The Nihilist Party

  Foreword

  I didn't mean this novel to be political, by any means. It was intended to be read in fun. Though it was meant to be just entertainment, this novel was inspired by how I feel we are currently being misrepresented by members within our government.

  In this novel, I attempt to imagine what would happen if citizens were fed up with the way their government exploits them. The disenfranchised citizens have no hope for their future, and everything has been taken from them by the people that swore to protect them. So, the people end up embracing the nothingness and hopelessness they are left with, and this makes them more dangerous than ever. And from this, they form the Nihilist Party, to fight back against the oppressor.

  The Nihilist Party

  by Roy Anthony

  Chapter 1

  Within a large conference room, hundreds of people sat and waited for the speaker to take the stage. For the place to be filled, it was surprisingly quiet, Quoramehr Coraemin thought. She watched everyone as they waited for someone to take the podium. She felt she stuck out like a sore thumb. Quoramehr was in her mid-forties, and everyone else in the crowd seemed to be a lot younger, and not to mention her standard government attire. Which was a monotone colored one-piece suit that clung to her body.

  She had heard stories of a person named Bratlik Sortmax, and how he was the spearhead of a new movement, the Nihilist Party. The Galactic Council frowned upon them, and as a Universal Journalist for the Galactic Council, it didn’t look good for her to be seen with such an organization. Though this was an underground meeting, she was taking a risk being present at such an event. Still, she only went because an advisor of Sortmax reached out to her and said Batlik would like to give Quoramehr an exclusive interview after his speech tonight. But Quoramehr took it upon herself to watch him speak. She created a reason to come to the event in the hope of seeing someone she hasn’t seen in years. Quoramehr lied to herself and said, it might be a story in it somewhere, even though this kind of subject wasn’t usually her topic as a Universal Journalist. Still, maybe she could pass the story to one of her colleagues, she thought.

  Suddenly an older man walked out onto the stage, and everyone stood up and cheered. A large white flag with a simple circle with a line horizontally going through it was dropped in the background. The older man slowly arrived at the podium and raised his hands, and everyone became quiet, and calmly sat down.

  “Thank you all for coming here this evening,” Batlik spoke calmly, but his voice was a little rough. “Most of you are humans, but we have different species here as well, and I appreciate you for having the courage to come and hear an old human speak.” Some of the crowd lightly chuckled. “To those of you who are new here and probably just came to see what is the big fuss about this Nihilist stuff you’ve been hearing, I commend you for taking the time to hear us out. Instead of listening to the propaganda that is spewed out about us by the GC. Or Galactic Council for those who are not familiar with the acronym GC. Now, you can hear from the horse’s mouth what the Nihilist Party members believe in? Everyone wants to know what this Nihilist Party thing is about? Is it full of creatures that believe in nothing and want to see the world burn for the sake of burning? If you let our government-controlled media tell it, that is what we are about, but that is a lie. It’s not the first lie they told about us, and it definitely won’t be the last.” The crowd chuckled again, and so did Quoramehr, even though she technically worked for the GC. “But the truth is the Elite created us, and when I say Elite, I’m talking about the GC politicians and the wealthy that work with them to suppress us. We are what a system creates when it neglects its citizens and exploits them for profit, leaving the citizens with nothing. How many of you feel like the system we are currently in has taking everything from you and is still taking, and shows no interest in ever helping you? The result of someone taking everything from you results in you being left with NOTHING. But what happens when you embrace that NOTHING? You know what it does? It frees you. Those in power have corrupted and exploited every form of our society. Everything we believe in is used to defile us and to do the bidding of those in power. And when we do, do their bidding, are we rewarded? No. And if they do decide to reward us, they only reward us for our ruthlessness. They reward us for being morally corrupt until we are soulless, like them. Those in power punish those of us who believe in doing what’s right and standing up for righteousness. We are just slaves to the Elite. They exploit us and keep the riches that WE work for, that WE bleed for, that WE die for. So, do you really want to know what the Nihilist Party represents?” His voice rose, and he began to speak with authority. “We are citizens of the GC that are tired of corruption from the Elites that are supposed to be representing US, the citizens, within the GC. Instead of representing us, they only represent what is best for their personal interest. They are supposed to negotiate deals that will help their citizens, not just themselves. They say that their actions are for the betterment of every GC citizen, but lies are what they spew. So to distract us from the lies they tell us, they use fear, religion, food, medicine, diseases, money, and entertainment to keep us blind to their corruption.

  “That is why in the Nihilist Party, we embrace the fact that life is meaningless, and there is no significant meaning to why we exist. And since we embrace and accept the meaninglessness of life, we don't fall for their tricks. Embracing the meaninglessness of life creates a deep void within the mind, but in the Nihilist Party, we fill this void with the truth. And that is why we are fearless when we are seeking the TRUTH, and that is why the Elite can't control us. So to be in the Nihilist Party is to be free from the influences of the powerful. And to dedicate ourselves to being truth seekers.

