The words of the Oracle :   Into the thrones shall be thrown upon a bastard . A man more deceptive will not be found in any corner of the galaxy . Brought up from humble beginnings , he will be . And will go onto become a very powerful emperor who shall decide the fate of the planet . But be aware he will come as a messiah that promises peace , don't be fooled . Inside him resides a evil and cunning man whose ways dare not be uttered here .But do not worry not all hope is lost , in these jungles will live a brute , a carnivore equivalent who will feasts on beasts . He too a bastard , will be looked like an outcast to many . He won't arrive on a chariot or to a royal welcome . He will arrive as a prisoner into these golden walls . The brute , the bastard , the outcast he is the true heir who promises peace and fortune this planet .

Androda :

There were many galaxies in the universe and the universe was so gigantic it was difficult to predict how many galaxies existed . And how many planets existed in all the galaxies . Far too many ? But our story is in one such galaxy and in a planet called Androda . Androda has existed for more than a billion years . Ever since people can remember it was a thriving planet , thriving and fighting off threats and growing . And like all such planets , there have been downfalls and growth . Scriptures and scribes have been written about kingdoms and heroes . Museums were filled with war memorabilia , chariots , Spacecrafts .But to speak of these legends , lets keep it for another day , shall we ?

Present Day :

Now It was a fairly eloquent time the planet was in . No wars witnessed in the past 100 years . The people were doing fine for themselves . The rocket men went up and down the skies in search of new planets and minerals and what not . There was a smile on people's faces and a general sense of peace looks to be prevailing . The heavily guarded fences of the emperors building was shining gold . People queued outside the building to have a look at the emperors hand waving at them . Thousands of travelers just wanted a peek at the man who it looked like had brought them eternal peace . But there was no glimpse , day after day people went away disappointed . Months passed by , and there was no news of the king .

The Kingdom :

But not all was well in the kingdom , behind the gold walls there was a concern brewing inside . The king was increasingly growing concerned about the prince who by law was to take over when his father one day leaves the chair . The prince hasn't left his room in months . After all he was suffering from a disease that could not be treated yet by the best physicians of the land . The renowned Groges from the nearby planet had been flown in secretly and he too could not treat the young prince . It bought the king to tears , that the once brooding and healthy prince has been brought to his death bed at such a tender age . Groges , requested the king please save my son at any costs. You the renowned and the great Groges are the only one who can save my son . My heir , . A visibly shaken Groges looked deeply in the eyes of the king and slowly uttered , Dear king I,am afraid the young prince cannot be saved . The cancer has spread , far too much and now nothing can be done . But Groges , that cannot be possible . He is my son and no son of my son can be taken away so early . What god would put a prince at his deathbed Groges ? He shall be saved said the king as he looked at his ailing son . The kings eyes turned red and he did not look up for a few minutes . It's okay Groges , you can go now and Groges left the room silently . My son , muttered the king . My only son . Do not worry i will save you , Do not worry at all . But the young prince could not hear any , he lay at the mercy of the disease .

The Boardroom :

The king went and poured himself a drink , the boardroom was all for himself , the curtain draws and all that was left was the kings thoughts to himself . He was more than afraid of his sons condition . Not only the death of his son was in his mind , but the future of the kingdom . His heir to the throne . His only so . His only son that was known to the rest . But he harbored a very deep secret . Two kids were raised as bastards in a far away land . Kids that were born to a lover he sent away eons ago .

I don't even know if they are alive . Thought the king to himself . Even if they were to be , how do I find them ?

