth records and archives, employing private investigators. However, even with all of this, Trigonum’s search proved fruitless. Trigonum was about to give up, before he realized that there was one last method he could employ. It was most definitely risky and would be deemed a High Crime if he were caught, but Trigonum’s need for answers overrode his conscience. As a member of the Time Corp, Trigonum had access to a time machine, capable of transporting him to any point within the past. Travel to the future was banned, as it created too much temporal distortion than it was worth. This was not a problem to Trigonum however, as he was focused on going to a point in the past. Specifically, he intended to travel to a moment in the past in which he could meet his birth parents. Travelling anywhere off-route from the Time Corp’s plotted course was not only illegal and against the company’s rules, but it also presented serious risks for temporal distortion and muddying the timeline – which the Time Corp had been formed specifically to prevent and neutralize. Trigonum recognized these risks, and so he vowed to himself that he would not interact with anyone or anything in his travels, and would only observe the events. Trigonum first entered the Spacetime coordinates for the date of his supposed birthday, tagging the spatial portion of the coordinates to his own self. However, as Trigonum travelled along the timestream towards his destination, he found…nothing. The segment of spacetime in which his birth had occurred was completely absent, with only a void in its place. It was not that the segment had been erased, but rather it was inaccessible to Trigonum, seemingly as if it had been blocked off. Trigonum instead plotted the course to the moment in which he had been left at the doorstep of his orphanage, in hopes of catching even the slightest glimpse of his parents. However, this too was inaccessible to him. Some being or force, whatever it was, did not want Trigonum to discover the truth of his origin. Almost as if the information was dangerous. As for who specifically it would be dangerous to, Trigonum did not yet know.
With all the signs thus far, it was now abundantly clear to Trigonum that he should pursue the path laid out before him. After finally allowing himself to remove his self-imposed limitations, Trigonum began realizing his full physical, mental and genetic potential. He physically trained his mind and body in secret, building up his strength and performing feats of increasing caliber . Despite his unsuspecting appearance, Trigonum soon was already far stronger than the most muscularly built human. Trigonum spent periods in deep meditation, cultivating intelligence and mental stability. Eventually, after training for long enough, Trigonum decided that the time was finally right for the truth about him to be made known to Earth.
After revealing his true abilities to the rest of humanity, Trigonum was met with a standing ovation. Of course, not every human was keen on Trigonum and the implications of his existence, but the positive reception largely outweighed the negative. Trigonum became a hero to humanity, serving as a guardian and a protector as he helped to combat criminal and terroristic threats wherever they could be found. When asked by the public what he should be known as, he smugly told them to call him “Hyperman” – before silently cringing and briefly realizing that he would probably regret this later. Nonetheless, that was the name everyone stuck with.
Trigonum took advantage of those who worshipped him, using his influence and connections to ascend governmental ranks before becoming the president of his country, and soon ruling all of Gaea. He would then conquer Terra, and proceed to physically reunify both halves of the planet back into Earth using the technological connection points along the equators. He did not stop there, however. Trigonum realized he could go further than just that. He went on to continue expanding his "empire", taking control of various established colonies throughout the solar system such as those on Mars and The Moon. Soon, all of the Solar system was unified under Trigonum’s rule.
After taking over the entire solar system, Trigonum still felt that he could do more. At this point, there was no real goal behind his campaign. He simply wanted to expand his empire just because he could. At least, that was the conscious motivation. Subconsciously, the true reason that Trigonum wished to continue expanding was that he believed he could finally obtain the answers he sought once he had the highest possible "vantage point" over the entire Universe.
Hyperman further expanded into other Galaxies and star systems. However, at many times he found that the conquest was not a pretty one. Those who refused to willingly become part of Hyperman's empire were instead forcibly conquered anyways. This of course made many enemies, and at nearly every corner Hyperman found himself having to make many decisions which did not sit well with him. He found himself questioning his decisions at times, but another part of Hyperman would convince him that remorse was a sign of weakness, and that the only true way was forward. Soon, nearly every Galaxy in the Universe, as well as all their civilizations and races, were under the command and control of Hyperman. Nearly every race submitted to his will, and worshipped him as God.
However, even after conquering all of what many beings would perceive to be the entirety of Existence, Hyperman still was not satisfied. It all felt so…anticlimactic to him. It felt too easy, and Hyperman had difficulty believing that one could conquer literally all of Existence just like that. Furthermore, even after discovering all that he had in the Universe, Hyperman still hadn't the slightest clue as to his true origin. However, there still remained one last part of the Universe that was not yet conquered or even explored. It was a single unsuspecting planet, located in the outermost galaxy of the Universe. And so, Hyperman travelled there, hoping to finally discover the answers he had been seeking.