  “We are out here desolate, without any help from those that swore to protect us. When our politicians swear into the GC, they swear to protect all GC citizens. All! The Elite has made their fortune on our misfortune. But the GC wasn’t always like this. Just like most things, it became corrupt over time. It was once founded to protect civility and what was right and just throughout the Galaxy. You all know that. If you’re from a planet that has been in the GC for the last sixty years when you were in school, you have recited the beginning paragraph of the Criterion. What is it?”

  “The members of the Galactic Council,” Batlik began.

  The entire crowd joined in and recited. “In order to form a more perfect Galaxy, to establish justice and to protect Universal trade from those that wish to break up our law and to protect the welfare of the essential minerals, resources, and citizens of every member. We are to fight for every citizen of this Galactic Council, at all cost. We are many planets, but only ONE Council.” Everyone recited.

  But when everyone stopped, Quoramehr was the only one to continue. “The Criterion is based on thousands of years of historical planetary research throughout the Universe.” Everyone looked at her. Some with smiles others with skepticism.

  “Some of us know it better than others.” The crowd laughed as Bratlik continued on with his speech, and Quoramehr was relieved because it took everyone’s eyes off of her and back on the speaker. “It sounds nice, doesn’t it? The GC was created to keep the citizens of the GC safe from invaders. To protect us against barbaric planets. The GC was supposed to be for the civilized planets. Each planet that was to enter the Galactic Council was supposed to be inspected based on the Criterion, to ensure only the righteous and the upright would enter the GC. The Great Abend Tollehmax created the Criterion to keep the future of the GC safe. But now they will let in any planet that will let the ELITE take the resources from their planet, no matter how corrupt and barbaric the planet may be. And the Elite are willing to jeopardize our safety for their greed, as they live high in the clouds. Safe from
the terror they let in amongst us. I believe the creators of the GC had the right intentions in its creation. But where our current leaders have taken the once Great Galactic Council does not represent what the GC once stood for… I dare you to find one GC representative that represents your needs. A representative you can trust. You can’t do it, there’s none. If our leaders followed just that paragraph, there would be no need for a Nihilist Party. But, since there is a Nihilist Party, we will be the seekers of truth within the Galaxy. WE WILL expose the corruption that the GC politicians commit throughout the Galaxy! WE WILL stand for justice and protect the weak! WE WILL make sure our voices are heard by the Elites and get the corruption out of the GC! To do this, we must give up everything for the future of our children. We will make having NOTHING the most dangerous thing to the Elites. That’s what the Nihilist Party is about!”

  The crowd stood up and applauded and cheered the short speech of Batlik, as he reached his hands towards the audience as if he was embracing their applauds. Batlik slowly exited the stage as the crowd continued to applaud him.

  As all this commotion was going on, an assistant from Batlik tapped Quora on the shoulder. “Quoramehr Coraemin?” She said.

  Quoramehr looked back at the mature looking assistant, somewhat startled. “Yea, that’s me. But you can just call me Quora.”

  “Mr. Sortmax would like to meet you backstage.” The assistant whispered in Quora’s ear.

  The assistant didn’t wait for Quora to respond. She started to head backstage, through a back way that was not in the eyesight of the crowd, and Quora simply followed her.

  She led Quora to a small quaint room. Where Batlik sat at a table surrounded by a couple of other creatures, who were members of the Nihilist Party as well. They all stopped talking and stared at Quora as she entered the room.

  Quora observed the way he sat with all the others. By the way, everyone was positioned, it was hard to tell if Batlik was the leader of their Party because they sat amongst each other as equals. Quora was used to interviewing influential people who wanted to let everyone know they were dominant in every setting they were in. Batlik was also influential but in a different way.

  “Batlik, she is here.” His assistant said to him.

  “Excuse me.” He said, addressing the other members. “I would like to have a few minutes alone with Universal Journalist Quoramehr.”

  The others looked at Quora as if she was the enemy, and they slowly exited the room, but another member of the Party stayed. She stood against a table and observed Quora with somewhat of a smirk on her face. “Lyseen will stay here. I hope you don’t mind.” Batlik said as he pulled up a chair for Qura to sit in.

  Quora glanced over Lyseen. She was from the Calimer species—a fortunate species in the Galactic Council from the prosperous planet Tekmia. Quora thought it was odd for a Calimer to be out in public and be a member of such a group, devoted to destroying a system, that her species profited the most from. And also, her species would get tiny pox that covered their entire skin when they left their planet’s atmosphere. And because of this skin condition, most of the Calimers were not seen out in public on other planets. The pox was not life-threatening; they were just an inconvenience to look at.

  Quora respected Lyseen for showing her skin condition proudly out in public. Quora actually liked the way the bumps looked on the Calimers. She thought it gave them character.

  “No problem,” Quora said, and she motioned to her ear to use her translator device, but she remembered that she and Batlik spoke the same language. She wasn’t used to interviewing her own species, because it was too close to home, so she only dealt with foreign matters. Planets just entering the GC, which were many. She was doing this interview because a friend of her estranged husband, whom she had not seen in years, said a popular member of this Nihilist Party movement wanted to give Quora an exclusive interview. Quora figured the Nihilist Party wanted Universal exposure, so they wanted a Universal Journalist to present their message to. Quora only took the assignment because she was hoping to see and speak to her estranged husband Aristorpher Coraemin. Better known as Aris by his close friends. “Hello, Sir Sortmax. So tell me, are you the leader of this Nihilist Party movement?”

