My name is Angelica, and I am a merchant of death. My crew and I crashed on this planet, and a primitive man saved us. Though my crew made it off the planet, I owe this man my life, bound by honor to fulfill any request within my power.
He asked me to help free his people from slavery. A noble cause, I suppose, but not without complications. This place is under Federation control, and they don’t like me very much after I sold weapons to their enemies during the last Elodi-Fedy war. So, using modern weapons to bust his people out is out of the question.
The Federation’s agents on this world pose as gods to these people, manipulating them through religion. If I’m going to succeed, I need to take a page from their book and disguise my actions as superstitious miracles. With luck, they’ll think it’s just another secret project one of their “gods” is running.
Snake-Staff
This guy has anger issues, so he’s bound to get into a fight. The first thing I did was replace my friend’s wooden staff with something more… impressive. I loaned him a robotic snake I usually wear as a belt, but reprogrammed to disguise itself as a staff. It’s solid and sturdy, perfect for walking, but whisper the passphrase “Snakey-Snake,” and it transforms into a living snake, programmed to defend its owner.
When I handed it to him, he couldn’t wait to show the Pharaoh’s magicians the “power of his God.” He came back grinning ear to ear, saying the staff worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, the Pharaoh wasn’t impressed.
I told him a simple magic trick won’t make a king give up his free labor force. If we want results, we’ll have to make Egypt suffer. Luckily, I have tools in my arsenal to make life so miserable for the Egyptians that they’ll beg to be rid of him and his people.
Poison the River
Let’s start with their water supply. I had containers of Ferrite Rubrum and pulverized beetroots gathering dust in my cargo hold. Ferrite Rubrum dissolves instantly in water, turning it a deep red-brown that looks and tastes like blood. Add the beetroot, and the effect becomes even more grotesque. The water thickens, becomes murky, and carries a faint iron scent. It’s convincing enough to pass as blood to any primitive.
This chemical binds to organic matter like algae or silt, keeping the illusion intact for days before breaking down harmlessly. And no lasting damage means the Federation can’t accuse me of environmental harm, if they even notice it at all.
All I had to do was poke holes in the containers and drop them upstream. As the chemical spread, the river turned blood-red.
***
The plan worked perfectly! Maybe it worked too well. Most of the fish in the river died, and I doubt anyone dared to drink the water for three days.
Frogs!
A few days after the water cleared, my friend returned the water replicator I loaned him to keep his people hydrated. It looked rough, like he’d thrown it in frustration.
His temper is going to be his downfall one day.
Anyways, this Pharaoh still hasn’t freed his people, and now it’s time for an infestation of… frogs. I have tons of genetically engineered frogs in stasis left over from a mission to destroy the ecology of Antares VI. There’s enough to cover an entire city! But first, let’s infest them with parasitic larvae that will kill them in two days and feast on their corpses before becoming yet another pestilence on these oppressors.
I warned my friend that, by the next morning, the entire city will be covered with frogs. They will be everywhere, even in their own homes. His people must endure for two days, then clear out the dead frogs immediately. Do not let a single frog linger or it will expose the slaves to another pestilence I have planned.
He acknowledged my instructions and left to warn his people.
That night, I flew my cloaked dropship over the city, releasing the frogs. They infiltrated homes, ovens, and beds, spreading chaos everywhere.
That night, I flew my cloaked dropship over the city and unloaded my cargo of frogs onto an unsuspecting population. The frogs hopped and crawled everywhere in the city. They swarmed into homes and even found their way into the Egyptians’ beds, ovens, and cookware.
Every frog died in two days, but nothing happened. The larvae didn’t hatch and my friend’s people were still enslaved.
Something wasn’t right.
Lice Aren’t Nice
I had a backup plan ready in case the flies didn’t pan out, so I fired up my dropship and released shredded cloth infested with lice over the heart of the city. I made sure to avoid the slave quarters, limiting their exposure to the infestation.
This should cause plenty of irritation among the Egyptians. At the very least, it’ll buy me time to plan something more severe for them.
The Lord of the Flies
Looks like I spoke too soon about the larvae. It took longer than expected, but they’ve finally hatched, and now the flies are everywhere!