Unfortunately, the expedition did not go as planned for Hyperman. The planet was like a site of ancient ruins. It was completely devoid of life, but ancient structures were left behind. There were runes and scriptures inscribed onto many of the walls, but it was apparently written in some previously-unrecorded language and thus seemed impossible to translate. Hyperman was extremely frustrated, but soon things went from bad to worse. The environment of the planet was extremely harsh, too much for even his highly advanced space suit – the Universe's top of the line – to handle. Hyperman became heavily weakened by the near-Absolute Zero temperatures of the desolate planet, and was becoming delirious. In a fit of hypothermic exhaustion, Hyperman stumbled and plummeted into a deep arctic chasm. Upon landing on the ground, he sustained several grave injuries. The only thing which prevented him from instantly dying was the extremely low temperatures, which thinned Hyperman's blood and slowed his heart rate.
As he laid there, Hyperman thought he saw a glow emanate from one of the ice walls. He at first dismissed it as some sort of near-death hallucination, but then the light shined brighter as a shape began breaking out from it. From the ice, a small geometrical object appeared and hovered above him. The object was shaped like a rectangular prism, and was about the size of a brick. What was more was that it seemed to contain pieces of the cosmos themselves. What surprised Hyperman the most, however, was when the object spoke, introducing itself in a chirpy voice as "Prismus".
Before Hyperman had much time to process what was now happening, Prismus scanned his body before proceeding to project a mysterious beam on him, which near-instantly healed all of Hyperman's injuries. Hyperman was incredibly bewildered. Even after all he had seen and witnessed in his travels, never before had he discovered a thing such as this. He humbly thanked Prismus for saving his life, before asking what it was, and why/how it was on this planet. Prismus explained that it was a computer system, and that it had been created for the purpose of serving…someone. It didn't exactly know or remember its original master, most likely due to the fact that it was damaged from spending so long embedded within the ice. Nonetheless, Prismus assured Hyperman that it possessed an abundance of knowledge. As Hyperman began navigating through the ice chasm and searching for a possible way to escape, Prismus followed behind him closely. It seemed as if Prismus was attached to Hyperman, as it would never hover further than a few inches from his body. Hyperman was agitated by Prismus' adamant attachment, similar to how a person would be annoyed by a fly buzzing around their head. However, this was when Hyperman had an idea. Upon finding a climbing route and escaping from the chasm, he thought of a way to make Prismus useful. He directed Prismus to the ruins of an ancient temple he had passed by prior.
Inside, Hyperman had Prismus scan the ancient language inscribed on the walls, and to his surprise it was successfully translated. It seemed that the language was already registered in Prismus' database, but as to how/why, not even Prismus knew. The runes etched into the wall seemed to be…some form of research records. Although the method of recording it seemed primitive, the beings who wrote them possessed highly advanced knowledge. The texts spoke of entire alternate universes, and even contained hard scientific proof of their existence. Although this was something Hyperman already had suspicions of, it was still surprising to him for it to be outright confirmed.
There was then one last discovered text, which appeared to have been etched the most recently. It spoke of an experiment by "God" (for lack of a better term in the translations), in which he inserted his essence into a human female to produce a hybrid offspring, in the event that anything were to happen to him. At first, Hyperman believed this to be nothing more than some sort of cultural legend, but he then thought it to be odd that it would be written down in a place which was seemingly intended to be a laboratory. Furthermore, Hyperman also found it odd that seemingly ancient ruins would have such a new carving. Prismus, upon further analyzing it, revealed that the etching was made shortly just before the time of Hyperman's birth. This seemed like nothing more than a mere coincidence, but Prismus then revealed something else. It told Hyperman that, yes, there was in fact a Multiverse. And in each universe, there was usually a God who created it, and therefore most likely this universe also had a God behind its creation. Prismus knew this because it had originated from a place far beyond the Universe. When Hyperman asked for further information, Prismus told him that it did not know much else, most likely because of the aforementioned damage to its systems. Even with this knowledge that Hyperman now had, he still didn't believe there to be any correlation between himself and the etching beyond a simple coincidence.
It was then that Prismus asked if it could "tag along" with Hyperman. Hyperman, already knowing that it would've been harder to get rid of Prismus, as well as seeing much use for it, accepted the offer.