  “First, you can just call me Batlik. Second, I am no leader. We are all equal to one another in the Nihilist Party, and third, I didn’t ask you here for an interview.” Batlik calmly stated. “I asked you here to discuss the whereabouts of your husband, Aris.”

  Quora looked at the old man dumbfounded because that was why she was here as well. “I don’t know. I—“

  “I know you don’t know, but I wanted to know if you could use your Universal Journalist connections and the resources of the GC to find him? He was in the middle of an investigation, trying to discover a corrupt planet that the leaders of the GC were secretly trying to sneak into our government. But suddenly, a stress ping from the tracker of Aris hit our satellites. But we do not have the means to try to retrieve him from that far away. The GC knows about the ping and they maybe looking to cover their tracks by getting rid of Aris. If they haven’t already… Aris is very dear to our movement, and we would like to get him back safely. And we were told that you two were once UJ’s together and still have tremendous love and respect for one another, and you still worked as a Universal Journalist.”

  “Who told you this,” Quora asked.

  “Aris,” Batlik answered.

  Quora was speechless. It felt good to know that Aris still loved her.

  “We wanted to know, would you help us search for Aris?” Batlik asked.

  A numbness came over Quora. Her heart felt like it dropped to her stomach. One of the things she feared the most about the danger Aris always got himself into had happened. In her line of work, she did not have many relationships with other people. Aris was the only person that reminded her of her humanity outside of life as a Universal Journalist. “I mean, why did you all let him do this?” She asked, frustrated.

  “Could you stop him from pursuing what he thought was right?”

  She did not want to answer that question, because he was right, so she asked another.” How long has he been missing?”

  “We can’t give you an exact date. But it has been a year, give or take, without a message from him,” Batlik answered.

  “What planet was he doing his investigation on?”

  “A planet called Crimson, but little is known about the planet. The GC’s planet registry shows very little about the planet, and doesn’t even give a location.” Lyseen answered.

  She was angered and saddened at the same time. Her mind was racing on what to do. She has not seen Aris in years, but a day did not go by where she did not think about him and the life they once shared together. She knew the trouble Aris could get himself into, and the thought of him being somewhere out in this vast Universe alone left her flustered.

  “This is where his ping came from.” Lyseen handed Quora a tiny flash drive. “There is nothing more we can do for him. I told him this investigation was too dangerous. Some powerful planets are involved in this.” Lyseen said frustratingly to Quora and Batlik.

  “So, you all are going to leave him?” Quora said in disgust.

  Batlik raised his hand to calm Lyseen down like he did the crowd. He then lightly touched Quora on her knee. “We love Aris, as you do, and we want him back. That is why we’re risking asking an outsider like yourself for help.” He stared in the eyes of Quora, and she thought he looked sincere. Batlik handed her a small brochure that read ‘The Nihilist Party: Why Nothing Is Everything.’ “Our satellite information is on this pamphlet if you decide to help us, just send a message to one of them, and we will surely get it. But if you choose not to help us, we understand. But if you do, we will surely appreciate you, and so will he. You were the only person outside of the Party that he told to contact if he were ever in danger.”

  Quora angrily got up, “I will use my resources to find Aris and save him from whatever trou
ble he is in, like always, but when I find him, I will not bring him back to you all. I will get him help. The help he needs. All your Party did was feed his mind, which was already filled with conspiracy theories, with more conspiracies. You really think that the GC is out to destroy its citizens? You all talk down about the Council, but how do you think our lives would be without it? The great Galactic Council has done so much to improve our lives. Yes, they have made mistakes, but to think the Council would profit off of its citizens’ misfortune is crazy. And you all should be ashamed of your selves for spewing that hate against our government. You took a man who was broken and was willing to believe anything against the GC, and you made him worse.” Quora displeasingly said.

  Lyseen aggressively stepped towards Quora to make counterpoints against Quora’s statement. But Batlik stopped her with a raised hand and a look that said, ‘not now.’

  Lyseen acquiesced and backed down. “You should ask your famous friend, Bolt. I’m sure he will help you.” Lyseen calmly added.

  Quora did not know what she meant by the comment. Whether it was an insult because she knew someone famous or Lyseen thought her and Bolt had a relationship outside of GC business. But whatever the reason, the statement irritated Quora, and she stormed out of the room.

  Chapter 2

  “Morning, Lumur.” A Damurian male who was riding a horned horse greeted another Damurian, with a giant herd of Sapthians behind him. Like most Damurians, they had sharp facial features with a pointed horned chin and had plump bodies with pale skin. The upper-class Damurians were plumper than the lower class Damurians. These two Damurians were in the lower class of society.

  The two men were fully covered, and the only thing revealed was their eyes. This was to protect themselves from the sun of planet Crimson’s desert.

  “Morning, Thamir.” The other Damurian responded.