The emperor had many troubles he had to attend to . His son being sick was at the tope of his mind but he could not let that information slip to anyone . It was better that it remained a secret for the time being . Presently the nation was put at risk by a traitor . He has sold the state secrets to a far away king who has been trying to gain foothold of Androda for a very long time . The legend says the fire chariot has defended against this evil king many a times , but that story is for another time . Such legends do not exist in these times . Powerful warriors have not shown up in a hundred years or more . Even the evil king is said to be not as powerful as he once was . The wars were once fought between may such beings capable of supernatural power , but now the times have changed and it has become more political and resource minded . The present age most of the kingdoms can be treated with reason , but the evil king still maintains the way . He is still seen as unpredictable and a tad too insane . But the senile man has lately been showing a strategical side too , aligning with the times . His cause for expansion once was not known , just out of bloodthirst and cruelty . Now there seems to be a reason behind it , for the reason still not will be acceptable to a rational mind .

The scene turns to the courtroom :

Emperor grant a man his dying wish said Philippe . What's his death wish .? asked the emperor visibly irritated with the interruption . His wish is to die , replied Philippe . Well that's what I am offering you , the emperor said . I'm offering this man his death . But Emperor , you are to hang him in front of the towers . In front of the whole town watching ? . Yes you are right . That's what a traitor demands . A traitor whose life he valued more than the others , more than his people . And now I will show you what his life means . That he hangs above and the people clap . But emperor exclaimed Philippe , this man on his deathbed has no other wish but to die . His eyes speak of no will to live and his words mean the same and yet you think the punishment is to hang him ? .

I don't Understand , it seems to me that it's a straightforward situation replied the puzzled emperor . But you see my lord , you are now not punishing him but merely granting him his wish . And that is no way justice is delivered in this land . For the crimes this man has committed he needs to be punished . But Philippe ! said the emperor you have put us in a conundrum . What you imply is that this man walks away free and that is his punishment ? Yes my lord , that is his punishment . But he walks away to nothing , he walks away to a town he has disgraced and that shall throw disgrace upon him . He walks away to a life he doesn't want in the first place .

But Philippe won't he betray us again , put our nation in peril ? Asked the emperor as he lays his eyes on the prisoner for the first time . He sure will , a rat remains a rat Philippe . A trusted commander who I entrusted my life in the past and yet he betrays me . ? He turns against his own nation . Look at him he can't even look me in the eye . A betrayal that speaks ill to my name , I'll to my reign .

The court Adjourns :

The king still remains perplexed why his trust minister would sell his state secret to the mad king . A man very much trusted by the king and seen as a logical and loyal man has gone and done this . There must be some reason to this , but I do not have the time to concentrate on the affairs of a traitor now . He is going to hang at all costs . Lets be done with that . I shall speak to Philippe on my own . Should Philippe know the troubles of my son , He is a brilliant young man and an excellent counsel . Maybe he will have some answers to the questions that trouble my mind .

a few hours later

King to Philippe :

Philippe , called out the king to his study . Please have a seat said the king . Why are you to defend him , I Know he is your friend , but you do not need to support a traitor . We have other things to take care of Philippe , we have to prepare our defense against the attacks of the mad king now .

Yes Sir , I understand the situation . But I do defend my him , at least in my eyes he must have a valid reason to his betrayal . The reason i do not know , he has not uttered a word about his actions . Maybe he does want to die ! . And that is why he committed the treason .

Philippe said the king in a mildly authoritative voice : He is to hang and that is my final decision .

Yes sir , accepted Philippe . We do have more serious matters to tend to . Let us prepare our defenses and put them in strategical positions . Sir if i may , said Philippe . What was the reason for Groges to visit us , is any one in the royal house sick . And sir I'm aware Groges specializes in the untreatable . Sorry if the question was bit too rude sir , its just out of a general concern .

