Universe Bet Previews
Background on the Following:
Leviathan is a science fiction story about finding worth in Christ. The title character, also known as RK399, is one of four hundred creatures called chimereon sapiens transiens, or ‘Transients’ for short. The cabal that oversaw their creation believes mankind is headed for a swift destruction by nuclear or biological means and therefore has seen it fit to put measures in place to rebirth the human population after its inevitable extinction. The transient species has been indoctrinated since birth to believe that their only purpose is to ensure humanity has a legacy. Through torture, various forms of psychological manipulation and abuse, andbiochemical alteration the cabal has ensured that in all aspects of a transient’s life he is dedicated to preserving the human race over his own life and the life of his brethren; his thoughts and his biological urges in one way or another will always lead him to complete his mission. He is worthless: a means to an end and nothing more.
The included previews also introduce a spinoff series called Project: Indigo Cell in which a young biologist is tasked with unlocking the secrets of an organism unlike anything found in nature. During this time, he begins to understand science’s true role in the grand scheme of things and his own motives for being so impassioned about it – a sort of journey into the nature of science from a godly perspective.
The Banner and The Skyline are part of a larger series that tackles issues concerning the Church and Christian life, including our motivations for taking up and continuing our faith, the use of Spiritual gifts, how our walks may influence the walks of others, discipleship from the perspectives of young leaders and young learners, and evangelism in its myriad of forms in today’s society.
The Banner follows the journey of Pursuit as she attempts to build a team of young heroes thirsting for justice in their world. It’s an allegorical representation of the trials of a long-time Christian just branching out in his or her faith as he or she takes on a role in leadership. Prior to the included issue the plane that carried Pursuit and her new recruits, June and Ryan, to New York State was bombed on the runway shortly after landing, and the pilot was killed in the explosion. Pursuit fears someone is after her team and laments her failure to save the pilot, and realizes the potential danger she is putting her recruits into.
The Skylinerevolves around the superhero known as Flight and his ten recruits chosen because of their great ambitions. He aims to prepare them for an age where super-heroics will be needed beyond the confines of the exosphere. From the leadership perspective it’s representative of someone who’s been a Christian since childhood, and has been trained to be a leader, but decides to take a different route than the one he’s been taught. He comes off as arrogant to many, though he’s unaware of it, and in his decision making he often forgets that not everyone has his level of experience. The included preview takes place before the formation of his teamand showcases his personality.
Snapshot’s (yes, the apostrophe is intentional!) follows the exploits of a bookish teenage journalist by the name of Claire Montclair (nicknamed Snapshot) as she shadows life-hardened Interpol agent Kelsey Dought (pronounced “doubt”). Agent Dought is on the trail of a group of serial killers called the Gilded Authors who autograph their victims and crime scenes with homages to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, and Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle. He reluctantly brings her along to document what might be his last case before he retires after she follows him to Germany and witnesses the beginning of his case, making her a liability. The pair traverses Europe following leads, tailing suspects and becoming wrapped up in a menagerie of side adventures during their investigation. The series is representative of a Christian trying to influence the life of a non-believer they look up to, but is set in their ways and not easily swayed by kind words.
Leviathan #1 - Preview
Present day. Two men in their early thirties, an African-Canadian gentleman by the name of ReDaine Hales, PhD in xeno-biology, wearing a sweater-vest and tie underneath his lab coat, and a Chinese gentleman by the name of Commander Pheng-Da, dressed smartly in a black general’s uniform, converse in Dr. Hales’ office in Markham. ReDaine looks up as Cdr. Pheng slams down some folders onto his desk. The breeze created by the motion blows the papers ReDaine had in front of him to the desk’s periphery. “I want you to head up a new project,” starts Pheng, “If you are up to the task.”
ReDaine straightens his tie and sits erect in his chair. He clears his throat and answers his superior. “Aherm, yes, I can take on a new project.” He folds his hands in front of him and looks up at the commander. “What’s it entail?”
Pheng draws ReDaine’s attention to one of the folders. Tentatively, ReDaine picks it up and begins to skim it over. “Project: Successor…” he reads aloud. “Is this a subset of Project: Exponent?” He looks up, playing with his glasses. Pheng folds his arms and leans against the wall.
“No.” he answers ReDaine. “This one isn’t ours. One of our agents – I’m sure you’re familiar with her – uncovered something. I want you to see it.”