These pests are remarkable. They swarm so thickly that people are choking and vomiting after accidentally inhaling or swallowing them. I had to give my friend some bug repellent to protect his people’s homes.
Call me the Lord of the Flies! These winged nightmares are doing exactly what I hoped they would.
Livestock Pestilence
Let’s start killing stuff. Maybe the loss of their animals will push them to release their slaves. For this, I dusted off a zoological plague I previously used on Antares VI. I’ve been studying the local livestock and the viral agent will definitely kill them.
I spent a few days inoculating the slaves’ livestock to protect them from the disease. To make things easier, I designed special feed laced with the vaccine and gave my friend strict instructions to distribute it to every animal in their community.
I also warned him that it’s not for human consumption. But if someone eats one by accident, they should survive, probably with an upset stomach at worst.
I kept checking in to make sure everything was going according to plan. When I saw a few sickly animals in the slave quarters, I insisted they be slaughtered immediately to avoid ruining the miracle I planned. I convinced my friend it had to be done, but the slaves resisted. The penny-pinching owners agreed, but only after I offered shiny coins for each one.
Word spread fast, and soon, other slaves were eager to sell their livestock for a quick profit. I had to step in and warn my friend that if this kept up, they’d ruin everything. I also warned him that if any cattle had deadly accidents, I’d stop helping entirely.
Thankfully, the rest of the preparation went smoothly. The day before releasing the plague, I sent my friend to the Pharaoh with an ultimatum to release his people, or a terrible plague would wipe out all the Egyptians’ livestock, leaving only the slaves’ animals unharmed.
That night, I unleashed the biological agent over the city.
By morning, every Egyptian animal was dead or dying.
A-Pox
I killed the Egyptians’ livestock, sparing that of the slaves, and yet, this Pharaoh remains unyielding. His people seem ready to see the slaves leave, but he is harder than adamantium.
It’s time to leverage the people’s exhaustion with this conflict. My next attack targets the human population. In my cargo hold is an aerosolized A-Pox bioweapon I had planned to sell to mercenaries fighting the Elodi. While lethal to the Elodi, for humans, it’s relatively mild. The unvaccinated suffer from bumpy, pus-filled rashes, and the mortality rate is only 10%.
None of the slaves can be infected. If even one shows symptoms, the “miracle” is ruined. I personally distributed the vaccine to ensure there were no mistakes. Every slave received it, including the sickly and elderly, whom I allowed to take shelter on my ship as an extra precaution. I waited six days to ensure the slaves built an immunity before releasing the virus over the city.
The effect was immediate.
Festering boils erupted on Egyptian skin, leaving the slaves untouched. Panic spread as the people begged the Pharaoh to let the slaves go, their faith in him fracturing. Watching their suffering wasn’t easy, but if this doesn’t break him, I will be forced to think of something far worse. For that, I’ll need some more time.
Hail from Hell
What does it take to convince this Pharaoh?
I killed their livestock and unleashed A-Pox upon the people.
I need some time to think of more gruesome things to do to these Egyptians. I can convince a plague of locusts to swarm the city and even increase their numbers, but it will take about a week for them to get here. In the meantime, I’ll unleash a deadly hailstorm using one of my weather control devices. I’ve got twenty of these handy gadgets, so losing one is no big deal. Besides, I’ll still have plenty to sell when I visit the agricultural colonies.
My friend gave the Egyptian king the ultimatum, and it was rejected. The next day, I flipped the switch on the device. Thunder, hail, and lightning rained down on Egypt, creating the worst storm in the nation’s history. Hail struck everything in the fields and only left destruction in its wake.
But the slaves? They were safe under the protection of a mobile shield generator I deployed.
Locutus of Locust
The locust swarm is almost here, scheduled to reach the city by tomorrow morning. My friend delivered another ultimatum to Pharaoh, and he refused to free the slaves. Honestly, that’s a relief. I had no idea how I would’ve stopped the locusts if the slaves were freed.
At dawn, the winds carried the swarm into Egypt. The locusts invaded every corner of the land, blanketing the ground until it turned black. They devoured everything the hailstorm left behind, leaving nothing green on trees or plants. The entire land of Egypt was stripped bare.