No no , its quite alright Philippe . I have been meaning to consult you on this matter . The young prince in on his deathbed Philippe . A quite surprised Philippe responded , I was afraid that was to be the situation sir . Well is there any chance he survives sir , asked Phillipe who was now quite concerned . I think its up to the gods now I'm afraid . If it was only up to us mortals I do not think he survives . But the gods have performed miracles previously , so lets hope for the best Philippe . But in in the interim . I would like you to act as my deputy Phillipe . If that is ok

Yes Sir , of course that would be an honor . I pledge my allegiance to the land till death do us apart . replied Philippe . Well that is good . We have a lot of work to do . Said the King

Atticus , 27 works at the Fleet Management system as a senior Operations official . He stays alone in his apartment with a few plants that need to be watered everyday . The apartment is outside the district . The district is where all the companies are located , everyday millions of people who stay outside the district commute to the office and back top their houses and so on forth . Atticus is also one among of the millions participating in the rituals . A hundred blocks that goes beyond the horizon housed the millions . Atticus has been so punctual that he was awarded numerous disciplinary awards so early on his career . He had a keen sense of detail and knew instinctively how things in the office worked .

One such Day

As Atticus dwindles away his time away in a concrete building , he is called upon to inspect a factory in which the fleets are houses . There was an e-mail at 8:00 PM last night intimating a security breach in one of the factories — about 500 miles from the headquarters . So Atticus gets up in the morning and gets in his ride-wagon and speeds to the location . It was more of an away time than a matter of concern , which was well known to Atticus . A security breach happened all the time , well at least once a month . It could be a homeless man who has entered to while away the night or a racoon in search of food . Nonetheless it had to be attended to . All he had to do was to punch in the security code , scan for damages and report it to the senior office of the region . Simple protocol usually . It was around noon that he finally reached the factory . He carried his lunch as usual and gulped it along the way . But the surprise that awaited him was something he has never encountered . As he parked his vehicle and slowly entered the building , the lights were all off — highly suspicious since this was Category A — Location — Meaning a theft or damage occurred once in 5 years . As he made his way into the building with his company given magnum flashlight , he started to notice a number of gaps in between the vehicles . Atticus looked back at the door for a good few seconds as he was sure that there must have been damages . He again turned back at the gaps to scan for information . The building must have housed a good few hundred vehicles ( estimate in the range of 500 vehicles ) . And now according to his calculations at least 50 of them have to be missing . He knew better to call his friend Chris now than to solve the case by himself or report it to the head of security in the Headquarters . Any information that was to be given to the headquarters need to be thorough and lately there has been a bit of a negligence in the main building ,as there has been talk of corporate change set to happen .

Within half an hour , Chris had arrived at the scene of crime . Hello Chris welcomed Atticus .

Hello Atticus , said Chris quickly getting into the thick of things . Sensing things were a little heated up .

Chris , hey man look at this . There is at least a fleet of 50 vehicles missing .

Ok I will have a look at the scene , see if I can get any fingerprints or some ID cards . Chris got his torch light on and went searching for some clues which could be interesting .

Meanwhile Atticus was looking around himself to see if he can get any clues . But he limited the perimeter . Let the pro do the big work . Chris was audible for a while , as they caught up on certain things . But soon he became inaudible . The lights were not particularly bright that day . He tried analyzing were Chris ought to be . But soon gave up and got lost in his own trail and thoughts . A few minutes went on and suddenly he felt the presence of something that he deeply remembered . It was an otherworldly presence , a presence he saw when he was very young

The memory was always a disturbing and inconclusive one . Nothing could be made of it , but just bits and pieces . He could vaguely remember that a child being carried away by that presence .  The footsteps grew louder and he somehow caught a glimpse of what resembled a security guard .

Hey ! Shouted Atticus at the Guard . The guard just continued running not paying any attention to him . Atticus chased him for a while and suddenly came to a halt . He stood there in disbelief . The guard just passed through a vehicle as if he were a ghost . Atticus was bemused and it surely confirmed his belief it was the same presence he had seen when he was a kid . After a few seconds of disbelief he continued his chase , going in mazes . Unable to find the guard or his friend , took a moments rest to catch his breath . As he made his was back to the entrance now , to his left he was shocked to see his friend unconscious

He hurriedly went and checked his pulse . Chris was dead !!