The next day inside an underground Siberian compound, the two men stand on a wire-mesh balcony overlooking a large pipe-filled room with a glass floor. Beneath the glass floats the bodies and severed appendages of some forty creatures that appear to be amalgamations of humans, axolotls, and host of other species, suspended in yellow fluid. ReDaine spreads his arms out in shock at the spectacle and drops his clipboard. Pheng places his hands behind his back and takes a deep breath. On the floor below researchers with varied instruments analyze the creatures beneath the glass.“This compound extends for another kilometer in sections”, Pheng remarks.“We estimate there are over three hundred bodies down here, though we’re reluctant to crack the glass to be certain.”
Placing his hands on the railing, ReDaine leans over to look down at the bodies. His jaw drops as he spies one cut nearly in half by a jagged sheet of metal. “What happened here?”
Eight years ago.In a moderately-sized classroom filled with glass tables a human instructor and security officer known as a bailiff, both in hazmat suits, stand before a body of pupils comprised of the creatures destined to be found dead beneath the glass. One of the creatures, an adolescent female, digs her claws into her desk at her instructor’s words. “A danger?!” she says with disbelief. “You consider the lives of the four hundred of us inconsequential because we might carry diseases? We are not vermin, Professor Kelter. We are human beings!”
Her words strike a note within the professor. “RK103…” he calmly addresses her. The bailiff standing over Prof. Kelter tightens his grip on the Billy-club in his hand, drawing the professor’s attention for a second.
“You cannot discount us as human or treat us as lesser beings just because our presence might burden you or because your philosophies allow it.” She begins again. Standing up, placing her weight on the front of the desk, she continues with clawed-finger pointed at her instructor. “This is wrong, professor, and we will find a way around it.”
Professor Kelter presses his gloved fingers against the faceplate of his hazmat suit directly in front of his eyebrows as he bows his head in frustration. “RK103,” he continues, “this is not merely about disease or philosophy or ill intent.” He raises his head and his hand to reason with her with a taxed look on his face. “Biological fail-safes are necessary in order to preserve the delicate balance of the biosphere. The introduction of a new species into any ecosystem almost unanimously presents a danger to the native species.”As he continues, her anger increases, her claws dig deeper and her brows knit further with every testament against her kind. “You are carnivorous, can survive in almost any environment and will outcompete any predator in any given area save pure man himself to the point of extinction.” He harangues.
“Pure?” she responds outraged, but is paid no mind.
His words become heated and he begins to move toward her. “Our models indicate that within a few months following a catastrophic event you would eliminate between seven and forty-five percent of all the species in a given area, simply due to your need for resources, not even taking into account your possible reservoir status.” He places his hands on her desk and her hands shrink away from him in fear. “If allowed to propagate, you would – ” he continues, until stopped by the bailiff’s hand on his shoulder.
“We would what?” retorts a visibly upset RK103. “Outcompete any ‘pure’ humans? Become the dominant species?” She slams her fists on the desk, catching the attention of her classmates as she cracks the surface.
The bailiff pushes Kelter out of the way and grabs RK103 by the throat. “Know your place, transient. You’re a means to an end, nothing more.” He says, glaring at her suffocating form through his faceplate. As his grip tightens, she raises the claws on her index finger and punctures the material on his forearm. He looks back in horror as air leaks out of his suit, and he drops the female. She falls to the ground, holding her throat and coughing beneath her desk. “You little abomination!” he cries out, and grabs at her.
She ducks away from his hand and rolls to her side. Grasping the chair leg of one of her classmates, she begins to rise to her feet with the bailiff headed towards her holding the Billy club above his head. “My apologies, RK306.” She says, swinging his desk into the air with her right hand toward the approaching bailiff. He attempts to block it as it strikes him square in the chest. RK306 falls backwards from the desk. The bailiff flies back into the wall. RK103 pounces on him, scratching repeatedly at his faceplate until it breaks. Kelter frantically runs toward his desk at the front of the room and presses a button tucked away under one of the drawers. An alarm begins to sound and RK103 looks up, startled and distraught. The bailiff regains composure and punches the female in the jaw. Dazed, she shakes her head and subsequently massages her jaw. The bailiff stands to his feet and dropkicks her into the far wall, through the other students ducking to avoid being struck by their classmate’s flying body. One classmate in particular, designated RK399, looks up petrified at what he sees. As the bailiff walks toward her she bares her claws and her fangs defensively. The other students gather toward the far corner of the room and look on in terror. The bailiff kicks a desk at her, which she bats away forcefully. Concentrating on the oncoming desk, she falls victim to his approaching club, which shocks her and batters her head against the wall. He grabs her by the leg and arches her over his head, repeatedly striking her head against the floor, desks, and walls. Almost unconscious, she looks up to see her classmates cowering in the corner, none coming to her aide. Her eyes lock on a terrified RK399 breathing heavily. The bailiff again grabs her by the neck and holds her limp body against the wall. He draws back his club to strike again.