Into The Multiverse
Prismus told Hyperman that it could be of more use, if its computing power was increased. Hyperman asked how he could do this, to which Prismus replied that by absorbing more physical space within itself, it could have more room to "think". That gave Hyperman an idea for how to exit the Universe. He asked if Prismus could absorb universes while within them, to which Prismus answered that it could. And so, Hyperman made Prismus absorb the entirety of the Universe into itself. As Prismus prepared to do this, it told Hyperman to "buckle up". Before Hyperman had the chance to ask what for, Prismus was already proceeding with the absorption. This event was not noticeable to any other inhabitants of the Universe, who continued to proceed with life as normal. However from the outside, Prismus now contained Hyperman's entire Universe. What Hyperman failed to anticipate, however, (primarily due to Prismus' lack of warning) was that now he was ejected into the void of the Multiverse, trapped within the space between universes. Although Hyperman was wearing a spacesuit, this void was nothing like space within a universe. It was beyond the normal 3 dimensions. Hyperman was nearly torn to shreds by the sheer pressure (or lack thereof) that he found himself in, but somehow he never got to that point. Prismus then solved the issue by projecting a bubble around both itself and Hyperman. As Hyperman caught his breath, he chastised Prismus for not telling him what would happen. Prismus apologized, before explaining that in any other case, any normal human would have instantly been obliterated within Multiversal space. Something in Hyperman was most definitely different – and more powerful – than any mortal human.
With the vantage point that he now possessed, Hyperman was able to use Prismus to absorb countless Universes en masse at once. There were some hostile Multiversal creatures that he encountered along the way, but they became easier and easier to defeat the more that Hyperman fought them, as he almost seemed to "adapt" whenever faced by a new threat. Eventually, two thirds of all the universes in the Multiverse had been absorbed by Prismus, and Hyperman had befallen every threat within them.
It was then that the pair suddenly encountered a being. His figure was crippled and emaciated, shrouded in the tatters of etheric robes. He possessed a face that resembled the eye of a storm, and a gaping square-shaped resided in his chest, glowing as if it was burned into him.
"The Seventh"
Hyperman was of course frightened by the appearance of this being, and he prepared to flee. However, the being weakly called out for Hyperman to not leave him, stated that he needed help. He spoke to them in a way that sounded as if he already knew Hyperman and Primus as intimately as an old longtime friend. Prismus itself told Hyperman that it faintly recognized the being, but its memory systems were currently too damaged for it to identify how exactly it knew him. Hyperman, now starting to instead feel pity for the being, returned to him, asking who he was and what had happened to him. The entity introduced himself as "The Seventh", before proceeding to drop the bombshell revelation that he was in fact Hyperman’s biological father. Caught off guard by this, Hyperman began to feel disoriented, almost fainting. He managed to get his bearings however, and continued to listen to The Seventh’s explanation.
The Seventh went on to explain that the reason he was in this state was because he had been struck down by six ruthless entities called The Hexagon Lords, which he formerly was a part of. Apparently, the Hexagon Lords had a pact which forbade any of its members to have a child, especially not with a mortal. The Seventh, however, eventually met a mortal human woman and fell in love with her. He loved the woman so much that he chose to defy the Hexagon Lords’ rules and have a child with her – Hyperman. The Hexagon Lords, displeased by this error, planned to kill the woman and the unborn Hyperman to correct The Seventh’s mistakes. The Seventh opposed this, and a violent confrontation between him and the Hexagon Lords resulted. The Seventh had been gravely injured by the battle, but he had been able to save Hyperman and his mother from being killed. All this time, The Seventh had been watching Hyperman’s life from afar, able to use his power to see him but unable to physically be there.
Hyperman spent a moment processing all this new information. He felt a mixture of many emotions, most notably a strange combination of passionate joy and rage. He was grateful to have finally found his father and learned the truth of his origins, but now he was angered by what had been done to his father by these Hexagon Lords. Hyperman made a promise to The Seventh that he would avenge him and kill the Hexagon Lords himself. The Seventh was quick to advise against this, stating that the Hexagon Lords were far too powerful for Hyperman to combat in his current state. Hyperman needed to train first.
Together with his father, Hyperman would be trained in the development and usage of his powers, as well as learning new techniques. They travelled through many universes and even Multiverses, battling foes of increasing caliber. As the complexity of his environment and enemies increased, so too did Hyperman’s perception of reality and the cosmos. His mind expanded, adopting a clear understanding of multi-universality. This soon evolved into an understanding of multi-multiversality, as Hyperman ascended to the status of a Megaversal entity. The Seventh believed Hyperman to finally be powerful enough to take on the Hexagon Lords at this point, and gave his blessings for his son to go forth. Before Hyperman departed however, The Seventh said that he had one last gift to leave him with. The Seventh split off a portion of his own essence (and therefore his power as well) from his form, and merged it into Hyperman’s being. He claimed that it would provide Hyperman with a significant boost in power, something he would need when fighting the Hexagon Lords.
