Ask The Universe Dad
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"Are you sure we should kill it? People worship the damn thing."

"Bullets and bombs can kill anything, Xander. Just do your job and we'll be fine,"

"I'm not asking if we can, I'm asking if we should. If we kill the deity of millions of people, there will be riots,"

"And if we don't then it'll only be a matter of time before it shows its true colours. The thing is essentially omnipotent. The risk involved in keeping it alive is too high to be entertained."
General Duffy left the conversation there, turning down the corridor leading to the war room.

This left Xander Simms alone in the main hallway of Parliament's war department. He looked out the window; the usual view of the Earth and the stars were blocked by Dad's giant hand. His wristwatch, which functioned as a gigantic clocktower for the whole City, displayed that there were only one and a half hours left of Xander's working day. He went down another corridor to his office.

His office was comfortable enough, if a bit cramped. When the Judas Operation had first been launched, the General had ordered for an entire floor of new offices to be constructed to accommodate the necessary influx of tacticians and scientists. Of course, the City's constant issue of restricted space came into effect, resulting in rows and rows of identical minuscule workspaces.

Xander's job sounded simple enough. Shooting incredibly large bombs at a huge object was easy. Now give that object a splash of omnipotence and killing it was now a whole lot more difficult. The first blow had to stun it and the rest had to finish it off before it could resist. He, among other people, was in charge of dictating where the weapons would be hidden until their premier.

He finished off the remnants of the working day and took his coat off of the door rack.

Once he stepped outside he was greeted by tight rows of identical dwellings, each with enough space to comfortably accommodate its inhabitants. The sidewalk was dotted with blue Dad consultation booths.

Without knowing why, Xander crossed the road to the nearest booth. Upon opening the door, he immediately felt at ease. The authorities had informed them that they were still unsure whether that effect was caused by psychic influences or some kind of vaporized drug, but there had been no evidence of Dad being able to read minds.

A much smaller manifestation of Dad sat on one of the two stools, one leg crossed over the other. His face was clean-shaven and kind. He looked up from his newspaper. “Xander. I don’t see you here often, How are you?”

“I’m well,”

“If you were, you wouldn’t be here. What do you need help with?”

“Say I had a decision. One side will ensure the safety of the human race, the other will risk danger but also slow the progression of the City,”

Dad’s facial expression didn’t change and he didn’t try to ask for more information, instead saying: “When I first created the universe, I flew through it, spreading life to its farthest corners. When I looked back at the trail I had left behind me, I saw that most had torn themselves apart, and those that hadn’t had fallen into wretchedness. Humanity was my success, but as a god, I believe that free will comes above all else. If you believe that it is the right thing to do, do it,”

“Thank you,” Xander rose and left. Dad watched him leave and then turned back to his newspaper.


People flocked to the war room. Remote ship pilots were already in place, ready for their signal. Xander was at his station in preparation for any changes that would need to be made to the plan of attack

The first drone detached itself from behind a nearby moon and drew close behind Dad. It landed on his head and spontaneously erupted in a fountain of light. When the blaze faded Dad was clutching his head, screaming silently. Fragments of bone and bubbles of blood were scattered several kilometres away.

Swarms of frigates and drones flew towards him en masse. The drones latched on and detonated their loads, while the frigates peppered the colossus with missiles and bombs. The smoke cleared and there was Dad.

He had been torn apart. Bones and organs were visible where the flesh had been destroyed. He looked dead for a second before he lunged towards the City. The onslaught began again and just before he was blown into nothingness his fingers grazed the outer dome covering the City. 

Xander’s screen began to flash. He looked around and saw that all the other computers in the war room were also malfunctioning. Looking out of the window, the whole City grew into a quilt of dancing lights as every computer screen began flashing. Then, as quickly as it began, everything returned to normal, revealing that hundreds of thousands of petabytes of cultural and scientific information had been downloaded into the city’s database.

There remained a blinking message on Xander's screen.

There is always a time when a parent's children have to strike out on their own. The parent may not like this, but it is their responsibility to trust in their young, no matter what they choose to do. Good luck, Humanity.

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