And yet, Pharaoh still wouldn’t release the slaves.
Consuming Darkness
I had enough time to plan two more horrors for these people. Since the Egyptians worship a sun-god, I figured it would be poetic to rob them of sunlight. While I couldn’t eclipse the sun without drawing too much attention, I decided to weaponize another one of my weather control devices instead.
I programmed the device to produce a dense fog laced with carbon black and graphite nanoparticles. These absorbed and scattered light, creating near-total darkness. To make things worse, I added sulfur compounds to the mix, creating an acidic, choking miasma that clung to everything.
I didn’t even bother giving Pharaoh an ultimatum this time, I just flipped the switch.
The fog enveloped Egypt, plunging the city into an impenetrable blackness. For three days, no one could see or move. The suffocating air added to their despair. Meanwhile, the slaves had plenty of light where they lived.
The Egyptians trembled in fear, but even this wasn’t enough to secure the slaves’ release.
Firstborn Death
The slaves remained in chains. Despite all the pestilence, hailstorms, darkness, and death I’ve unleashed, Pharaoh still clings to his slaves, and the people of Egypt won’t rise to force his hand.
Before I resort to more direct measures, like using my ship to send a “lightning bolt” to end Pharaoh, I’ll try one last thing. During the days of darkness, I worked to scan every living creature in the city, mapping their genomes to program another weapon. I prepared a container of self-replicating, aerosolized grey goo. This weapon is difficult to program, but I managed to narrow its targeting parameters to only kill the firstborns in the city. Unfortunately, I can’t fine-tune it any further.
To fix this, I instructed my friend to have the slaves mark their homes with a special “blood” that would repel the goo. Supplies were limited, so they opened their homes to neighbors who wished to be spared. As the slaves prepared, my friend delivered Pharaoh one final ultimatum.
When he returned without the emancipation of this people, I released the grey goo. All the unprotected firstborn of Egypt died that night, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of prisoners and livestock. The entire land was filled with wailing, for every house was touched by death.
Pharaoh relented that very night, and my friend’s people were freed. Fearing what might happen next, the Egyptians urged the slaves to leave immediately.
Passing a Sea
After their release, my friend and his people marched until they reached an inland sea. They camped on its shores while we debated how best to get around this obstacle. But my ship’s sensors soon detected a massive army approaching from the Egyptian capital.
There was no time to circle the sea. We had to go through it.
I instructed my friend to prepare his people to cross. Then I piloted my ship over the sea, activating its tractor beam. A blinding blue light sliced through the water like a knife, creating towering walls of water on either side of a newly formed path.
The refugees stood in awe, many dropping to their knees in prayer. But with the army closing in, I sounded the ship’s horn to get them moving. One by one, they carefully stepped onto the muddy seabed and began their march.
They were halfway through when the Egyptians reached the shore. My sensors showed the army paused in hesitation, but pride and arrogance won out, and they soon charged into the passage. The Pharaoh’s forces gained ground quickly, but the refugees were just steps from the far shore.
I disengaged the tractor beam in timed sections, allowing the stragglers to reach safety. Then, with a roar like thunder, the towering walls of water collapsed, swallowing Pharaoh’s army whole. From my cockpit, I watched the torrents sweep away every last soldier.
The refugees cheered as they stood safe on the other side. They celebrated not only their safety but also the realization that they were finally, truly free from Egypt’s grasp.
I was happy, too. I delivered these people to freedom, but now I wonder about the cost?
Journey Beyond the Sea
To celebrate their newfound freedom, I shared a hallucinogenic tea with my friend on the first night after crossing the Red Sea. The experience was both entertaining and surreal, as he seemed entirely at one with his god.
The slaves were free, and my debt was paid. Technically, I had no obligation to stay on this planet anymore. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon these people in the middle of the desert. I decided to assist them by providing food and water as they journeyed to their “promised land.”
As we plotted the route, I warned my friend that the land he sought was already inhabited, and its current occupants might not be eager to share. His response shook me: “It is our land by the right of God, and we will take it in His name. Only the chosen people will remain.”