Confronting The Hexagon Lords
With his capabilities having been increased from absorbing the many universes and multiverses thus far, Prismus was able to teleport Hyperman directly to The Wall, the exterior of The Folded Cascade. As Hyperman approached the Folded Cascade with Prismus by his side, he kept in mind all the security measures in place that The Seventh informed him of. Hyperman knew that direct and forceful entry into the Folded Cascade would require careful precise maneuvers. However, it soon turned out that it would not be not be an issue, as Prismus was apparently still registered as an authorized user of the portal systems. Prismus therefore was able to connect itself to the digital systems of the portal network and open an interdimensional gateway for Hyperman. After entering through the portal, Hyperman was expelled from the other side into a massive megastructure city, which he knew to be the Hexagon Lords’ base of operations. The layout of the city was very geometrical and incredibly complex, with buildings and even entire city sections moving round like a clockwork system. As Hyperman navigated the bustling megaversal city, he encountered incredibly bizarre beings which were alien by even his perception. Suddenly, Hyperman bumped into the shoulder of a passerby. After nearly tripping, Hyperman was about to apologize when he came face to face with the being he bumped into. Based on what The Seventh had told him, Hyperman instantly recognized the being as the avatar of One, a member of the Hexagon Lords.
Hyperman entered into a battle stance and formed a construct of zero-point energy as a weapon, proclaiming that the Hexagon Lords would pay for what they had done to his father. One shrugged away his suspicious civilian disguise, and nonchalantly proclaimed that they already knew. In fact, One said, all the Hexagon Lords already knew Hyperman was coming. Hyperman looked around to see all of the supposed citizens of the city suddenly disappearing en masse. They were merely illusions, generated by the mental manipulation of Five. Suddenly, the entire city began to mechanically fold inwards upon itself. The city had in fact been decoy, being a manifestation of Three. Hyperman realized that this whole thing had been a trap set for him, from the very moment he was teleported into the Folded Cascade. He had no time to dwell on this however, as his current focus was on killing the Hexagon Lords. As Hyperman scaled across one of the shifting edges of the Three, he attempted to strike One with his energy construct. Rather than striking One however, the construct instantly dissipated as it came into contact with Six, who’s manifestation appeared before Hyperman. Four then appeared next, and no matter what attack Hyperman tried to use, Four instinctively counteracted it as he already knew every possible sequence of actions Hyperman would immediately take. Hyperman instead resorted to ranged attacks and teleported a further distance away as he just barely evaded multiple dimensions of Three colliding. He directed streams of energy at the Hexagon Lords, and was surprised to see that it had turned a deep red, the color of his father’s essence. The Hexagon Lords were surprised as well and thus caught off guard, which allowed for the attack to strike them. One, Four and Six’s forms were scattered, temporarily incapacitated. It was then that a raging maelstrom of fractal shards, the manifestation of Two, appeared and shredded zir way towards Hyperman. Hyperman was overwhelmed by the shards slicing at him from all directions, causing him to lash out in a burst of red energy that dissipated the shards. Just as he was about to resume his attacks, Hyperman suddenly found himself overcome with dizziness and a tired feeling. He then collapsed into a deep sleep, induced by Five. The Hexagon Lords proceeded to envelop themselves and Hyperman within the holographic geometrical pattern of a star tetrahedron, warping into the Hexagon Lords’ base of operations.
Answers
The next thing Hyperman knew when he awoke, he was in a room surrounded by the six entities who had incapacitated him. He found himself restrained in specialized bindings that not even he could escape. Hyperman struggled in the binds, even despite knowing it was useless, and demanded to know from the Hexagon Lords why they had tried to kill his parents and stop him from being born. The Hexagon Lords merely looked sound at themselves and back at Hyperman in great confusion. One spoke up, and said that Hyperman didn’t know the full truth. When Hyperman asked how he knew he could trust the Hexagon Lords, Four grabbed Prismus and took it in his hands. Prismus loudly houted in protest, but Four ignored it as he performed a few subtle movements and instantaneously defragmented Prismus’ memory databanks. Upon this occurring, Primus seemed to gasp out as it proclaimed that “The Seventh was lying”. When Hyperman asked what this meant, One said that he owed an explanation to Hyperman.
After freeing Hyperman, the Hexagon Lords told him that The Seventh was once a Hexagon Lord as well, a very long time ago during a period where the Hexagon Lords were only just starting to establish themselves. He was very bright, and even developed most of their early gear and technology. The Hexagon Lords went on to further recount that, after failing to save others because of his hesitation and overconfidence, The Seventh was changed, and he began following a darker path. He became more violent, aggressive and greedy, losing himself in a quest for power. The Hexagon Lords eventually banished him from the group and tried to stop him. In the ensuing battle's climax, he tried to merge himself with Prismus cube as a last resort, but became overloaded and the cube rejected him, as its memory and data became corrupted and it was flung away. This incident nearly killed The Seventh, severely weakening him as he was banished from the Folded Cascade.