RK399’s fear for himself breaks as the bailiff’s club approaches RK103’s skull. In the heat of the moment he belts out “No!” hoping that in some way his cries would amount to something. Momentarily distracted, the bailiff looks at the screamer. RK103 butts her head against the bailiff’s, wincing at the new sensation, and sending a few remaining pieces of his faceplate into the skin of his forehead. On the ground he grasps at his wounds. She bends down and raises him over her head. She throws him against the wall. Several more guards burst through the door armed with electrical weaponry. They fire a line into her arm and the volts course through her, bringing her to her knees. Two of the guards attend to the fallen bailiff.
“Get him outta here and into quarantine!” shouts one of the guards frantically to the others. Another line is fired into RK103’s back, rendering her unconscious.
RK399 takes a step away from the pack and shouts as he sees RK103 dragged out of the room like a ragdoll by two of the guards. “RK103!”
The Banner #3.5 - Preview
Around the eleventh hour the Banner’s pickup rolls into a dimly-lit motel parking lot. The three open the doors and pull out their luggage from the back seat. Pursuit folds her arms and crosses her legs. She adjusts the collar of her jumpsuit, and pulls forward her cowboy hat. She leans against the side of the truck and sighs as her charges look at her heavy-heartedly.
“Y’all head inside.” She says. “Ryan, check in fer us.” As the two head inside and close the door behind them Pursuit turns toward the bed of the truck and slams her fists down on it. THWAM. “I should’ve checked the area” she laments. She regains her composure and bends down to search underneath the truck and in the mufflers. “Whoever blew up the plane was waiting fer us. Can’t afford to make the same mistake twice.”
As she finishes her inspection she stands up and puts her finger to her earpiece. “Pheng,” she begins, “can I get satellite surveillance on my truck?” A voice comes in over the comm. and responds to her.
“Rerouting spy-cam fifteen” it says.
“Thanks” she replies.
As she walks into the hotel rolling her small suitcase, Ryan and June, having already checked-in, are waiting for her. June storms off in Pursuit’s direction with an upset look on her face and passes her going out the door without a word. She heads toward the stairs on the outside of the building. Puzzled by her recruit’s behavior, Pursuit turns toward Ryan who merely shakes his head.
“We’re in room two twenty-one.” He says, jingling two pairs of keys. “It was all that’s left.”
“Thanks, Ryan.” She says, still weary from their day. As the two enter the room they find June lying on the bed closest to the window flipping channels with her arm tucked behind her head nonchalantly. Immediately they notice the drab carpet and stained walls of the room, though June doesn’t seem to care. In surprise Pursuit looks around the room in search of another bed. “You didn’t say anything about only having two beds…”
“I – “, Ryan starts in his defense.
“It’s fine”, she cuts him off, raising her hand to stop him. She trudges in, passes the dingy washroom door and sets her suitcase on the bed closest to the entrance. She pulls the blinds, relieving them of a view of another window across the yard, and puts her hands on her hips as she turns toward the two of them. “June and I’ll take the bed closer to the heater; Ryan, you take the other one.”
“Can’t we sleep closer to the window?” June protests with a raised brow. “I’d rather not have a bazillion degrees blasted in my face all night.”
“Just… shut up and go to bed, June” Pursuit retorts frustrated, putting her fingers to her forehead. She tosses her hat on the bed and bends over to pull her pajamas and undergarments from her suitcase. Both recruits sneak a glance in her direction. “I’m going to take a shower” she says. She stands up, holding her change of clothes against her stomach and turns toward the two of them. “Please, for the love of all that is good, behave you two.” She opens the washroom door and peaks her head out. She puts on a serious face and addresses them. “Oh, and keep vigilant. Could save yer life.”
June turns angrily in Ryan’s direction and gives him a stern look. “Don’t embarrass me like that again.”
“I didn’t try to embarrass you” he replies, attempting to be the adult in the situation. “Your fake could’ve gotten us busted. Last thing Kat needs right now is more stress. Brought on greatly by you, might I add.”
June sits up and expresses her disgust at his snide remark, responding angrily toward Ryan. “Oh, please, I didn’t blow up the [freaking] plane, Ryan. You can’t blame me for every piece of [crap] that’s happened”
He bends over and plants his hands on the bed on which June lays looking away from him with disdain and flipping with more pronounced aggression. He leans in with a stern expression and scolds her. “But you did set fire to a crowded bar.”