The way he said it, with unflinching resolve, chilled me. I recognized that fanaticism, the same determination I’d seen in those I once armed for conquest. He had grown into a dangerous man, wielding religious authority and an army ready to follow him. I decided then and there that I would not aid him further once we reached our next destination.
I would not help him commit genocide.
Mount Cyanide
After two months of travel, we arrived at a mountain the slaves called Cyanide. What an ominous name, perhaps it’s tied to some ancient poisonings. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to visit such a place, but my friend announced he would climb it alone.
I offered to fly him up, but he refused, saying he needed time away from the group. I didn’t blame him. For people who just escaped slavery, they were surprisingly ungrateful, complaining about every minor inconvenience. Frankly, it was driving me mad! I could only imagine what it was doing to him, especially with his temper.
I joined him once he reached the summit, and we celebrated the journey’s end with more of my special tea. I knew he was tripping hard when he began conversing with a bush that caught on fire from stray embers of our campfire. He claimed it was his God, dictating the Commandments of his people.
The next morning, I found him chiseling those Commandments onto two stone tablets. I offered to inscribe them using my tools to save time, but he refused, saying this was something he had to do himself.
I revised the last section of “Freedom Fighter in Egypt” (the first Angelica chapter). Recall that Angelica shared a hallucinogenic tea with her friend. She knew he was tripping hard when he began conversing with a bush that caught on fire from stray embers of the campfire. The man claimed it was his God, dictating the Commandments of his people. My goal with this revision is to introduce the Ninefold Light as the symbol of the Path of Luminism (Luminism).
Please revise this for readability.
A Message from Beyond
I had my own vision that night, as strange and brilliant as the firelit hallucinations of my companion.
I floated in null-gravity in a vast void of endless light. There was no ground or sky, only the infinite. From that emptiness, a shape emerged. First, a triangle of stars, perfectly spaced, each one shimmering like stellacite crystals that glow with a cool, living light when held. They seemed aware of me, drawing my gaze toward their shared center.
Around them grew a radiant circle. It was so pure and endless that I felt myself following its curve even though I never moved. It was not merely a ring, it was a path all beings had walked and would walk again, without beginning or end.
From this circle burst nine rays, evenly spaced, stretching into the void. They were more than light. They were voices made visible, soft yet certain, whispering truths I could barely grasp. I knew each ray carried a principle, a way of living that bound the soul to the betterment of all.
When I reached out to touch it, it vanished in a single flash, leaving warmth in my chest and the unshakable certainty that I had not seen a mere symbol, but a way of life. It was the Ninefold Light, and it is not meant not for me alone, but for all who seek wisdom and wish to leave the world better than they found it.
Then my mother appeared to me, long gone from the realm of the living, her voice was gentle but resolute. She spoke of redemption, telling me that freeing the slaves had been a great service, one that would echo across generations. It had balanced part of my moral ledger, but there was still much to atone for.
She gave form to the Nine Please Principles, those rays of wisdom that had whispered just beyond my understanding. She called them guiding pillars of light, meant to help others live well and to secure their place in a good afterlife. As I absorbed their wisdom, I felt her love pour into me.
And then, she was gone.
Whether her words were truly from the spirit realm or the deepest parts of my own mind, I could not say, but I knew they mattered.
When I awoke, I resolved to honor that vision. I had spent my life profiting from death and war, but now I would strive to make the universe better. Spreading the Nine Please Principles would be my first step toward redemption.
When I woke, I resolved to honor that vision. I had spent my life profiting from death and warfare, but now I will strive to make the universe a better place. Spreading the Nine Please Principles would be my first step toward redemption.
So, dear reader, I pass them to you now. They are a gift, a compass to guide you toward a life that leaves the universe brighter than you found it.
The Nine Please Principles
- Please Be Kind.
- Please Respect Religion.
- Please Avoid Judgement.
- Please Promote Comfort.
- Please Engage Respectfully.
- Please Use Resources Wisely.
- Please Obey Just Laws.
- Please Support Those in Need.
- Please Volunteer.
The Path of Luminism 